FRUITS. 415 



the premium, should ripen in the open air by the middle of 

 September; but they do not, in the opinion of your committee, 

 possess that other equally essential and perhaps more impor- 

 tant requisite, 0/ being of a ''decidedly superior quality," with- 

 out which no grape can come within the rule by which your 

 committee are restricted in making their awards. 



In the opinion of Mr. Blood, his seedlings were not ripe so 

 early this season as usual, owing to the backwardness of the 

 spring, and he thinks also that their quality was injured by the 

 severe drought of the past season; but, making all due allow- 

 ance for these unfavorable circumstances, your committee be- 

 lieve that, while Mr. Blood is entitled to the merit of having 

 produced from seed grapes that are a very decided improve- 

 ment on the native grape of the county, such do not excel, or 

 even equal, some already in general cultivation, as the Isabella 

 or Diana, to say nothing of some other seedlings of recent ori- 

 gin not yet so generally known. 



Entertaining these opinions with respect to the grapes of 

 Mr. Blood, and no other competitor having appeared for the 

 liums offered for grapes or other seedling fruits, the Com- 

 mittee on the Introduction of New Fruits have made no award 

 of the premiums placed by the society at their disposal. 



Joseph S. Cabot, Chairman. 



HAMPDEN. 



Report of the Committee. 



It affords the committee pleasure to sec so good a display 

 of fruits upon the society's tables, especially as fears had been 

 expressed that the recent hot and dry season would prove un- 

 favorable to the fruit crop. 



The drought undoubtedly impaired the size of the fruit and 

 caused it to drop from the trees prematurely ; but, on the 

 whole, that exhibited was fair and of good size. 



Although there was a large number of varieties of the pear, 

 yet these were contributed by half a dozen individual.-. This 

 delicious fruit should be more Hy cultivated than it now 



is. The fact that the raising of pears has required more care 



