The grape exhibit was made adjacent to the rest of the New York exhibit. The tables afforded room for about 2,000 plates. The display was made up largely of Concord, Catawba, Niagara, Virgennes, Campbell Early and other commercial varieties.
The rarer varieties, however, were not neglected, as will be seen from the list of one hundred and fifty varieties appearing elsewhere.
PEARS
In October of 1903, fifty-five bushel boxes of pears were placed in cold storage to be used for the Exposition. Of this number, twenty-five boxes were purchased from David K. Bell, of Brighton, and the balance came in single bushels from some of the best growers of the State. The pears, like the apples, were wrapped first in heavy tissue paper and then in oiled paper.
The following is a list of the varieties kept in cold storage: Beurre
d'Anjou, Beurre Bosc, Beurre Clairgeau, Beurre Diel, Angouleme,
Columbia, Duchess, Howell, Josephine of Malines, Kieffer, Lawrence, Mt.
Vernon, Rutter and Vergalieu.
On April twenty-fifth, when the boxes were examined and a selection made for the opening day, the Duchess was found in poorer condition than any of the other varieties. Notwithstanding this fact, a continuous exhibit of Duchess pears was made until May thirtieth. All the other varieties were in prime condition, and were displayed in lots of fifty plates until May twenty-sixth, when one grand exhibit was made, consisting of four hundred plates of fifteen varieties. This display continued in good condition until the sixteenth of June, in spite of the extreme hot weather at that time, the Anjou, Angouleme, Bosc, Clairgeau, Columbia, Howell and Kieffer keeping extremely well until that date.
The display in the fall of 1904 attracted a great deal of attention, not alone from visitors, but also from the superintendents of horticulture from the other States and from fruit growers in general. On September nineteenth, one hundred and forty-two varieties were exhibited from Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester; on September twenty-first, twenty varieties were exhibited from David K. Bell, of Brighton, in addition to the general display from almost every section of the State, making an exhibit of pears never before equaled.
A complete list of the one hundred and fifty-two varieties of pears exhibited will be found following the list of exhibitors.
PLUMS
As the result of a bountiful plum crop, the display of this luscious and popular fruit was unusually large and fine. The first shipment, consisting of Early Red June, was received from F. E. Dawley, of Fayetteville, on August fifth, and from that time until September twenty-sixth, additions were made almost daily. One hundred and twenty-eight varieties, arrayed on hundreds of plates, and occupying nearly a third of the New York space, compelled the attention and admiration of every passer-by. And indeed, it was an attractive sight, from the stand-point of color alone, comprising, as it did, nearly every shade of green, yellow, purple, blue, orange and red.