INTRODUCTION. 
It is with pleasure that we present a new edition of our Descriptive Catalogue. 
Under their respective heads will be found descriptions of several new varieties that 
have been introduced since our last edition. 
Every year we have many new varieties of fruits brought to our attention, believed 
by their owners to be something superior. The great majority of these we find upon 
investigation to be of no particular value, or at least no improvement on the varieties 
we already have. Realizing, however, that with many of our fruits there is ample 
room for improvement, and that the true course is "onward and upward," we aim to 
examine as carefully as practicable any fruit that is brought to our attention. 
We first consider the fruit as to its quality, appearance, season of ripening, etc., 
to see if it equals or excels the varieties we already have ripening at the same time. If 
the field it would have to occupy is filled with sorts in every respect giving perfect 
satisfaction, we are apt to follow the old adage, " Let well enough alone." On the 
other hand, if the fruit has some striking characteristic that forces itself on our atten- 
tion and appears to have real and distinctive merit and apparently is a decided 
acquisition, we at once try to inform ourselves as to the habit of the tree or vine. It 
must be a vigorous grower, hardy, healthy, belong to a healthy and long-lived race, and 
must be an early and an abundant hearer. Many a fruit of fine quality is worthless 
for general cultivation, owing to the weak constitution of the tree or vine. 
The general planters, the great ma.ss who are putting out fruits for profit, require 
sorts with iron constitutions, those kinds that will thrive in a great variety of soils 
and situations, and yield some fruit under neglect. 
When we do meet a new variety that appears in all respects to fill the bill, to be 
a fruit of real merit, one more important consideration presents itself. Though appar- 
ently a good thing, has it sufficient elements of popularity to warrant us in going to 
the great expense consequent to getting up a stock of the same and properly bringing 
its merits before the public? The investment will run into hundreds, perhaps thou- 
sands, of dollars, and it will be from two to five years before we can expect substantial 
returns. 
Need we say more? Need we add that on this question of new fruits we cannot 
afford, from a financial point of view, to touch a thing that we are not fully satisfied 
has merit? In conclusion, on this point, we will repeat that planters of fruit for 
profit cannot afford to put out any but the most valuable sorts. The first outlay is 
but a trifle in comparison to the final results. In nothing can a man be more "penny 
wise and pound foolish" than in planting cheap trees regardless of the varieties. 
It takes no more time, ground, or care to set out a good variety than it does a com- 
mon kind, and if one is any better than another, the better kind is the one to plant, 
for the only extra expense is the difference in the first cost. Of course, there are many 
old sorts that ought to be in every collection, but at the same time there are some 
new varieties that ought never to lie left out. 
