362 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



Third — It is a good policy not to break rudely with the old, but to 

 run smoothly into the new. It would hardly be wise for any man to 

 cut down or graft over certain apples, or pears, or plums, or pull out 

 certain grapes because they are of poor quality. But in the planting 

 of new orchards a man should look well to the quality of the varieties 

 he selects. Speaking broadly, fruits of fine flavor can be grown as 

 easily as the grosser tasting ones. In planting for the future, then, 

 plant for quality. 



Fourth — Never in the history of the world have there been so many 

 men directing their efforts towards the improvement of plants. With 

 the recent discoveries in plant breeding and the accumulated knowledge 

 of centuries the efforts that are being put forth are bound to result 

 in many new introductions within the next few years. A man may be 

 pardoned if he clings to some of the mediocre varieties we now have, 

 for these are the elder-born to whom we have become attached in 

 tenderly carrying them through a helpless infancy, but as the physi- 

 cians and midwives of horticulture bring in the new-born let them 

 be chary of a blessing until their character for high quality is estab- 

 lished. Let them be "born to blush unseen," and if christened let 

 them remain in the limbo of the nurserymen's catalog if high quality 

 be not among their accomplishments. Let us raise the standard of 

 excellence by accepting only new fruits which are superior in quality 

 to their predecessors. 



Fifth — Nurserymen can do much to encourage the growing of good 

 fruit and to secure the appropriate recognition of high quality. The 

 country is filled with men and women from city, town and country who 

 want to grow fruit for pleasure and profit. When these embryonic 

 fruit growers pick the shell and get ready to plant, they go to a nursery- 

 man for trees. Now if the nurseryman will sell all mnfledged fruit 

 growers varieties of quality rather than what they can spare, fruit 

 growing and in the long run, the nursery trade, will be helped. Some 

 nurserymen hold it to be their inalienable right to substitute when 

 varieties run short. If all such will only slip in a choicely good variety 

 instead of an odd or an end, there will be less poor fruit. Nurserymen 

 say they grow the varieties that fruit growers want. In reality, how- 

 ever, they very largely force planters to take sorts that grow readily 

 and make good looking trees in the nursery. Trees for the orchard 

 must be grown in the nursery; trees grown in the nursery must be 

 sold to the fruit grower ; the weal or the woe of the fruit grower is the 

 weal or the woe of the nurseryman. If tree growers would push the. 

 sale of varieties and trees that are truly most useful to the tree planter, 

 nurserymen, fruit growers and the public all will be gainers thereby. 



Sixth — It should be the business of horticultural societies, one and 

 all, to make the public familiar with the names and the qualities of 

 fruits. With this knowledge fruit buyers would pay the difference 

 between good and poor quality varieties, just as they pay the difference 

 between a porterhouse and a pot stew. Why should they not? There 

 are several ways of reaching the public in this matter. Fruit growers 

 and their customers may both gain knowledge of what are the best 

 fruits, and which of them may be grown, by a full and frank discussion 

 of the whole matter at horticultural meetings. County and state fruit 

 organizations ought to do more in the way of making instructive 



