APPLE ORCHARDS. 121 



found a ready sale for his grapes at twenty cents per pound, 

 when other producers were glad to obtain half this price. 



The notion has prevailed more or less extensively, that Xcw 

 England could not compete with the West in the production of 

 good apples. We are ready to acknowledge that the Western 

 fruit looks larger and fairer than ours ; but in flavor. Western 

 apples are not equal to eastern, and they certainly do not make 

 so good cider. We have admired the products of the Missouri 

 and Kansas orchards. The apples are large, tender and free 

 from worms, but we miss the delicious flavor which character- 

 izes our comparatively inferior-looking fruit. The same obser- 

 vation has been made by those who have visited Utah and Cali- 

 fornia, and the want of flavor in the Western apples is especially 

 manifest in the cider made from them. By skilful cultivation 

 we are confident fruit can be made to rival even in size the pro- 

 ductions of California, and if to this be added superiority in 

 flavor, there is no necessity for New England farmers to retire 

 from competition with the West in orchard products. Our soil, 

 by long cultivation, has become partially exhausted of inor- 

 ganic elements, but these can be restored by drainage, so that 

 the roots of our trees can penetrate deeper without encounter- 

 ing a cold, wet hard-pan, and by liberal top-dressings of lime, 

 plaster, bone-dust, and especially wood-ashes. The latter con- 

 tain all the inorganic elements which vegetation demands, and 

 are therefore at the present prices the most economical and the 

 most reliable of all the commercial fertilizers. The West has 

 the advantage in having fewer insects injurious to fruits, but 

 these are marching westward with the progress of empire, and 

 Ave have the advantage of long acquaintance with our insect 

 enemies and the means of counteracting their baneful effects. 



We have thus briefly given some reasons for increased 

 attention to apple culture in New England, and we hope our 

 farmers will not neglect this profitable branch of agriculture. 

 We may not be able to compete in the New York markets with 

 our Western friends, but we can at least supply the wants of our 

 families and the home demand. 



Alexander Hyde, Chairman. 



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