ON FRUITS AND FLOWKRS. 55 



for the exhibition of fruits and flowers, and it not being general- 

 ly known that any premiums or gratuities would be given for 

 such objects, has not furnished them with all the information ne- 

 cessary for a satisfactory execution of the task assigned them. 

 Yet much interesting knowledge of the fruits and flowers culti- 

 vated in the county was obtained, and the committee, while they 

 express their thanks to those gentlemen and ladies who exhibit- 

 ed the delicious and beautiful productions of their orchards 

 and gardens, regret that they have not far greater obligations to 

 acknowledge, which would have been the case, had the speci- 

 mens been accompanied by written statements of the peculiar 

 qualities and value of each. The public must be aware that 

 samples of all the best fruits cultivated in the county, should 

 they be exhibited on the last day of September, when many of 

 them are immature, could afford a committee no adequate knowl- 

 edge of the qualities and value of a large part of the collection. 

 It is therefore of the first importance that the exhibitions of varie- 

 ties of fruit not generally known should be accompanied by state- 

 ments of the quality of the tree as a bearer, its thrifiiness as to 

 growth, the peculiar qualities of the fruit, the time of the year it 

 comes to perfection, and the length of time it may be kept. 



There were exhibited upwards of forty varieties of the apple, 

 several of them new, from seedling trees, without names, and al- 

 though doubtless highly valued by their owners, the committee 

 were not made sufficiently acquainted with their peculiar claims 

 to notice, to recommend the cultivation of them to others. Twen- 

 ty varieties of pears, quinces, &;c. A variety of grapes, native 

 and foreign. Fine specimens of the vegetable marrow squash, 

 exhibited by Benj. Goodridge and others. This excellent squash 

 ought to be generally known and cultivated by farmers. Great 

 care must be taken to prevent it from mixing with other squash- 

 es and pumpkins, especially with the blue African squash, with 

 which it is much disposed to amalgamate, and lose, in great in- 

 crease of size, its peculiarly valuable qualities. Some very large 

 crook-neck squashes, pumpkins, the real red citron melon, for 

 preserving, exhibited by S. Driver, and a variety of other veg- 

 etables by Edward Lander and others. 



