CONSULT THE FBUIT MERCHANT. 15 



increasing their number beyond six kinds. I can 

 speak from experience on this point, and I freely 

 confess that my desire to have fifty varieties, instead 

 of six, for market purposes, has been a loss to me of 

 several thousand dollars. The Flemish Beauty, that 

 does so well in many parts of the Eastern States, in 

 the clay soils of New Jersey, is unworthy of a place 

 among the list for market. The same is true of Eas- 

 ter Beurre', Beurre* Diel, Swan's Orange and Louise 

 bonne de Jersey, and a host of other varieties, that 

 a few years ago were considered profitable market 

 kinds, still I am compelled to abandon their culture, 

 owing to their unreliability in the orchard. Again, 

 a person, before selecting his list of varieties, should 

 consult the fruit merchant, and learn of him the 

 kinds that are in demand. For instance, the Belle 

 Lucrative, a variety that I consider second to none, 

 in vigor of growth, productiveness and quality of 

 fruit, is quite unsaleable in the New York market, 

 because it is not known to consumers. For the past 

 three years I have sold them for less than half what 

 Bartletts brought, although in quality the latter are 

 much inferior on our soil. 



The horticultural societies throughout the coun- 

 try have done and are doing great injustice to the 

 public by offering large premiums for the greatest 

 number of varieties, and then permitting those to be 



