388 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



either to the state or country generally, in a com- 

 mercial point of view. 



Your attention, and that of your State Commit- 

 tee, should therefore be especially directed as fol- 

 lows : 



Ascertaining upon what kind of natural soils, 

 superior crops of any of the standard fruits are 

 grown in your state ; particularly whether lime 

 or potash abound in the soil — or any rock or sub- 

 soil whose decomposition furnishes these or other 

 mineral substances essential to the perfection of 

 the fruit. 



If the result has been obtained by the use of 

 manures, or any peculiar system of cultivation, 

 what kinds of manures or composts have been ap- 

 plied, how, and when, and upon what kind of na- 

 tural soil J and also what mode of culture has been 

 pursued. 



In districts remarkable for the excellence of a 

 given variety of good fruit, ascertain if such is the 

 case upon various soils in such district, or only 

 upon particular soils, and in the latter case the 

 character of the latter; also how large are the 

 annual crops, and how long the variety has been 

 in cultivation. 



Ascertain what are the most profitable market 

 fruits of good quality in your state, and whether 

 any particular sorts require extra pruning, ma- 

 nuring, or other mode of cultm-e. 



Ascertain which varieties succeed only, and 

 which thrive best, upon particular stocks, (as the 

 Louise Bonne de Jersey pear, on quince, &c.) 



Ascertain what varieties have been tried and 

 condemned as inferior or worthless, by experienced 

 fruit growers in your state. 



Ascertain the synonymous or local names by 

 which any standard varieties are known in your 

 state. 



Also, whether the trees of any varieties are 

 particularly liable to blight or other diseases. 



What grapes are the best for vineyard culture, 

 if vineyards are planted in your portion of the 

 Union. 



What raspberries, strawberries, currants, apri- 

 cots, nectarines, and other minor fruits of good 

 quality, are found best adapte<l to culture in your 

 state. 



In judging of the flavor- of fruits, it will, in or- 

 der to arrive at uniformity, be well perhaps to 

 adopt the comparative degrees of merit adopted 

 at the Convention, viz: good, very good, best. 



Perhaps the following may be taken as exam- 

 ples for this purpose: 



And in order to agree regarding these terms, 

 certain standard sorts should be taken, which will 

 reprcsemt them, in order to compare other fruits 

 to ascertain their value. 



Fruits falling below the rank " good," are un- 

 worthy of cultivation (excepting culinary .sorts,) 

 unless their hardihood and productiveness are so 

 remarkable as to make them valuable in particu- 

 lar localities, or for market cultivation. 



Though the attention of this committee is un- 

 derstood to be chiefly directed to acquiring infor- 

 raation regarding varieties of frviit already known, 

 yet some attention should be paid to the examina- 

 tion of remarkable new varieties. Unless the lat- 

 ter, however, rank as high as " good," they ought 

 not to receive attention, and a new sort, even if 

 excellent, should it be meagre, unhealthy, or un- 

 productive in habit, is no longer worthy of notice. 



When a variety of" very good" or " best" qua- 

 lity is presented to the examination of a state com- 

 mittee, and there are doubts whether it is really 

 a new variety, specimens should be sent to the 

 chairman at Boston, Philadelphia, or the chairman 

 of this committee, so that it may be subjected to 

 more complete examination. And outlines and 

 careful descriptions (for the use of the Congress 

 of Fruit-growers,) should be made from new va- 

 rieties of high merit in all respects. In drawing 

 up such descriptions, the " Pomological Rules" 

 adopted by the various horticultural societies should 

 be followed as a guide, in order to avoid diflbse- 

 ness and variety of terms on one hand, or imper- 

 fection in details on the other. 



The chairmen of the State Committees of any 

 states remarkable for the production, in great va- 

 riety or excellence, of certain fruits, as the Apple, 

 Pear, Plum, Peach, &c., are expected to call to- 

 gether their committees at the season of maturity: 

 of those fruits, to examine specimens, elicit infor- 

 mation, and prepare the same for the next Con- 

 gress. 



In those states where full committees were not 

 appointed at the late session of the Congress, au- 

 thority was left with the chairmen of those State 

 Committees to fill the vacancies by the appoint- 

 ment of such pomologists or fruit-growers residing 

 within such states as are, in the opinion of the 

 chaii-man, likely to assist most completely in car- 

 rying out the views of the Congress. 



Hoping for your active co-operation in carrying 

 out these views for the benefit of pomological and 

 horticultural science in the country at large, and 

 of a large class of cultivators of the soil, 



I am, very respectfully yours, 



A. J. Downing, 

 Chairman of the General Fruit Committee. 



P. S. I will bo happy at all times to corres- 

 pond with you on any subjects within the range of 

 our duties, and will be particularly obliged for an 

 opportunity to examine any specimens of new or 

 rare fruits which you may consider worthy of no* 

 tioe, but more especially those of " very good'-* GSr 

 " best" quality. 



