16 
new varieties will be tested once for all in an authoritative manner, and their value 
determined in such a way as to inspire confidence among the fruit growers of this | 
country. And a great saving of both time and money may be thus effected, while actu-— 
ally useful varieties will be placed before the fruit growers in a way which could not be ~ 
done under any other system. I am very glad to be present with you here, and to have — 
had an opportunity of making these few remarks, with which I hope I have not occupied 
too much of your time. p 
\ 
~ 
ESSEX AS A FRUIT-GROWING COUNTY. 
After the audience had been favored by a solo given by Mr. Patterson, of Windsor, 
the Chairman called upon Mr. Cleary, of Windsor. 
Mr. CuLEAry expressed his thanks for the compliment paid him in being asked to 
speak at the meeting, and said it afforded him great satisfaction that the meeting of the 
Fruit Growers’ Association should have been held in Essex, as he felt it would be of 
great benefit to the county, by drawing attention to its advantages as a fruit-growing 
and agricultural section of the Dominion. It was situated, he said, very similarly to the _ 
State of Michigan, and the climate was most favorable for the cultivation of fruit. The ‘ 
county was situated in about the same latitude as Spain, and it would perhaps surprise 
some of his hearers to learn that in it could be grown fruit which could not be grown else- __ 
where in Canada. He had seen Oatawba grapes growing on Pelee Island on the 15th of 
October, and in some parts of the county sweet potatoes could be grown. If this meeting 
of the fruit growers resulted in drawing attention to the county, it would be productive _ 
of much benefit, for although the area of the county of Essex was about 430,000 acres, © 
only about one-third of it was cleared and in cultivation, and of that area about one- 
quarter was devoted to the cultivation of corn, which, in Essex and Kent, could be grown 
with as much success as in the Western States. He was happy to be able to bear testi- 
mony to the truth of what Mr. Solomon White had said regarding the wine in his cellar. 
Longfellow had said of Catawba wine: 
For richest and best 3 
Is the wine of the West 
That grows by the Beautiful River, 
Whose sweet perfume 
Fills all the room 
With a benison on the giver. 
EVAPORATED FRUIT—GROWTH AND IMPORTANCE OF THE 
INDUSTRY. 
Mr. L. B. Rice, of Port Huron, Mich., read the following paper on this subject : 
In presenting the subject in question to this society to-night, I would refer briefly to 
the history, growth and importance of this enterprise, for, like all other great enter- 
prises, it has had its small beginning and its infant days. It is true that the ancient 
inhabitants of the desert regions of Asia and Africa dried and pressed the farinaceous 
fruits of the date, palm and the prune, and that these formed largely the food used on 
their long journeys across the arid sands. But I have not gone back to their means of 
drying and pressing the fruit; nor have I traced the method by which the aborigines of 
this country prepared their berries, so that they would keep even when buried under the 
ground. Ihave commenced with my personal recollections of fruit evaporating in my 
own home. My recollections commence in the typical log house of western New York, 
with its broad fireplace and stick chimney, situated on the old Ridge road in the town of — 
Sodus. Every evening during the autumn, father, mother, brothers and the hired help 
gathered in a wide circle around the great fireplace, to pare apples or peaches for drying, 
with which to assist in buying our winter’s clothing. The apples were pared by hand, 
cut into quarters and the core cut out in the most artistic style. The quarters were then 
