ADDRESS

DELIVERED AT THE

FIFTEENTH SESSION

mciian §atualo(jical ^ociett),

HELD IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

Sept. 8, 9, 10, 1875.

By MARSHALL P. WILDER,

PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY.

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.
1875-

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\ja^94

ADDRESS

DELIVERED AT THE

FIFTEENTH SESSION

mmcan f omolopal $mt%

HELD IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

Sept. 8, 9, 10, 1S75.

By MARSHALL P. WILDER,

PEESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY.

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.

1875-

ADDRESS.

Gentlemen of the Society: —

We assemble here at the invitation of the Illinois State
Horticultural Society, to whom and to the Inter-State Indus-
trial Exposition, we tender our grateful obligations for their
courtesy and the arrangements made for our accommodation.

Twenty-seven years have taken their flight since the
organization of our Association. Many of those who assisted
in its formation rest from their labors ; but some of them are
here to rejoice with us to-day in its progress, prosperity, and
usefulness. Our Society still lives in a fresh and vigorous
manhood, and we are permitted once more to assemble for
the promotion of the objects so dear to its founders and so
essential to the welfare, not only of our common country, but
of all mankind. Like all other associations and enterprises,
it has had to pass through its years of pupilage before it could
arrive at its present state of knowledge ; but it has now at-
tained to manhood, and is able to act with an energy and
enterprise which give promise of long life and still greater
usefulness. It has celebrated the first Quarter-centennial of
its history, and now awaits a fuller and more glorious devel-
opment of the benevolent purposes for which it was estab-
lished.

Gentlemen, your presence in such goodly numbers affords
me the highest gratification and encouragement. I am
most happy to meet so many of our Western cultivators,
whose personal acquaintance I shall be glad to make ; and
I am especially pleased to recognize many whose names
are honored for the contributions they have made to the
cause of science, and will be cherished as long as merit
shall be appreciated and worthy deeds command the grati-
tude of mankind. This is as it should be ; and, coming, as
we do, from distant and different sections of our extended
country, embracing almost every variety of soil and clime,
we are enabled, in a short time, to accomplish much in
comparing the effect of temperature and other climatic
influences on the fruits of our different localities, and, by
our record of experience, to decide on the kinds suited to
our various districts ; and thus build up the science of
American pomology.

Our Society has held its meetings in the various quar-
ters of our country — East, West, North, and South; and now
it assembles, for the first time, in this great commercial
centre of the West. It has been extending its jurisdiction
and influence with every session, until it embraces the
whole Union, and the Provinces of Great Britain that lie on
our borders. It has officers and local committees in all these
sections of our land, and has assumed the vast work of
designating fruits which are found to be congenial to the
various soils and temperatures of fifty States and Districts that
are named on its catalogue. When we consider that these
results have been secured without governmental aid, or public

5

patronage, and simply by voluntary association, and how
long it has taken old and richly endowed institutions to
make their influence felt on the world, it is a matter of
surprise that our Association should have impressed its
importance so deeply, not only on the minds of our peo-
ple, but on the nations of the Old World. How distinctly do
we now see the wisdom and foresight which prompted the
founders of this Society in the formation of a national
institution, whose example should be followed by the nations
of Europe, for the promotion of the same science.

The fruit culture of America has surprised the world.
Like the genius and invention which characterize this
nation in other arts, it has taken its stand as the fore-
runner and herald of a new era in the history of pomology.
Yet, gentlemen, we have scarcely entered on the vast
field which we are to occupy. We have but just seen the
dawning light of our science, which is yet to illumine this
great Western world. True, we have planted our ensign
in almost every section of the country, we have stationed
our pioneers from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the
Lakes to the Gulf, and have gathered into our fold the
most experienced and enterprising cultivators of this coun-
try, and we have already produced many native fruits,
which are not surpassed by those of foreign climes. But
when we reflect, that our country is constantly expanding
and increasing in its territory and population, to which no
human foresight can fix a limit, we see the grandeur and
importance of our work.

The progress of fruit culture is especially evinced by the

improved methods of cultivation, the high standard for qual-
ity, the great quantities of fruits now sent to market, the
improved methods of packing, and the increased facilities
for transportation, not only to all parts of our land, hut for
foreign exportation, so that at this writing two thousand
and four hundred baskets of peaches are on the way to
England, by steamship, for a market.

Nor is this progress confined to the fruits of our northern
clime. This interest and enterprise has exerted a powerful
stimulus in the Southern, South-western, and Pacific States,
not only in the culture of the grape and other northern fruits,
but of the orange, the olive, almond, and fig for commercial
purposes, which, as a national society, we are bound to include
in our sphere of action. How great would have been our
surprise, if we had been told, at the formation of this Society,
that, at its Quarter-centennial celebration, magnificent oranges
and lemons would grace the exhibition from Mississippi and
California, and still more strange should we have thought the
prophecy, that the latter State would have groves and planta-
tions of the orange to the extent of hundreds of acres at the
present time ; or what would have been thought of the interest
now manifested in Florida and the Southern States, giving
promise of a great future for the culture of semi-tropical
fruits in America. Within a few years a new zeal has sprung
up for the culture of these precious fruits, which give hopes of
a development of resources that may rival those of the most
favored foreign climes. Already thousands of acres have
been assigned for the culture of these fruits which cannot fail
ultimately to become valuable, subject only to the losses which

always occur in the beginning of a new enterprise, from want
of experience on the part of too sanguine operators.

But what shall we say of the grape, now multiplied into
hundreds of varieties, some of which are suited to every portion
of our land. Many present can remember the time when the
Isabella, Catawba, and Scuppernong were the principal varieties
in cultivation, and when not a seed had been sown for the
production of a new variety. Now, millions of seeds are
sown, and from these thousands of new and varied offspring
arise, some of which are constantly taking their places on our
catalogue. Instead of two or three varieties, as in former
years, we have the collections of Ricketts, Bush, Campbell,
Moore, and others, containing a hundred varieties or more,
and from which, in all probability, some valuable kinds are,
in time, to be added to our list for cultivation in some section
of our country. Nor should I omit the wonderful fact that,
within the borders of these United States, may be produced,
in amazing abundance, every variety of grape known to foreign
climes, and from which, ere long, may also arise native varie-
ties of equal quality and adaptation to the soils of our Western
coast. In the words of Prof. Gray, " A good time is coming
for the grape. New varieties can be produced so easily that
they will have achieved their position when the American
Pomological Society holds its centennial celebration."

Nor is there any reason to doubt that, as with the pear
and other fruits, new varieties of the orange, lemon, al-
mond, olive, and fig may be produced of equal or better
quality than any we now possess, and adapted to a still wider
space of territory. Of the fig, and the raisin as articles of

commerce, Dr. Strentzel, our Chairman of the Fruit Com-
mittee for California, writes, that a wide field is opening on the
Pacific coast, and we believe that both these and the orange
will be greatly increased in the extent of their cultivation
and general use. The total yield of raisins in California last
year was estimated at four hundred tons, valued at nearly
eighty thousand dollars.

Have you ever, my friends, thought of the significance of
the phrase "American pomology," a phrase till lately un-
known among us. Think how recently the fields, which now
furnish the majority of fruits, were the abodes of the red man
in the forest-wild, and look, for a moment, on the contrast.
What a grand display of our annual product of fruits ! What
mountainous heaps of apples, pears, and grapes ! What mil-
lions of baskets of peaches and strawberries! And yet how
limited the product when compared with the harvest of that
measureless breadth of acres which are to be covered in the
future with these fruits. How emphatically do these point
to that important part which our Association is to play in the
development of the fruit resources of this continent, and in
helping on the grand end of human happiness. Gratifying and
wonderful as our progress has been, it is but as a glimpse of
the morning compared with the noon-day glory, when these
rich gifts of Providence to our favored land shall have arrived
at their full development. The grain, and other mani-
festations of material wealth, with which our country abounds,
are the reserved stock, upon which the nations of the Old
World rely to meet the insufficiency of their own crops ; and
the time will arrive when the fruits of our land, now becoming

so popular in foreign markets, will be required by the impera-
tive demand for these products, and without which the com-
forts and happiness of life would be greatly reduced. It is,
therefore, our duty as benefactors of mankind, to develop
these immense resources of our country, and to increase our
fruits to their fullest extent ; so that from our Eastern to our
Western shores, they may be distributed in abundance, not
only to the wealthy, but to all classes, as a part of their daily
food. The trees we plant live to bless the world and enrich
the inheritance of our children long after we are laid beneath
them ; and, with the return of each successive season, to
shed their fragrance on the air and crown with golden fruits
the harvest of the year. Nor are these blessings only for
a day or an hour.

" Another crop the following year supplies, —
They fall successive and successive rise."

MISSION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIETY.

Gentlemen, — I have often addressed you on the impor-
tance and mission of this Society, and I was inclined to refrain
from further remarks On this subject ; but the more I reflect
on it the more am I impressed with the imperative obliga-
tions which rest on us to do what we can in our day and
generation for advancing its great interest. In the provi-
dence of God our Society has been made the leader of pomo-
logical progress on this continent.

" There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune,"

lO

and there is a tide in the affairs of institutions as well as of
individuals. We seem to live in a peculiarly favorable period
for the promotion of our art. When we consider that our
Society was the first national institution of the kind,
and that its example has been followed in so many other
nations, we may take it for granted that the methods
which we have used are the best for the acquisition and the
diffusion of knowledge on this subject. These consid-
erations impress us with the importance of our work, and the
duty to develop, on the virgin soil of this Western Continent,
the wonderful resources which have for long ages lain hidden
in the arcana of pomology. Nor is it singular or strange
that they should have remained thus unknown, for Provi-
dence puts it into the hearts of men to work together for
the advancement of his grand designs by the development of
the resources he has kept in store to ameliorate the condition
and increase the happiness of his children, no faster than the
age is prepared to receive a more refined and higher civiliza-
tion. Thus was it in the discovery of this country, with
its vast agricultural and mineral resources; thus in the declara-
tion of its independence as an asylum for the oppressed of
the world, and thus in giving us the illustrious men who have
led the way in the march of civilization, which character-
ises the age in which we live,

" That every blessing may be ours
Which Providence has given,
To every land and clime beneath
The canopy of heaven."

Thus he gave us Columbus and Vespucius, Franklin and

1 1

Morse, Washington and Lincoln ; and thus he gave us,
not less efficient in their spheres, Coxe and Prince, Buel
and Thomas, Dearborn and Manning, Downing and Brinckl6,
and Kennicott, and others who now live for the promotion
of American Pomology, and with them the assurance that
he will raise up those who shall carry on the work when
we are gone.

Standing, then, as we do, to-day, in this great commer-
cial city, which, but a few years ago had only a be-
ginning— looking down the Atlantic slope and stretch-
ing our vision over to the Pacific coast, and from the
Lakes to the Gulf, and embracing within our recollection
the entire history of the pomology which has made our nation
so renowned, who does not feel a desire to aid in its promo-
tion throughout the whole domain. For myself, I yearn that
my life may be prolonged to witness its further advancement ;
and, should I be called to depart, I pray the good Lord that
he will make me a ministering angel to earth, so that I may
still witness its growth. Permit me to say, that I esteem
more the privilege of having been a co-laborer in this most
beneficent work, than in any other with which I have been
connected ; and I appreciate more highly the favor of the
official position with which you have so long honored me
than that of any other which has been conferred on me
during a somewhat protracted life of public and private ser-
vice. Pardon me, gentlemen, for these personal allusions :
but when I reflect that this is but the youth of this Society,
and contemplate what its maturity will be ; when I reflect
upon the blessings which have resulted from the labors of its

12

members; when I contemplate the happiness that it is to
confer on future generations, when our vast territory shall be
peopled by an enterprising population, elevated in the arts
and refinements of life, — my heart rises in gratitude to the
Giver of all good that he has permitted me to be a humble
co-worker in what has already been accomplished by the
diffusion of our precious fruits — far more precious than all the
gems that have come down through a long line of monarch s.

THE PUBLISHED VOLUMES OF PROCEEDINGS.

And here let me acknowledge the great aid which has
been rendered to our association by the co-operation of
the press, and the agricultural, horticultural and other
kindred institutions, so numerous in our land, most of which
have taken an interest in our work and the growth of our
Association. Thus the concentrated efforts of a thousand
societies and thousands of experimenters are uniting their
efforts with ours, and through us are urging on the good
work, and making the published proceedings of this Society,
as they ever should be, the acknowledged pomological author-
ity of the land. Let me state, for the information of our recent
members, that these have been regularly published from the
organization of the Society, and comprise, in a condensed
form, a mass of information on the pomology of this country,
and the adaptation or non-adaptation of fruits to its several
localities, such as is nowhere else to be found.

Few are aware of the time and labor which have been
expended on these volumes in preparing them for publication.
They embrace the life-work and the concentrated wisdom of

13

a generation of the wisest and most experienced cultivators of
our own times. In the language of our worthy friend, Mr.
John J. Thomas, " No other similar institution has attempted
so much as this Society, and no other has accomplished so m?(ch."
Into these volumes this information is condensed so that not
only the people of the whole country but those of foreign
lands can avail themselves of it. Formerly these were pub-
lished in octavo, but the last two are in quarto, form, and con-
stitute, as I have before remarked, a pomological library in
themselves. Especially is this the case with our Catalogue
of Fruits, embracing, as it does, columns for fifty different
States and districts, into which are compacted the lists of fruits
for each. These States are grouped into divisions, somewhat
similar in climate, and other characteristics affecting their cul-
ture, the names of the fruits being all classified and arranged in
alphabetical order, with their synonyms, and with marks indi-
cating their value for each section of our country.

The General Chairman of the Fruit Committee, Mr.
Patrick Barry, is constantly in correspondence with the
various State and local committees in regard to the
merits of the fruits which come under their notice, thus
establishing the value of each, so as to secure ap-
proved lists of the different species of fruits cultivated in
this country. Nor should it be forgotten that all these
services have been rendered without any pecuniary compen-
sation to our officers, except to a secretary for a few years.
And here let me express our obligations to Mr. Henry T.
Williams, secretary /w tern at the session of 1873, for his lib-
erality in tendering the sum which would have been his due

for his services in the compilation of our last volume of pro-
ceedings, and also to our secretary, the Hon. W. C. Flagg, for
the generous interest in the welfare of the Society, which
prompted him to decline the usual salary ; so that the
services of all officers are now rendered gratuitously. Espe-
cially to be remembered with gratitude are the faithful and
efficient services of our treasurer, Dr. Thomas P. James,
who, from the organization of the Society, has performed
the duties of the office without any other recompense than
the satisfaction to be found in their conscientious discharge.
Our funds, being all derived from membership, have never
been abundant, and some incidental sums have been occa-
sionally paid to keep a balance in the treasury ; but, were
they more abundant, they would materially assist in pro-
moting the objects of the Society, and the dissemination of
its publications; and permit me to say, that no better dis-
position can be made of this world's goods than to give a por-
tion to our Society, so that its bureau might be in constant
working order, with ability to distribute its publications
throughout the country.

In this connection, I think it proper to state, that one exam-
ple worthy of imitation now exists in the generous intentions
embodied in a will, already executed, by which the American
Pomological Society is to receive ten thousand dollars at the
decease of the generous devisor, which we hope may be far in
the future. Let others go and do hkewise !

NOMENCLATURE AND SYNONYMY.
Allow me to call your attention for a moment to the impor-
tance of a correct nomenclature for our fruits. This was one

15

of the objects for which this Society was instituted. This is
still its manifest duty, and should not be neglected. Much
has been effected in this respect by the unwearied labors of
the Committee on our Catalogue, as well as by the writers
of papers on the synonymy and nomenclature of particular
varieties, which have been published in our proceedings.
Besides these, we have the investigations of Manning, Down-
ing, Thomas, Barry, Hovey, Warder, Berckmans, Elliott,
and others who have devoted long lives to clearing up the
confusion which existed in the nomenclature of our fruits, and
whose efforts have, to a great extent, been crowned with
success. -We are aware of the difficulty of changing long-
established names, which, though erroneous, have almost
acquired a hereditary claim to use ; but, as a proof that it is
not impossible, we may mention the White Doyenne pear,
which, when this Society was instituted, was known in New
York as the Virgalieu, in Boston as the St. Michael, and in
Philadelphia as the Butter pear, to say nothing of its thirty
European synonyms, but now, through the persevering labors
of pomologists, is known throughout this country, as well as
in Europe, by one standard name. The report of our Com-
mittee on this subject, presented at our last session by the
chairman, Mr. Thomas, is a step in the right direction, and
should be followed up, particularly by such investigations of
the history and synonymy of popular varieties as the elab-
orate papers presented by Dr. Howsley at the session of
1 87 1. Let us all co-operate in these laudable efforts, and we
shall ere long make the nomenclature of our fruits as correct
as that of any of the other sciences.

i6

The importance of a correct nomenclature will be appre-
ciated by those who recollect the many efforts to procure the
" true Beurre Spence pear," and the many disappointments
from the reception of worthless varieties for it, before it was
discovered that the pear which Van Mons extolled so highly
under this name was no more nor less than the Flemish
Beauty. Had we known that the variety so long sought was
one which we already possessed, we should have been spared
a world of trouble and expense and disappointment.

AMERICAN FRUITS.

And now, for a moment, permit me to call your attention to
the consideration of the question, " How shall we obtain varie-
ties of fruits which may be adapted to the various latitudes of
our immense territory .'' "

The great loss sustained in the importation and trials of
trees from foreign shores, and even from different quarters of
our own country, which are not adapted to our own location,
suggests the answer that new varieties must be produced from
seed, and to the manor born, to remedy this evil.

The adaptation of plants to various climates, and their dis-
tribution over the earth, involves a study so profound that few
have any definite knowledge on the subject. Why some are
suited, by their constitution, to a wide extent of territory, and
are able to adapt themselves to almost any altitude or latitude
or temperature without material change, while others are con-
fined to a narrow limit, and will not prosper elsewhere ; or
why a fruit may succeed in one location, and a few miles dis-

17

tant fail entirely ; why some arc aquatic, and some thrive
in arid soils, while others are parasitic, are mysteries which
mankind has not yet been able to solve. The human con-
stitution will frequently endure the change of country and
climate ; but the extent to which plants can bear these
changes is fixed by an immutable law ; therefore, all attempts
to acclimate such as are not naturally congenial will fail
in the end, except it be within very narrow limits, — not,
however, that a tree or plant may not sometimes endure
greater degrees of cold or heat than it is subject to in its
native climate ; but no one should suppose that time will
produce a physiological or constitutional change in them.

It is, however, sufficient for us to know, that we can produce
from seed, fruits, which, by their constitution and habits, are
capable of enduring the cold and heat, the drought and mois-
ture, and other vicissitudes of the region we inhabit ; but the
idea that we can accustom a tree or plant to conditions not
consistent with its laws of being, is a chimera of the imagina-
tion. The only acclimation that we can rely on for obtaining
trees and plants of stronger constitution is the production of
new varieties from seed hybridized by the hand of man, or
naturally cross-fertilized by insects or the air. Whatever
opinions may have been entertained, to this we must come at
last, that, for the acquisition of hardy, valuable fruits, adapted
to the various locations of our vast territory, we must depend
mainly on the production from seed. Thus I have discoursed
to you for many years, — thus have I promised to do while I
live.

Much has already been accomplished by the production of

new varieties of American fruits from seed, but how little
compared with the results obtained in other lands by the
art of hybridization in the vegetable kingdom. To this art
we are mainly indebted for the numerous fine varieties of
grains, vegetables, and flowers introduced in our own time,
and the same success will reward similar efforts to produce
new and valuable fruits suited to our own climes. Says
Prof Gray, in his admirable essay at our last session, " Most
of our esteemed and important fruits have not so much
been given to man, as made by him, and man's work in
this respect is mainly to direct the course, or tendency,
of nature." The success which has attended the American
florist in the production of new and fine varieties of the
camellia, the rose, and other plants, which rival the choicest
varieties of the Old World, is indeed remarkable, and it
will be far greater when the same scientific knowledge is
applied to the production of native fruits.

The laws which govern the procreation of species by cross
impregnation are now so well understood by those who have
scientific knowledge as to leave no doubt of success. Thus,
the farmer as well as the florist is producing results which,
as to form, habit, color, proportion, and beauty, surprise the
operator himself, when he sees how kindly nature co-operates
with his efforts to bring forth the object of his desires.
There may be disappointments, — these are the lot of
humanity, — but the philosophical principle is correct,
and the results of practice are now universally acknowl-
edged ; and although the improvement sought for may
not be realized in every instance, experience has taught

19

us that it will come at last. But my object is to encourage
our cultivators in the belief that, by the sowing of the seeds of
our best varieties, and by cross impregnation, there is a wide
field open for improvement, and that all other attempts at ac-
climation are fruitless. And have you ever thought, my
friends, of the many fine fruits which you might have raised
by the sewing of seeds which you have carelessly thrown
away.? Not that I would discourage the planting and
proving of the new varieties from other regions, holding
fast such as are suited; and where they do not succeed
in one location, it is possible they may be adapted to
another. This is especially true with regard to the vari-
eties of the strawberry. While one cultivator cannot
grow the variety bearing my name, another declares he
will grow no other; and thus with the Hovey's Seedling,
which, after forty-two years of existence, has this year car-
ried off the highest prize offered by the Massachusetts Horti-
cultural Society for the strawberry.

LATE-KEEPING FRUITS.

The disposition now so generally manifested for the pro-
duction of very early fruits is commendable so far as it tends
to the extension of the season, but when we take into account
the very perishable character of these, it becomes a matter
worthy of consideration whether our efforts might not be
more profitably applied to the production of those which shall
prolong the season of fruits into the late fall and winter
months ; for as population increases and civilization advances,

20

SO will these fruits be considered as among the necessities of
food for all who have the means to purchase them. The
demand for late fruits for exportation has now become general,
and large quantities are sent not only to England, but in
our ice ships to warmer climes, where they are more and more
demanded for constant use. In view of these facts, it becomes
a matter of importance to increase the number of our choice
late-keeping fruits, not only for our own market, but for
foreign demand.

Heretofore there has seemed a want of taste in the com-
munity for late pears, shown by the sudden falling off in the
demand for this fruit immediately on the setting-in of cold
weather, but it is my belief that a taste for them will grow —
indeed is already growing up. Most of the very late vari-
eties of pears which we now possess are of medium quality,
and we think ourselves fortunate if we can ripen them to even
a half-melting texture, and it should be our aim in the improve-
ment of this fruit to produce varieties as fine in quality and
texture as thd autumn kinds, and possessing the property
of keeping through the winter without the aid of special
appliances. The want of taste for winter pears is owing,
to a great extent, to the want of knowledge by the public
generally, of the existence of fine varieties ripening at the
season of the Beurre d'Anjoii, Lawrence, Winter Nelis, and
Dana's Hovey.

There is little fear of overstocking the. market with very
choice late-keeping apples or pears, for just in proportion as
the refinements of life and cultivated taste are appreciated,
so will these bounties of nature become, as in the begin-

21

ning, first among the charms of Eden, first among the luxu-
ries of life. I am happy to say that the bequest to this
Society, which I have already mentioned, has distinct refer-
ence to the production of late varieties of fruit.

INSECT DEPREDATIONS.

But the non-adaptation of fruits to our several localities is
not the only difficulty we have to contend with. When we
reflect upon the alarming increase of noxious insects, and the
loss of untold millions of the productions of our country by
their ravages on our crops, it becomes a matter of grave
interest that the pomologist should be ever ready to contend
with this host of vile creation. These pests will probably
continue to afflict mankind in the future as in the past, for
their kingdom is established throughout the earth. " It ex-
tends," says Harris, " from the torrid zone to the utmost
limits of polar vegetation, and from the lowest valley to the
mountainous regions of perpetual snow." And as our
friend. Dr. Hull, the president of the Illinois State Horti-
cultural Society, has truly said, "just in proportion as you in-
crease improved fruits, just in that proportion will fruit insects
increase with you." The wonder, therefore, is not that they
are permitted to exert their baneful influence on this fair
world, but that mankind are so neglectful of efforts for their
destruction.

The Almighty gave us dominion not only over the fish of
the sea, the fowl of the air, and the cattle, but " over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth," and yet we

22

allow them to become our masters. One thing is certain,
our duty is to overcome them as we would any other evil,
nor tire in our efforts, unless we are willing to admit that
insects are more powerful than men. It is estimated by Prof.
Riley, that the damage done by insects within the limits of our
country is not less than three hundred millions of dollars
annually, and that Napoleon, at the summit of his prosperity,
never inflicted more damage on a nation than the liliputian
insect army inflicts on the United States ; and well does he
remark, " If an enemy were to cause a small part of the injury
which results each year from the depredations of even one of
our insect enemies the whole country would resound with a
clamor for the suppression of the invaders." We have learned
how to conquer the potato beetle, the caterpillar and curculio,
the canker and currant worms, the aphis and red spider, and
the rose slug; we can prevent the depredations of the borer
and the codling moth, and may we not yet hope to devise
means to prevent the terrible scourge of the grasshopper in
the West, and the phylloxera on our vines. Indomitable per-
severance is the price of reward in the acquisition of noble
ends, and this is especially true in regard to the culture of
fruits.

Accustomed, as we are, to the canker worm in Massachu-
setts, we as generally protect our orchards from its ravages
as we do our fields from the invasion of cattle ; the efforts of
Ellwanger and Barry, Dr. Hull and others, are crowned with an
annual crop of plums, by a little care, at the proper time, in
shaking of the trees and picking up of the dropping fruit ; the
canker worm is prevented by the application of tar and oil, or

23

printer's ink for a few weeks ; the caterpillar by the use of
the hand or brush for a few hours ; and the borer by a few mo-
ment's examination ; and these examples are illustrations of
the principles which I would enforce, and of what may be done ;
and were we to fail in this, it is through neglect of the
means which have been placed in our hands.

" Thus God delights to teach this lesson ever,
That our success depends on our endeavor."

The study of entomology, as teaching us the habits of in-
sects, both useful and injurious, is of the highest impor-
tance, in connection with the culture of plants and fruits.
And we therefore rejoice in the spirit of enterprise which
has of late been awakened on this subject. Were we to
be told that there was no method to prevent the depreda-
tions of insects, we should lie down in despair ; but we do
little better, while we do nothing to prevent them, and if
men would give their minds to the subject, most of the
evils of which we complain might be prevented.

NECROLOGY.

While we rejoice in the prosperity, usefulness and
example of this Society, let us remember with gratitude the
services of those departed friends who have labored with us
for its promotion, that their names may have a place in our
records as benefactors of mankind. At our last session it
was my sad duty to add to our nefcrological report the decease
of three associates, who had held the office of Vice-President

24

of this Society ; and now, although Providence has spared the
lives of others, who have held official position, I have to add
the names of three more who have passed the dark river, over
whose waves none return.

Hon. Joseph Sebastian Cabot of Salem, Mass., died June
29, 1874. Mr. Cabot was one of our oldest and most
respected members, having occupied various official positions
both in this Society and in the community in which he lived.
He was a graduate of Harvard College, Mayor of Salem,
President of the Asiatic Bank, and for several years Presi-
dent of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. He was
early devoted to horticultural pursuits, and for a long time
particularly interested in fruit-culture, having produced the
Cabot and other pears from seed. For many years he was a
Vice-President of this Society, and, as Chairman of Com-
mittee on Rejected Fruits, made the report in 1858, whereby
more than six hundred varieties were rejected as unworthy
of general cultivation. Mr. Cabot discharged all the duties
of life with marked ability and unimpeached integrity.

Mark Miller of Des Moines, Iowa, died April 16, 1874.
He was born in Peterborough, N.H., and ever had a most
grateful regard for his nativ'e State. He w^as ardently
devoted to the cause of fruit culture in the West, and
at the time of his death was Chairman of the Fruit Com-
mittee for Iowa, which office he had held for many
years. While living in Wisconsin, he was correspondent of
"The Wisconsin Farmer," and after his removal to Iowa,
he edited and published " The Iowa Homestead." In the
latter years of his life he was editor of " The Western Po-

mologist," which absorbed "The Western Gardener," and at
the time of his death was Western corresponding editor of
"The Horticulturist." He was modest and unassuming in his
manners, eminently a working man, and deeply interested in
the welfare of the American Pomological Society. Mr. Miller
had been in ill health for several months, but by extraordinary
effort he made up a large collection of apples, and placed
them on our tables at Boston, as lie had done at our session
in Richmond, in 1869, where Iowa received the first prize
for apples. Many will remember the enterprise and interest
which he manifested in these collections, which received
special commendation. His death was a severe loss both
to Western pomology, and to this Society.

Hon. Matthias L. Dunlap of Champaign, Illinois, who died
on the 14th of February, 1875, was Chairman of the Fruit
Committee for Illinois from 1858 to 1869. He was distin-
guished for great energy and enterprise, and was highly re-
spected for his integrity. He was widely known throughout
the North-west for the ability and devotion with which he
sought to give instruction in agriculture, having commenced
as a correspondent of " The Prairie Farmer," and afterward
edited " The Illinois Farmer." Later he became still more
widely known as the agricultural correspondent of "The Chi-
cago Tribune," over the signature of " Rural." He was
deeply interested in rural improvement and the development
of the West, and was respected and loved by all who knew
him.

In this connection I think it proper also to allude to the
recent death of a distinguished friend of our cause, Chevalier

26

Andre Leroy of Angers, France, which occurred on the 23d
of last July, at the age of seventy-four years. Though living
in a foreign land, he was known to many of us personally,
and to a large circle of friends in the intercourse of trade.
His nurseries were among the most extensive in Europe,
and from them more fruit-trees have probably been sent to
the United States than from any other establishment. His
"Dictionnaire de Pomologie," in five royal octavo volumes,
is a most elaborate work, and will cause him to be long re-
membered by the pomologists of the world. His desire to
visit this country and witness its progress in pomology, was
often expressed ; and, in a letter to me, as late as last June,
he remarks, "I am always astonished at the progress of
pomology and horticulture in your country,"

THE CENTENNIAL OF THE REPUBLIC.

It will be remembered that our Society has already accepted
an invitation to participate in the Grand Centennial Celebra-
tion of our nation's independence at Philadelphia next year,
for which we must now make preparations. It will be the
most glorious epoch in modern history, being no less than a
centennial celebration of the only great nation on earth, which
will then have completed a century of free and independent
political existence. On that occasion we shall meet not only
the representatives of the States and Territories of this great
republic, but the representatives of other nations from all
quarters of the globe, to exchange cordial greetings on the
triumphs of civilization and the blessings of freedom, which

27

have made this nation the wonder and admiration of mankind.
Here will be brought together, in friendly competition, the
genius, skill, and industries ; the products of the soil, the
mines and the manufactories of nations, and amidst all, in the
grand nave of the temple of agriculture, the fruits of this con-
tinent are to be placed, as jewels set by Pomona on the bosom
of Ceres.

And now that we are in the midst of these days of centen-
nial celebrations, I am reminded of our own Quarter-centennial
at Boston two years since, when the representatives of thirty
States, Districts and Territories came up with their fruits to
rejoice together in the progress and prosperity of our Society.
It was an occasion long to be remembered by us of the
East ; nor shall I ever forget the hour when we received the
welcome of Boston, in the Old Cradle of Liberty, whose
hallowed walls had so often resounded to the call of patriot-
ism and duty, nor when we stood up in that bower of flowers
and beauty and grace, made glad with the thousand voices of
friendly greeting. Pardon me, friends, for this digression ;
but when I reflect that it was my fortune to stand by the
cradle of our Society at its birth, and that many of its god-
fathers were there to join in these festivities, I could but
remember with gratitude that I had been permitted to wit-
ness the glory of this latter day, and in the fulness of
joy, after twenty-five years of service, the feeling would
arise, let me depart, I die content. But no, no, the
better, second thought was, let me live on, let me live to
witness the further development of our vast national re-
sources, and the influence of those great principles of human
right which have made this nation what it is.

28

CONCLUSION.

In all this progress of civilization, influence, and power,
the American Pomological Society is to take a part. What
a field of research and promise is open before us ! What a
vast enterprise to fill our ever-expanding area with fruits
suited to our various climes ! What a noble and benevolent
work to furnish the luscious fruits of earth for future genera-
tions! This is our work ; this the mission of our Society!
Let us fulfil it ! And let us console ourselves with the
thought that, long after we shall have been gathered to our
fathers, the results of our labors, like the dews of heaven,
which continue to refresh the earth, shall be gratefully re-
membered by the millions that are to follow us. Work on,
then, my brethren, work on, persevere to the end, and as
surely as the sun shall shine and the rain descend, so surely
shall your labors be crowned by a harvest of glorious fruits
for mankind.

I hail with joy the steady onward progress of our Na-
tional Society, not only for the contributions which it is
making to the material wealth of our nation and the happi-
ness of our fellow-men, but for the many indications which
it gives of perpetual friendship between the numerous and
distant States and Territories of our jurisdiction ; a friend-
ship which, we believe, shall grow stronger and stronger,
dearer and dearer, by common memories of the past, com-
mon interests of the present, and common hopes of the
future ; a friendship which shall unite us in effort, in affec-
tion, and in destiny, now and forever.