74 

 SMALL FRUITS. 



Mr. Chas. p. Prestox, Secretary of Essex Agricul- 

 tural Society : 



Sir : — I received notice from the Chairman of the Commit- 

 tee on Small Fruits that I had been appointed a member of 

 that Committee, and was requested to meet with the members 

 at the farm of Mr. Wm. Huff, of Newburyport, July 15th, 

 to examine a crop of currants. I accordingly Avent to the 

 place designated, but found none of the Committee there. 

 ^Ir. Huff showed me his bushes and also about his farm, 

 which I found to be in good order and very clean and free 

 from weeds. He informed me that he had entered his crop 

 of currants for the Society's premium, and desired me to 

 make a statement of how I found it. 



The variety he seems to make a specialty of is the Mays 

 Victoria, and these are about all the currants he raises. 



There were about thirty rods of ground set with the bushes, 

 perhaps more than this ; a part were ten years old, and the re- 

 mainder some four or six years. The old bushes were very 

 heavily laden with fruit and seemed to be well under the con- 

 trol of the cultivator. Those bushes of younger growth were 

 not so full of fruit aa the older ones, yet the crop was very 

 large, and the berries hung in long clusters, which were just 

 coloring and getting ripe. 



In my opinion JNIr. Huff's crop of currants is much above 

 the average, and that he is deserving of a premium. 



The Mays Victoria currant is a good variety to cultivate ; 

 it is a profuse bearer and the fruit is of a fine flavor, not quite 

 so acid as the Ped Dutch or La Versaliese ; the bushes are 

 5ilso healthy, and the least apt to sucker of any sort with 

 which I am acquainted. 



Mr. Huff has set his bushes in a pear orchard, between the 

 trees and about four feet apart in the row. Some of them 

 have attained a very large size and will ripen this year from 

 fourteen to sixteen quarts of fruit each. There are no weeds 



