Extracts from awards of premiums on fruits at horticultural exhibitions as recommendations of their value by interested dealers has become so general in use that it has come to be an abuse, which should either be at once checked by severe criticism, or else societies should instruct their committees in some formula of guidance toward prevention of the use of said committee's report without the fruit being every way worthy of the money, time, and labor of the fruit-growing public.

We have known three specimens of a new variety of fruit receive a first premium, because those specimens happened to be the best of their kind in the list exhibited, not because they were better than any other kind grown and perhaps known to the committee, but simply because they were the best at that time exhibited with which, to compare. The report of the committee was then extracted from by dealers, and a nearly worthless fruit palmed on the public over the names of men as the committee no one of which could be got privately to speak of the fruit as at all worthv of cultivation. But what could they do ? The society had no rule except to report on the best exhibited, and award the premium. The same sort of thing is being continually repeated, and yearly our fruit-growing novices are led into expense of time, money, labor, and disappointment, when a little timely care in the preparation of restricting rules by societies for committees' observance would prevent it. So much has this come to be a part of some exhibitor's schemes looking forward to the use of the committee's report as an advertisement afterward, that we know of several good horticulturists unwilling to act upon committees, and often keeping away from the exhibition until a late hour from fear of being called upon to serve, and thus have their name and reputation erroneously placed before the public.

Now, in the season of exhibitions, when all are engaged, we call the attention of managers of horticultural societies to the subject, and ask of them, for the credit of their associations, the reputation of their fruitmen, and the great cause of pomology and general good of the country, to act at once either in some united rule - or each for itself - any way, we care not how, so that there be some stop to the use of a leading society's or a good, honest fruit-man's name being attached, by means of an extract, to puff into sale any fruit not thoroughly known as of real value when obtained.