162 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



our State Horticultural society examine into the merits of this market 

 thoroughly, and have references of responsible parties who do that 

 business, both in this country and England. This would be a convenient 

 and reliable source of information among our apple-growers, to obtain 

 knowledge of the export trade. The foreign demand for certain of our 

 products has raised the market value here quite materiallj^, and would 

 affect the apple market similar!}'. 



As this paper's subject is of a comparative nature, I will have to form 

 my opinion of its merits by giving a very cursory view of the subject. It 

 is my opinion that an apple orchard well situated, and of best market 

 varieties, will pay as much to the owner as any other fruit on the same 

 land, if adapted to apples. Many of our smaller fruits are so susceptible 

 to frosts that they are not very reliable, or rather not as reliable as the 

 apple. It is very hard to give ideas on a subject of this character, that 

 each individual hearer may justly qualify to suit his particular conditions 

 of soil, altitude, market, and tastes. It is absolutely essential to success^ 

 in any business, either rural or mercantile, that our best efforts and 

 thoughts be actuated by a love for our occupation. It is a pleasant 

 reflection, when we view the results of our efforts in planting and caring 

 for an orchard, that we shall realize in fruits and profits. We often 

 hear the appropriate quotation in connection with rural life, " He who 

 makes two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before is a 

 benefactor to mankind." How much more satisfactory, and justly so, is 

 the view of a beautiful orchard laden with fruit. But there is an incen- 

 tive gained and cultivated among those who follow the different branches 

 of horticulture, which tends to elevate our standard of living by giving 

 us higher thoughts and motives. 



"To him who, in the love of nature, 

 Holds communion with her visible forms. 

 She speaks a various language." 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Judson: Does Mr. Sherwood practice thinning his apples? 



Mr. Sherwood: I never have, and this is the first year I have felt they 

 should be thinned. I have been thinking of it quite seriously, and I 

 believe it should be done. There are some trees that look as though the 

 apples had been thrown upon them with scoop-shovels and every apple 

 had stuck. The foliage is not so rank as it should be. I think thinning 

 practicable, though I have never done it. 



Mr. Augustine: It seems to me that the question asked on the pro- 

 gramme, depends on circumstances, whether apple-growing can be made 

 as profitable as other fruits. When I was at the World's Fair, a French- 

 man told me that in their country they did not know that apples could 

 be grown anywhere else in the United States except Michigan and New 

 York. So you may imagine I was surprised when I came here and learned 

 that you were digging up your apple orchards and throwing the trees 

 away and planting peaches. I have been puzzled since about it. When 

 we started out and saw the beautiful trees, loaded, as my friend says, 



