ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWEES AND FARMING. 413 



its eastern reputation with us ; the Rhode Island Greening 

 IN < iten for the sake of "auld lang syne;" the Roxbury 

 russet is not yet in bearing instead of it several false 

 varieties have been presented at our exhibitions. All the 

 classic apples of your orchards are planted here, but are 

 yet on probation. 



Nothing can exhibit better the folly of trusting to seed- 

 ling orchards for fruit, for a main supply, than our experi- 

 ence in this matter. The early settlers could not bring 

 trees from Kentucky, Virginia or Pennsylvania and, as 

 the next resort, brought and planted seeds of popular ap- 

 ples. A later population found no nurseries to supply the 

 awakening demand for fruit-trees, and resorted also to plant- 

 ing seed. That which, at first, sprang from necessity, has 

 been continued from habit, and from an erroneous opinion 

 that seedling fruit was better than grafted. An immense 

 number of seedling trees are found in our State. Since the 

 Indiana Horticultural Society began to collect specimens of 

 these, more than one hundred and fifty varieties have been 

 sent up for inspection. Our rule is to reject every apple 

 which, the habits of the tree and the quality of its fruit 

 being considered, has a superior or equal already in cultiva- 

 tion. Of all the number presented, not six have vindicated 

 their claims to a name or a place and not more than three 

 will probably be known ten years hence. While, then, we 

 encourage cultivators to raise seedlings experimentally, it 

 is the clearest folly to reject the established varieties and 

 trust to inferior seedling orchards. From facts which I have 

 collected there has been planted, during the past year, in 

 this State, at least one hundred thousand apple-trees. Every 

 year the demand increases. It is supposed that the next 

 year will surpass this by at least twenty-five thousand. 



In connection with apple orchards, our formers are 

 increasingly zealous in pear cultivation. We are fortunate 

 in having secured to our nurseries not only the most ap- 

 proved old varieties, but the choicest new pears of British, 



