STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETr. 75 



by cattle and received no care, and were as scrubby as any pasture 

 trees j'ou ever saw. So far as apples were concerned we decided to 

 buy no trees until we knew the varieties we wanted. The same was 

 true in regard to the setting of scions. We knew we wanted a King 

 Sweet, a Ked Astrachan, a Deane, a Fameuse, a Winthrop Greening, 

 and we also decided to set a Talinan Sweet, a Black Oxford, and 

 the rest in Baldwins, Rhode Island Greenings and Roxl)urv Russets. 

 Several of the trees we decided not to graft the lirstseason, hoping they 

 might prove to be desirable fruit. Our object in view in this matter 

 was to supplj' the family with fruit of good quality, for I must say 

 we hadn't at that time the remotest idea of raising more apples than 

 we could consume under our own roof. At the trees I went with my 

 saw and knife and some of them looked lonesome and homely enough. 

 A neighbor advised us to cut them down, but we concluded to prune 

 closel}' to save life and not to destroy by uprooting. A portion of 

 the land was plowed the first spring. Oh ! how the stones stuck out 

 along the uneven furrows, and when the horses got down to the lower 

 part the^' sank down deep into muck. Tlie stones, however, proved 

 to be just what I needed, for I began to collect them in iieaps and 

 then to wheel them to the wet land where the muck was dug out, the 

 stones thrown in, and outlets made to the roadside drain to carrj' 

 off the standing water. This method I have continued since till 

 all the wet and bogg^' soil became arable, and it is now the most 

 fertile portion of the garden. The first spring I set, also, a few 

 strawberry plants of an unknown variety, and started cuttings of 

 currants and grapes. I was fortunate enough to secure some very 

 good bushes of Houghton Seedling gooseberries, though at the same 

 time I was unfortunate, as all are likely to be in buying fruit trees, 

 for several of them when fruiting the second year proved to be na- 

 tives and had to be dug up. Other than the ordinary cultivation of 

 vegetables with which the garden was planted tliis represents the 

 first season's struggles. The results, however, were notable, for the 

 apple trees with the new culture the}' were receiving began to grow 

 vigoroush', and one or two even had the courage to blossom and 

 bear some specimens of fruit. One of these I must speak of here, 

 for 1 know of no autumn fruit that has more excellent qualities for 

 family use. I refer to the Munson Sweet, an apple that is good to 

 cook early, and ma}' be served in a variet}' of ways very acceptably 

 and when ripe is an excellent dessert apple. It deserves a place in 

 every family fruit garden. 



