2T2 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



we ought under such favorable circumstances as those in which 

 we are placed, is a question. The same spirit that has furnished 

 us with the telegraph and the steam engine, has also furnished 

 us with fruits and flowers from all parts of the known world. 

 "While in some of the departments of horticulture it seems that 

 we have scarcf^ly made any visible amendment for at least two 

 thousand years, yet in others we have made rapid strides toward 

 scientific perfection. 



Possessing a climate and soil equal, if not superior, to that of 

 any other country, and what is still of great importance, a gov- 

 ernment that does not crush our zeal by a burden of taxation, 

 we are allowed to cultivate whatever we like, and in whatever 

 manner we choose. Under such auspices, it is no wonder that 

 thousands have turned their attention to this branch of industry, 

 and invested their capital in nurseries. 



Twenty years ago the cry was, that the country would soon be 

 overstocked with nurseries and nursery trees. But that much 

 looked-for day has not yet dawned upon a fruit-loving commu- 

 nity, and we fear it never will. 



There is at least ten millions of fruit trees for sale in New 

 York State to-day. Will they all be sold? Most assuredly. 

 " Will they all live and bear fruit ?" No, not one-half of them. 

 There are several reasons why they will not, among which we 

 may mention that many are unsuited to the climate, others are 

 grafted or budded upon stocks that have not sufficient affinity for 

 the graft to make a permanent and perfect union ; many will die 

 in being transported from the nursery to the place where they 

 are to be planted, owing to improper packing. 



But the great destroyer, and the one who thinks everybody 

 and everything to blame — soil and climate included — is the 

 planter himself; while the nurseryman, as well as others who are 

 careful in such matters, Avill take trees that have been boxed up 

 on board of a vessel from two to four months, and plant them, 

 and not lose one in a thousand. Another person will take trees 

 fresh from the ground, and plant them again within the hour, and 

 yet he will not make one half grow. " Why this wholesale 

 destruction ?" Simply because the planter is ignorant of the 

 first principles of vegetable physiology, or he is wofully negli- 

 gent. 



We are obliged to confess that we, as a nation, are very igno- 

 rant in regard to many things that pertain to the garden. Most 



