28 THE COXXECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Commercial Fruit Growing in New England ; its Advantages 

 and Disadvantages. 



Prof. F. C. Sears, Amherst. Mass. 



Mr. President, Members of the Conneeticut Poinologieal So- 

 eiety, Ladies and Gentlemen: 



I don't know but I have made a mistake in appearing 

 before you without a paper, for, so far this morning every 

 speaker has had one. It is not usually my custom to prepare 

 a paper to read before an audience, and I did not do it this 

 time. The reason I didn't prepare a paper is that I feel I 

 can talk better if I am looking at the faces in the audience. 

 I heard Air. Collingwood about a year ago at Amherst give 

 an address ; he had prepared a paper and read it and gave as 

 his reason for so doing that he had recently heard his children 

 discussing whether they preferred to have the minister read his 

 sermon or speak from notes, and his little daughter remarked 

 that she would much rather he would read it, for then she 

 knew when he got through. 



I don't suppose you are at all interested in my personal 

 history, but I wish to tell you a few incidents concerning my- 

 self, in order that you may understand the point of view from 

 which I look at the subject on which I am to speak. I claim 

 the honor of being a Alassachusetts boy, but very early in life 

 I took Horace Greeley's advice and went West — to Kansas ; 

 so I am essentially a Western man. I was six months old 

 when I went West and I lived there practicall}' all my life 

 until ten years ago. when I went to Nova Scotia, and re- 

 mained there until I went to the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 College at xAmherst a year ago. 



Xow I don't know how much }-ou people know about 

 Nova Scotia, although I have no doubt you know more than 

 I did of that country previous to my going there, for about all 

 I knew was that it had the highest tides in the world and that 

 Halifax was the capital. But I found it a wonderful fruit- 

 growing country, and everyone there interested in fruit. If 

 a policeman stops vou on the street, it is not to arrest you — 



