1881.] TRANSACTIONS. 61 



D. 1860-1, that better Peaches* can be grown in Worcester 

 County than in Delaware or JSTew Jei'sey ; — can be grown with 

 as much certaint}'', and with the absolute assurance of a ready 

 market for all that are not wanted at home. Since home appe- 

 tites, at home firesides, should first receive consideration. 



Of course there will be failures. Some will plant trees whose 

 latent unsoundness cannot be detected until after the lapse and 

 loss of years. Many will be induced to set an orchard in the 

 first spot that comes handy ; ignoring, or scorning the knowledge 

 that there is a place for all things : and that the exposure and 

 soil which best suit the Strawberry, or Pear, are not necessarily 

 as well adapted to develop the Peach. Temperature ; — the 

 direction and force of the winds at the period of inflorescence ; 

 nerve to withhold the pruning-knife and saw ; (the besetting sin 

 of the average Yankee being, to abuse a sharp tool whenever he 

 gets hold of one;) each and all are conditions to be weiojhed in 

 the location and after-care of such an orchard. 



We cannot, indeed, overlook the fact that much of our land 

 has been cultivated so long, that many essential elements must 

 be, in great measure, lacking. Yet, as new genera succeed, after 

 the felling of an ancient forest, flourishing with equal vigor ; so 

 do we find an order of profitable sequence in the production of 

 field and orchard crops. It was wisely ordered that monotony 

 should discourage, by poor returns ; as well as ofifend the taste 

 from very sameness. There are hill-sides, and pastures, in 

 plenty, — upon which chestnut-burs no longer prick the chubby- 

 fisted urchin ; from whose slopes the White Pine was long since 

 hewn, shaped, and sunk ! — in First Mortgages or Preferred 

 Shares. There, — might be the habitat of the Peach : — of the 

 Apple ! if you prefer that sturdy old friend, whose past is known 

 of all men that ever enjoyed a New England home ; and whose 

 future should expand and strengthen with the growth of tliat 

 foreign trade over whose threshold we have barely stepped. 



*Tlie Secretary is too modest, by half ! Why does he limit his claim to 

 Peaches? Worcester County is the home of the Apple,— largely the place of 

 its origiu. The Sterling; Sutton Beauty; Leicester Sweet; Worcester Spy; 

 Mother; and Hubbardstou Nonesuch constitute a list that may well challenge 

 supremacy, if it does not defy competition. E. W. L. 



9 



