110 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE 



PROF, WHITNEY'S PLOWERS. 



One of the most attractive features of the Fair was the 

 exhibition of flowers by Prof. C. L. Whitney of Muskegon, 

 who made an entry of 300 varieties, the product of his garden 

 and hot-house. The inconvenience of bringing flowers in 

 pots was obviated in this case by bringing them out in baskets 

 and phicing each one in a small vial of water. In this way 

 they were kept fresh during the entire exhibition. Tho 

 arrangement of 200 varieties, embracing some fifteen genera 

 of plants, in this way, was exceedingly tasteful, and displayed 

 the flowers to a great advantage. 



The foliage plants were peculiarly attractive, owing to their 

 vegetation and beautiful tints. 



The Japan pinks, the pausies, the verbenas, the dwarf chrys- 

 anthemums or asters, the zenias, the phloxes, the gladiolas, and 

 the odoriferous tuberose, all manifested respective charms to 

 the senses, and the ladies were especially interested in this part 

 of the display. 



Nothing is so refining and ennobling as the love of these 

 most beautiful developments of Nature, and all felt grateful 

 to Prof. Whitney for the opportunity he afi'orded of seeing so 

 many perfect specimens. 



PLENTY OF FRUIT. 



One feature of this exhibition was worthy of commendation. 

 It was not a thin show, and there was no effort to make a few 

 samples cover a good deal of space, but the fruit was abundant, 

 and lay in heaps around the Hall. There must have been one 

 hundred and fifty varieties of apples, of all sizes, shapes, color, 

 and quality, and each variety was represented by duplicates and 

 triplicates, while the more popular sorts occupied as many as 

 twenty plates eaeli. Gentlemen who have attended like fairs 

 in this and other States were free to acknowledge that the 

 display of apples surpassed anything they ever saw before, and 

 not a voice spoke otherwise than in terms of praise and sur- 



