STATE POMOLOGICAl. SOCIETr. 121 



EVENING. 



The last session was largely attended by the public and much en- 

 joyed. Secretary Gilbert presided. Mr. L. H. Blossom of Turner 

 read a paper on 



FRUITS FOR HOME USE. 

 By L. H. Blossom. 



When I was called upon to write a paper on the above named 

 subject, I suppose it would be expected to be both practical and 

 useful. And I shall attempt to make it so to the best of my ability. 

 Whether I succeed or not remains to be seen. 



If, in my remarks I refer you to some of my own personal expe- 

 riences in the culture of "small fruits," it will be only that I may 

 make myself better understood in this way than in any other, 

 i'rior to this meeting, this subject has received very little attention 

 from the hands of our pomological society. I think not near the 

 attention that this important branch of horticulture should receive 

 from the hands of our agricultural friends. 



When we look around us and see how few of our farmers are sup- 

 plied with these health-giving fruits found in a small fruit garden, 

 it is, most certainly, time that something was said to interest the 

 farmers of this State in this direction. 



You go into our city markets in the time of small fruits, and you 

 find our markets, flooded with the plum, grape, cherry, strawberry, 

 raspberry and blackberry each in their season, are furnished by the 

 small fruit market gardener, thus keeping our city cousins far better 

 supplied than we whose table should never be without these luxuries. 



You go into the country where it should be found in all its fresh- 

 ness and beaut}^ you note the change, not one in ten ; no, I will 

 put it stronger than that, not one in fifty have got a good, first 

 class, well regulated "small fruit" garden for home use. 



Now I write this from my own personal experiences and obser- 

 vations, not from any visionary point of observation. I don't want 

 you to think that we have no "small fruits" up in my town for we 

 have, and lots of them too, but while with one you find the plum, 

 cherry and grape in almost the forty-nine other places you will find 

 the strawberry, raspberry and blackberry a minus quantity. In such 

 cases the strawberry bed is the mowing fields, from which the tired 



