142 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the choicest varieties then knowu, with an old orchard already on the 

 place as a basis. The trees were mostly purchased from the Sayers 

 Nursery at Cincinnati, but he also brought the Herbemont, Ohio Segar 

 Box and Elsinbnrgh grapes from Longworth's nurseries. Among the 

 peaches then introduced for the first time I will name Early York and 

 Yellow Alberge, then the earliest, Early Tillotson, Yellow Barctrizie, 

 Morris' Ked, Royal George, President, Old Mixon, cling and free, 

 Brnnort, Morris' White Rareri, Crawford's Late, Columbia, Heath 

 Cling. The apples included all the best Eastern known varieties, early 

 and late; pears. Early Madeline, Bloodgood,Bartlett, White Dogenne, 

 Snkel, Buerres Boec, St. Germain, etc.; cherries, Mayduke, Black Tar- 

 varian, Gov. Wood, Napoleon and Holland Bigarreau, etc.; several 

 varieties of apricots, nectarines and quinces ; strawberries. Early 

 Scarlet, Longworth Prolific and Hovey's seedling. I am thus explicit 

 because this plantation was the nucleus from which thousands of or- 

 chards were planted afterwards, which came from the nursery of 

 Husmann & Manwaring. 



The sudden death of my father in November, 1847, and the sale 

 of the farm the following winter, changed the current of my life, and 

 led me, a raw country boy of 20, brought up in the backwoods, to 

 adopt horticulture, for which I always had a longing, as my profession. 

 Mr. Teubner had married my sister, Josephine, the summer before, and 

 offered me a position with them on his fruit farm, which I gladly ac- 

 cepted. I helped him to take care of his orchard and vineyard, which 

 produced its first fruits in 1849. So far I had seen little of the outside 

 world, but with the natural hankering of all young men, I desired to 

 see more, and embarked, against his protest and that of my sister, in 

 a trip to California, then not the leading state in horticulture, as is now, 

 but only the Golconda, of which its possibilities for other productions 

 were not even surmised ; but its glorious climate captivated me even 

 then. But, after roughing it in the mines for 15 months, I received a 

 letter from my beloved sister, bringing the sad news of Mr. Teubner's 

 death, and requesting me to come home and help her to take care of 

 the place and her two little children. Such an appeal I could not 

 resist, and bid adieu to California and its golden prospects. 



When I arrived in March, 1852, 1 found my hands full of work, as 

 the place, fine as it was, had necessarily been neglected since its owner's 

 death. But I had had a fore-taste of horticulture, and though I had 

 never grafted a tree or budded a peach, I thought with the help of 

 good books I would learn to do so. I found Downings' " Fruits and 

 Fruit Trees of America," Thomas' " American Fruit Culturist " and 

 Kendricks' " Work on Fruits." These I studied by night, sometimes 



