No. 4.] FRUIT GROWING. 87 



fourteen dollars to thin the fruit on trees that produced over 

 a hundred barrels of apples. I think one gentleman has 

 stated here that the doctor got five or six dollars a barrel for 

 his apples. 



The Chairman. I l)elieve it has been the experience of 

 fruit growers generally that if there is any man in the com- 

 munity who is to be avoided it is the nursery man or his 

 agents. Many of them have been bitten when they have 

 bought trees upon orders, and have had occasion to lament 

 it. But it is an old saying that all rules have their excep- 

 tions, and perhaps there is one exception to this rule in this 

 county. You have a nursery man here who has supplied 

 your wants in this particular vicinity ; 1 )ut i)erhaps his excuse 

 may be that he had other business in connection with his 

 nursery, so that he has not been forced to resort to methods 

 which some of the nursery men have adopted, AVe should 

 be olad to hear from Mr. Draper of Worcester. 



Mr. James Draper. Mr. Chairman, I thank you very 

 sincerely for your very kind introduction. It is pleasant to 

 hear you- say that there is on the face of this whole earth even 

 one vendor of trees who is entitled to be called fairly honest. 



Now, I have been exceedingly interested in Mr. Hale's 

 talk this afternoon, l)ecause he has treated this subject from 

 a different stand-point from that from which we are accus- 

 tomed to hear it discussed in our agricultural meetings. The 

 questions ordinarily raised have been, " How shall we pro- 

 duce more ? " " What shall be the culture ? " " What vari- 

 eties shall we plant ? " neglecting the more important feat- 

 ures of maintaining an unsullied character for putting up 

 honest fruit, of concentrating your efforts in a few directions, 

 and, above all, the question of the method of marketing. 

 You have not had these subjects handled in your meetings, 

 I think, and it seems to me you are deeply indel)ted to our 

 friend from Connecticut for having brought these new ele- 

 ments into your discussions. 



Now, experience is a good teacher. Our friend Hale has 

 only told part of the story. Those of us who have been 

 through his well-kept orchards, and seen the symmetry of his 

 trees, the lieauty and color of bark and l)ud and leaf, have 

 said, "Is it possible that such fine peach trees can be grown 



