HISTORY OF HORTICULTURE IN MINNESOTA. 185 



Mr. Thomas Ramsdeu exhibited the Duchess in very perfect condition, and it is but just lo 

 say of this effort that he has placed the Society and people of the Northwest under great obli- 

 gations for the very free manner in which he has made the process known to the world, and 

 this suggests the remark that we need more knowledge upon the subject of keeping fruits of 

 all kinds. 



Wm. G. Smith, the Summit avenue florist, had on exhibition a few very choice plants in 

 bloom. We noticed a fine Camelia and Azalia in full bloom, a pure white, two kinds monthly 

 Carnations, red and white, also one variety of the Bouvardias, making a very pretty show. 



Mrs. Smith sent in a pair of boquets made up of ornamental grasses, the prettiest we have 

 seen in a long time. 



G. Webster Peck sent in a splendid lot of boquets arranged from artificial flowers, in some 

 fancy vases. They add much to the appearance of the hall. 



Col. Harris, of the Superior road, had on exhibition three diplomas given to the Land De- 

 partment of that road by the American Institute, of New York, one for grains, another for 

 vegetables, and a third for fruits. 



L. B. Wait showed many beautiful pictures of vegetables, grains and grapes, also splendid 

 flower pieces. 



James Brownell sent in many fine pictures in beautiful frames, all of which added much to 

 the beauty ol the hall, and for which the Society are duly thankful. 



C. B. Sheldon showed several plates of Delaware grapes in very fine condition. Mr. S. 

 also finds the lona an excellent variety for keeping. 



Your committee are much pleased with the fruit on exhibition, and commend your elforts 

 to the best interests of the State. 



Your committee find the fruit to be well ripened, of an excellent, rich flavor, and fine 

 grained. But we also recognize the fact that that miserable enemy, the Codlin moth, has, to 

 a very slight extent, made its appearance, and you cannot do better than to commence a fight 

 upon it at once, and fight faithfully upon this line, that it spreads no farther. 



There are some most beautiful flowers and pictures on exhibition, of which J. B. Fleischer 

 shows very fine plants; among them we notice fair century plants, begonias, pinks, primroses, 

 libonia. addiug much to the appearance of the speaker's desk. 



In conclusion, we would say that home, -sweet, sweet home, of which the poet sings, would 

 not be complete without Pomona's art. The apple, beautified in its russet hues, or radient 

 with the maiden blush, sweet to please the palate of the more delicate, or tart, to remind 

 the participator of those good old times in his youth, when around the great rire-place, at 

 the East, he has prepared his winter barrel of dried apples and cider; pears in their melting, 

 buttery deliciousness; plums in all the varied colors of purple, red, blue, green to golden, 

 violet to brown; cherries, beatiful in their redness, a strong reminder of the curses we think, 

 when the birds gobble more than their share; the grape, climbing in such luxurionsness over 

 stake, trellis, barn, or tree-top ; or the currants, supplying a place that nought else can fill : and 

 the strawberries I how our mouth waters at the thought of the beds and their prolificness that 

 we left at (mr eastern homes, but since our sojourn at the West we had almost forgotten, 

 and with e^r-h returning thought resolve and re-resolve to forthwith plant another, and all 

 aids to make that home, our home, a paradise on earth. Yes, my friends, the day is passed 

 when the success of fruit growing in the Northwest is to be considered an experiment, and 

 no home can now be considered complete without its fruit garden or orchard, and the one 

 will almost invariably lead to the other. 



' Tis true, there are annoyances, griefs, disappointments, and much labor connected with 

 the culture of fruit, but what else is there that is exempt? Indeed, the anxious, persistent 

 fruit grower might, with some degree of propriety, say to his fellow-men, who are pointing 

 the finger of scorn at his labors, and who sneeringly reject the proflered ofier of fruit in the 

 family every day in the year, on account of labor and disappointments in the business, those 

 of you who are exempt from trials and disappointments, cast thou the first stone; but I say 

 unto you that this stone, (fruit growing) which the builders (early settlers) rejected, the 

 same shall become the head of the corner, or in other words, the head and front of all our 

 industry. A few weeks since, a well-to-do farmer on SO acres of land, said to me, '"Eight 

 yeais ago I set, at the urgent solicitation of an agent, 140 apple trees, and for two years last 

 past I have realized more money from that orchard, covering but little more than an acre of 

 land, than from the remaining 79 acres." Nor is this an exceptional case. A farmer in 

 Jefferson county, Wisconsin, raised 150 barrels of fine, fair apples the past very poor season, 

 on about 10 acres of land. Here, then, is $500 to $600 from an orchard only 10 years planted. 

 Will wheat, corn, pork or beef do better with less labor ? I fear not. 



The climate of this State, and the trials of fruit growers are not essentially diff"erent fronr 



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