STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 113 



for profitable culture. At our exhibitions and public meetings, our 

 members are "under fire" all the time. It is impossible to give all 

 the information sought, but it is believed the station may come to 

 our aid now, and "lend a hand." Having in mind that the station 

 should begin its work at once, nursery stock was ordered from 

 Ellwanger & Barry, and last spring, trees and plants were set as 

 follows : Thirty-three varieties of apples, thirteen of plums, seven- 

 teen of strawberries, six of grapes, two of currants and one of 

 gooseberries. Of the trees, two of a kind were set, and of the 

 small fruits, six or more. More trees will be set the following spring. 

 With hardly an exception, ever}- tree and plant grew, and after a 

 single season's growth, one rarely sees a handsomer lot. Scions 

 were cut from these trees so far as possible, last fall, and these ar^ 

 now stored, ready for distribution throughout the State. From the- 

 small fruits, plants will be propagated the coming season. The- 

 object of the distribution is to determine the adaptability of varieties^ 

 to the different parts of the State. These scions will be set wnder- 

 the direction of the station officers, and records will be kept. In 

 this way, it is believed, a fruit list will be made up that will prove 

 far more reliable than any that can be made from results obtained 

 in a less thorough manner. 



It is already well known that most varieties of apples grow and 

 thrive in the State, but it is not yet known what the limits of suc- 

 cessful growth of these varieties may be. I have often thought this 

 would be a good work for our own Society to do, but the amount of 

 labor involved in it has held me back from attempting it. I could 

 make the beginning, but the next secretary, unless the funds of the 

 Society should be largely increased, could not be expected to follow 

 it up. But I am glad to know the station will undertake this work. 

 The plan is simply this : The Baldwin, for instance, is the variety. 

 First, in a suitable book for the purpose, the history and description 

 of the variety are placed ; the general conditions of soil, location, 

 etc., under which it is known to succeed ; then the conditions under 

 which it does not succeed. Then record, from known results and 

 results to be obtained, the actual areas in which the variety flourishes. 

 It may also be proper to record any peculiarities of the variety which 

 may be developed in any section ; its quality, its liability to attacks 

 from insects and diseases, hardiness, etc. This kind of labor, fol- 

 lowed for a few years, will give us a fruit map, so to speak, of the 

 State, and something that will be of great value to our interests. 

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