84 ON FRUITS AND FLOWERS. 



fruits highly to be esteemed, in particular soils and cli- 

 mal<'s, will not answer in others, but become compara- 

 tiveiy worthless — and hence, doubtless, often arises the 

 disappointment experienced at finding after years of 

 patieiit waiting, that highly recommended varieties im- 

 ported from Europe or obtained from other sections of 

 our own country are of very indifferent quality and no 

 value, hut which in the places whence obtained, maybe 

 of surpassing excellence. One great, if not the princi- 

 pal benefit of Agricultural and Horticultural Societies, 

 and their annual exhibitions, consists in the facilities 

 which they afford for making known the results of ex- 

 periments both in the mode of culture and selections of 

 vaiieties in the products of the different branches of the 

 science to which their members have especially directed 

 their attention. And it is equally to be desired that 

 these results by the exhibition of specimens of their pro- 

 ducts at our annual shows should be spread before the 

 public, in order that those who are commencing the 

 same pursuit may be enabled to avail themselves of the 

 accumulated knowledge and experience of their prede- 

 cessors, and by judicious selections and proper culture 

 avoid the disappointment and losses to which they have 

 been subjected. 



The culture of fruit, if not a new branch of agriculture, 

 has been almost immeasurably extended within the few 

 past years. Until v.iihin about a quarter of a century the 

 number of varieties of the finer kinds, especially, was very 

 limited : but few additions were made by importations 

 from abroad or raising of seedlings at home to our estab- 

 lished stock, and thus the qualities of the sorts we possess 

 were generally well known. But now by constant im- 

 portations fiom Europe and the attention which has been 

 paid and is now given, l)oth here and there to raising new 

 varieties for seed, the names of the different varieties have 

 literally become Legion, and these names daily increas- 

 ing, are now numbered on the catalogues by thousands. 

 It is only by testing them that the qualities, good or bad, 

 of these various kinds of fruit, and their adaptation or 

 unfitness for particular soils or climates, can be known, 



