TWENTY FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING. 153 



last, when invited to visit them, not a tree could be seen but had from 

 ten to twenty props to aid in sustaining the most wonderful crop of 

 apples upon which I have ever set my eyes. It was marketed in a near-by 

 city at from $1.50 to |2 per barrel, the net returns giving him between 

 |2,000 and |2,500. Illustrations of like character could be named, per- 

 taining to other fruit crops, had we time, such as the plum, peach, cherry, 

 apricot, quince, currant and gooseberry, any and all of which, while not, 

 perhaps, giving returns as large, would afford abundant proof that our 

 ground is well taken, and there is encouragement for the grower of good 

 fruit both now and in the future. It is but just, however, to state in this 

 connection that the owner of the apple orchard just referred to, excels 

 as a thorough cultivator and high feeder. His equal in these respects ^s 

 hard to be found in the Empire state. Doubtless there are- those who 

 will pronounce these instances rare exceptions. Admit this to be true; 

 but is it not also true that those who show marked success in any busi- 

 ness enterprise are the exceptions rather than the ordinary rule? But 

 my purpose in mentioning this variety of apple more especially was to 

 illustrate the fact that apples can yet be grown, and that with profit. If 

 not one variety, then another. Select a line of sorts less subject to 

 injury from fungi than Baldwin and the old, tried sorts, and we believe 

 that the key-note to successful modern apple-culture has been struck. 

 In such a list we find Hubbardston, Gilliflower, Ben Davis, Longfleld, 

 Stark, and Sutton's Beauty — surely a list large enough for any orchard- 

 man to experiment with, and Oldenburgh added, affording a succession 

 from late fall to early spring in their period of ripening. I am a strong 

 advocate of a more general use of the spraying pump, with such mix- 

 tures as aid so greatly in the extermination of all the insect life and 

 diseases with which we have to contend; and, as these varieties are 

 grown apparently without the necessity of spraying, except for the cod- 

 lin moth, we believe, if properly provided with the required plant food, 

 they may be profitably grown for many years to come. Some of them, 

 however, inclined as they are to over-production, require a careful thin- 

 ning of the fruit to insure the desired size and fine quality. Our insti- 

 tutions of learning are making the subject of horticulture a leading fea- 

 ture, the outgrowth of which will be the development of a class of men 

 prepared to make a practical application of the principles of fruitgrowing 

 that should make them succeed and enable them to avoid the bitter les- 

 sons that have been learned at such a cost by some of us. 



The schools of horticulture now being held by Prof. Bailey and others. 

 In various parts of the country, so thoroughly practical in their nature, 

 are imparting new interest to this work and giving to Cornell university 

 that pre-eminence to which she is justly entitled — the greatest institu- 

 tion on the continent for furnishing the most practical education on the 

 most easy and economical basis. 



Of scarcely less importance is the work that is now being prosecuted 

 by the various agricultural colleges and experiment stations of the dif- 

 ferent states. Horticulture is receiving its full share of attention at 

 their hands, and the character of the men employed in its prosecution is 

 a guarantee of what the results may be. 



To illustrate more fully the magnitude of this work, it may be of inter- 

 est to know that they are now growing for test purposes at the Geneva 

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