258 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



sections of the country. The varieties were also very much 

 greater. 



Such men as General J. C. Fremont and General G. M. 

 Dodge, the real original pathfinders for the western pioneers, 

 noticed this indication of natural and favorable conditions 

 for fruit development, and referred to it in their early \\'rit- 

 ings. General Fremont said: 



"The best indications of the richness of the Nebraska river 

 (Platte river) country is the luxuriance and prodigality of 

 wild fruits, found growing wherever there is the slightest pro- 

 tection of trees. Our men gathered and enjoyed more than 

 twenty different varieties of plums and grapes, all very much 

 finer than any we had ever before seen. There were also many 

 varieties of blackberries, raspberries, dewberries, and other 

 kinds of berries that were new to us." 



General Dodge, in one of his reminiscences of the building 

 of the Union Pacific railroad, said : 



"We were seldomly without an abundant supply of some 

 sort of wild fruit during the time we Avere working in Ne- 

 braska, throughout the season from June till September, and 

 from the Missouri river to the Rocky mountain foothills. 

 The rich lands produced the finest wild fruits we had ever 

 seen, with the richest flavor and in the gTeatest varieties." 



That the promise held out to the pioneers that Nebraska 

 was peculiarly adapted to fruit culture has been fully realized 

 was indicated by the splendid display of fruits made at the 

 1909 exposition of the National Horticultural congress. A 

 glimpse of a portion of this exhibit is shown in the accom- 

 panying photograph, which reveals some of the long tables 

 covered by Nebraska-grown apples. 



The view was taken from the balcony, looking down upon 

 the tables more than 100 feet away. The distance reduces 

 the size of the magnificent apples displayed, but shows the 

 unique method of ornamentation. On one of the tables, with 

 a background of Greenings, plates of brilliant red Jonathans 

 were arranged to form the characters in the state's name, and 



