INTRODUCTION. 9 



rewarded. It is true that there is a limit to progress in 

 particular directions, but, when this point has been reach- 

 ed, it is easy to retrace our steps and move in another 

 channel. The facilities for procuring and distributing 

 plants are, at the present time, far superior to those of any 

 former period. Our railroads have penetrated to far dis- 

 tant portions of our country, thereby affording a rapid 

 and safe transmission for many of the more delicate plants, 

 which, a few years since, could not safely be transported 

 by land to any considerable distance. Added to this, are 

 the facilities which our Post-office Department offer for 

 sending plants, cuttings and seeds, through the mail, 

 charging at the rate of only half a cent per ounce, and 

 allowing packages of four pounds weight to be carried, 

 thereby affording the settlers in the newer portions of the 

 country as well as those located away from the lines of 

 railroads and other commercial thoroughfares an oppor- 

 tunity of obtaining plants and seeds, at a small cost for 

 transportation, which, under other circumstances, could 

 not in any way be procured. These advantages, which the 

 horticulturists of the present day possess over those of 

 former years, stimulate them to exertion, and hundreds 

 of acres are now devoted to the cultivation of the small 

 fruits where there were not fifty ten years ago; still 

 prices average higher than formerly, and the demand in- 

 creases more rapidly than the supply. The great amount 

 of fruit used at present, far surpassing that of former 

 times, cannot be attributed wholly to the increase in pop- 

 ulation, as that has not been in proportion to the increased 

 quantity of fruit consumed. 



The introduction and almost general use of fruit pre 

 serving cans have afforded the people an opportunity of ob- 

 taining an uninterrupted supply of choice fruits, regardless 

 of time or season. Thousands of bushels are annually pre- 

 served for home use by families, both in country and city. 

 One may step into any of our restaurants even when the 

 1* 



