but only need intelligent care; that she possesses strategic 

 advantages that are of wonderful value. With this awaken- 

 ing she needs more the spirit of the west to see her strong 

 points and let others see them also. With the conditions she 

 must change as well. The day of the general farmer has gone 

 by. Raising an acre of corn, some potatoes, a few tons of 

 hay, dabbling in poultry, making milk to fatten the con- 

 tractors, besides harvesting what apples grew in spite of 

 neglect, have in my opinion been the curse of New England 

 agriculture. To be a poultryman, dairyman and fruit 

 grower combined has as much of logic in it as for a profes- 

 sional man to try to be a preacher, doctor and lawyer, all in 

 one. All lines of agriculture have their rewards for those 

 who master their subject. Specialization, in my opinion, is 

 the keynote of the hour. Success depends on the man and his 

 location. Fruit growing has been my specialty ; it is on this 

 subject and the advantages 'New England offers along these 

 lines that I wish to speak. 



A few years ago I gave a talk on the growing of fruit in a 

 certain Massachusetts town within thirty miles of Boston, 

 trying to point out what a wonderful opportunity was at its 

 very door ;^how the to-\vn itself was in one of the best natural 

 fruit sections of the State; how this market called for first- 

 class apples, but went to the Pacific coast to get them ; how it 

 hungered for small fruits, but had to go beyond the Hudson 

 before this demand could be satisfied. /Here was the land 

 naturally adapted to these crops within teaming distance of 

 Boston, in case the freight rates were excessive fliere was the 

 market trying to get the best fruit that could be produced, 

 and able to pay for it ; yet when I told them that they ,could 

 produce apples which would sell for as much as or more than 

 the highest market quotations, and small fruits also, they 

 thought I had indulged in some flight of fancy, or was carried 

 away by my enthusiasm. " What," they said, " sell apples 

 in boxes for $2 and $3 ? Why, that is all that we can expect 

 for barrels ; and, besides, the commission men want them that 

 way." " Set out currants where apples in Belmont and vicin- 

 ity control the market ! How can we expect to compete ? " 



