160 HISTORY OF HORTICULTURE IX MINNESOTA. 



Various plaus have of late years been contrived by which fruit is preserved 

 from one season to another, and it is quite common to find the delicious 

 strawberry, peach and other fruits on our tables in December, with a flavor 

 nearly as rich as when plucked from the vine or tree. 



These various plans of preservation have developed an immense trade, 

 which annually carries from our shores thousands of dollars worth of the 

 choicest of our fruit. Every vessel w^hich leaves our ports carries with it a 

 large quantity of fruits for the table, and canned or preserved fruits often 

 form a portion of the cargo, so that there is scarcely a port touched by our 

 vessels where the fruits of the United States cannot be procured. 



A new process of preserving fruits and vegetables by evaporation has lately 

 been introduced in the East, which bids fair to be extensively used. By this 

 process the fitiit retains its natural flavor and color ; is prepared cheaply, and 

 brings a higher price than common dried fruit, and there being no moist acids 

 to act on the tin or wood in which they may be packed, the fruits and vegetables 

 so prepared, are free from any taste of tin or anything except the acids and 

 flavors natural to them. 



If all that is claimed for this process is true, it must lead to an increased 

 demand, and eventually supercede many of the modes now in general use. 



The growth of manufactures in the State will be another strong stimulus to 

 the production of fruit, and instead of sending large sums of money to other 

 States to secure a supply, Minnesota should be in a position to take advantage 

 of and supply this demand, and hold this trade within her own borders. 



Large manufacturing establishments require the labor of large bodies of 

 men, who, from the necessity of their occupation, are prevented from giving 

 the slightest attention to the cultivation of the soil, and whose necessities 

 must be supplied by a class entirely devoted to the pursuit. 



It w^as with a full knowledge of these facts, and an earnest desire to remove, 

 if possible, every obstacle in the way of general and successful fniit culture, 

 that an effort was made at the last session of the Legislature to secure an 

 appropriation for the purpose of disseminating proper information on this 

 subject. 



It is to be greatly re'greted that this appropriation was not secured, as the 

 publication of the result of long years of experiments would undoubtedly 

 have been the means of benefiting every portion of the State. 



1 am pleased to see, however, that the effort will be renewed at the i)resenl 

 session of the Legislature, and 1 trust that the petition will meet a generous 

 response from our Senators and Kepresentatives. 



Let me urge the consideration of this subject upon every member of our 

 State Legislature here present. You, in a great measure, wield pul)lic opinion 

 in your several districts. You are acquainted with the wants of the different 

 localities from w^hence j'ou come, and your constituents look to you for aid in 

 every enterprise affecting the public good. 



No single body of men within the State, exert a wider or greater influence 

 for public good than the Legislature, and the Association w^ould respectfully 

 press the matter upon your attention in the full confidence that the petition 

 will be granted. 



