STATE HOKTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 45 



COMMITTEE OF AWARDS — (FLOWERS.) 



Mrs. Underwood. Mrs. Emery. 



Mrs. Gould. 



COMMITTEE OF AWARDS — (VEGETABLES.) 



Geo. W. Fuller. Wm. Fawcett. 



D. G. Heggie. 



COMMITTEE ON FINAL RESOLUTIONS. 



S. M. Emery. J. H. Stevens. 



G. W. Fuller. 



The following paper, by E. Wilcox, of La Crrosse, Wis,, was read by 

 the Secretary : 



THE FUTURE OF APPLE CULTURE IN WISCONSIN AND 



MINNESOTA. 



I am so often met with the saying, "Can't raise apples here," that I am impelled 

 to give a little history of what has transpired, miinly in my diy and ray own rec- 

 ollections of them; it will show how little we know of the future, and how chary 

 we ought to be in our predictions. 



Sixty years ago or thereabout the only stove in use was the open Franklin, used for 

 warmth only; all cooking was lione in an open tire-place with trammel, pots and 

 kettles; baking was done in a hake-kettle, or oven. The flax break and hatchel, pre- 

 pared the tlax for the little wheel and the tow for the b'g wheel. The cloth was 

 woven in the hand loom. The garments for all were made by the women folks of 

 the famil}'. The land .was plowed with the bull plow with a steel jjoint, wooden 

 mould-board, one upright handle with a hole bored through it and a pin put in. 

 The grain was sown by hand and cut with sickle or cradle. The grass was cut with 

 tlie scythe and got together with the hand rake. Threshing was done with the 

 flail, at the rate of about ten bushels a day, and wages were three York shillings. 

 The pay, perhaps would be in rye, at ten shillings per bushel. Wages in summer, 

 hoeing corn, (we used to hoe in those days) four shillings, in liarvest eight shillings. 

 Rye and Indian corn were our daily bread. Wheat brcud was seldom seen on the taljles 

 of even the well-to-do. The poor man could be imprisoned for debt, but could not 

 vote. The old stage coach was the usual way to travel. I have olten wailed for 

 them going from Albany to Saratoga with the names of tlie proprietors on each one. 

 Young & Walbridge or Rice & Baker, with an eager curiosity as boys of the present 

 day collect at the d^ot to see the iron horse and train of cars come in. The first 

 steamboat ascended the Hudson in 1S07, five years before my birth. In 1817 the 

 Erie canal was commenced. I have heard people say, "I only want to live to see the 

 Erie canal completed;" in 1825 this was done, and this is the way they celebrated 

 the event: Cannon were placed at proper distances from Bulfalo to Albany, and when 

 the report of the one at Buffalo was heard at the next station east, the one there was 

 fired, and so on to Albany. It was a cold, wintry day in November. I suffered 

 much for my youthful curiosity. Bear with me a little longer. I am coming to the 



