STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 339 



ripens the fig aud develops the most pert'ect jjeaches, we find 

 the apple in its greatest perfection. Ornamental plants that 

 have to be jirotected during severe winters with the greatest 

 care, in the climate one hundred miles south of our State, re- 

 main openly exposed upon our western shore without harm. 



"From quite accurate data I have estimated the sales of ap- 

 ples from Michigan the past season at 5,000,000 bushels, at prices 

 ranging from one dollar to two dollars per barrel. The area in 

 fruit cannot be less than 300,000 acres, and the planting, espec- 

 ially in peaches and small fruits, is rapidly increasing this area. 

 The question of whether we are not going to overdo the growing 

 of fruit for market, very often arises among commercial orchard- 

 ists, and low prices in years of plenty stimulates the inquiry. 

 But one only needs to go into the great and developing North- 

 west, where but few of our fine fruits can be grown at all, to get 

 a satisfactory reply to the query; aud those who complain of low 

 prices for orchard products need only to compare aggregates 

 with any other farm products to become satisfied with their 

 orchards. 



"But the best returns that horticulture in Michigan jjromises 

 its devotees are not those that rattle in the pocket or swell the 

 bank account. They accrue from the diversity of fruits that can 

 be easily grown with slight expense to furnish the needed sup- 

 ply for a family throughout the year; from the delightful turf 

 that may be so readily grown about the buildings; from the at- 

 tractive shrubs, annual and perennial herbaceous plants, 

 that may be brought to administer to the pleasure of living a 

 a large portion of the year; from the evergreen and deciduous 

 trees that can be grown in so great variety, and which add such 

 charm to premises. 



"Eurallifein Michigan, with the delightful climatic privi- 

 leges, and the multitude of things that may be made to contribute 

 to a charming country home, contains within itself pi'ofits that 

 cannot be indicated by the dollar's sign. If they do not swell 

 the purse, they contribute largely to the wealth that is rolled up 

 in a full manhood aud womanhood, in a happy childhood in a 

 complete home, — where the question of what are we living for, 

 never finds an opportunity to be i)ropounded." 



A writer from Stevensville, in Southwestern Michigan, says: 



" Berrien County is located in Southwestern Michigan, and 

 has a coast line extending forty miles along the east shore of 



