14 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. 



which would only show that the masses must become ao- 

 quainted with a variety before they will freely purchase, 

 especially if it differs widely in appearance from those 

 which are well known. The public taste in this country 

 has not as yet been sufficiently cultivated to discriminate 

 or select the very best, and it is doubtful if the masses 

 appreciate or care whether a fruit is fully up to any par- 

 ticular standard of quality that scientific horticulturists 

 have endeavored to establish ; quantity is evidently more 

 highly prized than quality, especially if the latter is at- 

 tended by scarcity. 



I do not wish in these remarks to convey the idea that 

 the very best should not always be sought for, but when 

 their cultivation is not remunerative, quality alone be- 

 comes of doubtful advantage to the producer. 



The more familiar a people become with any particular 

 kind of fruit, the more they will appreciate it, and should 

 anything occur to deprive them of a supply, they will feel 

 the loss very keenly. Small fruit-culture has already be- 

 come quite a prominent feature in American horticulture, 

 and every possible means should be employed, not only to 

 keep up the supply, but to increase it, so that it shall 

 equal the demand. 



Heretofore its production has been mainly local ; that is, 

 a particular neighborhood has made a specialty of grow- 

 ing some one or more kinds that have been found to be 

 adapted to the location and soil. 



Fruit-growers in other sections, having tried the same 

 variety or varieties, as the case may be, and not finding 

 their culture remunerative, have discarded them. Insiead 

 of doing this, they should have tried to produce new va- 

 rieties that would succeed; or, endeavored to procure 

 from among the many already known, some kind that was 

 adapted to their particular soil and location. It is well 

 known to every experienced horticulturist that certain 

 gpecies, and all the varieties produced therefrom, fail in 



