REPORT 



OP THE 



COMMITTEE ON FRUITS, 



FOE THE YEAR 1896. 



By E. W. WOOD, Chairman. 



The fruit exhibitions during the past season have been more 

 than usually irregular, and considerably below the average of 

 recent years. Apples have been abundant and of excellent qual- 

 ity, exhibitors finding little difficulty in selecting perfect speci- 

 mens. The Pear crop has been a partial failure. 



At the Annual Exhibition there were no specimens noticeable for 

 superior excellence. "Very few Peaches of open culture have been 

 shown, and those were of inferior quality. Plums have been 

 shown in less quantity than usual. Some of the Japanese varie- 

 ties of this fruit which have received favorable notice have been 

 found to be more tender than the old kinds under general cultiva- 

 tion, and we would caution purchasers of tlie Japanese varieties 

 against the danger of introducing the San Jos6 scale into their 

 gardens and orchards, as these trees have been sent out largely 

 from nurseries in New Jersey to other nurseries and growers all 

 over the country, and have been found to be seriously infected 

 with this pest. 



Small fruits were shown in about the usual quantity. Grapes, 

 with the exception of the foreign varieties, were not up to the 

 standard either in the size of the bunches or in general appear- 

 ance. Among commercial growers the practice of girdling the 

 vines is increasing, some asserting that if the}' could not thus 

 secure the earlier ripening and larger bunches of more attractive 



