96 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



despaired of a small plum and cherry orchard in the future, for 

 on a well drained, gravelly knoll we have planted many of the 

 pits hoping to raise some hardy stock for grafting; although 

 this may not be practical it seems to be our only solution of the 

 problem at present of raising these delightful fruits. 



We also aspire to an apple orchard for the orchard is the 

 crowning glory of our Maine farms. 



To quote a Japanese writer : " Our old New England 

 orchards are as beautiful in spring as the flowering of the plum 

 and cherry trees in Japan." There the whole world takes a 

 holiday and goes forth to worship the beauties of nature. If 

 we do not emulate our Oriental friends and take a holiday, we 

 perhaps appreciate the beauty as much. Do you not all watch 

 for the first signs of fruit buds ere the snow has fairly disap- 

 peared ? How fearful you are lest the " Rough winds do shake 

 the darling buds of May." 



The orchard in early June with its " glorious burst " of bloom, 

 all pink and white, the delicate green of the leaves hardly 

 perceptible, the busy hum! hum! of the bees gathering nectar, 

 the softly falling petals, the call of the oriole, the light flickering 

 through the branches, the purple haze on the distant hills give 

 an undefinable atmosphere of rest. " Such peace as the town, 

 save in dream, knows never." But not with the passing of the 

 spring does its beauty depart. The foliage deepens and nearly 

 hides from view the tiny forms of the apple that are soon to 

 become rounded into glorious spheres of red and yellow and 

 crimson by the sun. 



The advice of that veteran enthusiastic orchardist, the late, 

 lamented Mr. Gideon K. Staples was : " Plant apple trees, plant 

 apple trees, if you lose ninety out of every hundred keep right 

 on planting," that was his experience and we all know the result 

 of his labors. 



Some of our native trees and shrubs, wildings of the woods 

 and swamps are most beautiful in flower and fruit and deserve 

 a better place than is usually given them or rather where they 

 are allowed to grow ; and also are of great value as they call to 

 our homes and gardens many song and insect-eating birds which 

 would otherwise not be found there. 



Among these is the June berry the first of the great rose 

 family to greet us in the spring, with its branches full of long, 

 loote racemes of bloom ; place two or three of the slender sprays 



