Institute at Southington 213 



He advocated very close pruning to secure a few big bunches of 

 fruit rather than many small ones. We must cultivate our 

 vineyards thoroughly or leave grape -growing alone. He starts 

 the work of pruning as soon as the leaves fall in early winter and 

 prunes through the winter. Let us grow American grapes for 

 American wines. 



The next subject taken up was "Our Future Fruit Mar- 

 kets," the discussion being opened by Mr. N. S. Piatt, who 

 said our future fruit markets is the greatest problem now on the 

 fruit-grower's mind. We know that our section of the coun- 

 try will produce good fruit in abundance; the next thing is the 

 problem of finding a market. We must look away from home 

 for our best markets. This will be a new thought for many of 

 us. Mr. Piatt spoke of exporting peaches to European mar- 

 kets, which is now a possibility open to our growers. In this 

 kind of marketing rigid inspection is needed before shipping, and 

 we ought to have some one follow our fruit to the market for 

 the best results. Apples from Watsonville, Cal., are shipped to 

 London and bring excellent prices. Apples for foreign markets 

 must be absolutely sound and graded properly; the buyer must 

 be able to rely upon the brand. For varieties to ship long dis- 

 tances, the Ben Davis type of apples is desirable, as they always 

 have good color and will hold well to the tree. Mcintosh 

 Red and Northern Spy are not profitable apples on the 

 warmer lands of Connecticut. Mr. Piatt referred to the apples 

 from Grand Isle, Vt., which are shipped to our markets and 

 keep so well in cold storage. Mcintosh Red, Swaar, Esopus, 

 Spitzenberg and others do well in that section, while they are 

 failures here. Mr. Piatt showed samples of these varieties found 

 in the market here. 



Mr. Merriman asked -for a better apple for exporting than 

 the Baldwin. The Sutton Beauty was thought to be a possible 

 successor. 



Mr. Fenn called attention to the fact that the dry climate of 

 California will produce fruit of better keeping qualities for ex- 

 port trade than the eastern portion of the United States. 



Mr. Morse, of Cheshire, was invited to tell of his apple or- 

 chards, which have produced much fine fruit. Most of his trees 

 are growing in sod, and with good results. He fertilizes with 



