Report of the Standing Committee on Peaches, 
Plums and Pears. 
l 
BY G. M. GRIFFING. 
Mr. Presidentj Ladies and Gentlemen: 
I as chairman of the committee, ad¬ 
dressed a letter to the two other mem¬ 
bers of the committee, Mr. E. H. Hay¬ 
ward, of DeLand and Mr. J. Y. McKin¬ 
ney of Candler, asking if it was their 
wish that the report be made jointly, or 
if they wished to make a separate report 
and asked for suggestions, as neither of¬ 
fered any suggestions or assistance, I pro¬ 
ceed to prepare the following report. 
Was quite in hope of getting some valu¬ 
able assistance from these gentlemen as 
each are from sections where there is in¬ 
terest taken in peach growing. 
“In no line of business is there more 
need of Enterprise, and more problems to 
answer than in the growing and market¬ 
ing of fancy peaches.” These were the 
words of Prof. M. B. Waite of the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, in opening his 
Address before the Georgia Horticultural 
Society at Dublin, Ga. in 1900, a man who 
has not only studied peach growing from 
a scientific standpoint, but from a practi¬ 
cal as well, he owning large orchard in¬ 
terests. Never was there a statement 
truer. Yet, where in all this vast country 
of ours can we find a people better fitted, 
better qualified to master this branch of 
horticulture, and reach the maximum of 
results, than we find in the Ranks of the 
Florida Horticultural Society. Men who 
have withstood the adversities and the 
disappointments that they have, yet who 
have come out victorous over all; certain¬ 
ly will not acknowledge defeat and aban¬ 
don an enterprise that has made our big 
sister States, Georgia and Texas famous. 
It is true that we are farther from mar¬ 
ket than our Georgia Brothers and that 
we do not have the famous Elberta va¬ 
riety. These are slight disadvantages we 
will admit, but we have advantages that 
outweigh these many times. What are 
they? Well, I should not think that any 
true Floridian would ask that question. 
It is some thing you all brag of and talk 
about. Why just simply Florida climate 
that enables us to grow and market the 
first good peaches of the season offered 
to the American people, and we have this 
market all our own for from two to 
four weeks. Not only this, but in point 
of flavor and carrying quality it is the best 
of the year, whether from Georgia, Tex¬ 
as or Michigan. This is rather a broad 
statement, but before I am through I 
hope to prove it to your entire satisfac¬ 
tion. 
I do not mean that every neglected, 
gnarly and diseased tree or orchard ot 
Jewell, Waldo, Imperial and other Flori¬ 
da varieties is going to produce this su¬ 
perb peach if left in that neglected un- 
