186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



that the orcliard to wliich wc awarded tlie premium was one of 

 five yearH' growth that had been enriched. But the trees were 

 banked in the fall, and the earth removed in the spring. 



But I rose more particularly to offer a motion that this Board 

 tender a vote of thanks to the authorities of the city of Worces- 

 ter, for the gratuitous use of this hall for the purpose of our 

 meetings. 



Tlie motion was unanimously adoj)ted. 



The PitKsiDENT. — As the discussion of this afternoon will close 

 our discussions, I wish to say that the cultivation of fruit is too 

 little estimated. I believe tiiat we can raise, in Massachusetts, 

 all tiie fruits of the diifijrent kinds that we need tor consunij^tion 

 in Massachusetts, if we go to work understandirigly to do it. 

 We have a variety of soils and slo[Xis adapted to all tlie different 

 kinds of fruits tiiat are necessary. The discussion has been 

 chiefly upon grapes, and little has been said about other fruits. 

 Tiiis fall I visited some farms in the south part of Berkshire 

 County. I visited one gentleman who resides under a bluff that 

 rises sixty or eighty feet above his house. Upon that entire 

 blope grapes were growing, and running up the sides of granite 

 rocks. A kind of frame was made of poles, which kept the vines 

 about ten inches from the surface of the rock. Here, between 

 the poles and the rocks, hung hundreds of clusters of grapes. 

 Tlie question occurred to me, which did most in tiie ])roductiou 

 of the grape, tlie soil or the rock ? The soil furnished the 

 nutriment, and the rocks became warm in the day, and retained 

 their warmth during the night, and did much toward ripening 

 the grapes. IIow many places have we where wc can furnish 

 ourselves with grapes without any expense ! We all have gardens 

 which we desire to cultivate to the utmost possible advantage. 



The President expressed the hope that all who had hstcned to 

 the discussions and lectures at this meeting of the Board, might 

 be able to apply the hints received with pnjfit. 



The meeting the adjourned till 7 1-2 o'clock in the evening. 



TUUKSDAY EVENING. 

 Tlie Board met, agreeably to adjournment. 

 Prof John Bascom, of Williams Coll(;ge, was introduced as 

 the lecturer of the evening, and spoke substantially as follows : 



