TRANSACTIONS OJ/' THE 1\lassnthusdtsJortimlturnl �otidllt 1'0& THE YEAR 1868. BOSTON: HENRY W. DUTTON & SON, PRINTEH.S, PO .um U2 WJ.sHINOTON STREET. 18 6 9. CONTENTS. REPORT OF TIIE CO:IDlITTEE ON FRUITS, Premiums and Gratuities awarded, 12 REPORT OF THE CO?,fl\UTTEE ON PLANTS AND FLOWERS, 21 Premiums and Gratuities awarded, 34 REPORT OF THE COllll\llTTEE ON VEGETABLES, 58 Premiums and Gratuities awarded, 62 REPORT OF THE Co:111\IITTEE ON GARDENS, 69 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY, 83 REPORT OF THE FINANCE Co;1nnTTEE, 89 REPORT ON SEEDS FROM NORTHERN INDIA, 93 ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, JAMES F. C. HYDE, 96 Life, MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY-For 99 Annual, 106 EXTRACTS FROM BY-LAWS, 118 OFFICERS AND STANDING COMllUTTEES OF THE SOCIETY FOR 1869, 114 REPORTS. REPORT OF THE comnTTEE ON FRUITS, FOR THE YEAR lSGS. W. C. STRON!]-, CHAIRMAN. IT seems to be a wise custom, in connection with onr list of premiums awarded, also to place upon record the fresh experience of the year and to add snch suggestions as may have been gathered by the peculiarities of the season. Such records, covering a long series of years, would form a practical basis, from which alone snfe theories might be constructed. ,ve arc not accustomed to make such extended observations, or enter so much into detail, as might be desirable, in order fully to attaii1 the result spoken of, yet the brief and general survey of the year may be of some service to th.is end. The "·inter of 18G7-8 was more than usually severe, and in many places the Bartlett Pear, for example, was seriously injured, and this, as also some other varieties blackened and died in midsummer, from the effect of the winter's cold. In some cases, also, the more hardy kinds of grapes were winter-killed. In addition, the sprin:i proved to be extra­ ordinarily backward, so much so that on the 1st of June it was thought that the Grape crop would not ripen. The whole period covering the blossoming of the Peach, Cherry, Pear and Apple was also excessively wet. As a consequence many varieties did not set a sufficient quantity of fruit. Still the profusion of bloom, which was quite marked, especially with the Apple, prevented any serious lack. ,v e may say then that the prospect for fruit on the 1st of June was by no means flattering. Yet the result which crowns a year of such adverse circum­ stances shou1d give renewed confidence in the success of fruit culture in our section. The experience of the year teaches the importance of securing every condition to sncces!';, for each variety of frnit. It is observed that the former who enriches his fields with a pleutiful supply of stable· manure is seldom heard to complain of llronght. And if his land is well underlaid ,yith tiles he talks very little about excessive wet. He is to a degree independent of extremes; all seasons are good seasons to him. So with the fruit culturist, let him secure all possible conditions and he 1 1\1.\SS.i.CHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. b measurably independent of circumstances, the adverse seasons e,·en 1mwing a benefit to him, because of the enhanced price of his frnits. �\s an illustration, take the case of 1lr. Daniel Clark of W"altham, who t>xhibited as fine specimens of Concord Grapes as can ever be found in the most favored seasons, in the best sections for the vine. These were g-rownin open culture, without any protection except a ledge of rock for a trellis; were folly ripe September 11th, and were so supcrL as to he in de­ mand at three times the ordinary price of Grapes. Herc is a result, in one nf the most achersc years cYer experienced with the Grape, the time of ripening being also advanced at least ten claysf rom the anragc of years. It will be said that the Ritnation was peculiarly favorable. Pre­ cisely so, and this is the point wp wish to hring to notice. These peculiarly f,fforable conditions should engage the constant attention of the cultnrist. These are synonymcs of success. Peculiarly favorable situations make the pr�cc of the vineyards of the Rhine to reach a point which to an American cultirntor would seem quite extravagant. The Langon, St. Julien Yineyard of 100 acres, sold for Sl,300 per acre in 1851. ).fonton sold in 1853 at $3,62!) per acre. These arc .in the Borde11nx district. Farnrite localities on the Rhine are seldom sold, hut are estimated as high as �8,000 to $10,000 per acre in the settlement of estates. If then there is such a determined value for the choice spots exactly suited for the requirements of the vine, in Europe, why shoulrl not we seek for and prize the sunny hill-side ledgeR, of which there arc thousands in our Commonwealth similar to :Mr. Clark's, which could be made, with equal certainty, to produce similar results? X or is this suggestion applicable to the Grape alone. Every fruit has its conditions. And it is only by a careful study of the pecul­ iarities and requirements of each that the highest _results and the most complete success can be attained. Though this truth is so obvious, yet it is also true that very few perfect trials in frnit culture htffe yet been made ,in this country. This work has generally been sulJorclinate to other occupations, and the orchard has been loct;tcd on the homestead without special regard to the fitness of the means to the encl in view. �\. prominent example may illustrate this fact. Ex-President ""\V_ilder has giYen his J)ear orchard a reputation the country over, and he bas mane his expefonent a decided success. Yet he located his orchard on a hard, rocky soil, by no means natnrally adapted to the pear, and he .lins always said that the fruit obtained from bis soil has come hy main :force. The location was chosen becanse of its nearness to his residence. ITiis then is by no means a full illustration of what can be done with the 1-'ear. In order to the best results with the Pear, the JJrccise soil, a clay loam, retentive yet friable, with a porous, or else a most thorough and deeply drained sub-soil, a level, humid tract, not exposed to dry and exhausting winds, in short the JJrecise spot is to b� chosen, without FRUIT CO�DIITTEE'S REPQRT. 3 reg[lrd to convenience and nearness to the homestead. Herein lies the secret of the fact that Cambridge carries away three-fourths of our Pear prizes, year after year. Her soil, her low, level tract so near to the water, and yet so well drained, secure to her such advantages that only good culture is necessary to produce the largest results. Now the conclusion from this is not that the general culture of a variety of fruits is impracticable and must be abandoned. Very far from this. Our soil and our climate permit a fair degree of success wherever ordinary opportunities are secured. Again, the great pro­ portion of home grown fruit is for home use, and the producer is more than content with ordinary size and average success. Probably it is a more general custom in Massachusetts than in any other state of our country that each owner of a freehold has a few Pear and Apple trees, two or three Grape Vines, and the complement of small fruits. This is a wise economy, resulting in moral and social, as well as pecuniary gain. Still it is 1lesirahle for our large city markets that the mvst extensive, practical and scientific experiments in fruit culture be attempted. With the Apple, for example, (a long and too tedious experiment for most men of enterprise) how desirable is it that men of capital should select some extensive pasttire slopes, of which our State furnishes an ample supply, such as are jnst suited for this fruit; so far removed from city precincts as never to be endangered by the fever of land speculations. An orchard planted on a site thus selected, and being sufficiently extensiYe to require the constant care of a judicious cultivator, would surely be a source of pride and profit to the owner, and, in itself and in its influence, a public benefaction. The Apple is mentioned, because so many have been discouraged with this fruit. But it is folly to enumerate the many failures. A hundred failures do not prove so much as one decided success. If the Messrs. Clapp can keep a perfectly healthy and productive apple orchard in the very centre of the cankerworm district, so call we all, if we put forth the same energy, and secure the same conditions of success. If .Mr. ·wellington can this year and continually produce, in open air, as superb Isabella grapes as ever ripened on the hanks of the Ohio, the same result is possible to each of us, just as surely as is the axiom sure that like causes produce like effects. The main lesson which we would draw from the adverse influences of the season, from the many failures and the honorable and decided exceptions, is this, that we study with more care the requirements of each kind of fruit, and, wherever extended culture is intended, for market purposes, that the location be selected solely with reference to the adaptedness of the site to the particular fruit determined upon; that whenever we are compelled to choose a site not naturally adapted to the variou� kinds desired, our first aim should be to make as near an -! III.ASS.-\CHUSE'TTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.