FRUIT DIET A NECESSITY. . 53 



new and improved methods of packing and transportation, the 

 product of the gardens and orchards in Delaware, Virginia or 

 Ohio, are placed in the market-houses of Boston in a short 

 space of time, and in good condition. Instead of the market 

 wagon only, we see huge engines also, whirling along over the 

 iron bands that hind one section of country to another, drag- 

 ging whole trains, laden with the choicest fruits of the pleasant 

 hillsides and valleys of the Middle States, the rich prairies of the 

 West, and of almost every portion of the country, from the 

 stormy Atlantic to the vine-clad shores and islands of the great 

 lakes. A change has come over all. 



The producers have increased, and the consumers have 

 increased in an equal ratio. The more fruit produced, the 

 greater the demand. Fine fruit always brings a good price, if 

 it reaches the market in good condition. The predictions of 

 those who declared that the market would be glutted have never 

 been, and we believe never will be, verified. This vast country 

 with its active millions will, if they can get it at fair prices, 

 consume enormous quautities of fruit. Once, a nursery boast- 

 ing of ten or twenty acres, was considered a large and impor-' 

 tant one ; now, we find nurseries that actually contain three, 

 four, and even five hundred acres each. Where dozens of trees 

 were sold, as many hundreds are as easily disposed of, and great 

 efforts are yearly made to meet the immense demand. 



Around all our cities hundreds of fine gardens may be found, 

 from which are annually gathered fruit for the family of the 

 owner, with a surplus to sell to those who are less fortunate. 

 Fruit has become a part of the regular diet of many families, 

 it being found, on experience, agreeable, healthful, and at the 

 same time economical, as it saves other food and doctor's bills. 

 If, then, this matter of fruit culture is one of so much impor- 

 tance, it may not be amiss for us to devote a brief hour to its 

 consideration. 



The soil and climate of good old Massachusetts may not be 

 so well adapted to some branches of fruit growing as many 

 other locations ; yet what nature has failed to do for us, we have 

 undertaken, with pretty good success, to do for ourselves ; or, 

 in other words, the live, energetic Yankee, has a great faculty 

 for overcoming obstacles. What will not successfully withstand 

 our climate out of doors, is carefully placed in well glazed 



