2C4 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the state, which are pretty enough and smell good enough to rouse 

 in the heart of the most moral a desire to break the unwritten law of 

 "hands off." Poor old Tantalus ! If you want to know how he felt, just 

 take a stroll, about noon time, through the [)omological exhibit. 



There are apples as yellow as the fabled three which lost Atalanta 

 her famous race, and gave Hippomenes a wife ; apples that have been 

 kissed by the sun-god into a permanent blush ; apples that are not as 

 green as they look ; streaked apples, mellow apples, hard apples, crab- 

 apples — all kinds of apples, except apples of discord and Dead Sea ap- 

 ples. 



Nor are apples alone to be seen, although they form the most prom- 

 inent feature in this magnificent exhibit ; for Gasconade County alone 

 sends 40 different varieties of grapes, and there are pears in abundance, 

 some vieing in beauty with the California production, and all of exquis- 

 ite flavor. " There is an impression abroad," said the gentlemanly sec- 

 retary, "especially in the Eastern states, that 'old Missouri' can raise 

 nothing but Jesse James gangs and border ruffians, and even, in our own 

 cities it has grown to be a custom to send North and East for winter apples. 

 Now, we want the people to see just what the state can do as a fruit 

 state, hence this display from 36 different counties. This is not a money 

 making scheme, and we have no object but furthering the .state interests 

 as a fruit growing center, and rousing the farmers, themselves, to an ap- 

 preciation of the vast resources in their possession. This exhibit, there- 

 fore, is gotten up by eight local county societies, and the remaining, by 

 private individuals and nurserymen." 



The eight societies, which have separate displays ranging from 250 

 to 300 plates each, are, respectively: Holt, Bates, Vernon, Jasper, Mont- 

 gomery, Mercer, Greene and Cooper, and the different pyramids of fruit 

 are beautiful in the extreme. Every day the plates are looked over and 

 the fruit renewed, so that they present a fresh appearance constantly. 



The other counties, where the displays are those of individuals and 

 nurserymen, and vary from 30 to 150 plates, are: Callaway, Gasconade, 

 Johnson, Barton, Clay, Platte, Howell, Adair, Wayne, Pettis, Buchanan, 

 Franklin and St. Louis, three of which will send in their contribution in 

 a few days after their local fairs are over. A visitor from the Cincinnati 

 Exposition yesterday was heard to remark that one pyramid of the fruit 

 in this vast exhibit was equal to the entire collection of the Cincinnati 

 Exposition. The gentlemen in charge of this display are very proud of 

 it, and with every reason to be so, as it is the largest ever made by the 

 society and beyond praise in itself, but is fine enough to place the state 

 in the front ranks of the fruit growers. 



