JAN. 16 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
WESTERN N. Y. FRUIT GROWERS’ SOCIETY. 
ANNUAL MEETING. 
The Annual Meeting of the Fruit Growers’ So¬ 
ciety of Western New York was held at Rochester, 
on the fith inst. This meeting was the largest, and 
in many respects, we think, the best ever held by 
this Society. Gentlemen were present in large 
numbers from all parts of the Western portion of 
the State, and the discussions were interesting, 
profitable and often exciting. The following are 
the officers elected for the ensuing year: 
President —H. P. Norton, Brockport. 
Vice- /’residents —J. J. Thomas, Union Springs; Win. 
Brown Smith, Syracuse; Lewis F. Allen, Black Kock. 
Secretaries —C'. P. Bisscll, Rochester; Jno. B. Eaton, 
Bullulo. 
Treasvrer —W. P. Townsend, i/ockport. 
Executive Commitle. —P. Barry, Rochester; J. J. Thomas, 
Union Springs; U. L. Hoag, Lockport; Win. Brown Smith, 
Syracuse; J. Frost, Rochester. 
Com. on Native Fruits —J. J. Thomas, P. Barry, Thus. 
Smith, Geneva; P. P. Bristol, Dansvillo; K. C. Frost, 
Cathrinc. 
Com. on Foreign Fruits —Geo. Ellwangcr, Rochester; 
T. C. Maxwell, Geneva; J. C. Hanchett, Syracuse; C. M. 
Hooker, Rochester; E. A. Frost, Rochester. 
Com. on Nomenclature —1’. Barry, W. P. Townsend, J. B. 
Eaton, J. Frost, J. J. Thomas. 
County Committees —P. Barry, of Rochester, was elect¬ 
ed General Chairman of County Committees, with power 
to appoint a committee of, at least, threo in each county 
in Western New York. 
Finance Committee. —Geo. Ellwanger, and James Vick, 
Rochester; T. C. Maxwell,Geneva; W. B.Smith,Syracuse; 
W. P. Townsend, Lockport. 
The President of the Society for the past year, 
J. J. Thomas, delivered the Annual Address, and it 
is so plain, and practical, and contains so much 
valuable information, that we know our roadors 
will thank us for giving it entire. 
PRESIDENT’S ADDRE8S. 
THE PAST AND PRESENT. 
The present is an interesting period for the pur¬ 
suit of our investigations. The past few years have 
proved a most important era in the history of Fruit 
Culture, it is important in the lirst place, on ac¬ 
count of the vast number of trees which have been 
planted. Twenty years ago, there were not prob¬ 
ably two hundred thousand set out annually through¬ 
out the entire Union. Now, we have here at this 
meeting, embracing only a small portion or district 
of a single State, members who, taken together, dis¬ 
seminate yearly at least five millions of trees. This 
great increase is in itself a fact which speaks 
strongly in favor of the importance of the culture 
of fruit Many, indeed, regard it as a proof of a 
sort of mania, not unlike that which once prevailed 
in relation to the moms mnllicaulis. I cannot look 
at it at all in this light—its progress has been too 
slow and steady, and too long continued, to bo com¬ 
pared to the meteor-flash of a general and tempo¬ 
rary excitement; and the results which skillful 
management have obtained, have in many instances 
been so striking, that the interest keeps on increas¬ 
ing instead of diminishing. Instead of believing 
that an undue attention is given to the raising of 
fruit, I propose to show in the few brief remarks I 
am now going to offer you, that the importance of 
the culture of fruit is as yet but faintly appreciated 
—that we at present can only dimly sec in the faint 
dawn of the morning twilight, the vastness of the 
results which shall yet flow from its wide extension 
when the full daylight of ample experience shall 
enlighten our progress. The host of successful cul¬ 
tivators is constantly augmenting; and those who 
stand and doubt will ultimately be carried on by 
the current sweeping around them. 
LESSONS TAUGHT RY PAST SEVERE WINTERS. 
The present is an important era, in the second 
place, because the past few winters have been event¬ 
ful ones to the fruit grower, and may we not add, 
pre-eminently profitable. While a great many 
trees have been destroyed by the intense cold, more 
particularly through the West, this severe test lias 
given e.cjierimce —has enabled cultivators to decide 
now, at the commencement of extensive planting, 
what varieties may be relied on for all the vicissi¬ 
tudes of future seasons. These severe winters have 
enabled western cultivators to renew their selec¬ 
tion, at the very time this knowledge was most 
wanted. When l’eter the Great was engaged in 
war with Charles of Sweden, and was defeated in 
successive battles, he was determined to turn his 
cosfly experience to the best account, and exclaim¬ 
ed, "Very well, Charley shall teach me how to 
fight!” Now, while we should abhor the example 
of these and all other wholesale destroyers of their 
race, there is one thing in which fruit raisers might 
profitably imitate the Czar, and that is, in a deter¬ 
mination to turn every adverse circumstance to 
profitable account; and if intense winters thin out 
the lists of varieties, we may derive a knowledge, 
more valuable than the loss of orchards, of those 
sorts which may he set out without fear in future, 
when more extensive plantations are commenced. 
The hardiness at the West of some fine varieties has 
been already fully established, and among these 
may lie named the Carolina June, Red Astrachan, 
Fops of Wine, Duchess of Oldenburg, Autumn 
Strawberry, Fall Orange, St. Lawrence, Yellow Bell¬ 
flower, Seek-no-further, American Summer Pear- 
main, and others; while some celebrated sorts, as 
the Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Porter, Rox- 
bury Russet, Gravenstein, Rambo, and others, have 
proved more or less tender, and must be cautiously 
Planted in cold regions. Experience has also prov¬ 
ed the Dukes and Morello Cherries to ho capable 
of withstanding the changes of nearly all climates, 
while the Heart and Bigarreau varieties, which 
will invariably flourish in favorable regions like 
our own, must not be adopted with confidence for 
the West. But my object is not now to give lists, 
hut merely to show how the observing cultivator 
may turn every apparent disaster into a positive 
benefit 
THE FUTURE OF FRUIT CULTURE. 
I have already said that the culture of fruit is 
very far yet from its meridian of success. Let us 
look at an estimate to show the actual wants of the 
great American people. There are more than 
twenty million inhabitants in the Union. The 
amount of good fruit which they might consume, 
both on the score ofoconomical living and for the 
promotion of health, would he very large. Fresh 
fruit is one of the very best preservatives of health, 
if partaken moderately; regularly, and when prop¬ 
erly matured. Intelligent persons residing in the 
West assure me that nothing has a more beneficial 
influence in preventing intermittents and other epi¬ 
demic diseases. This opinion is abundantly con¬ 
firmed by experience in other places. This being 
the case, what untold thousands of losses, to say 
nothing of the discomforts and sufferings experi¬ 
enced by tho settlers of the Great West, might be 
prevented or mitigated by more attention to the 
cultivation of fruit Our western emigrants could 
carry with them no better medicine-chest, than a 
well-packed box or bale of properly selected and 
early bearing fruit trees, and fruit-bearing shrubs 
and plants. Dwarf Pears, for instance, which often 
afford a crop the first or second year, and straw¬ 
berries, raspberries, gooseberries, and currants give 
quick returns. A Ringle small plant of Brincklo’s 
Orange Raspberry, planted last spring in the garden 
of a neighbor, boro a hundred berries tho same 
season. This is not uncommon. I have picked 
quantities of fine ripe strawberries from plants set 
out only seven weeks before. A little attention to 
these particulars in connection with a moderate 
share of information and intelligence, would pre¬ 
vent many serious losses, aud avert a vast amount 
of positive suffering, which money could never 
compensate, during the first few years of frontier 
life, when there are often quite as many privations 
to bear up under, as can be easily endured. 
ECONOMY OF USING FRUIT—OUR WANTS. 
The economy of using a plenty of fruit at all 
times, iH very imperfectly understood. A friend 
assured me that he could profitably use in his mod¬ 
erate family, at least one hundred bushels of sweet 
apples for baking in a year, to the great diminution 
of his provision hills. Every one knows, who lias 
tried it, that a good supply of table and cooking 
apples, for stewing, baking, puddings, dumplings, 
Ac., enable them to set a good table, in the cheap¬ 
est practicable way. A single individual, consum¬ 
ing one fresh apple at the time of each meal, and 
an equivalent amount prepared by cooking, would 
require about two bushels per month, or twenty- 
five bushels a year. This consumption, it will be 
observed, will be beneficial to both health and 
pocket. Twenty-five bushels a year for each per¬ 
son, would require a vast supply for the whole peo¬ 
ple. If there are twenty millions of inhabitants in 
tho Union, they would need at the same rate no less 
than five hundred millions of bushels. Now, if an 
acre of all kinds of trees yields, on an average, two 
hundred bushels of fruit, then two and a half mil¬ 
lions of acres in orchards and fruit gardens would 
he required to supply this great national family.— 
Cnn wo suppose that wo now have in this country 
two and a half million acres of good, well-managed, 
productive orchards? Very far from it. Even if 
every tree should live, and through perfect man¬ 
agement, prove thrifty and productive, it would re¬ 
quire more than a hundred million trees for plan¬ 
tations of this extent. But as they are now mis¬ 
managed, neglected and destroyed, the actual num¬ 
ber would be nearer a thousand million trees; and 
keep our hundred, two hundred, and four hundred 
acre nurseries for many long years yet to come in 
active operation to furnish these myriad numbers. 
In this estimate of the extent required to supply 
our wants, I have not taken into the account the 
planting of orchards for foreign markets. The 
amount which may yet he required to supply for¬ 
eign countries and for other demands, must depend 
on future experience. Some confidently expect that 
an immense trade will yet spring up—including the 
trade in dried fruit on a large scale. I do not un¬ 
dertake to say what the probabilities are in this 
way; but if we have one of the finest fruit-raising 
countries in the world — if we have an excellent 
soil at a comparatively low price; and if Yankee 
ingenuity and resources are capable of striking out, 
selecting, and perfecting the very best means for 
carrying on such a trade, undoubtedly we shall yet 
see a great and national business in this direction. 
APPLES FOR STOCK. 
There is another branch of business, which if 
sorts can he obtained sufficiently productive, may 
yet occupy millions of acres. I allude to the con¬ 
sumption of apples as food for stock. If varieties 
can be found which will yield crops with some cer¬ 
tainty, through all the different seasons, (and we 
know there are now some that are much more pro¬ 
ductive at all times than others,) we can hardly es¬ 
timate the vastness of extent to which this mode 
of feeding domestic animals may yet bo carried. 
Rich, sweet, hardy and productive sorts, not neces¬ 
sarily at all fitted for table use, would be the proper 
character for them. Two or three varieties, so as 
to alternate in hearing different years, would he as 
many as would be necessary for main crops. There 
are some ungrafted apple trees which are known to 
ho exceedingly productive—select tho best of these, 
that shall yield, say, twenty bushels a year, (and 
there arc some that have doubled this amount,) 
then ten acres of such orchard, at forty trees per 
acre, would give us eight thousand bushels—at 
least ten times as many bushels as ten of the best 
acres of corn would afford, and raised without the 
necessity of yearly planting, hoeing, cutting up, 
husking, and shelling. Plowing onco a year, with 
a gang-plow, and harrowing three or four times, 
would keep such an orchard in the finest thrifty 
condition, at a cost not exceeding three dollars an 
acre; while tho uses to which the fruit might he’ 
applied, in feeding horses, cows, and sheep, and 
fattening swine, both in autumn and through win¬ 
ter, would lio almost without limit. Experience 
has amply proved that a proportion of such food is 
eminently favorable to the promotion of health in 
working animals, to the production of milk from 
cows, and to the rapid growth of fattening-swino. 
THE GREAT ENEMY TO FRUIT CULTURE. 
I have already remarked that my present object 
is to show that the importance of the culture of 
fruit is at present but faintly appreciated. Wo have 
abundant proof of this neglect in many ways.— 
There is a great enemy to fruit trees in this country, 
which annually causes tho death of millions of 
trees;—and this wholesale havoc would not exist, 
if it were not for this want of appreciation. "And 
what is this great enemy ?" inquires every one. “Is 
it the caterpillar—the canker worm—the borer 
the bark grub—the black knot—the terrible fire- 
blight—the all destroying curculio?” Jt is worse 
than any of these. It is true that the caterpillar 
sometimes strips whole orchards of their leaves, to 
the great injury or destruction of the fruit for that 
year—but it may be easily destroyed if taken in the 
incipient nest, or the more advanced insects may 
be killed by the slightest touch of a swab dipped 
in coal-tar. The fire-blight, often so destructive to 
the pear, may be mostly checked if not cured by 
prompt and vigilant amputation—in most places it 
is only an occasional visitant, and in others, us 
Boston, it is unknown. The application of soft soup 
to the bark of the apple tree late in spring (and re¬ 
peating it if necessary,) will exclude tho borer._ 
The peacli grub, as we all know, is easily dug out 
with a knife—and the black knot is kept from de¬ 
stroying the plum by constant excision. Even the 
curculio, causing as it does annually a loss of fruit, 
probably amounting to millions of dollars, is an 
enemy far inferior to the one 1 have alluded to; for 
it may be checked in its ravages, and generally de¬ 
stroyed, by enough pigs, poultry, and other small 
animals to devour every stung and fallen specimen 
— and where this remedy is insufficient, the task 
may he effectually completed by the daily knock- 
iugs on the spread sheet Nearly all these enemies 
or depredators, are besides, confined to certain 
kinds of fruit—or are prevalent only in certain dis¬ 
tricts at a time. Even so widely spread a destroyer 
as the curculio, I was told by that eminent pomo- 
logist, Robert Manning, of Salem, he had never seen, 
except in a single accidental specimen. 
But the great enemy I have spoken of does not 
confine his havoc to any one kind of tree,—nor to 
any particular region. His assaults are almost uni¬ 
versal. And what is this great enemy? He is no 
other than man himself l If, as many have estimated, 
ten million trees are annually transplanted into’ 
orchards—and if, out of this ton million, hut two 
million through neglect ever attain successful 
growth aird bear good crops—(some indeed have 
estimated this successful amount as low as only one 
million in the ten,) then at least eight million trees 
yearly perish under tho hands of this prince of 
destroyers. 
Man is the greatest enemy that fruit trees have 
to contend with. Tho first thing lie does in pro¬ 
curing young trees, which have been already per¬ 
haps badly chopped at the roots by some other in¬ 
dividual of his species,—is to crowd them into a 
small hole in a hard soil. They aro not unfre- 
quently choked and destroyed tho first year by a 
dense growth of weeds and grass among them; or 
if they survive this severe ordeal, assaults are made 
upon them in various other shapes. Ho trims them 
up into a tall, unnatural form; toars off tho bark 
with his whiffie-trees in plowing, or breaks them 
down in his great care to avoid injuring an adja¬ 
cent hill of corn, that has not cost him one-hun¬ 
dredth part as much as the tree; or, in order to 
provont the waste of tho grass which bus been al¬ 
lowed to grow in tho enclosure, ho carelessly turns 
in his cattle, which avoid the error he has commit¬ 
ted in trimming up, by shortening them down to tlie 
ground. If some insect were to destroy its mil- 
lions annually, a general shout of war would he 
raised against it—bnt because it is all done by man 
himself, it is ascribed merely to bad tuck, and for¬ 
gotten. All this arises from the want of a 
proper appreciation of the value aud import¬ 
ance of fruit trees. And so long as fruit trees 
arc given the last chance on the list of culti¬ 
vated articles, it is not at all surprising that they 
and especially dwarf pears, which absolutely require 
good cultivation, are pronounced a “humbug.”— 
We have not unfrequently seen farmers, who after 
expending half a dollar each on the trees of a 
young orchard, including setting them out, would 
destroy one half by choking them with a crop of 
oats and clover, because they could not “ afford ” 
to lose the use of the small strip of land where 
they stood—and so the loss on the trees was at 
least ten times as much as the oats and clover were 
worth. If any one had undertaken to raise com or 
potatoes in the midst of a field of oats or in a dense 
clover meadow, his friends could easily rescue him 
from the punishment for any crime on the pica of 
insanity. Last summer, I sent a man to dress out a 
fruit garden planted with potatoes; and he very 
carefully and neatly hoed the potatoes, hut ontirely 
neglected the trees, one of which wasequal in value 
to the whole crop of potatoes. He acted only in 
accordance with the general feeling, that fruit trees 
are ol' little value, and must take care of themselves. 
ANOTHER ENEMY OF THE SAME SPECIES. 
Evil to the fruit crop often comes from the great 
enemy already spoken of, while under the denom¬ 
ination of boys, in tho shape of stealing. I cannot 
but regard this as one of the worst of all kinds of 
larceny, and which wholly prevents many from set¬ 
ting out fruit trees at all. It is one of the most 
criminal, because there is less excuse for it, than in 
the case of the man who steals a bushel of wheat 
to supply a starving family; and the loss of fruit 
from a favorite tree (and such trees thieves arc al¬ 
ways sure to rob first.) is more severely felt than 
the loss of money from his desk by the cultivator 
who lias procured it at great pains, watched over 
it for years, cultivated it, and promised himself the 
gratification of enjoying it with some of his friends. 
There is a depraved moral sentiment on the sub¬ 
ject, (if any thing so bad can be termed moral,) and 
every good citizen and enlightened Christian should 
lend his aid in correcting public sentiment in rela¬ 
tion to it One-tenth part of the labor and lectur¬ 
ing that is devoted every year to the cause of party 
politics, given to this cause, would soon work a re¬ 
formation, and prove a substantial benefit to tho 
Country. And one-fourth part of the contrivance 
and ingenuity which vicious boys exercise in steal¬ 
ing from their neighbors’ gardens and in conceal¬ 
ing the theft, and one-half the labor taken from 
sleep to commit the crime, if applied to raising 
fruit for themselves, would give them all they 
might desire. 
The laws of our country show that by our legis¬ 
lators the cultivation of fruit is entirely unappre¬ 
ciated. If, for example, a man defrauds his neigh¬ 
bor by passing upon him a counterfeit dollar, years 
in the HI ate Prison arc ordained ns his punishment; 
but il lie steals the choice reward of long seasons 
of skill and care in the fruit garden, three days in 
tho county jail would be considered as intolerable 
oppression; and some country newspapers have 
descended so low as to complain of the “stingi¬ 
ness” and " illiborality” of fruit raisers who make 
any complaint, and jibes and jokes have been pass¬ 
ed around the neighborhood on the unfortunate 
cultivator who has lost his most valued and deli¬ 
cious specimens. 
Nothing in the whole circle of rural improve¬ 
ment can do more towards establishing virtuous 
habits in tho community, and in inducing a love of 
li 'iinc and domestic life, and a distaste for grog-shops 
and dissipation, than the successful culture of the 
complete circle of our finest fruits, so that none 
need lie looking from home for pleasures, and 
where every one may sit under his own vine and 
iruit tree, without fear of depredators. 
With the thousands a ho are deterred from set¬ 
ting out trees by the wide prevalence of tfie prac¬ 
tice of pilfering, and the iinmenso numbers that 
are destroyed through had management and neg¬ 
lect,—it is no wonder that fruit, instead of growing 
more abundant in market and cheaper in price, is 
actually falling behind the progress of the demand, 
and becoming dearer and higher priced in the 
average of seasons. Our efforts are strongly de¬ 
manded for the correction of this evil. 
IMPOSITIONS OF DISHONEST TREE DEALERS. 
A want of appreciation of tho importance of 
fruit culture, is the cause of that ignorance which 
has led to ho much imposition from dishonest deal¬ 
ers of late years. Many will no doubt remember 
the extensive frauds committed two or three years 
ago in Northern Ohio, by a company of importers, 
in selling very rare and very high priced articles 
to the ignorant and unsuspecting, and in some in¬ 
stances roots of the most common aud worthless 
weeds were disposed of under high-sounding names, 
through the assistance of colored engravings (of 
something else,) for such sums as five or ten dollars 
each. I have known an adroit and unscrupulous 
salesman to dispose of trees at a high price, at the 
same time that a respectable and reliable nursery¬ 
man, from whom lie had obtained them, had the 
same for sale within one mile distance, at one-half 
the price; and many instances have occurred 
where from one to three dollars have been paid for 
certain rare and wonderful fruits as they were 
claimed to be, when the same and much superior 
sorts were kept, actually within sight, for 25 cents. 
It is not necessary for me to enumerate the hun¬ 
dreds of impositions of this character everywhere 
practiced; they all furnish the most conclusive 
proof of the importance of a more general dissem¬ 
ination of knowledge on the subject through Born¬ 
ological Societies and Horticultural Publications. 
DIFFICULTIES, SURMOUNTABLE—THEIR BENEFITS. 
In looking at the culture of fruit, many are ap¬ 
palled at the difficulties to he encountered. The 
trees require labor for their cultivation—hut I can¬ 
not see why the fruit culturist ought to he exone¬ 
rated from toil, while the raiser of every other crop 
in the garden and on the farm is willing and ex¬ 
pects to devote diligent labor and constant care, 
whether it be to crops of onions and radishes, beets 
and cabbages, or corn and carrots. Where can we 
find such ample recompense for labor, as in a well 
managed market orchard? I have seen repeated 
instances the past season where attention and skill 
with dwarf pears have been repaid at the rato of 
five hundred dollars per acre, and in one instance 
at tho rate of fifteen hundred dollars per acre_ 
| from ten to fifty times higher wages than the farmer 
! expects to get for his most assiduous attention to the 
j best field crops. Many are discouraged by the vari¬ 
ous other difficulties to be encountered—such as in 
the form of insects and diseases—in the difficulty of 
procuring faultless varieties, — varieties which in 
addition to exquisite flavor, shall possess hardiness, 
free growth, great productiveness, and general re¬ 
liability. It must be admitted that out of the thou¬ 
sands of sorts, there are very few which combine 
these excellent points; but if the difficulties have 
been surmounted in one instance, they may in a 
thousand others, by labor and perseverance. Hap¬ 
piness mid pleasure do not consist in having every¬ 
thing provided for our sensual enjoyment without 
toil or cost; but they result from the act of sur- 
mounling difficulties, from overcoming obstacles— 
and I cannot but consider it as an admirable pro¬ 
vision of the Ruler of Nature, that everything de¬ 
sirable in tho natural, mental and spiritual world 
should be reached through that exertion which is 
the only way to develop and invigorate the mind. 
These mistaken reasoners would like to partake of 
the wholesome and delicious luxuries of fruit with¬ 
out lifting a hand to procure them. It is said that 
a certain eminent English poet, accused of being 
lazy, was one day found in an orchard, endeavor 
ing to get the fruit from the branches with his 
teeth, with both hands in his pockets. The troublo 
of diligent cultivation is regarded by some as an 
intolerable burthen; and they would like to dis¬ 
pense entirely with the toil of originating new 
varieties, and with all subsequent care of them.— 
Instead of the wild and unpalatable apples and 
pears found in a state of nature, and given to man 
for his improvement, they would amend the laws 
which govern all the works of creation, and give 
at once into our indolent hands without care or 
thought, the most delicious, melting and blushing 
fruits which art and skill have been the means of 
developing. 
MAN TO DEVELOP THE LATENT ELEMENTS IN NATURE. 
Man has only been too slow in improving the pow¬ 
ers that have been given him, to bring out the won¬ 
ders which have been hid in embryo since the days 
of the creation. The first undeveloped pear tree 
that grew on the newly formed world, contained 
within it all the latent elements which after the 
lapse of sixty centuries, were brought out by the 
skill of man in the form of the delicious Rostiezer, 
the perfumed Seckel, and the melting Belle Lucra¬ 
tive. Doubtless this valuable result might have 
been long ago attained, if man, instead of being 
so much employed in destroying his race in inter¬ 
minable wars, had expended more of his bodily 
labor, intellectual efforts, and treasures, in horti- 
tural and rural improvement—in developing the 
hidden wonders of creation everywhere around 
him. Since the increased attention given of late 
years to these developments, may wo not expect a 
progress much further towards perfection? There 
are now bearing pear trees two centuries old—and 
we are credibly informed that there is one near 
Vincennes, Indiana, that has yielded over a hun¬ 
dred bushels of fruit in a single year. Now, what 
is there to prevent our obtaining varieties com¬ 
bining longevity, enormous productiveness, and de¬ 
licious quality, so that a thousand bushels of the 
finest fruit may ho reasonably expected yearly from 
an acre of orchard? Does some one say that hardi¬ 
ness and delicious quality cannot he combined? 1 
would cite him to a single sort, the Beckcl, admit¬ 
ted to be the richest or highest flavored of all pears, 
and yet pre-eminent for its hardiness and freedom 
from attacks of blight and other disease. When, 
instead of the few scattered individuals who are 
now laboring here and there alone in bringing out 
new varieties, the number shall have increased to 
thousands all through the country, we may hope to 
witness a new era iu the multitude of sorts, com¬ 
bining all desirable points, and rendering tho busi¬ 
ness of raising fruit one of far greater certainty 
than it now is from the difficulties which surround 
it, and the defective varieties we have upon our lists. 
There is reason to believe that improved man¬ 
agement may yet ho the means of saving many trees 
from destruction in places liable to severe winters. 
An intelligent cultivator of Illinois informs me that 
he lias ascertained that by winter mulching his 
dwarf pears, he can save them completely from 
any considerable injury during the most intense 
winters there—while exposed or unmulclied trees 
were injured, or perished. The protection of belts 
of evergreens is also likely to prove of great value. 
THE WONDERS OF INANIMATE NATURE. 
In recommending fruit as a luxury, I wish not to 
he understood as approving the gratification of a 
merely sensual appetite. I should not perhaps have 
much sympathy with the French traveler here, who 
complained on his return to Europe, that in Amer¬ 
ica they had thirty or forty kinds of religion and 
only one kind of gravy —thinking, as lie did, that 
attention to the appetite was more important than 
freedom of thought and development of the mind. 
Neither would I commend the employment of rais¬ 
ing fruit at the expense of other occupations, all 
of which have their important places iu the wide 
and immense social family. But T could not agree 
with the city resident, who to prove the greater 
importance of cities over the country, exclaimed, 
“ How admirable it is, that a large, navigable river 
has been made to run beside every great town!”— 
Those who bury themselves in the narrow apart¬ 
ments of a city, with no other recompense than the 
hope of accumulating money, are perhaps making 
a sacrifice which dollars and cents cannot pay for. 
It is not merely the luxuries obtained that com¬ 
mends rural cultivation. He who raises trees only 
to make money by them, sacrifices likewise the most 
valuable part of the occupation. There are objects 
always before the rural cultivator, tho result of Cre¬ 
ative Wisdom, constantly tending to excite his won¬ 
der and admiration. A single tree is as a continued 
miracle before him. The germination of the em¬ 
bryo is a beautiful and mysterious process — the 
circulation of the sap, through innumerable tubes, 
each smaller than the finest hair, yet showing a 
perfection ol' finish under a powerful achromatic 
' microscope, far excelling the most elaborately made 
parts of the finest watcli—and these tubes in such 
amazing numbers, that I have counted and estimat¬ 
ed in a single apple tree limb, one inch only in 
diameter, no less than one. million. The leaves on 
a fully grown pear tree are half a million in num¬ 
ber; yet every one of these leaves is divided up 
into minutely branching veins, and every branch is 
furnished with great numbers of these sap tubes or 
vessels—every part of the leaf is made up of mil¬ 
lions of microscopic cells, more perfect than the 
cells of the honey bee,— and the minute pores on 
the surface of tho leaves, through which tho as¬ 
cending sap evaporates, while changing its nature 
to descend again to form new wood, arc so small 
that 30,000 are found on a single square inch of 
surface — while the beautiful process constantly 
going on for months together, in the circulation of 
the food for the growing leaves and forming fruit, 
through these myriads of pores, is immeasurably 
more complex, more complete, and more really won¬ 
derful than the working ofthe mostperfectsteam en¬ 
gine ever made by man. We see in the water only, 
which supplies the wants ofthe growing tree, seve¬ 
ral most remarkable properties, without which every 
living organization in the vegetable world must 
perish—and these gone, what would become ofthe 
human race? Were it not for the capillary attrac¬ 
tion between the particles of soil and those of water, 
the earth would not retain moisture a moment— it 
would instantly pass downward through the soil; 
and blooming gardens and refreshing landscapes 
would soon become a frightful desert. Were it not 
for the latent heat contained in water, the whole 
upper portion of the soil would freeze instantly as 
soon as tho thermometer sunk below the freezing 
point; and no matter how deep the snow might be 
upon the surface of the earth, the very moment the 
temperature of the air rose above freezing, the 
whole would instantly dissolve into water and cause 
the most destructive floods. The latent heat of 
vapor prevents the instant expansion of all the 
water which moistens the ground, on the first warm 
day. All thes'e and many other most accurate con¬ 
trivances, show beyond contradiction, that all that 
supports us and maintains our existence, and that 
sustains us during every breath we draw, is the de¬ 
sign of a Superior Power on whom we constantly 
depend. But the thinking mind does not Btop at 
the boundaries of his own garden. What a theme 
for contemplation is tho view of a broad meadow, 
consisting as it does of countless millions of blades, 
and every one of these made up of myriads of beauti¬ 
ful vessels and tubes, all having the most perfect 
finish. Every tree ofthe thousands which compose 
the broad landscape, is so wonderfully constructed, 
that an ingenious man could not manufacture a 
single leaf or shoot, in all its parts, in a whole life¬ 
time. But what is a broad landscape, of a few miles 
in extent, to the wonders of the earth’s surface at 
large, with its far-stretching and gloomy forests, its 
ranges of sublime and mighty mountains, its long- 
sweeping rivers, and the eternal turbulence of its 
rolling oceans! Yet evory portion is tilled with 
microscopic wonders, and the most beautiful proof 
of Omniscient design—and shall any one say or 
think, that with this proof of the infinite number of 
creative conceptions, afforded by tho myriads of 
organized and animated objects upon its surface— 
the ever-varying beauties of the clouds and skios 
—the rain-bows aud dew-drops — the placid lakes 
and rolling seas—tho delicate flowers and blacken¬ 
ing forests—tiie gloomy tempests and the crimson 
sunsets— that he would forego the contemplation 
ol all these merely lor the sake of scooping to- 
get,her dollars and cents, and spend tho vigor of life 
within tho confines of tho dark, brick walls of the 
city, poring over columns of figures; or in the 
midst of rural cultivation, shut his eyes closely to 
everything else but tho process of converting one 
dollar into two. 
SUBJECTS FOR INVESTIGATION. 
We have before us an unlimited field for obser¬ 
vation, exploration and future labors. Tho pro¬ 
duction of new varieties is an interesting and 
delightful employment—it may ho regarded as yet 
in its infancy, for out of our thousands of sorts wo 
hafe very few that are just tho thing wo want— 
Another subject for investigation is the determina¬ 
tion of the hardiness or adaptation of varieties to 
different climates—a most important inquiry. A 
third is the best management, pruning, training and 
cultivation of trees. Another still is the supply of 
markets—and modes of preservation and convey¬ 
ance. . And still another, and by no means the 
least, is to incite the people at large to more atten¬ 
tion to this important but much neglected subject 
— that a larger number of our best sorts of fruits 
may be set out and brought by good care to suc¬ 
cessful bearing,—that a sufficient supply of tho 
finest may he placed before tho great public to 
show them what good fruit is, and thus create a 
demand and increased attention. Thus a constant 
progress in fruit culture will be secured; and when 
the present faint dawn of tho morning twilight in 
which we are placed by our inexperience and lim¬ 
ited advancement, shall have given place to the full 
blaze of meridian day, will not the time have 
arrived when through the copious planting and ex¬ 
cellent management of rich, hardy and productive 
sorts, every family shall be supplied with the yearly 
circle ol fruits? and the moral influences of its 
culture shall have banished the allurements of tho 
theatre and tho grog-shop, and yiokled tho purer 
and more healthful attractions ofthe cultivation of 
gardens—where every man may sit under his own 
vine and Iruit tree, surrounded by tho enjoyments 
of rural lile and the comforts of a highly cultivated 
home. 
A very good, but not a largo exhibition of Win¬ 
ter Fruit was made, which was examined by a Com¬ 
mittee appointed for the purpose. The Committee 
made the following report; 
REPORT OF FRUIT COMMITTEE. 
The committee appointed to examine the collections of 
fruit on exhibition, respectfully report, that there were 
presented by 
Messrs. Kli.wanorr A Barry— Pears, 40 varieties; 
among which wore lino specimens of Lo Cure or Vicar of 
Winktield, Benrre Bunoist, Catillac, Doyenne Goubault, 
Leon le Were de Laval, fieri Sanspareil, aiid Easter fieurro. 
The latter of lino flavor. 
It. 11. Warren, Alabama, Gen. Co.,— Crapes, Isabella, 
well preserved. Pears — 0 varieties, of which Glout 
Morceau, Bourro Gris d’Hiver, Lo Cure, and Winter Nolis 
wore lino. Apples— 10 varieties; Northern Spy and Melon, 
lino. 
Jno. B. Eaton, Buffalo— Apples, 0 varieties. Pears —2 
varieties. 
Wm. Kino, Rochester— Apples, 0 varieties; tine Melon 
and Northern Spy. Pears—l varieties; Lo Cure, particu¬ 
larly fine. 
ii. K. Hooker b Co., Rochester— Apples, 10 varieties.— 
Pears—6 varieties. 
II. Spbnoh, Yates Co.— Apples, 4 varieties; King of 
Tompkins County and Baldwin, fine. 
L. French, Starkey, Yates Co.— Pears, 3 varieties; 
Swan’s Orange, well preserved. 
II. N. LANCIWORTHY, Urooco, Monroe Co.— Apples, 2 
varieties. 
J. M. Whitney, Rochester— Apples', Jonathan, remar¬ 
kably largo and fine. 
Jah. Vick, Rochester— Apples', Northern Spy. 
>S. G. Crank, Rochester— Pears; Josephine do Mahnos. 
Fine specimens, of exquisite flavor. 
W. I’. Townheni), Lockport, Niagara Co.— Apples, 2 
varie ties. 
The Committee regret that tho collections were not 
more numerous, but take pleasure in recording the high 
average excellence of tho specimens. Many of them were 
of extraordinary size and beauty, notwithstanding tho ex¬ 
tremely unfavorable season during which they were grown. 
The Committee was pleased to find but few specimens in¬ 
correctly named. There is a decided improvement iu that 
respect. P. Barry, J 
W. T. Smith, i Com. 
Jno. Ii. Eaton, ) 
A report of the discussions on the different Sub¬ 
jects brought before the Society, we will give next 
week. 
MINCE PIES. 
Eds. Rural: —You request some lady to send 
you a recipe for “ Mince Bios,” ami having tried 
tho following, and knowing them to be worth offer¬ 
ing to your lady subscribers, I send them to you 
for publication. They are from Mrs. M. L. Scott’s 
Practical Housekeeper: 
Common Mince Pies.—4 lbs. of beef boiled very 
tender, and (i Its. of sour tipples chopped fine, 2 Its. 
of raisins, half a tumbler of brandy, 3 quarts new 
cider, 1 quart molasses, 3 Its. brown sugar, 4 lb. suet, 
a little pepper, a large spoonful of salt, 1 oz. of 
cinnamon, 1 oz. allspice, 1 oz. cloves, I oz. lemon 
peel, I oz. mace, and 2 ozs. nutmegs, a little orange 
peel, or essence. 
Rich Mice Pies.—2 its. of heart, and the same of 
tongue, 2 lbs. beef suet, or j lb. butter, 4 lbs. nice 
pippins—all chopped very fine—2 lbs. raisins, 2 lbs. 
/ante currants, J it), citron, cut small, 4 tbs. nice 
brown sugar, 1 pint good brandy, 4 pint wine, 2 
| quarts sweet cider, 1 wine-glass of rose water, 4 nut¬ 
megs, I oz. powdered cinnamon, 1 oz. mace, a table 
spoonful of salt, 2 oranges chopped tine, 1 oz. lem¬ 
on peel, a nice paste crust. Lay your citron in 
each pie as you make it Bake a nice light brown 
and not fill them too full, as they are apt to run 
over in baking.— M. K. G , Toledo, Ohio, 1857. 
INDIAN PUDDING. 
Eds. Rural: —I saw in Rural of December 19, 
a request for a recipe for Indian Pudding, such as 
our good mothers and grandmothers used to make, 
I give two recipes: 
Boiled Indian Puddino. —Put a kettle of water 
over to boil; when boiling hot stir iu meal to make 
as thick as hatter; salt to tho taste. Boil two or 
threo hours over a slow fire. 
Baked Indian Pudding. —Put two quarts of new 
milk over the fire to boil—pouring in a little water 
first to prevent sticking. Stir in one pint of meal, 
boil live minutes, take off the fire, cool a little, heat 
three eggs, stir in, and add half a teacup of sugar 
and a piece of butter as largo as a walnut Spice 
and salt to the taste. Bake two hours. 
Springfiold, Fa., Jam, 1708. Mrs. A. M. Leonard. 
Indian Milk Porridge. — Equal quantities of 
milk and water, with salt to tho taste. Mix a few 
spoonfuls of Indian meal with cold water; when 
the milk boils pour it in and stir until it is done. 
A trial or two will enable one to get the proper 
proportions of eacli. Crumb your bread, put In 
a small lump of butter, and pour the porridge over 
it hot; pepper or not as you liko. A good dinner 
luncheon on winter days.—Mrs. J. IL B., Itoyalton, 
Niag. Co., N. V., 1858. 
