Annual Meeting at St. Joseph. 157 



every way than we have : Free-stones for shipping, evaporating, 

 preserving and other uses. If then we get too much to ship, it can 

 be converted into evaporating stock, that can be shipped to the 

 markets of the world, and realize good prices. 



Yours respectfully, 



J. M. PRETZINGER. 



THE CHERRY FOR PROFIT ; WHAT AND WHERE WOULD 



YOU PLANT IT ? 



BY F. HOLSINGEK, KOSEDALE, KAS. 



The cherry comes to us, as we are informed, from Asia. Tlie 

 Roman general, Lucullus, after a victorious campaign into Pontus, 

 has the honor of its introduction into Italy in 69, B. C. Pliny 

 informs us that one hundred years afterward they had eight varieties 

 in cultivation, and that soon thereafter they were disseminated all 

 over Europe. 



The Hollanders introduced the cherry into this country by 

 planting the seeds soon after the first settlement of the country. 



Until recently, but few pomologists of the west appreciated 

 the great value of the cherry. The orchardist has been engaged 

 mostly with the apple, pear, plum and peacli. The cherry, by 

 reason of its easy production, has not been considered a profitable 

 variety. Their quality as a dessert fruit has never .been doubted, 

 but the ease and slovenliness with which they have and can be pro- 

 duced, has been such that they have thought it doubtful if it would 

 pay. In times gone by, the universal custom was with the farmers 

 when a neighbor had a good variety, to get sprouts from some good 

 tree that had proved itself a kind suitable to their taste. 



This they planted by the wayside, leaving it to take care of 

 itself, generally some spot which was useless for the cultivation of 

 any thing else selected. They grew, seemingly without attention 

 into magnificent trees. They produced the finest fruit — always 

 loaded — and the farmer who sold or tried to sell the fruit was con- 

 sidered the meanest man in the section. Why, I have known 

 parties when allowed to gather the luscious fruit, to saw ofE great 

 limbs, drag them to some conveient shade and then strip the fruit 

 — yes, strip it. The stem was always pulled out and when they 



