36 



Friday — Mornivg Session. 



The closing day began with President Draper in the chair. The 

 report of the committee on gypsy moth resolution was called for, 

 and the following resolutions were presented and adopted : — 



Whereas, The committee on a£rrieulture in the Massachusetts Legis- 

 lature has under consideration the matter of an appropriation for the 

 extermination of the gypsy moth in this State; therefore, 



Bewlved, That we, members of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' 

 Association, in annual meeting assembled, earnestly request that a 

 liberal appropriation be made for carrying on the work, that the ravages 

 of this dangerous insect pest be checked. 



Besolved, That we recommend tliat the proper legislative committee 

 be requested t~> take such measures as will enlist the co-operation of the 

 United States government in this work of exterminating this pest, as we 

 believe it will be a national calamity if allowed to spread over the 

 country. 



The speaker for the morning, Mr. C. H. Perkins of Newark, 

 N. Y., a man of wide experience in handling the apple crop and 

 in the evaporating and canning business, was then introduced, and 

 discussed in an able manner " The preservation, storing and mar- 

 keting of fruit." A brief report of this address we copy from the 

 " Worcester Evening Gazette " : — 



Mr. Perkins said the subject was an immense one, and more 

 than he could present in the time allotted for the discussion. He 

 first considered the question of cold storage, basing his remarks 

 upon an experience of thirty years in this line of agriculture. He 

 w^ould not be understood as referring to the large cold-storage 

 houses, where fifty thousand bushels of pears were kept for can- 

 ning, but rather the neighborhood cold storage, the co-operative 

 plan. The advantage to be gained by co-operative cold storage 

 was to preserve the trade, for the Canadian shippers stood ready 

 to monopolize that trade if they saw an opportunity. 



He spoke of the extensive apple orchards of the country 

 and of the great demand from European markets. The value 

 of the evaporation was demonstrated from a financial stand- 

 point when the speaker said that in one county in New York State 

 of not more than fifteen towns the value of the product was fully 

 one million dollars. He told of a frost-proof storage house that 

 he had built to store ten thousand barrels of apples. When 

 oranges were sold at a cent apiece, the cry was heard that it 

 would be no use to raise apples. As a matter of fact, apples still 

 sell for more than oranges, not only in this country, but in P^irope. 



