42 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIE^TY. [1885* 



not already, a paraiiioiiiit interest. The soil of Michigan is ad- 

 mirably adapted not only to the apple but to the grape and small 

 fruits of every kind and variety as well. 



In the felicitous language of President Angell in his welcom- 

 ing address — " It must be confessed that Nature has been very 

 gracious here to the fruit-grower. She has furnished him a rich, 

 warm and mellow soil which seems made for orchards, vineyards 

 and gardens. She has surrounded this fair peninsula with the 

 great lakes, which not only encircle her as a zone of beauty and 

 furnish her a highway for commerce, but which also temper her 

 atmosphere by their genial warmth in winter and cooling breath 

 in summer. Thougii occasionally we suffer from a severe winter 

 like the last, as a rule the friendly lake upon the west draws the 

 sting from the tail of the fiercest Dacotah blizzard and shelters 

 our fruits up even to the northern extremity of the lower penin- 

 sula. In no State east of the Rocky mountains can delicate 

 fruits be grown in so high latitudes as this. During most of the 

 year breezes soft as those of Eden woo the peach, the grape and 

 the pear, and coax them to rejoice us with the autumnal splendor 

 of their fruitage. A drive through any of the western counties 

 at any time from June to October will delight the eye with a 

 view which rivals that in the fabled garden of the Hesperides. 

 If we have not Paradise we have at least a charming suggestion 

 of it." 



The following statistics show that these bountiful gifts of 

 Nature — a generous soil and genial climate — have been duly 

 improved : — In 1883 the whole State of Michigan produced for 

 the market, besides home consumption, 199,952 bushels of 

 peaches. In 1884, 5,000,000 bushels of apples. In 1885, 200,000 

 bushels of small-fruits. It has 241,000 acres of apple orcharding 

 and 14,600 acres of peaches. 



The State Horticultural Society had made special efforts to 

 secure a good display of fruit and the result more than justified 

 its expectations. Vice-President Barry said of it : "The exhibit 

 is a wonderful one — worthy of a week's study. It is especially 

 valuable since so many western fruits are displayed. We have 

 had many larger, none so instructive." 



The Michigan State display numbered, it was said, two 



