STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 29 
fragrance of their blossoms and perfume, and refreshed by the richness and 
delicacy of the ripened fruit. 
The tradition should furnish us a hint of what is possible and practicable 
whenever the conditions for fruit growing are favorable. 
By acting on this hint this luxury may be brought within the reach of all 
of us, and as it enters more and more into the list of our articles of diet the 
health of our people will be promoted. 
Attraction of Fruit Culture. 
I have not time to speak of the attractions which this branch of industry 
possesses, nor of its importance as furnishing a field for the exercise and 
‘gratification of our higher tastes, and the nurture and growth of elevated 
and refined sentiments. It is enough to say that there is no department of 
labor that furnishes such rare and noble attractions, and none that yield 
larger harvests of satisfaction and enjoyment, since it puts one so constantly 
and directly in contact with the hardiest forms of nature, and in the most 
intimate relations with her most marvelous laws and methods. 
This phase of the subject is exceedingly attractive, but the purpose of this. 
discussion forbids that I should linger on it, but proceed at once to con- 
sider the economic side of the question. 
“* My Orchard ”— Extent, Soil, Varieties, déc. 
My orchard consists of twenty acres, originally an oak opening. The 
surface is slightly rolling, sloping in some parts to the east and south but. 
with a general western slope. The soil is a richloam, with clayey wet soil. 
One half the orchard, the north ten acres, was planted in the spring of 1872. 
The trees were set twelve feet apart each way, with a row of Scotch 
Pines on the north and east sides. The varieties planted at that time con- 
sisted of the following: ‘Transcendent, Hyslop, Montreal Beauty and Wax, 
Virgivia, Orange, Quaker Beauty, Duchess, Tetofsky, Haas, St. Lawrence, 
and Alexander. 
Since the original planting to replace those which failed for any canse, 
the Wealthy has been planted. 
The other half, the south ten acres, was planted in the spring of 1873. 
The trees were the Transcendent and Hyslop Crab varieties, and were set. 
twenty-four feet apart each way. During the first four years the entire 
orchard was under cultivation with hoed crops. Since then seven acres 
have been seeded to clover, and the balance cultivated as before. About 
five acres are in Turner Raspberries and Wilson Strawberries. In addition 
to this there have been cultivated in this orchard forty thousand seedling 
maples, three thousand elms, now two years transplanted, one thousand 
small evergreens, two thousand currant bushes, now two years old, and 
eight acres of corn. 
It is quite noticeable that the trees in the cultivated part of the orchard 
bear much more fruit than those in the clover field, showing conclusively 
that thorough cultivation of the soil is a great advantage to the trees, 
increasing the quantity and improving the quality of the fruit. 
