292 Notes and Gleanings. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FRUITS OF THE MASSA- 

 CHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY FOR 1869. 



By W. C. Strong, Chairman. 



Lessons of the Year. 



What are the experiences and suggestions of the year in respect to fruit cul- 

 ture in Massachusetts ? In view of the fact that the total product has been 

 below the average, and, at the same time, that prices, instead being higher, have 

 actually been lower ; in view of the large quantities and in some fruits the fine 

 specimens which have been brought to our markets from abroad, there may pos- 

 sibly be a feeling of discouragement among our cultivators in regard to future 

 prospects. We notice the enterprise of planters of small fruits in the Middle 

 States. We receive large quantities of strawberries and other fruits at prices 

 below the line of profit to us. Of peaches from the South we have had an un- 

 precedented supply, and at very low rates. Pears from Virginia, from Kansas, 

 and from California have been equal, and some kinds superior, to any we have 

 ever produced. The grape season has been favorable with us, but not so in 

 other sections. Still we have received a fair supply from the West, and judging 

 from specimens sent from California, we are inclined to think that, in future years, 

 we shall have larger quantities of grapes from the Pacific slope, and at rates 

 quite below those to which we have been accustomed. 



Prices of Fruit. 



It is said that thirty dollars per ton is the full price for the best of the Euro- 

 pean varieties of grapes in the California vineyards. As these vineyards are now 

 but about a week's distance from us, and as we know the product is likely to be 

 immense, beyond anything the world has heretofore seen, can we doubt that our 

 markets will receive a large supply, and be considerably affected thereby .-' Be- 

 yond question, fruit culture has received a stimulus throughout our vast domain 

 which gives promise of highest results. Can we in Massachusetts hope to 

 maintain our rank ? Have our cultivators reason to expect that their enterprise 

 will be rewarded with profit .'' We still think so ; we believe there is reason for a 

 hopeful enthusiasm in this field. In the first place, we are to keep in mind the 

 fact that within the next thirty years our population is to advance from forty mil- 

 lions up to one hundred millions. What a stimulus to effort is given by this 

 simple fact of increase in demand ! We shall have need to put forth all our 

 energies to feed this vast multitude. 



Advantage of a near Market. 



Again, local producers of fruits must always have a disproportionate advantage 

 over distant producers. Teas, silks, woollens, cottons, even the more bulky 

 products of agriculture, may be shipped from continent to continent. But fresli 

 fruits deteriorate, and though, as we said before, we must expect competition 



