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apples, pears, plums, cherries, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, 

 currauts and strawberries, and a large proportion of these fruits 

 consumed by our people should be grown by our growers. Of 

 course we cannot put the fruit into the markets as early in the 

 season as that shipped from the South, but we can put it into the 

 hands of the consumer m a tmcch better condidon; and if we can 

 keep our markets /«% svppUed with extra choice fruit, either fresh, 

 evaporated or canned, at reasonable prices, we sliall cut off, in a 

 large degree, the demand for Southern and Western and inferior 

 fruit. 



It is this situation which led to the formation of the Massa- 

 chusetts Fruit Growers' Association. The first meeting was held 

 at Worcester, March 20, 1895. At this meeting, a two-days ses- 

 sion, sixty-seven members were enrolled. Papers were presented 

 on "The care and cultivation of orchards," by Prof. J. W. Clark 

 of North Hadley ; " The preparation and packing of fruits for 

 foreign markets," by Geo. A. Cochrane of Boston ; " Grape grow- 

 ing in Massachusetts," by H. A. Cook of Shrewsbury; "Insects 

 and fungous pests and remedies," by Prof. S. T. Maynard of the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College; and "The preservation of 

 fruit by cold storage," by Dr. Jabez Fisher of Fitchburg. Mr. 

 Cochrane advocated in his lecture the packing of fruit for foreign 

 markets in half-barrel boxes, divided into two compartments, and 

 that the fruit should be graded and wrapped as oranges are. 



The Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association was organized, a 

 constitution adopted, and officers elected as follows : president, 

 James Draper of Worcester ; vice-president, Samuel Hartwell of 

 Lincoln ; secretary, S. T. Maynard of Amherst; treasurer, E. W. 

 Wood of West Newton ; auditor, C. L. Hartshorn of Worcester ; 

 witli a board of twelve directors. 



The second meeting was a field meeting, held on the grounds of 

 the Agricultural College at Amherst, on June 14, 1895, with about 

 forty members present. Professor Maynard explained the location 

 of the many points of interest on the grounds The strawberry ex- 

 periment plots, where over one hundred and fifty named varieties 

 were in fruit and about the same number of seedlings were fruiting for 

 the first time, were visited. The varieties were studied and tested, 

 but, as no one could test all, conclusions as to the best necessarily 

 varied. The orchards and vineyards were examined ; the latter, 

 containing two hundred varieties of grapes trained to the one-arm 

 renewal system, attracted much attention. The greenhouses, the 

 largest glass structures and containing the most complete and ex- 

 tensive collection of economic and commercial plants to be found 

 connected with any agricultural college in the country, were vis- 



