270 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



profitable in one locality may be worthless in another, and one that gives good 

 results on a heavy soil may be of little account on the sand. 



AVe alkide to these points because they must always be kept in mind when 

 we are selecting trees and plants for successful cultivation either for home use 

 or market. 



"With these facts before us, wliat varieties shall we cultivate? 



The answer to tliis question is broad or narrow, according to the plan of treat- 

 ment and the object in view. If we speak of the fruits which any of us have 

 cultivated, unless, perchance, some one has been, or is in the nursery business, 

 the question is very narrow. It evidently requires many years of labor and 

 close observation to test any considerable number of any class of fruits on 

 different soils, as they are presented in the curriculum of pomology. 



But if we treat the subject theoretically, deriving our knowledge from agri- 

 cultural papers and nurserymen's catalogues of fruits, the answer will be very 

 broad. 



It is not diflicult to make out a list of fruits which every man who pretends 

 to engage in the business ought to have on his grounds, but to select the vari- 

 eties that arc best adapted to the soil, climate and markets of any particular 

 locality, is quite another thing. 



A full list of fruits for one engaged in this branch of business would read as 

 follows : Apples, pears, peaches, plumr>, quinces, cherries, strawberries, rasp- 

 berries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries, and grapes. 



All of these fruits may be cultivated in this latitude with more or less profit, 

 according to their capacity for transportation to market. As the profits on all 

 kinds of fruit are variable, it is quite important to be prepared for the fluctu- 

 ations of markets, especially when they rule above the cost of production. For 

 example, — because apples gave the producer a small margin last autumn no 

 one would think of cutting down his orchard and replacing it with poaches; 

 and if strawberries did not bring in satisfactory returns last year we shall doubt- 

 less do well to give them better cultivation arid thereby secure better returns 

 this year. 



But the difficulties we have to encounter are not so much in the kinds of 

 fruits most desirable to cultivate, but rather in the varieties which will produce 

 the best results in a given locality. For example, in the catalogue recently 

 published by the Michigan State Pomological Society there is a list of 239 

 varieties of apples which have gained some notoriety in this State. Some of 

 these are doubtless good, others are bettor, and a few are lest ; but who can 

 read the list over and select the best without some assistance or experience ? 

 The task is difficult. Even experienced fruit men recommended varieties last 

 year which they now condemn. We appreciate their honesty, even when we 

 are victimized by their hastily formed opinions. To recommend any variety of 

 fruit, a man should be familiar with its history. He should be acquainted 

 with its habits of growth and productiveness and the quality of the fruit on all 

 kinds of soil, such as clay, sand and gravel. 



Climate also, considered as dry or moist, liot or cold, — should have due 

 weight in making a choice of varieties of fruit for cultivation. Fruits adapted 

 to the lake shore mav not be worth cultivation in the interior of the State, and 

 certain it is, that some varieties wliich iiave a good reputation in other localities 

 are worthless here. There are, however, a few things to be kept in mind when 

 we are'selecting varieties of fruit for cultivation. 



Every one who plants an orchard wants a succession of fruits. Not only a 

 succession of kinds, but also a succession of varieties of the various kinds. 



