ANNUAL REPORT. 253 



remain at home. More than 100 fruit growers were pres- 

 ent, among whom were the most prominent peach orchardists 



in Connecticut. It was more especially a gathering" of the 

 peach men, as the secretary of the society had previously an- 

 nounced that representatives of the railroad would he present 

 to confer with growers relative to the movement of the crop 

 to market. 



The visitors were met at Middlefield and .Middlefield 

 Center stations on the steam and trolley lines by carriages 

 of Mr. Charles E. Lyman of Middlefield. A drive of three 

 miles conveyed the guests to the place where the meeting 

 was held. The orchard in which the meet was held is located 

 on the main road from Durham to Middletown, about a mile 

 north of Durham Center. In the middle of this orchard of 

 150 acres is a small piece of meadow, perhaps three acres in 

 extent, and studded with large white oak trees, offering an 

 ideal situation for an outdoor field meeting. The guests as- 

 sembled at this point, and here lunch was served and the in- 

 formal addresses were made. 



A report of this field meeting would be incomplete unless 

 special mention was made of the peach orchard itself. This 

 150 acre orchard of the Barnes Bros, is really an exceptional 

 orchard in a great many respects. In a short address Mr. 

 Lyman mentioned the fact that four years ago last February 

 the land upon which the orchard stands was an ordinary 

 piece of very rough hillside pasture, partially overgrown with 

 brush and an enormous number of weeds. The land was 

 cleared and plowed and the trees set four years ago. Last 

 year the orchard yielded a small crop of fruit. This year 

 the four-year-old trees are in full bearing for a young or- 

 chard, and the owners estimate that the crop will exceed 

 25,000 baskets. Several prominent growers who were pres- 

 ent estimated that the crop would far exceed the estimate of 

 the owners. In fact. Mr. Lyman thought that some trees 

 would return as high as seven baskets. It must be borne in 

 mind, however, that the entire orchard of 150 acres is not of 



