b STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



the particular apple or melon that is to make the owner famous. 

 The women undo their funny budgets, and, in a knowing wav, 

 tell }ou that there is a peculiar secret about the production of 

 this or that article. Soon, jealousy of some neighbor's collection, 

 or dissatisfaction with the awards will drive the confident smile 

 from many a face and freeze the current of their genial talK. 



Nearly every county was represented — even Aroostook. As 

 we pass among the tables we look anxiously for the Piscataquis 

 exhibition, but in the place of fruit and flowers find only slate 

 butler-boards. I jDresume our fruit grovs^ers are exhibiting at the 

 county fair, but some one ought to have come to take the special 

 premiums offered the inhabitants of the "gem county." 



We pass by the collections of pears and grapes exhibited by 

 sleek men from the cities. The specimens are large, to be sure, 

 but what can we learn of practical value from these things that 

 cost ten dollars apiece.'' This fiirmer, shining up his apples with 

 a piece of red flannel suits us better. 



This long table with its forty-five varieties of apples and ten 

 different kinds of pears belongs to Mr. Joseph Taylor of Belgrade. 

 Mr. Ta3dor evidently knows how to raise fruit of the right sort, 

 for it not only shows well at a fair, but has preserved its owner to 

 a cheerful old age. He has been orcharding for twenty-five years, 

 and, therefore, is not likely to advocate expensive or new-fangled 

 notions. His soil is of the slate formation, and his orchard con- 

 tair.s some tliree hundred trees. He buys very few New York 

 trees — just enough to graft those of his own raising. He says it 

 is impossible to raise a crop of grain and another of apples from 

 the same ground. Hence he mulches the ground under his trees 

 as far from the trunk as the branches extend. Potatoes are the 

 worst crop to have among trees. For proHt it is best to stick to a 

 few standard kinds ; but, in order to have delicious fruit at home 

 during the whole 3'ear, we must draw upon a large variety. One 

 of the best paying kinds is the Early Red, which he says comes 

 into the market in advance of everything else. 



Mr. Taylor's table brings us to the end of the hall. Here the 

 ladies are making a fine display of cut floweis. These, my dear 

 reader, looked just like the flowers that grow in our own gardens, 

 so I will not describe them. This lady, however, who is so hard 

 at work, and whose display secured the twenty dollar premium, 

 told me thmgs that are worth remembering. A fair is valuable 

 not for what one can see, but for what can be learned. 



The display of everlasting flowers was interesting — one lady 

 presenting as many as twenty varieties. Why these beautiful and 

 unlading flowers are not more generally cultivated is a mystery. 

 The bouquets made from them will retain their brightness for 

 three years. Two beautiful ones were made as follows : Form a 

 cone by bending wire intj the shape of a circle for the base ; to 

 the base fasten wires and bring them together at the top, like the 

 ribs of an umbrella ; cover this framework with cambric and sew 



