40 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



introduced trees, which were growing about his residence, that I 

 did not suppose could .be grown in Maine. I remember seeing 

 my first Seckel pear in his dooryard, bearing good crops of excel- 

 lent fruit at least every other year. It is a small pear to be sure, 

 aud not to be recommended perhaps as the best, but worthy to 

 be cultivated. Then I remember of seeing what I never saw else- 

 where in the State of Maine. He had introduced a catalpa tree, 

 which, it had been supposed, would only live in the neighborhood 

 of Charleston ; but there was the tree by that house, with its 

 great leaves. The snow would kill it to the roots about every 

 winter, but the roots would survive. It was not suitable for cul- 

 ture of course, but it was an experiment and one which I honor 

 him for making. Then he had planted a row of sycamore trees, 

 and they had grown up to be quite large trees. He also raised 

 apples. He had one variety that was always a favorite with me. 

 That was the old English Nonsuch. I don't know that there is any 

 apple that I prefer to it. It is not an apple perhaps that could be 

 successfully propagated in all parts of the State, but from that place 

 many barrels of them used to be sent away. His first efforts in 

 raising grapes were not successful, perhaps because then we had 

 not varieties adapted to the climate. These facts show the char- 

 acter of the experiments he made ; and they had to make experi- 

 ments in those days. It was the only way they could ascertain 

 what was adapted to their wants. Since that day wonderful im- 

 provements in pomology have been introduced, and these early 

 efforts are of great interest as matters of history. 



There is another point to which I wish to call attention, and it 

 was suggested to me by what has been said with reference to this 

 town. I know something about it from my residence often years 

 here, and I think that there are few portions of the State where 

 they can raise such apples as can be raised in Monmouth. There 

 are few if any places in the State where you can raise so good 

 Black Oxfords as you can see on the tables here. The Greening 

 cannot be grown, so far as my observation goes, as well as the 

 Roxbury Russet. The production of the latter fruit has always 

 been a characteristic of this town. I have seen long rows of 

 these trees here laden with the richest fruit. Now I have some 

 trees of the same variety at Bethel, and I wish that somebody 

 would come some night and cut them down. They bear a disa- 

 greeable fruit that cracks and is unfit for consumption. I have 

 let them grow 'in the hope that they would do better. 



