58 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



going to have some work in the propagation of plants, in the 

 growing of plants under glass, in the study of fertilizers for 

 fruits and the study of the chemistry of plants, and try to teach 

 young men something about the plants they are working 

 with, and give them if possible some enthusiasm in the direction 

 of horticultural work. 



Mr. Pope — Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen: I have 

 simply made a few notes, and therefore I will just give you a 

 little informal talk, a few of my ideas, and emphasize also what 

 Prof. Munson has said about sorting and packing. 



There has probably been enough said upon this topic, but you 

 will remember this like everything else must be repeated over 

 and over again before we can get our people to pay any atten- 

 tion to it. But now you will remember this season, you will 

 take note the reports are that we are to have an immense crop of 

 fruit all over the country, and unless we are going to take a 

 little more pains, we are going to get a mere nothing in return 

 for what fruit we market, and it is a pretty serious question with 

 us this year where we shall market our fruits. 



I can't advise people who never have had any experience to 

 pack up their fruit and ship it to England, because England is 

 a little short. Do we understand the method of packing for a 

 foreign shipment? If not, we certainly shall make a losing 

 game. It is a point, and a very nice point to pack fruit so that 

 it will reach England in such shape as to give us any return over 

 and above expenses. There has already been sent thousands of 

 bushels this fall of our soft fruit; nearly all of it is reported slack. 

 A very few barrels on the whole have paid for the expenses. 

 One reason is the fruit was too soft, to be sure; but take it with 

 our winter fruit: If your apples are not packed closely they 

 certainly will rattle and be reported "slack." And I think that 

 they take an undue advantage of us over there, as the apples, you 

 all know, were sold at auction and bid off in twenty barrel lots 

 or over. The price there may be quite satisfactory, but when 

 the buyer goes down to the store-room below if he can find any 

 of that lot that is the least loose, he is going to cut down two or 

 three, four or five shillings on a barrel, and just as many of them 

 as is possible and probably a great many that he ought not to. 

 If those barrels are packed too closely, one is jammed into the 



