ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 211 



The speaker believed that the time is coming when capital 

 will be invested in fruit jams rather than stocks and government 

 bonds. 



In the absence of Mr. Butler, the speaker on plums, Chas. 

 I. Allen spoke on this topic, giving a short account of his 

 experiences in growing the Japan plums. 



E. M. Ives of Meriden explained his work in spraying apple 

 trees for a series of years and, as an example of what can be 

 accomplished, exhibited specimens of apples from his 1900 

 crop — ^very fine in every way. 



The remainder of the session was occupied with a discussion 

 of questions from the box in which all present participated; also 

 the reading by the Secretary of a paper by President N. S. 

 Piatt, who was detained by a business engagement. The paper, 

 which was well received, is given below. 



Largfe or Small Agrfcoltofal Ventures in Connecticut. 

 Which Shall It Be> 



By N. S. Piatt, New Haven. 



The generations who have gone before us, and who tilled the 

 soil for 200 years or more, no doubt did the best thing they could 

 do when on each home place they planted fruit trees of all the 

 known desirable kinds, and planted crops of grain and vegetables 

 such as they expected to use themselves. They had their own 

 families to feed, and they fed them largely with provisions of 

 their own growing. Fruit, vegetables, grain and meat were 

 produced near by. 



If their fruit failed they went without fruit ; if some of their 

 vegetables failed they very likely went without them. They 

 could not bring them from a distance, as we can. They 

 depended on home production, and producers could have some 

 chance to furnish the home market. In fact that was about the 

 only one to be had, and so our people grew up, from father to 

 son and son's son, with only the home market in view. 



Those of us who have reached or passed middle life, will 

 recall, I think, that in our boyhood days this home-market condi- 

 tion was more pronounced than it is to-day. In those days each 

 farmer's family aimed to produce its own supply of about all that 

 would grow in this climate. Now we have gotten away from 



