REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GARDENS. 295 



seedlings sent out every year, but very few of them reach the top 

 of the ladder, as the standard is getting very high, and they must 

 be exceptionally good to make a mark for themselves." 



Mr. Nicholson's houses were in excellent condition ; the plants 

 very healthy, with no sign of disease. High cultivation and 

 cleanliness are the features that characterize all that Mr. Nichol- 

 son takes hold of, and his well-merited success is due to his care 

 and skill. 



FRUIT GAEDEK 



The only application for this premium for the best Fruit 

 Garden was from Mr. Warren H. Heustis, and was made with 

 particular reference to his Strawberry Garden, which contains 

 about one acre. The varieties grown are principaWy the Mar- 

 shall and Belmont. The latter variety, Mr. Heustis says, is 

 no back number with him by any means, as it holds it own for 

 productiveness and for price in the Boston market. The plants 

 are set in rows four feet apart and two feet in the row, and 

 alloAved to make a bed. A path a foot wide is cut out in the 

 spring, and the plants are thinned out where they are too thick. 

 The Marshall, Mr. Heustis finds, has many plants with no berries 

 set on them, but he says these barren plants will fruit another 

 year. The condition and productiveness of this acre of straw- 

 berries were the best evidence of good cultivation ; it was quite 

 equal to any acre of strawberries we have seen. 



In addition to making a specialty of strawberries, Mr. Heustis 

 is gradually getting into other fruits, — pears, apples, gooseberries, 

 and currants, — and says that it takes the best of land for these 

 purposes, which is a soil bordering on clay. On such a soil the 

 fruit comes very smooth and fair, with scarcely any disease. 

 There are about one hundred and seventy-five young pear trees, 

 divided between Bartlett, Bosc, and Dana's Hovey. Among 

 apples the Gravenstein is considered the best all-around apple for 

 early autumn. We hope to have the pleasure of recording Mr. 

 Heustis's success with his fruit trees at a future time. 



VEGETABLE GARDENS. 



The competitors for this prize were Col. Frederick Mason, of 

 the Riverside Farm, Taunton (E. C. Lewis, manager), and War- 

 ren Heustis & Son, of Belmont. Both these gentlemen have 

 furnished statements, which follow : 



