34 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOCIC. IL SOCIETY. 



^Mexican borders the standard varieties of fruit take on the 

 highest colors of anywhere in this country. The soil con- 

 ditions are such that they get an inferior cjuality of fruit, but 

 the coloring is wonderfully attractive. If they had the soil 

 that we have, the}' would get the cjuality also, but they get the 

 color without the quality: their fruit also lacks flavor, yet is 

 now selling at top prices in our market because it has high 

 color. 



Taking that as a guide and coming back to Connecticut 

 \vhere the soil conditions are ideal for quality and where the 

 most perfect qualities can be grown, all we need, is to do just 

 as the 121st Psalm tells us: 'T will lift up my eyes unto the 

 hills from whence cometh my help." That is the place,— lift 

 up your eyes to the hills of New England, that is where the 

 help comes from ; there }'0U have the bright, clear air and sun- 

 shine. We g'o to the hills to get our color and color is valu- 

 able, the most valuable asset in fruit : then there is the even 

 temperature that goes for high coloring; there we get the most 

 nearly perfect air drainage and the most nearly perfect water 

 drainage and most perfect conditions generally for high color 

 in our fruit. Then on our hills most of our trees do not grow 

 as luxuriantlv as in the valleys ; there is not a surplus of wood 

 or foliage. The most highlv colored fruit does not come from 

 the luxuriant growing tree, we never get as highly colored 

 fruit from the big lusty trees in the valley or on the plains as 

 A\e do from the moderatelv grown tree: not the over-vigorous 

 tree, of the hills. Our New England hills are filled with 

 granite and potash ; tliere is something in the stone that the 

 ap])les and peaches like : ^^•e get color from stony land : the 

 rockv hilltops give us our highest colored fruit. 



These are, in brief, the natural conditions that tend to 

 increase the color in fruit. 



Tlien. wliat are the artificial aids? What may we do 

 further to aid the natural conditions? Use moderately thin 

 lands: our verv strongest and most fertile lands grow our 

 largest and l)est trees, but these trees bear fruit destitute of 

 high color; we need moderately thin land: you need land that 

 the orchardist may have under his control, but not land that 

 vou can't raise an umbrella on, but land that is moderatelv 



