226 [Assembly 



REPORT OF THE SPECIAL FRUIT COMMITTEE. 



The Special Fruit Committee, to whom has been assigned the duty 

 of presenting select lists of fruits, respectfully report : 



That, after consideration, they find it impossible, in the present 

 state of pomological information, to offer to the convention now as^ 

 sembled any extended list, comprising any considerable number of 

 fruits worthy of general cultivation. 



This embariassment arises from two causes: First: In the fact 

 that many excellent varieties, well known and highly approved in 

 those sections of the Union where certain members of the committee 

 reside, are either partially or wholly unknown in sections where oth- 

 er members reside, and consequently no unanimous action could be 

 had on those varieties. Second : In the fact, that a large number of 

 varieties are only well proved in certain localities, and therefore, from 

 this very fact, cannot be recommended for general cultivation They, 

 therefore, conceive that the preparation of extended lists of varieties 

 worthy to be recommended to the public generally, by this conven- 

 tion, is a labor which requires more time, research and experience, 

 and can only be satisfactorily performed by a general committee, with 

 sub-committees in various portions of the Union, which shall be in 

 constant activity for the purpose of acquiring this information, in or- 

 der to lay it in a satisfactory shape before this convention at a future 

 meeting. 



It may seem to many members of this body, an easy task to desig- 

 nate fifty or even one hundred excellent fruits of any class for gene- 

 ral cultivation ; but actual comparisons of the facts and information 

 on this subject, possessed by the different members of this committee, 

 have convinced them that it is extremely difficult to get an unanimous 

 verdict in favor of ten varieties of any one class of fruits. There is 

 such a diversity of experience, and consequently of opinion, respect- 

 ing the merits of well known varieties, that many fruits which have 

 long enjoyed the most irreproachable character in one part of the 

 country, are found, on inquiry, to have the most indifferent reputation 

 in another section. Indeed, so diflBcult is it from these causes to do 

 what at first sight seems so easy, that your committee have have been 

 reminded of the remark which an inexperienced politician once made 



