152 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
have been introduced, and the. many now under examination by the 
society. The extent of plantations of this fruit has increased in a cor- 
responding ratio. From Norfolk, Virginia, where twenty years ago its 
cultivation had not commenced, two millions of quarts have been sent 
to the market in one season; apd from a single railroad station in Mli- 
nois, a thousand bushels have been sent daily to market. . I might 
speak in a Similar strain of the other small fruits, which in many fami- 
lies form almost the total diet in the summer season. As to the apple 
and peach, their cultivation has so increased as to be hardly stated on 
paper. Then, the interest, discussions, and correspondence in regard to 
fruits were confined to narrow limits; now, through the members and 
the publications of this society, it has spread all over the country. 
Then, the principles and practice of fruit culture were unsettled and un- 
systematized; now, by the united experience of the oldest and best eul- 
tivators in the land, many of these have been well determined, thus 
furnishing the most reliable information. Then, very few experiments 
had been made in artificial hybridization or cross-fertilization for 
the production of new varieties of fruit; now, enterprising cultivators 
all over the country are using those processes of scientific manipulation 
to originate improved varieties. ‘These experiments have thus far been 
made chiefly with the grape and strawberry, but they will doubtless soon 
be applied to other fruits; so that the production of new varieties, 
suited to every locality in the country, is but a question of time. Then, . 
the nomenclature of our fruits was in a chaotic state; now, this confusion 
has been so far cleared up and systematized that one of the most strik- 
ing points in regard to the collections of fruits exhibited from Kansas 
and other new States is the correctness and uniformity of their nomen- 
clature, and the same observation may be made in regard to the varie- 
ties cultivated in California, as we have witnessed the past season, 
No better illustration could be given of the value of the work of this © 
society, than the fact that, whether on the Atlantic or Pacific coast, or 
in the central valleys, its publications are eagerly sought after as author- 
ity, thus giving a standard of pomology to every section of our country. 
By reference to its catalogue the cultivator in any State, and in some 
instances any section of a State, can ascertain at a glance what varie- 
ties of fruit have been proved by experience to be best adapted to his 
locality. By constant revision, and the addition of new fruits as fast as 
tested, and proved to be of value for general cultivation, these lists will 
become yearly more full and complete. Nor have the labors of the 
society been confined to designating the fruits most desirable for plant- 
ing; the rejected lists making known those which should not be 
planted, are at least of equal value. The researches of the society have 
not been confined to our own native fruits, but no sooner is a new 
foreign variety made known than it is transferred to our collection for 
trial, in the hope that it may be adapted to some section of our wide- 
spread country. Nor are these enterprises limited to this society; other 
associations, stimulated by our exertions, are recognizing the importance 
of fruit culture as one of the most pleasant and profitable departments 
of industry. Our labors have received the sanction of the Government, 
inasmuch as the Department of Agriculture has for many years directed 
its attention to this branch of its work. The collection of native grapes 
gathered under the direction of Mr. Saunders, the superintendent of 
the experimental garden of the Department, will be of the highest value 
to the grape-growers throughout the country, by testing the differ- 
ent varieties, and establishing a correct nomenclature of American 
grapes; while the collection ef Russian apples, lately procured by the 
