218 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



mou farm wagon and hauled it over rough roads a distance of from 

 three to twenty miles and tried to dispose of it in Jefferson City with 

 the market in a glutted condition. Is it any wonder that they claim there 

 is no money in fruit culture ? If our farmers and fruit growers would 

 build them good bank cellars, provided with double doors and ventilat- 

 ors so that they could hold their fruit until there was a demand for it, we 

 would hear less of failure and more of profits. Another cause of our 

 farmers' failure to make the orchard pay is they have altogether too 

 many varieties, especially of summer and autumn varieties. If our 

 fruit-growers would select not over three varieties of the hardiest and 

 most productive kinds adapted to our soil and climate, they would 

 soon find the orchard to be the most profitable portion of the farm. 

 Our soil is one of the best, if not the very best, in the State for the 

 production of all fruits grown in our latitude. A.11 the small fruits 

 grow to perfection in our rich, genial soil. There was about $10,000 

 worth of strawberries sold on the Omaha market the past season that 

 were grown in our county ; besides, there was quite a large quantity 

 of cherries, plums, peaches and apples shipped from the county. Of 

 the amount I have no data at hand on which to base an estimate. If 

 our fruit-growers and shippers would report the amounts received from 

 export sales to the Secretary of our local society so that it could be 

 embodied in his annual report to the State Society, it would aid mate- 

 rially in adeancing the interests of our county as well as to attract the 

 attention of fruit buyers. 



The following is a partial list of men who are planting commercial 

 orchards in our county: L. V. Dix, J. W. Edwards, Alex. Stewart, 

 David Dougherty, U. R. Wells, Henry Hintges, Frank Distler, Geo. W. 

 Spurr, Theo. Schweigert, and several others hare declared their inten- 

 ■tion of planting out good-sized orchards in the near future. 



Our society meets first Mondays in February and November at 

 the court-house in Jefferson City, other meetings held in different parts 

 of our county are arranged by the Executive Committee. 



A. J. Davis, Secretary. 



BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS. 



The Benton County Horticultural Society met at Bentonville, Jan. 

 8tb, 1896. President Cordell called to order and the minutes of the last 

 meeting were read and corrected. The last report should have said 

 that Mr. Gano thought the Etris apple was the same as the Gano. 



