ANNUAL MEETING AT LEXINGTON. 149 



portunity slip, and later I dared not do it on account of rasi)berrie8 

 growin"- under tlie trees. The result was that I had no more than my 

 average share of damaged fruit. I regret not having experimented on 

 a few trees, but am rather satislicd to have my §7.00 worth of paris 

 green on hand, rather than expend more labor on it with misleading 

 results. 



As stated in previous reports, I still keep cultivating my orchard, 

 and intend doing so as far as I can see ahead at present. I admit that 

 a certain representative neighbor, who planted at the same time and 

 about the same number I did, had some fruit two orthree.year8 before 

 I had any, though he has hardly cultivated any before this year ; I ad- 

 mit that his fruit this year was fairer, freer from scab and worms, and 

 rather larger than mine, so far as he cultivated them and had the same 

 variety. But my trees will average nearly or quite as large again as 

 his to-day, and I therefore stand chance of four doubling, if not ten 

 doubling his crop in the future. While he had some api)les before I 

 did, my first crop three years ago sold for more than his did this year, 

 which was his first for market worth naming. Part of this is due to 

 mine being nearly all Ben Davis, while his are only one-third or one- 

 fourth of that sort, and I think it worth remarking here that this is 

 probably about the proportion of Ben Davis* trees in the county, while 

 three-fourths or nine-tenths of the apples sold this year have been of 

 that despised variety. I will plant small quantities of several others 

 untried on our soil, but if you would contract to take all I could grow 

 in twenty years of most well known sorts at $1.00 per bushel, I would 

 be content to grow Ben Davis at 25 cents. 



I regret severely that duty seems to make a stronger demand on 

 my attention at the Cider and Cider Vinegar Makers' convention at 

 the same time of your meeting. I have just started a power cider 

 press and mill, by which I hope to utilize all the small unsaleable fruit 

 in the county in the future. But I find competition in vinegar and 

 even cider to be fully on a par with oleomargarine, and a large number 

 of people prefer to buy and sell and use them for boarders, because 

 they are cheap. So far I have seen very little vinegar on our market that 

 was not made of sulphuric acid (except home-made cider). This is ad- 

 mitted to be very injurious to the teeth and general health. I submit 

 if your society should not take initiatory steps for legislation to pro- 

 tect innocent people against such vile stuff, as has been done in some 

 other States. 



CIIAS. PATTERSON, 



One of the committee. 



