THE FRUIT GARDEN AT WODENETHE. 



503 



THE FRUIT GARDEN AT "WODENETHE, 



THE RESIDENCE OF H. W. SARGENT, ESQ., DUTCHESS CO., N. Y. 



Our friend Mr. Beecher, in his capital 

 journal, published at Indianapolis, spoke, 

 some time ago, with a good deal of empha- 

 sis, and a good- deal of regret, o{our " amia- 

 ble fondness for the localities of the Hudson 

 river." He thinks we have underrated the 

 flavor of western fruits, and given rank ta 

 Eastern New-York at the expense of other 

 fruit-growing regions. After this lamenta- 

 tion over our bias, Mr. Beecher concludes, 

 very naturally, by saying that " the western 

 States, say Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and 

 portions of Illinois, are, the whole range of 

 the orchard being considered, better fruit- 

 growing States than New- York or New- 

 England." 'Tis always thus ; both his and 

 our readers will say, 



" The patriots' boast where'er we roam, 

 His first, best country, ever is at home." 



We have at times fancied that one might 

 be unprejudiced, and that one could do jus- 

 tice on the one hand to the high culture of 

 Boston, and on the other to the great natu- 

 ral fertility of the west. But alas ! we have 

 said that " the apples, raised on the very 

 fertile bottoms of the western States," are 

 inferior in flavor to those grown on the best 

 orchard soils of this section of the country ! 

 We have some doubts, after this rank of- 

 fence, (for Ave did not say that there were 

 not many orchards on proper soils, in the 

 west, that give finely flavored apples) — 

 we say after this offence, we are a little 

 fearful that Mr. Beecher will take it into 

 his head that New- York is not a fruit- 

 growing State at all, and that the " locali- 

 ties of the Hudson" are only barren boun- 

 daries to a considerable stream of water. 

 He will forget the Pelham farm orchard, 



the largest in the world, with 200 acres of 

 Newtown pippins, that supplies all London 

 market ; and Dr. Underhill's vineyard, 

 not excelled in America, that supplies all 

 New-York ; he will forget the famous plum 

 gardens of Hudson and Albany where the 

 curculio is unknown ; he will not remem- 

 ber that the Esopns Spitzenbergh and the 

 Sivaar, the highest flavored apples, — and 

 the J(fferso?i, and the Coluvihia, the largest 

 and best yellow and purple plums, that 

 the George the IV, the best American 

 peach known ; all originated in the valley 

 of the Hudson. Yes, we have unluckily 

 said that the west, that magnificently fertile 

 country, which by its fertility, is at this 

 moment helping to feed the world, has many 

 " fertile bottoms," and that those fertile 

 bottoms give " very large and beautiful," 

 but not the highest flavored apples. 



Some western editor, who has become a 

 little "riled" at any supposed attack upon 

 the character of western apples, has boldly 

 proposed to settle the matter by showing 

 specimens with any eastern orchardists. But 

 we solemnly advise our orchardists to de- 

 cline the challenge. There would be no 

 chance for them. There is not one fruit 

 committee in America in an hundred, that 

 would not, in a moment, sacrifice jZavor to 

 size. Their " mavellousness" is a great 

 deal larger than their " alimentiveness," as 

 the phrenologists say ; and unless we could 

 cleverly contrive to inarch pumpkin vines on 

 the branches of our apple trees, (as the 

 French gardeners do tomatoes on potato 

 hills) the " fertile bottoms" would outweigh, 

 outmeasiire, and outdo us ! 



Seriously, as we think all cultivators, 



