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conquered armies. I would prefer the honor of intro- 

 ducing the Bahlwin apple, the Seckel pear, Hovey's 

 Seedling strawberry, aye, or the Black Tartarian cherry 

 from the Crimea, to the proudest victory which has been 

 won upon that blood-stained soil. 



But the production of new and choice varieties of fruit 

 is not the only labor of the pomologist. The great an- 

 nual loss from decay constrains me to say a word more 

 on the preservation of fruits. Probably twenty-five per 

 cent, of our summer and early autumn fruits either rot, or, 

 to prevent loss, are forced upon the market at very low 

 prices. In the hot season of the year, and with certain 

 species of fruit, this evil cannot be entirely overcome ; 

 but that it may in a great measure be controlled by suit- 

 able fruit-rooms and other expedients ; and that we may 

 thus prolong the season of fruits beyond their usual 

 duration, we entertain no reasonable doubt. What we 

 especially need is valuable late autumn and winter sorts. 

 These, however, will not supersede the necessity of suit- 

 able storehouses, without which the heat of our warm 

 autumnal months is liable to start the ripening process, 

 and compel us to dispose of them. 



The proper construction and management of these is, 

 therefore, commanding the attention of pomologists, both 

 in this country and in Europe. Their success is found 

 to depend on a perfect control of the temperature, mois- 

 ture and light. After having built and managed four 

 fruit-rooms, upon different plans, I am of opinion that a 

 proper equilibrium of temperature and moisture cannot 

 ordinarily be obtained without the use of ice. The pre- 

 servation of the apple is less difficult than that of most 

 other fruits, and is tolerably well understood by our 

 farmers. Still how few specimens, even of this fruit, 

 are brought to our spring market in a fresh and perfect 

 condition ! The art of keeping the pear, and fruits 



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