Report on the Pomology Exhibit. 2C1 



the time they were received and the eleventh from the day they were 

 picked, the following varieties were shown in a fairly good condition : 

 Pearl, Yan Deman, Beder Wood, Hoffman, Jessie, Burt, Gandy, Mid- 

 dleiield, Echpse, Haverland, Eureka, Gillespie, Windsor Chief, Miami, 

 Cloud, Saunders, Michel's, Early Dayton, Mrs. Cleveland, Mystic, 

 Auburn, Beauty, Phillips' No. 1, Muskingum, Woolverton, Bubach. 



The culture of the strawberry extends over a wide range of terri- 

 tory, the market being first supplied from Long Island, followed by 

 the JEudson river fruit, Central New York, Oswego and Western New 

 York counties. All these localities furnished fruit for the exposition. 

 So great has become the demand for strawberries, not only in large 

 cities, but in every town and hamlet, that even with the large increase 

 in acreage of the past ten years, the supply is not equal to the demand. 

 Thousands of acres of land in New York now being used for cereal 

 crops grown in competition with newer cheap western land, with a 

 margin for profit so narrow that but little can be realized, might be 

 given to the culture of this fruit. Canneries might be established, and 

 in addition to extending its consumption over a much longer period, 

 any surplus product would find ready buyers at profitable prices in 

 foreign markets, where American canned fruits are meeting with much 

 favor. 



GOOSEBEEEXES. 



Before the strawberry exhibit was closed shipments of gooseberries 

 were received from several exhibitors. Gooseberry culture has only 

 recently taken a start. It has generally been considered a very uncer- 

 tain kind of fruit to raise, our climate being hot and accompanied by 

 heav^y dews. The gooseberry has been subject to very serious attacks 

 of mildew which has made the culture of the finer English varieties 

 unprofitable, but the aid of science has been brought to the fruit 

 grower and it is now well understood that by beginning early in the 

 season, spraying the vines thoroughly and continuously for several 

 weeks with sulphide of potassium, the choicest English varieties can be 

 quite successfully grown. In addition to spraying, an important fact to 

 fruit growers is that the soil needs to be shaded and kept cool, which 

 in some instances has been done by sowing buckwheat or oats to cover 

 the ground during the hottest periods of June and early July, until 

 after the fruit is well matured. 



There is a very rapidly growing demand for the gooseberry, it being 

 used by many hotels and private families in place of cranberries with 

 meats. The gooseberry is being extensively canned and made into- 

 jams, and is a fruit which once sucessf ully cultivated, has considerable 

 commercial value. The extent to which this fruit is already being cul- 

 tivated will be observed by the following list of varieties which have 

 been placed on exhibition : Crown Bob, Crystal, Downing, Dominion, 

 Houghton, Mountain Seedling, Pale Bed, Payallup, Smith, Triumph, 

 Wellington Glory, Whitesmith, Dagwell No. 1, Eoesch, Golden Pro- 

 lific, Pearl, The Auburn, Industry, and in addition 160 new seedling 

 varieties. 



On July nineteenth there was received a shipment of gooseberries 

 from the New York Experiment Station which was one of the most 



