STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 63 



This subject of small fruit culture is of particular interest at this time 

 and place because, owing to your climatic conditions, you cannot grow all 

 the choicer varieties of tree fruits that may be grown in other sections of 

 this State, or in other sections of Xew England. But the small fruits 

 may be grown almost anywhere. They have a decided advantage over 

 any other fruits inasmuch as they come so quickly into fruitage after 

 planting. Strawberries planted one year will, the next summer be in full 

 and abundant fruitage, yielding almost as manj- bushels to the acre as 

 3^ou can get jjotatoes in Aroostook county. I sold my strawberries at 

 from three to live dollars a bushel, and you can hardly match that with 

 potatoes. Most of the other small fruits come into bearing in one year ; 

 some ueed two or three years. Thei'e is nothing in the way of fruits, for 

 the ease of culture and the quicl'C time in which thej' give us returns, that 

 will compare with small fruits in value, and most of them are very hardj-. 

 From a great jmmber of varieties we may select species that can be 

 grown on almost any soil and under almost any changes of climate. So 

 I bring them to your consideration here to-night as an important factor 

 in home life upon the farm, or home life anywhere where you own or 

 are able to till a single rod of ground ; as something that, for the money, 

 time and labor invested, will give you greater returns in health and hap- 

 piness than anything you can put into the soil. The question of dollars 

 and cents is another one ; but as the Secretarj^ said in his talk this after, 

 noon, that is not the big thing to be considered. We should not get the 

 dollar before our eyes so big that it clouds everything else. The first 

 thing to be considered, it seems to me, is the liealth and happiness of our 

 families. We must, of coui'se, produce that which will give us enougli 

 money to provide for our wants, carry on the burdens of the county and 

 State, etc., but life is pretty short, and I believe that everj-oue should 

 get just as much enjoyment out of his business and in his home life as he 

 possibly can. This is the first thing to secure, aud the greater number 

 of dollars is secondary. But naturally we are apt to lose sight of this 

 fact. Life on the farm is hard, and what little money we get comes 

 harder, and in the struggle for that we get led away from the higher and 

 better things of life. 



But in regard to the matter of small fruit culture, there is no reason 

 so far as I know, and I know something of your soil in this county, why 

 every home in this county should not have a full, liberal, well rounded 

 out suppl}' of small fruits through the three months of summer, and in 

 the southern part of the State, all the year. How many of you are grow- 

 ing a good supplv of small fruits for vour families'? I tell you your wife 

 and children will enjoj' strawberries a great deal better than they do 

 raw potatoes. There is more fun and happiness in growing them. You 

 grow potatoes to make your back ache ; you load them into the cart and 

 haul tbem to the station aud ship them to Boston in order to get some- 

 thing to make your family happy, while right out thei-e were bushels of 

 choice fruits that might be had for the asking without any freight to 

 Boston and back, by selecting the hardy varieties that would stand your 

 climate and cultivating them. 



