362 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



heartily welcomed of our small fruits, and aside from an occasional idiosyncracy 

 that they may develop in certain persons, they are the least disturbing of any. 



In general, fruits are the least liable to cause trouble when eaten in the 

 cooked state : but many fruits are more palatable when eaten fresh, and we 

 cannot gainsay their benefit. Fruit has its best effect when eaten with other 

 food; digestion and assimilation are made easier by the admixture of the light 

 with the solid. 



We have little time to discuss when we should eat and how much we should 

 eat. We Americans eat too much, because we eat too fast. We bolt our food 

 down in a hurry, gauging the amount we should eat by sense of immediate 

 want. The sense of satiety, which should be our safety valve, comes along 

 tardily and we find that in our hurry we have eaten too much. But whenever 

 we need food, we need fruit. From a physiological point of view, there is no 

 truth in the proverb, " Fruit is golden in the morning: silver at noon ; lead at 

 night." Whenever the stomach needs food, it needs and can assimilate fruit. 

 And yet, for you who come to the breakfast table from a sense of duty, I can 

 think of no better appetizer than a dish of fresh, tempting fruit — audacious 

 skirmisher of a more formidable array, sent to assail us at our weakest point, 



A word in closing to the housekeepers regarding preserving fruit for winter 

 use. The customary methods of canning, preserving, and pickling are usu- 

 ally sufficient, and fruit in this way loses little or none of its nutrient value, 

 but the method is laborious and expensive; much sugar is lost by chemical 

 changes. Since the germ theory of fermentation has become fully recognized, 

 antiseptic fluids have been devised that have met with some success. The 

 object is to find some chemical that will prevent the development of bacteria, 

 and yet be safe when used in a strength necessary to accomplish this end. Any 

 antiseptic fluid that would serve this purpose would lessen the nutritive value of 

 the substance so preserved to a greater or less extent, and yet the field is a 

 promising one. Salicylic acid, one to 1,000, will prevent the development of 

 bacteria. In this proportion no ill effect would come from eating what sauce 

 one would ordinarily take at a meal. 



The bichloride of mercury is the most powerful of all antiseptics ; one 

 part in 25,250 will prevent the development of germs. This would be about 

 one grain to two quarts. The maximum medicinal dose of the drug is one- 

 eighth grain. To reach this one would have to eat half a pint of fruit, 

 fluid and all, at one sitting, not a probable amount. However, there would be 

 danger in using this aaseptic in this strength. I would not recommend its 

 trial; yet the subject of antiseptics is in its infancy; we have not yet reached 

 possibilities, and I doubt not that in time a safe and cheap method will be 

 devised of preserving fruits in their succulent form without great loss of 

 nutrient value. 



F. Graham represented the society at the State fair at Jackson in Septem- 

 ber, and reported very favorably as to results. 



In November the society made an exhibition of chrysanthemums in connec- 

 tion with the regular meeting, awakening a great interest in this class of 

 plants. Henry Smith exhibited 40 different varieties and J. A. Hovey 24, 

 including Chinese and Japanese varieties. 



Mr. Hovey read an article from the pen of John Thorp of X. Y. on the 

 chrysanthemum which was discussed, and in every way the meeting was a 

 marked success. 



