FEUIT CULTURE IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



Their progress in this department, as might have been expected, was slow ; indeed 

 we can hardly say that fruit was cultivated at all as a part of the produce of the farm, 

 and with a view to profit, till a comparatively recent date. Half a century ago it 

 would have been impossible to find the number of varieties of good fruit in the whole 

 State, which may now be found in a single town. There were orchards, it is true, and 

 some of them were better than none ; but this is all that can be said. Cider Apples 

 occupied a very prominent place in the list. The Huhhardston Nonesuch, the Minister, 

 the Porter, and other favorite varieties, had then no existence. Not a nursery con- 

 taining trees for sale, was to be found in the State. Here and there was an instance 

 of grafting, but it was rare, and generally no thought was given to the subject. It 

 was regarded as absurd for any but a young man to set out trees. An incident in the 

 life of the venerable Mr. Cobb, of Kingston, not inaptly illustrates the feeling which 

 formerly prevailed to a great extent throughout the State. At the age of seventy 

 years, he began the work ofdsetting an orchard. The idea was so ludicrous as to 

 subject him to the ridicule of the neighborhood. He lived to the age of one hundred 

 and seven, and died in 1801, having enjoyed many years the fruits of his labors. 

 Grafted trees w^ere now and then obtained from another State, where somewhat greater 

 attention had been paid to raising them ; and a few orchards, nearly fifty years old, 

 now bear some good fruit, notwithstanding the neglect and abuse of subsequent owners. 



In the cultivation of fruit on the farms of this State, with reference to profit, the few 

 great staple varieties are mostly relied on, while the choicer and more delicate kinds, 

 which require much time and care to bring them to perfection, are left, for the most 

 part, to the horticulturist, who is fully able to supply the limited demand for them. 



To make such fruits profitable to the farmer, he should deal directly with the con- 

 sumer. As things are, the producer often gets less than his proportion of the price paid, 

 while the consumer, on the other hand, frequently pays far more than he ought. 



It is the more common varieties of fruit, therefore, (for which there is, and always 

 will be, a good demand,) that are grown on the farm. 



Fortunately, the habits and character of these varieties are now pretty well known, 

 and the farmer can judge which of them it is most for his interest to grow. He knows 

 for instance, that certain Apples, as the Baldwin, produce in alternate years, and then 

 very abundantly ; so much so, indeed, that the market is overstocked, and prices fall. 

 The intelligent farmer would naturally make his calculations with reference to these 

 facts, and avoid such casualties by selecting for his orchards such Apples as the Hub- 

 hardston Nonesuch, the Minister, or others of equal value, which will find a ready sale 

 when the Buldivin and similar varieties are selling at the lowest prices. 



The fact that these things sometimes occur, does not prove that fruit is not profit- 

 able, as is sometimes argued. If any one fails to make by it, he should rather consider 

 it as an indication of some want of prudence or foresight on his part, and though he 

 may not be willing to see or acknowledge it himself, it will still be evident to all who 

 look on with a full knowledge of the fruit market.- 



To show how great attention is now devoted to this pleasant branch of rural econo 

 the following short extracts may be given. 



