50 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1877. 



flights of stairs would be so quickly choked by smoke and panic-stricken 

 fugitives, our Trustees would not be so selfish as to object. 



The Annual Eeport of the Fruit Committee of the Massachusetts 

 HoKTicuLTUEAL SOCIETY, for A. D. 1S7C, (the latest published,) treat- 

 ing of the display of Apples, contains the following remarks, that should 

 be of interest here : — 



"At the Annual Show, there were no prizes offered for collections, as 

 " has been the practice in past years, but all prizes were offered for single 

 " dishes. In making out the Schedule, the Committee selected all the 

 " varieties that were grown to any extent, and offered prizes for thirty- 

 " eight different kinds, proportioning the number of prizes to the value of 

 " the variety for all purposes according to their best judgement, — to the 

 " best and most valuable, four prizes, and to those of the least value, two 

 " prizes. The Committee are aware that this was a great change, but be- 

 " lieve that it was for the best interests of the Society, and also of the 

 " exhibitor, and think that it has given general satisfaction." 



Again, under the head of Pears, the Committee say : — 



"Pears. — The season has been very favorable for this fruit, and the 

 " exhibitions during the season have been superior to the average of the 

 " last few years. The change in the offers of prizes, from collections to 

 " single dishes, as spoken of in apples, has been applied to pears ; and we 

 " think it a great improvement as the dishes of each variety are arranged 

 " together, and if a person comes to get any information in relation to 

 " any particular variety, he can see for himself how it succeeds in Cam- 

 " bridge, Worcester, Concord, Revere, or any other part of the State, and 

 " judge what variety will do best in his location. Another reason for the 

 " change is that it gives the Committee a better opportunity to judge cor- 

 " rectly of the different varieties." ****** 



" The display of jiears at the Annual Exhibition was not as large as on 

 "some former occasions, but we think that, considering the quality of all 

 " the fruit on exhibition, it was one of the best, if not the best ever made 

 " by this Society. The new rule of offering prizes only for single dishes, 

 " is probably one reason for there being so little inferior fruit. 



As this practice was adopted from our Society, we have reason to con- 

 gratulate ourselves that the Massachusetts Society approve it in actual 

 operation. A very few of our own members were, at one time, inclined 

 to doubt its wisdom, and possibly more than a little inclined to distrust 

 its application. The attempt to draw out collections of Pears, once more, 

 by the offer of premiums at individual expense, was not so signally suc- 

 cessful as to encourage repetition. And the fact that the proponents of 

 those premiums, being competitors themselves, reserved their best speci- 

 mens for entry under the distinct division into varieties, as required by 

 the Society, would appear to indicate that their objections were not very 

 tenaciously cherished. At any rate, the facts are all with the new sys- 

 tem, i For Avhereas, in the Centennial year of plenty, thirty-five (35) con- 

 tributors placed two hundred and fifty (250) plates of Apples upon our 

 tables, iu this last year of dearth there were thirty (30) contributors, with 



