STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 91 



•we tind ilomestic fraits better adapted to our soil and climate, making larger, more durable, aud pro- 

 •doctive plants. Moral, wliyjrun after strange gods/ 



Gooseberries.— Have we a foreign variety in this country worth cultivating.' The Houghton seed 

 ling, origin Lynn, Mass., the American seedling, Downing's and perhaps a few other natives, are all that 

 are worthy our attention. 



Currants.— Currants are no exception to the general rule that domestic fruits are ahead. A few 

 years ago I happened to And, in a neighbor's garden, a seedling from our native black currant; they 

 were very large and bearing heavy ; I took seeds from them, and raised plants that for the past three 

 years have born, double the amount of the black English and black Naples, with fruit as large, clustered 

 longer, and we think, just a trifle better in quality. 



HORTICULTURE AT THE STATE FAIR AT ROCHESTER. 



BY JOHN S. HARRIS, SUPERrNTENDENT 



September r^h to 10th, 1881. 



The State Fair of 1S81 was held under many unfavorable circumstances. The net surplus of the 

 previous fair (1880), was applied pro rata upon the upaid premiums of the previous year, thus leav- 

 ing the Agricultural Society without any funds in the treasury to 'guard against any contingency that 

 might arise. The fair was held in the midst of a deluge of r in that had no parallel in the annals Of 

 our history, which had a tendency to deplete the attendnuce and cut off other sources of revenue. 

 There was but one really passable day during the entire week, and a fee'ing seemed to prevail that the 

 fair could end only in disaster. The weather was such that the visitors in attendance were forced niach 

 of the time to remain within the building, rendering it very inconvenient for exhibitors to set up and 

 arrange their displays in a tasteful manner, and at no time could we see "joy and gladness'' upon their 

 faces, and several of the old exhibitors did not put in an appearance, doubtless owing to these and other 

 untoward circumstances. Again, the season had not been a good one for most varieties of fruit, and 

 «specially of apples the crop irenerally was light, and owing to the extreme heat and drouth of sum- 

 mer and the depredation of insects, were not up to the usual standard of excellence. Notwithstanding 

 all difficulties, the fair was a success and the horticultural department a credit to the State Horticul- 

 tural Society, and to every individual member who contributed to sustain its reputation. Our thanks 

 are due to the management of the State Agricultural Society for the very liberal premiums offered, the 

 facilities afforded for making the exhibit, and the many favors and courtesies shown us during the 

 entire week; also to the people of Rochester who gave us every aid and encouragement within their 

 power. One of the serious difficulties we met with was procuring suitable plates, and we were com- 

 pelled to resort to the use of paper and wooden ones, greatly to the detriment and appearance of the 

 fruit. Right here permit me to suguest that our Horticultural Society do at once either provide plates 

 for its members, or adopt a rule that every exhibitor shall bo required to furnish his own'plates. 



The competition in the fruit department was spirited. The secretary's books show that three hun- 

 dred and eighty-one entries were made and that there were fifty-nine competitors. I will here only note 

 the larger collections. E. Wilcox & Sons, of LaCrosse, had a fine display of apples and crabs, aud some 

 youngtrees of fine growth. They showed about forty varieties of apples and seventeen of crabs and 

 hybrids. Their popular grafted varieties of the apnles were the best on exhibition. A.W. Sins, of 

 College Hill Nursery, exhibited fifty-two varieties, many of them of Russian origin and Minnesota 

 origin, and seventeen varieties of crabs and hybrids, and some young trees. The Jewell Nursery, Lake 

 City, exhibited about thirty-five varieties of grafted apples, and something over thirty of Siberians and 

 Hybrids; some of the latter were of large size for that class of fruits and of very superior quality ; 

 also four varieties of native plums and'seven of grapes. K. B. Jordan, of Rochester, made a creditable 

 showing of some thirty varieties of apples, and about the same of Siberians and Hybrids, and six of 

 grapes, and a dozen fine nursery trees. Jordan is an old "regular" at fairs and makes a very tasty 

 display. J. S. Harris & Son, of La Crescent, were on hand witli forty-eight varieties of apples, 23 of 

 Siberians and Hybrids, and 11 of grapes. M. J. Hovey, Rochester, showed a dozen or more varieties of 

 fine apples and several of crabs. R. J. Coterell, Dover Center, exhibited about 35 varieties of very 

 choice apples and four of grapes and a few of native plums. Mr. Coterell is one of the old pioneers 

 who has been very successful with apples, but being a modest man, scarcely ever has justice done hhn 

 in the awards made. S. Bates, of Stockton, exhibited nearly twenty varieties of apples, six of Siberians, 

 and three of grapes. For the number of varieties comprised in th*" exhibit, this surpassed all others 



