COLONEL WILDER'S ADDRESS. 



xnonfli of June, he received several barrels of Bellflower ajiples, which liad been kept fur 

 ciK'ht months, that were sold in that market at two dolhirs and twenty-five cents per bushel. 

 The remainder out of eight hundred bushels was sold, at home, at tliree dollars per bushel. 

 These apples were purcliased, at random, from the strolling wagons jjassing through the 

 streets of Dayton, and were more or less bruised by careless picking and transportation. My 

 own experience corresponds with these statements. 



'• The construction of these rooms is simple. All that is required is walls made of non- 

 conducting materials, with an apartment for the ice above the fruit-room, and with Mr. 

 Schooley's descending Hues for the cold air, so as to preserve an equable temperature and 

 moisture, and to hold the ripening process in suspense. The air, by passing over the ice, 

 is deprived of its moisture, and, being cold and specifically heavier than the surrounding 

 atmosphere, falls through his descending flues, and, by a ventilator, escapes on one side of 

 the room, thus creating a temperature not only cool, but dry. This principle, I am informed 

 by a distinguished member of the medical faculty, may be applied to the construction of 

 hospitals with great advantage, so that the air may be kept at a uniform temperature and 

 degree of humidity. For a more particular account of this process, I refer you to Professor 

 Locke's Monograph, and to the inventor's letter, herewith sulmiitted. 



" In these remarks, our object has been to provide against the maturing of fruits until the 

 season when they are wanted for use. Care should, however, be exercised, especially with 

 the pear, and more delicate fruits, not to reduce the temperature much below 45^* of Fah- 

 renheit, lest the vital principle of the fruit be destroyed, and the flavor lost." 



Colonel Wilder differs somewhat from Jeffreys, in our last number, regarding the value 

 of the pear as a dwarf, and, as we desire nothing but the truth, we give his views on the 

 subject : — 



" Pears upon the quince should be planted in a luxuriant, deep soil, and be abundantly 

 supplied with nutriment and good cultivation. They should always be planted deep enough 

 to cover the place where they were grafted, so that the point of junction may be three or 

 four inches below the surface. The pear will then frequently form roots independently of 

 the quince, and thus we combine in the tree both early fruiting from the quince, and the 

 strength and longevity of the pear stock. For instance, of trees of the same variety, stand- 

 ing side by side in my own grounds for ten years, and enjoying the same treatment, those 

 on the quince stock have attained a larger size, and have borne, for seven years, abundant 

 crops, while those upon the pear stock have scarcely yielded a fruit. We have, also, others 

 on the quince, which, twenty-five years since, were obtained at the nursery of Mr. Parmenter, 

 where now is the most populous part of the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., and which have borne 

 good crops for more than twenty years, and are still productive and healthy. 



"That the introduction and 'cultivation of the pear upon the quince has been a great 

 blessing, I entertain no doubt, especially in gardens, and in the suburbs of large towns and 

 cities. And as to its adaptation to the orchard, I see no reason why it should not succeed 

 well, if the soil, selection and cultivation be appropriate. A gentleman in the eastern part 

 of Massachusetts planted, in the years 1848 and 1849, as many dwarf pear-trees as he could 

 set on an acre of land at the distance of eight by twelve feet, and between these rows he 

 planted quince bushes. In the fifth year from planting, he gathered one hundred and 

 twenty bushels of pears, and sixty bushels of quinces. Of the former, he sold seventy 

 bushels at five to six dollars per bushel, and he now informs me that he has lost only three 

 l^er cent, of the original trees, and that the remainder are in healthful condition." 



An important suggestion is contained in the following paragraph. We hope to live long 

 enough to see it thoroughly carried out: — 



" I anticipate that, at no remote period, we shall feel the necessity of a National Pomolo- 

 gical Institute, with an Experimental Garden, where all the varieties true to name may be 

 obtained, where all sorts may be thoroughly tested, and distributed to the members of the 

 Society, and thus relieve the pioneers in American pomology from large expenditures and 

 much personal inconvenience." 



In conclusion, the author breaks out eloquently, thus : — 



" It is estimated that, in the nurseries of Monroe County, there are thirty millions of trees, 

 and that, in the whole of the nurseries of Western New York, commencing at Onondaga 

 County, there cannot be less than fifty millions, besides the great number which has already 

 been sent out to adorn your valleys, and crown your hill-tops. These are the precious fruits 

 which have been gathered in this locality. Add to them the progress of this science in 



