48 ON FRUITS, FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES. 



ON FRUITS, FLOWERS AND -VEGETABLES. 



The Committee on Fruits, Flowers and Vegetables, Report : 



That the exhibition of fruits this year, has exceeded, in variety 

 and interest, any previous one held by the Society, and that the 

 specimens presented were generally fine and well grown. 



The contributions from J. S. Cabot, J. M. Ives, Robert Manning, 

 William Stearns, of Salem ; Andrew Dodge, of Wenham ; M. Pet- 

 tingill, of Topsfield ; Ebenezer Brown, John B. Johnson, Joshua 

 Webster, James Oliver, and others, of Lynn ; contained many beau- 

 tiful fruits. There were contributors of good specimens in smaller 

 quantities : we noticed very large Duchesse d' Angouleme pears from 

 J. N. Saunderson; Chelmsford do., weighing 18 ounces, from Reuben 

 Johnson and Mr. Lewis ; seedling peaches, of fair size and flavor, 

 from Middleton, and Ezra Johnson, of Lynn ; fine specimens of ap- 

 ples from Nathan Breed, Samuel Putnam, Ebenezer Neal, J. Breed 

 and others. Of grapes, the Black Hamburgh from E, R, Mudge, 

 and the Zinfindel from Andrews Breed, were well grown and finely 

 colored. J. L. L. F. Warren, of Brighton, exhibited a variety of 

 fine fruits ; and his specimens in wax were generally admired. 



From the endless variety of fruits now presented in the catalogues, 

 the difficulty seems to be in the selection of a limited number for a 

 small garden. The nursery-man finds his profit in multiplying va- 

 rieties, and it is the ambition of the amateur who cultivates exten- 

 sively, to swell his list of fruits, by the addition of every thing which 

 is new ; but the small grower requires those kinds only which by 

 their good bearing qualities and thrifty habits are likely to repay him 

 for the labor and care bestowed in their cultivation : he should there- 

 fore endeavor to select such good kinds as are suitable for his locality 

 and soil. It is well known that some varieties flourish in a strong 

 loam, others in a light and sandy soil, while a few, like the Bartlett 

 pear and the Baldwin apple, seem at home in every variety of soil and 

 exposure ; hence the conflicting opinions of good cultivators, each 

 giving the correct results of his own experience. Many kinds which 

 take a high rank in the catalogues and which can be recommended 

 for a large collection, are not desirable for a small one, owing to their 

 unthrifty or unproductive habits, or variable character ; while there 

 are others, not strictly first rate in quality, yet so uniformly produc- 

 tive and healthy, that they are not to be neglected in a collection 

 however small. 



