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DATE DUE

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS

AT

AMHERST

SB
354
M37

V. 12-20
1906-14

MASSACHUSETTS

FRUIT GROWERS^

ASSOCIATION

(ORGANIZED MARCH 2J, 1895)

REPORTS OF THE

1 2th to 1 6th Annual Meetings

HELD IN

Horticultural Hall, Worcester

1906-1910

PUTNAM, CONN.:
THE OBSERVER PRESS

i9n

POMOLOGY

OEFICERS OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS'

ASSOCIATION

J9J0

S. T. MAYNARD, President,

H. L. FROST, Vice-President,

P. HOWARD BROWN, Secretary-Treasurer,

J. LEWIS ELLSWORTH, Auditor,

N(5rtliDoro

Arlington

Marlboro

Worcester

DIRECTORS

ESSEX COUNTY:
SUFFOLK COUNTY:
NORFOLK COUNTY:
PLYMOUTH COUNTY:
MIDDLESEX COUNTY

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY
HAMPDEN COUNTY :
BERKSHIRE COUNTY:
FRANKLIN COUNTY:
WORCESTER COUNTY

E. A. Emerson, Haverhill; Edgar
Giregory, Marblehead.

A. Warren Patch, Boston; George
Cruickshanks, Chelsea.

Monroe Morse, Medway; A. P. Ste-
vens, Wellesley.

Augustus Pratt, North Middleboro;

Walton Hall, Marshfield.
:C. P. Hayward, Ashby; G. S. Knapp^
Groton; E. D. Howe, Marlboro;
Wilfred Wheeler, Concord; E. R.
Parrar, South Lincoln.
;J. Maxwell Clark, North Hadley;
Fred C. Sears, Amherst.

L. W. Rice, Wilbraham; Ethelbert
Bliss, Wilbraham.

George G. Walker, Willlamstown; R
H. Race, North Egremont.

E. P, Copeland, Colrain; M. H. Vin-
cent, Conway.

G. C. Rice, Worcester; W. D. Ross,.
Worcester; A. A. Hixon, Worces-
ter; Elliott Moore, Worcester; S.
J. Emerson, Lunenburg; B. A.
Hersey, Westboro

PREFACE

In view of the increased interest being manifested in
the essentials for which this Association stands it was
deemed wise to print these past reports at this time, as
what funds are in the treasury are really the result of prom-
ises of printing our reports. Of course there was an immense
amount of extra labor involved but your Secretary had the
cheerful and able assistance of former secretaries and we
trust the result will be satisfactory to the members.

The scope of this Association includes the owner of a
few trees or small fruit garden as well as the Commercial
Fruit Grower, and the study of our reports and the attend-
ance at our meetings will invariably contribute to the advan-
tage and enthusiasm of all.

Let members wear the annual button at all meetings
and let each work for increased membership.

F. HOWARD BROWN, Secretary.
Marlboro, Mass., Jan. 2, 1911.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS'
ASSOCIATION

March I4th and J5th, 1906
Horticultural Hall, Worcester, Mass.

The twelfth annual meeting was called to order by
Pres. Eames at 10.30 a. m., Mar. 14th with a large number
of members present. Pres. 0. B. Hadwen of Worcester Co.
Horticultural Society welcomed the association to their
commodious hall and wished them an enjoyable and profit-
able meeting, to which Pres. Eames responded, thanking
the Society through its president for the great assistance af-
forded the fruit growers of Massachusetts.

The annual address of Pres. Eames was next read fol-
lowed by the reports of the Secretary and Treasurer. The
Auditor reported the books correct and all money expended
properly vouched for. Reports accepted.
A FIELD MEETING

A Field Meeting was called for June 28th in connection
with the Rose and Strawberry show of the Worcester Coun-
ty Society. About 25 members gathered in the Library
room and listened to an interesting and instructive lecture
upon "What is done with the Apple Crop in N. Y. State,"
by Mr. Edward Van Alstyne, of Kinderbrook, N. Y.

After some discussion and questions, Capt. M. P. Palm-
er told how he handled his apple crop in 1905, for one ship-
ment of which he received a check for over $3000.

The program included a discussion on small fruits, but
«o much time was spent in discussing the apple crop, that
the meeting was adjourned before this subject was reached
and the party took the trolley for "Hadwen Park" where
a dinner had been prepared. After dinner Mayor J. T. Dug-
gan, and several other speakers entertained the company
until it was time to take the trolley for a return to Horti-
cultural Hall. After inspecting the exhibits of strawberries,
roses and other flowers, the company went to the store of
Ross Bros., to inspect spraying appliances, and from there
to the- Cold Storage plant of the Worcester Ice and Cold
Storage Company. Here the process of cooling rooms from
a temperature of 32° to 0° was shown and explained by Mr.
W. H. Blodget. At the store of W. H. Blodget & Co., the
handling of fruit and other products was explained, as was
also the storing and ripening of bananas, etc.

There being no committees to report, the first lecture
was called about eleven o'clock.

"RECENT WORK IN THE SUPPRESSION OF THE

GYPSY MOTH, BROWN-TAIL MOTH AND OTHER

INSECTS IN MASSACHUSETTS."

BY C. W. MINOTT; in place of Prof. Kirkland
Illustrated by Stereopticon

"I wish to explain the reason for the change in the
speaker who appears before you this morning. Prof. Kirk-
land expected to be with you until the last moment. I had
planned to be here and attend the meeting and when Prof.
Kirkland found he could not come he wished me to take
his place. This I did not know imtil I stepped aboard the
train at Boston.

"The question that at the present time is uppermost
in many minds is in regard to the law under which we are
now working in trying to suppress our insect pests in
Massachusetts. By the law passed last winter by the legis-
lature an appropriation of $300,000 was made to be ex-
pended by May 1, 1907.

"In addition to that an assessment was made upon the
towns and cities of the State and I have here a copy of the
law which I will read to you.

"Starting on the 8th of May Prof. Kirkland gathered
men who had had previous experience and has gradually
been working up a force so that we now have about 32 em-
ployees. About the 1st of June we started on the inspec-
tion of the territory outside of that previously inspected.

"That work was continued during the fall and in some
cases up to the present time. It is hard to get good men
who are qualified for the work, while in 1900, when we
sprayed, we had a good force of men but these have all
found new situations and are not willing to leave while it
is uncertain what will be done by the State."

Mr. Minott showed about 30 slides exhibiting the gypsy
and brown tail moths in all stages of development, also
showing what the State is doing in different towns in the
Commonwealth and the methods used to exterminate these
pests.

After some discussion the next lecture was called,
Pres. Eames introducing Dr. E. Porter Felt, State Entomol-
ogist of New York, who spoke on

INSECTS AND SCALE PESTS COMMON TO NEW ENG-
LAND AND BEST REMEDY FOR EACH

"It affords me peculiar pleasure to appear before you
this morning because I consider myself very much at home
in Worcester.

"In the first place I wish to congratulate this Society
upon giving a prominent place to the lecture which has
just been concluded because it seems to me that this ques-
tion of the gypsy and brown tail moth is one that concerns
all New England because it is only a question of time before
you will have your own experiences with these insects, and
while this morning we may laugh at the man carrying an
umbrella over his head to protect himself from the moths,
it would not appear so funny when we had to do it our-
selves.

"I want to say that I know of no man better fitted by
training and experience to cope with this work of extermi-
nation than Prof. Kirkland.

"I am going to turn aside from caterpillars and talk

8 ^

more about insects that affect our fruit trees. I was in-
terested in the remarks made by our President especially
his remarks upon continuous spraying. Some make but a
half hearted trial or worse still, send the hired man out with
an antiquated apparatus to do the work.

''When I talk about spraying I mean thorough work
not only this year but the next year and the year after be-
cause I believe that is the only way to control the insects
and other fuugoiLs diseases. Spraying is really another kind
of insurance and just as you keep up your policy, in the
same way keep on spraying and the man who does is the
one who gets good fruit, gets high prices and makes a suc-
cess of fruit growing.

The control of insect pests and fungous diseases affect-
ing our various fruit trees, is a problem of great importance
and no argument is necessary to demonstrate the economic
advantages resulting therefrom. We all know what it is to
happen upon a wormy apple, and there is always a widf- di-
vergence between the price paid for barrels of soun.i fruit
and that which can be obtained for a second quality prod-
uct. More than this, our markets are beginning to recog-
nize the beneficial results following spraying and as a con-
sequence some buyers are obliged, on account of market de-
mands, to make a difference of 25c per barrel between fruit
from sprayed and that from untreated orchards, even though
both be carefully graded and apparently of the same qual-
ity. This difference in price will more than cover the cost
of the necessary spraying from year to year, not to mention
the additional amount of marketable fruit resulting from
the adoption of this practice.

There are a number of insects which demand attention
on the part of the orchardist in early spring. The apple
borers are common and occasionally very destructive pests.
This is particularly true of the round-headed apple borer,
which is sometimes very injurious to young orchards, and
older trees are by no means exempt from its operations. Our
attention was called recently to a young apple orchard
owned by an Irishman. He stated that, in his opinion, the
soil was not adapted to fruit trees. An examination resulted
in finding 11 borers at the base of a young tree with a trimk
diameter of less than 1 1-2 in.

The situation was obviously "unhealthy," though the
trouble was due to insect depredations rather than soil de-
ficiency. There is no better method of controlling this apple

borer than by careful inspection and digging out the borers
or killing them with a hooked wire. This work should be
done in early fall and again in the spring. The presence of
these pests is indicated by fresh reddish borings so familiar
to most fruit growers. Something can also be accomplished
by putting protective bands of tarred paper, newspaper or
other material around the trunks and keeping them in place
from the latter part of May through August. These bands,
in order to be effective, should be moderately tight so that
the insects can not get between them and the base of the
trunk. The other apple borer, known as the flat-headed
borer because of the peculiar, broad, flattened anterior part
of the grub, works by preference at the base of the larger
limbs and ordinarily causes much less damage than the pre-
ceding form. There is no better method of checking this
species than digging out and destroying the pests as de-
scribed above.

Our fruit trees are subject to attack by several early
spring leaf feeders, and whenever they are at all abundant
in an orchard, an early spring spraying with some arsenical
poison is extremely important. Among these pests are the
well known bud moth or bud worm, the latter a small,
naked, brownish caterpillar with a darker brown head,
frequently seen in blossoms and clusters of young leaves.
This winters in a very inconspicuous brownish, nearly in-
visible cocoon, spun beside a bud or other rough part of the
bark. The young caterpillars emerge therefrom in very
early spring and are ready to feed upon the leaves as soon
as they burst from the bud, thus causing a maximum amount
of damage.

The two case-bearers, known as the pistol case-beare:
and the cigar case-bearer on account of the characteristic
shape of their protective shelters, also winter upon the
twigs and, like the bud worm mentioned above, are ready
for business very early in the spring. These three pests,
together with the extremely common and more easily con-
trolled tent caterpillars, are readily destroyed by an early
application of an arsenical poison, and wherever these in-
sects are at all abundant, the orchardist should plan to spray
with a poison just as soon as the leaves begin to appear in
order to catch these pests before any appreciable damage
is inflicted.

Canker worms are early spring feeders and likewise
amenable to poisoned applications. There are two species-

lO

known as the fall and the spring canker worm. The fe-
males of the former ascend the trees in late fall and early-
winter, while those of the latter do not climb the trees till
late winter or early spring. The adults of both are wing-
less and they may be checked by applying sticky bands
rsuch as tar, so as to prevent their ascending the trees and
depositing eggs where the yoimg caterpillars, hatching in
early spring, can get at the foliage. Ordinarily this pro-
cedure is unnecessary in the case of the man who resorts to
spraying, and owing to the fact that this latter method is
not onlj' of value in checking canker worms but is also very
effective in destroying the other leaf feeders mentioned
above, we much prefer to indorse the use of poisons.

There are three important scale insects liable to be
found in our orchards at the present time ; namely, the
oyster scale, the scurfy scale and the San Jose scale. The
•oyster scale, easily recognized on account of its brown
color and oyster-shaped shell, is nearly 1-8 of an inch long
and winters in the egg state. The scurfy scale has a whitish,
irregular covering as large as that of the oyster scale, and
when abundant forms a very characteristic, whitish scurfy-
like mass on the bark of infested trees. This, like
the preceding form, winters in the egg; those of both
species hatching in this latitude the latter part of May or
very early in June. They may be controlled by thorough
sprajnng with either a kerosene emulsion (the standard
formula diluted with 6 parts of water,) or a whale oil soap
. solution (1 lb. to 6 or 7 gallons of water.) An effort should
be made to make the application just after the majority
of ihe young have appeared and before they have covered
themselves 1o any extent with the downy, cottony-like se-
cretion which appears within a few days after they escape
from under the protecting scale of the mother.

The San Jose scale is entirely different. It is much
smaller, being only about 1-10 to 1-12 of an inch in diam-
eter. The projective scale is circular or nearly so and pre-
sents a marked contrast to that of the two native species
described above. It winters under a half grown scale about
the size of a pin head. This latter may be dark gray or al-
most black, each individual scale having a distinct nipple.
Any rough, abnormal ap])earance on rapidly growing twigs
should arouse suspicion. A pinkish discoloration of leaf,
green fruit or green twigs, is evidence that this scale may
be present. A further test is to place the finger nail or a

II

Imife blade obliquely against the infested bark, and press-
ing firmly, draw it a short distance over the suspected
area. Should scale insects be beneath, a yellowish fluid
will be crushed from their bodies. Such twigs should be
sent to some entomologist for examination, as that is the
only certain way of establishing the identity of the trouble.
The San Jose scale breeds almost continuously in this lati-
tude from about the 20th of June till into October, Novem-
ber or even into December, depending largely upon the
Tveather. It is enormously prolific and, under favorable con-
ditions, may multiply to such a great extent as to nearly
min trees within two or three years. The extended breed-
ing season has made it necessary to resort to what are known
as winter washes for the control of this pest, and it is grat-
ifying to state that in the case of the lime-sulfur wash we
have a material which may be applied to dormant trees and
not only destroy this insect but also prove of considerable
value in checking the destructive pear psylla and certain
fungous troubles. All things considered, there is no better
method of controlling San Jose scale in this latitude, than
"by thorough and timely spraying with a lime-sulfur wash.
This material is one of the cheapest and most effective in-
secticides we have and possesses in addition, valuable fungi-
cidal properties. Researches conducted by our State Ex-
periment Station have shoAvn that an early spring applica-
tion of a lime-sulfur wash followed by two or three spray-
ings with a poisoned bordeaux mixture, gives almost ideal
■protection from both insect pests and fungous diseases.

The present seems a most fitting time to urge a moderate
conservatism on the part of our fruit growers. The past
decade has seen a wonderful increase in the demand for
various insecticides and fungicides, and experience has
•demonstrated beyond question what certain standard prep-
arations will accomplish. Naturally we are all interested
in securing the best insecticide or fungicide and wish to
use the same at once. There has been in recent years a
most urgent demand for better methods of controlling s-'.a.le
insects in particular. This stimulus has lead many experi-
'raent stations and private individuals to make various tests,
;and a number of commercial firms have put on the market,
•preparations of one kind or another, some possessing con-
siderable merit. The true value of an insecticide can not
"be demonstrated beyond question till it has been subjected
to the tests of several years.

12

Just at present there is a strong tendency on the part of"
some to use the newer materials before they have been
thoroughly tested. The scientific man must not allow en-
thusiasm to outrun judgment, lest his reputation is gone and
his usefulness at end. The same is doubly true of the
orchardist who, by following such a course, may not only
lose standing but imperil Ihe existence of valuable and per-
haps expensive orchards. Therefore, we urge all fruit grow-
ers to si and firmly by the well tried insecticides, experi-
menting in a small way with the newer compounds. Let ns-
make haste slowly and if we wish to make tests, confine
the trials to a moderate number of trees, and even then
make no sweeping change till the experience of several
years has amply demonstrated the value of the new ma'erial.
This is slower than some other method, but in our judgment
is infinitely more satisfactory than the rash adoption of
measures which have not passed the experimental stage.

Discussion followed this paper and it was then moved"
and voted that a committee be appointed by the chair to
nominate a list of officers for the ensuing year. The com-
mittee was appointed and the meeting adjourned to 1 P. M.

AFTERNOON SESSION

The meeting was called to order and the nominating
committee reported as follows :

C. A. WHITNEY, President, Upton

JOHN W. CLARK, Vice-President, North Hadley

S. T. MAYNARD, Secretary, Northboro

S. T. MAYNARD, Treasurer, Northboro

J. LEWIS ELLSWORTH, Auditor, Worcester

DIRECTORS
ESSEX COUNTY: E. a. Emerson, Haverhill; J. J. H.

Gregory, Marblehead.
SUFFOLK COUNTY: George Cruickshanks, Chelsea.
NORFOLK COUNTY: A. P. Stevens, Wellesley; Monroe

Morse, Medway,

PLYMOUTH COUNTY:. Augustus Pratt, North Middleboro;;

Walton Hall, Marshfield.

13

JfllDDLESEX COUNTY: C. F. Hay ward. Ashby; M. P. Palm-
er, Groton; George P. Wheeler,
Concord; C. S. Pratt, Reading; E,
R. Farrar, South Lincoln.

TTAMPSHTHE COUNTY: John W. Clark. North Hadley; E.

Cyrus Miller, Haydenville.

HAMPDEN COUNTY: Ethelbert Bliss, Wilbraham; L. W.

Rice. Wilbraham.

BERKSHIRE COUNTY: George G. Walker, Williamstown;

R. H. Race, North Egremont.

FRANKLIN COUNTY: M. H. Vincent, Conway; E. F. Cope-
land, Colrain.

WORCESTER COUNTY :S. J. Emerson, Lunenburg; O. B.

Hadwen, Worcester; C. E. Parker.
Holden; James Draper. Worcester;
E. A. Hersey, Westboro; Elliott
Moore. Worcester.

It was moved that the Secretary east one ballot for
this list of candidates. This was done and they were de-
clared elected.

It was moved and voted that the salary of the Secre-
tary-Treasurer be made $50 per year.

At 1.30 P. M., Mr. A. W. Fulton, Managing Editor New
England Homestead, read the following interesting and in-
structive lecture on

CO-OPERATION IN SELLING FRUIT IN MASSACHU-
SETTS

The preacher chooses his own text ; the politician inter-
mingles, sometimes without discrimination, fact and fancy;
but your secretary, our honored Prof. Maynard, issues his
instructions to say something on a specific subject. To me
his orders are : ' ' Tell the fruit growers something about
the co-operative marketing of apples in Massachusetts." As
has been said by a staunch supporter of the day we are to
celebrate next Saturday, there are no snakes in Ireland. So
I might also have the temerity to say in spite of Prof. May-
nard's mandate, there is no co-operative marketing of ap-
ples in Massachusetts, nor for that matter any of conse-
quence in any part of New England. Our apples are mostly

14

grown in small orchards, often miles apart ; and in practicaC
operation, up to this time, every grower seems to prefer to-
be his own agent. A prominent apple dealer in Boston
touching upon this subject the other day said off hand, to-
illustrate his point, that the state of Maine has 5000 apple
shippers. This of course is drawing the long bow, but the-
general fact remains that New England orehardists as a
rule have not yet taken up in earnest the subject of co-oper-
ative selling.

The practical difficulties in getting all the market wilt
stand are experienced chiefly by the small grower of 50 tO'
100 barrels, who is unable to secure the benefit of the brisk
competitive bidding enjoyed by the larger grower. If our
Massachusetts orehardists consider it impractical, the deal-
ers in the large markets, such as Boston, go further, and-
are a unit claiming it both impossible and unnecessary. In-
quiry among the very largest handlers of our apples, both
for domestic and export trade, elicits the opinion that there
is little probability of growers getting together and market-
ing their fruit on the co-operative plan. They say orehard-
ists for one thing would not hold together in any scheme-
formulated; that the independent New England spirit
prompts every man to operate and control his own business.
Another drawback given for the slow growth of co-opera-
tive enterprise is the lack of uniformity in packing fruit,
and the uneven quality; this would tend to increase the
difficulty in marketing it at satisfactory figures, and would
reduce the average price, etc.

While the movement lags here, much has been ac-
complished elsewhere, and the proposition as a whole has-
great promise, subject to modifications according to environ-
ment. In Europe, as perhaps most of you know, wonderful
strides have been made along co-operative lines in distribut-
ing farm produce. This is true not only in the United King-
dom, France and Germany, but also in countries as distant
as Italy, Austria and Scandinavia. Out of the abundance-
of testimony available, one brief instance of the situation
across the water will suffice.

A couple of seasons ago agricultural co-operation in Ire-
land celebrated its 10th anniversary with 703 co-operative
societies, having a total membership of 71,000 farmers and
an aggregate trade in one year of $5,900,000. The dairy in-
terests were by far the largest, particularly because the co-
operative movement started there:. The success^ of the co-

15

operative movement in dairying led to the formation of the-
Irish agricultural organization, and the work has taken-
shape in bringing other farm commodities under the co-
operative system, as poultry, fruits, garden products, etc.
Those identified with the management insist on packing-
farm products along modern lines, this counting for much
in the final disposition of the goods. Each society has found,
it necessary to give special prominence to the instruction of
its members. This ranges from a mere acquaintance with
the crude methods of growing, packing, etc., to technical
work along the different lines of agriculture.

Co-operative enterprises in handling fruits and vege-
tables have made much more progress west and southwest
than here in New England. In order to inform you rela-
tive to the movement in other fruit and truck sections I
will cite briefly a number of instances. Fact is always
better than fancy, and practice more conclusive than theory.
A rapid glance at what is being accomplished in other sec-
tions should afford thought for practical application, though
of course in modified form, right here in Massachusetts.

In the Western apple producing sections the movement
for co-operative marketing is in somewhat the same condi-
tion as here in the east ; fairly successful organizations here-
and there, but in the main apples handled independently.
Yet our investigations disclose some successful and encour-
aging work of this character, largely through the medium
of local organization. In the west, as in New England, im--
portant fruit growing areas may be seen where there is no
special organization for the purpose of directing best meth-
ods of marketing. Each fruit grower in his own way fol-
lows an independent line of action, aiming to get the most
the market affords along the lines of his own experience.

The occasional fruit marketing organizations of local
character, which are really succeeding, form an object lesson^
worth our attention here in the east. For example : At
Cobden, 111., which is a great center for fruits and truck,,
there is a regularly incorporated shipping association. The-
manager of this makes it his business to make contracts-
with the transportation companies, and to secure the num-
ber and kind of cars required by shippers, and at the time-
required. In cold weather, for shipping sweet potatoes, the-
cars required in the daily supply are placed on side tracks;
ready to receive the barrels. In summer, when iced cars are-
needed for shipping such perishable stuff as strawberries,.

i6

the manager procures the cars, and has them properly sup-
plied with ice, ready for immediate use. He collects infor-
mation daily about markets and prices, receives fruit at
the cars, receipting to the owner for same, sees to it that
the fruit is placed properly in the car, makes a manifest
for each owner, and bills the car to the proper person at
its destination. In this way the best rates and service are
secured. The cars are shipped from one person in the pro-
ducing section to one person in the distributing market, and
takes away entirely from the railroad the important work
of loading and unloading. During the fruit season 15 to
20 cars are shipped daily from Cobden, representing of
course many thousands of packages, and securing to the in-
dividual grower a degree of uniformity in handling which
in the long run proves profitable to him.

The Ozark Fruit Growers' association of Springfield,
Missouri, a section given over largely to both tree fruits
and small fruits, shipped last year 525 cars of strawberries.
This fruit was loaded at two or three points in southwest-
ern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. The active Offi-
cers, manager and secretary, are paid salaries and the asso-
ciation has agents in the principal distributing markets dur-
ing the shipping season. A large proportion of the cars are
sold on track. Providing there is an average crop, it is ex-
pected that 1000 cars of peaches will be handled by the as-
sociation the coming year. The manager uses the telegraph
and long distance telephone very freely, and with the care-
ful system followed in packing and shipping, the carloads
of fruit can be handled just as readily as if the cars were
immediately before the manager and the prospective buyer.

Something has been accomplished in Wisconsin. In
that state there is no general organization for the purpose
of co-operative marketing of fruits and vegetables, yet lo-
cal societies have been organized here and there, and carry
on the work with encouraging success, particularly in rela-
tion to small fruits. One of these is known as the Fruit
Growers' association of Sparta, now ten years old. Among
its objects is to induce buyers from city markets within
reach of that small but important distribiiting center to be
present during the fruit season; to provide for the careful,
systematic loading of fruit; to secure good service from
transportation companies, and to protect the grower from
fradulent commission houses. During the ten years this lo-
cal association has been doing business, a large part of the

17

fruit produced in that territory has been sold on the streets
of Spai'ta to buyers from large cilies in that viciniiy. The
grower is allowed to make his own bargain with' the buyer.
The association takes charge of the loading on the car, giv-
ing the grower a receipt for the fruit he delivers a', the car.
At the same time it guarantees to the buyer that his pur-
chase has been duly delivered to the transportation com-
pany. To pay the cost of this supervision it is agreed that
the city purchaser pays 1 l-2c. for each 16-quart case of
strawberries, and the grower 1 cent. The association keeps
in touch with all markets within reach, and frequently has
a personal representative in some of the leading markets,
particularly at the height of the season. His business is to
keep the members of the association informed as to prices
and market conditions. In this way the grower is enabled
to judge as to the advisability of selling for cash on the
street market as just indicated, or consigning. This asso-
ciation handles annually 60 to 100 cars of strawberries.

Association work in the far west, while still compara-
tively young, is making progress. But there, in such states
as Oregon and Washington, where everything is handled
on an enormous scale, conditions differ materially from Mas-
sachusetts. The Hood River Apple Growers' union of Hood
River, Oregon, is a live affair, and believes in binding grow-
ers tp market their fruit through the association. The man-
ager nrges that a regular contract be signed by each grower
and officer of the union. The next work to be undertaken
there is the education of the people to grow good fruit, and
particularly to insist that they furnish first class fruit,
leaving out culls.

Now let us note briefly what is being done in the mid-
dle south. About 125 farmers and fruit growers at Laurel,
Del., organized a fruit and produce union and shipped
strawberries very largely, last season 12,000 crates, to com- "
mission merchants. The cost to the union of handling these
berries last year was three cents a crate. The commission
merchants in the cities pay to the union 3% commission as
agents. This money is to defray the expense of handling
the fruit and office work, as all accounts of sales of individ-
uals center at the general office. The various growers de-
liver their produce to the manager who exercises the right
to either ship on consignment or sell outright in carload
lots. Net earnings of the union are distributed annually in
the way of dividends, based upon the gross sales of mem-

i8

bers. Fruit and produce from non-members are also hand-
led, the union acting as agent and getting 3% commission on
gross sales, this likewise going into the earnings of the
union. This business has been going on for six years quite
successfully. The members are obliged to turn over all
of their fruit to the union. A fine of 25 cents is imposed for
any package of fruit disposed of outside the union.

A tangible effort toward the co-operative marketing of
Massachusetts fruit is the organization this winter of the
Apple Growers' association of Hampshire and Franklin
counties. Of course no definite work can be undertaken un-
til next season, when some of the large fruit growers in the
western part of the state hope to benefit through certain
economies, such as the purchasing of barrels in large quan-
tities, arranging for freight cars, when and where needed
for prompt service, and possibly some concessions in freight
and express rates to Boston or New York markets. This
young organization, in line with the experience of shippers
generally, is keenly alive to the necessity of a good salesman
in the distributing markets.

I have presented to your attention a number of specific
instances of encouraging and successful co-operative enter-
prise. It will be well to note in the briefest manner possible
some of the deductions, the crystallized opinions and the
records of experience of fruit growers elsewhere.

Personal observation and much correspondence brings
out the fact that both west and east there is a very strong
drift among successful orchardists to sell their apples on
the trees or barreled, as the case may be, at home, rather
than consigning. This is not necessarily a reflection on
commission merchants as a whole, but reveals the opinion
of many people who have had wide experience in marketing
apples. A prominently and eminently successful grower in
central Illinois, bearing on this subject says: "I have tried
to find out how to get the best market results; I have con-
signed to various commission houses, and this method cost
me thousands of dollars, owing to unsatisfactory returns.
I have sold apples to be paid for on arrival, and this is bad,
as the commission house is liable to turn down the car of
fruit on arrival, providing the market is a little off, and
wire that the car has arrived out of condition and subject
to my order. The rejected car is then turned over to some
other house which of course has a good excuse for slaugh-
tering this rejected fruit, and then I may be called up in>

19

pay freight, and other incidental expenses. I consider the
most satisfactory way for the producer is to sell at home
either in bulk, in orchard or by the barrel, packed and
settled for on the spot."

Right here comes in the absolute necessity of fruit
growers keeping posted on crop prospects, and on market
conditions, in order that they may sell the fruit intelligently
and get for it all the market will stand. Growers who are
not in favor of consigning, claim that the man who consigns
his fruit is practically obliged to hold the bag all the time ;
he takes all the risk and worry and also stands the cost of
growing, picking, packing and shipping, with the result
that if anybody gets hurt in the deal, it is in this instance
the producer. |

One difficulty always experienced in marketing apples
from small orchards, and any other than great orchard sec-
tions, is in attracting buyers in sufficient numbers to secure
brisk competition in bidding for the fruit. This is the gen-
eral experience among Massachusetts apple growers. Fruit
growing sections are isolated ; a fair showing of apples
around Fitchburg, for example ; again, in the Worcester ter-
ritory; another apple pocket in Greenfield and Shelburne
Falls; a group of sizable orchards in the Northampton terri-
tory, and scattered commercial orchards in the section north
and east of Boston. While Slassachusetts in a favorable
year turns off a good many apples, the fruit is not massed in
such a way as to attract a small army of buyers from the big
wholesale markets east and west, as is the case, for example,
in western New York. In a recent September I visited the
commercial orchard belt of Niagara county, and the apple
towns were full of buyers, not only from the east, but from
Michigan, Chicago and the southwest. I saw entire or-
chards of only one variety, the Baldwin, crops sold on the
trees at a straight price, and buyers bidding against one
another because they could secure just what they wanted in
variety and quality.

Co-operate marketing of fruit was regarded a very live
topic at the February meeting of the New York state Fruit
Growers' association at Poughkeepsie. The point was there
emphasized that too little care is taken, especially by grow-
ers of small fruits, in grading and packing, and a co-opera-
tive packing house was advocated to put them on a par with
the larger growers. The orchardist as a rule, according to
the sentiment there expressed, is too much at the mercy of

20

the comparatively few buyers of fruit represented by men
with plenty of capital, insisting on "bearing" the market in
every way possible, at times throwing dust in the eyes of ap-
ple growers relative to prospects, hoping to get the market
down to a dollar basis for fine eastern Baldwins or Greenings
at time of harvest. One way in which the individual grower
can protect himself is through keeping thoroughly posted re-
garding the crop prospects, particularly in midsummer and
earlj'- fall. He is then fortified against the wiles of the
would-be buyer who talks bumper crop, should the facts as
brought out in these crop reports not warrant such
assumption.

The testimony here presented suggests that some such
local associations may have their place here in Mas-
sachusetts. This takes it for granted that the orchardist
packs good fruit, and it is reasonably apparent that good
results in making sales in neighborhoods not exactly conven-
ient to market might be secured from the formation of local
selling associations. Bearing on this subject of selling fruit,
though foreign to the co-operative method, James Handly,
secretary of the Mississippi Valley Apple Growers' associa-
tion says: "Where the apple grower does not care to assume
the labor of sorting his fruit, it seems to me better for him
to sell his orchard in a lump to the buyer, the latter to do his
own sorting. On the other hand, if the grower understands
all conditions, and is willing to meet all requirements, the
buyer nine times out of ten would be willing to pay the ex-
tra price for the fruit if the grower would do the sorting
and packing." This suggestion of Mr. Handly of course ap-
plies more particularly to sections where there are large
commercial orchards. A problem for the Massachusetts ap-
ple powers is to shape things, perhaps partly through the
good work of local organizations, as to induce buyers to
come to them for the fruit as it appears in the orchards.

The barrel is of course the standard package for ap-
ples. I have at one time and another personally visited
many wholesale markets in leading cities east and west, and
also in London and Liverpool. At home and abroad I have
been told that dealers, except in a restricted way, do not
want anything but the barrel. I do not need to tell you
that all in all a barrel of regulation size is best, the liour
barrel or its equivalent. (Diameter of head 17 1-8 inches,
length of stave 28 1-2 inches, outside measurement not less
than 64 inches circumference.) The secretary of the Inter-

21

national Apple Shippers' association is authority for the
statement that apples packed in a good flour barrel, or sec-
ond hand regulation size barrel will bring as much money
in any market in the world as if in an absolutely new bar-
rel.

Many co-operative enterprises, at one time prosperous
and full of promise, have fallen by the wayside through bad
management. This includes lack of a strong man at the
head of the business in distributing and selling products, a
lack of a thorough understanding of market conditions in
the big trade centers, and sometimes a lack of firmness in
maintaining a high standard of excellence in quality of
fruit and in packing. Long credits proved, among other
things, the death of one very successful co-operative fruit
shipping association located in New Jersey.

This brief outline of the work of several co-operative
shipping associations points to the possibilities in this di-
rection here in New England, perhaps in some modified
form. • If not practicable for Massachusetts apple growers,
owing to the scattered location of the orchards, there are
at least hints of the good things to be accomplished in one
way and another by producers working together. In these
associations in the middle south two or three things stand
out prominently. Thorough organization, loyaUy of mem-
bers, wise management, absolute control of the business by
the man or men delegated to represent the growers, and
generous support to the principles of the unions.

Summing up the situation the problem before every
fruit grower as each fall rolls around is to sell his apples
in the most advantageous manner, either single handed, or
co-operatively. Some of the thoughts outlined in this paper
may be summarized in a few Concluding paragraphs.

Study thoroughly the co-operative movement as it has
been developed and reasonably perfected in other sections,
and see what can be done, or what applications can be
made in your own locality.

For the large commercial orchardist, equipped with
adequate storage facilities at home so that he can hold the
fruit, it may not be unwise to reserve a part of his crop
for a time if bids are ridiculously low in October. This es-
pecially applies to certain varieties of winter apples which
may not be in favor early in the fall, but may be at Christ-
mas, or in February or later. If a number of growers in

22

one town would work together this way, they might com-
bine in shipping, and thus give co-operative marketing a
practical test.

But right here comes in the necessity to know the mar-
ket conditions; not only at your own town and shipping
station, but in the big distributing centers at home and
abroad; something of the export trade, etc. One essential
along this line is to know the market to which you should
ship, when and how to ship. Boston will take with avidity
certain apples which New York never wants; the tastes of
consumers in these big markets may be profitably learned
in advance. It will pay the grower to personally visit the
large markets and study conditions. If you are to choose
a commission merchant, select one who not only has a safe
bank account, but also shows up strong in other essentials,
a good salesman, and a person of integrity, making him in
fact your representative in handling your goods. Such fruit
grower will then come home better prepared than ever to
get all the trade will stand.

Put special emphasis on the grading, packing and
branding of your fruit. Appearance often sells it. Mark a
No. 1 apple, No. 1, with your name, and make it stand for
something. If you must barrel inferior fruit, have the
courage to pack No. 2s as No. 2 and so brand it. Remem-
ber in this connection that it costs just as much to pack and
ship seconds as firsts. You will not make a fortime the
first year, not perhaps the second. But persistence in some
such course will eventually count for much to your per-
manent profit, whether you sell independently or co-opera-
tively. It has been truly said that such apples are half
sold before arrival in market.

After some discussion, at 2.30 the Editor of **Farm and
Home," Edwin C. Powell of Springfield, Mass., gave the
following lecture on

HOW SHALL WE DISPOSE OF OUR NO. 2 APPLES AND
OTHER SECOND-CLASS FRUIT?

The speaker before me has referred to taking care of
the best fruit and also the seconds. The aim of the grower
should be to so handle the orchard as to produce as much
as possible fruit of the finest quality. The dealers claim
that^ second quality fruit predominates in the itiarke!. 1
don't like to say it but I don't believe that the farmer

23

knows liow to grow apples. The farmer means to be honest
but he is going to put in every apple that will possibly pass
for a No. 1 apple. I saw a man yesterday who had paid
75 cents a dozen for apples from a fruit stand in Ne\\ Vork.

A man who had about 5 acres of land in l>ori nida
tried growing strawberries for the market. He has been
so successful that he began shipping to New York aud grad-
ually the whole place was given over to strawberries. These
"are very carefully grown, crated, packed and shipped to
New York where he has a standing order for berries at
$1.50 per quart and in one year their strawberries netted
them $3000.

With the best methods of culture there is bound to be
a small proportion of No. 2 fruit; with no culture a' all it
is mostly seconds and culls. The aim of all growers should
be to so handle their orchards as to produce as much as pos-
sible of the finest quality. This question covers very broad
ground. GroAvers feel that they have the right to sell what-
ever they can find a market for. Dealers claim lhat the
second quality breaks the market and takes the place of a
better grade. The speculators insist that this part of the
apple crop cannot be estimated, and therefore gives them
trouble. A large body of consumers say Ihey must have
this fruit because it is cheap and they are compelled to buy
it or none.

There are four ways to dispose of No. 2 frui^ — sell it
as such, evaporate it, can it, or make it in'o cider vinegar.
Let us first consider what No. 2 fruit really is. The com-
mon practice of many is to make two grades — No. 1 and
culls. Anything that is too good for cider is called No. 1.
This is not honest grading. Look at the way in which Cali-
fornia fruit, not only apples, but peaches, pears, plums and
cherries, have come into eastern markets in recen years.
It is not due to quality, for with the exception of grapes
and Bartlett pears, California fruit does not compare in
quality and flavor wi'h that raised in New England. It has
pushed its way forward solely because of appearance and
packing, and packing includes grading. Orange boxes are
practically all the same size — yet half a dozen grades are
made of oranges solely on size. Because of this uniform
grading both as to size and quality, a box of oranges brings
as much as a barrel of apples. Side by side on 'he fruit
stand, and side by side in commercial markets the bes' ap-
ples bring as much, or more, than the best oranges.

24

No. 1 fruit should consist only of those specimens
which are normal in shape, color, quality, perfectly sound,
and free from blemishes of all sorts, including evidences
of codling moth. No. 2 fruit should be that which is like-
wise sound, of good color and shape, and free from bruises
and many evidences of codling moth. An apple with a
worm hole as big as a lead pencil should never lea,ve the
grower's place, yet go into any market and you will find
plenty of such in barrels marked No. 1.

If fruit is graded as indicated and packed in clean, at-
tractive packages, the No. 2 fruit can easily be sold at a
profit. No. 2 apples will keep for a reasonable time in stor-
age. There is a demand, and generally at a fair price, for
such fruit if it is honestly packed, but it should be packed
as carefully as the best grade. It is in seasons of large
crops or when the market is temporarily glutted that we
should look to some other means of disposing of our No. 2
fruit. It is better at such times to let it waste or feed it to
stock, rather than ship it to market and then send the deal-
er a check to cover freight and cartage. Where cider can
be sold at 10c. or more per gallon, it will sometimes pay to
work up the apples in this way, for they will net close to
30c. per bushel.

There is a growing demand for canned goods of all
kinds, and for canning the No. 2 stock can be used to ad-
vantage. Apples are packed in three-pound and gallon
cans, and packers pay from 25c. to 50c. per bushel delivered.
In general, any good cooking apple is a good canning apple.
The process of canning is simple. The apples are pared and
cored, and placed at once into water to keep them from
discoloring. They are then trimmed and quartered, the
cans filled full of fruit and placed in water. Then they
are boiled fifteen minutes in an open kettle, or three minutes
under pressure.

An easy method within the reach of all fruit growers
is to evaporate or dry the No. 2 fruit, as well as the culls.
There are various styles and sizes of evaporators, ranging
from those which will handle a bushel a day and set on
top of the kitchen range, to the commercial plants which
will handle 100 bushels or more in twenty-four hours. Prac-
tically all fruit can be evaporated to advantage and with
profit. The greatest demand is for apples, and hundreds of
thousands of bushels are annually evaporated on the fruit
farms of western New York, where this industry is largely

25

centralized. I believe that a small evaporator can be used^
to advantage and profit on every farm, even if it is only to
dry the supply of fruits and vegetables for family use.
Evaporators with a capacity of 6 to 10 bushels per day will
take care of the No. 2 and surplus fruit on most farms.
The expense of operating is not large, and there is usually-
a good return. Apples usually dry out from 6 to 8 pounds
to the bushel, depending on the variety, Roxbury russet
going as high as 8 1-2 to 9 pounds, and Seek-no-further as
few as 4 to 5 pounds. Much depends on the state of matur-
ity, the quality of the fruit, and the care used in paring.
Pears will average about 7 pounds to the bushel ; unpared
and pitted peaches 9 to 10 pounds; pitted plums 8 to 9
pounds to the bushel; blackberries 9 to 11 pounds; black
raspberries 11 to 12 pounds, and cherries 8 to 10 pounds
to the bushel. Boston quotations last week were 11 to 12c.
per pound for fancy evaporated apples. 10 to 10 l-2c. for
choice, and 9 l-2c. for prime, while sun-dried apples are
quoted at 6 to 7c. Chops, which are culls chopped up, are
worth $2.60 to $2.70 per 100 pounds; cores and skins bring
about $2. Raspberries are quoted at 28c. per pound, and
cherries at 14 to 15c.

I have in mind a large and successful fruit grower,
who has spoken before this body in the past, who evaporates
most of his seconds and all the cull stock. He has an evap-
orator with a capacity of 100 bushels per day, which cost
complete somewhat less than $1000. He averages 650
pounds evaporated apples from 100 bushels of green stock
and 200 pounds of skins and cores. There are two kilns,
the apples being spread out upon the floor and occasionally
turned. It requires two boys to run the paring machines,
six women to trim, whose wages are $1 per day, one man
who looks after the fires and sulphuring and the slicing,
who gets $1.50. Another man who works from noon to
mid-night tending the fires gets $1.25. It takes three tons
of coal per week to run the evaporator. Last year he ran
through 800 bushels, which gave 4750 pounds of white ap-
ples, which sold for 9c. per pound in New York. There were
5100 pounds of waste, which sold at 2c., and 1500 pounds
of chops at 2 3-4. They netted back $540. From this came
out $54 for coal, $120 for labor and $13 for boxes, which
meant a net return of 44c. per bushel.

Discussion followed the above paper, and the meeting
adjourned to 10 o'clock Thursday morning.

26

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, \906
JO O'CLOCK

'This session opened with a lecture on

FRUIT GROWING IN NEW ENGLAND

By PROF. F. W. CARD

Rhode Island Agricultural College

Commercial fruit growing is the product of modem con-
.ditions. It, therefore, demands modern business methods.
The old time self-centered farm which aimed to supply
nearly all its needs has given place to the specialized farm
of today in which the farmer becomes a business man.

All agricultural production demands the co-operation
of land, labor and capital, though land forms one phase of
the capital. Farm capital may be classified as follows :

A. Fixed or invested. 1. Land. Natural value. Land
Improvement. Drains, roads, orchards, etc. 2. Buildings.
Dwelling, Farm Buildings, Building Equipment. 3. Equip-
ment. Teams. Implements. Live Stock, etc.

B. Circulating or working. 1. Seed, feed, fertilizer,
supplies. 2. Market crops and market live-stock. 3. Mon-
ey for labor, etc.

Unlike manufacturing, fruit-growing offers the oppor-
tunity of a gradual investment. The natural value of much
fruit land is low, and the introductory cost of planting mod-
erate. It affords the further advantage of an appreciating
investment. The value of a factory or a dairy barn begins
to decrease the moment it is completed. The value of an
orchard goes on increasing for years after it is planted.
This increase in value is difficult to estimate but none the
less real. Fruit growing offers unusual opportunities for
combination in investment and returns. Orchard trees may
br interset with small fruits. The small fruits may be
again interspersed with vegetables, so that a return may be
had from the beginning, while the permanent investment
in the larger fruits is developing.

Against buildings there must be an annual charge for
depreciation, repairs and insurance. The fruit farm de-
mands a very moderate outlay along this line, hence this
charge is small. In the ownership of implements, several
items go to make up the cost; these include interest on the

27

Investment, depreciation, repairs, storage, and risk. The
«ltimate cost of labor performed is largely dependent upon
the amount of service rendered, since the cost per unit of
production is apportioned to the amount produced. Here
.again, fruit growing is fortunate in that it demands only a
.moderate investment.

Under the head, circulating capital, the fruit grower
must offset fertilizer against feed in comparing his business
with that of the dairyman. Nitrogen, the most expensive
element in plant fertility,, he is able to obtain at small cost
by the use of cover-crops.

The cash capital which he must maintain is doubtless
larger than with some other lines of farming.

Labor

Fruit growing is a fairly intensive branch of agricul-
ture, hence, the proportion of labor to capital invested is
relatively large. The proportionate interest charge is, there-
fore, relativel> small. Unequal division of labor affords the
greatest disadvantage to the fruit-grower, yet the winter
■season is short, and with spraying, pruning, the manufacture
of barrels , crates, etc., there need be little lost time. The
picking problem is the most serious one and must be care-
fully considered by every prospective grower. A farm
woodlot may aid in equalizing the demand for regular work
in winter and in summer. To the fruit-grower, himself, the
winter lull is advantageous ; it affords him the chance for a
vacation. He should improve it to the full.

The items of cost in team labor are made up of feed,
•care, bedding, shoeing, stable rental and deprecialion. The
cost per hour depends upon the amount of work done. The
per cent, of efficiency in fruit growing is likely to be low,
•with consequent high cost of team work.

The Marketing Problem

The price is all-important in marketing. When an art-
icle which costs the grower 40c. sells for 50c., his profit is
'25 per cent. If the price be 60c. this means an increase of
20 per cent, to the purchaser. To the grower it means a
very different thing; it means an increase of 100 per cent.
in his profits. One acre in the latter case being equivalent to
two in the former.

In transportation, the New England grower is for-
tunate, both owing to good highways, nearby markets and

28

ample public conveyance, both by train and trolley.

Wh(! her to sell at retail or wholesale should be care-
fully considered. The cost of retailing may more than equal
the diflference in price. Ketail sales involve more waste.
The retail melhod also limits the size of the business.

Advertising

Advertising in many ways can be done with little cost.
The appearance of the man himself, the outfit which he
drives, and the farm which he occupies, may do much to ad-
vertise his business. "Well-designed letter-heads, printed en-
velopes, shipping cards and labels cost li tie but carry an ad-
vertisement to all Ihrough w^hose hands they pass. A well
chosen farm name may excite added interest. A farm bul-
letin board may catch many a passer-by. Fair exhibits, if
systema ic, along one line year after year, will make the
producer well-known in the localily. Printed circulars will
carry full details to any party whose name is available.
Advertising columns in regular publications will reach un-
known cus omers but is the most expensive method and the
last to be considered.

Co-operation

Co-operation may take the form of co-operative manu-
facture, as in making barrels, crates or drying fruit, co-
operative buying as in the purchase of fertilizers, spraying
materials and fruit packages, or co-operative marketing.

The Advantage of a Specialty

Frui' -growing is a specialty, its pursuit secures the fol-
lowing advantages:

1. Economy of capital. The farm is equipped for but
one line.

2. Economy of labor. Labor directed in definite lines-
accomplishes more.

3. I* leads to greater skill.

4. There is less danger of neglect.

5. The markeling opportunities are better.

6. In fruit-growing the specialty is less confining.

Comparison With Other Lines of Business

Fruit growing may be begun with a comparatively
small inveslraen'. Mercantile and manufacturing lines of
business are today conducted on an immense scale; large
capital is demanded to embark in them. The fruit grower's

29

investment is comparatively safe. He seldom loses his mon-
ey. The business offers him a continued livelihood. In
mercantile and manufacturing lines this is untrue in a larger
percentage of cases.

Fruit-growing presents no dead-line. In business occu-
pations men are shelved early in these days of keen compe-
tition. The fruit grower is sure of a business and an occu-
pation so long as he is able to conduct them.

The financial returns from the business compare favor-
ably with those from any other line demanding equal cap-
ital and intelligence. The average fruit-grower's salary
probably exceeds that of the average teacher or college grad-
uate.

The business offers the best of opportunity for indeped-
ence and for service to the comunity and to one's fellowmen.
It enables the owner to live amid pleasant surroundings and
to build a home in conjunction with a business, an oppor-
tunity which many a man without a home can appreciate
better than the fruit grower himself.

At 11.30 Mr. Geo. F. Wheeler of Concord read the fol-
lowing paper on

STRAWBERRY GROWING
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :

This subject has a wider range than I have been able
to give to it in so short a paper, so I can only bring to it a
few observations as a grower of this fruit in the town in
which I live. I wish I could bring statistics to show what
the production of this fruit is now compared to twenty
years ago ; my observation leads me to say the crop has
fallen off largely. So I am glad to have the subject brought
up yearly to show there is an interest taken in it. Our
population is increasing and wants native strawberries. I
Tsnow our markets are sometimes crowded with southern
"berries so this competition cuts our prices down at times but
my experience has been that there is money to be made in
this crop and I think it will continue to hold its own with
the other fruit crops we grow.

The introduction of the Hovey's Seedling gave a great
impetus to strawberry growing. During the time of its pop-
ularity I was led to purchase some of the plants together
with the Brighton Pine. Growing strawberries first for
home use, afterwards for market and at the time I obtained

30

these plants, I was considering what occupation I should
devote myself to, my strawberry bed awoke within me &
love for the soil, for the marvelous things it is able to bringr
forth. So my strawberry bed has continued to be a source
of unfailing delight to me, my recreation which I could al-
ways return to from the other work on the farm with au
feeling of rest and contentment.

I would advise all young men who are starting out in
agriculture, to study one line of work that they may take
exceptional interest in; make a hobby of it; the spirit of in-
vestigation and research it will lead into will be of great in-
terest. You will not be troubled in the growing season for
lack of work, your whole time can be filled up by having a.
specialty to take up when other work slacks. The choice of
the situation and soil to be used is a matter of importance.
If one was free to choose the right place he would first con-
sider a near market, then for soil he would select a rich
loamy one inclined to hold moisture so the land would be
able to withstand a drought of ten days in fruiting season.
This condition is not always met with so I would not have
any farmer or owner of a garden kept from growing this
fruit at least for his family, if he has many adverse condi-
tions to contend with. On a warm, moist, elevated sloping^
situation the plants will grow better, berries will be firm-
er and sweeter, less care is needed to keep down weeds that
generally abound in a strawberry bed. The best prepara-
tion is necessary; if the land chosen is wet it must be
drained to the depth of two to three feet. If a piece of pas-
ture or grass land is selected it must be cultivated two years
with some clean hoed crop.

The destruction of beds by the white grub shows;
us the importance of this preliminary work. If stable
manure can be obtained I should apply eight cords per acre
to these crops so to have it incorporated in the soil. The
fall before setting I should apply eight cords manure and
have the land thoroughly ploughed. Any process which
leaves the land in a deep rich and mellow condition insures
success as far as the soil is concerned. The spring is the
best time to set for field culture ; have the land ploughed
again. One of the reasons of poor success is not having the
ground half worked. Where stable manure is not used,
ground bone or high grade tankage with wood ashes I hare
applied at the rate of one ton of bone or tankage with, one:

31

to two tons of ashes. I have also used with good results,,
some of the fertilizers that have a good per cent, of potash..
This I applied on the surface after ploughing, working it
into the soil. Have the surface of the soil reduced by har-
rowing to the conditions of a fine seed bed. Set your bed'
according to the method you intend to use. If matted rows
set four to five feet. This plan allows the grower of plants
to take up the surplus plants between the rows for his own
use or sale and also retain a bed about two feet wide for re-
fruiting. If narrow rows, set plants three to three and a
half feet, plant 15 to 20 inches apart according to the var-
iety. If large salable fruit is the object, the runners must
be placed so the plants will have six inches of ground. I
mark out the rows by using a garden line for the first row
then use a marker that marks out the required distance.
Always run the rows north and south when possible.

Success in transplanting the strawberry depends first
on the quality of the plants and second on the manner of
doing the work.

Plants with small crowns and an abundance of fibrous
roots are the most desirable. If the plants have large leaves,
cut them off so that the roots will not have to support this
unnecessary foliage before the plants are well established
also shorten the roots if long 1-3 to 1-2. I use a strong garden
trowel in setting; make a wide deep hole that will receive
the roots without doubling them up ; press the ground
against the roots sideways. Use care not to set too deep;
have the crown of the plant above the level of the ground.
If set too deep the plant will not grow. Cultivation should
follow soon after setting by using a scuffle hoe on either
side of the row. Do not wait until the weeds start to do
this; cultivation means more than the destruction of weeds
so I would repeat this every week by using a cultivator so
as to establish a loose soil to prevent the evaporation of the
soil moisture and keep it for the good of the growing plants.
Varieties is a question more difficult to answer ; this is more
true of strawberries than any other cultivated fruit. Many
varieties are of local adaptation. A new sort must have an
examination in each locality before its fitness can be deter-
mined. The best of the varieties are short lived and their
popularity soon gives way to a more promising new rivaL
The varieties to be of commercial importance should com-
bine in a large degree fair size, productiveness, firm texture,-

32

;.attractive color, symmetrical form, good flavor and an adap-
tability to a wide range of climatic conditions.

Summer care of ground : — Keep all blossoms cut on new
set plants as they appear and all runners cut until the plant
has become established to send out strong runners. For
your fruiting beds where you wish to grow good fruit, have
the runners placed around the plant ; plant six inches apart,
after they become established cut out the old plant; this
does not give good berries if allowed to remain to fruit ; you
als6 get rid of a plant that will annoy yoa by sending out
rvmners in a place where they are not wanted. Where
plants are grown in matted rows little is done in setting
runners. In cultivating, always run the cultivator in the
same direction so the runners will all be turned the same
way. Spraying is of benefit to many varieties having a
tendency to rust as this holds it in check.

The winter protection is a very important one. We
are liable to have the ground uncovered so it is always best
to cover. This can be done by using meadow hay or other
coarse material. I have also used coarse horse manure. I
think it best the following spring to let this remain as long
as you can without injury to the plants. You prevent the
plant from starting early by holding them in check a few
days longer, the plant will escape the late spring frosts.

Marketing the crop. It is of great importance to locate
where there are pickers to be had ; one should not grow
more berries than he can find help to do the work at the
right time. If I have good berries that will admit of sorting
I have the pickers use two baskets as they can be sorted
better and with less handling at this time. The best are
picked in quart baskets and placed in shallow trays only
one layer; picked in this way they are carried to Boston on
teams which do the work more acceptably than the railroad.
I think in time our best strawberries will be marketed in
packages similar to what are now used in California for our
home or nearby market.

After the crop is gathered I usually plough the ground,
turning in all plants, weeds and mulching. Sow the land
at once to buckwheat, or cow peas to be ploughed under
when grown. By manuring the land again in the fall I
have it ready to set plants again or in in the best condition
to grow other crops. Where the strawberry beds have been
rkept clear of weeds, no chickweed or sorrel, the beds can be

33

kept for fruiting two years, at little expense for weeding,
and satisfactory results obtained. But you are liable to get
your land infected with white grubs, as the May Beetle
lays her eggs on the plants in June. So you have this to
consider in carrying over an old bed.

I have been growing berries for nearly fifty years; the
obstacles to be overcome have not yet occured to make me
dissatisfied ; I see new points of interest and, a more ardent
desire to continue in this most important branch of fruit
cultivation as long as I have the strength to do so.

Is this fruit culture profitable? I unhesitatingly
answer "Yes." Profitable in more ways than one; profit-
able in the income we receive from it in dollars and cents ;
profitable as it tends to develop our better natures. Then
shall we not make our homes attractive and pleasant, that
when our children go from us to the great battlefield of life
they may think of the old homestead with all the pleasant
things among which will be not the least, the strawberry
bed. So I will close with this quotation from one who held
an honored position in the agriculture of this State :
"Then cultivate fruit for yourself. Plant
for your children, plant for your neighbors
. away off in distant cities ; plant for the stran-
ger that may come among you; plant for all
and let all enjoy earth's richest fruits without
stint or measure."

Following discussion it was voted that the sincere
ihanks of theAssociation be extended to the Worcester
County Horticultural Society for the free use of their hall
and the aid in preparing for this meeting, and to the speak-
ers who so ably helped to make the meeting a success and
to the officers of the Association.

The afternoon was a joint meeting with the Worcester
Society presided over by Pres. O. B. Hadwen. Prof. F. A.
Waugh lectured on "Pruning Fruit Trees."*
*Printed in proceedings of Worcester County Horticultural

Society.

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS^
ASSOCIATION

Thirteenth Annual Meeting, March U-U,

J907
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 10.30 A. M.

The first session of the thirteenth annual meeting was
called to order by President Whitney with a larger number
of members present than usual for the first day. Mayor J.
T. Duggan extended a cordial welcome to the members of the
Association to the beautiful city of Worcester and wished
them an interesting and profitable meeting. President
Whitney replied with well chosen words and then gave the
PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS

Ladies and Gentlemen and members of the Massachus-
etts Fruit Growers' Association:

It is not my purpose to weary you with any extended
remarks et this time. It is a custom among you, as well as
among other organizations of this kind, to have the presid-
ing officer break the ice with a few words by way of intro-
duction. We as an organization meet chiefly for the exchange
of ideas and the recital of our experiences while engaged
in horticultural pursuits. For leaders we have with us men
of recognized ability and prominence in different lines of
Vt'ork ; their lectures and the discussion, which is sure to fol-
low, will be valuable to all and worthy to be printed in full
in our annual report. Our ability to do this depends upon
the funds in the treasury and I hope that all who have in-
terests of our Association at heart will make an earnest
effort to increase our funds by increasing the membership
thus adding to our financial strength and extending our
beneficial influence. We have had many names on our lists.,
some men prominent in other lines of business and some who
have passed on to the more perfect life. During the past
year the great Destroyer has entered our ranks and left
majiy vacant places and even now, as I speak to you, one of

36

the founders of our Association, our first president lies at
the point of death in this city. It would seem fitting and
proper that some action be taken at this meeting to show
our appreciation of his help and our sorrow at his absence
from our midst.

While Massachusetts is preeminently a manufacturing
and commercial state yet her agriculture and horticulture
are by no means insignificant. Our Society should have 500
members and could, if each member would bring one new
member with him at our next meeting. Consider yourself
a committee of one to increase the membership ; go forth
into the highways and the byways like a good evangelist
and compel your neighbor farmer and fruit grower to join
us. It has been suggested that we ask aid from the State and
that we deserve it as much as many qf the incorporated ag-
ricultural societies. It would seem that our age and activity
Avould warrant recognition by State authorities, surely the
horticultural interests of Massachusetts are of great import-
ance and fruit growing should be encouraged within her
borders. Could we receive such substantial aid as does our
sister state of wooden nutmeg fame, the land of steady hab-
its, then our future would be assured. The past year has
been one of profit and success to most fruit growers in this
state so far as I can learn yet we have our troubles and to
some it would seem that they are increasing rather than
"diminishing. The insects and fungus diseases continue to
thrive and multiply, much to our annoyance. Gypsy and
brown tail moth, San Jose scale, plum rot, peach yellows
and pear psylla, apple scab and the smallpox of our bald-
win keep us guessing as to the size of our probable profit
or loss on our venture. The severity of the past winter
has doubtless killed nearly, if not quite, all the peach buds
in Massachusetts, still the few we do have this year will
very likely bring much higher prices than usual. And then
^another trouble, some may not consider it a trouble, but a
help. I refer to the proposed legislation in regard to grad-
ing, packing and marking our fruit, particularly apples.
While I do not mean to say that all who raise fruit are
absolutely honest in the way they pack and mark it yet I
maintain that there are fewer dishonest men among the
farmers and fruit growers than in almost any other kind
of business. The matter will be discussed here to-morrow
morning and I will not anticipate. The meeting is yours to

37

make as pleasant and profitable as you can and I am at your
service to the extent of my ability.

I hope and trust that aside from the work accomplished
and 1he information gathered at these sessions you will all
consider the most pleasant memory to be that of acquaint-
ance made and friendships renewed.

The reports of the Secretary and Treasurer and the
Auditor were next read and approved.

Dr. E. Porter Felt of Albany, N. Y., then discussed the
question

THE INCREASE AND CONTROL OF SAN JOSE SCALE*

There is no denying the fact that the San Jose' scale has
extended its range greatly in recent years and that it has
become very abundant and destructive in many sections. A
knowledge of the life hislory and habits of ^he scale is of
greatest importance. The crawling young in this latitude are
abroad from about the 20th of June till late fall, and dur-
ing this period it is very easy for an animal or a man work-
ing in an infested orchard, to carry therefrom to clean trees,
enough young scales to infest a neighboring orchard. The
unrestricted breeding of this pest upon trees is also very
favorable to its spread, because the large numbers of crawl-
ing youug increase immeasurably the chances of some find-
ing their way either upon other insects or by being carried
by other agencies, to adjacent trees. Such conditions should
be avoided wherever possible and usually this is more
practical than is commonly supposed. We would, therefore,
emphasize first of all the necessity of recognizing the insect,
and secondly the advisability of avoiding the combat as
long as possible.

It is immensely cheaper to fight this enemy on some
other man's land, than to let it go and in a few years be
obliged to fight it throughout your own orchards.

Once an orchard is infested there is no way out of the
difficulty except to fight the pest, and this can be done
satisfactorily only by the adoption of most thoroughgoing
methods. There is nothing which has so repeatedly demon-
strated its value in the East as an insecticidal spray for the

*Abridged because of later information in Dr. Pelt's
other papers.

38

San Jose' scale, than the lime-sulfur wash, a mixture which
may be prepared in a variety of ways and yet give most
satisfactory results provided the essentials of thoroughness
and timeliness are observed. We really believe that these
last two factors are, in many instances, of more importance
than the way the wash is prepared. The boiled lime-sulfur
wash is, generally speaking, the one that can be used to
best advantage. We have been advising the employment of
20 lbs. of lime and 15 lbs. of flowers or flour of sulfur to 50
gallons of water, boiling the same actively at least 30 min-
utes. Our method has been to put a few pails of water in
a kettle over a fire, bring it nearly to a boil, add the lime
followed at once by the sulfur, stir thoroughly and repeat
occasionally to prevent the material from caking on the bot-
tom of the kettle. Thirty minutes of active boiling should
produce a deep brick color in the clear liquid. The prepa-
ration may than be removed from the flre and strained
through burlap or ordinary wire mosquito netting. The
latter, we have found, sufficed very well provided a fair
amount of care was exercised to keep the apparatus clean.
The strained mixture is placed in a spray barrel and enough
cold water added to bring the amount up to 50 gallons. We
believe it essential, in preparing thi.s or any other lime-sul-
fur wash, to secure a good grade of stone lime ; that is, one
that will slake vigorously and, when treated as indicated
above, leave comparatively little sediment in the kettle.

It is not always convenient to secure a kettle for boil-
ing purposes, and we have found that a wash calling for
the same amounts of lime and sulfur and, in addition, 10
lbs. of sal soda, would give practically as good results as
the boiled wash provided it was properly made. The pro-
cedure is as folloM^s : Put five or six pails of hot water in
a wooden barrel or other vessel, add the lime quickly follow-
ing with the sulfur and sal soda, in the order named, and stir
vigorously till slaking is completed, being careful at the out-
set to stir enough so as to promote a vigorous reaction. It
may be necessary to add a little cold water to keep this
compound from boiling over the top of the barrel. After
the more violent boiling is completed, cover the top of the
barrel with burlap and allow it to stand 30 minutes or more.
There should result an excellent compound of deep red or
even pea green color with very little sediment. Strain and
dilute with cold water to 50 gallons. This wash has been

39

used several years in succession with very satisfactory re-
sults. Another wash can be prepared in practically the
same manner as described above, except that four to six
pounds of caustic soda is substituted for the sal soda. Some
have foimd it possible to produce, without boiling, a very
satisfactory lime-sulfur wash by simply using a larger per-
centage of good rock lime, depending upon the heat pro-
duced by its slaking to effect the chemical combination. The
lime-sulfur washes, in addition to their effect on the scale,
are also exceedingly valuable as fungicides, being prac-
tically a specific for the leaf curl and of considerable service
in the case of other fungous diseases. It is shown above that
this mixture can be prepared without excessive labor and,
while it possesses caustic properties, we believe that a mod-
erate amoiuit of care and energy will reduce these troubles
to a minimum. We are of the opinion that the making of
this preparation has been a sort of bugbear to many fruit
growers, whereas, as a matter of fact, it is really a very sim-
ple operation and there is no reason why its caustic proper-
ties should occasion more than a slight annoyance.

The above mentioned factors have led to a considerable
demand for something more easily prepared and, as a result,
many experiments have been made with oils of one kind or
another.

Experience in New York State has indicated almost in-
variably that these proprietary oil preparations must be used
stronger than recommended by the manuuf acturer ; namely,
at about the rate of one of miscible oil to ten or fifteen
parts of water. These substances are more costly than the
lime-sulfur wash, but on the other hand they are easier to ap-
ply and spread more readily on the twigs. This is partic-
ularly important on the somewhat hairy or pubescent twigs
of the apple, which are not easily covered by the lime-sulfur
wash, though it can not be claimed that these preparations
have any marked fungicidal properties.

A word in this connection relative to apparatus may
not be out of place, as it is impossible to do good work with-
out satisfactory equipment. We can not throw a fine spray
any distance and it is therefore necessary to have a nozzle
extension or some means so that we can get to the lirfibs to
be treated. Even with the best of nozzle extensions and
towers or other apparatus to stand upon, it is extremely
laborious to spray the tops of tall trees and. on this account,

40

we advise judicious pruning with the definite purpose of
lowering tall trees. Trimming, if done carefully can reduce
the height of large trees by some 10 feet in the course of
two or three years without material injury, and where scale
is abundant it is very probable that this trimming will have
to be done in the near future if not attended to early, in
order to remove dead or dying branches. Plenty of power
is another essential to good work, as a weak spray always
drifts with the wind. It makes little difference whether
this power be supplied by engine or hand, provided, in the
latter case, that the man at the pump is equal to the task
assigned. We can hardly expect a man to maintain an ade-
quate pressure if he has an old-fashioned, hard-working
pump to contend with, but if it be a modern affair, easy of
operation, there should be no difficulty, though where a
large number of trees are to be sprayed it is probable that,
in the long run, an engine of some kind will prove most
efficient.

In closing, we would summarize as follows : The San
Jose scale has attained a wide distribution in our fruit
growing sections. It has demonstrated its destructive abil-
ity beyond all question, and greater losses are bound to oc-
cur in infested orchards unless remedial measures are
adopted. Despite the general distribution of this pest, it is
by all means advisable to avoid infestation so long as pos-
sible. Finally, when the enemy appears, secure good ap-
paratus, not necessarily expensive, and give the most
thorough treatment possible with any one of the several in-
secticides known to be effective in checking this pest.

Question. "In spraying high trees, how reach with
fine spray?"

Dr. Felt. "I should reduce the height of the trees."

Question. ''Are not the soluble oils injurious to the
trees?"

Dr. Felt. "We can tell better in five or six years. My
impression is that successive annual applications will after
a few years, injure trees. On several trees in New York city
trealed with these oils, I have seen what appeared to me to
be oil injury. This does not develop itself the first year
and you think your trees are benefited. So, I say, go a
little slow with oils. We want something that we can use
from year to year without injuring the trees."

Question. "How late in the season can we spray in

41

Massachusetts without injuring the trees?"

"The time in New York would be Apr. 11-15. You can^
put on the lime sulfur wash or oil preparation up to the
time your buds become swollen and the leaves are about
one-half inch long."

Mr. Race: "What would you call high trees?"

"About twenty feet high."

Mr. Race: "Will you send formulae to any one?"

"Yes, to anyone who sends us a postal card.

Mr. Miller: "Is it advisable to use the lime sulfur
wash if trees are not infested with San Jose Scale?"

"I am inclined to think you would get your money
back. Mr. E. L. Morrill of Kinderhook sprays his pear
trees with lime sulfur wash because this application gives
him better 'fruit."

Mr. Hutchins. "Suppose there is an orchard without
any of these scale, how does the scale reach it?"

"It can be carried in many ways. Let a man drive
into an infested orchard and then drive to one of your trees
and hitch there and there is a chance that the scale will get
on the tree ; it is also blown from one tree to another but
only for a short distance. The principal distribution is from'
men and animals and more particularly from birds. Take
a city like this, — Prof. Hodge estimates that about 90 per
cent of the trees in Worcester are infested by scale. This
I presume is true and the scale carried by the English
Sparrow. ' '

Mr. Moore: "As regards the distribution of the scale
being almost invariably from the English sparrow, the
farmer's don't have one English sparrow where they have
one thousand robins. They are a nuisance.

Question. "Can this formula be used after the tree is
more advanced? Is it a good idea to use it in June?"

"Yes, it is a good idea to use it then, but it is much
better to use it earlier. You must spray many times if you-
try to spray during the summer. I believe it would pay to
go, over a badly infested orchard two or three times before
the leaves appear rather than to take the chance of getting
rid of them later."

A committee of five was appointed to bring in list of"
officers at afternoon session.

Pres. Whitney then introduced the Hope Farm man'

42

Herbert W. CoUingwood, Editor Rural New Yorker, who
:spoke on

CULTIVATION VS. TURF CULTURE

"I am reminded at this time of the congregation that
was asked whether they would rather have their minister
read his sermon or talk without notes. They finally decided
that it would be better for him to read it for then he would
know when he got through.

"I am going to take some positions that possibly your
experienced growers will not back up. I want to make a
fair statement of the difference between the two systems
rof culture and would present as fairly as I can both meth-
ods. I do not think we can say that either one is not a sen-
sible method of fruit growing. I want to make it just as
clear as I can that what I am talking about is this method
of keeping a thick mulch on the soil all the time. The
trouble with many of our sod orchards is that people actual-
Jy expect three times as much from the soil as they have any
right to. They expect to get dead wood, hay, then to turn
in stock ,and last of all to get a good crop of fruit. Most of
the arguments against the sod method are based upon such
conditions. I do not want to be understood as saying that
you can raise a high grade of apples if you take everything
out of the soil and put nothing back. It cannot be done.
You must leave the hay and everything in the orchard so
that it will go back into the soil. People will say that we
•^don't want the small sized fruit. I think we do. I think
the demand in the family trade is for average sized fruit
.and to my mind the best trade is that of the family.

"Now, what do we mean by 'cultivation' and 'turf.'
By cultivation I mean an orchard that is ploughed and culti-
vated several times each season with some shallow work-
ing tool. By turf I mean a good orchard seeded to grass
•sod, where the grass is left in the orchard, either pastured
or cut, and left on the ground.

"There is a fair place for each method. It will not do to
say that you cannot grow fruit without cultivation, because
a good many of us are doing so. I know that some of the
cultivators say that in time we will be forced to turn up our
sod and cultivate, but it doesn't look so now. I would not
recommend mulching for all situations, because I know that
• on some soils and in some situations cultivation is better.

43

Unless you can provide a large amount of mulch material
at a low price, it would be folly to try mulching young trees
from the beginning. It would be far better to cultivate
them or not plant them at all.

** After trees get into bearing the ground can be well
seeded and if the grass is left around them, I am very sure
they will make a satisfactory growth and produce fair
•crops of medium sized, high-colored fruit.

"I can use leaves from the woods. I think the mulched
trees will be -more permanent than the cultivated, being
grown in a natural way.

"vVnother thing that claims our attention right away is
the effect upon fruit growing that the San Jose Scale is to
have. If you are not convinced that it is a terrible thing
coming into our part of the country, I can assure you that
it is. I would not attempt to go into an old-fashioned, high
orchard and try to keep the scale off. In the first place it
IS almost impossible to spray, and I consider it not worth
the while to try. The idea is that this attack of the scale
is going to force us to raise a new kind of tree, both apple
and peach. I believe that we must get our trees down
nearer to the ground. I am planting my peach trees four-
teen aiid fifteen feet apart because I believe that it pays
me to get the tree down close to the ground. They are
easier to spray and to handle. I am trying a similar experi-
ment with apple tree stock. Planting about 16 to 18 feet
apart in hope of getting low-down trees. I am planting ap-
ples sixteen feet apart each way. I think it will pay me to
raise these trees up to seven or eight years and at the end
of that time transplant them. I would not suggest this as a
plan for everybody but in many cases it is the best thing to
■do. No man today can sit doAvn and say. 'I am going to do
just as grandfather did because grandfather did it. ' Things
are developing. A man can no longer be tied down by
■cast-iron rules. Each man must find out for himself what is
"best for his own land.

"The mulched trees seem to be at work all the time.
There is a slow growth of wood all through the season.
Then we do not have to prune the tree so often. You can
let the tree grow until it comes to development. I believe
that is the kind of tree that we are trying to grow.

"I do not believe this system is so well adapted to the
peach or pear as to the apple ti^ee. There seems to be some-

44

thing in the peach that demands sunshine in the soil, so-
I would not advise this system for the peach.

"I run my mowing machine in my orchard four or five
times during the season.

"All I ask is a fair test between the two systems. As
to where I think this mulching system can be used to ad-
vantage— If I had a level rich farm, I do not think I should
attempt the mulching culture, unless I had a very low, damp
piece of ground. I have noticed on this kind of soil where
rough, low grasses grow that the soil dries quickly when
the ground is left bare. In a very dry season that soil bakes
up hard like a brick. If I had a wet piece of ground, hard
to drain, I should want to put that into the mulch system.
If you let the grass grow a long time it will help out the
ground."

"If I were so situated that I could not do heavy work
I should put in a fair-sized orchard and cultivate it by the
mulch system. By the use of leaves, sods and other things
for mu^lch you can develop a good orchard with only your
own labor."

Meeting adjourned to 1.30.

AFTERNOON SESSION, 130

ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 1908

The committee on nominations reported and it was vot-
ed that one ballot be cast for the list as reported and they
were declared elected :

C. A. WHITNEY, President, Upton

JOHN W. CLARK, Vice-President, North Hadley

S. T. MAYNARD, Secretary, Northboro

S. T. MAYNARD, Treasurer, Northboro

J. LEWIS ELLSWORTH, Auditor, Worcester

DIRECTORS

ESSEX COUNTY: E. a. Emerson, Haverhill; J. J. H.

Gregory, Marblehead.
SUFFOLK COUNTY: George Cruickshanks, Chelsea.
NORFOLK COUNTY :; A. F. Stevens, WellesJey;. Monroe

Morse, Medway..

45

PLYMOUTH COUNTY: Augustus Pratt, North Middleboro;

Walton Hall, Marshfield.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY: C. F. Hay ward, Ashby; M. P. Palmer,

Groton; George F. Wheeler, Con-
cord; C. S. Pratt, Reading; E. F.
Farrar, South Lincoln.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY : John W. Clark, North Hadley; E.

Cyrus Miller, Hay<ienville.

HAMPDEN COUNTY: Ethelbert Bliss, Wilbraham; L. W.

Rice, Wilbraham.

BERKSHIRE COUNTY: George G. Walker, Williamstown; R.

H. Race, North Egremont.

FRANKLIN COUNTY: M. H. Vincent, Conway; E. F. Cope-
land, Colrain.

WORCESTER COUNTY : O. B. Hadwen, Worcester; S. J. Em-
erson, Lunenberg; E. A. Hersey,
Westboro; Elliott Moore, Worces-
ter; W. D. Ross, Worcester.

Then followed an address by E. Cyrus Miller, Hayden-
viUe.

POSSIBILITIES OF THE APPLE IN NEW ENGLAND

"I consider it a great honor to be present here today,
and an especial honor considering the other speakers on the
program. I have had some experience in apple culture but
do not come down here today to give you any hot air but
to give you the results of my experience in apple culture
and it possibilities in New England. You know about the
man who went about telling what he knew about farming
who could give a very interesting and instructive address
but who had no farm. I do not propose to pose as that kind
of a speaker. I would like you to visit our orchards in
Hampden County and see what has been accomplished there
And you will admit that we have solved in a measure the
possibilities of apple culture here in New England.

"It would seem that one need but affirm that the apple
Is our national fruit to have it immediately accepted by
-everyone as a self-evident fact. It has been well said that
the apple is the most perfect union of the useful and the
beautiful which the earth knows,' and surely no fruit in the
north temperate zone can take the place of the apple as a

food product. 5Iost of our cultivated fruits rank as lux-
uries, but the apple in most parts of our country is one of
the leading staple products of the farm. It is a eommodity
of trade, in the handling of which, after leaving the growers''
hands, large numbers of people are employed. Due to its-
numerous varieties, its season of maturity extends through-
out the year, and, in late years, the natural keeping tendencjr
of the apple has been supplemented by artificial means of
preservation until we have them sometimes two years from
the time when they were gathered from the tree, in a per-
fect state of preservation, as far as their physical appear-
ance is concerned, but, of course, with a somewhat impaired
condition as to their natural flavor.

' ' Apples have probably been grown longer in New Eng-
land than in any other section of our country, but as the
early settlements gradually extended back from the At-
lantic coast regions the pioneers who overspread the interior
of New York, hewing farms out of the forests, planted or-
chards around their new homes and finding the apple so
naturally adapted to that location, soon wrested the su-
premacy from the New England apple grower. Whether
we are ever to attain the remarkable success of our New
York apple growers may be a matter of opinion, but it is
surely the consensus of opinion among those who have made
an exhaustive study of the adaptability of the apple to our
soils and climate, and to the economies involved in all
phases of the industry, that there are great possibilitiea in
apple culture riglit here in New England.

"Although we have many types of soil, the apple so
marvelously adapts itself to such a variety that there are
few hill farms but what some portion of it will support ami
develop an orchard if properly planted and eared for. As
soil fertility is an important factor in all lines of crop pro-
duction, it is especially so in regard to the production of the
apple. This crop is not produced in a year, but is the cul-
mination of a series of years' growth, hence it can be readily
seen that the richer the soil in plant food, the quicker will
be the development of the tree, and other things being equal,
the sooner the tree will bear profitable crops of fruit. It i»
in our vsoil that we have one of our richest assets, particular-
ly the soils of newly cleared forest lands, where the accu-
mulation of leaves, branches, etc., for years have produced
a rich leafy molds especially suited for the rapid, growth of

47

the tree, and at a later period for the development of fruit
of the highest degree of quality and color. Our own or-
chards occupy lands that were but a comparatively few
years ago forest tracts, and much of the success of our-
efforts in orcharding is directly traceable to the choice of
such sites for orchard purposes.

"If much of the land that is being denuded of its
forest growth by our industrious lumbermen could be trans-
formed into profitable orchards we would more readily
pardon the ruthless abandon with which he performs his
work, and far greater wealth would be added to valuation-
in localities suffering such a change. As altitude and per-
fect drainage play an important part in perfecting the-
apple, it can readily be seen how desirable our hilltops and>
sunny slopes are for the cultivation of the apple.

"Our climate, together with the proper feeding of the
tree, produces a fruit of unexcelled quality. The other day
I bought a large, well colored Colorado apple, but two bites
of it was enough. I afterwards made a hearty lunch upon
some of our native apples. With such varieties as the-
Baldwin, Greening, Russet, Northern Spy, Mackintosh,
Gravenstein, Porter, Astrachau, Avhen well grown, we can-
well hold the supremacy as to quality over any other sec-
tion of our country, and these are the varieties, as a whole,
which are recognized abroad as of the greatest excellence."'

Mr. Harold L. Frost of Arlington then lectured on

THE BEST OUTFIT FOR SPRAYING FRUIT TREES:

' ' In the early days of fruit growing, the farmer with his
virgin soil, isolated position and hardy stock, had only to
dig a hole in the ground and plant his tree. No necessity
for spraying apparatus. If there was a crop of fruit, which
usually occurred every other year, he harvested the same;
marketed it, and considered that all the returns were profit,
as it had caused him no expense.

"As he commenced to import new varieties, as he was
brought into closer touch with other sections of the coun-
try, and Qven with foreign countries, he noticed that his
trees were not as hardy, although he was producing much
better fruit. In many cases, he not only lost some of his
fruit, but he also lost the tree itself. This he was unable to
prevent, and had to change his crop perhaps after enormous-
expense, as in the eastern part of the state pear trees which^

48

-were just coming in bearing, were entirely exterminated by
the pear blight. It was like a pestilence of the early days.

"Among the enemies of the fruit tree or shrub we
have the insects, which I consider of the greatest import-
ance. Then fungus diseases, which are a plant growth work-
ing mainly on the outside of the tissues, and which may
be comparatively easily handled by means of spraying.

"And last, the bacterial diseases which work in the in-
terior of the plant cells are more difficult to combat.

"The insects affecting the fruit grower may be divided
into two general classes, the leaf-eating and sucking. It is
necessary to know which one we must handle in order to
determine the best apparatus for spraying the orchard, as
one insecticide may demand one form of apparatus, and
another another form.

"For leaf-eating insects, we use, as a rule, some arsen-
ical poison which is applied to the foliage.

The insect eats both the plant tissue and the poison,
which taken into the digestive organs kills the insect in
this way.

"The sucking insects, such as the San Jose scale,
scurvy bark louse, aphis and others sucking the sap from
the tree, must necessarily be destroyed by something either
closing the pores or killing by penetration. This in the
past, has required a different form of apparatus for applying
than the arsenical poisons.
, "The first spraying carried on in this country was
about 30 years ago, when the potato beetle made its ap-
pearance in quantity.

"There is no one apparatus adapted for all conditions,
and it is absolutely necessary for the grower to study the
work which he has to do, and then buy the pump and other
equipment which will suit his purpose to the greatest ad-
vantage.

"No man should use a power sprayer unless he has
a large number of trees, as he is simply making the appa-
ratus too expensive, there being many hand pumps which
are capable of doing an enormous amount of work in a very
short time. There are a large number of barrel pumps on
the market, all of which are good, and with care can be
jnade to last a number of years.

"For the smaller fruits, such as currants and goose-
berries, the poison may be applied for the leaf-eating in-

49

sects as a dry powder. For this purpose there are makes of
powder cans and pails which are very effectual.

"For the leaf-eating insects, we have, first arsenate of
lead, paris green and london purple. For the sucking in-
sects, the soluble oils and lime sulfur. For the fungus dis-
eases, the Bordeaux mixture, ammonical solution of copper."

President: "We expected to have Prof. Kirkland,
Supt., of the Gypsy Moth Commission but he is unable to
be present. He has sent to take his place Mr. Charles W.
Minot of Winchester who will now address you.

WORK OF GYPSY MOTH COMMISSION IN 1906

It gives me great pleasure to meet you today. Last
year it was because of business and this year it is sickness
that prevents Prof. Kirkland from meeting you.

The time is so short I will read a few statements al-
though I prefer to speak from my own knowledge of the
progress of the work during the past year.

During the season of 1907 we have added 5 towns to our
territory. The diagrams show the territory infested from
1900 to the present time.

There are 144 cities and towns infested with the gypsy
moth and 67 more that are infested with the brown tail
making a total of 211 infested cities and towns in the state.
This infested territory covers an area of 2500 square miles
or 75 per cent, of the taxable property of the state. $315,000
has been expended by the state, cities and towns during the
past year and about the same amount by individuals, mak-
ing about $750,000 expended in the state of Massachusetts
during the past year in killing these two pesta.

Last year an effort was made to introduce European
parasites of the moth, which cost about $10,000.

The policy of the year's work was to check the spread-
ing of the moth by killing along the roadsides, burlapping
and spraying the trees. 1200 men were employed and
8000 miles of streets cared for. The same body of men was
employed in freeing the thickly settled portions of the in-
fested districts. 90 per cent, of the thickly settled resi-
dential districts were so thoroughly cared for that there was
very little trouble from the moths.

The work has been hindered by the failure of certain

50

important towns and cities to make appropriations and also
by inefficient workmen.

The plan for 1907 is, if legislature appropriates funds,
first to hold all that has been gained in the residential dis-
tricts and on the highways and second to work back to the
woodland property. For this work we have at the present
time an efficient force organized. We can make a better
showing now than we have in. the past because of the good
organization of forces.

The work of the National government has been of great
aid to the state works.

On the lands controlled by the metropolitan water and
sewerage board and by the metropolitan park commission
great gain has been made which helps materially in the
care of the infested district.

The assistance of the press of the state has been con-
tinuous and cordial and has probably been the most helpful
single factor in the educational campaign. Outside of the
infested area it is a matter of education.

On the parasite question the superintendents takes con-
servative ground. Laboratory experiments and those con-
ducted on properly enclosed trees show that the European
parasites have bred in a normal manner upon the gypsy and
brown tail moths.

The residential sections can be handled, the roadsides
can be handled but the orchard sections and the woodlands
cannot be handled for a number of years.

We have done the best we could with this problem;
have inspected and located the infestations; have induced
the owners to cut or have cut the hollow trees wherever pos-
sible ; have endeavored to have the trees properly burlapped
and tended and sprayed ; but it is only honest to say that we
have succeeded in making but a beginning and that in most
towns the orchards are in a worse condition now than a
year ago. More money will be needed for this work if we
are to hold our own. Much money will be needed if we are
to make a gain.'

At 4 P. M., the session was adjourned to 10 A. M.
Thursday.

5r

THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1907

JO.OO A. M,

The morning session was called to order by President
Whitney and the Committee on Memorials consisting of E.
H. Race, H. Ward Moore and the Secretary reported as fol-
lows:

PAST PRESIDENT JAMES DRAPER

Died at his home 287 Plantation St., Worcester, at 9 o'clock
yesterday morning after a lingering illness. He was born
in this city Aug. 31, 1842 and spent his whole life here.

During all these more than three score years he has
been an important factor in the upbuilding of the city in
many ways. He was one of the originators and first Presi-
dent of this Association and has CA^er been a most active
worker for the growth and development of everything per-
taining to Horticulture. He loved his calling and gloried
in its advancement.

Through his death we feel that we have met with an ir-
repairable loss and it is now our duty to pause a few mo-
ments in our work to testify to the sterling worth, upright
character, and ennobling influence of our departed brother.
Of no man can it be more truly said that "to know is but
to love him."

CALVIN L. HARTSHORN

In September Mr. Calvin L. Hartshorn was called to
cease his labors in the vineyard and cross the borderland
into the great unknown Beyond.

Quiet and unassuming in his bearing, yet active and ef-
ficent in labors, an honest helpful friend, he will be missed
by all.

CHARLES E. PARKER

Again another call came and Mr. Charles E. Parker of
Holden was the one to answer. A man strong in his convic-
tions and a fearless champion of the right, a zealous worker
for our Association, and a lover of nature, he will be missed.

52

ELIJAH W. WOOD

Once more the summons came and Mr. E. W. Wood of
West Newton heard it and his life work was ended. As
treasurer of this Association we trusted in his integrity, as
a member we received his council and advice, as a man we
loved and respected him.

A committee consisting of A. F. Stevens, R. H. Race and
E. R. Farrar appointed at the 12th annual meeting reported
as follows:

ALBERT G. SHARP

He was born in Berkshire Co., Sept. 21, 1850 and died Dee.
25 1905. He was educated in New England and early began
the cultivation of small fruits in which he was eminently
successful devoting his entire time to it. His strict integ-
rity, honesty and fidelity soon won for him a most enviable
reputation as a fruit grower. His interest in this Associa-
tion was ever alert. He served as president from 1901 to
1903 with dignity and honor. Brother Sharp always seemed
to be glad of life because it gave him the chance to love and
work for mankind. He was a m.ost earnest believer in that
bulwark of American liberties the Christian home and the
highest type of good citizenship.

SAMUEL H. HARTWELL

The first vice-president of this Association was born
Jan. 4, 1834 and died Feb. 21, 1906. Brother Harlwell was
respecied and honored by all who knew him. Honored alike
by church, town and county, his genial nature and kindly
heart made him beloved by young and old. We know him
best as a most successful fruit grower and as an exhibitor
of Gravenstein apple and Concord grapes, having produced
in one year six thousand barrels of apples and selling one
annual crop on the trees for $2,000 after retiring from ac-
tive labor. In his death our Association, his town and the
state have lost a most valued member.

BENJAMIN P. WARE

Brother Ware was born in Salem April 9, 1822 and
a prarticfl education in the public schools of Salem. From
early youth and during his long life he was always inter-
ested in agricultural and horticultural pursuits. He became
a member of the Mass. Horticultural Society in 1865 and

53

was vice-president from 1896-1903 — A pioneer in advocating
the establishing of a state experiment station and for ten
years a trustee of the Mass. Agricultural College, he was a
charter member and trustee of the New England Agri-
cultural Society for forty-two years and was president of
the Essex County Agricultural Society sixteen years, past-
master of the Mass. State Grange and a member of the Mass.
Fruit Growers' Association from its organization. His cour-
teous manners and genial spirit attracted all who came in
contact with him.

The Resolutions were adopted and then the President
introduced, Prof. John Craig, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.
Y., who spoke on

IS LEGISLATION NEEDED FOR GRADING AND MARE.
ING OUR FRUIT?

"I esteem it a special privilege to appear again before
this body of fruit-growing men.

"I have been impressed during the last few minutes as
I have heard the resolutions just read. I want to say a word
on that subject. We have noted the passing away of many
eminent men. The last time I was here I happened to speak
about the large number of mature men and men of middle
age who were in attendance. Now if the fruit growing in-
stitutes and conventions are to prosper, we must have young
men to take the places of those who are passing away and it
seems to me a work that this society might interest itself in,
the work of getting young men interested in fruit growing,
m.en who are going to take up practical scientific work f^nd
carry it on. ' '

froi. Craig advocated co-operation on the pait of fiuit
growers of the state and country at large, bringing before
the convention the big success which has been achieved by
combined effort in the West. Through a uniform grading
and packing the fruit bearing association labels has become
recognized as strictly what it is sold for, and through con-
certed action these co-operating farmers have been able to
control the market and demand good prices for good prod-
ucts.

Regarding legislation, Prof. Craig cited the Canadian
"fruit mark" act of 1901, which specifies the grades into
which fruit shall be separated and specifies the label which

54

must be put on each crate. The law provides that all fruit
cases must bear the full name of the packer and a label in
the case of a closed package which does not allow the fruit
to be seen, which correctly represents the quality of the
fruit contained. The Canadian act allows four grades,
known as fancy, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. Penalties are im-
posed of from 25 cents to $1 for each case wrongly marked,
and provisions are made for inspectors to watch the fruit
packages and brand any which are not packed according to
law.

The packer who labels a crate of fruit with a stamp
which in any way overrates the quality of the fruit is liable,
and the packer in an open case where the fruit is seen is
equally liable if the top layer is of better quality, size, color
and general condition than 85 per cent, of the fruit under-
neath.

Prof. Craig read a number of letters from leading English
market houses, all of which asserted that the Canadian fruit
packed in accord with the strict legislation was far more de-
sirable and brought a higher price- than Ame"rican product
in the British markets. The American crop was considered
uncertain and cases from this country were looked upon as
somewhat suspicious, while the quality of the Canadian fruit
was guaranteed. Prof. Craig argued that while all farmers
are not dishonest, the temptations under present conditions
are strong and offer ample opportunity to cheat the pur-
chaser. Unless this is prevented by legislation which makes
false packers and markers liable, the honest fruit growers
must suffer for the misdeeds of the few.

Discussion opened by Dr. George M. Twitchell, Auburn,
Me.

"I want to say that I am deeply interested in this sub-
ject and the one thing I fear most is legislation. I mean
legislation before we are ready for it. The first thing we
want is education. We want to feel that there is a better
way for us to handle our fruit products than singly and
alone. We want to feel that we must co-operate : that there
is a way for us to handle our fruit products so that we may
secure more than we have in the past and that way is
through education and a knowledge of what good fruit is,
what the demands of the market are and how we can best
meet those demands.

55

"In Maine our packing is mostly a commercial packing.
We leave it entirely to the packers and they pack as they
think the market will take it. They usually do it from a
commercial standpoint entirely.

"It seems to me that we might come together here in
New England and bring about results that as single states
Ave could not accomplish. Our interests are identical and
were we united in work, results could be secured that other-
Avise would be impossible.

In 1905-6, large shipments of apples were made from
this country to England but our apples did not bring as
much as Canadian apples. Are we satisfied to take that
stand in the market? How shall we get away from it? We
shall get away from it, I believe, by one of the two plans
outlined today.

" It .seems to me that this^ may be done through some-
thing like Fruit Act legislation, but we must withhold all
efforts toward legislation until we have so educated growers'
that there will be willingness to accede to the demands of
the law.

"The question as to whether the packers in Canada are
living up to the law is answered by the educational effect of
the Fruit Act legislation at the end of four years.

"Is it worth while for us in New England to attempt
any movement looking to the matter of legislation in the
future with the hope that we may secure uniform grading,
packing and branding of our apples, and then comes the
next question as to how we shall proceed and how far we
shall go.

"I want to see this convention, representative of New
England, take a more definite stand than has yet been taken
so that we can say that New England is being organized
under some plan of work.

"I would like to see a resolution passed looking to-
ward legislation when we have been educated for it. If we
are united upon the legislation that is passed for this coun-
try and go to Congress with a solid front having behind us
the desire to co-operate on the part of all growers, we shall
have accomplished all we desire. This will be of great ad-
vantage to New England. The state of Maine is making
great strides in fruit growing and we feel that something
must be done to check growers."

56

Ex-President H. 0. Mead, Lunenburg:

"I wish to say that the man who succeeds in this world
fits the conditions around him and the man who doesn't fit
those conditions will make a failure.

"I know that the fruit growers of California are at
the mercy of the packers but the conditions there do not
correspond to ours. The man three or four hundred miles
from a market has not the same conditions as we have here
where the market is right at home. The average man can
take care of his products better than it can be done by any-
one else.

"I wish to say that I don't believe in any legislation to
regulate the grading or packing of our fruits either for the
home or the foreign market. I look upon such laws as class
legislation for the benefit of the buyers and shippers of ap-
ples. From the best information obtainable regarding the
practical working of the Fruit Marks Act its enforcement
has resulted in putting the packing and shipping of apples
into the hands of the large dealers and shippers in that fruit
and driven from the export business the small grower who
formerly shipped directly to the foreign market. Such laws
almost always help the few at the expense of the many.
Each grower must accept not the price he asks but the price
some one is ready to give him. This matter has been re-
ferred to as similar to the pure food act and its effect on
canned meats, as a reason why the government should in-
spect fruits. Would the government be willing to furnish
free inspection of fruits, as in the case of meats, to add to
the profits of dealers and growers of fruit. The average
business man will do his business better than some crank
legislature will do it for him.

"The foreign buyer does not need government inspec-
tion of apples for they are now sold on their own merits in
the foreign markets and receive a satisfactory and fair in-
spection. Every market demands a share of cheap goods
and business methods will regulate such matters better than
legislation. I do not believe that any man who will put up
square goods will fail to receive what those goods are
worth. I believe that the fruit growers of this section
should stand up for their rights that they now have so far
as the packing of their own goods is concerned, and we have
the right to pack them as we choose.

"I would be in favor of certain laws, viz: To prevent

57

the branding of the fruit of one state as the fruit of an-
other state ; To prevent the marking of one variety as being-
another variety; To compel every man who ships his own
apples to put his name on them, and if a shipper, to put his-
name on.

' ' What would it amount to with a law drawn as loosely
as the one read to us where the inspector can pass fruit or
not and a man shipping 1000 barrels of apples can induce the-
inspeetor to pass them while the small shipper cannot.

"I believe in honestly packed and marked goods and
these methods will be the most profitable for any grower or*
dealer to adopt.

Dr. Twitchell: "Mr. Mead wants so much more legis-
lation than the rest of us that I should want time before
agreeing with him.

Mr. D. H. Knowlton, Secretary of Pomological Society
of Maine :

"I have enjoyed very much the presentation of Prof.
Craig's paper and I know that on account of its value it
will have widespread circulation.

"At the Buffalo exposition my attention was called tc
the Fruit Marks Act. In the autumn of that year I was
in Halifax and called upon one of the inspectors there and'
found out how they were enforcing the law. I have
watched the operation of that law ever since and I am con-
vinced that the price of Canada apples has advanced be-
yond that of Maine apples. It was only at the time this
act was passed that Maine Baldwins were selling for more-
money than Canadian fruit was selling for and I have known
instances where Canadians did just what our friend here

"At our annual meeting this matter of legislation along"

At our annual meeting this matter of legislation along"
the lines of the Fruit Marks Act was called up for our con-
sideration and Dr. Twitchell was chosen as agent of our so-
ciety to bring about the better packing and marking and'
grading of our fruits.

"I am very proud to stand before you here as a dele-
gate of our society with delegates from all over New Eng-
land for whenever there is difficulty in anything there is-
wisdom in counsel.

"I have in mind that once a year when our annual
meetings are held a delegate could be sent from each society
and an annual meeting of representatives of the different

58

•societies be held. Then they could go back to their own so-
-cieties and tell what they had learned by consultation. I
hope at this meeting that something of this kind may be
•done. I assume in that each society would be willing to meet
the expenses of the delegates. In my own society we have
not much money to work with but I think our society would
consent to pay the expenses of one delegate every year. ^.

"We want each society in New England to be invited
to send at least one delegate annually to a meeting for the
discussion of matters of common interest to fruit growers'
•and then present to their respective societies the different
conclusions they may reach."

Among others who discussed the subject were T. L. Kin-
ney, and William Stewart of Vermont; President J. H.;- Put-
nam of the Connecticut Pomological Society ;^.E?>Mayoj!-
Blodgett and John W. Clark.

It was voted that a committee be appointed by the
•chair to write our state coiigressman, urging reciprocal ar-
rangements with the German Government, whereby our
fruit may be received in the German markets with only a
nominal tax.

The following resolution was then adopted. Resolved,
That this Fruit Growers' Association hereby invites all
fruit growers' association of New England to unite with it
in sending a representative to other like associations once
a year for conference and discussion of all problems vital
to the industry and for bringing about more uniform condi-
tions in growing, spraying, cultivating, and selection of
varieties as well as such action as may be deemed best to
insure more uniform sorting, packing and branding fruits
for market.

Upon motion of Ethan Brooks a vote of thanks was ex-
tended to the Worcester County Horticultural Society for its
valuable assistance, to the delegates from other states who
Tiad been with us and to the officers of the Association.

The meeting then adjourned.

The afternoon session was a joint meeting with the
Worcester Society. State Forester F. William Rane spoke
on "Horticulture in Rural Economies" and the proceedings
were printed in that Society's report.

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS'
ASSOCIATION

Fourteenth Annual Meeting, March \\-\2^

t908
WEDNESDAY, MARCH U, 10 A M;

The fourteenth annual meeting opened in Horticul-
tural Hall under the most favorable conditions and with
the usual number of members present.

President C. A. Whitney called the meeting to order. '
"We are very fortunate in meeting here to-day to be
favored with the chief executive of the City of Worcester,
.his Honor, Mayor Logan."
Address of welcome by Mayor Logan :

"Ladies and Gentlemen: As mayor of the city of Wor-
-cester, I am very glad to welcome to our city the members
of the Fruit Growers' Association of Massachusetts.

Now the business in which you gentlemen are engaged
is one of the oldest of which we have any knowledge as it
was begun in the Garden of Eden, and, if the record is
true, the growing of fruit got us into considerable trouble
then which has lasted ever since.

As I understand it one of the objects of this association
is to improve the quality of fruit and incidentally to put the
.price up to the rest of us. I have one or two things to say on
this question. It seems to me that there has been a great
.deterioration in the quality of fruit sincel was a boy but I
am glad that you men are trying to do your best to improve
it. While optimistic in most things, in the matter of fruit I
Am pessimistic and I sigh for the fruit that we had when I
was a boy. The fruit we used to get (not buy, mind you,
used to taste so good. I can almost taste those peaches,
pears, plums and apples that our neighbors used to raise.
That was before the day of barbed-wire fences.

I trust .your convention here will be successful and

60 •

that you will do the best you can for us who consume the-
finished product."

President Whitney : ' ' We appreciate the honor that yoa
confer upon us and to show our appreciation we meet here
every year. While we hold other meetings elsewhere, we
never hold our annual meeting anywhere but here."

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS

We meet here to renew our fellowship, to receive fresb
enthusiasm for our work, to encourage and instruct each
other in the art of beautifying and improving the heritage
our Heavenly Father has given us. One of the most profit-
able as well as pleasant features of meetings of this kind
is that we get acquainted with each other. There is noth-
ing like personal contact with men to take the conceit out
of us. We learn that we don't know quite everything that
is of value in the real human knowledge and experience.
Narrow views of a subject are likely to be broadened when
measured with the views of other men who are thinking 011
the same subject, or engaged in the same line of investiga-
tion. Crude ideas cannot but be polished a little when
rubbed against the ideas of our fellow-workers. More can
be accomplished by meeting and exchanging ideas than
could be by each one hermit-like working out his theories
alone; hence these meetings ought to be largely attended.
The benefits cannot be measured by dollars and cents that it
takes to get here. Every impetus given to the growing of
fruit, flowers and garden products will bless our state for
generations yet unborn.

We are glad at this time to be able to meet so many
delegates from our sister states and hope that our coming
together will be mutually beneficial and that you, one and
all, will be able to take back with you some thought, or
have learned some lesson from our mistakes, that will be
of value to you in your work. We give you a cordial wel-
come and invite you to join with us in our discussions. We
assure you that we feel honored by your presence. We are
glad to meet the new members who have recently joined this
Society and hope they will find it to their interest to become
permanent members. We not only gather at these annual
meetings to greet old friends and talk over our se-ason's. ex-

61

periences but to form new acquaintances to broaden our
views, to extend our field of usefulness by imparting to
others any knowledge we may have gained during the year.
The aims and objects to such an organization as this are
manifold but the principal ones are that in these meetings
we become better acquainted with each other, get a clearer
conception of life and have a better understanding of our
special lines of work by an interchange of views.

"We come here laden with the fruits only of our per-
sonal experience but after our meeting is ended we return
to our homes enriched by the experience of all. He is a
•dull scholar indeed who is not amply repaid by the useful
lessons here brought to his mind.

Some one has said "Horticulture pursued as a science
is a most useful industry, enlarging the number and improv-
ing the quality of the fruits of the earth that add so much to
the comfort of human life ; as an art it cultivates the taste,
refines the sensibilities and educates the spirit to a higher
grace and beauty. It is a higher department of agriculture
requiring the same primary study but a more careful train-
ing. Horticulture, the science and art, we pursue, like
music, like painting, indicates in its advancement the march
of civilization." '

A generation ago people jumped into horticulture in
the belief that all that was required was to plant seeds,
plants and trees, of our different fruits, both tree and vine,
and let nature do the rest. The masses did not consider
it necessary to have any special knowledge or even to use
great care and judgment to insure success and the result
has been that their work records more failures than suc-
cesses.

In the last few years horticulture has been studied as
.an art, the slovenly fruit grower and would be horticul-
turist are going back to the growing of corn and potatoes
leaving the field open to the legitimate horticulturist who
has intelligence and energy to devote to his calling. One
-of the great elements of success with the fruit grower is a
resolute, determined and persevering industry in one and the
same direction. The success of a man is only limited by the
amount of persevering thought and determined resolution
he possesses; to the persevering there is no doubting or
-waiting ; he knows no to-morrow or next week and it is one
vdetermination and one resolute "now." To him mountains

6a

are mole hills, while ant hills are mountains to the vacillat-
ing and fearful. Mature your plans, work with a calcula-
tion beforehand, have a fixed object in view at the begin-
ning of the year and bend all etforts toward that object.
He who has an object in view at the beginning of the year,.
will have an object to view at the end of the year. The first
records we have of a fruit tree is one that grew on the-
banks of a river Euphrates. This was a peculiar tree, it was.
an apple tree. I have often wondered what kind of an ap-
ple tree it Was, but judging from the mischief it caused I
believe it must have been a Ben. Davis apple tree. We read
that a garden Vas the primitive paradise and even now a
tastefully planned^ judiciously planted and well kept garden
has still lingering about it many of the charms we like to
attribute to the original Eden. To the true lover of rural<
life it seems in the fullness of its summer beauty to be in-
deed almost a paradise regained..

This Society is an educational gathering where theories-
are discussed, where methods and experiences are given,
where varieties are talked about and their adaptation ta
our conditions of soil! and climate made the test of value to
us. Horticultural science as well as other sciences is born-
of human necessity. As population increases smaller areas
are compelled to supply our wants and better systems of
cultivation must be devised and varieties more suited to
our immediate vicinity must be produced.

It is true that the successful fruit grower and experi-
menter has a multitude of obstacles to overcome, much of
his labor must of necessity be in vain, and does not have the
promise of a sure reward. The cold blasts of winter, the
searching rays of summer sun, the extremes of dry and
wet, the untimely frosts, the feathered creation and the
ever alert tree agent all come in for a share of his labor.

As we meet once more in this hall of our birth one
familiar face is absent, since last we gathered here he has
passed into the Great Beyond, but he went "Not like the
quarry slave scourged to his dungeon but sustained and^
soothed by an unfaltering trust in that Divine Being that
smooths the pillow for such as he." One of the founders-
of this organization, a President of the Worcester County-
Horticultural Society and also of the Masachusetts Horti-
cultural Society, a Trustee of the State College, one of the
Park Commissioners of y.our beautiful City of Worcester-

63

and for more than half a century a leading figure in all
horticultural work Obadiah B. Hadwen lived a life of use-
fulness and grandeur, a kindly, courteous gentleman of the
old school, his very presence lent dignity to our meetings
and his words gave us inspiration. As the donor of the
Park that bears his name and by his bequest to the Univer-
sity of this City his name will be cherished and honored by
the generations coming after us. We are fortunate that it
was our lot know him and to love him and while we drop a'
silent tear to his memory let us with renewed energy take
up the work he did so much to advance. By the unalter-
able laws of nature men must come and men must go but
the work we are here to represent must go on forever.

And now at the close of this meeting I return to your
hands the trust you confided in me two years ago. I thank
you for the honor you conferred upon me but more than all
I am glad of that friendly appreciation which prompted
your action and I assure you that my association with the
genial, earnest and intelligent men of the Massachusetts-
Fruit Growers' Association will afford me many pleasant
and cherished memories while I live.

Following this the reports of the Secretary, Treasurer-
and Auditor were read and accepted.

President Whitney then introduced Prof. H. T. Fern-^
aid, Entomologist of Massachusetts Agricultural College,.
who gave a practical talk on Problems in Fruit Growing-
that have interested me in the last 10 years. (Lecture he
was to give "Insects injurious to our Fruits and how to
control them," could not be given on account of stereop-
ticon outfit not being in readiness).

Prof. Fernald:

"Mr. Whitney indicated in some degree the position
in which I am placed but has not indicated the fact that the
lecture which I had prepared was wholly in connection with,
the slides. I am sorry because I know that the slides were
excellent as they were made by the man who is the most
expert in making colored slides of any one in this country.
I cannot give you at all the lecture that I intended to. I
will try to give you an informal talk.

I am going to speak on some of the problems that have;
interested me in this state during the last 10 years.

64

Now the first thing I noticed when I moved into this
state was that the fruit was not what it ought to be. I can
.appreciate the mayor's statement that he would like to have
some of the fruit such as he used to have when he was a boy.
The fruit today is not what it ought to be. And now I am
not speaking of all, but, with the exception of specialties,
it is a fact that about one-third of the fruit produced today
in Massachusetts should be placed in the swill barrel, and
I think the time has come when the Massachusetts fruit
growers should stop growing cider apples, and get into line
with the Western growers who are getting 10 cents apiece
for apples. This state certainly can produce fruits of the
best sort and there is not one man in 100 in this state today
who is taking any particular pains to raise good fruit. Per-
haps this is a matter of inheritance. The problem of the
early settlers was the problem of raising not the luxuries but
the necessities of life. People could get along without fruit
in those days better than they could without corn, and so
fruit was neglected. Thus it became a tradition that the
only thing needed was to plant a tree and let it alone for a
: series of years. This has resulted in an enormous crop of
cider apples. Now people have become more particular about
the quality of fruit and, unfortunately for the people
here, it was the West that first saw the need for first-class
fruit. Some of the largest shippers to Boston are men who
are not farmers today and who never were, but are men
who have seen the business opportunity, have bought land
and raised fruit for the purpose of making money more
rapidly than they can make it in other lines. In other
words, there are business men who have seen the opportun-
ity which the farmers and fruit growers themselves have
neglected and they are now reaping the profits. We can
compete with these men. There are men, a good many in
this state today, who are doing it. It is not a question of
;men, it is a question of ability and will. It is not an easy
matter to take up a new line and carry it out to success, but
it can be done, and if Massachusetts proposes to get the
trade, she can do it. Indeed, in the West, the people are
under many disadvantages. They have to pay freight rates
I much higher than ours, those a short distance west of the
Mississippi being from 60 to 75 cents per 100 pounds for
japples shipped in carload lots, while the highest rates in
.Massachusetts are 15 and 16 cents.

65

We should plan for novelty and attractiveness. How
many pick out a few firsts from a pile and leave the most
of the pile for seconds. There are many ways in which we
must change if we are to be successful. We have our in-
sect foes here, fungus diseases, while our foes are not al-
ways the same as those of the West, they are all alike in-
jurious. There are over 500 kinds of different insect pests
known to attack the apple.

When we meet the requirements of the market fruit
growing in Massachusetts will be a different proposition
from what it is to-day, and the Western men will find that
there is no market for them in Massachusetts."

DISCUSSION

What is the very best method of combating the rail-
road worm or apple maggot?

It is a very difficult insect to control. One of the
most difficult because of the peculiarities in its life. It is
a thoroughly protected insect. We find it under different
conditions at different times. At some points it is very
vulnerable but it has very few vulnerable points. There
are but one or two Suggestions that I can make. There is
a period when the maggot is leaving the apples and going
into the ground and while it is in the ground, when it is
less protected from attack than at any other time. The
maggot is in the fallen fruit and by allowing hogs and
fowls, or both, to run through under the trees that they
may pick up the fallen fruit, thus getting the maggots, you
will be able to kill the next brood to a large degree. A
little light cultivation under the trees would cause no in-
jury to the trees while it would aid in getting out the rail-
road worms just below the surface, but it is a very hard in-
sect to combat.

How soon after the fruit falls before the maggot emer-
ges from it?

It may be five minutes or it may be five days.

Mr. Fisk of Grafton. Some varieties of apples used to
grow fine but of late years are so full of nubs, that they
are not fit for anything. It seems to be in certain varieties,
have seen it in the Northern Spy.

Dr. Fernald. In the past five years I have had many ap-
ples sent in which have slight holes here and there. I cut
the apple right through the center and have discovered what

66

I believe is the cause in most cases. That is, we are not
raising plums enough and the plum curculio is passing in
large numbers to the apple and while as a rule, I do not
know that the curculio can live in the apple, it injures it.
There are certain cases which appear to be due to the fruit
being touched just a bit by the frost. I do not feel certain
that I have the explanation for all cases and I presume cer-
tain varieties of fruit are more acceptable to the plum
curculio than others.

Have you anything to offer by way of preventive?

The plum curculio is claimed by many to be responsible
for the loss of over 90 per cent, of the plums which set in
the first place. They attack the plum first, then the peach,
and the apple is coming in for its share of attention ; but
I think if we keep the curculio down on the plums it will
not appear so much on the other fruits.

The plum curculio appears in the spring before the
fruit has developed sufficiently for it to lay its eggs and it
occasionlly develops an appetite and gets hungry. It then
nibbles on the tender leaves while it is waiting for a chance
to deposit its eggs. One of the best times to spray for many
things is just before the blossoms open ; then a repetition of
this spraying just after the blossoms fall and you will be
most certain to reach some of the curculio. Don't wait for
the curculio to go to the apple but attack them on the plum-
before they leave.

Is there not an apple curculio as well as a plum,

There is. Collections have been made at the Massa-
chusetts Agricultural College every year since 1886. We
get curculio brought in every year and we keep tabs as to
how abundant Ihey are; in that way we keep watch on the .
insects and during these 21 years I believe eight specimens
of the apple curculio have been sent in. The apple curculio
is a negligible quality as compared with the plum curculio.

Is there a pear curculio?

No, possibly the plum curculio may attach to pea^.

Messrs. Eames and Morse then spoke upon the subject,
''What Fungus Pests have been seriously injurious to our
Fruits, the past season." E. T. Dow of Michigan spoke on
methods of exterminating pests. A nominating committee
was appointed by Pres. Whitney to bring in a list of officer.?
and the meeting adjourned for dinner.

^7

WEDNESDAY, MARCH U', 1?0S
J.30 P. M,

The first business of the afternoon session was listening-
to the report of the nominating committee. It was:

JOHN W. CLARK, President,
S. T. MAYNARD, Vice-President,
C A. WHITNEY, Secretary-Treasurer,
J. LEWIS ELLSWORTH, Auditor,

DIRECTORS
ESSEX COUNTY:
SUFFOLK COUNTY :
NORFOLK COUNTY :
PLYMOUTH COUNTY:
MIDDLESEX COUNTY:

North Hadley

Northboro

Upton

Worcester

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY;
HAMPDEN COUNTY :
BERKSHIRE COUNTY:
FRANKLIN COUNTY:

E. A. Emerson, J. J. H. Gregory.

George Cruickshank.

Abel F. Stevens.

Augustus Pratt, Walton Hall.

C. F. Haywood, George F. Wheeler,.

E. R. Farrar, M. P. Palmer, C. S.

Pratt.
J. Maxwell Clark.
E. Bliss, L. W. Rice.
George F. Walker, R. H. Race.
M. H. Vincent, E. F. Copeland.

WORCESTER COUNTY : George C. Rice, S. J. Emerson, Elliott.

Moore, Walter D. Ross, E. A. Her-
sey, Adin A. Hixon.

This report was unanimously accepted, and it was vot-
ed that the Secretary cast one ballot for the list who were
then declared elected.

President Whitney then introduced. J. H. Hale, of Con-
necticut and Georgia..

PEACH GROWING IN NEW ENGLAND AS COMPARED

WITH OTHER SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY

Peaches have been grown in Massachusetts for consid-
erably more than a century and in different parts of Amer-
ica the same length of time, but up to 25 or 30 years ago it
was believed that favored portions like Deleware, and along
the lakes, were the places where peaches could and were to>

68

t)e grown successfully. There was only a limited demand
for peaches then, and they were used mostly for canning.

The consumption of fruit has grown apace because it
is an easy way to feed better, and people appreciate the
easy ways of living. The consolidation of railway lines has
made it possible to carry fruits farther, quicker and better,
-and tended to create an enormous demand for fruit.

Various sections have their troubles in peach growing.
In Massachusetts the danger is in the winter freezing of
buds, in Georgia, frost, while in the South beside troubles
in growing, the distance of the market makes shipping a
great expense. There are hundreds and thousands of acres
of peaches in the South and West, that the fruit is shipped
to New York and New England markets. There are crops
that can be raised in Masachusetts that will pay well. For
instance, Rhode Island greenings, can be raised and sold at
a greater profit than California oranges, for they bring a
larger price per bushel then the oranges, and the grower of
oranges has freight to pay.

What is the matter with us here in New England that
"we don't wake up to this opportunity? We have been
talking about these things here for 15 years, and yet all the
time every once in a while some of the young men and mid-
dle-aged men are packing up and going West and South
to an opportunity not as good as here. I believe there is no
■place in America, nowhere on earth, where there is a better
opportunity for the doing good and having a good time than
-%i this northeast corner where we live.

The Massachusetts peach grower has got too good an
opportunity. It is too easy to reach the people. I don't
think you have faith enough in Massachusetts, in yourselves,
'because if you had you would bring your boys and girls
along with you, I see more young fellows here than ever
^before, but more of them are under 25.

No peach orchard was ever grown in the United States
which was not first in the heart of the man who planted it.

There are a greater number of disadvantages to most
states than here. The opportunities are greater, and I
know I make more money from my Connecticut orchard
than in Georgia.

Of the varieties suitable to this climate Massachusetts
bas borne as many as any other state. The danger of
■freezing is not so great, as new varieties are being grown

69

that are carrying the safe planting line farther and farther
North. It is up to the experiment stations in various
states to experiment with seedlings and find what varieties
can be grown. I believe in specialties and while the aver-
age farmer can grow the peaches he wants for his family
supply, he doubted whether he could make money growing
peaches and running the farm, too.

I haven't any doubt but what there are suitable lands
in Massachusetts to plant 20,000,000 peach trees. There
might not be a market for these when they all matured, but
I don't believe so many will ever be planted. You have-
the market here, the soil here, the climate here.

Massachusetts, certain portions of it, has just as fine
peach growing climate and soil on the average, as any other
state, and it has the market.

DISCUSSION

What are the best varieties for Massachusetts?

The more hardy are the white peaches. People know
whether or not they like to eat a yellow or white-fleshed
peach. As people become greater purchasers of high-grade
products the more they want the white-fleshed peacues^
New England is the section where they will pay more for
white-fleshed peaches. The Greensboro is hardy ana early
and would ripen about the first of August ; Waddell, a low,
broad-spreading tree ; the Carman, hardy, large in size, a-
money-maker; Champion, will grow to pretty good size, if
not thinned at all ; should be picked before it is fully ripened
because it is so tender; Belle of Georgia ripens before EI-
berta, sweet and rich ; Elberta is not as hardy, far more
tender when growing, it is a money maker ; Crosby is a peach
of great value, as a rule the average fruit grower will tell
you that the Crosby is too small, yet as a matter of fact
the biggest peach I ever grew in my life was a Crosby. It
has a very small pit, a very rich, delicious flavor; Hills
Chili, a weak grower, needs excessive stimulation, tremen-
dous thinning. Very dry, can be kept two weeks after be-
ing taken from the tree.

What proportion would you set out?

It depends entirely upon your market, your labor con-
ditions, etc.

For planting peaches in Massachusetts, should much at-
tention be given to slope of the land?

70

On a good elevation, should not care much which way
the land sloped.

How far apart should peach trees be planted?

All the way from 11 1-2 feet up to 22 feet ; plant 20x20,
then inter-plant.

What time do the pruning?

After the severe weather of winter is over. Better
prune when you can but if you have but a few to prune, do
it as early as you can.

I suppose you have been in the business 20 years. "Will
you thus prognosticate for the next 20 years?

Twenty-five years ago orange culture in California was
not known, now, they will this year ship 30,000 car loads
•of oranges. Within the last ten or fifteen years prior to two
years ago, there was a steady decrease in prices. The crop
two years ago sold for higher prices than it has at any time
in twenty years. I believe that with the growth of our popu-
lation, the greater appreciation of fine fruit, there will never
be at a time when good peaches or good fruit of any kind
will not sell here at good prices, because we have no freight
tariff to pay. Labor does not cost any more here thq,n in
■other parts of the country, and I do not think that peaches
■will sell for less than they have for the last twenty years.

What causes the peach trees cracking?

A rapidly growing tree filled with water freezes, but
that tree will live and grow twenty years if kept up in
other ways.

What is your opinion of the conditions that will be
brought about by the setting out of orchards in the South
■and AVest?

That will not make any difference. They cannot grow
as good apples as we can here. In regard to spraying, I
want to ask you how many times you spray. How many of
you spray 5 times, how many 4 times, how many 3 times,

Mr. Fisk. It seems as if we ought to spray from six to
ten times and it puzzles me as to the most practical way to
do it.

My laborers are Italians from the north of Italy. They
love growing things for they have worked among them all
their lives. It was the first country to spray intelligently. I
am not up-to-date. I use a single barrel pump on a truck
and a horse can get around everywhere with it. Last year
one of my Italian workmen was over in Italy and he brought

7i

back a knapsack sprayer and one day he said, ' ' I spray with
knapsack sprayer, cheaper than the other one." He
sprayed one large block with the knapsack sprayer. The
minute this spray pump went onto those Italians' backs they
looked as though they were half way to heaven and the cost
of that spraying is half the cost of the other spraying. "We
sprayed last year a ten year old peach orchard with
a knapsack sprayer. (Don't say that Hale recommends
the knapsack sprayer.) For San Jose scale, we use Scale-
<3ide. Our lime-sulfur plant is near my own place. Our
orchards are seven miles away. AVe draw the wash off in
the afternoon and use it in the morning. Don't need to be
boiling hot. We can warm it up sometimes. Does not al-
ways look the same but answers the purpose.

Is there anything better than the lime-sulfur wash?
No, not for peach trees. The oil sprays are better for
apple and pear. For peach trees I think we can spray with
lime-sulfur one year^nd oil spray the next. Scalecide is
the best of any on the average small orchard.

What kind of apples would you recommend for an or-
chard in Central Massachusetts?

Ask your land. Would grow Spys, if possible. Bald-
wins always command good prices. Grow a few of the sta-
ple varieties. I believe the time is coming when you are
going to grow more and more apples. In getting young trees
go to the best dealers you know. If you would have a bet-
ter orchard get the most vigorous trees you can buy.

Do you know of any man who is growing peaches suc-
cessfully by the sod mulch system?
No sir, I do not.

After Mr. Hale had finished, delegates from different
societies spoke a few words, among them being Dr. George
M. Twitchell of Augusta, Me., and H. C. Miles of the Connec-
ticut Pomological Society. Meeting adjourned to 10 o'clock
Thursday.

THURSDAY, MARCH \2, J908
JO O'CLOCK

The second day's exercises were opened by President J.
H. Putnam of the Connecticut Pomological Society.

72

The possibilities of fruit growing in New England are
great. Nowhere on earth are there better markets and no-
where on earth can such fruit be grown as here on the hills
of Massachusetts.

"The possibilities of fruit growing in Massachusetts"
was Mr. Putnam's subject and he urged upon fruit growers
the necessity of study of soil conditions, and the intelligent
care of crops. He said that 90 per cent, of the apples in
Massachusetts were not raised in orchards but in hedges,
pastures and along the roadsides, and if Massachusetts was
not the place to raise apples the fruit would not grow under
these conditions. The western men that are making a spe-
cialty of their garden products could not grow the apples or
anything else under the same conditions but they manage
to specialize and to receive a good round sum for their wares
in the market.

Mr. Putnam spoke of his own experiments in Connecti-
cut and the soil conditions there. He advised other growers
to experiment and discover for themselves what variety of
apple or other fruit was the best suited to certain locations
in their orchards and to go in for the growing of that spe-
cial kind. By telling of the problems, improper fertilizations
and nisect pesis he described some of the troubles of fruit
growers. The San Jose scale, he said, would take care of
all the old trees if the men did not take care of the scale.

Mr. A. Warren Patch of Boston then gave 1'he Com-
mission Man's View of Massachusetts Fruit Possibilities.

The home market for choice fruit is with you every day
in the season of apples, pears, strawberries, blackberries, and
raspberries. There may be a question about peaches be-
cause of the severe winters. I am led to believe they are not
a profitable crop for this state taking five consecutive years
together. Surely the soil and hills are all right. I do not
mention plums because I am not so well informed whether
they can be grown as a success. I might include currants;
ihey always have a market although just at present the
San Jose scale is causing havoc with the bush. There are
grave doubts about the growing of grapes, in some places
the Concord has done well. There appears to be no limit
to the demand for all fine fruit that can be grown
successfully in this state. It settles itself to a matter
of (juality. Grow less quantity but better quality.

73

Everybody likes fruit and good fruit. One never hears con-
sumers say anything against a good quality. No purchaser
objects to paying a good price for a good article and will
continue to purchase and re-purchase while, if he gets in-
ferior fruit even at less prices, he tires of it and soon lets it
alone. We have heard it said "fruit is poor this season,
don't want any more." My idea is to grow a less quantity,
put more time into production. Get the best quality. I am
of the opinion that the man who in the future is to be called,
a successful fruit grower is the one who is something of a.
specialist. One who devotes time and money to produce the
best. You may have noticed that the fine fruit is always
sold first and that dealers are often asked for more of "same
kind obtained as before." Quality counts. Quality is the
name of the most successful fruit grower. It means to
feed the roots, cultivate the soil, spray the trees and shrubs.
All these matters require attention. They demand work,
hard work, and much care. Yet what is worth doing at
all is worth doing well, and I may repeat, it is better to
grow less fruit in a good manner such as will bring you
satisfactory results, after a little the labors will not be so
arduous ; the crop Avill somewhat take care of itself. There
appears to be a sufficient variety of pears, strawberries,
raspberries, and blackberries. It is possible there can be
improvements made on these berries. My own idea is that
one better try to get the best quality of the varieties al-
ready in hand rather than spend time and c^sh to obtain
or up-build some new and untried kinds. No one can deny
the fact that color lends much to the selling of fruits. Make
the fruits inviting to the eye, the first impression is the one
all sellers of any commodity wish to catch, something like
"love at first sight."

Where is there a dealer who ever asks growers to send
him white currants. The traders are always wanting red
ones and in the dark none could tell the difference, but it's
the color, the eye makes many purchases. Red apples have
proven their claims time and again. It may be a fact that
there are a few varieties of apples like the Greening whose
reputation was established years ago on which the color-
line is not drawn, but take it on the other side, notice the
thousands of barrels of red colored apples as against hun-
-dreds of green, yellow and white ones. The Greening of
itself is a magnificent apple of excellent qualities and had'

74

it red color there would not be enough to supply the de-
mand. Even while it is a better apple for using during No-
vember, the Baldwin crowds it and why? Because the
Baldwin looks more inviting. It pleases the eye, makes the
first impression. What demand do you think there would
be for strawberries if they were white? I'll wager the
consumption would decrease each year and finally cease.
Therefore when intending to grow fruit remember there is
always an unfilled home market for red strawberries, red
raspberries, red apples, blue grapes.

Keep in mind how handsome a dish of blue Concord
grapes looks. How attractive a dinner table is with straw-
berries, blackberries, raspberries, or a plate of Mcintosh
apples. I'll bet there isn't a man in this room but what
would look twice at a young lady going by having on a red
sweater, while the same ]\liss wearing a white cape might
hardly be noticed.

I am very safe in saying to each of you that in a com-
mercial sense you cannot produce too many fine apples,
raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. They would find
a ready market in all your nearby cities and towns as well as
in Boston, which is open to you all the time and can be easily
and quickly reached by the expresses for the small fruits
and freight trains for barreled apples. I believe the pos-
sibilities of fruit growing on the hills of Massachusetts are
immense. They are equal and, I think, I could say, exceed
those of any other section or state. Look at the population
of Massachusetts. Notice, please, that at present only a
very small quantity of the fruit eaten comes from the soil
of this good state.

It is up to the grower to obtain good big profits, a
small compensation, or make a failure. Let me repeat, the
"hills of Massachusetts are with us, the soil is here, the mar-
kets nearby and the success or failure lies wholly in the one
who is to do the work. Success is yours if you want it.

I wish I could impress upon every man here that the
possibility of growing such fruits in ]\Iassachusetts as our
climate will permit are not realized. You have everything
provided for you to grow apples and berries. The only thing
lacking is the will power to perform the work. I ara
afraid too many of the men who own the rich lands of our
tills do not appreciate what has been given them, or else

75

Ihey are too indisposed to put forth the exertion. But,
.'gentlemen, some one will do it if you don't.

These hills are too valuable to remain many more years
xincultivated. A few have already realized the richness of
these hills and are reaping good reward.

P'ollowing Mr. Patch, Dr. George M. Twitchell, a dele-
"gate from the Maine Society, reported for the New England
■conference of fruit growers. Definite action had been taken
regarding the size of the barrel or box. and also touching
state legislation to secure on every barrel or package the
came of the variety and the name of the grower. By invita-
tion the next meeting of the conference will be held with
the New Hampshire Horticuliure Society, next October. By
unanimous vote the association endorsed the action of this
fruit conference.

The closing talk of the forenoon Avas given by Mr. Wil-
fred Wheeler of Concord.

POSSIBILITIES OF SMALL FRUITS AS A MONEY CROP
IN MASSACHUSETTS

Let us look for a moment upon our present conditions
and see what cause there is for encouragement in the mat-
ter of raising small fruits. We have a densely populated
state when compared with other states of the union, with
more flourishing cities and towns in a small area than we
find anywhere else in the United States. Our census shows
that our population is increasing rapidly, and every one
tnows that this population is using per capita at least four
times more fruit today than was used ten years ago. Then,
too, our export trade in fruit is going not entirely to foreign
ports but to other states north and west of us whose season
is later than ours, and who on that account can readily
dispose of our products.

Probably our best condition for the possibilities of
•small fruits as a money crop in IMassachusetts is our posi-
tion in relation to our markets. "What other section of the
country has such advantages in this respect lying as we do
in the center of New England with railroads going in all
directions carryiujg our products to many large centers of
population?

76

Surely we cannot lose sight of this fact and fail to real-
ize that at least in one particular we have a veritable para-
dise for the producer of small fruits. When we stop and
compare our conditions in this respect with those of our
southern and western neighbors whose profits are largely-
eaten up by heavy express and freight rates or whose goods
are damaged by long time in transit, then we ought to
be thankful that we are situated as we are and that having
once grown good fruit we have opportunity to market it
easily.

Then again our soils and climate are suited to the de-
velopment of small fruits, and land that was once deemed
unfit to grow fruit upon is now through careful and scientif-
ic treatment made to produce large and paying crops. There
are no better places for the growing of small fruits than
the level land of our hill towns and as for the valleys they
can be made to produce abundantly.

I believe that we are only beginning to realize the
possibilities for small fruit growing in Massachusetts, but
in order to arrive at the best results many of our present
methods must be changed. For instance the strawberry is
generally grown in matted rows because it is less trouble
to grow it this way. The consequence is that the market is
each year flooded with quantities of small and poor fruit
which hardly pays for picking while the really good fruit
brings top prices. To increase our profits we have got to
grow better quality fruit, and to grow better quality fruit
more attention must be given to the land, to the growing of
the crop, and above all to the marketing of the same. Many
times profits are cut off entirely by the careless handling of
a well grown crop. Let us study conditions and by co-op-
eration help each other so thst on<^.e a crop is well grown it
can be well marketed.

We are all realizing that land is increasing in value'
in our state and particularly in the vicinity of our large
cities so that as the population grows and migration to the
country increases much of our best land is taken for build-
ing purposes, and the farmers and fruit growers are grad-
ually pushed further back into the country. These condi-
tions, however, should not discourage fruit growing near the
cities for an acre of land near a good market is worth more
than ten acres that are far away, for in the former case
not only can you dispose of your product more readily but

77

generally the labor problem is found to be not quite so
serious.

A good market does not necessarily mean that you
have to go to the large cities to dispose of your products
for now many of our fruit growers are realizing that a home
market is much better and returns a greater profit than is
made by sending the fruit to the larger and more congested
centers. Last year we had a good example of this in the
overstocking of the Boston market with strawberries while
many of the smaller towns and cities had to take berries
which had been sent to Boston from their localities and
then reshipped to them. Of course the fruit was hardly fit
to use and the small prices realized raised the cry that the
strawberry crop was unprofitable. While all this was going
on about Boston I know of a man who was quietly supplying
lis local market with strawberries which he was selling for
25 cents a quart while it was hard to get 5 cents a quart in
Boston for as good berries. Keep in mind your home market
and work to supply it with the very best products you are
capable of raising.

I have stated that in order to get profits or to increase
our profits in small fruit growing we have got to change
some of our methods. Let us consider for a moment one of
these possible changes.

Strawberries as you all know have the last forty years
been grown in the matted row system planting the rows
3 1-2 or 4 feet ai>art and the plants from 12 to 20 inches
apart in the row, thus using from six to eight thousand
plants per acre. An acre set in this way costs all the way
from $55.00 to $100.00 according to various conditions.

Whether you bought your plants or raised them.

What fertilizer you used.

What you have to pay for labor, besides a few minor de-
tails.

Now if a man can set out an acre of strawberries for
$35.00 or $50.00 he is very often tempted to set all the acre-
age that he can, that is, to spread himself out just as much as
possible, believing that there is money in mere acres. What
follows ? Generally the four or five acres planted in this way
are skimmed over with the least possible trouble. , The
cultivator is used on rare occasions, only when the weeds
threaten to entirely cover the plants ; hand hoeing and weed-
ing are done in the same careless way and the beds grow

78^

more or less wild sending out quantities of. runners whicli!
root thickly all over the ground : often, in free plant making,
varieties, as many as 100 plants will be set to the square
foot or over 4,000,000 to acre. When picking time comes-
there is a great rush for pickers to go over this large area
and gather the small and poorly shaped berries that have-
been produced on these half grown plants. This fruit is.
then carelessly packed, rushed to market and sold so that
the grower probably realizes a profit of $100.00 per acre.
How much betler would it be if we would follow the ex-
ample of some of the New Jersey growers and after select-
ing an acre of the best land that we have fertilize it very
highly and set on this acre 30,000 or even 40,000 plants
making the beds four feet wide and! setting the plants one-
foot apart each way, leaving a space two feet wide between
the beds. You have the same number of plants on this
acre that you have on the five acres referred to but in a
more compact form, the setting has cost no more, neither
have the plants, the fertilizer has not cost as much nor the
application of it, so the only item that we have now to con-
sider is the labor. Of course we cannot use a horse as
much proportionately in this acre as in the five, the only
place practical for horse labor being between the beds.

Most of the work must be done by hand but this wilt
take no longer than the slight hand work done on the five
acres and it can be done more thoroughly. All runners
must be removed from these plants for the object in this
method of growing strawberries is to get large, well-de-
veloped crowns that ought to produce one quart of berries;
each. Think of 30,000 or 40,000 quarts of strawberries to*
the acre and place these figures against your five acres
of very ordinary fruit. Even at only five cents a quart
the acre will produce from $1,500, to $2,000 while it would
be difficult to get 20,000 quarts from the five acres. The
average profit from an acre of strawberries in Massachu-
setts is not over $100. This average is taken from a series of
five years so it will be seen that we are not getting what we
ought to from our land in strawberries growing under the
present system.

I said that I Avould not quote figures but I am going
to depart a little from this and' give you an outline of the
cost and profits comparatively betweeni an acre cultivated',
intensively and one extensively..

79
Acre Cultivated Extensively with Plants in Matted Rows.

Ploughing, harrowing, etc.

$ 5.00'

Fertilizers

60.00

Plants at $4.00 per 1000

25.00

Setting

5.00

Cultivation and care

55.00

Winter protection

10.00

Spring work

15.00

Mulching

5.00

Picking, 4000 quarts at .01

40.00

Boxes

15.00

125 Crates at .10

12.50

Express at .10 a crate

12.5C

Commission on $400.00 at 10 per cent.

40.00

$300.00
4000 quarts at .10 equals .$400.00 as against 300.00 for
the expenses leaves a balance of $100 in favor of the exten-
sively cultivated acre.

Acre Cultivated Intensively.

Ploughing and harrowing and hand labor $ 20.00

Fertilizers

200.00

40,000 plants at $4.00 per 1000

160.00

Setting

25.00

Cultivation

200.00

Winter protection

10.00

Spring work

15.00

Mulching

15.00

Picking 40,000 quarts

200.00

Boxes 40,000

120.00

Crates 1250 at .10

125.00

Express at .10

125.00

Commission at 10 per cent, on $4000

400.00'

$1,615.00
40,000 quarts at .10 equals $4000 less $1615 ; profit 2,385.00

From a comparison of the above figures it will be seen
that all the profits lie in favor of the intensively cultivated
acres. Now let us cut the figures in half on this area and
see what result we have :

20,000 quarts at ten cents equals $2,000. Taking

8o

•away the cost of production it leaves a net balance of 385.00
per acre as against $100.00 per acre in the other method of
production. Is not this worth trying for?

Now just a word on varieties, for here lies the medium
between profit and loss.

I am not going to recommend special varieties to you
for you must find out for yourself what will do best in your
climate and on your soil. In Marshfield, Mass., the Marshall
strawberry is grown and sold as high as fifty cents per
quart, yielding growers $1,200 per acre profit, yet in our
vicinity we cannot grow Marshall at all. AVe can, however,
grow Sample, Glen Mary, Senator Dimlap, Abington, and
Parson's Beauty. So study your individual conditions and
if you are growing for a near-by market where quality
counts for all, grow quality berries and grow them well.
If, on the other hand, you have to ship your fruit long dis-
tances, grow a firmer berry that will hold its shape and
color well. It is at the market end that we must expect our
profit, so look to this end more carefully.

While the strawberry is the most popular of the small
fruits, the others in that class must not be lost sight of en-
tirely. "We may feel that there is a greater profit from a
crop which gives a quick return, but this is not always so.
The currant, though not grown as a commercial crop to any
great extent in our state, is yet one of the most profitable
of small fruits and can be grown as easily as any other in
i;his class. The expense of establishing a plantation of cur-
rants is greater than that in the case of- the strawberry,
principally because the returns do not come in so quickly,
but once established, the bushes are good for many years
and will yield a fair profit providing the market is all right.
At present our large markets are supplied with currants
from the west and, judging from the native small fruits
which appear on the market, it would seem that Massachu-
setts growers had given but little thought to any small fruit
■except the strawberry. An acre of currants set four by
six feet, 1800 plants, to yield with good cultivation at least
"two hundred bushels to the acre, or at the rate of about
four quarts per bush. These should bring eight cts. a qt., or
yield at least $500 an acre, and after the establishing of a
plantation the cost of maintaining should be very small, not
*more than $100 an acre per year. The original cost should
;not exceed $150 per acre the first year and $100 the second.

With the increased popularity of the gooseberry, Mas-
sachusetts growers should be alive to take advantage of the
possibilities of this crop, for its future is certainly assured.
Not only is it a profitable fruit to produce, but it is easily
grown, cared for and shipped. Indeed, no other fruit crop
except the cranberry can be so readily sent to market, for
in most cases it is sold green and hard. Its uses are largely
confined to preserving or as a cooked fruit, but with a better
knowledge of the varieties of the gooseberry its popularity
as a table fruit will become more and more apparent each
year. Like the currant, the profits of the gooseberry do
not come as quickly as in the case of the strawberry but
once established a plantation of gooseberries will last at
least twelve years and if thorough pruning and fertilizing
are practiced, twenty or even twenty-five years is not im-
common for gooseberry bushes to yield and be profitable.
Generally speaking fifteen hundred bushes can be set to
the acre and after four years these bushes should produce
from eight to ten quarts apiece or about three hundred and
fifty bushels per acre. The average wholesale price on
these should not be less than $2 per bushel thus yielding
in gross receipts obout $700 per acre, or a net profit of at
least $400.

There is a great deal of doubt in my mind as to whether
or not the raspberry and blackberry are paying crops in
Massachusetts, and while I said that our soils and climate
are suited to small fruits these two species will have to be
eliminated. So many of our varieties are not perfectly
hardy that the crop seems bound to be an uncertain one.
To be sure there are localities where the winter does not
seem to effect the bushes badly and here provided that the
market conditions are right both of these crops can be
grown with profit; but I further believe that in order to
get the best results from the land both raspberries and
blackberries should be grown either in connection with a
young fruit orchard or by planting the bushes 8x8 ft., and
growing some vegetable crop between them for at least two
years. Indeed this combining of small fruits with other
crops and particularly with young orchards is proving to
be one of the most profitable methods of growing them.

With red raspberries the yield per acre cannot be
estimated higher than 2,006 qts. per acre ; selling as they do
for about .18 per quart the gross returns should be about

82

$350 with a profit of about $150, This will in all probability-
be reduced to $100 per acre as an average.

Blackberries while more productive than raspberries
seldom bring over .08 per quart and while it is possible
to produce 5,000 per acre yet the average yield is much
smaller than this.

If 5,000 quarts are produced a net profit of $200 per
acre ought to be realized but for general cultivation not
more than $125 can be expected.

It should be borne in mind that most of these small
fruits cost from 2 1-2 to 4 cents a quart to produce so it
will not be as hard to figure our profits when the matter is
looked upon in this way. For instance if you can produce
6,000 quarts to the acre that fruit has probably cost you
$240 all expenses counted ; if you sell it for $600 you will
have a comfortable margin of profit.

Therefore cultivate with the purpose of getting as much
for your labor as possible.

In conclusion let me repeat that for profits with small
fruits in Massachusetts we have got to cultivate small
areas intensively rather than large areas extensively, we
have got to select our varieties not only with regard to
their productiveness but also to their quality and hardiness,
and most of all having once grown our crop to market it
honestly packed in the most attractive form, and our prof-
its will not be measured by dollars and cents alone but we
will have the satisfaction of producing those fruits that are
both healthful and delicious for all mankind.

Former Mayor W. H. Blodgett exhibited a barrel of
handsome Baldwin apples which were grown and packed
at Belchertown and kept in storage since last fall. Every
apple was perfect. Samples were free to the fruit growers.

The meeting then adjourned to 2 P. M.

The afternoon session was a joint meeting with the
Worcester County Horticultural Society as has been the
custom for years. Prof. Fred C. Sears, Pomologist of the
Massachusetts Agricultural College, spoke on "How Can
We Develop Commercial Orcharding in Massachusetts."

This was printed in the report of the Worcester County
Horticultural Society.

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS'
ASSOCIATION

Fifteenth Annual Meeting, March JO-U,

J 909
WEDNESDAY, MARCH JO, JO A. M.

Notices having been duly sent out about 100 membert
and friends were present at Horticultural Hall, Worcester,
when the meeting was opened at 10.30 o'clock by Pres. J.
W, Clark of North Hadley who introduced Mayor Logan,

Pres. Clark. I am very much pleased to hear that
Mayor Logan gets his living out of his orchard and that
the office of mayor is simply a side show. I take pleasure
in introducing to you Mayor Logan.

Mayor Logan: Mr. President and Gentlemen: Yoii
are not here to have the mayor teach you anything about
fruit growing but during the year that has passed since I
met you before I trust we have all learned something, you
in the matter of fruit growing and I something in munici-
pal politics. Your President has said that I get my living
from my orchard. What a living I would have if it de-
pended on that ! I have the fun of taking care of 28 trees
in the rear of my house and I have the fun each fall of buy-
ing barrels to put them in and I then have the fun of giv-
ing them away and thus injuring your business because I
am cutting the market when I give my apples away. I anl
glad to extend to you the greetings of the city, but I have
wondered quite a little why you men of Massachusetts al-
low the people of Washington and Oregon to send in beau-
tiful apples for which we have to pay ten or fifteen cents
apiece but though these apples are beautiful to look at, they
do not have the flavor of apples grown here and I cannot
but wonder why you men allow this to be.

If apples raised here could be sold for those prices I
might be able to live from my orchard which is in reality
a great expense to me as the assessors always find it and I

84

am made to pay well for it. I am glad to meet you here. I
trust that your meeting will be profitable and that you will
go away prepared to do your work even better than you
have in the past.

Pres. Clark: I think the IMayor misunderstood me.
What I said was that I understood that he got his living
out of his orchard, not from it.

ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT CLARK

Since our organization here some 15 years ago we
have annually met here and I can truly say that AVorces-
ter is a beautiful city and we enjoy coming here very much.
This hall is one of the best in the state in which to meet and
as we come back year after year, we think of the men we
have known who have passed away, (the last being Mr.
Hadwen) who have done such noble work, and we hope
that our society will go on with its good work.

I will say a word regarding western apples to which
Mayor Logan has referred as being of poorer quality than
ours. A short time ago Mr. Hale was in Missouri and an
apple was brought to him with the request that he name it.
Now you know what he thinks of the Ben Davis apple. As
he bit into this apple he immediately said, "It is a Ben
Davis, the best one I ever tasted." The apple was papier-
mache filled with sawdust. "We in New England can grow
as good apples as there are and we hope next fall at the
fruit show in Boston to show you as good apples as can be
;grown.

The reports of the Secretary and Treasurer were read
and accepted. The Auditor announced that he had ex-
amined the books and found them correct.

There being no committees to report the members
listened with great interest to the address of Dr. E. Porter
Felt of Albany, N, Y., Entomologist of the State of New
York.

THE LATEST AND BEST METHODS OP CONTROL-
ING INSECTS AND FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACK-
ING OUR FRUITS AND ORNAMENTALS.

Dr Felt: I was much pleased to hear our president
stand up for the quality of the New England fruit, especial-

^ . ^5

ly that produced in the Old Bay State. I have always had a
notion way down in my heart that the apples grown on
these rugged farms tasted a great deal better than those
raised in western New York.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. No-
where has this maxim wider application than in the insect
world. The best method of controlling insects, paradoxical
though it may seem, is to have none. The man who keeps a
considerable area in one crop year after year, particularly
if he intentionally or otherwise provides an abundance of
winter shelter, such as hedge rows, stone walls with wide
waste strips, brush, etc., can hardly blame insects if they
make the best of conditions and multiply enormously. Many
an outbreak is to be charged not to inability but to ignor-
ance or culpable neglect. Even the gypsy and brown tail
moths, enormously destructive and expensive as they have
been in this section of the country, exist here solely by th^
sufferance of man. There is a record of a naturalist giv-
ing a public notice of the gypsy moth's escape and pointing
out the possible danger if it was allowed to breed unrestrict-
ed. Apparently his warning passed unheeded. Similarly,
the brown tail moth, in its conspicuous winter nests, was
brought into this country and allowed to multiply for some
years practically without check. There was a time when
both of these pests could have been kept out of the country
at coniparatively slight expense. Consequently, we are pay-
ing dear for neglect in earlier years. Likewise, the aggres-
sive farmer who believes in clean cultivation, abhors waste
strips beside the fences and practices rotation of crops, is
the party who escapes extensive injury by insect pests, not
to mention other benefits. This result can not be attributed
to exceptional luck on the part of the individual, but is the
logical outcome of following a rational system of agricul-
ture. The man who would control insect pests should
first of all consider carefully his conditions, and ascertain
whether reasonable modifications in agricultural practice
would be likely to result in greater freedom from destruc-
tive outbreaks. Having planned operations so as to reduce
the danger of loss by insect pests to a minimum, then, and
only then, is he in a position to consider what may be ac-
complished by using insecticides. Too often these materials
are regarded as remedial in nature and are so employed al-
together too frequently. The ideal and by far the more

86

satisfactory method, is to use insecticides as preventives in
the same way that we are obliged to employ fungicides.
This can be accomplished satisfactorily only when one knows
the insects likely to cause loss and the manner in which
the damage is inflicted.

It will be seen from the above that the hand-to-mouth
method of rushing around after insecticides and spray ap-
paratus after most of the foliage has been devoured, is far
from true economy. Systematic spraying for a definite pur-
pose is the keynote to success in controlling insect pests.
By all means know the enemy and carry the conflict into
the invaders' territory. This is possible only when a man
is moderately well acquainted with the insect pests likely
to cause trouble in his orchard, for such knowledge is es-
sential to the proper planning of a campaign. We now
propose to spend a little time in discussing a system of
spraying for the apple orchard, because such procedure can
be readily adapted to the control of insects in other situa-
tions.

The first spraying advisable in this locality is the ap-
plication of a lime-sulfur wash in early spring before the
buds have started to any great extent. This treatment is
primarily for the control of San Jose scale. It has been
found equally effective in cheeking the blister mite, is of
great service in preventing outbreaks by pear psylla, and
is at least of limited value in destroying both oyster and
scurfy scale. Furthermore, this preparation possesses valu-
able fungicidal properties, being exceedingly serviceable
in controlling apple scab and is regarded as a specific for
peach leaf curl.

What lime-sulfur wash shall we use? This question
naturally arises in connection with the above recommenda-
tion, particularly as there has been much activity in the de-
velopment of this combined insecticide and fungicide dur-
ing the last few years. The home-made lime-sulfur wash is
still one of the most successful materials which can be used
for controlling San Jose scale. It may be prepared in a
variety of ways and considerable diversity in proportions
is permissible without materially impairing its usefulness.

The last two years have seen a marvellous development
in the East in the production of commercial lime-sulfur
washes, preparations which depend entirely for their efficacy
upon the lime sulfides in solution. Several of these washes

87

were extensively tested last season in New York State with
most gratifying results as a whole, though a few failures
were noted here and there. The commercial preparations
cost more than the home-made product. On the other
hand, they save all trouble in boiling and, most important,
they contain a larger percentage of soluble sulfur than does
even the Cordley wash noted above. The relative percent-
age of soluble sulfur and the specific gravity of the Cordley
wash in comparison with three standard commercial washes
is given in the following table.

Lime-Sulfur Washes

(Analyses by N. Y. State Experiment Station)
Name Per cent, soluble sulfur Specific gravity

Cordley 18.09 1.218

Rex 26.00 1.29

Niagara 29.94 1.278

Grasselli 26.00 1.278

These commercial washes give a maximum of soluble
sulfides which are undoubtedly the more active constit-
uents of the preparation. They probably contain a very
high percentage of what are known as the higher sulfides
and this presumably accounts for the sulfides not crystal-
lizing out, a change which has given many makers of the
ordinary wash more or less trouble.

There has been in the last two years an attempt to
develop a lime-sulfur wash which might be applied to foliage
in summer. This work has been carried out largely by Prof.
Scott of the Department of Agriculture and has resulted
in a tentative formula calling for 5 lbs. of lime, 5 lbs. of
sulfur to 50 gallons of water, being recommended provi-
sionally. Slake the lime in cold water, add the sulfur and
then dilute with cold water as soon as boiling ceases. This
formula, according to Mr. Wurtz of Pennsylvania, does
not even harm peach foliage. It is possible that this wash
or some modification of it, may be extensively used as a
fungicide. It is still, however, in the experimental stage.

The second spraying in the plan referred to above,
calls for the application of poisoned bordeaux mixture to
the unfolding leaves. The bordeaux mixture, as is well
known, is a most valuable fungicide, while the arsenical
poison is for checking early leaf feeders such as tent cater-
pillars, canker worms, bud worms, case bearers, etc. Paris

green at the rate of 4 to 8 oz. to 50 gallons of the bordeaux
mixture can be used with perfect safety. Arsenate of lead
is an excellent though somewhat costly poison. The cheap-
est of all is the arsenite of lime prepared by dissolving 1 lb.
of white arsenic and 4 lbs. of sal soda (carbonate of soda,
washing soda) in one gallon of water by boiling in an iron
vessel 15 minutes or till the arsenic dissolves, leaving only
a little muddy sediment. Add the water lost in boiling
and use one pint of this, .stock solution to each 40 gallons
of bordeaux mixture, or if the latter is not employed, add
2 lbs. of freshly slaked lime in order to prevent all danger
from burning.

It may be feasible, possibly advisable, in clean or-
chards where there is little fungus and few insects, to omit
this spraying and make the second spraying at the time
when it will be of most service in destroying the codling
moth or apple worm. This insect is too well known to
need description. ]\Iost fruit growers are familiar with the
fact that it can be controlled successfully only when the
trees are thoroughly sprayed within a week or 10 days
^er the blossoms have fallen. The aim qf this treatment
is well known. It is simply to fill the up-turned blossom
en4 of the apple with poison, since both investigation and
experience has shown that such spraying is most effective
in checking this pest. There has been more or less differ-
ence of opinion as to what kind of a spray should be used.
Some have advocated the employment of an extremely fine,
misty spray which can be relied upon to float through the
tree and not only fall upon the up-turned blossom end of the
apple, but cover every exposed leaf surface. Others have
claimed that better results can be secured by using a coar_se
spray. The latest addition to our knowledge comes from the
far West, in a recently published article by Prof.
A. L. Melander of Pullman, Washington. This gentle-
man claims that the codling moth can be controlled
best by throwing a driving spray through Bordeaux noz-
zles, at a pressure of about 200 lbs., straight down into the
up-turned blossom end of the young apple. A good exten-
sion with the nozzles set at an angle and an elevated tower,
so that the operator can get close to and above the blos-
soms, are essentials to success. One such' application, ac-
cording to Prof. Melander, destroys the first brood and
thus insures practically 100 per cent, of clean fruit. He

states that such results cannot be obtained with the ordi-
nary Vermorel type of nozzle so generally used in the East,
and cites statistics to show that in the West, when the Ver-
morel type was employed, the average per cent, of worm-
free fruit was about 85 per cent., whereas with the im-
proved methods and the Bordeaux type of nozzle the per-
centage has been raised to 95. These percentages, it should
be stated, are not based upon results obtained by profes-
sional experimenters, but were secured by practical fruit
growers over an extended area. Prof. Melander refers to
one party who sprayed under the old system, using Vermorel
nozzles and 3 lbs. of arsenate of lead to 50 gallons of water
and lost 4,000 boxes of fruit yearly, valued at $4,000. The
orchard was later sprayed by the improved method recom-
mended above, and the loss in wormy fruit was but 6 boxes.
In other words, the old-fashioned method of spraying cost
this man $4,000 in fruit, aside from the additional expense
represented by $350 for the four applications, as opposed
to $70 for the one thoroughly efficient treatment. It has
been objected by some that these results can not be obtained
in the East. Prof. Melander, replying specifically to these
objections, states that climatic conditions are not sufficient
ly great to warrant this assumption and that efficient pro-
tection against the codling moth has been obtained in the
West, even when spraying was done just before or during
a rain. He emphasizes most strongly the importance of
forcing the spray past the closely-set stamens down into
what he" calls the lower calyx cavity, a place where some
codling moth larvae at least are likely to feed for the first
time. Should there be no liquid in this lower cavity, easily
ascertained by slicing through the young apples, he claims
the treatment has not been etfective. A spraying necessary
to secure such results as those obtained in Oregon, may
also be relied upon to cover the leaves and the young fruit
with sufficient poison to take care of any coddling moth lar-
vae which may feed first on either leaf or surface of the
fruit. The experience in the West shows that this method
can be relied upon to protect orchards, even though in the
immediate vicinity of badly infested trees, and to quickly
relieve very wormy orchards from the depredations of this
pest. It is not for the speaker to unqualifiedly endorse these-
modifications recommended by Prof. Melander. His con-
tentions, however, are supported by such a^undiant data^

90

that they merit most careful consideration and, should they
^accomplish nothing more, raise a grave question as to
whether we have been suflEiciently thorough in our spraying
for the codling moth. There is a vast difference between
.50, 60 or 75 per cent, of worm-free fruit and 95 to 99 per
cent, of perfectly sound apples. Aside from the cost of
spraying it costs no more to grow a good apple than a
wormy, gnarly specimen, and if there is a probability that
one spraying applied as directed above, can give such mag-
nificent results, let us by all means subject the proposition
to a practical test.

A large percentage of our fruit growers, we fear, in
actual practice, fall far below the standards outlined above.
Some attempt, and possibly wisely, to secure a greater de-
-gree of protection from codling moth injury by making a
second application a week or ten days later and then give a
third treatment the middle or the latter part of July. This
last spraying finds its justification in the fact that the cod-
ling moth lays its eggs upon the surface of both the leaves
and fruit and that the young larvae feed more or less
thereupon. It is applied at this time for the purpose of
catching young larvae of the second brood. Careful ex-
•periments by Prof, Ball of Utah, however, have shown that
the major protection against the second brood is to be
found in such thorough spraying that very few or no first
brood larvae survive. This is such an obvious proposition
that no argument is required to support it. The trouble
has been that most fruit growers have assumed it to be im-
possible to do such thorough work in the spring as to prac-
tically prevent injury by either the first or second brood.
^The results obtained by Prof. Ball several years ago, and
the more recent ones of Prof. Melander described above,
agree very closely and serve to emphasize the importance of
most thorough spraying shortly after the blossoms fall and
before the calyx lobes have had an opportunity to close.

The system of spraying outlined above, is designed to
Control most of the important insect and fungus enemies of
the fruit grower. There are certain insects at least, which
are not amenable to such treatment. The well known oyster
and scurfy bark lice, while probably controlled to a certain
extent by applications of lime-sulfur washes, are much
•easier checked by spraying with a dilute kerosene emulsion
«or whale oil soap solution the latter part of May or early in

91

■June at the time the minute, yellowish or reddish young are
crawling over the bark, and before there has been an oppor-
tunity for the secretion of the wooly, waxy material which
soon mats down, forms a protective scale and thus makes
it more difficult to destroy the pests.

The well known apple maggot or railroad worm comes
in this category. It is very familiar to many fruit growers
of this section and displays a marked partiality for the
earlier sweet fruit, though it also occurs to some extent in
the sour, winter varieties. The parent insect is smaller
than the house fly and with brown-marked wings. The
female deposits her eggs under the skin of the apple,
through minute slits, consequently it is impossible to check
this pest by the application of insecticides. The best that
•can be recommended at the present time is the prompt de-
struction of fallen fruit, giving special attention to the
early, sweet varieties preferred by this fly. The fruit should
either be buried deeply or, better still, fed to stock from day
to day. It should not be allowed to lie on the ground or in
piles for any time, because the small maggots are likely to
escape, enter the ground, remain there over winter and be
ready another spring to iay eggs upon the next crop of
fruit.

Another insect which should be mentioned in this con-
nection is known as the fruit tree bark beetle or shot-hole
horer. This pest displays a marked preference for sickly
peach and plum, though it has been known to attack ap-
parently healthy, vigorous trees. This condition is most like-
ly to obtain where large numbers of beetles have issued
from sickly or dying trees. There has been considerable
trouble with this insect in the Niagara section of Ontario,
•Canada. We are inclined to believe this outbreak to be the
logical outcome of earlier injury by San Jose scale. We
■know that this scale killed many trees in that part of the
•country and thus produced conditions very attractive to the
l)orers. The little, dark brown parent beetles, only 1-16
•of an inch long or thereabouts, are capable of flying consid-
erable distances and can presumably invade healthy or-
chards at some distance from the original breeding place.
Obviously, one of the most effective methods of checking
this pest is to cut and burn all sickly or dead wood prior to
the appearance of the beetles in the spring, say before April
first. Trees already infested by the insect should be severe-

92

ly trimmed, a. special effort being made to cut out and bum
most of the infested branches. Recent experiments with a
close ally of this pest show that considerable protection
may be obtained by coating the trunks and larger limbs of
trees with whitewash. A lime-sulfur wash would probably
be equally effective. The first application should be made
in early spring at about the time we apply the lime-sulfur
wash for San Jose scale, and a second might well be given
in midsummer to guard against infestation by a later brood.

A relatively new pest, mentioned above, deserves raore
than a passing notice. It is the blister mite. This is an
extremely small, semi-transparent, spider-like pest, barely
visible to the naked eye and measuring only about 1-100
of an inch in length. The Avinter is passed under bud scales.
The tiny mites leave their retreats in the spring, enter the-
developing foliage and produce light green elevations, which
latter turn brown in June or July. These irregular, reddish
brown, blister-like spots rknge in size from 1-16 to 1-8 of an
inch and on the more badly infested leaves, may run to-
gether to form an irregular, brownish area sometimes cover-
ing a fourth of the leaf. The work of this blister mite pre-
sents a superficial resemblance to that of the casebearer.
The blisters are easily distinguished by the distinct thicken-
ing of the leaf and the invariable, minute, irregular hole
near the center of the blister while the venation of the leaf
has largely disappeared. On the other hand, the case-bearer
produces no thickening, the center of the irregular, brown^
mined area is marked by a sharply defined, circular hole-
and the venation of the leaf is rather more marked than on
areas which have not been mined. This blister mite has-
been exceedingly abundant and injurious to many orchards
in western New York and also to orchards here and there-
in the Hudson Talley. This pest was earlier known as the
pear blister mite. It is only recently that it has appeared
in numbers upon our apple trees. As stated above, spray-
ing with a lime-sulfur wash in early spring, is a most satis-
factory method of controlling this blister mite.

This paper would hardly be complete without mention
of the gypsy and the brown tail moths. Both of these de-
structive leaf feeders, as many of my hearers are aware,
are able to subsist upon a large variety of trees and shrubs.
They have already laid an enormous burden of taxation up-
on this Commonwealth, and particularly communities in the

93

eastern part. A fight against these insects, while costly, is
much more economical than to allow the pests to multiply
and spread without restriction. There is a prospect that
the heavy expenditures for repressive work may be ma-
terially lightened in the near future. Our principal hope
in controlling these two pests economically, lies in the find-
ing of efficient natural enemies. You are doubtless aware
that the State of Massachusetts, in cooperation with the
T^ederal Department of Agriculture, has introduced large
numbers of parasites, not only from Europe but also from
Japan. This work is necessarily slow. Marked relief can
hardly be expected for a few years. Nevertheless, the in-
troduction and the dissemination of these parasites is un-
doubtedly the most important work that has ever been
undertaken in connection with the gypsy and the brown
tail moths. This undertaking is fundamental, since it is an
effort to right the balance of Nature disturbed when these
two pests were brought to our shores. The far-reaching re-
sults, if efficient parasites can be obtained, are apparent to
all. I wish to emphasize this most strongly and to state
that, in my opinion, this feature of the work should be main-
tained at all hazards, even though progress along these lines
may seem to be very slow.

The elm leaf beetle is another European pest which has
become. well established in Massachusetts, and has been re-
sponsible for much injury. It can be controlled, like other
leaf feeders, by thorough and judicious applications of
poisons, the arsenate of lead being by all means preferable.
The secret in controlling this insect lies in throwing the
poison upon the under side of the leaves where the destruc-
tive grubs do all their feeding. This pest can also be
checked considerably by pouring boiling water over the
black and yellowish grubs of the golden yellow pupae, so
frequently seen in large numbers at the base of infested
trees. An incidental feature of the work with parasites of
the gypsy and brown tail moths, has been the introduction
of an egg parasite of the elm leaf beetle. It may be that
this little insect, introduced through the personal efforts
of Dr. L. O. Howard, Chief of the Bureau of Entymology,
may be a potent factor in reducing the destructiveness of this
beetle.

94

DISCUSSION

What is the formula for the Cordley mixture?
125 pounds of sulfur
60 pounds of lime
50 gallons of water

This should be boiled for two hours and then diluted
to 50 gallons. When ready to use 10 parts of water should
be added to one part of the mixture, and it may be applied
either hot or cold. If kept warm it can frequently be car-
ried over and used another time.

Scalecide is a very good form of oil of good service in
controlling many sucking insects. Can be applied to trees
in summer when in foliage. Nine times get as good results
in controlling the San Jose scale with lime-sulfur wash as
with oils. Three-fourths of the practical fruit growers
use some form of lime-sulfur wash. I should not advise the
use of either the Cordley wash or commercial washes on
leaves. These are used for the San Jose scale but should
never be used on foliage. Some have done this and not had
much injury result, but I should prefer to use it earlier.
About seven or eight years ago I tried using miscible oils
later in the season, because I wished to destroy the young
scale. Gave it a thorough trial and we found that so far
as controlling- or killing the San Jose scale it was not a
success.

Question. Is the lime-sulfur-wash used as a fungicide*

Answer. Yes, and it is claimed to be quite efficient,
but the spraying properties depend upon the amount of
soluble sulfides in the wash, and that depends upon the lime
and the way it is slacked. It may be done. I don't want
to recommend it..

Question. What kind of a boiler should be used?

Ans. You can use most any kind that will boil. If
you boil ,boil, don't simmer. We found that we could pre-
pare this wash in the minimum time by heating the water
first, then dumping in the lime and put in the sulfur right
on top. The only trouble in doing this is that the sulfur is
apt to collect in little balls, but a vigorous stirring will
break these up.

Question. Would you not get greater heat by using
less water?

Ans. If you use warm water and are simply slacking

95

the Rme, I presume you would get more heat in this way..
I am better satisfied to throw the lime into four or five pails
of hot water. The only objection in making in this way is-
that when you put your sulfur in it does not mix readily,,
but if kept stirring this is soon overcome.

Question. (Stockwell). Do you add more water?

Ans. Not unless it is too thick. We boil and then
strain through screen netting and then add enough cold,
water to bring up to 40 gallons. If it is too thick it does
not do as good work. The only difference between com-
mercial sulfur and sulfur flour is that the flour is more re-
fined. The price of the commercial is far less.

Question. Is it advisable to try to spray large trees-
with lime-sulfur wash, trees that are 35 feet high ?

Ans. I should if I wanted to grow apples and had
the trees, but I think I should cut those trees down and get
them down nearer to the ground. Out in the Hudson Valley
I had a grower who had a number of large trees infested
by scale, but he could not get up into the tops, so he went
in and headed them down. Now he has a very successful
orchard. If Prof. Melaney is right about his method of
killing the coddling moth, we must either cut or get up into
the air.

Mr. Eaee : There has been no spraying done in Berk-
shire County that I know of. The preparation is so pain-
ful that they won't use it. You are talking to people who
will use the commercial mixture. Now is there not some-
thing that these people can buy that will kill out the scale?"
That is what I want to know, what I shall say when I go
home. The largest grower there is going to use Scalecide
because he will not bother to make a lime-sulfur wash.

Ans. I am willing to talk about any kind of spraying-
and I thought I made reference to commercial lime-sulfur
washes which can be bought all ready to be applied and
diluted and used. I have used lime-sulfur wash but I don't
think it is the only thing on earth. The miscible oils can
be purchased and diluted and applied, and if applied thor-
oughly you can kill the scale. I would advocate the use of
a miscible oil to the man who was determined not to use a
lime-sulfur wash. I prefer, however, just a little, to use a
lime-sulfur wash — I don't care whether home- made or
bought, but if a man will not use it, use something else^

96

•provided you get a proper preparation of oil and get the
results you need.

Mr. Race: Outside of the people here I don't believe
that one out of ten will use lime-sulfur wash.

Felt: I am willing to admit that it is harder to cover
a tree with a lime-sulfur wash than it is with miscible oils,
but, on the other hand, I have used both and have found
that the lime-sulfur wash is more effective, and this is the
reason that I think this is the Avash that more are going to
use. As to the matter of getting the wash into the eyes, I
think it is practical for most people to spray without harm.

Moved that a committee be appointed by the chair to
nominate a list of officers for the ensuing year. Carried,
list to be announced later .

Address of Dr. Stockberger of the Department of Agri-
culture, Washington.
THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE PRODUCT OF THE

FARM IN THE PRODUCTION OF DENATURED
ALCOHOL.

The farmer has been given the right by Congress to
become an alcohol manufacturer under conditions much
simpler than those which have been placed about the man-
ufacture of alcohol heretofore.

Through German experience, however, it appears doubt-
ful if alcohol can be manufactured economically on a
small scale. It appears to be pretty clear that a plant of
economic size can hardly fall below the capacity of 100 gal-
lons of 50 per cent, alcohol in the run of 24 hours. It seems
more probable that a rational capacity cannot be obtained
■ander the present law. German distilleries varying from
two to three times the legal capacity limit.

To run such a plant economically and safely, requires
the management of a trained distiller who must be equipped
by experience for the management of the technical process-
es involved. The ordinary untrained farmer would not dare
trust himself with so elaborate a plant. The distillery, in
order to run economically, should be operated throughout
the entire day, if possible, and should shut down as few
times as possible during the season's run. To realize these
vconditions requires the assembling of a large amount of

97

crude material at the distillery, which must come from a
relatively small area, since any considerable freight bill on
crude material would be fatal to the industry. This means
that if agricultural distilleries are to be built and operated
in the United States, only owners of large estates or coop-
erative associations controlling large areas of land and
large quantities of fermentable crops, can do business. A
small agricultural distillery to be set up in a corner of the
barn and operated by the farmer or the hired man on rainy
days or between chore times in the winter, is a mistaken
idea.

Agricultural alcohol is likely to make a feasible propo-
sition in this country only after Congress has so amended
the lavN's to permit the building of larger plants, and only
after we realize that alcohol production as such is likely to
prove a paying investment only in those verj' exceptional re-
gions in which large quantities of fermentable material can
be had for little more than the asking.

Alcohol manufacture is likelj' to be a success in the
United States only where the distillery and the fermentable
crop are a part of a large, well-designed and intelligent al-
cohol operation, involving corporations and stock raising
on a considerable scale, and the profits seem likely to ap-
pear, not in the alcohol, but in an increased productiveness of
the soil, due to the careful culture of the fermentable crop,
and in the increased amount of stock which may be made
possible by the increased crop production.

At present we are threatened with danger from two
sources. First, from over-confidence due to a misunder-
standing of the difficulties of the situation. We shall meet
the second danger when the fact dawns on us that the solu-
tion of this question is one which involves a vast amount of
study and hard work. When the discouraging features of
the situation threaten to paralyze further effort, we must
look the facts in the face, recognize the difficulties, and
hopefully and persistently work out this well-nigh supreme
problem of the increased conservation of the resources of
our lands.

Meeting adjourned for dinner.

98

AFTERNOON SESSION

The meeting was called to order and the nommating-
committee reported the list of candidates. It was moved
that the chairman cast one ballot for the list. This was.
done and the following were declared elected for 1909 :

JOHN W. CLAEK, President
ETHELBEKT BLISS, Vice-President
S. T. MAYNARD, Secretary-Treasurer
J. LEWIS ELLSWORTH, Auditor

DIRECTORS

ESSEX COUNTY:
SUFFOLK COUNTY:
NORFOLK COUNTY:
PLYMOUTH COUNTY:
MIDDLESEX COUNTY

HAMPDEN COUNTY:
BERKSHIRE COUNTY:
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY
FRANKLIN COUNTY:
WORCESTER COUNTY

North Hadley

Wilbraham

Northboro

Worcester

H.

E. A. Emerson, Haverhill; J.
Gregory, Marblehead.

A. W. Patch, Boston; George Cruick-
shanks, Chelsea.

Monroe Morse, Medway; Abel F.
Stevens, Wellesley.

Augustus Pratt, Middleboro; Walton
Hall, Marshfield.

C. F. Hey ward, Ashby; Wilfred
Wheeler, Concord; E. R. Farrar,
Lincoln; M. P. Palmer, Grotonr
E. D. Howe, Marlboro.

Ethelbert Bliss, Wilbraham; L. W.
Rice, Wilbraham.

G. G. Walker, Williamstown; R. H.
Race, North Egremont.

J. Maxwell Clark, Prof. Sears, Am-
herst.

M. H. Vincent, Conway; E, F. Cope-
land, Colrain.
;G. C. Rice, Worcester; S. J. Emerson,
Lunenburg; Elliott Moore, Worces-
ter; W. D. Ross, Worcester; E. A.
Hersey, Westboro; A. A. Hixon,
Worcester; C. A. Whitney, Upton.

99

Prof. John Craig of Cornell University, then addressed
the meeting on
SOME LESSONS EASTERN FRUIT GROWERS CAN

LEARN FROM THE ORCHARD PRACTICES IN
VOGUE IN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC

The orcharding of the oldest of the leading fruit grow-
ing areas of the Northwest Pacific is little more than a
quarter of a century old, yet, in that time, very important
innovations have been introduced. Many of these can be
profitably copied by the fruit growing fraternity of the
East. The natural conditions are conducive to the produc-
tion of a handsome product. Bright sunshine and clear air
discourage fungous diseases, and encourage the develop-
ment of high color and handsome finish.

In the irrigated regions, the character and amount of
growth of tree and fruit may, to a certain extent, be con-
trolled. Aside from these natural conditions, the men and
their practice are the important influencing factors. To
offset this is the long haul to the world's great markets.

The fruit growers are possessed of great faith in the fu-
ture of the country. They have unbounded optimism ; they
realize the necessity of advertising, and more than all they
appreciate the advantages of cooperation. In their case, ne-
cessity has driven the lesson home and experience has fixed
it. The carefully worked out systems of cooperative mar-
keting in vogue in the apple and citrous belts of the Pacific
are especially worthy of study and emulation.

Tillage is thorough, not desultory and spasmodic. The
need of conserving soil moisture has emphasized the value
of tillage in utilizing the natural supply and its influence
on liberating plant food. Orchards are tilled as a matter
of course, not as an occasional practice.

Spraying is practised because the Pacific slope grower
cannot afford to produce culls. These cannot be shipped
and the home market has little use for them. A first-class
product is the only one he can use in his business. Spray-
ing to prevent injury from insect pests and such fungous
enemies as prevail is thorough and persistent. Trees may
be sprayed three or five times or more if necessary.

Packing — and here is where the great lesson of im-
portance to growers in the East can be learned. The box

lOO

package is universal. The style of package assists honest
packing. The demands of the situation prohibit dishon-
esty. The grading under the eye of a disinterested party is
uniform. This is what the consumer desires. He wants
uniformity in the box or barrel of apples purchased. Noth-
ing discourages consumption so much as imperfect -grading,
whether this merely exhibits lack of uniformity or consist-
ent dishonesty.

The eastern packer has not grasped the situation. The
use of the barrel aids the packer who is willing to misrep-
resent, and the personal manner of grading places an addi-
tional strain on the man of elastic conscience.

We need more faith in the fruit producing ability of
our climate and soil. "We should realize that the product
of these conditions is a fruit of the highest oualiiv ""'^
should preach quality, and we should pack so that the qual-
ity of the grade is as high as the product itself.

Fruit growing is old in the East, but really up-to-date
methods are to be learned from our brethren of the West.
We have all the advantages of location, the soil and climate
are provided, and let us hope that the men who are to in-
augurate this newer and better system of fruit growing are
in our midst, endowed with energy, optimism, and the busi-
ness ability to properly exploit the latent fruit growing re-
sources of New England.

This was followed by the address of M. C. Burritt, De-
partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. :

CO-OPERATION IN PACKING AND MARKETING
OF OUR FRUIT CROPS.

We are living in an age of organisation and coopera-
tion. All modern successful business operations are based
on organization, and only those lines of business which are
well organized are markedly successful. Keen competition
and an insatiate desire for greater profits has driven nearly
all classes of inductry not only to organization, but to co-
operation. Moreover, in many lines of business combina-
tion was necessary to cheapen cost of production, or in-
crease the selling price, or both. Our great industrial com-
panies are nearly all cooperating in their respective lines.
The so-called trusts are, of course, the direct result of this
extensive cooperation.

It may seem strange to some, at first thought, that that
body of men which has in it the greatest possibilities for
associative or cooperative effort, should be the last to ef-
fectively cooperate — and this, too, after it had suffered as
much or more than any other from lack of such cooperation.
I speak of the farming class. But on second thought
we remember that the farmer is a strong individualist.
And that the very independence which has developed this
individualism, has kept him from cooperation with his fel-
lows.

Among the few, individuality is a potent factor, but in
large classes its influence is not so strongly felt, owning as
they do, the essentially productive part of the earth, farm-
ers control the world's vital supply of food and clothing,
to say nothing of many of ils luxuries. But this undoubted
great power can only be exerted through organization and
cooperation.

Unorganized farmers are weak and the prey of the
other strong individuals and organized classes. Organized,
they can exert to the full their vast economic and social
power. Now, as Prof. Bailey points out, practically every
farmer stands alone in his farming, and attempts single-
handed to contend with all the cooperative interests of the
business world. The result is that for the most part he is
a negligible factor in the trade.

Some of these facts are not pleasant, but we might as
well recognize them. Indeed, we are recognizing them.
All over the country, from Maine to Florida, and from New
York to California, are signs of the beginning of a new era.
Parts of the West have been organized for some time, but
the fashion is now spreading to the East, also, so that one
can hardly pick up an agricultural paper without noting
that some new local association has been formed. These
vary from apple shipping associations in western New York
to potato associations in Kentucky and Maryland.

The fruit industry in particular seems to have reached
the point where it can no longer be carried on in the hap-
hazard way which has heretofore been the general rule.
System must be introduced and with it cooperation. Com-
petition even at home but more especially with the West
has become keen. The regions of the West which are now
selling their fruits in our eastern markets, are cooperative-

I02

ly organized. They have studied the situation, seen the op-
portunity and found the means of improving it.

It is not a fact of which we can be proud, that apples,
which to say the least are not superior to ours, can be
grown 2,000 miles from our markets, and sold in those mar-
kets in competition with our own fruit, at prices consider-
ably in advance of ours. At present, we have not the means
of meeting the competition successfully, except in a small
way by a fey individuals.

I think most of you will agree with me that the follow-
ing outline covers the principal difficulties of the present
in the handling and marketing of our fruits.

The grading and packing of fruit is not at all uniform
©r satisfactory in quality. Too much of our fruit is poorly
packed, low in grade and unmiiform both as to fruit and to
package.

The transportation and disposal of fruit in market is on
the whole, unsatisfactory. Most fruit is moved in less than
car lots, in which the service is poor, and the cost compar-
atively high.

There is not the proper relation between the producer
and the consumer, supply and demand. Too much fruit is
handled on consignment and by too many middle men,
some of whom are dishonest.

The individual fruit grower, working alone, has no
power to remedy this state of affairs. He is unable to trace
shortages, remedy losses in transit, or materially influence
better service.

It is not necessary to more than mention these troubles,
however, as you are probably too familiar with them. My
problem is to show the possibilities of cooperation in meet-
ing and overcoming these difficulties. The most successful
attempt at cooperation in handling of fruit was made in
Michigan peach belt. Under the very able leadership of
Charles E. Bassett, the Fennville fruit shippers' association
was organized in 1891. Their steady and consistent growth
is indicative of their great success. A local agent loads the
fruit which goes to Chicago by special fast freight. There
another agent receives the consignment and distributes the
fruit, A standard package, saving at least half its cost, has
been adopted. The freight rate to Chicago has been re-
duced from 6 1-2 to 2 1-2 cents a basket.

In one season, 6,000,000 baskets of peaches were shipped

I03

and the saving to the growers by the association was not less
than $200,000. The association has laid by a cash profit
which has been used to build and improve roads. Before it
began this work 250 baskets of peaches were considered a
load; now 500-600 are easily drawn. The combined influ-
ence of the growers led the railroads to give 300 carloads
of gravel. Whereas, a single individual has great trouble
in getting the ear of the railroad official, the representatives
of an organization of 400 shippers received a most respect-
ful and gracious hearing. Buyers come to Fennville to buy,
and competition for association fruit has been such that
prices have generally been kept higher than the Chicago
market.

The plan for organization is the common one and sim-
ple. Each member must hold at least one share at a certain
fixed price. The entire cost of handling is paid by a fixed
charge per box. No seconds, or poor varieties are packed.
And the association guarantees every box under its label.

Associations are uniformly able to make better sales
than individuals having small amounts of fruit, because of
the quantity of graded fruit they have, and because of a
better knowledge of the market.

My own observation and study lead me to believe that
the following advantages have been obtained, and may be
obtained in very many more cases, by persons associating
themselves cooperatively in the handling and marketing of
fruit.

A higher class of fruit in its respective grade than the
average individual would pack from his own fruit.

Style and uniformity of the package and grade have
been greatly improved, securing the confidence of the buy-
er ; the buyer may also secure a larger quantity of a uniform
brand.

Shipment in large quantities, at least car lots, has ob-
tained better transportation rates and facilities. Associa-
tions of growers are in a position to demand a fair deal from
the railroads.

System has been introduced into marketing, losses have
been reduced, and a more complete and efficient knowledge
of markets secured.

Growers are enabled and encouraged to produce a bet-
ter product because they can give their whole attention to

I04

•
production, knowing that the fruit will be marketed at the
highest price without their attention.

Packages, spraying material and other supplies are
purchased in large lots at greatly reduced cost.

The whole standard of fruit growing in a neighborhood
is raised by cooperative associations, thus benefitting the
outsider to some extent, as well as the member.

In brief, to sum up, I believe that cooperative handling'
and marketing of fruit secures the consumer a better prod-
uct, and realizes the grower a better profit. Association is
assuredly the keynote of the future, the simple combination
of mutual interests for mutual benefits. It may be that the
time is not yet ripe for cooperative organization in the East,
but there can be no doubt that it will come — must come
sooner or later, if we are to keep pace with progress in oth-
er lines.

DISCUSSION

Q. Is it worth while to pack Baldwins in boxes?

A. I don't like to take the responsibility of answering
but would say that if you have handsome Baldwins as I have
seen groAvn in both New York and New England, I think
they could be sold if packed neatly in boxes.

I have packed 500 bushels in boxes and when Western
apples were selling in New York for $1.50 a box in carloads,
my Baldwins were bringing $2 a box. I have packed apples
for about 6 years. This year a party in Boston took my ap-
ples. I\Iy price has been $2 a bushel. These apples are sell-
ing right here in AVorcester today for $3 a box.

Pres. Clark : Two years ago I was in New Hampshire
at an exhibition, and Mr. Hale asked if some of the apples
there were not as good as Western apples.

]\Ir. Race : What percentage of the crop is fit to pack
in boxes?

Gentleman from Lunenburg : 60 per cent.

Race : Two years ago a man in Melrose came and want-
ed to buy my apple crop. I asked him how he wanted it put
up. I had already bought 100 boxes bushel size. He said
not in boxes. He said, "You have not got enough good ap-
ples to pay and you must ship the others in barrels anyway.
He also told me that my seconds would sell best if put up
uniformly. I pack my apples in barrels and make two qual-
ities. The little ones sold first.

I05

Mr. Patch of Boston, (Commission man) : The gentle-
man from Lunenburg could not have got the price he did if
he had not taken particular pains in growing his apples.
We can grow apples here that Avill beat the world if we will
only take pains. I believe if the men here would take the
pains that the Western farmers do, we could get the price^
that the Western apples do. The money is what you are
after, and it pays to make a good article.

Prof. Craig: Mr. Patch said that we are not ready for
the boxing trade in New England. I would agree with him
in saying that, under the present conditions, Ave are not
ready. The Western men grow mighty few seconds. That
is the question that is up to us. They eliminate these by
thinning, spraying, and by careful cultivation in general.
AVe think we cannot afford to. AVe spray twice, perhaps;
some three times. Many of them spray even seven times.
That is business. They had to do it. And it is just a ques-
tion, gentlemen, whether we shall do it or not. The time in
my judgment, is ripe now for boxes, and we can produce
the stuff, and while Mr. Patch and others are getting ready
to take the boxes even if they do like to see the barrels roll
down the other end of the store.

Q. Is not our greatest weakness here in New England
■in the fact that we don't make a business of growing fruit,
but simply dabble in it. The whole secret of their success in
the West, lies in the fact that they make a business of it.
Here, where we have just a few acres, it does not pay us to
fuss.

Prof. Craig. The gentleman has proved his own propo-
sition very largely. It makes all the difference in the world
whether the commission man goes to the producer or the
producer to the commission man.

We are now finding out that the hillsides are the place
for apples.

Pres. Clark : It has been brought out that with
proper care and cultivation we can grow good fruit. I be-
lieve in thinning the fruit. I thinned a crop of apples one-
year and it cost me just 7 cents a barrel. It makes the fruit
larger and better and you have very little second-class fruit,
I can get it all out by thinning close. AVe can grow good
fruit if we only Avill. Thinning the fruit is the most profit-
able ^ay to get good fruit.

io6

Q. Does it make any difference about the fruit the next
year if it is thinned?

A. Yes, but you cannot get Baldwins to bear every
;year.

Lunenburg gentleman : I believe the time has not ar-
rived for selling apples in boxes. Most of my apples have
gone to dealers in Boston and they say they like them better
because they don't take up so much room.

Meeting adjourned to 10 o'clock Thursday morning.

THURSDAY, MARCH U, 1909
JO.OO A. M.

A much larger audience was present than during the
other meetings.

President Clark presiding: I am glad to see so many
out this morning. It is a beautiful morning. Let us take
hold and do our work.

Mr. J. Lewis Ellsworth explained what had been done
to organize the N, E. Fruit show. Mr. Hixon further ex-
1 plained what it was proposed to do.

IMr. Hixon: The Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Asso-
ciation was organized in this hall. Secretary Ellsworth
stated that we were to have a New England fruit exhibition.
Now for thirty years we have bragged about what we could
do in New England, and we have let our fruit industry go
right away from us. Still, we can exhibit fine specimens
and I think we can make good in appearance and quality.

The New England Fruit Show has organized with a
-president, vice-president and secretary for this exhibit^, and
each state has a local vice-president, who is to be chairman
of whatever takes place in his state. Massachusetts is the
state that has given the invitations, and we must take care
of the people and entertain them, and we don't want to be
behind others in showing our fruit, and we expect each of
you to do your level best to help us. We don't yet know
•what we are going to do, and we lack capital to do with.

IQ7

"What I would suggest is that every one consider this matter,
-every agricultural society and every organization that has
.any thing to do with fruit.

Within a short time we will be in shape to say better
what we want and what you may expect from us, but if you
have any fruit that is unusually handsome, exhibit it some-
where this summer and see if you cannot get the name on
.at the exhibition this fall. Worcester county has originated
;more apples than any other part of New England, and we
ought to get the credit of it.

I am proud of Worciester county, for such representa-
tive men as George Prisbee Hoar and others who have not
'been figure heads but men who took a personal interest in
the work. I suggest that if we are to invite the whole world
to see what we have, that some day be set aside for testing
.our fruit and comparing it with Western fruit, and I shall
try to arrange to have apples ready for comparison with
.any Western apples. You will hear from others in regard
to this, and you will hear from us often, and I think we will
have one of the biggest shows in the United States. Mr.
Hixon was followed by

Mr. Wilfred Wheeler of Concord: We hope to make
the New England Fruit show a success. We are known all
over the country as New England men, and we hope to get
men together as one harmonious body. That is one of the
.•strongest features that we want to make. We also want to
make it an educational affair, showing the implements used
in raising them. We want to make it a free show, if pos-
sible, so that all the people can come in and see what New
England can do in the way of fruit growing.

This idea was proposed, as you know, by the Governor,
;and we want the local societies to unite to make this a great
success. We look for these societies to help out, so I hope
that you will set aside any fine fruit you may have this
-summer. We know that if orcharding is conducted on the

io8

right basis we can grow fruit of just as good color and of
far better quality than they can groAA^ in the AVest.

This summer we expect to get out a premium list rather
early so you can set aside any fruit you may have for the
show.

Prof. Fred C. Sears of the Massachusetts Agricultural
College then said :

I Ihink we ought to make a campaign along the ques-
tion of quality. I think that the New England apple is the
best there is in quality and that the Western apple leads in
appearance. The average Western apple is a better looking
apple than we can grow here. The sunshine and clear air
make a fine looking apple, but we can beat them every time
on equality, and it seems to me that should be the watchword
we should take up. That is where we can beat them.

My opinion in regard to the coming show is that it
should be largely a commercial proposition. The Western-
ers beat us hands down in packing and labeling of fruit. At
Spokane, they gave $100 for the first prize for the best
packed box, $50 for the second prize, and I think that we
ought to give liberal prizes all along the line.

A committee, having been appointed to see what we as
a society will do at the exhibition next fall, reported as fol-
lows.

Keport made by Mr. Race :

This committee find that they are up against a propo-
sition, and that we cannot go outside of our own society
very well, as others have already formed organizations and
taken men right from our lists as officers, Adin A. Hixon,.
secretary of the Worcester Horticultural Society, being one-
of the vice-presidents, and J. Lewis Ellsworth, secretary of
the State Board of Agriculture, the president.

Recommended that J. W. Clark, . S. T. Maynard and
Mr. Ellsworth be appointed a committee to cooperate with
the general committee for the benefit of the Massachusetts
Fruit Growers, that they use all means they see fit in cooper-

I09

ating with other organizations and societies, that Secretary-
Ellsworth use his influence with the Agricultural Societies
as to offering premiums to different granges, $20, $15, $10,
$5, for such exhibits as they see fit to make.

Report accepted and adopted.

President Clark : Two years ago an organization was
formed of New England societies, which society appointed
a committee. We met at Gardner, and ]\Iilford, N. H., and
the committee has an invitation to meet in Vermont next
winter. The principal thing brought up before this com-
mittee was the packing and marking of fruit, and we de-
cided to ask the different societies to see whether they
would introduce a bill into their legislatures to have every
sealed package of fruit marked with grade of variety, name
of packer, and place of residence. The latter committee did
not get together, and the secretary brought in practically
the Canadian Fruits ]\Iarks Bill, which says that you must
have 90 per cent, of your apples perfect, and 80 per cent, of
No. 2 apples free from scab or disease. That makes it rather
strong for us, and we thought it would not be accepted, but
that is what they voted, and that is what I wish to present
here now. Vermont and Maine introduced a bill, or tried
to, into their legislatures this winter. Vermont had the for-
tune of having the committee refuse to do anything with
the bill. Maine started to introduce the bill, but their com-
mittee would not accept it ; then they fixed it over, and, as
I understand it, that bill has not gone through, and as we
meet next fall at Montpelier, Vermont, perhaps it will be
well to leave it until that time.

If we wish to keep up this organization — as I think it
best, because we are getting together as New England, not
as different states, so we will go before others as New Eng-
land— if it is advisable to continue this, a motion to that ef-
fect will be in order.

Voted to continue the committee.

Secretary Miles: Connecticut is taking great interest

riio

in the fruit show that is to be held this fall. We have pe-
titioned our State Legislature for an appropriation for the
purpose of making an exhibit at the show. Also think of
giving up our own show and putting ail our efforts into this-
one.

We have in the Connecticut Pomological Society seven
hundred members. We get all the money we can from our-
membership, but the Pomological Society gets a large ap-
propriation from our state, with which we are able to give
prizes on premiums that are worth while.

Vice-President Slater, Rhode Isliand: To me much of
the exhibit in Boston this fall will be the convincing agri-
culturalists that it is a profitable investment to produce goodi
fruit. We have asked for an appropriation from our State
Legislature.

Past President Whitney: I dislike to have people from,
Connecticut and Rhode Island go away with the impressiom
that we have never had more than one hundred members in
this Association.. We have liad three hundred or more mem-
bers, but from' one reason or another, they have dropped out^
These are now so few members that we are miable to print
a report.

The first address of the diay was by G. C. Seavey, Editor-
of New England Homestead :

ARE LAWS TO REGULATE THE PACKING AND MAR-^
KETING OUR FRUITS NECESSARY OR ADVIS-
ABLE IN NEW ENGLAND UNDER
PRESENT CONDITIONS?

It is with conservatism that I approach this subject,
fully realizing it is to a divided houje I speak. Some believe-
we should have state and national legislation relative to-
grading, marking, and packing of our fruit, while others
feel that such action would be taking hold of the wrong end
of the stick,. so at least, what the legislation thus far proposes-

Ill

is ill-timed and not in close sympathy with the Varying con-
ditions which such a law would necessarily face.

In my observation and investigation of the subject, I
have tried to look at the matter in a broadminded way, giv-
ing every argument consideration, no matter whether pro
or con, and from such an unprejudiced view point am de-
cidedly inclined to agree with the second class mentioned
above, namely, the conservatives.

If we must have legislation in this subject, let us have
as a starter something more moderate. I have indicated
what my answer to the question proposed on the program
will be, and now it remains to cover the conditions and ar-
guments that have led me to give you the exact status of the-
legislative propaganda on fruit as developed to date. Work
has been done in this line both by Congress and State Legis-
latures, In a federal way you are familiar with the so-
called Porter bill, which has served to rally the forces for
and against national standardization of apple packing.

It is a matter of common knowledge that in handling
fruit abroad, and in fact here in America, it is impracticable
to examine every package. The custom in the European
exchanges is to select a few barrels from every lot of apples
received from the United States or Canada, open them upon
a table, and judge the lot by those few barrels. In this com-
parison, American apples have compared unfavorably with
the Canadian product packed under competent inspection
and the so-called Fruit iMarks act. Thus we see the reason
why enterprising American growers are seeking to do away
with the poor grading and dishonest packing of apples
which leads to a poor reputation for our fruit.

The Porter bill has been criticised severely, and, as a
matter of fact, is in all probability a "dead duck." Mr.
Porter is no longer in Congress, and in a recent letter de-
clared that there were parts of the bill he presented in which
he personally did not believe. Therefore, he introduced it
"by request."

What little chance the Porter bill had has been further
weakened by the introduction of a substitute bill by Daniel
F. Lafean of Pennsylvania. This new measure was intro-
duced into Congress Feb. 25, and referred to committee on
interstate and foreign commerce. If the Lafean bill be-
came a law, it would establish what would be known as the
United States standard, and the three sizes would be known?

112

■as A, B and C, instead of 1 and 2, as in the case of the Porter
bill.

The conspicuous feature of this bill is that the grades
are determined by the size of the apple only. No matter
whether a farmer is putting up number 1 or number 3 ap-
ples, they must all be well grown for the variety, carefully
liand picked, of normal shape, of good color for the variety,
practically free from insect and fungous bruises and other
defects except such as are necessarily caused in the opera-
tion of packing, and must not contain more than 10 per cent,
below these specifications.

It will be recalled that number 1 fruit in Porter bill
consists of healthy, well grown apples of one variety not
less than 2 1-2. inches in diameter, and of good color for the
variety, of normal shape, and not less than 90 per cent, free
from scab, worm holes, bruises, and other defects mentioned.
The number 2 fruit may consist of apples of not less than
nearly medium size for the variety and not less than 85 per
cent, free from the defects mentioned for number 1 fruit.

In the Lafean bill the sizes are determined as follows :
A, not less than 2 1-2 inches in diameter; B, not less than
2 1-4 inches in diameter. This bill further provides that
each package be plainly marked before it leaves the prem-
ises with the name and address of packer, name and place
where gro"vvn, and the name of variety contained in the
package.

The matter of package is also covered in the Lafean
bill. It provides that a standard box shall contain not less
than 2,342 cubic inches. The standard barrel shall have a
capacity not less than one of the following dimensions:
Length of stave 28 1-2 inches, diameter of head 17 1-8 inches,
distance between heads 26 inches, circumference of bulge 64
inches outside measurement. Any barrel of less dimensions
must be labeled "short barrel." The Porter bill called for
substantially the same barrel. For a box, the Lafean bill
shall contain not less than 2.346 cubic inches. The Porter
bill calls for a box of 2,564 cubic inches. In connection with
these two bills, may be mentioned the provisions made by
the Canadian law. This requires a barrel with 17 inch head,
the space between heads 26 1-2 inches and a middle diameter
of 18 1-2 inches. Boxes shall be 10 by 11 by 21 inches and
^contain 2,200 cubic inches. The Canadian law provides for

113

four grades known as Fancy, Number 1, Number 2 and
Number 3.

Fancy fruit is described as well grown specimens of
one variety sound and uniform and at least normal size, and
of good color for the variety, of normal shape, free from
worm holes, bruises, scabs and other defects. Number 1
fruit must come within 90 per cent, of the fancy grade, num-
ber 2 within 80 per cent., and number 3 is virtually culls.
It is also provided that any package the fruit of which is be-
low the grade of that shown on the surface, cannot be prop-
erly marked under any of these grades.

Those in close touch with the situation prophesy that
the Porter bill is a thing of the past, and that consideration
will be given the Lafean measure, which is really an amend-
ed form of the Porter bill. Effort will be made to bring the
matter before the tariff session of Congress convening March
15. However, with the tariff to consider, and such other
propositions as will command attention, it is extremely
doubtful if any definite disposition is made of the apple
grading bill" at the coming session.

Here in New England, the matter of legislation has been
urged, but has met comparatively little sympathy, except
in Maine. In that state, a bill was originally drawn up
which did not satisfy the rank and file of fruit growers.
This has recently been amended so it meets the approval of
a larger number. It provides for four classes : Fancy, Num-
ber 1 and Number 2, and unclassified.

Fancy apples shall consist of those of one variety, above
the average size and color for the variety, sound, and free
from worm holes, bruises, scab, or any other defect that ma-
terially injures the appearance or useful quality of the ap-
ples. Any package containing more than 10 per cent, of
apples below this standard cannot be marked as fancy.
Number 1 apples are to be of normal shape and good color
for the variety, and not less than 2 1-4 inches in diameter,
and be free from worm holes, bruises, scab, etc.

A package containing more than 10 per cent, of apples
below this standard cannot be marked as number 1. Num-
ber 2 's are the same as number 1 's, excepting the apples may
be two inches in diameter. If an apple is two and a quarter
inches in diameter it may have one defect, such as a worm
hole, or a bruise, and yet pass as number 2. Packages con-
taining less than 20 per cent, of apples below the standard

114

cannot be marked as number 2. The important feature of
the proposed Maine bill is Sec. 6, which says: "All apples
grown in the state and offered for sale or shipment outside
of the State of Maine in closed packeges not conforming to
the foregoing conditions as to variety, size, or other condi-
tions, shall be marked 'unclassified.' "

The standard barrel in the proposed Maine law is the
same as in the Lafean and Porter measures. Smaller bar-
rels may be used by growers, but they must be marked ac-
cordingly. R. L. Cummings of West Paris, Me., who is an
enthusiast for the proposed law, says that at a meeting held
a short time ago more than 300 of the fruit growers of the
state indorsed the proposed bill, either in person or by rep-
resentatives.

New Hampshire has not taken much interest in legis-
lation along this line. A few tried to push it through in
Vermont last winter, but the effort failed, largely througli
the inability of the growers to decide among themselves
what they wanted. Connecticut does not appear to be es-
pecially interested, and what Massachusetts will do remains
to be seen.

However radically people may dift'er in their opinions
on the subject, almost all agree on the importance and even
necessity of honest packing and grading of our fruit. The
trouble comes in agreeing upon a method by which the de-
sirable condition shall be obtained. Some say by the big
stick of law, others say by the uplifting force of education.
Other conditions being equal, education is by far the prefer-
able course. Human nature is so constituted that a man
can be led much farther than he can be driven, and the re-
sults accomplished are likely to be more lasting. As I in-
terpret the intention of the reform, the desire is to gain the
aid of apple growers and appeal to their sense of justice and
cooperation in the matter of handling fruit to the end that
our (emphasis on the "our" if you please) fruit may be of
the highest quality and in greatest demand.

This, of course, means advanced prices to growers. I
fail to see how coercion will stimulate such conditions. True,
there are some who can be handled only by knock-down and
drag-out methods, but think what a small percentage they
constitute of our great body of farmers who sell fruit. Still
further, they as a rule are the smaller and less important
growers whose influence one way or the other is limited.

115

These things are true on general principles, but what
would be the result if Ave tried to work out some of the de-
tails of the proposed law and enforce the same ? The size of
apples, for instance, is bound to vary much with the variety
and the season. It is no easy matter to establish a minimum
diameter that is fair to all varieties alike, or even some va-
rieties under different climatic conditions. A 2 1-2 inch ap-
ple would be fair for Baldwins, Rhode Island Greenings, etc.,
but perhaps too high a minimum for those choice sorts such
as Jonathan, Fameuse and Golden Russet. The Lafean bill
by requiring 90 per cent, of apples free from worm holes or
all defects, establishes a pretty high grade for number three
fruit. No particular allowance is made for poor years when
apples run small and unsatisfactory. Then again, there are
large apples like Wolf River and Gloria IMundi, the culls of
Avhich would readily pass the size limit.

One point which seems to have been overlooked, is the
fact that a certificate of inspection of fruit cannot hold good
indefinitely. Fruit is bound to deteriorate more or less, es-
pecially if it was over ripe at the time of packing. The pack-
age of apples that the inspector passes as fancy might read-
ily become second or third class by the time it reaches the
consumer, and yet on the face of the barrel would be a mark
of superiority.

On this point Secretary Wilson says, ' ' Would not a sim-
ple requirement that apples be marked with name of variety,
the name and address of the packer, accomplish the end in
view, which is doing away with the fraudulent branding of
our fruit?

Now it appears to me there are just two desirable ways
of disposing of this whole proposition, and I will name the
least desirable first. It is that we have state and federal laws
providing that every man who packs and ships apples must
place his name and address on the barrel in suitable letters,
and also indicate the variety. I do not believe I would go
much farther than this. It is a short step but better to make
this slight advance and maintain the ground, than to at-
tempt a long stride and slip back below the starting point.

Such a regulation would, presumably, work no particular
hardship on anyone, and would at the same time cause grow-
ers to think twice before they placed little apples in the mid-
dle of the barrels which were marked with their name. If

ii6

this advance met with favor there would be plenty of time
to talk about these more stringent regulations.

I confess that the Maine growers have afforded an out-
let for the poorer grades by establishing the unclassified di-
vision under which regulation a grower may dispose of what-
soever product he may have, good, bad or indifferent. How-
ever, it cannot be marked with desired grade to masquerade
as a better product. If this bill finally grows into a law the
operation of the same will be watched with much interest, for
it appears to have good features.

This brings me to what I consider the ideal solution of
this whole proposition, and that is the grading, packing and
marking of Massachusetts fruit under the name of the Mas-
sachusetts Fruit Growers' Association. Then let this asso-
ciation establish whatsoever rules and regulations it sees fit,
taking for its model the Porter or Lafean bill, the fruit marks
act, or the modified Maine idea. I can see no necessity for
running to the legislature or to Congress with this proposi-
tion.

It is the enterprising fruit growers who are most inter-
ested in the proposed legislation, and now if they will put
the same amount of effort and initiative into forming these
packing associations, and putting out a gilt-edged product
and marking it accordingly, it will not be many moons before
they will have established a reputation for particular brands
which is far ahead of anything the fruit marks act has ever
established or ever will. This is because the growers believe
in what they are doing, they find it decidedly remunerative
and do it of their own free will.

Those growers are enterprising and resourceful, and I
am under the impression that those in the East who are urg-
ing legislation along this line are likewise enterprising and
resourceful. If the West found it far better to stay away
from the legislature and encourage cooperation, isn't it rea-
sonable to suppose that in the East we will not fall far short
of the desired goal if we adopt a similar course, or at least go
slow.

The actual working-out of the details of this work need
not be laborious. The association can secure any quantity
of suitable labels of attractive appearance to distribute
among the members. Careful regulations should be drawn
up governing the operations of these members. Each must
become personally responsible to the association for the fruit

117

he packs and ships under the association label. It is possi-
ble a simple system of inspection would be desirable.

The name of every member must go on the package, and
inside must be the guarantee of the association, with the in-
struction to the consumer that if anything is wrong, the sec-
retary of the Association should be informed thereof. Then
the Association can hold the individual grower responsible.
If it is possible to enforce the Lafean or Porter bill, or any
other similar measure, in a given state, then it ought to be
possible for a selected few of the most enterprising growers
in the state to enforce standards, as they agree to. In other
words, the whole is greater than any of its parts, and if state
or nation-wide legislation will work, a small part, or such an
association as I mention, ought to have clear sailing.

In the event of such an association it will put a premium
on honesty, you secure a gilt-edged product and establish the
desirable high reputation for fruit; and, best of all, you are
educating your people to the wisdom of grading, packing,
and marking fruit carefully and systematically. The favora-
ble results following this work would spread out like the
concentric ripple from a pebble dropped in a pool of water.
The leaven of education would work day and night for 365
days of the year.

And then, in due time, if you please, you would be ready
for your state and national measures which are now being
proposed. On the other hand, this very association work is
so far superior to the legislative proposition that I am in-
clined to think you would not care to take your chance with
what lawmakers would give you.

If the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association does
not care to thus advance the interests of horticulture, then
ten, twenty or thirty, or even more, of the interested growers
in the state can form a separate association with a suitable
name, like the Bay State Apple Growers' League; they can
design and adopt a catchy and attractive label and proceed
to develop a reputation for apples sold under the league
name.

What I suggest does not mean the expenditure of thou-
sands of dollars in order that a start may be secured. Once
a careful system of inspection is worked out, the cost will be
nominal. Only those members should be taken in at the
start who are well known for their integrity, and who are
willing to sign over some of their individuality to the asso-

ii8

eiation for the benefit of all the members. They do not en-
tirely lose their identity, since their names are on the pack-
age. The cost of labels could be largely met by charging
each member a normal fee for a given number.

Therefore, in conclusion, I am free to confess that I rec-
ognize the good results that might follow state and national
legislation regarding the packing of apples.

However, there are disadvantages as well. Such action
would be more or less of a jump in the dark with a spring
which might carry farmers as a class, farther than they would
care to go at this time. The medium course of legislation,
which only provides that the name and address of every
grower go on each package, also the name of the variety, is
a much more conservative proposition, and would not be like-
ly to work any particular hardship, and would surely do
some good.

But the best course of all is to secure the cooperation of
the grower in this reform movement, rather than his enmity.
To accomplish this, start your association as indicated. The
wheels can be set in motion at this meeting. A committee
can be named to take the matter under advisement, or a short
session of those interested can be called after adjournment
and the matter discussed briefly, and the active committee of
construction for the framework of the association selected by
those interested members.

Whatever is done, I hope you will be conservative in go-
ing to the legislature, Dn general principles, we have too
much legislation already. Maine is better prepared for some
legislative action than are we in Massachusetts, and by going
slow we stand a chance of profiting by their experience.
However, in the meantime, we need not be idle. I have sug-
gested a specific line of work.

This was followed by H. L. Frost, Arlington, Mass.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE HAND AND
POWER PUMPS FOR THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
SPRAYING OF OUR FRUIT AND ORNA-
MENTAL TREES?

Two years ago I had the pleasure of speaking to you on
apparatus, but I must say that our ideas have changed a
great deal on spraying matters. For that reason whenever

119

I talk of spraying apparatus, I have never been willing to
have my talk printed because we are in a very youthful age
as regards spraying apparatus.

The first apparatus was a whisk broom with pail and
paris green in it. Next was Johnson's force pump, but this
has not proved satisfactory. The Colorado potato beetle
started the spraying apparatus and spraying, which is in-
creasing every day.

The Gypsy Moth Commission has probably done more to-
ward developing the spraying business than anything else,
and although the Gypsy Moth is a deadly pest, it has made
the farmers give more attention to their trees and shrubs
than they otherwise would. Between 1885 and 1890 the ex-
periment stations began the work, but as there was no in-
ducement for manufacturers to go into the business, they did
not.

It is my intention to show what outfit will be best for
your special work. Since 1900 several companies have been
formed which are furnishing spraying outfits. At the pres-
ent day the great difficulty is that you go to your dealer and
he has one form of pump to sell, and he sells Ihat for all
kinds of work. One kind can be used on small trees with
lime and sulfur-wash, while another kind of pump should be
used on large trees with miscible oils. You cannot use the
same outfit on a side hill that can be used on level land. I
cannot give you any general rule that would cover all cases.

We are going to have the same conditions here in Massa-
chusetts on our side hills as in other parts of the country
when the insects get in here, and we must have apparatus
to do the spraying. Before buying a spraying outfit get the
advice of an experienced man. Show him your situation, get
his opinion and take it, if, in your judgment, it is good.

Three years ago the town of Arlington bought three
spraying outfits, for which they paid $300 apiece. Now con-
ditions have changed, outfits have been improved so that this
year those outfits were sold for $75 each, and they have
bought up-to-date outfits. I think we have now reached
that point where outfits are improved to such an extent that
there will not be any great changes. Look around before you
buy an outfit. The fruit grower will be the spraying expert
in his own town because he is interested in this business,
and because he is up-to-date. First, in determining what
outfit you wish, you should let the dealer know what insects

I20

you are to fight, what your problem is, whether it is bushes^
trees or vines. In spraying currant bushes, some have found
that they can better use a dry poison than a wet poison. I
shall not recommend any special make. It has been found
by some of the growers that paris green dusted on when the
dew is on the plant, is a good, method of handling insects on
vines and bushes.

I am also going to tell you of some experiments that will
be tried this spring. I feel quite sure that a dry poison will
be experimented on. It has gone so far that now the dealers
are putting up arsenate of lead in dry form, with the idea
that it will be dusted on the trees. I speak of this to show
you that we are not by any means reaching the point of
fixed methods of handling insects and of spraying methods,

1. Here Mr. Frost handed around photographs showing
the methods of spraying.

One of these shows solid stream spraying. We are fast
coming to give up our ideas of fine sprays. The farmer may
not come to the solid stream spraying, as he cannot do it with
small apparatus.

2. (Photogx'aphs of automatic sprayers used for large
growths).

Poisons that require water as a carrier mean that we
must use some form of pump. The form that we use will be
determined by material, size of trees, natural conditions of
surface, etc. If we use miscible oils, which are coming into
greater use every year as contact poisons, use the mixture
with a small amount of rubber as possible. Some are using^
metal throughout. That is the pump that we must use for oil
sprays. If lime-sulfur wash, then the rubber is required.
Some manufacturers are making pumps with porcelain lin-
ings, which withstand' better the lime-sulfur than the brass
outfits.

Next comes size of plant or area, as outside of these two
materials any apparatus or form of pump may be used. The
fruit grower should watch the insect very carefully. He can
often use a small bulb in handling insects where the area is
small.

3. (Photograph of knapsack sprayer).

The knapsack sprayer is very valuable for the small
grower.

4. (Photograph of small compressed air outfit).

121

These are not economical except where small operations
are to be carried on.

5. (Photograph of bucket pump),

A man with five or six fruit trees can use the bucket
pump to better advantage than any other outfit that can be
secured. I don't believe it is necessary always to put in
large outfits. I have sprayed trees fifty and sixty feet tall
with the bucket pump. I find I can do this cheaper and just
as effectively as I can with a large pump.

6. (Photograph of barrel pump).

Next comes the barrel pump. Up to orchards of over
five hundred trees I think this the best to be used. I have
tried all kinds of pumps and find with this I can use tw4"
lines of hose in one orchard, and I much prefer to use the
barrel pump. I believe we have struck the wrong end in
hunting for our pressure. Western entomologists all come
out for high pressure. I don't think it is efficient. I believe
it is more efficient to thoroughly cover our trees with the
spraying material. I also recommend the submerged barrel
pump with the air barrel under water. Nearly the entire
pump is in the barrel. The submerged pump works better
because we have the pressure under water.

Automatic pumps, which are attached to the running
g-ear of apparatus, are not adapted for spraying of high land.
They are all right on level fields for crops, etc.

In June, 1907, we bought a large outfit for spraying
pump — six horse power gasolene engine weighing
1,800 pounds. Pump weighed about 900 pounds. Imagine
the work of carrying around 2,700 pounds in engine and
pump. We used about 400 gallons of spraying material every
twenty minutes. Four hundred gallons weighs 3,200 pounds.
This meant a tremendous load.

Last June the engine we had weighed 360 pounds. This
brings the engine down to a practical working basis. Our
pump today weighs 1,000 pounds. These are not satisfactory
pumps. They are cast-iron and are very heavy. Our next
move will be to get some one to build a pump that Avill be
light.

The large grower will use a small gasolene engine one-^
lialf and three or four horse power, and when spraying put
it somewhere where it will not freeze. It is almost impossi-
ble for the average man to draw off all the water. If any
remains it will freeze and ruin his pump. Buy a pump and

122

engine mounted on a solid iron base which he can put into
any wagon and attach it to a hogshead or tank which he has
on the place.

Now comes the hose, which is a very important question.
I wish to emphasize the question of power, for I believe it is
after the water leaves the pump that we lose the power. We
find that on one-half inch hose we get more friction than on
fhree-fourths inch hose, also with fifty feet of hose we are
getting more pressure than with one hundred feet of hose.
The hose used for solid stream spraying is one-half inch cot-
ton hose made especially for spraying. Special hose is made
for different sprays.

Couplings. Nearly every one has difficulty with coup-
lings on hose blowing out. This is offset by long tail coup-
lings with clamps. The advantage of long tailed coupling is
that it will never blow out, and it can be used for a life time.
You will find that the hose will get bent and cause leaking
.near the coupling. With long tailed couplings you can cut
the hose and use clamps to replace it and have your hose
repaired in five minutes.

Nozzles. A reducing coupling has been made that will
increase pressure at the nozzle tremendously.

Spraying Extension. The best is common gas pipe.
Have the cock at the pump. If cock is on extension the
pressure will be on the hose. I prefer the cock at the pump.

Nozzles. There are many types. Without doubt the
Vermorel is the best for fine spraying. Nothing will beat it.
It is double and triple.

There are several types of the Bordeau nozzle. Buy the
heaviest one that you can because they wear more or less. It
saves in labor. You can cover higher trees.

Nozzles used for solid stream spraying. We have found
that we must have different tips for nozzles in order to get
our streams right. We must change tips every time we add
lines of hose.

I would recommend as an essential thing in spraying,
the emergency kit. It should contain balances for weighing
material ; getting the exact weight is very essential. For re-
pairs put in a pair of wire pliers, they are handy to have ; an
extra nipple, as these often break ; extra pair of long tailed
couplings ; reducer ; Stilson wrench for pump ; square wrench
and screw driver; extra clamps; extra reducer and small
nipple for nozzle and spraying extension, and a number of

123

rubber washers ; extra nozzle of every kind used. With these
you will reduce your spraying bills, and in reducing your
bills you will get better spraying, better fruit, and better
prices.

A rising vote of thanl^s was extended to the Worcester
CJounty Horticultural Society for the use of their hall for our
meetings, to the officers of the Association, and to the speak-
ers.

The afternoon session was a Joint meeting with the Wor-
cester Society, Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Fullerton, Huntington,
L. I., speaking on ' 'The Lure of the Land, '^ in which they de-
ficribed the improvement made in the so-called baiTen soils
of Long Isla,nd. These addresses were illustrated bj well
colored stereoptieon slides taken from tlie farms and fields.

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS'
ASSOCIATION

Sixteenth Annual Meeting, March 9-10,

J9J0

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 10.30 A. M.

The sixteenth annual meeting was called to order by
Pres. John W. Clark of North Hadley at about 10.30 Wednes-
day morning. Mayor James Logan welcomed the Association
to the city as follows :

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :

I have not any formal address to make today, simply
to extend greeting of the city. I had the pleasure last year
of saying a few words at the opening of your conference,
and your president asked me today if I was still getting my
living out of my orchard, to which he then referred, and I
am glad to say that I am getting it out of it, certainly not
in it.

Now the years pass quickly and many have been called
away from us since we last met and I think we may con-
gratulate ourselves that we are still here and have our
chance.

I believe thoroughly in New England, I believe in Mas-
sachusetts, and I believe more than all in "Worcester and
Worcester county; but we must do business on a business
basis, and if I may be allowed to suggest I would say that
the farmer has been all too slow to realize that fact. We
must put our best foot forward in good old New England.
We have the best market for selling fruit that this country
affords. The problem in business is not so much to manu-
facture goods as to sell them at a profit.

Now with the market right at our doors the selling of
fruit is in a sense your burden, for the market is here. I
confess to just a little humiliation to know that apples come

126

into this city from the Pacific coast. Apples that do uot
begin to line up with the apples we raise here in New Eng-
land but they are selling by the car load because they are-
selected goods, and we must remember this, that in business
the only way to eliminate competition is to do things better
than our competitors.

The western people ha'\'e been doing things better than
we have in New England and that accounts for the hold that
they have over the New England farmer. With our posi-
tion 3,000 miles nearer than the orchards of the Pacific coast,
the New England farmers should hold the market here.

An acquaintance of mine, who has a large farm, told
me that he had four or five acres in CDrn and he had brought
it up by scientific farming so he had doubled the product
in five years and he did it by applying to the raising of cofd
the same knowledge that would be applied to any business^
problem,

James J. Hill and men of his character and foresight say
that we are not raising enough on the farm. That, in his
opinion, and I believe he is right in saying it, is the cause of
the higher cost of living.

It will be a part of your burden, not mine, to prevent
this, and to produce enough on your farms to counteract it.

RESPONSE OF PRESIDENT CLARK

I have listened with ga^eat pleasure to the kindly greet-
ing that the Mayor has given us. He has told us a good
deal of truth. It was a talk that we can take home with us
and think over, because we in New England are often a
little slow, but I hope we are waking up.

Our society was organized here 15 years ago and I think
we have not disgraced your city to any great extent. We
have enjoyed our meetings very much and I would like to
say this in regard to our society and what we have done. Our
society was organized in 1895 ; eleven men met here and
talked over the advisability of forming a fruit growers' so-
ciety and from that this orgapization was formed and those
who have been here year after year know what our work
has been. We have tried to show how to grow better fruit
and how to handk it so it would go on the market and bring-
better prices. But the fruit business from then until now
has changed almost entirely. The great fruit industry of the
"wiest has eom<» since then but the show we had in BostoB

127

last fall opened our eyes and has shown us that we can
here in New England produce fruit equal and even betteV
in quality than they can in the west, and at that show
there was fruit that we need not be ashamed to place be-
side any other. In New England we have produced fruit
almost in spite of ourselves. If we should give the same-
care that the western people give to their fruit, we
have fruit that will keep as well — perhaps not as high color
and perhaps a little undersize — but if we put the Avork into
it, it will be equal to the western fruit.

And now I want this organization to do something more
than we have. We, as an organization have no funds — all
we have is membership fees and they do not amount enough
to carry on this meeting and publish the annual report. K
we had money enough to go out over the state and get peo-
ple interested, we could do great things. Let us do outside
work for the society and help the cause of fruit growing.

The Secretary, Treasurer and acting Auditor then read
their reports which were accepted. Committee reports were
then in order.

Keport of the Committee to cooperate with the General
Committee of the N. E. Fruit Show.

This committee met with the officers of the show after
they had organized, though it Avas expected that it should
have some voice in the preliminary organization. Offer
was made of assistance in a limited way but the only thing
that could be done was to donate the sum of $50 for prem-
iums.

This was offered as follows:

CLASS B. SEC. 1.

For the best and most tastefully arranged exhibit
packed for retail trade ; at least three kinds of fruit by a
member of the M. F. G. A, Package and arrangement at
discretion of exhibitor.

1st Premium $20.00

2nd Premium 15.00

128

SEC 2.

For best 10 Plate Collection grown by a member of M.
F. G. A.

1st Premium $15.00

Only one premium was awarded, that to Mr. George
S. Knapp of Groton of See. 2 $15.00. The balance of the
appropriation not being called for, the money remains in
the treasury.

APPLE DAY MEETINGS

At the suggestion of several members, two apple day
meetings Avere held in cooperation with Granges, one at
Framingham, Feb. 16th, and one at Ayer, Feb. 18th.

At Framingham about 100 were present. The principal
addresses were given by Miss Mildred Maddocks of Foxboro
upon the subject of "Apples for Food and Health," and by
Mr. Harold L. Frost of Arlington on ' * Spraying and Spraying
Appliances." "Lessons from the N. E. Fruit Show" were
discussed by the President, J. Lewis Ellsworth, Jonathan
Eames and Monroe Morse. This was a \'ery instructive
meeting. Framingham Grange provided a generous dinner,
for which the small charge of twenty-five cents was made.

At Ayer a much larger meeting was held, about 200 be-
ing present. Miss Maddocks and Mr. Frost were the princi-
pal speakers, discussing the same subjects as at Framingham.
An apple dinner was provided by the local grange mem-
bers, all dishes containing apple in some form. This meet-
ing was reported as very instructive and a great success in
every way.

A rising vote of thanks was given to the speakers and
others who helped make the meeting a success.

For these two meetings we are indebted to the State
Board of Agriculture for the payment of one speaker at each.

COLLECTION OF ANNUAL DUES
In years past there has been more or less difficulty in
collecting dues and membership fees, from the fact that the

129

secretary has been occupied in making records and looking
after many details of the meetings, and a great many friends
attending were not given an opportunity to become members
or pay the annual dues. To remedy this evil two tellers were
appointed by the chair who quietly passed among the audi-
ence and gave everyone an opportunity to become members.
This resulted in about 40 new members and the payment of
dues by a much larger number than usual. This practice
should be continued.

Pres. Clark then introduced Miss Haddocks of Foxboro,
who gave the following lecture :

APPLES FOR FOOD AND HEALTH

Miss Mildred Maddocks, Former Culinary Editor of Good
Housekeeping

The cost of living is a pertinent question. For centuries
the housewife has struggled alone with her individual prob-
lem. Today it is an issue for the trained economist as well
as the housekeeper ; this grave question of demand and sup-
ply; of food materials, whose production has not kept pace
with the increasing numbers of people demanding to be sup-
plied ; and the rise in prices, which has been the result, in
part, of this lack of production.

Doubtless there are grave faults of trust and tariff, but
a third factor should not be forgotten; the extravagancies
and increasing extravagance of the American people. A re-
cent writer has pithily parodied, "Of the three grave faults:
trusts, tariff and extravagance, the greatest of these is ex-
travagance."

Yes, the cost and increasing cost of food is important.
But it is of vastly more importance to the housekeeper and
her family that she have a knowledge of foods and food val-
ues which shall make her in part independent of the foods
which soar.

It is a pitiful fact that the increased cost of living falls
most heavily upon those who of necessity have shorn their
diet of all save the simple necessities. The table luxuries of
the wealthy are cheaper today than ever before. But flour,
milk, sugar, and eggs if fresh, are luxuries now to many. A
moment's thought, will show, I believe, that a better know-

130

ledge of market gardening and fruit culture has brought a
class of foods, formerly but little used, within the reach of
the average table allowance. Celery, lettuce, fruits and
market produce are plentiful and cheap compared to markets
and prices ten years ago.

It may be possible that Americans are in process of
adjusting their dietary to a condition of affairs based, it seems
to me, primarily upon the tremendous influx of country folk
and foreigners into the cities, and the opening, through rap-
id transit and refrigerating facilities, of the food markets of
the world. Never before has the housekeeper had such a va-
riety from which to choose for her family. And the question
rapidly becomes : does she choose wisely under these new
conditions. Standards have changed to keep pace with mod-
ern living: formerly the housekeeper who could prepare pal-
atably the produce of the farm had fulfilled her duty as a
food economist. Today, far more is involved : The house-
keeper is seeking to know the relative cost and nutritive val-
ue of foods. She wants to know the different needs of the
child and the old person; the student and the laborer; the
sick and the well — for they all have their varying needs.
More, she is inquiring the meaning of "balanced ration."
"What are "food principles," she asks, "and how can I make
the technical and involved science of diet common, practical
and of service to my family," and unless it can be made of
service in the homes of the people, it has no excuse for being.

Our subject this morning is: "Apples for Food and
Health." But I am asking you first to follow me through a
brief, general description of nutrition and foods, that we
may more clearly see the exact and valuable place that this
fruit should take in the dietary.

First then — what is food? And the answer is roughly:
Anything which will form tissue or fluids, repair waste, store
up fat or energy or protect, by being consumed itself, the ac-
tual tissues of the body from being consumed.

That is what food does, and to do it, food must be made
up of one or more of five food principals, of which the first
and foremost is water.

Next only in importance, for without it there could be
no growth, is "proteid," or tissue forming material. Per-
haps the purest natural form is found in the white of an egg.
Meat also has a large proportion, while milk, cheese, fish,
peas, beans, lentils and nuts are all tissue builders.

131

Cereals contain some proteid, but are not nearly so val-
uable a proteid source as advertisements have led one to
think. Uncle Sam now, through the food laws, exercises
some jurisdiction over extravagant labels, and many of the
prepared cereals have been forced to markedly modify their
claims.

Next comes a group of heat and energy givers, the
starches and sugars, and I use the plural because there are
many kinds which the microscope and polariscope have re-
vealed to the scientist. They cannot build or repair tissue,
but they can furnish heat and energy for the body needs and
are as fat stored up to save the tissues from being consumed
at some future time of need.

The fats are another great group, and their special duty
seems to be to furnish a quick fuel. It is odd — but fats are
seldom or never stored in the body as fats, their quick ener-
gy is too valuable, and the slower starches and sugars are
used for this purpose. Fats are for warmth then, as the nat-
ural diet of all folks in cold climates will show. Finally must
be considered, a small group seemingly unimportant, but
whose work is to keep the whole machinery of nutrition
moving smoothly, and I speak now of the salts and fruit and
vegetable acids which go to make up the mineral matter in
foods.

Food, then, must be made up of one or more of these
five food principles: Water for the fluids of the body; Pro-
teid for tissue building and repairing; Starches, Sugars and
Fats for heat and energy, and the ]\Iineral Salts to preserve
the proper density of the body fluids, that actual nutrition
may take place.

Again, we must consider the proper proportion of food
principles for the balanced ration. Age, climate, sex, and
occupation all affect this, but even a limited knowledge of
the proper proportion of foods should be of service to the
housekeeper as she goes to market. Many housekeepers err
from lack of protein: starchy foods for breakfast; again
they take the important place at noon and still again at
night, when green vegetables and fruits might well be sub-
stituted.

As a result of a long series of experiments conducted at
Middletown, Conn., by the government, we have a number
of standard dietaries to fit the varying needs induced by age,
sex, climate and occupation.

132

We will choose a woman in our own temperate climate
in good health, and doing a moderate amount of work. She
needs 3 1-2 ounces each of fat and proteid, and nearly 11
ounces of starches and sugars. It is found that a man needs
slightly more food than a woman, and the average house-
keeper has already stored away this information from her
own experience. And, that a man doing hard work needs
more, especially of the energy giving foods, than the man
doing little or no actual work.

Children need slightly more of easily digested proteids,
because we must not forget that this is a season of growth
for them. Very old people need less food and should have
simple and easily digested foods.

But someone has said, "It is not what we eat, but what
we digest, that really matters." In this age of food fads
it seems fair to speak a word on the subject.

True, it matters little if a food contains a large per cent,
of nourishing food materials if they cannot be digested.
Aside, then, from the nutritive content of foods, we must
■consider the digestive value.

Baked beans contain practically as much proteid as
beef, but the indigestible, woody fibre of the outside coating
makes them far less easily digested than broiled or roasted
beef. In general, all vegetable proteids as in peas and beans
and nuts are less easily digested than the animal proteids.
This does not mean they should not be used — far from it —
but it does explain why the lumberman in the logging-camp
with his healthful, out-door life, thrives on a diet of baked
beans and pork, while the professional man at his desk must
forego even the luxury of his Saturday night baked beans,
so dear to the heart of every true New Englander.

An easy method of classifying foods for the use of the
housewife groups them into the following classes:

Light Tissue Builders: This includes foods which con-
tain proteid in some easily digested form, and the group is
to be used with young children, invalids, and with people
generally who lead a quiet, indoor life.

The Hearty Tissue Builders are for general use with
all healthy folk, including older children, who get plenty of
■exercise in the outdoor air .

The Hearty Heat and Energy Givers are less easily di-
gested than the Light Heat Givers, and both classes are for
use as the tissue-building foods of the same class.

133

The Foods for Bulk do not have in every case much
actual nourishment, but, nevertheless, are of great value in
the diet. For, if all foods were completely digested, the large
intestine would have great difficulty in emptying itself.

The Complete Foods are not strictly accurate in name.
It means merely that either naturally or by combination
in cookery all of the food principles are present and in fairly
good proportion: beans and brown bread are an instance;
they furnish proteid in beans, starch and some proteid in
bread and fat in the pork cooked with the beans.

The Appetizers are an important group. Pickles and
relishes and the clear soups, etc., are included. They make
the meal palatable and thus increase the digestive value,
and, in consequence, the nutritive value of the whole meal.
Two other groups. Light and Hearty Desserts, are ex-
plained in their very names. The former is to be used after
a hearty meal, the latter very often will make a slender
luncheon substantial in food value.

To the readers of Good Housekeeping these lists have
been familiar. They are not ideal, by any means, but the
system was evolved to make it practical for the housewife
who wished to plan healthful, well-balanced meals, and yet
did not have the time to study deeply into the science of diet-
etics.

In making these groups, the amount of the various food
principles actually contained is first considered, next its
digestibility, and this often determines whether it should be
used by the hearty folk of out of door, who, after all, need
little consideration save that they get enough, or by the
more limited and quiet people.

Finally, the method of cookery is considered. A baked
potato can take rank among the light heat-givers, while its
fried brother must be grouped with the hearty heat-givers.

Now what place, you ask, does the apple take in these
food lists ? And I ask you to carefully examine the lists fol-
lowing, and you will see that depending upon the method
and ingredients used in cooking, apples may fairly be ranked
in every class.

Light Heat and Energy Givers :

Baked Apples

Plain Apples

Stewed Apples, with prunes or raisins or datea

134

Hearty Heat and Energy Givers:

Fried Apples with bacon
Apple Brown Bread

Light Tissue Builders :

Baked Apples with nuts
Hearty Tissue Builders :

Apple Sausage (pork and apple) .
Foods Useful for Bulk :

Plain Apples
Baked Apples

Appetizers :

Raw Apples

Complete Foods :

Apple, nut and celery salad
Escalloped meat with Apple
Apple Pie with cheese

Light Desserts:

Apple Snow
Dutch Apple Cake
Brown Betty

Hearty Desserts:

Apples baked with nuts and maple sugar
Baked Apple Ice Cream
Apple Pie with cheese

The modern Apple, the product of cultivation and se-
lection, bears little relation either in flavor or food value, to
the woody, acid fruit the Virginia Colonists found growing
in the woods when they arrived in America.

The apple owes its popularity undoubtedly to its de-
lightful flavor which yet to the apple lover is varied with
every variety of apple. This flavor in turn is due to the pres-
ence of malic acid and to a number of subtle perfume-like
compounds called ethereal salts. The commonest is vanillin,
the characteristic flavor of vanilla.

Chemists have learned so much concerning these ethers

135

that they can exactly imitate many of them in the laboratory,
and that is why we have artificial vanilla and banana ex-
tracts. But Nature, after all, is a more subtle chemist, there-
fore her compound is finer tasting, more delicate in flavor;
while man makes but a harmless, cheaper substitute. I
speak particularly of these flavor compounds, because, while
of no actual nutritive value, they still bring the food contain-
ing them mider the group of appetizers.

For centuries, people have eaten apples because "they
taste good." They are eating more today than ever before,
because they tas'e better than ever before. Decidedlj^ a
food that is palatable is more valuable than one of the same
food value, which yet is not palatable.

As apples ripen they change appreciably in composition.
The woody fibre of the green appl-e, becomes first starch, then
sugar; the puckery acid becomes smaller in quantity and
thus less biting, while Die gum-like substance called pectin,
which becomes jelly on cooking, disappears entirely after the
fruit is fully ripened.

This latter point is of interest to the housekeeper. Be-
cause of it, she will choose unripe fruit for jelly making, and
ripe fruit when there is the largest amount of sugar present
for bottling as fruit juices.

As one would expect, apples contain a fairly large per
cent, of water : 84.6 parts. The next largest, in quantity, are
the sugars, of which there are 13 parts. Apples contain a
small amount of proteid substance, in the form of albumen
.4 of one part ; of fat 1.5 parts ; while mineral salts furnish .3
of one part. The whole placed in thi? bomb calorimeter will
yield 290 calories for every pound.

Dried or evaporated apples are of course more concen-
trated: they contain only 26.1 parts of water; 1.6 parts of
proteid, 62 parts of sugar, and 2 parts of mineral ash. When
this is burned in the bomb calorimeter, one pound will yield
1,350 calories, or almost as much as a pound of pure starch.
But it must not be forgotten that dried apples, as dried beans,
peas or meat, are seldom or never eaten in this concentrated
form, and when ready for the table are little if any richer
than the natural forms. A disregard of this fact may be
responsible for various misleading statements in regard to
relative food values.

Notice is called to one other apple analysis, namely, ap-
ple sauce: water 61.1 par's; proteid .2 of one part; fat .8 of

-136

one part; sugar 37:2 parts, and mineral ash .7 of one part.
One pound of this burns to yield 730 calories.

Compare this with an analysis of another common food,
cabbage :

Cabbage Apple Sauce
Water 91.5 61.1

Proteid 1.6 .2

Fat .3 .8

Carbo-hydt 5.6 37.2

Ash 1. .7

One pound of cabbage burned in the calorimeter only
yields 145 calories against 730 calories for apple sauce
sweetened for serving. Which, then, has more value as a
food?

Cooking changes the composition of the apple in three
ways. Because there is present an acid — malic or apple acid
— the woody fibre is changed to some extent by the heat, and
the acid together to a sugar exactly as the manufacturer
makes glucose out of cornstalks or potatoes and sulphuric
acid. Moreover, that portion of the woody fibre which is not
changed, is so softened as to be more easily digested. Again,
sugar added for sweetening makes the resulting baked or
stewed apple proportionately richer as a food.

The raw apple, by actual experiment under the super-
vision of Uncle Sam, is one of the most completely digested
of all fruits, but an apple baked without sugar is easier for
an invalid to assimilate because the tough fibre has been
softened. If baked with sugar it is not so easy of digestion.
Something depends also upon the ripeness of the apple. A
mellow sour apple was digested in two hours, a mellow sweet
apple in one and one-half hours.

In this experiment the sweet apple was more quickly
digested, but if you have proved to your satisfaction that the
sour apple digests more completely and more comfortably —
why — ignore this data for the personal equation, though a
mysterious one, is too important a factor to be ignored in
dietics. "What is one man's meat is another man's poison,"
may be set down as an axiom in the science of diet.

When apples are used in pies and puddings, their nu-
tritive value is greatly increased, and as in apple pie and
cheese a well balanced food is often the result.

It is commonly believed that these pies and puddings

137

are less easily digested, and for that reason should be seldom^
used. On the contrary they prove to be as completely digest-
ed as the simpler forms, and are surely sufficiently easy of
digestion for the normal healthy organism. They are too
valuable a food source to be neglected. For, unless diges-
tion is weakened, there is only harm to be gained from choos-
ing too easily digested foods. Malted and predigested foods
of all kinds, often so widely advertised, have this grave dis-
advantage. "While of distinct benefit to the invalid, they do
not sufficiently exercise the normal digestive functions of
the body, when in health.

What do apples cost in comparison with other foods ?

Where apples can be purchased at 90 cents a bushel, T
find they compare favorably with potatoes at the same price.

I use this price merely because it is a convenient one-
for purposes of comparison, and without regard to present
market prices. If you are paying twice as much or half as
much for apples you can easily reckon the cost to you of
serving apples.

In the meal at which baked apples, served with pork,,
took the place of potatoes, I found that the apples cost prac-
tically the same and furnished nearly as much nutriment as
did the potatoes. Rice, plain boiled, was used to furnish the
extra starch needed.

By actual analysis 10 cents, worth of apples at 90 cents-
a bushel will yield 1,467 calories; potatoes 2,068, bread 2,430,
sirloin steak 440 and celery 140 calories.

But as was previously noted, the caloric system is not
fair to the proteid foods, and this explains the seeming low
value of beef steak. Apples, then we find, do compare favor-
ably with other foods of similar food value in the matter of
price.

An interesting series of experiments was carried on in-
the interests of the small boy and the green apple.

German scientists analj'zed green apples and ate green^
apples, and finally came to tlie following learned conclusions..
That there was no deadly something in green apples, which
was not also present in ripe apples, and that the injurious
effects from eating green apples arose from the large amount
of hard fibre present, and the imperfect chewing, while pos-
sibly the larger amount of acid present caused some difficul-
ty. No tests have yet convicted the green apple of harboring:"

138

a chance bacterium, which may cause the trouble, though
this possibility must present itself to the mind.

In any event, cooking of the green fruit removes all
dangers, and the green apple safely tucked between two
tender crusts of pastry becomes the friend, not enemy, of
the small boy, and his father.

It has been the common thought that fruit (and I am
speaking particularly of that king of fruits, the apple) was
of no value save for its pleasant flavor.

But in the face of the evidence presented, I ask you de-
liberately to change your minds if such be your thought, for
apples do really furnish an increasingly valuable source of
food material.

Statistics, which I acknowledge are dry things, show
that fruit, and of this 83 per cent, must be reckoned apples,
in 1900 furnished the average American with 3.7 per cent, of
his total supply of starch and sugar. And my authority for
this statement is Uncle Sam himself

Moreover, at the California Experiment Station a series
of experiments was conducted, which proved beyond a
doubt that a man could do work and gain one-half pound
in four days on a ration of apples, bananas and walnuts.
This series of tests does not seek to prove that this is an
ideal diet — far from it — it merely points out that fruit
should no longer be neglected as an actual food source.

No — apples may fairly be ranked with green vegetables
.and root crops. They are real sources of energy.

Aside, however, from their food value, they are of
definite and hygienic service. Apples are laxative. This
is due to the large amount of water present, to the mineral
salts and finally and most important to the crude fibre
which cannot be digested and therefore acts as a stimulant
to the intestinal walls.

Finally and to sum up — apples are a dilute but actual
food. They contain mineral matter Avhich is of value to
blood and bone. They are bulky and therefore stimulate
what might be a sluggish intestine. They are an economical
source of energy and they are good to eat.

Eat apples then for food, eat apples for hygiene and
finally and oftenest eat that king of fruits for — pleasure.

i39

DISCUSSION

Quest. Does cooking the apple add to its value?

Miss Maddoeks : It does not change its composition.
Does not change the actual food value of the apple except
as its availability is changed.

Quest. Should apples be eaten at the beginning or at
the end of a meal ?

It makes very little difference, providing the consumer
is well. Fruit eaten alone is always of more value than
when taken with other food.

Quest. Is anything beside water lost in drying apples?

Very little.

Quest. Is there any difference in the value of the dif-
ferent varieties?

There has not been enough experimental work with
apples to determine that accurately.

Quest. Is it a good plan to eat four apples a day?

In any concentrated diet apples form an ideal food.

Quest. Should apples be eaten in the morning or at
night ?

Perhaps better at night, because immediateh^ after
mating them there will be no added food.

]\Ir. Wheeler. It is about time we started out on a cam-
paign of educating people to eat our fruit. We must do
this if we are to grow enough apples in New England to
amount to anything. We are allowing the other parts of
the country to get ahead of us in the production of fruit
and we must create a market by creating a greater demand
and we should have more lectures of this sort and invite
the public in. It is for our interest to start this kind of a
campaign in New England.

Quest. Is there any limit to the number of apples that
a person might eat 'in a day ?

That is a hard question.

Quest. Does pastry have any evil effect on the con-
sumer ?

I claim that apple pie and cheese is an ideal food to be
taken after a light meal.

Quest. Is it better to eat apples after a meal or before?

You can eat more before than after a meal. If you eat
apples instead of potatoes, you have less appetite for po-
tatoes and your apples have done you as much good.

140

Quest. But children can eat four to twenty apples-
and still eat just as much dinner?

Standard diets are made up of what we need, not what
we want.

Mr. "Whitney : As to the number of apples, I think four
is a conservative estimate. I would advocate eating: two
apples either before or after each meal, six apples for the
average normal person. Better substitute apples for cab-
bage.

Quest. Have apple seeds ever been analyzed?

No, but the seeds of all fruits are more concentrated
than the fruit itself.

Quest. If a healthy person were to eat freely of ap-
ples in the evening would it have any detrimental effect?

Not if the person was in normal condition.

Is it all right to eat the peel of the apple?

If you can do it and it is clean, it is all right.

Quest. Regarding the amount and number of apples:
I want to get at the amount that the ordinary individual
might take and keep in good health?

The only limit, I should say, would be the pocket book.
It seems to me that the American people are more careful of
feeding their stock to attain a certain result than they are
in feeding their own families.

Quest. Does the apple aid in the digestion of other
foods when taken at the beginning of a meal; for instance,
in the morning would two or three apples aid in the di-
gestion of other foods?

The use of the apple in that respect would be the same
as a glass of cool water.

Quest. I would like to ask how many in this hall have
eaten an apple today. (About three-quarters had done so.)

Mr. I have not listened to a lecture like this

before. He would be a good physician who could tell us
all the effects of fruit on the human system. I think that
the medicinal value of an apple is not understood today. A
iew years ago, I was confined in a city office and had only
a half hour at noon ; eating hurriedly as I was obliged to
brought on severe liver trouble for which I took a great
deal of medicine. I at last decided that I did not need any
more medicine but began to use apples, and in a short time
was cured. There is more medicinal value in one apple than
in a whole shelf of drugs from a drug store. I have enjoyed

141

this lecture and would like to have it supplemented by a
lecture on fruit by a physician.

A committee of five was appointed to bring in nomina-
tions for officers for 1911 and the meeting adjourned for
dinner.

AFTERNOON SESSION

The meeting was called to order and the nominating
-committee reported the list as found on the second page of
the report with the exception of the Secretary-Treasurer.
Past Secretary Charles A. Whitney of Upton being unable
to serve in that capacity F. Howard Brown of Marlboro
-was substituted. It was moved that one ballot be cast and
the list was elected for the ensuing year.

Pres. Clark then introduced Dr. Felt of Albany.

FRUIT TREE INSECTS AND THEIR CONTROL

E. P. Felt, State Entomologist of New York

The production of perfect fruit is the ambition of every
progressive grower. Our friends of the extreme west, es-
pecially those residing in Oregon, have obtained remarkable
results and, as a consequence, Oregon apples are frequently
cited as the desirable standard and the fruit sold at record
prices. This follows upon the adoption of the very latest
and best methods and is not due to any great extent to the
absence of insect pests. These results are impossible with
fruit discolored by San Jose scale, disfigured by the codling
moth or apple worm, dwarfed and gnarled by plant lice or
Tendered distasteful by the numerous brown "railroads"
of the apple maggot. "We propose to discuss briefly some of
the more important of our insect pests, giving particular
attention to recent developments and making an earnest
endeavor to emphasize the practical aspects of the situation.

SAN JOSE SCALE

The first insect pest to receive attention in the spring is
the San Jose scale, a species which has become established
here and there in our fruit growing sections, and one
fcaown to ;be generally distributed in a number of localities.

142

The experience of the last decade has demonstrated the-
feasibility of controlling this pest, not only in young or-
chards where spraying is comparatively easy, but also on
older trees where size, proximity and an uneven surface
all contribute to increase the difficulties. Most of our fruit
growers recall the tense condition of the earlier days with-
their discussions of whale oil soap, kerosene and crude oils
and their emulsions and mechanical dilutions, accompanied
by numerous experiments, trials and applications, some of
which can hardly be considered conservative. Limoid, once
the center of the stage, is now only a memory. The lime-
sulfur and salt preparation has been succeeded by the lime-
sulfur wash, while the earlier commercial products have
been replaced by the highly charged and, for the most j)art,
very efficient commercial preparations sold under various
trade names. The mechanical mixtures of oils have in-
turn been displaced by the so-called "soluble" or miscible-
oils and several excellent brands are now upon the market.
Fifteen years' experience, accompanied by many trials
here and there throughout the fruit growing sections, ought
to justify certain conclusions. One of the earliest infesta-
tions by this pest in the East was on the farm of Mr. L. L.
Morrell of Kinderhook, N. Y., who at that time possessed
a relatively small, old orchard and a large number of vig-
orous, recently set trees. The latter were very severely in-
jured and naturally received first attention, Avhile the old
trees, showing signs of distress later, were mostly ignored-
The large trees have been destroyed, while the young trees,
despite their having been badly infested and at times in bad
shape, are now in a thriving condition and the once dreaded
scale well under control. The handling of this pest in an.
old orchard is admittedly much more difficult, yet the ex-
perience of Mr. W. H, Hart of Arlington, N. Y., has demon-
strated the practieabiKty of combating this scale on large-
trees. It was a case of fight or Ibse the orchard. At one
time the writer saw most of the upper fourth of many of
the trees dead or dying from scale injury. Acting upon the
hint and possibly aided in this respect by the work of the-
pest, Mr. Hart began cutting out the tops in an effort to
bring all limbs within reach of his spray, applied from the
ground, since the uneven surface of the orchard prevented
the successful employment of a tower. In a few instances,
limbs three inches or more int diameter were removed. The*

143

trees are now in full vigor and, from a distance give few
signs of the severe heading back of several years ago. Last
fall they were heavily laden with excellent fruit and were
practically free from scale, except individuals here and
there which could not be thoroughly sprayed owing to one
cause or another. It must be admitted that these desirable
results were obtained only after years of patient trial, and
even then might have failed had the execution of the task
been in the hands of a less determined or less conservative-
man.

This large fruit grower has taken a practical experi-
mental course with mechanical mixtures of crude oil, the
home-made lime-sulfur wash, the Cordley lime-sulfur wash
and the commercial lime-sulfur wash. It has been found
that the applications of oil while beneficial, were not so
uniformly successful as the lime-sulfur preparations. Ex-
perience soon showed that the keynote of success lay in the
thoroughness of application and that the latter could be
secured only under certain favorable conditions. It has
been Mr. Hart's invariable practice for some years, to
spray the trees with winds from opjDOsite directions, and
whenever this has been possible the results have been most
satisfactory. Occasionally adverse winds have hindered
the work, and invariably the partly sprayed trees became
badly infested and, in some instances, rather seriously in-
jured before the close of the season. These results were ob-
taind not only upon the somewhat resistant Baldwins, but
also with the Ben Da,vis, a variety very subject to scale in-
jury. Mr. Hart is convinced that under his conditions at
least, it is almost imperative to have some material whichr
can be applied the moment weather conditions are favor-
able, and thus avoid the initial delay incident to a some-
what prolonged boiling of the home-made material. Last
spring he tested the Cordley formula making it up in ad-
vance, and also used one of the commercial lime-sulfur
washes. Both were so successful that they will be tried
out on a larger scale another season.

There is no longer any question as to the practicability
of controlling San Jose scale provided the work is thorough-
ly done and satisfactory materials employed. There is some
difference of opinion as to the relative value of the various
preparations now used for this purpose. Those not meet-
ing the demands of fruit growers have been ruthlessly dis-

144

'Carded. Accepting these practical tests under all kinds of
•conditions as a fair standard for determining efficiency, we
must conclude that the lime-sulfur wash still stands as the
best remedy for controlling San Jose scale. There is no
doubt as to the value of the home-boiled mixture. It has
given excellent results under a great variety of conditions.
The more recent Cordley formula* is coming to the front in
a most promising manner, while the standard commercial
preparations appear to be equally satisfactory. There is
still some question as to which formula is the most econom-
ical and can be relied upon in the long run to give the best
results. The desirability of making some modifications
while important, should not prevent the employment of
the standard lime-sulfur washes. One can hardly err if
he uses a good lime-sulfur wash and makes a thorough ap-
plication.

A word as to materials. Experience has shown that
the powdered commercial sulfur, 99.5 per cent, pure is as
•efficacious as the more costly though finer, sublimed flowers
• of sulfur. It is advisable to use a pure lime, 90 per cent,
calcium oxide and thus escape trouble with sediment. Mag-
nesium lime is unsatisfactory, since the oxide does not com-
bine readily with sulfur to form efficacious sulfides similar
to those of the lime-sulfur wash. The presence of quan-
tities of magnesium lime is indicated by the giving off, dur-
ing the process of boiling, of hydrogen sulfid, a somewhat
-poisonous gas having an odor similar to that of rotten eggs.
Commercial lime-sulfur washes should not be purchased un-
less accompanied by a guaranty and should give a Beaume
-reading of about 33 per cent. Such a wash may be diluted
with 8 parts of water. Recent experiments have shown
that the sediment found in some of these commercial washes

♦This wash may be prepared by slaking 60 lbs. of good lime
in a small quantity of water in a 75 gal. cooking vessel and stir-
ring in 125 lbs. of sulfur previously made into a paste; then add
45 gals, of water and boil rapidly for one or two hours or till
practically all the sediment has disappeared; dilute to 50 gals,

'The clear liquid should test 25° on the Beaume scale. This wash
may be kept indefinitely, and just prior to application it should
be diluted with 5 1-2 times its volume of water or till the diluted
mixture gives a reading on the Beaume scale of about 4 1-2°. It
is also well to add at this time, without increasing the dilution, the
soluble portion of 6 lbs. of good stone lime in the form of milk

4)f lime for each 50 gallons of spray.

145

has very little or no insecticidal value. Therefore, a clear
solution, so far as commercial preparations are concerned,
is the most profitable investment. A variation of 1° on the
Beaume scale means a difference in value of about 40c. if a
50 gallon barrel giving a Beaume reading of 33° is worth
$10.00.

There are conditions where it may not be advisable to
employ the lime-sulfur wash, as for example, in the vicin-
ity of painted dwellings or fences. Furthermore, some par-
ties are very susceptible to the caustic action of a lime-sul-
fur wash. The miscible or so-called "soluble" oils, now
on the market under various trade names, require dilution
only before application, and have given very successful re-
sults in the hands of some growers. They are certainly
worthy of trial under conditions named above. Injurv from
some of these materials has been reported from time to
time, though at least one manufacturer claims that nothing
of the kind has occurred in recent years when the applica-
tions have been made according to directions. It is never-
theless safer to use a material which can hardly cause injury
under any conditions, and which appears to give more satis-
factory results, all things considered. These reasons lead
us to give a marked preference to the lime-sulfur com-
pounds.

CODLING MOTH

The codling moth is one of the most ancient enemies of
fruit. It is surprising how well satisfied certain fruit grow-
ers are to obtain 50 to 60 per cent, of worm free apples.
There have been in recent years some very strong statements
made in favor of employing a rather coarse spray and an
unusually high pressure in an effort to drive the poison into
the lower calyx cavity, that is, the cavity below the stamens.
It is hardly necessary to remind fruit growers that after
the white petals have dropped we have the green calyx
lobes and within a ring of numerous upright, slender sta-
mens surrounding the central, fleshy pistil. Below the sta-
mens and at the base of the pistil there is an appreciable cav-
ity. This is the place, according to some authors, where
the poison must be put if we would obtain fairly satisfac-
tory results. One writer has even gone so far as to state
that if spraying is not done in this manner, the small apple
worm is fairly safe, since it rarely feeds before it gets down

146

into the lower cup and that the poison sprayed on the out-
side will therefore not affect it. The claims for this method
of spraying were so strong that the problem seemed one
worthy of careful demonstration, and the writer therefore
planned and conducted a series of experiments for the pur-
pose of obtaining data upon this proposition.

Nearly ideal conditions were found in the large, young
orchard of Mr. W. H. Hart, Arlington, N. Y. The thrifty
trees were about 15 years old, 15 to 18 feet high and 30 feet
apart. Each plot included 42 trees, six in a row one way
and seven in a row the other way, the central six being
experimental trees and invariably Baldwins, though some
of the barrier trees were Northern Spys. The actual exper-
imental trees were carefully selected to obtain uniformity
in size, fruitage and infestation as far as possibel. There
appeared to be a moderately uniform codling moth infesta-
tion throughout the orchard, an opinion sustained later by
the results secured. Our plan was to make comparisons
between a coarse, driving spray such as that produced by
a typical Bordeaux nozzle with a pressure of about 150
pounds, and the finer, misty spray of a Vermorel nozzle
with a pressure of approximately 125 pounds. A Friend
nozzle was used as one of the better representatives of the
Vermorel type. There were comparisons betAvcen single
sprays of each of the above mentioned kinds, applied just
after the blossoms fell, between two sprays of each kind,
one given just after the blossoms fell, and the second just
before the sepals closed, and finally, between two such
sprays and a* third applied to both of the plots alike, with
a Friend nozzle the last week in July for the purpose of.
destroying the second brood. The same nozzle was used
in midsummer on the two plots receiving three applica-
tions, because in this later spraying there was no necessity
for trying to drive the poison to the bottom of the calyx
cavity, and we simply employed the nozzle which gave the
most satisfactory distribution of the insecticide.

The Bordeaux nozzles were set to give a maximum of
rather coarse spray which would not break up into fine
drops till about six feet from the nozzle, and a special effort
was made to drive the poison straight down into the tip of
every young fruit, the nozzle being held about 18 to 24
inches from the tips of the branches so far as possible. This
coarse spray penetrated to the middle of the tree and re-

147

peatedly passed the stamens, collecting in the lower cavity,
especially during the first application at the time the sta-
mens were fresh. Later the stamen bars had withered a lit-
tle and an examination showed that the dried tips of these
organs were very likely to become entangled and present a
most effective barrier to the passage of the insecticide. In
practice it was found much more difficult to cover a tree
with the Bordeaux type of nozzle than it was with the much
broader and more evenly distributed spray delivered by
the Friend nozzle. The difference was so marked that much
greater care was necessary to secure equally thorough work
with the Bordeaux nozzle, though it should be noted that the
penetration from the Vermorel nozzle was not as greal, even
in the case of the first application at a time when conditions
were most favorable. The spray was applied by practical
orchardists working under expert supervision, a special ef-
fort being made to cover the entire tree, and particularly to
hit the tips of the young apples with the spray.

The trees \xere sprayed with 5 1-4 lbs. of Grasselli's
arsenate of lead, and 10 lbs. of copper sulfate to each 150
gals, of spray, enough lime being added to neutralize the
copper sulfate as determined by the Ferro-cyanide test.
The first application was made May 20, the second iMay 31
and the third July 28. Two check trees were left in the vi-
cinity of the experimental plots.

The fruit developed very satisfactorily throughout the
season, aside from somewhat severe injury by plantlice, a
factor hardly affecting the experiments with the codling
moth, though possibly reducing the percentage of wormy
apples, as will be pointed out later. Dropped apples were
collected September 13 and 14, carefully sorted and classi-
fied, and the fruit picked October 5 to 7 and likewise care-
fully sorted. It should be noted at the outset that the
dropped fruit from the various experimental plots gave
from 14.91 to 26.67 per cent, of wormy fruit, while the two
cheek trees had 73.91 and 81.02 per cent, respectively, of
^vormy fruit. These percentages, appljnng only to the
dropped fruit, are mostly interesting since they corroborate
a Avell known fact, namely, that a large proportion of the
dropped fruit is wormy.

A study of the results as a whole, is extremely inter-
esting. We find that the three plots sprayed with a Friend
nozzle produced 98.81 to 98.99 per cent, of worm free fruit,

148

the higher percentage being obtained on the plot receiving
three applications. In a like manner the three treated with
a Bordeaux nozzle yielded 98.55 to 99 per cent, worm-free
fruit, a slightly higher percentage, as in the preceding
group, being obtained on the plot receiving three applica-
tions. This apparent lack of material benefit resulting
from the second and third treatments, may be due in slight
measure to the fact that the plots sprayed but one produced
more apples than those receiving the second and third
sprayings, though the difference is not uniform, and the
variations between the percentages of worm-free fruit do
not coincide exactly with the difference in yield between
the various plots. For example, between plots 2 and 3 there
is a difference of only 636 apples out of approximately 10,-
000, a variation hardly large enough to materially influence
the percentage of worm-free fruit. This latter is only .06
per cent, in favor of the trees receiving three applications.
Similarly, on plots 4 and 5 there is a variation of but 1,030
out of approximately 10,000, and a difference in the per-
centage of worm-free fruit, of but .46 per cent, in favor of
the trees sprayed twice.

A comparison of the fruit on the maximum and mini-
mum trees, shows that in plot one the maximum tree, pro-
ducing 8,745 apples, yielded but .63 per cent, wormy fruit,
while the minimum tree, producing 2,507 apples, had 3.16
per cent. Similar results were obtained in other plots.
That these variations are mostly local and hardly of general
application, is shown by a study of all the plots. There
was, as pointed out previously, a remarkably uniform per-
centage of worm-free fruit throughout, despite the consid-
erable variation in product. The benefit resulting from one
or more thorough applications is shown by comparing the
percentage of worm-free fruit, 98.55 to 99 per cent, on the
sprayed trees, with that obtained on the two check trees,
namely, 72,73 per cent. It is thus seen that approximately
25 per cent, or a little more of the fruit may be protected
from codling moth injury by one application. The benefits
of the second or third application must of necessity be re-
stricted to reducing the infestation in the 1 or 1.5 per cent,
of wormy fruit remaining.

The study of the wormy fruit gives some interesting
data as to the point of attack, though very little can be
g^leaned therefrom in favor of using a coarse spray with a

149

heavy pressure, as compared with a finer spray and more
moderate power. In fact, it is impossible with an average
of only 1.45 to 2 per cent, of wormy fruit on the sprayed
plots, to obtain any very marked benefit. It was found that
on plots 1 to 3, 10 to 18.36 per cent, of all the wormy apples
were entered at the end, an average of 14 per cent, end
Avormy. Similarly, in the case of plots 4 to 6. the variation
was from 9.94 per cent, to 12.50 per cent, or an average of
11.50 per cent, of end wormy apples in the total infested.
Comparing these percentages with the 69.37 per cent, end
wormy of the infested apples on the two check trees, it will
be seen that the major proportion of the codling larvae de-
stroyed, must have been killed in or about the blossom end
because of the enormous reduction in the number of end
wormy apples. There is a slight percentage in favor of the
coarse spray with the Bordeaux nozzle. Comparing the to-
tals for plots 1 to 3 and 4 to 6 respectively, it is seen that riie
first sprayed with the Friend nozzle produced 50,173 apples,
98.87 per cent, being free from infestation, while the latter
sprayed with the Bordeaux nozzle yielded 47,298 apples,
and had 98.81 per cent, of worm-free fruit, a difference of
only .06 per cent, in favor of the finer spraying.

These experiments were duplicated in part in the or-
.chard of Mr. Edward VanAlstyne of Kinderhook, N. Y., and
very similar results obtained. The data justifies the ex-
pectation that, under normal conditions as they were found in
the Hudson valley at least, one thorough application of poi-
son within a week or ten days after the blossoms fall, should
result in protecting a very large percentage, 98 to 99 per.
cent, of the fruit, from codling moth injury. We would
emphasize the necessity of thorough work, though by this
we do not mean an effort to drive the poison into the lower
calyx cavity, desirable though this may be on theoretical
grounds, but thoroughness in covering the foliage, the
young fruit, and in particular the blossom end, a point fa-
vored, as our investigations show, by 37 to 69 per cent, of
the worms entering the apples. We Avould select a nozzle
giving the most uniform and rapid distribution of spray
without regard to penetration. This should not be under-
stood as discouraging the employment of high pressure,
since this is undoubtedly an important factor in thorough
and rapid work, the latter being extremely desirable on ac-
count of the limited time when successful applications may

I50

be made. We are satisfied that most excellent results can
be obtained where conditions permit the use of only moder-
ate pressures.

It should not be understood that the above conclusions
are unsubstantiated by other data. An outline of these
investigations was submitted at the recent meeting of the
American Association of Economic Entomologists. At that
session Prof. Rumsey of West Virginia stated that he had
obtained practically the same results, while Prof. Sander-
son of New Hampshire declared that our data agreed with
his investigations. It has long been recognized by ento-
mologists that the first spraying for the codling moth was
by far the most important. Some years ago Prof. E. D.
Ball of Utah, in an extended paper before the New York
meeting of the Economic Entomologists, demonstrated the
great utility of this application, not only in preventing
infestation by the first brood, but in reducing the numbers
of the second by destroying its progenitors.

A word as to the poison which may be used is perhaps
appropriate. Generally speaking, it will doubtless be found
that any one of the standard commercial preparations of
arsenate of lead, prepared especially for spraying, will give
very satisfactory results. This poison should be purchased
on a guaranty as to the amount of arsenic contained, since
there is considerable variation between the difi'erent brands.
It is not particularly profitable for the fruit groAvers to pay
for filler. It is the poison he is after. This is one of the
safest poisons so far as injury to vegetation is concerned,
that can be employed. Paris green will give excellent re-
sults provided it is not washed off by rains, while the arsen-
ite of lime* is one of our cheapest poisons. These two latter
should preferably be used with the Bordeaux mixture.

Our experience last year demonstrated the necessity of
very thorough work if the high percentages of worm-free
fruit cited above are to be obtained. One tree in a special

*Dissolve 1 lb. of white arsenic and 4 lbs. of sal soda (carbonate
of soda, washing soda) in 1 gal. of water, by boiling in an iron
vessel 15 minutes or till the arsenic dissolves, leaving only a little
muddy sediment. Add the water lost in boiling and use 1 pt. of
this stock solution to each 40 gals, of water, to which 2 lbs. of
freshly slaked lime have been added or, and the latter is vastly
preferable, a pint of the stock solution m.'iy be added to 40 gals, of
Bordeaux mixture.

151

plot, where the application was less thorough than on the
others, though not perceptible to the eye of a practical or-
chardist making the application, produced only 95.06 per
cent, of worm-free fruit. We would further suggest that
thoroughness in the distribution of the poison in an effort
to cover every portion of leaf and fruit with minute parti-
cles of spray, will, in the long run, prove more effective and
satisfactory than the application of large amounts of poison,
especially if the spray is used so liberally as to cause drip-
ping.

PLANT LICE

The past season was noteworthy because of the great
abundance of plantlice. Hordes" of these tiny weaklings
were extremely numerous on our fruit trees, seriously af-
fecting the foliage and in not a fcAV instances materially in-
fluencing the development of the fruit. There were many
complaints by fruit growers on account of the large number
of small apples. These latter were probably produced by
the plantlice or aphids being so abundant as to reduce the
vitality of the trees at the time the fruit was setting, to
such an extent^as to prevent the one or two early fertilized
blossoms of each cluster securing a sufficient start to out-
strip the others, and thus result in a large proportion of the
fruit dropping at the outset. Instead of the latter, a very
desirable and normal outcome, so many blossoms set that
the trees are unable, in large measure, to produce average
sized fruit. There was, as a consequence, very many small
apples and relatively few good sized to large, marketable
fruit. The extent of this was strikingly illustrated on the
experimental plots in the orchard of oMr. W. H. Hart, Ar-
lington, N. Y. The fruit of over 250 experimental trees,
distributed throughout the orchard and therefore repre-
sentative, when picked and carefully classified, showed that
in approximately 100,000 apples there were only 54,845
marketable fruit, many of these being rather small, while
41,982 apples were so small as to be practically unmarket-
able. This small fruit, popularly designated by many grow-
ers as "aphis apples," was easily recognized by its small
size and frequently irregular shape. It was estimated by
one of the fruit groM^ers that in the vicinity of Poughkeep-
sie, approximately 33 per cent, of the crop was thus affect-
ed, though this figure may be somewhat high. Similar in-

152

jury was very prevalent in orchards in western New York.

Three species of aphis are likely to occur upon our
fruit trees in early spring. The European grain aphis* is a
general feeder, having been recorded as occurring upon ap-
ple, pear, quince and plum, and such grains as rye, oats and
wheat. This insect winters as jet black eggs deposited by
the females in the fall around the buds of the more terminal
shoots, in crevices at the crotches of limbs, and under scales
of the bark. The eggs hatch about the time the young
leaves appear, and the small, green plantlice begin to feed
upon the unfolding foliage. These early individuals soon
produce living young, the latter shortly attaining maturity,
devoloping wings and flying to other trees. This species is
most easily recognized by the oval, yellowish green or
brown body. There may be four or five generations in the
latitude of Washington, and by early July the trees are de-
serted for the grains, grasses or other host plants, a return
migration to the apple occuring in the fall.

The green apple aphis°, like the preceding, passes the
winter as black eggs. The plant louse has a pear-shaped,
yellowish green, green or dark green body instead of the
oval form of the European grain aphis. The eggs hatch a
little later than those of the preceding species. This plant
louse frequently causes serious curling of tlie foliage. It
may occur upon the trees throughout the season, and in New
Jersey, at least, may produce six generations.

The rosy apple aphis** is distinguished from the preced-
ing by its larger size, rounder shape and usually rosy color,
though this latter may vary from salmon to tan or even to
slaty gray or black, the body being dusted with white.
This aphid also winters as eggs deposited on the trimk and
larger limbs. The young plantlice appear with the unfold-
ing of the leaves. There are about three generations be-
fore the trees are deserted for an unknown food plant.

Climatic conditions, it is evident to the most casual ob-
server, must have a profound influence upon nearly help-
less insects like plantlice, feeding almost unprotected upon
the foliage of various trees. This is well substantiated by
the experience of recent years. The remarkable abundance

*Siphocoryne avenae Fabr.
°Aphis mali Fabr.
**Aphis malifoliae Fitch.

153

of plantlice last season was comparable only with the out-
breaks of 1897 and 1903, years distinguished by the super-
abundance of these pests. Observation and weather records
show a distinct correlation between a low, unseasonable
temperature and the multiplication of plantlice. The past
summer was remarkably cool and backward, a marked
change for the better occurring June 21. That the earlier
cool weather was favorable to the plantlice was evidenced
by the hosts appearing upon the leaves of many trees. The
reason is probably found in the fact that the unusually low
temperature prevented the normal activity of such extreme-
ly beneficial natural enemies as lady beetles, flower flies, the-
minute 4-winged parasites and lace-wii]ged flies. Prior to
the occurrence of warm weather numerous lots of plantlice,
showing no evidence of having been materially injured by
natural enemies of one kind or another, were received.
Shortly after the rise in temperature a very different con-
dition of affairs obtained. Leaves injured by plantlice con-
tinued to come to hand, but in almost every case a few nat-
ural enemies had begun to reduce the numbers of the pests^
or especially toward the end of the outbreak, most had been
destroyed and the leaves bore signs only of earlier injury.

The lesson to be drawn from the above is that plantlice
outbreaks may be expected when the late spring weather
is unusually cool and backward, unless it is accompanied
by pelting rains which are undoubtedly of considerable ser-
vice in destroying exposed aphids. The advisability of
adopting direct repressive measures in specific instances,
must depend in a large degree upon the probability of
warmer weather developing soon enough so that natural en-
emies may check the plantlice before material -injury is
caused.

Remedial measures against plantlice are well known,-
as a rule, though delay in their application is very general,
and the results secured therefore frequently unsatisfactory.
The experience of the last few years has shown the futility
of depending upon the ordinary winter or early spring ap-
plications of lime-sulfur washes for the destruction of aphid
eggs upon our fruit trees. There may be some reduction,
but the percentage killed in this manner is so small as to be
negligible. The practicability of destroying these minute
enemies of our plants by thorough applications of contact
insecti(*des, such as tobacco preparations, whale oil soap

154

solutions, kerosene emulsions, or even dilute preparations
of some of the commercial petroleum compounds, now on
the market under various trade names, has been demon-
strated.

Tobacco preparations have long been used for the de-
struction of plantlice, though some experience is necessary
to secure the proper dilution, owing to the variability of
waste tobacco products from which decoctions are usually
prepared. There are noAv on the market a number of ready-
made tobacco extracts. A most promising one is known as
black leaf extract. It has given very good results in an ex-
perimental way, even when diluted with 60 parts of water.
Some of our New York State fruit growers are using a di-
lute lime-sulfur wash in place of Bordeaux mixture, and
after adding poison thereto find this preparation a very
efficient fungicide and effective in controlling codling moth
and of great A^alue in destroying plantlice when the appli-
cation is made at the usual time we spray for codling moth.
Several of the standard commercial lime-sulfur washes, di-
luted with 40 parts of water, have been used in this way.
It is possible that this combination or some modification may
ultimately take the place of the poisoned Bordeaux mixture
and solve for all time the problem of controlling plantlice
outbreaks, since one thorough spraying just after the blos-
soms fall would probably obviate the necessity of further
treatment of plantlice, particularly if this was an annual
practice.

The essential in all these cases, so far as plantlice are
concerned, is to maKe the application before the foliage has
become badly curled. The need of special treatment for
aphis outbreaks must of necessity depend upon several fac-
tors, namely, favorable weather conditions and the relative
abundance of natural enemies. It has been shown that ab-
normally cool weather in the spring and early summer is
likely to ])e folloAved by aphis injury, owing to the fact that
plantlice reproduce readily under such conditions, while the
activities of their natural enemies are seriously hindered.
Consequently, an incipient attack by aphids, accompanied
by a scarcity of natural enemies and the probability of con-
tinued cool weather, should serve as a warning to the fruit
•grower, and result in immediate spraying.

155

APPLE I\IAGGOT

The brown "railroads,'' or irregular, decaying tracts
■of this maggot, are rather common in New England apples,
especially in early sweet varieties. The parent fly, a black-
ish 2-winged insect about the size of our common house-fly,
is conspicuous on account of its white-banded abdomen and
the irregularly black-banded wings held in a peculiar half
raised condition. These flies appear in orchards in NeAv
York State about July 1st and are more or less common
from then until some time in the fall. One of our corres-
pondents captured several hundred of these insects in his
orchard in early September of last year. The tiny eggs
are deposited under the skin of the fruit, and according to
the observations of the late Prof. Harvey, hatch in four or
five days. The young maggots begin to tunnel, the pulp of
the apple. They grow slowly in hard fruit, and develop
very rapidly as the apples become soft and ripe. The chan-
nels made by the small larvae are almost invisible, but as
the maggots increase in size the galleries become larger and
perforate the fruit in all directions. They frequently cross
and occasionally unite to form irregular, decayed cavities.
During the later stages, fruit apparently souud one day may
be literally honey-combed by the pests on the next. The
ihaggots attain their growth under favorable conditions in
four or five Aveeks. though this period may be greatly pro-
longed by cool weather, insufficient food and unripe fruit.
They rarely desert the apple prior to its dropping to the
ground, though they may do so very shortly thereafter if
the fruit is ripe and the maggots nearly full grown. They
enter the ground, transform to l>rownish puparia, and ap-
parently remain in this condition till early July of the fol-
loAving year. Numerous maggots are undoubtedly taken
into fruit cellars in fall and winter apples, escape from these
situations, and winter as though in the gromid.

This insect breeds in most apples, including the subacid
and sour varieties, though it is most abundant in, and de-
structive to the earlier sweet fruit. AVild haws appear to
be its native food plant. ^The injury to winter apples is not,
as a rule, very pronounced, consisting for the most part of
irregularities on the surface, and slightly discolored, corky
trails in the interior. These defects, though not conspicu-
ous, depreciate the value of the fruit materially. This in-

156

sect has been recorded as feeding on plums and cherries^
though it is possible that these latter records are based on
mistaken identifications.

The most successful method of controlling this insect
is by promptly gathering and destroying or feeding the in-
fested fruit to stock. It may be practical occasionally to
pasture the orchard, though it be but for a few hours a day,
with sheep or hogs, thus giving the animals an opportunity
to devour the infested fruit before the maggots have had a
chance to escape. This insect appears to be quite local in
habit, and according to the observations of one of our prac-
tical orchardists, exhibits a marked preference for sheltered
hollows. Advantage can sometimes be taken of this habit by
planting in such situations, varieties not particularly subject
to attack. It may be advisable, in places where this pest is
injurious to winter varieties, to plant in the vicinity, a tre&
or two of an early apple such as Garden Royal, in order to
attract the flies from the more valuable fruit. It is needless
to add that these infested apples should be promptly de-
stroyed, otherwise the tree may become the center of trouble
instead of a trap to draw the insects away from the more
remunerative A'arieties. This could be easily accomplished
by setting such a tree in a hogpen, provided its base was
well protected. Investigations conducted by the Rhode Is-
land Experiment Station several years ago, showed that the
sometimes recommended plowing for the destruction of this
insect, is probably of little value. There is some'evidence
in favor of frequent tillage in early summer.

The prompt destruction of infested fruit and the pre^-
vention of flies escaping from fruit cellars, are two measures
which can be recommended at the present time. In addi-
tion, there is another which may possibly prove of service in
controlling this insect, since it has given excellent results in
South Africa with an allied form. It consists of spraying
the trees with a mixture of 3 lbs. of sugar (cheap sweeten-
ing of any kind Avould probably answer), 4 oz. of arsenate of
lead, and 5 gals, of water, applied as rather coarse drops.
The idea is to spot the foliage here and there with an at-
tractive mixture rather than to give it a uniform coating,
as is ordinarily the rule with arsenical sprays. This work
can be done rapidly and a small amount of the mixture
Avould go a long ways. The application should be made just
about the time the flies axe coming out, namely, early July,

157

and in case of rainy weather, subsequent treatments might
be necessary. It is possible that an application of a dilute
lime-sulfur wash at this season of the year would have a
deterrent effect and drive the flies away to a considerable
extent. Both methods are worthy of trial, and it is hoped
that suitable conditions for such experiments will be found
in New York State this year.

In conclusion, we would reaffirm our belief in the quest
for perfect fruit. It is no chimera. It is thoroughly feas-
ible in large measure at least, though attainable only by
close cooperation between the practical and the scientific
man. Neither knows it all. The experience of one worthily
offsets the knowledge of the other. Combined, results be-
yond our highest anticipations may be possible. This is
the experience of Oregon. Why should it not soon become
a portion of New England history? It should be our am-
bition to produce fruit equal to the product of any region
and excelled by that of none.

DISCUSSION

Quest. Would you recommend the addition of lime, at
the time of spraying, to the lime-sulfur wash?

Dr. Felt : I should. It does not injure the mixture.
The concentrated lime and sulfur washes, when lime is put
in, are reduced but no sulphur is taken out. I would not
let it stand. Add just before beginning to spray.

Quest. Would you recommend any particular lime for
it?

I don't care to. I don't know about Vermont lime.
Use a good lime which will slack up and gi\e very little or
no sediment. Coal lime should be avoided.

Quest. Where can I get suitable lime?

If you have had good results with one brand, use it.
If not, find gome other.

Mr. Kjiapp : Would you advise stone lime or marble
lime, if there is any distinction?

No ; I think probably one is made by burning lime stone
and the other by burning the refuse from marble quarries.
In either case, get good quick lime.

Quest. Is there any way to destroy the eggs of the
aphis,

No; nothing certain.

'Quest. How mneh lime sfhould be added?

158

Six or eight pounds of lime to 50 gallons without in-
creasing the bulk of the solution.

CJuest. Is the homemade lime-sulfur wash equally good
as the -commercial,

Yes ; if you care to prepare it.

Mr. Knapp : How long should it be boiled ?

Boil from at least 30 minutes to an hour. The problem
is to get a perfect combination between the lime and sul-
phur. The more rapidly you boil the quicker you get the
combination.

Formula for lime-sulfur wash : 20 pounds of lime, 15 of
sulfur and 50 gallons of water.

Use a good grade of powdered sulfur. The fine sulfur
flour rather than flowers of sulfur. Buy sulfur under a
guarantee.

Quest. I understand then that the purpose of boiling^
is simply to form a solution of the lime and sulfur?

Yes ; if you can bring all your lime and sulfur into solu-
tion in 30 minutes, you have done all you can expect.

Quest. What is wrong when considerable sulfur is left
in solution?

It is due to poor lime and because the lime has been al-
lowed to come in contact with the air. If the lime is all
right then your method of preparing is wrong.

Quest. What are the black spots on the apples?

Baldwin spot.

Quest. Is there any remedy for it ?

It is due to deficiency in the soil but there has been no
satisfactory explanation.

Quest. What is the cause of knurls in apples ?

They may be caused by the tarnished plant bug. A
simple remedy for this would be clean cultivation to get rid
of the conditions favorable to that pest.

Quest. Would clear lime strewed under the trees help
to rid the soil of any pest,

I don't believe it would be worth while.

Quest. What is the Cordley mixture?

125 pounds of sulfur, 60 pounds of lime, and 50 gallons-
of water. It is a clear solution.

Quest. In spraying large apple trees, would you use
the direct or the mist spray for the codling moth?

That depends on how near you can get to your tree.

159

Use considerable pressure because the pressure is a very
important factor.

Quest. With a barrel pump how much pressure would
you get?

That depends on the make of the pump and the man be-
hind it. 75 to 100 poimds.

Quest. Have you ever had any results from the use of
Scalecide for the San Jose scale?

I have known of some fruit growers who have made ap-
plication of it and got good results.

Quest. Should the wash be applied very soon after it
is boiled?

There is no necessity of putting it on hot. Dilute with
cold water and go about your spraying. Keep it warm.

Quest. Is it necessary to keep it away from the air?

It is advisable. This can be done with a covering of
oil. Put into a tight vessel.

Quest. What do you think of using potash in the water,
and would you use it instead of scraping?

I don't believe it would hurt the tree and it might re-
lease the coarse bark, but I would rather spend my time
spraying with lime-sulfur wash. Mr. Cornell says he has
had much better results where he has scraped the bark off
the trees before spraying.

Quest. Is there any danger of scale spreading by cut-
ting off branches in the winter and letting them stay on the
ground ?

— No; but don't do it in the suniDier.

Quest. AVhy are plantlice more abundant some seasons
than others?

If you have every indication of a severe Aphis outbreak,
it is mostly a question of temperature.

Quest. Is there any advantage in spraying twice for
the scale, spring and fall?

Spray twice in the spring.

Quest. Does the San Jose scale eat during the winter?

With badly infested trees it may pay to make an appli-
cation in the fall, because if the scale does live through the
winter, it lives at the expense of something, so make a fall
application.

Quest. Have you had any experience in using lime-sul-
fur in place of Bordeaux mixture,

The experience of practical fruit growers is this: They

i6o

Tiave used commercial lime-sulfur washes and applied them
1;o apple foliage without injury and with benefit so far as
■controlling fungus was concerned. Also used arsenate of
lead, two pounds to 50 gallons of water, for the codling
moth. Some New York State fruit growers are becoming
dissatisfied with the Bordeaux mixture, and are trying di-
luted lime-sulfur wash. I don't recommend it unreservedly.

Then Pres. Clark introduced Wilfrid Wheeler, Secretary
N. E. Fruit Show, who opened the topic :

LESSONS FROM THE NEW ENGLAND FRUIT SHOW.

One thing I want to speak of is the relation of the Fruit
Growers to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. If the
Fruit Growers of Massachusetts want to increase the interest
in fruit growing, the proper thing to do is to join, as indi-
viduals, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and make
your influence felt there. That Society is at present more
interested in flowers and plants than in fruits. What is need-
ed is a larger number of fruit growers in that society, so
-come and join the society and work along the fruit interests.

The Boston Fruit Show was organized to develop New
England, but since the show some of the states as individuals
have used the show to advance the interest of the state
rather than the interests of the whole section. The show
was started with the idea that the whole of New England
would be benefited, not to make a distinction between the
►different states. The problem is for us to carry on New Eng-
land fruit growing as a whole. The prizes show that no one
section was better than any other section. Situation, soil,
and climate did not count for as much as individual effort
that was put into the work. That is what is going to carry
us to success or failure here in New England. There are
parts where the soils are better than others, but the fact re-
mains that good fruit was grown and exhibited at this show
■from low heavy soil, from fine upland soil, from all sorts of
soil. The labor which sprayed, pruned and cared for the
trees is what brought the fruit to its highest development.
The Baldwins from New Hampshire proved to be better
than those from any other part of New England. Eighty
-per cent, of the fruit exhibited came from old apple trees,
trees 60 to 80 years old. Many of these trees had not had
^e very best of care. This ought to be a great encourage-

i6i

ment to us, because when we get the new orchards growing
we will be able to compete successfully with the West.

We came to the conclusion that the BaldAvin, Northern
Spy, Greening, M^ealthy, etc., were best for New England.
The first prize of other varieties went to Mcintosh Reds in
barrels, and G-ravensteins in boxes, showing that at the time
of the Fruit Show these two were in the best condition to
take the prize. It Avas considered important that the show
be an educational feature along the line of spraying, etc.,
and the lectures proved a very great source of interest to
those who came.

The market here in New England calls for the type of
apples which the Baldwin represents, while Rhode Island
Greenings and Russets are also in demand and bring fully
as good prices.

We found also that other fruits of New England, pears,
peaches, plums, and other small fruits, are in need of boom-
ing, and it is well to keep in mind that there are other fruits
that will do just as well as the apple. We can grow better
pears here than they can in the West, still they are shipped
from the Pacific coast.

We have a number of places in northern New England
that are specially adapted to fruit growing; the Champlain
valley in Vermont and the Connecticut river valley, for in-
stance, seem to have especial adaptation for fruit growing.
Fine fruit is grown down on the end of Cape Cod.

There is great need of capital to develop fruit raising
here in New England. This is recognized by business men
who are interested in the industry. If the Fruit Show did
nothing else than this, it certainly accomplished a great
deal. The increased price of New England fruit lands are
also due to the Fruit Show.

We should work together to develop this industry as a
New England industry rather than a Massachusetts or any
individual state, and we want to be proud enough and great
enough to recognize New England as an individual unit.

Quest. To what part of New England was the prize
for Baldwins awarded?

Ans. New Hampshire.

Quest. What locality took the first prize?

Ans. Hollis.

Mr. A. Warren Patch, Treasurer N. E. Fruit Show;
The members of the Apple Association have been working at

l62

the idea for years that if they could awaken an interest in
apples the apple market would be larger. The New England
Fruit Show had many lessons for us.

Quest. Did you find much Baldwin spot in apples for
the Boston market?

Ans. The quality of the apples this year has been very
good, and I think the spraying has improved them.

Quest. AVhat variety brought the highest price last
fall?

Ans. The Mcintosh and Gravenstein.

A circular giving the best varieties for the Boston mar-
ket for fall and for winter has been printed. The four va-
rieties best for fall are the William, Gravenstein, Mcintosh
and Pound Sweet or Wealthy; for winter the six best var-
ieties: Baldwin, Greening, Northern Spy, King. Tolman
Sweets and Russet.

George S. Knapp, Groton, winner of highest prize at
N. E. Fruit Show:

One good thing about the New England Fruit Show was
that it gave an excellent opportunity for many to see what
possibilities there are for fruit growing here in New Eng-
land. If more and better fruit is produced, it is better for
both the producer and the consumer. The producer should
raise the varieties that give satisfaction to the user. It is
no matter how the apple looks, if it does not give satisfaction
when used the demand will decrease ; if it gives satisfaction
the demand will increase. Why is it not a good idea for us
to keep our products before the public ?

I have been taking as good care as I could of the trees
in my orchard for the past ten years ; have sprayed the trees
thoroughly for three or four years, so the fruit was practic-
ally first-class, and yet I should not have had courage to take
my fruit to the Fruit Show had I not been told that it was
very good fruit.

There is a lot of work in fruit raising. I have worked
hard and I like the business. I think one's success would
depend much on whether he likes the work or not.

My trees are fifteen years old. I have sprayed them for
about five years. The trees are located in a low valley. The
soil is naturally a little wet, but is drained. I use wood ashes
and hen manure for fertilizer. I do not think the trees would
do much without spraying. I prune the trees by -cutting

back a little each year. I have not given them a severe prun-
ing any one year.

The meeting then adjourned to- 10 A. M, Thursday.

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, mO

10.00 A, M,

The morning session was called to order by President
Clark, who introduced Harold S. Frost of Arlington, who
addressed the meeting on

FOR WHAT, WHEN AND HOW TO SPRAY.

At no time in our history has agriculture or horticulture
been raised to such a high standard as at present, and to my
mind, horticulture is being carried on in some places muefe
more scientifically than is any branch of general agricultiu-e.
We can with great profit spend much time in studying these
different subjects, as the future prosperity of our country,
and especially of New England, depends largely upon what
is taken from the soil. We have no natural resources, but
we are blessed Avith a land M^hich Avill produce abundant
crops for an indefinite time. Such a famous authority as
Professor Louis Agassiz has made the statement that New
England is admirably adapted for the production of tree
growth. This not only applies to forest trees but to fruit
trees, and I think also fruit bushes.

With the exception of market gardening and green-
house culture, the New England states are far behind in all
kinds of farm specialties. I think the main reason for this
may be that in the past land was much more expensive and
more difficult to cultivate than were the plains of the West.
Now, the Western lands have been depleted of much of
their nourishment. New England farms have decreased in
value, but have not lost any of their productiveness.

With these farms situated at the door of the greatest
markets in the world, and with the possibility of buying
them at a less cost in many cases than the expense of putting
up the buildings which go with them, there is no greater op-
portunity offered any young man starting out in business.

The complaint of many, when talking of fruit culture,
is that it takes too long for the trees to come into bearing.

164

I would suggest that a combination of specialties be made,
as for instance, the raising of poultry, pigs or sheep. Any-
one of these can be made extremely profitable even by itself.
During the past five years great interest has been aroused
in the growing of apples. Many feel that so many trees will
be planted that when they commence producing the market
will not be able to consume all of the fruit. There cannot
possibly be any difficulty in marketing all the crops that will
be raised in New England.

First, I feel safe in predicting that at least seventy-five
per cent, of the men who plant fruit trees will so neglect
them that they will never produce any first-class fruit. A
great number of city residents are buying land and setting
out trees. They little realize the difficulties of farming in
its true sense. Insect pests and fungous diseases are increas-
ing so very rapidly that luiless the fruit grower makes up his
mind to fight diligently, his trees must succumb. By the
grower who will use scientific principles and keep up-to-date,
nothing need be feared.

With the improvement of the quality of the fruit, and
possibly of the packing and marketing, the demand will in-
crease much more rapidly than production. The average
consumer at the present time is demanding more fruit than
ever before, and there always has been and always will be,
a shortage of perfect fruit.

I have never yet been in a city in the United States but
what I have found the greater part of apples, pears, peaches,
etc., either wormy or badly covered with fungous growth.
During a recent trip in Europe, at which time I passed
through six different countries, I was not able to get any
perfect native fruit. The only apples which I could find
that were not wormy came from the States. I was so sur-
prised at the condition of the fruit industry that I made it a
point to meet the entomologists of the different countries,
and found that the fruit industry of the greater part of
Europe was practically ruined. This applied not only to the
apple and pear crops, but also to the olive and fig.

"With such conditions in Europe, and with our tremen-
dous market in the eastern United States, can you wonder
that I do not fear over-production?

As I travel over New England, I see everywhere great
orchards which are either completely killed or about half
dead. When I am told by reliable fruit growers that they

i65

are receiving at the present time from $4.00 to $7.00 per bar-
rel for apples, I wonder at this neglect. AVhen I make a
closer examination of the dying trees, I find that they are
being killed by starvation, decay, fungous disease, and in
most eases the San Jose scale or other injurious insects.

I feel much worse about this condition of affairs right
here in New England, where we are supposed to be more
highly educated, than in any other part of the country, when
I realize that spraying has been so simplified. There is no
reason for allowing the trees to die in this way if a man
studies the question at all. A fcAV years ago the subject was
much more difficult, but within the last five years spraying
apparatus and materials have been so greatly improved that
very nearly every problem can be controlled almost perfect-
ly. The fruit grower of New England should be better able
to save his trees and crops than the grower in any other sec-
tion, as we are much more advanced in this line of work.
This has come about largely through the experiments of the
State Gypsy Moth Department, which has not only given us
valuable insecticides and spraying apparatus, but has trained
a large force of men.

SPRAYING APPARATUS

The spray pump has largely been a creation of the last
twenty-five years, and has been improved more since 1905
than at any time previous to that date. I believe that we
have practically reached the standard and cannot expect
very many improvements in the future.

It is utterly impossible for me to advise you what pump
to use maless I know your conditions and the amount of
spraying which you require. However, I wish to impress
upon you one point, and that is, buy the best of the size that
you decide upon. A spray pump is required to do a great
deal of work in a very short time. The season is short, and
time lost during the right season may prove extremely ex-
pensive. The market is flooded with cheap pumps, and they
are being bought very extensively.

Many fruit growers do not realize the importance of
spraying until too late. They wonder why the Western ap-
ple is selling for such a high price and is reaching such per-
fection. If you ask the Western farmer if it is necessary to
spray fruit in sections where the nicest fruit is raised, he will
so no. If you pin him down, you will find that he is spraying

i66

not only once but several times. In many of the Western
states he is required to spray by law, and any fruit injured
by insects is immediately destroyed. Until we do more of
this work, we shall not reach the point where we will pro-
duce only first-class fruit.

Pumps can be secured from the small bucket pump,
adapted to the grower of two or three trees and a few fruit
bushes, up to the 10-horse power gasoline engine and triplex
pump outfit, adapted for spraying large woodland areas. The
type most generally used and of the greatest service is the
barrel pump, and in my experience I have found the sub-
merged barrel to be the most effectual and powerful. An
outfit should be chosen which Mall give the best agitation and
at the same time produce pressure enough to carry the stream
to any height desired. This can be secured in the submerged
type, and with a little care a pump of this description should
last a lifetime.

Next to the pump we consider the hose, and it has been
the general opinion of late that 1-2 inch cotton covered rub-
ber hose, fitted with long-tail couplings and clamps, will
stand the work much better than any other kind. With this
a common gas pipe extension, eight or nine feet long with
a nozzle on the end, will complete the outfit. For nozzles, the
disc type, a creation of recent years, will produce the best
spray with the least trouble.

In all spraying operations extra fittings and small tools
should always be at hand. A break is liable to occur at any
time, and unless means for repairing the same are available,
much valuable time is likely to be lost.

INSECTICIDES.

The greatest difficulty with the uninitiated seems to be
the lack of knowledge of insecticides. Much of the informa-
tion which the grower is able to secure comes from experi-
ment station bulletins, which in many cases are not very
definite in facts. As relating to various insecticides, even
the experts have been fighting more or less amongst them-
selves; but in the future, as the insecticides and fungicides
are being improved, the operation of spraying will become
much more simplified. I will endeavor to give you the re-
sults of fifteen years ' work in the field, and my recommenda-
tions for controlling some of the most injurious insects.

1 67

SAN JOSE SCALE

The San Jose scale is, without doubt, causing more in-
jury to fruit trees and bushes than any other one insect. It
is best handled when the tree is dormant, and is controlled
by spraying with a contact poison. For large trees, or trees
where the infestation is very serious, and also where the
trees are in proximity to painted buildings or fences, solu-
ble or miscible oil can be used to the best advantage. This
is a commercially prepared oil to be diluted with water, and
is very easily handled. It should make a perfect white emul-
sion, and when applied should cover parts of the tree not
actually touched, as it has the spreading quality of any oil.
Lime-sulfur is also used very extensively, and for small trees
is of great value, not only for killing the scale, but also for
destroying fungous growths. It is extremely difficult to
handle, and for this reason it is almost impossible to spray
large trees thoroughly enough to control the insects. There
are many commercial brands Avhich are very valuable, or the
mixture can be made up by the grower himself. Where pos-
sible I think it is very advisable to make it up fresh and ap-
ply it hot. If you are not acquainted with the formula, write
your State Entomologist or some one who has been handling
this material.

Summing up the question of controlling the San Jose
icale, my advice Avould be that for small trees not badly in-
fested, use lime-sulfur, preferably home-made. If the trees
are small and easily handled, but badly infested, use soluble
oil until the insect is at least partially controlled, and after-
M^ard use lime-sulfur. If the trees are very large, use solu-
ble oil at least every other year. ]My reasons for these recom-
mendations are due to the ease with Avhich the soluble oil
is handled, and the fact that all of the surface of the tree is
more liable to be thoroughly covered.

LEAP-EATING INSECTS
Codling Moth, Etc.

For controlling this class of insects, some form of ar-
senic is used, preferably arsenate of lead. This poison ad-
heres to the foliage very nearly throughout the season, and
does not injure by burning. When using this material do
not go entirely by the recommendations as to strength which
you will find printed on the label. - The manufacturer is

1 68

sending his product all over the country, and is not basing
the strength which he recommends on the different insects.
Where the gypsy molh is prevalent it will be found that the
poison -must be used much stronger than where only the
codling moth or canker worm are considered. My rule for
spraying for the gypsy moth is one pound of arsenate of lead
to ten gallons of water, for the codling moth, canker worm
and small brown-tail moth, one pound. to fifteen gallons of
water. As the season advances in spraying for any insect I
increase the strength of the poison. Arsenate of lead should
not be used on the foliage of peach trees. For spraying ap-
ple, pear and cherry trees, apply the poison thoroughly to
all of the foliage and blossoms, first, as soon as the petals have
fallen. Follow with another application ten days or two
weeks later. Many of our best growers consider it wise to
give three, four or five applications during the season, but
I do not think this is ahvays necessary.

For fungous growth we have not yet reached our ideal
remedy, and it would now look as though some form of sul-
fur might take the place of bordeaux mixture. During the
past season in many places home-made bordeaux rusted the
fruit badly, but the summer sprays of lime-sulfur not
only controlled diseases, but did not injure the fruit. It was
also found that the commercially made bordeaux mixed with
arsenate of lead caused very little rusting. The only reason
which can be given for the injury in one case and not in the
other, is that the bordeaux was better prepared in the com-
mercial mixture. Where a fungicide is to be used I would
recommend mixing it with the arsenate of lead and applying
at the same time.

Whatever material is used, do your work as thoroughly as
possible. If you buy the best material that you can obtain
you need -not fear any injury. Spray all kinds of fruit trees
for the scale in the winter. Spray all kinds of fruit trees
with the exception of the peach for the foliage and fruit in-
sects, but never spray peach trees with arsenate of lead or
bordeaux mixture. Do not spray your peach trees with sol-
uble oil when the temperature is much below 40 degrees
Fahrenheit. If the peach trees are sprayed during a warm
day, no injury will result from cold weather afterward, and
it is possible that the injury may come from the cold water
rather than from the oil. The other fruit trees can be

169

sprayed with soluble oil during any temperature when it is
possible to handle the material.

In conclusion, do not be afraid of attempting to spray
your trees. Even though you do not do perfect work, you
will gain such astounding results that you will find it more
than repays you. I have been greatly surprised at the large
number of orchardists who are afraid to spray their own
trees, but are very willing to hire some one to come in and do
the work for them.

You cannot get the same results by hiring outside help
as you can by doing the work yourself. In most cases it
will not be done as thoroughly, and it is also impossible for
any one man to spray very many trees at just the right time.
With a little advice each one of you can do his own work
as well as so-called professionals. The only thing which you
require is a good outfit, which is not very expensive, and a
little of the common sense which you use every day in car-
rying on your farm. All kinds of insecticides are so pre-
pared that all you have to do is to mix them with water.
Most of them are so prepared that no injury can be caused.

If your dealer tries to sell you a cheap pump or cheap
insecticides when he has better brands in stock, feel assured
that he is making a greater profit on the cheaper grade.

Spray your trees every year, both for the scale insects
when the trees are dormant, and also for the codling moth,
leaf-eating insects and fungous groAvth, when they are in
foliage. If you will do this our fancy trade will not be stol-
en by the Western fruit grower.

Mr. Frost then exhibited apparatus:

BARREL PUMP

Spray anything under 5,000 trees with the barrel pump.
A great deal of money is saved by putting in a barrel pump
wherever the mist spray is used.

HAND PUMP

If you have a half dozen or a dozen trees do the spraying
with a hand pump ; use it also for fruit bushes. If you have
cotton hose and long tailed coupling, no pressure will ever
break the coupling.

Wash your hose out thoroughly every night, no matter
what kind you use. If it is all washed out thoroughly, you
will not have much trouble with it.

i7o

EXTENSION

For extension get 3-8 inch or 1-2 inch gas pipe. Clean
out the nozzles in the spring before you begin using them.

NOZZLE

For mist spraying, we are making use of the disc type
of nozzle. If you want to use a large amount of spray, use
the disc with a large opening.

There is the straight nozzle and the long tailed. You
will find that the long tailed nozzle is the best to use, as you
can get the spray just where you want it. The size is stand-
ard, and you can get reducers so you will not need to use an
extension unless you wish.

INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES

For the San Jose scale use miscible oil and lime-sulfur
wash. The lime-sulfur wash is extremely difficult to handle.
Dr. Felt's formula has been giving as good resiilts as any
that I know of. For small trees not badly infested, use lime-
sulfur wash. Spray them with oil in the fall and then with
lime-sulfur M^ash in the spring. I believe much injury is done
in the winter. I think that the scale draws some sap from
the tree during the winter when there are thaws.

CAEE IN THE TTSE OF LIME-SULFUR WASH

It is advisable to use some protection over the eyes when
using the lime-sulfur. I would caution everyone, because we
are often careless in handling these materials.

The gypsy moth is getting very near Worcester. Arsen-
ate of lead has not controlled the gypsy moth. I am com-
mencing to feel that the home-made Bordeaux mixture
is not good enough.

DISCUSSION

Quest. Why is the San Jose scale found on the blossom
end of the apple even if there is no scale on the tree?

Mr. Frost. There probably is scale on the, tree though
it is not noticeable. After a dry season you can always look
for a great infestation of the San Jose scale. In a wet sea^
son, considerable scale is washed off.

Since I spoke this morning, some have asked in regard
lo the spraying of peaches. In speaking of this I wish to

I7T

he very conservative. Any spraying of peaches must be
done very carefully and under certain conditions.

Quest. How late can we spray with Bordeaux?

There should be two sprayings. The tirst just as the
fruit is forming; then about two weeks later another spray-
ing. Some have to spray more than twice — the orchards
■on low lands are infested more than those located where
there is a good air circulation.

Quest. Is there any parasite that lives on the scale?

Yes ; there is a predacious insect of the ladybug family.

Quest. Is it necessary to spray for the brown-tail moth
more than once a year?

Sometimes it is best to spray in August and use Paris
Oreen or Arsenate of Lime. The August spraying will catch
them if the infestation is great.

Quest. Is it not easier to protect by cutting off the
nests than by spraying?

I think the attacks of the broAvn-tail moth are going to
be rather intermittent.

Quest. Does spraying have any bad effects upon the
"blossom ?

I have never seen any bad results.

Quest. Might there not be some device by which the
■brown-tail moths could be killed at the time they settle on
the electric lights in such great numbers?

This has been tried but does not seem to make any ma-
terial difference. They cannot get enough of them.

Mr. Frost : ]\Iy remarks today have been applied only
to the fruit growing interests. The sbade tree spraying is
entirely different from fruit tree spraying.

Pres. Clark : I want you to go home with your minds
made up to come next year and bring others with you, es-
pecially the young men. and the ladies also.

Vice-President GTeorge A. Drew of the Connecticut Pom-
ologieal Society, who had wonderful success in bringing old
orchards iuto shape again, then gave a paper on

ORCHARD RENOVATION

There is a great revival of interest at the present time
in New England Agriculture, which to me seems to denote
the dawn of a new era. Instead of the old advice, go West,

172

young man, I believe it should be changed to come East an<J
develop the old NeAV England Farm.

No longer do we believe the too often popular idea, that
our soil is worn out and exhausted. All it needs is proper
management, right selection of crops, intelligence, faith in
the business, and capital for development.

The recent New England Fruit Show demonstrated that
in fruit growing at least we can hold our own with any other
section. At last conservative old New England, whose sons
have been the leading pioneer spirit in developing the "West,
is finally aroused to her own great possibilities at home.

Specialization, in my opinion, is the key note of the
hour — the day of the general farmer must soon go. He will
have to give way to his neighbor who works along one 'or
two special lines.

I am a great believer in the possibilities of fruit grow-
ing here in New England. I believe we shall soon demon-
strate it beyond question. In the belief of these possibilities
I have been Avorking for several years on the renovation of
old orchards, and to this subject I would call your attention.

Drive through any portion of the East and you will find
the situation practically the same, the old orchards, formerly
profitable and productive, now neglected and going to decay.
A¥hy New England farmers have been so unprogressive as
to allow such conditions to exist, is hard to fathom.

Can anyone t-ell me of any more profitable section of
the farm than a well eared for orchard — yet it is generally
the last thing on the farm to receive intelligent attention.

Let us consider why these orchards have been so neglect-
ed. Is it that the weather conditions or seasons have
changed, or insect enemies and injurious diseases made the
difficulties unsurmountable? Whatever the cause, we are
brought face to face with conditions as they exist today, and
we ask ourselves, what are we going to do about it?

Shall we continue to see the old orchards decay, neglect
to plant out new ones, and see fr-uit raised several thousand
miles away sold right before us for two or three times what
our own native fruit brings, and yet net these "Western
growers a handsome profit after paying freight, commissions,,
etc.?

"We dislike to admit it, yet there is no question but that
the "Western apple has captured the fancy, high-priced trade
away from us, and we alone are to blame. This is on ac-

173

count of dishonest methods of packing, lack of business
methods and cooperation.

Facing conditions as they are, shall we be content to
take second place, acknowledge we are beaten, and simply
accept what the market will offer for an inferior article? I,
for one, say no ; in my opinion the Western fruit grower has
had his palmiest days and must soon look to his laurels, for
the Eastern fruit grower must soon awake to his opportuni-
ties.

We may well ask the question, why we do not grow as
good fruit as our Western neighbors? Is their soil better
adapted than ours to fruit growing? I cannot be convinced
there is anything better than our New England hillsides.
When well formed, the product is the equal in appearance
and superior in quality to that of the West.

Are they more immune from insect pests and fungous
diseases? On the whole, I think they have as many obstacles
to contend with. Is their climate more favorable to develop-
ing a more perfect fruit ? On the whole, I would say no. Col-
or may be easier to get, yet we can do as well under well di-
rected effort. Why, therefore, do they so excel us at the
present time? I think we should find the reply to a certain
extent in the answer which a friend of mine received this
summer when traveling through the Hood River region in
Oregon^" Fight them."

There it was a business proposition to raise fruit, and
the best fruit, anything that interfered was an enemy which
was fought and overcome. We have San Jose scale, codling
moth, apple scale, etc, until it seems as though one enemy
was overcome only to be confronted by another. What shall
we do, give up the struggle? No, emulate the example of
our Western friends and fight them.

I have called your attention to our neglected orchards
and Western competition, facts of which you are all aware.
It takes time to get an orchard started and in profitable
bearing condition, but gathered all over this Eastern country
are any quantity of orchards from 25 to 50 years old that are
in total or partial neglect.

Is it possible to take these old orchards in hand and put
them in good bearing condition? Is it a profitable under-
taking? To both questions I would answer yes. Can one ex-
pect to get as good fruit from these reclaimed trees as from
newer plantings? I would answer that I myself have had

174

no difficulty in doing^ so. Perkaps one or two qualifications;
should be made as to advisability of renovation. I would
not attempt to reclaim any old orchard where the trunks of
the trees were unhealthy, or in too advanced stage of decay^
or where the orchard was in a naturally unfavorable loca-
tion.

What is the best method of a=ceomplishing this renova-
tion ? I will speak of the methods, which, while they may not
exactly coincide with your ideai?, I have followed for some-
years with a fair degree of success.

It is quite a task to renovate an old neglected orchard^
and requires considerable time and patience. For the sake-
of clearness, let us consider it under the following heads r
Pruning, Spraying, Cultivation,. Fiertilization and Thinning-
the Fruit.

PRUNING^

Most of the older orchards were planted with the idea
of harvesting a crop of hay first and apples second. This^
caused formers to prune off the lower branches so that the
teams would have no difficulty in working underneath. A
bad practice, at best it is absolutely fatal under present day
conditions. What we want now is a low down, spreading
tree, with the ends of the branches touching, or nearly
touching, the ground. We want to prune down, not up,

1. These low down trees emi be sprayed at much les»
cost.

2. The fruit can be picked at much less cost.

3. The trees are much less wind racked.

4. The fruit if it falls is not so badlj'' bruised.
Granting that I have stated the case correctly, most of

the old orchards have been pruned up, how can we get them^
pruned down?

It is surprising to see how quickly an orchard will re-
spond to a systematic method of treatment.

In severe cases of scales infestation, I have not hesitated
to adopt radical measures, and' in exceptional eases cutting
back the limbs to mere stubs — this of course will cause
many water sprouts to come out, which will have to be-
thinned out the following summer. It is often advisable to
head these back, as the tendency is to shoot upward. It also
tends to aid the formation of fruit spurs. Again these are
eases where taking^ two ob three years> tO' aeeomplish thi»

i75

renovation 1-2 to 1-3 of the main limbs should be headed^
back severely each year.

Oftentimes all that is necessary is to head back the main,
branches severely, encouraging those on the side to spread-
out and develop. By heading back according to the condi-
tion of the tree, a new top can be constructed and ready for
business in from two to five years, according to conditions.

It is important that the wounds should be cut clearly
and with some slope, not perfectly horizontal, otherwise
water might stagnate and decay set in. If the limbs have
cavities they should be treated, taking out the decayed
wood, tarring the surface left, and then closing up the cav-
ity with cement or zinc.

Be very careful to follow up the womids where so much
cutting is done, tar or paint these for two years in succes-.
sion.

SPRAYING

There is no orchard practice more important and per--
haps none less understood than spraying. Some people
think it a cure for all troubles, and spray without careful
consideration of what is to be accomplished. As you all
know, we spray to kill insects and fungi. Old orchard trees
generally have both. In my own case, the extermination or
control of the San Jose scale was my great problem in this
line. The old trees were so thoroughly infested with this
pest before they came under my supervision, that in many
cases the ends of the branches were killed back for many
feet, and the masses of scale incrustations could be scraped
off with a case knife. In some cases the life of the tree had
been so sapped out as to be despaired of, and yet today these
trees can scarcely be told from perfectly healthy trees, never
affected. I have used various oils and lime-sulfur solutions.
In severe cases I should advise the use of oils in preference
to the lime-sulfur solutions, as I think it is a little more ef--
fectual in killing the scale. When only a moderate amount
of scale is present, would prefer the lime-sulfur for its fun-
gicidal effect as well as its insecticidal. A combination that
has worked very well with me is to spray in the fall after-
the leaves have fallen with oil one gallon to twelve gallons
water, and following this up in the spring, just before the
leaves unfold, with a thorough spraying of lime-sulfur. Even

176

were there no scale I would give old orchard trees a spraying
of lime-sulfur to kill old fungi.

SUMMER SPRAYING

For a fungicide, I have been using Bordeaux mixture,
but lately this has been russeting the fruit badly. Except
for that, Bordeaux and arsenate of lead sprayed just as the
blossoms have fallen, is effectual. Lime-sulfur and Sulfo-
cide, both tried with promising results. Lice on trees has
made lots of trouble of late. Spraying with oil early in
spring while tree is dormant, will kill many of these.

CULTIVATION

As a general rule I believe in cultivating an orchard.
Nine people out of ten cultivate too little rather than too
much. That is, cultivation would be my rule, leaving in sod,
an exceptional practice. I recognize there are some places
where cultivation is not practical. Where cultivation is
practiced, I would start to shallow plow the orchard early in
the spring, just as soon as the soil will work nicely, and fol-
low this up with a shallow harrowing about every two weeks
or so until the first to the fifteenth of June, then sow a crop
like clover to be worked into the soil the following spring.
I am aware it is a little harder to get a well colored product
from a cultivated than from an orchard in sod. But by
stopping cultivation somewhat earlier than generally prac-
ticed, this trouble will be lessened. Almost always an or-
chard that has been long neglected has made too little wood
growth, and cultivation is the cheapest and best method to
start the wood into vigor.

Do not try to get too close to trunks of trees in a low
headed orchard — the active feeding roots are at the ex-
tremities. Where there is an orchard and a supply of mois-
ture and soil is heavy, the sod mulch method works well, but
the ordinary method of cropping for hay is generally to be
deplored.

FERTILIZATION

To help promote a vigorous wood growth as well as a
tfine textured fruit, some form of fertilization is necessary.
You still hear occasionally of people who will claim it is
impossible to keep up the fertility of the soil without the use
►of stable manure, that commercial fertilizers are a fraud

177

and they act as a stimulus for a short time. While I would
not disparage in the least the use of stable manure, especial-
ly where more vigorous growth is needed, if I was obliged to
take my choice between commercial fertilizer and stable
manure, I would take the chemical without hesitation every
time.

There are fertilizers and fertilizers ; some act quickly,
while others last for years. Some fertilizers are dear at
$20.00 per ton, while some are cheap at $70.00 per ton. In
all my orchard reclaiming work, I have used no stable ma-
nure or mixed fertilizers. I buy the raw chemicals because
they are the cheapest and you know what you are getting.
In varying proportions I have used agricultural lime, Basic
Slag phosphate. Nitrate of Soda, Peruvian Guano, Sulphate
of Potash, Nitrate pf Potash.

My main reliance has been, however, on Basic Slag,
Nitrate of Soda, and Sulphate of Potash and Clover worked
into the soil.

The first years in reclaiming have used about as follows :

150 Nitrate of Soda per acre.

250 Sulphate of Potash per acre.

500 Basic Slag per acre.
After the first year about :

150-200 Sulphate of Potash.

350-500 Basic Slag.
Use clover to supply Nitrogen.

Be sure and broadcast fertilizer — in old orchard — do
not put up close to trunks of trees.

THINNING THE FRUIT

No one, I think I am safe in saying, questions the wis-
dom in thinning peaches after they are large enough to de-
termine what shall be left on. Why should not this princi-
ple apply to apples as well? I wonder how many of you
have ever tried it. Unless you have tried it. I am sure you
would say impractical — that it would take too much time
and labor, and that the effort and expense would be all out
of proportion to the benefits derived. With the old fashioned
high headed trees way up in the air the expense would be
much larger, that is why I am advocating low headed trees.

For the past three years I have made it a practice to
thin all my bearing trees the latter part of June, picking off

178

all wormy or imperfect specimens, leaving only one fruit on
a spur or the apples not closer than five or six inches apart.
The first year that I attempted it the neighbors for miles
around came to see the lunatic who picked his winter apples
in the summer, and yet in the fall when the demonstration
was planned, these same people allowed that there might be
something in it after all. It is not such an expensive task
as one who had not tried it would imagine.

I would say that, on an average, trees yielding from
seven to nine barrels cost us from 35 to 50 per tree to thor-
oughly thin, yet the percentage of culls in the fruit was
slight, the apples were larger, and the trees were relieved of
a great strain. Then again we are getting our trees, year by
year, down more nearly to annual bearing.

I have photographs showing reclaimed trees, also some
kindly loaned by Prof. Maynard.

DISCUSSION

Quest. This orchard was, I understand, an orchard of
200 trees, 35 years old?
Mr. Drew. Yes.

Do you practice heading the inside branches?
Yes ; if they go out too far.

Have you found it necessary to prop these trees?
Yes.

Do you apply fertilizer all at once or at different times?

Generally all at once. If the trees are not making
progress, I sometimes put on two applications.

Would it be well where the trees bear only every other
year to put on fertilizer in the fall?

I think so.

When should the trees be cut back?

Most of them in the spring of the year. In February or
March, but it is advisable to follow this up by considerable
summer pruning.

How do you keep the water sprouts back?
Thin out and head back.
How far head back?
Just as one thinks best.
What is the best time to trim?

I don't know. I have generally done it in February and
March.

179

Does it make any difference so far as the fruit is eon-
cerued whether you prune in summer or winter?

Yes.

Have you found any difference in the flavor of the ap-
ples by thinning them?

I ean hardly say^ but think I have. We think that since
we started to thin we have had a superior quality of apples.

What do you use to fill up cavities in trees?

Fill up with crushed stone, gravel, or something like
that, with cement.

Do you have any trouble with the bark crawling on the
trees?

Not much; have tried in cutting back to leave small
side shoots to protect the bark.

Which is the better time to prune, April or November?

Neither; prune earlier.

In applying the chemicals of which you spoke to the
orchards will the effect be as good if applied to those in sod
as to those that are cultivated?

I think it is always advisable in an old orchard to break
up the soil.

Would you clear out the decayed wood?

I certainly would clean out very thoroughly, and then
fill up with grouting.

Would you, when you first started on these trees, scrape
the old limbs pretty thoroughly?

I don't believe in much scraping, though perhaps it is
well to take off a little and clean by taking off the old rough
bark.

Does it pay to scrape?

I have not done much of it myself. I have denended
mostly on lime-sulfur to clean up the trees.

How would you scrape?

Not into the life of the tree at all.

Have you practiced annual pruning of new growth on
either old or young trees?

I practice annual pruning. If a limb begins to shoot
oft' in one direction, I head it in ; keep it near the type of the
tree.

When would you trim a young, growing apple tree to
get the best growth?

I am not a believer in doing too much pruning on an

i8o

apple tree when it is first set out. I should be inclined to
do the pruning in the summer time.

Would you prune it when you first set it put?

I certainly would, but not too much for the first four
or five years.

In putting on lime-sulfur wash, would you put it on after
a rain or when it is dry.

Put it on whfen the bark is dry and have rain come af-
terwards rather than to put it on just after a rain. It is bet-
ter to have the bark dry at first. I think that is one reason
why people sometimes say that they have been fighting the
scale and the more they fight it, the more it thrives. I think
this must be the trouble. But the scale does not have any
terror for me at all. I should not hesitate to go into an old
orchard and clean it up.

Do you think it hurts an orchard to let the cows run in
it?

I certainly do. I would not have anything else there.

"Why does a tree in a pasture give nice fruit without any
care?

There is only one thing I can say. When a tree is by
itself it is free to the sunlight, air and moisture. I don't be-
lieve in these old straggling trees. Don't try to run live-
stock and an orchard together.

A rising vote of thanks was given the Worcester County
Horticultural Society, the speakers, and the officers of the
Association, and the meeting then adjourned.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Pres. Calvin Rice of the Worcester County Horticul-
tural Society presiding:

I owe you an apology but I don't like to make an
apology. Mr. Ellsworth was to preside at this meeting but
he has been called away to attend to other duties and for
this reason I have been asked to introduce to you Prof.
J. K. Shaw of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, who
will speak on "Apple Packing," and give demonstrations of
barrel packing and the different kinds of box packing.

I8l

APPLE PACKING

It is plain to see we are on the eve of a great fruit
packing revolution, here in the east. Competition from the
west has come in, stirring up the fruit growers. The great
trouble with the fruit at the present time is the packing.
But if only good fruit was- packed, there would not be
enough to meet the demand. The first and most important
requisite of a good commercial apple pack, is good apples.
We must have better apples. We must have apples adapted
to the conditions of the New England climate. Because
an apple does well in the west or south, it is no sign that
it will do well here. AVe must grow a better quality of ap-
ples— apples that will create a demand. If you put in
practice the hints given you by the speakers here today,
you will do more than anything else to bring this about.
We must get better color, that is the most difficult thing
with which we have to compete. We must grow apples
of high eating and cooking quality even if the apples of
poorer quality yield more profit for the time being. The
success of a few men is a sufficient indication of what can
be done if we use the right method.

A few words with reference to the picking and pack-
ing of the fruit. As a general rule, red varieties should be
picked when the color is right ; green ones when the seeds
are ripe. The fruit should be left on the tree until it is fully
matured, then picked and got into the packages as soon as
possible. I don't need to say, 'Never shake the tree;' all
the apples should be picked by hand and it takes consider-
able skill to remove them without breaking the stems.

The baskets in which the fruit is handled should be
padded. I think a half bushel basket is the best thing that
can be used. The half bushel basket is well adapted for
barrel packing. Keep the trees near the ground; a light
ladder is the best kind of a ladder to use. Some use big
bags for picking. I don't think these can be recommended.
There is more chance of bruising the apples and jamming
them.

It is a good idea to have the pickers in three groups.
The first picking from the ground, the next a little higher
up, and the third from the very top of the trees. It is not
a wise plan to climb the trees.

If the apples are packed in boxes, a shed is necessary;

I82

if in barrels, they can be packed in the orchard. The pack-
ing tables should not be too large, 3 1-2 ft. x 6 ft. is large
enough for two packers; many tables are too low, they
should be about three feet high. It is very convenient to
have packing tables without legs; set them on barrels. The
tables should be padded with burlap; have a loose sheet
spread over the whole table. We cannot emphasize too
much the necessity of careful handling. An orange will
stand harder handling than an apple. Pick out perfectly
sound apples, put them away, and later compare with ap-
ples that were slightly injured; you will be surprised to
see the difference in the keeping power.

Some sort of a press is needed. The screw press is
light and convenient. It is an excellent idea to have an
iron ring a little smaller than the head of the barrel, with
two arched cross bars. The screw comes down on the
cross bars; this gets the pressure around the sides of the
barrel, not in the center, and with this the head goes right
into place. In box packing, a press is almost a necessity.

PACKING— BARREL PACKING

This barrel (on the platform) represents the ordinary
type of apple barrel. Those with two heads have the de-
cided advantage. New barrels are always to be preferred
to second hand barrels. The split hoops are not desirable.
It (is a good idea to put in a disk to keep the dust out
when the barrel is opened. You can have some kind of a
brand on the disk. This disk may be of paper and there
are various types. It is best to cut the stems for the fac-
ing layer as it prevents many stem injuries. The great dif-
ficulty in finishing the face layer is the centering. Put
the second layer so that it will break joints with the first.
It is only necessary to put in these two layers by hand.
After each addition of a half bushel, rock the barrel so
the apples will settle down. Great care should be taken
that the fruit be entire ; the contents of a single barrel
should be uniform in size and color, and any two barrels
headed with the same brand must be alike, so that the
buyer may know what is in the barrel by looking at the
brand.

The final test is in finishing the filling of the barrel.
Great pains must be taken to have it come out even, so
that the pressure of the head is evenly distributed and no

i83

apples severely bruised. There is nothing to be gained by-
facing the apples at the bottom. A thin excelsior pad
should be used.

There should be just enough pressure to hold the fruit
until it is taken from the barrel. The BaldAvin and Russet
will stand the most pressure. The Eusset especially has
much shrinkage, more than most other apples.

Each barrel should be marked with the name of the
variety, the grade, the name and address of the owner.
If he is ashamed to put that on, he should put up better
fruit.

PACKING IN BOXES

The idea is njot new. It has been carried on here in
the east for twelve or fifteen years, but it has never been
a success. Box packing has been done successfully by the
packers of the Pacific coast. The box has certain advantages
over the barrel. It furnishes uniformity. The great thing
in packing fruit is to have it uniform, just as good in the
middle as it is in the end ; but it means more than that. It
means that every apple must be like its neighbor, so that
the buyer may know that every year he will get the same
thing. This is important in barrel packing, but not abso-
kitely necessary, but in box packing it is a necessity.

The second great advantage is that there is less in-
jury to the apples. However carefully the barrel is packed
some apples will be harmed, but there is much less chance
for injury to the fruit, when packed in a box. A third
advantage is that the box is a factor for educating the
fruit grower ; there is no trouble l)ut that he will grow
a good box of -apples ; the two things go together.

The box is easier to handle, easier to pick up. It is a
better means of handling fruit and that is what the market
demands. The box is a little more costly than the barrel.
Barrels now cost 35 cts. each. Boxes are ten and fifteen
cents apiece. It is more work to pack boxed apples. Since
it is a new thing on the market, people are a little afraid
of it, but the box is coming in east of the Rocky moun-
tains, although there have been many failures in box
packing. The reasons for failures are several. In the
first place the market in the east does not demand a box.
The principal reason has been the poor work on the part
of the packer glnd lack of uniformity. The apples must

1 84

be uniform both in size and color, but more essential than
that is quality of the apples which are packed; it will not
pay to pack anything but the very best and the packing
is confined mostly to the red apples. I hardly think it
will pay to pack any green apples in boxes.

The proper size of box must be used because it has
been worked out very carefully.

The thing that put the western apple on the market
in boxes was advertising. They did a clever thing — they
created a demand. The time is coming when we here in
the east will get together and cooperate and then we can
put the boxes on the market.

The kind we put in boxes are generally the red va-
rieties, the Mcintosh, etc. This is where the box is coming
in first — with the summer and fall apples, also the Northern
Spy the King, and the best Baldwins. These are the va-
rieties that one should start in with in putting the boxes
on the market.

You cannot vary the size of the box very much if you
are going to have a successful package. This is the Stand-
ard box: 10-1-2 inches x 11 1-2 inches x 18 1-2 inches, in-
side measurement, containing 2,173.5 cubic inches, approxi-
mately a bushel. The ends of the box should be 3-4 inches
thick, the top and bottom 1-4 inches thick, the sides 3-8
inches thick. This thickness cannot be departed from. The
cleats should be 1-4 inches by 3-4 inches.

The Special box is 10 inches by 11 inches by 20 inches.
This is the same as the Standard box of the east and
Canada. The specifications are 10 inches wide, 11 inches
deep, 20 inches long; the ends 3-4 inches thick (planed on
outside), the sides 3-8 inches thick (planed). Have the
side all in one piece, if possible. Use four penny nails,
waxed. Don't nail the bottom on to the sides but to the
ends.

ACCESSORIES

The boxes sh'ould be lined Avith some sort of paper;
that prevents drying out and shrinkage of fruit. The
paper should be 19 inches by 26 inches. Two pieces are
sufficient to line the box. Fancy paper is sometimes used
for linings, cut 11 inches by 20 inches; put one on the bot-
tom and one at the top. Pads can be used but they are not
necessary. The apples are sometimes wrapped. This is

1 85

not essential but it is a good thing. To wrap apples proper-
ly takes some skill and some practice. The paper for
wrapping should be ten inches by ten inches or ten inches
by eight inches. Waxed paper should be used only when
the apples are to be in the boxes for some time, as for
export. If the apples are properly packed there is not
much need for wrapping but it prevents spread of decay
through the box and, what is of more importance, the
waxed paper checks evaporation, keeps the fruit at a more
even temperature and adds to the appearance of the pack-
age. There may be some device giving the name and ad-
dress on the wrapping paper. It is easier to make a good
package when the apples are wrapped, because the wrap-
ping makes a cushion. It is also an advantage if the ap-
ples are put in storage as it takes a longer time for them
to cool.

METHOD OF PACKING THE BOXES

The boxes must be placed on a slight slope. The first
layer of apples ought to be stemmed; they are put in face
down; there are several types of packing which I will il-
lustrate ; there is the straight pack, the offset and the diag-
onal pack. The straight pack : Put the apples in a row
p<jross the bottom of the box, another row next to that and
so on, another layer on top of the first layer. If you get
in the bottom layer right, the box can be set up on end and
the layer -will not fall out. This is the simplest pack.
You must have three or four or five apples across the bot-
tom. Another trouble will come in filling the box up just
to the top. Care should be taken to get a proper crown
or bulge. This should be about one to one and one-half
inches and is secured by packing the long apples in tfie
middle of the box.

The offset pack is going out of use. Put three apples
in the first row and then three apples in the second al-
ternating with those in the firs^-. The next layer alternates
with the first layer. This pack is not to be recommended.

In the diagonal pack, place one in each corner and one
in the middle. In the next row the apples are placed op-
posite the spaces.

The straight pack is the one to be recommended.

It is essential that the boxes be packed in perfect order
and in order to do that, the apples must be graded accu-

i86

rately according to size. Ordinarily you will get four or
five layers in a box. The first two layers are to be put in
with the stems down, then it is a good idea to put the stems
up on the other layers but it is a little more difficult to
pack that way.

MARKING

The boxes should be marked the same way as the bar-
rels. Generally put on the number of apples there are in
the box. It is also a good idea to put on the number of the
packer and the name and address of the grower.

The use of the box will come in rather slowly here in
the east unless it is put on the market by some organiza-
tion. By doing this you will soon get up a name that will
help greatly. We find here and there a man who has done
just as well with box packing as the growers on the Pacific
<3oast. Every grower should promote its use whenever
possible on account of its advantages as an apple package.

The afternoon session was a joint meeting with the
Worcester County Horticultural Society.

^CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I.

NAME

This organization sliall be called the "Massachusetts
Fruit Growers' Association."

ARTICLE II.

OBJECT

The object of this Association shall be to encourage the
cultivation of fruits adapted to this climate ; to collect and
disseminate reliable information on the best varieties of
fruits, and practical methods of cultivation, gathering,
packing, storing and preparation of fruit, for both home
and, foreign markets; to investigate diseases, insects and
other obstacles to success, and the remedies best calculated
to overcome them,

ARTICLE III.

OFFICERS

The officers of this Association shall be a President,
Vice-president^ Secretary, Treasurer, an Auditor, and a
Board of Directors consisting of twenty-four members, two
from each county, as far as practicable.

ARTICLE IV.

MEMBERSHIP

Each member shall pay an admission fee of one dollar,
and an annual assessment of one dollar, which shall be due
at the time of the annual meeting.

♦With revisions to date.

i88
ARTICLE V.

MEETINGS

Section 1. This Association shall hold at least two
regular meetings each year. The annual meeting, for the
election of officers, shall be held in the city of Worcester,
on the second "Wednesday of March at 2 o'clock p. m.

Sect. 2. In the election of officers and the transaction
of other business, twenty members shall constitute a quo-
rum; a majority vote shall constitute an election. All of-
ficers shall hold over until their successors are chosen.

ARTICLE VI.

SPECIAL MEETINGS

The President and Secretary shall have power to call
special meetings of the Association, or of the Directors;
or upon the written petition of fifteen members they shall
issue such call. The object of these meetings shall be
stated in the call, which shall be issued by mail to each
member, at least seven days prior to such meetings.

ARTICLE VII.

AMENDMENTS

Any amendment to this constitution may be made by
a vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting; a
notice of the proposed change having been given at a pre-
vious regular meeting.

BY-LAWS.

DUTY OF THE PRESIDENT

1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the
Association and perform such duties as pertain to the of-
fice. In his absence his duties shall devolve upon the
Vice-president, or, in his absence, upon the director for
the county in which the meeting may be held.

DUTY OF THE SECRETARY

2. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to attend all
meetings of the Association, and keep a record of its trans-
actions ; conduct all correspondence ; keep a list of members
of the Association; collect the assessments and pay over
the same to the Treasurer; notify members of their election
and members of committees of their appointment.

DUTY OF THE TREASURER

3. The Treasurer shall have charge of all moneys be-
longing to the Association; he shall keep a record of all
receipts and disbursements; he shall pay out money only
on bills approved by the President and Secretary; he shall
report in writing at the annual meeting; he shall
keep a list of members and their places of residence, and
at the close of his term of office turn over all records and
funds in his possession to his successor.

SALARY OF SECRETARY AND TREASURER

4. The Secretary and Treasurer may be the same per-
son and shall receive for the performance of the duties of
both offices the sum of fifty dollars ($50) per year.

DUTY OF THE AUDITOR

5. The Auditor shall examine and report upon the
books and accounts of the Treasurer; he shall be entitled

19©

to demand all books, papers and vouchers three days pre-
vious to the annual meeting.

DUTIES OF DIRECTORS

6. The duties of the Directors shall be to bring the-
objects and interests of the Association to the notice of the-
people of their several counties; to urge their claims and
endeavor to iuerease the membership; they shall examine
and report on newly introduced varieties in their several
localities, as to their quality and probable value for general
cultivation.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

7. The President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treas-
urer and Auditor shall be elected by ballot, and the Board
of Directors by a majority vote of the members present;,
they shall hold office till their successors are duly elected:
the first five officers shall be ex-officio members of the Board
of Directors.

VACANCIES

8. Vacancies in any office caused by resignation^
death, or removal from the State, shall be filled by the
Board of Directors for the unexpired term of the office.

DISCONTfNUANCE OF MEMBERSHIP

9. Any member who shall neglect, for a period of
two years, to pay his annual assessments, shall cease to-
retain his connection with the Association, and the Secre-
tary shall have power to erase his name from the list of
members.

IN FORCE

10. These articles shall take effect and be in force
from their adoption by a majority vote of the Association.

AMENDMENTS

11. These By-Laws may be amended at any meeting-
of the Association by a majority vote of the members pres-
ent and voting,, notice of the change proposed having beea
made at a previous meetijig..

MASSACHUSETTS

FRUIT GROWERS

f

ASSOCIATION

( ORGANIZED MARCH 21, J895 ),

REPORT OF THE

17th Annual Meeting

HELD IN

Horticulttiral Hall, Worcester

1911

PUTNAM, CONN. :

THE OBSERVER PRESS

V9M

OFFICERS OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS'

ASSOCIATION

\9M

S. T. MAYNARD, President,

H. L. FROST, Vice-President,

P. HOWARD BROWN, Secretary-Treasurer,

H. WARD MOORE, Auditor,

Northboro

Arlington

INIarlboro

Worcester

DIRECTORS

ESSEX COUNTY:
SUFFOLK COUNTY:
NORFOLK COUNTY:
MIDDLESEX COUNTY:

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY :

HAMPDEN COUNTY :

BERKSHIRE COUNTY:
FRANKLIN COUNTY:

WORCESTER COUNTY

E. A. Emerson, Haverhill; John Bark-
er, North Andover.
George Crulckshanks, Chelsea; A.

Warren Patch, Boston.
George N. Smith, Wellesley; Charles

A. Wilson, West Medway.
C. L, Blake, Ashby; E. F. Gilson,

Groton; E. D. Howe, Marlboro; E.

R. Fan-ar, South Lincoln; Wilfrid

Wheeler, Concord.
John W. Clark, North Hadley; Fred

C. Sears, Amherst; J. T. Geer,

Three Rivers.
L. W. Rice, Wilbraham; Ethelbert

Bliss, Wilbraham.
R. H. Race, North Egremont.

E. F. Copeland, Colrain; Wm. Daven-
port, Colrain; Charles A. Smith,
Ashfield.
: S. J. Emerson, Lunenburg; W. D.
Ross, Worcester; H. R. Kinney,
Worcester; Edmund Mortimer,
Grafton.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS'
ASSOCIATION

March 8th and 9th, 19 U
Horticultural Hall, Worcester, Mass.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 10.00 A. M.

With the largest attendance in the history of the Asso-
ciation the 17th annual meeting was opened promptly at
10 o'clock by President S. T. Maynard of Northboro. He in-
troduced Mayor James Logan who welcomed the Associa-
tion to the Heart of the Comonwealth as follows :
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:

In March, 1908, it was my pleasure to extend to the
members of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association
the welcome of the city of Worcester, and I am glad to be
able to extend to you the greetings of the city once more.

There was a landslide last December — perhaps you re-
member it — and you came pretty near having another
Mayor to bid you welcome to Worcester this year.

The people are getting more particular every year and
so each year, to use a slang expression of the street, ''it is
harder to get by," and while I am still doing business at
the old stand, this will be my last opportunity to extend
the welcome of this goodly city to the members of your as-
sociation.

When I had the pleasure of speaking to you in 1908
I had had just tAvo months' practice in the business of city-
government. I have learned a lot since then and I have had
a lot of theoretical advice in these j^ears of service all of
which I could not even absorb, and most of it I could not
use.

If you have added to your stock of knowledge about
fruit growing as much as I have added to mine in regard to
municipal atfairs, you have added considerable.

I am glad to have this opportunity this morning to say
just a word of welcome. I am not here to make a speech.
You have before you more important business than anything
I would be able to say to you and my advice on your busi-
ness would probably be of as much use to you as is most of
the advice that I receive as to the best way to run the affairs
of a city.

Tonight we are to break bread together and it may be
that after a good feast you may be willing to listen to a
poor speech.

I welcome you here today and hope to be with you
again tonight.

RESPONSE OF PRESIDENT MAYNARD:

The city of Worcester undoubtedly knows a good of-
ficial when it gets one. We believe it has been the cus-
tom to select a new mayor each year, but Mayor Logan we
know has been re-elected to this office several times and from
what we know, we believe he will be elected again and that
he will be retained still another year as IMayor of Worcester.

We thank him for his Avelcome and the interest he has
shown in our Association and work.

ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT

The Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association has had
a fairly prosperous season, not perhaps so much as an or-
ganization as in the prosperity of its members. Fruit crops
have generally been of fine quality and prices have been

good. The weather couditious have beeu unfavorable to
the rapid increase of insects and fungous pests. Every-
where there has been an increased interest in fruit growing ;
rich men have been buying up old orchards and planting
new, and corporations are being formed with capital enough
to do all the necessary work for successful fruit growing.
This condition means that the small grower must be thor-
ough in all the details of his business. AVith the improved
quality of our fruit due to weather conditions and more
spraying and the advertising our fruit received at the New
England Fruit Show, there has been an increased demand
for Massachusetts fruit which will continue to increase as
long as Ave produce fancy fruit.

President ]\Iaynard then called for the report of the
Secretary, F. Howard Brown of IMarlboro.

REPORT OF SECRETARY

Mr. President and members of the Fruit Growers' Associa-
tion :
As the records of our last annual meeting have already
been printed, I will not now take the time to read them, but
will take up what has been done since that time.

INSTITUTES
Colrain

The joint institute of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers'
Association and the Franklin County Agricultural Society
was held with great success at Colrain, January 27, 1911,
Avliere there was an enthusiastic audience of over 200. Di-
rector E. F. Copeland presided in the absence of the presi-
dent. ]Mr. H. L. Frost of Arlington was the morning speaker
on Spraying and Spraying Appliances, which latter, in the
form of nozzles, couplings, etc., were shown and explained.
The subject was covered very ably, and much valuable in-
formation given. Dinner was served at noon by the Wom-
en's Relief Corps.

In the afternoon, Prof. Alvah J. Norman of the Ex-
tension Department of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col-
lege, on Pruning, demonstrated with sections, the right and

wrong way of sawing when taking off large branches. He
also showed a pruning outfit, and upon some young trees
brought in from outside, demonstrated the proper methods
of pruning to obtain the different forms of heads from the
time the tree was planted.

Lunenburg

On P"'ebruary 18, a joint institute was held with the
Middlesex North Agricultural Society at Lunenburg. Pres-
ident ]\Iead of the Agricultural Society called the meeting
to order, and then President Maynard took charge and in-
troduced the speakers. Mr. Elmer B. Parker of AVilton, N.
H., read a very practical paper on Peach Growing in N. H.
Lively discussion and questions followed imtil a halt was
called for the free lunch which was served by Lunenburg
Grange.

The speaker of the afternoon session was Prof. F. C.
Sears of the Agricultural College on "Personal Experi-
ences in Starting an Orchard in Massachusetts." A com-
plete description was given of the methods followed and the
results obtained to date on this farm where some 25.000 trees
have already been planted.

Danvers

A joint meeting with the Essex County Agricultural
Society was held March 3, at Danvers with President Dan-
forth presiding. At both sessions the subjects were illus-
trated by stereopticon. That of Professor Pickett of N. H.
Agricultural College, in the morning, was on Pruning the
Apple Orchard. The slides showed the various methods of
pruning the old high headed trees to lower these, and also
it showed the proper ways of pruning young trees. Dinner
was served by Danvers Grange at noon.

At the afternoon session, Mr. Wilfred Wheeler of Con-
cord, gave a very interesting and instructive talk on the
Culture of Small Fruits. The pictures shown were many of
them taken on his own farm which added to the interest.

A strenuous attempt was made to hold an institute at
Framingham in conjimction with the Middlesex South Ag-
ricultural Society and Framingham Grange. After writing
eight different speakers and being unable to secure one for
that date and as the Agricultural Society was having diffi-

culty in securing its dairy speaker for the afternoon session^
your Secretary left the matter entirely in the hands of the
Agricultural Society, as the time was too short before the
meeting to warrant further delays necessary where two dif-
ferent parties are working from a distance.

A recommendation for future institutes would be, to
have fruit and kindred subjects handled by the speakers
who represent the Agricultural societies and not have dairy
or non-fruit lectures at our joint meetings ; the other sub-
jects having their proper places at the regular institutes
of the societies.

The special thanks of the Association are tendered
Secretary Ellsworth of the State Board of Agriculture,
without whose aid and hearty support the holding of these
meetings would have been impossible, and to the Massachu-
setts Agricultural College, the Franklin County, Middle-
sex North, Middlesex South and the 'Essex County Agri-
cultural Societies, the Woman 's Relief Corps of Coirain, and
Lunenburg, Framingham and Danvers Granges, and to all
who have contributed to the success of the meetings ; for
the hearty response, the spirit of co-operation and assist-
ance given in holding the institutes.

FIELD MEETINGS

IMany attempts were made during the past .year to hold
field meetings, but without success. It has become evident
that such meetings* must be arranged far in advance, and
provisional promises obtained subject to crop conditions.

On this basis meetings have been planned for as follows:

1. Strawberry meeting with "Wilfred Wheeler at Con-
cord in June.

2. Last of July. Early Apples at Littleton, at the Drew,
Munson Co's orchards.

3. At Wilbraham, the middle of August. Early Peaches
with L. W. Rice.

4. At Berlin, with Alh?rt A. Jacobs, Elbertas early
in September.

5. Late September, at Newbury where the Russet
grows to perfection, centering with Mr. Frank Perkins.

6. At the grounds of the IMassachusetts Agriculturai
College with trips to the Mount Warner orchards of ex-
president John W. Clark and to the newly set Bay Road

8

Farm orchards of Professors Waiigh and Sears. Date to be
announced.

7. At the Leman orchards, Hopkinton, showing the
practical results from the new system of pruning old apple
trees, under the supervision of President S. T. Maynard.
Date unsettled.

The usual idea of these field meetings will be to limit
them to members, lunch on the basket plan, thus making
them less burdensome to those who entertain — an unwieldy
«rowd not being desired.

Members will receive notices of the meeting's in due
season.

The Secretary wishes to apologize for making these
arrangements previous to the election of officers, but for
the good of the Association it seemed necessary.

ACCOUNTS OF THE MEMBERS

An inexpensive loose-leaf ledger has been purchased,
and after considerable labor, the account of each member
as now shown on a separate sheet. All past payments are
recorded, and there are spaces for fifteen future payments.
"With this system well under way a maximum of efficiency
with a minimum of labor is evident.

FIVE YEAR REPORT

Owing to the demands for the printed reports of our
Annual Meetings, and with the knowledge that the funds
in the treasury had been received with the expectation of
obtaining these reports, your Secretary tackled the proposi-
tion of preparing for printing the proceeding of the last five
years. Thanks are due to past Secretaries for valuable as-
sistance. The result is ready for distribution at the Mem-
bership desk. You are entitled to it if you have paid your
dues for 1910 (receipts read ''to March 15, 1911") others
may obtain it by the payment of one dollar.

The sole source of income of this Association is from the
annual dues of the members, which are only one dollar a
year.. This means we must have a large membership. Do
your share by bringing in at least one new member. Many
have sent in new names already, and from institutes and
other sources, 50 new members have been added. Let us
aim at a membership of 1000.

We ought to have a direct appropriation from the State,

9

•and I trust that efforts will be made to obtain it. The
•other New England Fruit Associations have regular appro-
priations from their states, besides special appropriations
for the N. E. Fruit Show which we decidedly should have.
Your Secretary received notice from Secretary Ells-
worth of the State Board of Agriculture to attend the hear-
ing at the State House on the bill for the ten year close
season on deer. The weight of the arguments both in num-
bers and force was opposed to the bill and in favor of keep-
ing the present law on the statute books.

DATE OF AA^NUAL MEETING

Many find the date of our annual meeting inconvenient
for various causes and the suggestion has been made that
the time be changed to the third Wednesday in January,
which date does not eontlict with the outside State Fruit
Growers' meetings, which is a matter to be considered in
obtaining out of state speakers for our meeting as well as
the attendance of our own prominent members. This date
would allow the results of the preceding season's work and
experiments to be thoroughly digested and written up after
the rush is over, and at the same time allow the report of
the meeting to be printed and placed in the hands of each
member in time for use the coming season. With our chang-
ing methods, and npw sprays, each year sees decided improv-
ments which should be placed before our members at once.

Through the kindness and generosity of the Worcester
County Horticultural Society it may be possible to obtain
the free use of the hall for this date, as has been their help-
ful custom in the past. In conferring unofficially with the
officers of the Society this seems to be the general sentiment.

In connection with changing the date of the meeting, it
has been suggested that this will afford an opportunity for
the Fruit Growers' as an Association to hold a banquet of
their own, as it is well known that the hospitality of the
Horticultural Society is at present taxed to the limit to
provide room for their own members and the invited guests
of our Association at their baac.uet which occurs at the
time of our present annual session.

Many members complain that in an early spring, the
meeting now comes at a time when they should be at home
keeping ahead of the work. We all know how last spring
even those who were ahead found difficulty in finishing their

lO

spraying owing to the high Avinds before the buds were too
far advanced.

Another feature against the present date is that Farm-
ers' "Week at the Massachusetts Agricultural College usually
comes at that time so we are unable to obtain the presence
of our professors at our meeting.

Surely a more representative display of fruit would be
possible at the earlier date and if we are to have our ex-
hibition at the time of the annual meeting in the future this
is important.

SCALECIDE CUP PRESENTED BY THE B. G. PRATT
CO. N. Y. CITY.

This handsome silver cup suitably engraved, is offered
to the member of this Association who exhibits the best
three bushel boxes of apples of any three varieties grown in
the State. The cup is to remain in the possession of the year-
ly winner (although the property of the Association) until it
shall be won by the same member at two annual fruit shows
of the Association not necessarily consecutively — after
which it will become his or her exclusive property. The
winner is to give a short description of cultural methods
used, if possible at the meeting or published in the annual
report of the meeting, for the benefit of the Association.
The judges of the general fruit exhibit are to select the
winner, using such score cards as they mky elect.

Pres. What will you do? Appoint an Auditor pro tern
or wait for Mr. Ellsworth who is not yet present?

On motion it was yoted to appoint an Auditor pro tem
and Mr. Eliott ]\Ioore was appointed.

Pres. You have heard the report of the Secretary,
what will you do with it?

Prof. Sears. I think there has been a great deal of work
put into this report and it is due great consideration, I
move that a committee be appointed to which this report
may be referred.

Pres. How shall this committee be appointed?

By the chair, and consist of three members.

Pres. I will appoint Prof. Sears, Ex-President J. W.
Clark and Mr. Brown.

II

President Maynard then introduced Mr. W. A. Munson
of the Drew-Munson Co., which won the prize for the great-
est yield from any acre of apple trees in one solid block.

TREATMENT OF THE PRIZE APPLE ACRE

W. A. MUNSON, Littleton

In giving you the treatment and care of the orchard
that produced 227 bbls. of apples on an acre, I will start
with the pruning and follow the work as it proceeded to the
picking and packing of the fruit.

The pruning was done by myself with the assistance of
one man. The main idea was to open up the centres of the
trees, thin out the wood where the branches were thick, and
take out all the cankered and diseased wood. In most
cases fully one third of the tree had to come out in order to
get the desired top opening and what I thought to be a
sufficient thinning of the lower branches. In this work it is -
my aim not to have one branch interfere with another and
to leave the tree when finished, open, so that the sun will
strike all parts at some time during the day. In some cases
a sucker was left to grow up in order to make new wood
and fill in the tops Avhich were headed back to keep the
trees from growing too high, as my idea is to keep them down
where a twenty foot ladder will be all that is necessary to
do the picking. All spraying work can be done from the
ground, or from the wagon carrying the pump.

After the pruning, the trees were sprayed thoroughly
with lime and sulfur. In doing this I generally waste con-
siderable material, but it pays to do it as thoroughly as it
can possibly be done. This spraying controlled the canker
and there is no evidence of any new infestation.

About the first of April, the soil was plowed as close
to the trees as it could be done, and then harrowed to a
very fine mechanical condition. At the time the harrowing
was done the fertilizer was applied in the following form-
ula. 1000 lbs. of basic slag phosphate mixed with 225 lbs.
of high grade sulphate of potash ; with this, 2 lbs. of nitrate
of soda was cast under each tree. A month later another
application of soda was given to the tree most heavily laden,
making altogether 180 lbs. of this chemical used in all.

At the time the blossoms had finished falling, the or-
chard was sprayed with Bordeaux mixture and arsenate of

12

load. This spraying did not completely control the leaf
spot l)ut it did control the coddling moth so that it was dif-
ficult to find a wormy apple in the lot, and very little fungus
on the fruit.

Cultivation was kept up once a week until the middle
of July, at which time clover was sown, and nothing more
was done until 'kicking time.

AVhile the picking was going on I was in the orchard
all the time, and insisted that the apples be picked with-
out breaking ofi" the fruit spurs, and that they be handled
without bruising. The fruit was taken to the packing shed
and sorted into three grades, some of the best was packed
in the western style box.

This winter the trees have been scraped lightly and
will be sprayed with oil as there is a little scale left which
was missed with the lime and sulfur.

The treatment of the orchard this year will be a little
■ different, as the trees made considerable growth, and I do
-not think that as much fertilizer will be needed, nor will
•. the cultivation be as close to the trees.

DISCUSSION

Q. How old is this orchard?

Nineteen years; not an old orchard.

Q. How many trees are there to the acre?

The trees are about twenty-five feet apart, 60 to an acre.

Q. Do you apply nitrate of soda at all?

Not this year.

Q. Do you obtain nitrogen from clover?

Yes, we seeded to clover last year.

Q. How will you cultivate it this year?

I shall not plow the land at all this year. I use a disk

"*harrow and go down through the trees. The trees were so

heavily loaded last year that the branches laid on the

ground. It is noM^ almost impossible to get a horse in

through the trees.

Pres. : In plowing would a great many of the old roots
be injured?

This orchard has been cultivated more or less ever since
it was set out.

Q. What do you spray with?

I shall spray with soluble oil just as soon as I can do it.

Q. What kind of a spray pump do you use ?

13

Ordinary barrel pump. There are several good makes. .
I use the Douglas.

Q. "What kind of a nozzle?

The Friend nozzle wastes less material and covers the
branches more thoroughly. In the summer time we use this .
nozzle for lower limbs and the Bordeaux nozzle for the high-
er limbs.

Q. About how much ground was covered by the foli-
age?

The foliage in this orchard very nearly covered all the
ground, the branches nearly touched each other. I have to
cut them back each year.

Q. What kind of apples are they?

Baldwins. One of these 19 year old trees had 10 barrels
of apples on it.

Q. If your trees were thirty-five feet apart, would you
use it all for orchard, or put a part into a crop?

I should put it all into apples. I don't think you can
raise two crops on the same ground and get good results.

Q. What if you have a heavy crop of clover in June and
then have a drought?

I shall probably lose by it.

Q. Do you do any thinning?

No; not any.

Q. Do you expect to control the scale better by using
oil than by lime-sulfur?

I used lime-sulfur on peaches and nearly wiped the scale
out last year, so this year I am going to see what results I
can get from using oil on the apple orchard. I scraped
these trees and when I took the old bark off I found consid-
erable scale under the bark.

Q. Suppose you use miscible oil and the weather is
cold?

Some Scalecide man can tell about that better than I
can. I don't want to put oil on peach trees with the ther-
mometer under 50°, but if it freezes afterwards I do not
know that it would injure them much.

Mr. Keyes : What becomes of the scale on the bark that
you scraped off?

It dries up and dies.

Mr, Whitney: We elect officers this afternoon and I
move ttat we appoint a nominating committee of five to-

14

present a list of officers for the ensuing year and bring them
in for the first of the exercises this afternoon.

Pres. : All in favor of this, please say Aye, those op-
posed Nay. It is a vote.

This committee was appointed by the chair and con-
sisted of the following : Ex-President Whitney, Upton ; B.
F. Copeland, Colrain ; Elmer D. Howe, Marlboro ; Monroe
Morse, Medway, and John Barker, North Andover.

Pres. : Is the Auditor ready to report ?

Mr. Moore, Auditor pro tem. : I have attended to the
duties assigned me and find the accounts correct, the vouch-
ers in due order, and money all deposited in the bank.

Pres. : You hear the report of the Auditor, what will you
do with it ?

Voted to accept and adopt it.

The Treasurer's report was then called for by the Presi-
dent.

TREASURER'S REPORT

Mr. President and Members :

The report of the Treasurer is as follows :

Keceived from former Treasurer S. T. Maynard, $265.41
Eeceived from Membership Dues to date, 139.00

Total receipts, $404.41

Back bill for reporting 1909 and 1910 meetings, $ 20.30

Printing report 1906-1910 inclusive, 213.80

Secretary's office, institutes, programs, notices, etc., 64.08

Salary of Secretary-Treasurer, 50.00

Balance on hand, 56.23

$404.41

Thus we have printed the report of our last five annual
meetings, paid one back bill, held three institutes, carried on
an unusual amount of correspondence, and after paying the
Secretary's salary (which he certainly expected to be
obliged to contribute at the. time the printing of the report

15

was undertaken) our Association stands squarely on its feet
with every bill paid.

Respectfully submitted,

F. HOWARD BROWN, Treasurer.

Pres. : You have heard the report of the Treasurer.
What will you do with it?

Voted to accept and adopt it.

Director Copeland of Colrain here stated that yesterday
and the day before he persuaded 28 people to join the Asso-
ciation, thus adding $28 more to the money in the treasury,

Pres. Maynard then introduced Prof. A. J. Norman,
who read the following paper:

DEMONSTRATION ORCHARDS

PROF. ALVAH J. NORMAN,
Extension Work in Horticulture, M. A. C.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :

I shall try in a very few moments to give you soma idea
as to what the College is doing for the fruit growers of the
state through its department of Extension Work.

Most of you are familiar with the organization of this
department, how we have men who are devoting their en-
tire time to Extension Work along the various lines of Ag-
riculture. It is my privilege to serve as Extension AVorker
in Horticulture, and it is of that particular work I wish to
speak.

In the first place there has been and is a tremendous
need for such work. It was definitely started in the early
spring of 1910, when four demonstration orchards -were
placed in various parts of the state, but it was not until
September last that a person was engaged to devote his
whole time to this work.

The following outline of v/ork, which was presented to
the Legislative Committee a short time since, will give you
some idearas to the work we are doing and the work we hope
to do in the future if money and men are provided.

I, Demonstration Orchards

Four new orchards were planted in 1910, containing a
total of about 2,300 trees. In 1911, the total number in these

i6

four orchards will be increased to approximately 2,500. Our
purpose is to make a special demonstration of pruning at
each of these orchards in 1911, and demonstrations of both
pruning and spraj^ing in 1912 ; this to be continued each
year as there may be need. These orchards are at Colrain,
Westhampton, Sturbridge, and West Newbury.

This year, 1911, we will plant five orchards, which will
contain about 2,500 tres. These will be cared for in the
years to come as outlined above. The locations of these
orchards are North Adams, Granville, Entield, Medway, and!
East Brookfield.

In 1910, one old orchard at Hardwick was taken as a
renovation project. The owner did about $140.00 worth of
work, such as pruning, spraying, cultivation, etc., under
our direction, and the first year's crop though grown in an
off year was sold for $195.00. "VVe have two renovation pro-
jects on for this year.

Our intentions are to place four or five orchards each
year until we have a demonstration orchard in each of the-
more important fruit growing centers of the commonwealth^
and it is hoped that these orchards may prove a good meet-
ing ground for all who may be interested in orcharding, and
especially for summer meetings of this association.

II. Apple Production Statistics

We need very much to know the amount of apples pro-
duced in each town in the state. We should receive as ac-
curate information as possible regarding this subject each
year. We expect to do something along this line this year
and trust that we may have the cooperation of the members
of this Association.

III, Apple Consumption

As we wish to increase the production, we want also to
increase the consumption of apples. Few people utilize ap-
ples in all the ways they might, and few realize the won-
derful possibilities of the apple used as food. This field i»
not being touched at present.

IV. Orchard By-products

The orchardists of the state should be informed as ta
the best way to utilize their entire fruit crop. This includes

17

the subjects of Dried fruits, Cider or fruit juices, Vinegar,
Home Canning, Preserves, Evaporation, etc.

V. Institutes

In cooperation with this Association and the State
Board of Agriculture much good could be accomplished
through Institutes devoted wholly to fruit growing.

VI. Movable Schools

We hope to be able to conduct regular schools of from
three days to a week's duration, in some of the more prom-
inent apple towns. The interest is sufficient to make such a
project possible.

VII. Horticultural Societies

Live organizations of the fruit growers in each section
of the state are needed. Such organizations should work
with or be a part of this Association.

VIII. Short Courses at the College

Advanced courses will probably be offered for thos«
who might wish to return for a second or third winter at
the college.

IX. Cooperation With Schools

An orchard containing fruit trees and small fruits
should be a part of every high school or rural school. It
would be more permanent than school gardens, and more
instructive. One such proposition is now being considered.

X. Home Gardens

There are not enough vegetables grown at the farm
homes. This field should be entered with a view to increas-
ing the kinds and quantities of vegetables consumed on the
farm, and to prolong the vegetable season by use of hot
beds.

XI. Improvement of the Landscape

About the farm home offers a legitimate field which has not
been entered. Also the improvement of rural roads, ceme-
teries, school grounds, town commons, railroad grounds, etc.

i8

XII. A Soil Survey-
To locate the desirable apple soils of the state is under con-
sideration.

XIII. Cooperation With Boards of Trade

With a view to issuing attractive circulars advertising the
various sections of the commonwealth

I think that from this outline you will agree with me
that there is a need for this work. Each item might be ex-
plained more fully but I wish only to call your attention
to one: That is the one dealing with Horticultural Societies.

You will notice that it is our desire to help all existing
fruit growing organizations in the state and when it seems
necessary, start new ones. We are very glad to know that
this organization is doing such good work and we want to
assure the members of the organization that the Extension
workers in Horticulture will endeavor to go hand in hand
with the Fruit Growers' Association. For that reason, we
shall be delighted to have you retain in office your present
secretary, who has so ably served you and whom we have
found to be such a congenial fellow workman. We sjhall be
glad at all times to receive suggestions from the members of
this organization, for it is our endeavor to do that which
will bring the greatest help to the fruit growers of the State.

In closing, let me say there is no occupation, consider-
ing all things, that can equal fruit growing, either from the
standpoint of financial gain or the standpoint of pleasure it
may bring. And then, too, fruit growing as an influence
for good upon the lives of its followers cannot be equalled
by any secular employment.

We are not surprised that fruit growers are enthus-
iastic. They can not help but be ; and we, who represent
the College, wish to influence or guide that enthusiasm so
that it will make for more fruit, better fruit, and the con-
sumption of greater quantities of fruit.

Q. Do you have any men at the College that you send
out to do pruning!

We have several students that we send out and if any
of you wish them to come to you, you must give your names
in at once. They get 25 cents an hour and go out during
the spring vacation.

19

Q. Do you have anyone for grafting?
Prof. Norman : We do not have anyone we can recom-
mend to go out and do grafting.

The principal address of the forenoon session was given
by Prof. Fred C. Sears of the Massachusetts Agricultural
College, as follows :

OBSERVATIONS ON THE APPLE INDUSTRY OF THE

PACIFIC COAST

PROF. FRED C. SEARS

Mass. Agricultural College, Amherst.

I want to begin my talk this morning by giving you
some of the general impressions which my western trip has
left with me, and I want to close it with as accurate a com-
parison as I can make of the relative advantages and dis-
advantages of New England and the Pacific Northwest as or-
chard sections, and some of the lessons which it seems to me
we can learn from them.

As you probably all know, I have done more or less
talking during the past three years on the subject of apple
growing in New England. I have told people there was
money to be made out of it, if properly conducted, and have
shown my faith in the business by going into it myself. And
I have insisted that New England had very distinct ad-
vantages over the West. I still think so. But I want to tell
you confidentially that for the first week of my stay in the
Northwest I was staggered, and began to consider whether
the Bay Road Fruit Farm (the farm Professor Waugh and
I have at Amherst) could be worked over into a poultry
farm or a game preserve. For I never saw before and may
never see again such beautiful fruit ! I had expected to see
fine Newtons and Spitzenburgs, but to see Baldwins and
Rhode Island Greenings absolutely the most beautiful things
in the apple line was rather disconcerting, for I thought
they were New England specialties. I said to myself, "My
boy, you had better go home and apologize to the orchard
men of New England for attempting to lead them astray."
This impression of their beautiful fruit stayed with me dur-
ing my entire trip, and will always stay with me. Their
best fruit is a glorious sight and a thing to be proud of, and

20

I take off my hat to the men who grew it. But the longer
I stayed there and the more I studied the matter, and in
particular the more I got behind the scenes and talked with
the growers, the more "comfortable" I felt and the more
sure I was that I should not need to offer that apology to
the fruit growers of New England.

My second most vivid and lasting impression was that
every man. woman and child of those sections was interest-
ed in apples. I never saw anything like it ! Not only is
the whole coimty, of such a section as Wenatchee or Hood
River, one vast orchard, divided up merely by the roads
which run through it, but every business in the county is
conducted by and for the fruit man ; the banks are officered
by orchard owners ; the souvenir cards represent some kind
of fruit or some phase of fruit growing, — -perhaps two apples
taking up the entire space on top of a fiat ear, or a man haul-
ing a single pear out of his orchard with a team of horses ;
the hardware stores are full of every contrivance for the
benefit of the fruit grower, from cement-coated nails for
his apple boxes to the latest type of box press ; every or-
chard section and every railroad has its advertising booklet,
ornamented with apples in colors ; and even the ladies ' hats,
instead of looking like a dishpan or coal hod, as they do
with us, looked like a peach basket or an apple box. I can
see in this universal interest in the orchard business both an
advantage and a disadvantage, both a hope and a menace.
On the one hand, it is bound to push the industry forward,
it has already done so, and will always do so with an indus-
try where men engage in it in a single section. What one
man does not think of, another man does, and the busir-ess
as a whole is wonderfully advanced. On the other hand,
if the time comes when this industry fails or is seriously
crippled (even for a single year), the Avhole county is af-
fected, and disaster is almost certain.

]\Iy third impression was in regard to their laws. They
are certainly sweeping, yet everybody believes in them and
supports them. Two examples will serve to illustrate them.
At Wenatchee, Ave were most royally treated by Mr. Ivfike
Horan (a Massachusetts boy, by the way) who is known as
the "apple king of Wenatchee" and who took us all through
the Valley in his automobile. As we were passing by a large
orchard, I noticed a big pile of apples, several hundred
boxes, piled up near the packing house. They were close to

21

the road and looked perfectly good and I said to Mr. Horan,
"Why don't they market those apples?" "Oh," he said,
"they are defective ones and we are not allowed to. You
could buy that pile of apples, but you couldn't send them
outside of the stale, the law won't allow it. They can be
made into apple butter or vinegar, or champagne, but can-
not be sold in a fresh state." Think of that ! ! Fancy what
our New England growers would think, and say, if the
state should step in and not allow them to market their wiml-
falls and wormy apples! Why the howl over Taft's reciproc-
ity proposition would insk into insignificance. Another day,
I was talking with a commission man in Seattle, about their
inspection laws. He told me that they Avere frequenily vis-
ited by the slate inspectors who looked through the apples
on sale, and if Ihey found a box with codling moth in :i.
for example, or with any orchard pest, they would put a
mark on the box, and a little later a team would call for
that box, it would be taken out to some vacant lot, saturated
with kerosene oil, and burned up, root and branch, codling
moth and apples. The owner would not only get nothing for
his apples, but he was obliged to pay for the cost of taking
them out and burning them ! If every package of New Eng-
land apples in the Boston markets today which contained
apples aft'ecled with codling moth or railroad worm were
taken out and burned, how many do you suppose would be
left? I fancy that the price of good fruit would take such
a jump as it never did before. They certainly value the
good name of their fruit out there, and this is one reason
why it has such a good name. And we might with the great-
est profit copy after them, I think. Some of you will re-
member a talk given by Dean Davenport of Illinois at the
State Board meeting in Draeut a year ago, in which he
spoke at length of the Pacific Coast fruit industry. And
he gave as a reason for this success that "they had learned
that two good apples were worth more than the same two
good apples with two poor ones thrown in." I often
thought of that remark in my wanderings in Oregon and
Washington.

My fourth impression was of their climate, and I wftnt
to say right here that while we sometimes growl about the
weather we get in New England, it is good enough for me !
I was in Hood River for most of three days and it rained
practically all the time I was there. We took a drive of

22

twenty-five miles through the Valley one afternoon in spite
of the rain, and we asked the driver whether it always
rained there. "Yes," he said, "at this time of year! It
begins about November 1 and rains all 'the time up to the
middle of January, when it stiffens up and we have two
weeks of sleighing. Then it begins to rain again and rains
nearly all the time up to some time in April, and from that
on into May it rains part of the time. Then- it stops and
doesn't rain any more until the first of November." Just
imagine such a climate ! Eain all the time until everything
is soaking, the roads are gullied, and one hates the sight of
clouds! Then sunshine and no rain at all till the dust is as
thick as the mud was before, and one would give a month's
salary for the sight of a single cloud ! It certainly gives
color to their fruit, but I should think it would also give
color to their language !

My fifth impression was in regard to the work of their
co-operative unions. It is certainly responsible in a large
degree for their success. It is co-operation all along the
line, — buying, handling, and selling. They establish, in
packing, definite grades, as follows:

Extra Fancy — In this grade all apples shall be sound,
smooth, free from v/orms, worm stings, scale, Avater core,
sun damages or diseases of any kind, and of proper shape
according to the variety. No apples smaller than 165s shall
be allowed in this grade, nor any apples that are of a red
variety that are not at least three-fourths red, except that
Rome Beauties one-half red will be taken in this grade.
Yellow Newtons, White Winter Pearmains, Grimes Golden,
Belle Flowers, Winter Bananas will be allowed in this grade,
but no other variety of yellow apples. AVinter Bananas and
Red Cheek Pippin must show a red cheek.

Fancy — In this grade also, all apples must be smooth,
sound, free from bruises, blemishes, worms, worm stings,
water core, sun damages, or diseases of any kind, and of
proper shape acording to the variety. No apples smaller
than 165s shall be allowed in this grade, excepting apples of
the following varieties, which will be accepted when packed
as small as 200 apples to the box: Winesaps, Jonathans and
Missouri Pippins when red all over. All apples of red vari-
eties ranging in color from three-fourths red down to one-
third red will be included in this grade. All varieties of
yellow apples will be allowed in this grade.

23

Grade C — This grade shall be made up of all merchant-
able apples not included in the Extra Fancy and Fancy
grades. These apples must be sound and free from bruises,
worm stings, and other diseases. Skin to be unbroken, but
will include mis-shapen apples or apples having a limb mark
or other like defect. This grade will include apples of all
colors and as small as 200s, but no smaller, ll is optional
with the buyer whether this grade is wrapped or not."

Then they insure that these apples shall be lived up to
by putting the packing of the fruit into the hands of entirely
disinterested parties. Every packing house is in charge of
a boss who is responsible, not to the owners of the fruit, bu^
to the Union. And if the owner objects to the way things
are carried on, his redress is through the Union. We all
know what this type of marketing has done for them. The
Kural New-Yorker recently contained a statement from
Steinhardt & Kelley, from which I quote the following:

"Our contract with the Hood River Apple Growers'
Union, as represented by their board of directors, is cer-
tainly a very stringent one, they guaranteeing us a perfect
pack and also guaranteeing that every apple in every bo:^ is
absolutely perfect. We have handled several hundred
thousand boxes, and never have we found ourselves in condi-
tion to make a single complaint against their pack. It is as
near perfect as human ingenuity and honesty of endeavor
can make it ; in fact, we shall be glad to have you drop in our
place of business at any time and take a box of fruit from
any heap, and you will find that every box is practically
identical, and that every apple is absolutely perfect, wheth-
er you open the top, bottom or side of any package. This
is more than we have been able to say for any large pack
of fruit that we have ever contracted for."

In order that the packing may be satisfactory, the
Union is very careful who does it. No one is allowed to
pack who does not have a license from the Union, and
only those have proved that they are capable will be grant-
ed such a license. In order to keep up the supply of good
packers, they conduct each fall, at the beginning of the
packing season, a "packing school," where every one may
get two weeks of practice under expert supervision for $15.
At the end of that time, any one of ordinary ability should
be reasonably expert. If the "graduate" from this school
packs for members of the Union during the whole season,

24

he gets a refund of his $15. at the end of the season. Isn't
this packing school something which we ought to take up,
whether we adopt the box or continue to pack our apples
in barrels?

I should like to continue this discussion of general im-
pressions, because there are several other matters which in-
terested me greatly, but I have promised Brother Brown not
to speak over forty minutes, and I see he is already getting
nervous, so I am going to pass on to the second section ol"
my subject, viz.- A comparison of New England and the Pa-
eific Coast.

Some two years ago. at the request of ]\Ir. J. Lewis Ells-
worth, Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. I wrote
a bulletin which was called ''Western Methods in New Eng-
land Orchards," giving my notions as to the reasons for
western success in orcharding and as to the comparative ad-
vantages of the East and the West as apple growing sec-
tions. This, of course, was without any first-hand knowledge
as to the West. I was greatly interested, therefore, to
"check up," in this recent trip of mine, the impressions I
had previously received from reading and talking with oth-
ers, and from observation of the western fruit in our east-
ern markets. And it was a source of considerable satisfac-
tion to find that my long-range impressions were pretty gen-
erally sustained on closer examination. I want naw to re-
cord my notions on this point, both because many are still
looking to the West as the only (or at least the best) place
to grow apples, and because those of us who are taking up
the fruit business here in New England need every en-
couragement to keep us "strong in the faith."

I believe then that the following is a fair, and I hope an
impartial, presentation of the case of the western apple sec-
tions. Their advantages as I see them are :

(1) That they can and do, as I have said, produce
fruit of the very greatest beauty, more handsome than we
do in the East. I know some of you Avill want to object to
that, and I know that some of our finest fruit leaves little to
be desired from the standpoint of beauty, but I, for one, am
willing to admit that as a class western fruit is prettier to
look at than eastern. I certainly never saw anything quite
so handsome as some of the Baldwins, Rhode Island Green-
ings, Rome Beauties, etc., which I saw on exhibition at Van-
couver and Spokane. And since nice looks will always be

25

:an important item in selling fruit, we must concede that the
western growers as a class have a distinct advantage there!

(2) Their trees bear earlier. I should say from 2 to 3
.years earlier on the average. This, I think, is principally
^ue to their very long season, which really allows the tree
to do the same amount of growing, to reach the same amount
of maturity, say in four years, that our eas'.ern trees reach
in six. Take the follov\'ing examples :

'The Olds Company, Burch Flat, AVenatchee, Wash.,
have fifteen acres of King David trees four years old, which
will average one box per tree;" or this, "H. S. Wetherald.
Miller street, Wenatchee, has ten acres of six-year trees
which will give 3,500 boxes, or between five and six boxes
per tree;'"' or this, "N. D. Heath. Wenatchee, has 85 Jona-
than trees, seven years old, which will average six boxes,
while 85 Black Twigs will go ten boxes." Imagine seven-
year Baldwins in JMassachusetts giving over three barrels
per tree.

(3) Their trees bear more heavily and more regularly.
I am not quite sure how much of this may be due to their
T3etter care, particularly in thinning, but I believe that it is
in some part at least due to their long season, as referred
to in the last paragraph, which allows the manufacturing
plant of the tree to mature a big crop of fruit and still have
enough surplus plant food to develop a fine set of fruit buds
for the following year. In support of this general contention
that their trees bear more, take the following: "Jack Lil-
lis picked 2,400 boxes from 143 Rome Beauty trees, besides
200 boxes on the ground. These trees occupy one and one-
half acres of land, and the fruit will sell for $3,000. Last
year this acre and a half produced 1,000 boxes which sold
for $1,850," or take this. "Sterling Brolhers, Wenatchee. will
pick 3,000 boxes from 604 trees nine years old. Last year
the same trees gave 3,000 boxes hnd the year before they
•gave a net return of $3,000."

(4) There is a more general interest in the industry.
I have already discussed this under my general impressions,
but want to re-state it here, as I believe it is a great factor
in their success. I do not know how far it is possible or
desirable to bring this about in Massachusetts, but it does
seem to me that such very promising sections as Colrain and
Ashfield might profitably develop the orchard business till

26

they could have warehouses and all the conveniences whieb
go with a well developed industry.

(5) They have fewer pests than we have. This of
course will tend to change as the orchard business develops f
in fact, many pests are already noticeably on the increase.
But with their vigorous treatment of these pests and with
the dry growing season, which is so unfavorable to fungous
growths, I do not believe they will ever have the same-
trouble from the ordinary, orthodox orchard pests that we
do.

(6) Their virgin soils are better supplied with all the
constituents needed by the tree for the production of choice
fruits. This, of course, would not apply to orchards started
on new lands here, but the great bulk of our orchards are
not put on such land, but on fields which have been long in
cultivation.

Three other factors which certainly contribute to the
present lead of the western grower, but which we want to-
pass by with a bare mention, are :

(7) Their better laws alrea'dy discussed, and which
I doubt if we are ever able to duplicate here, because of lack
of popular support.

(8) The tremendous development of co-operation, an-
other thing which I fear we can never hope to duplicate
here, or at least not for many years.

(9) The fact that their trees are all young and are
consequently bearing their very best fruit at the present
time. This, of course, will ''mend itself."

Turning now to the eastern side of the question, I am
going merely to state what it seems to me are our advan-
tag,es, because I have spoken of them so often before and
because this speech is supposed to be about the Pacific Coast,

As I look at the situation, our advantages are as fol-
lows :

(1) That we are close to our markets! I was told in
Hood River that it cost them 89 cents a hundred to get their
fruit to Chicago, and $1.00 to get it to New York. Two
boxes are accepted by the railroads as the equivalent of 100
pounds. Mr. E. H. Shepard, the editor of Better Fruit, says
in the December number that it costs about 50 cents a box
to grow the fruit. This makes one dollar per box or nearly
three dollars per barrel which it costs thein to land their
fruit in New York or Boston. Certainly our New England

27

orchardists can make money, and good money, at three dol-
lars per barrel in Boston, so that we are in a position to-
make orcharding pay, and pay well, on a price that would
just cover expenses for the western grower,

(2) That our apples are better in quality than the
western apples. Of course the westerner won't admit this,^
and even some easterners doubt it, but I cannot believe-
that the impression would be so general among consumers-
if it were not backed up by fact. I am not prepared to say
that the western apple is not as good as the eastern when
it is picked. Perhaps it is. Perhaps the long journey affects
the quality. But I do believe that you would not find so-
many complaints of the lack of flavor in the western apples
if there were not something in the charge. And I believe-
that the better prices this year of the barrel fruit and the-
lower price of the box fruit means simply that the consumer-
is coming to realize that he gets quality here.

Now, if I were pleading this case as a lawyer before a.
jury, I should be perfectly willing to rest my case on these
two points. If we can grow fruit of better quality and can
market it at a good profit at prices which will only bring
the western man out whole, what more do you want if you-
are going into orcharding at all to convince you that New
England is the right place?

But there are certainly other advantages for the East.
To keep up the scheme of numbering, these are :

(3) That land is cheaper with us, much cheaper! Good
land can be bought for $25 an acre.

(4) It is easier to get labor. I cannot see how such
isolated fruit valleys as Wenatchee are going to escape
trouble on the labor problem.

(5) We have a better market for our poorer grades.
I know we don't market them in the right way and I know
we have too many of this grade ; and I know that our west-
ern friends, if I were to make that statement, would laugh
at it, and say we were welcome to that advantage. But
when I think of that big pile of beautiful apples which my"
friend Mike Horan showed me, I can't help feeling that a
good market for it, if it were marketed in the right way,
would be a valuable asset.

(6) We have better markets for our perishable fruits
like berries and plums and peaches. Of course they do ship'
plums and even strawberries to the eastern markets, but they

28

are certainly handicapped more with these than with ap-
ples and pears.

In closing this list of our advantages, I want to men-
tion two difficulties which seems to me they face, and which
cannot help acting as a drawback to the industry there, and
consequently as a help to the eastern grower in the keener
competition to which we must look forward. In the first
place. I am sure that irrigation is going to bring increasing
difficulties in its train. I believe this is one reason for the
milder, poorer quality of the western apple. In the second
place, their trees are planted very close together, and will
soon need thinning. And beyond a doubt many growers
will not thin as soon as they should, with the result that the
quality of the fruit will be lowered.

But whatever one may think of the relative advantages
and disadvantages of the East and West, no one can visit
this Pacific Coast section without wanting to go again, and
no one can get among the fruit growers there without feel-
ing that he is among men who know their business from be-
ginning to end and who come as near having orcharding
down to an exact science as any men on earth. I don't
know Avhether there is something in the air, or the moun-
tains, or the sunshine, which gets into the blood, but one
certainly finds a type of men out there who would make
any industry anywhere a grand success, and I wish we
might develop more of the same si)irit here in the East.

The meeting adjourned for dinner.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Pres. Maynard called the meeting to order shortly af-
ter 1 o'clock and called upon Mr. Elliott Moore, who gave
a short talk concerning his travels in the South, Southwest
and West, during the past winter.

Mr. Moore : From what I saw I have concluded that if
the people here in the East will put in the same care and in-
terest that the people of those sections do there will be no
trouble but that we can produce as good fruit as they, even
better. They trim the trees when they ought to be trimmed ;
ithey spray them and prune them just when it should be

29

done. It is thorough work that these people put into fruit
raising. Our climate is more suitable than theirs, and there
is no reason why we cannot get as good results, if we put
into it the same amount of work. The trouble is that we
have too many irons in the fire.

Dr. Henry Fernald was then introduced and gave a
splendid stereopticon lecture, the summary of which is
printed as follows :

INSECT PESTS AND THEIR CONTROL

DR. H. T. FERNALD, Entomologist, M. A. C.
Stereopticon Lecture

I do not come before you at this time to go into the ques-
tion of the advisability of fruit growing in Massachusetts
or of fruit growing at all. If you did not believe in it y.)u
would not be here today. I do wish to emphasize, however,
one point that the last speaker made, and that is that suc-
cessful fruit growing cannot be carried on as a side issue. It
has been carried on as a side issue since 1650 in Massachu-
setts, and the result is cider apples and poor fruit. Undo"
our New England conditions apple raising can be carried on
successfully only by attending strictly to that and noth'n.i?
else. I am not afraid of the West, nor am I afraid of over-
production, for in spite of all the orchards that are being set
out, many of them will be neglected, so for this reason, I do
not fear over-production, but what I do fear is that we can-
not raise enough tirst-elass fruit to supply the market. The
man who is going to make good profits for the next twenty
years on apples is the man who is going to eat apples for
breakfast, think apples until dinner time, eat apples for "H in-
ner, think about apples in the afternoon and for supper- -
well, I will let him read the newspaper then — but that man
must be an enthusiast, first, last and all the time.

I do not for a moment minimize the seriousness of the
fact that there are over four hundred insects which m.-iy at-
tack the apple alone, still most of these pests are of little iai-
portance and only once in a while will one of these less im-
portant forms come to the front. Unfortunately there are
some that are always with us and always doing daaiage,
and a few of these I wish to speak of this afternoon, i do-

30

not wish to spend my time nor take yours in talking about
those with which you are most familiar, but we will spend
most of our time on those of which less has been said.

One of the forms that is common I wish to speak of be-
cause of some new facts that have been found out. The
codling moth is doing as much damage in the West as it is
in the East. It is a pest which we find, of course, everywhere
in New England. We find, also, that the wood-peckers are
^ery busy attacking it in the winter months and these wood-
peckers should be encouraged.. In the fall the caterpillar
makes an excavation in the bark in which it winters, and
about the last of May changes to the moth whicii comes out
and passes to the tree. It now lays its eggs on fruit, leaves
or twigs, but mainly on the twigs. The moth tiies at night
-and is not attracted by light. It lays its eggs from ihe last
of May until the fifteenth of June. These eggs hatch about
three weeks later, and this period — about the last of June — is
the time for a second spraying. Sixty-five to 80 per cent, of
the caterpillars enter the apple at the blossom end; the otli-
■ ers at any point. After the feeding is over, the caterpillar
comes to the surface, generally not at the blossom end,
makes its exit and burrows under the bark, crH\ds in there
and stays until the next year. A few do not do this but
transform at once to the adult and lay eggs which produce
a second crop of moths. Spray just after the blossoms have
fallen and while the lobes of the calyx are still spread apart
so that the first meal the caterpillar gets will be the poison.
After the calyx lobes grow together, it is too late to spray
successfully. The material to spray with has been somewhat
changed. Formerly Paris Green was used, but arsenate of
lead is now taking its place in spraying for the codling
moth. It seems advisable to spray first about one week
after the petals have fallen but before the calyx lobes close
.after which there is an interval before the second spraying
for this insect, which should be about the last of June. The
arsenate of lead should be used at least as strong as two
pounds in fifty gallons of water. This would be for thorough
work, but it would be safer to use two and one-half or three
pounds in fifty gallons of water. This can be used with Bor-
deaux mixture. The second spraying should be applied
about the last part of June instead, two weeks after the first
as was formerly advised, and as a result of the two spray-
ings, we find that most of the apples which would be other-

31

wise wormy can be saved, and that is well worth doing.
Some people spray as many as eight times in the West, but
for the codling moth two sprayings, one just before the calyx
lobes close and the other about the last of June, give very
good results in New England. The New Hampshire station
has found that we can save from 80 to 90 per cent, of wormy
Apples by the two sprayings.

The cost for each tree would be about 9 to 16 cents per
treatment, including the cost of everything except the ap-
paratus for doing the spraying.

I do not wish to take any time on the scales because they
have been so often talked about. As regards treatment for
the San Jose scale, however, the treatment with home-made
lime-sulfur seems to have given the largest measure of suc-
cess, but coming quite close to this, are both the miscible
oils and the ready-made lime-sulfur. In general, spraying
with lime-sulfur one year, and with a miscible oil such as
Scalecide, Arlington oil, or Target brand the next winter,
thus alternating the two kinds of treatment, seems to be giv-
ing the best results at the present time.

One of our smaller pests is the apple maggot or railroad
worm. The fly is tiny, smaller than a house fly, and with
dark bands across its wings. These flies appear early in July
and lay their eggs in the flesh of the apples. When the eggs
hatch the tiny maggots burrow through the pulp of the
fruit, which becomes worthless. When they have reached
their full growth they leave the apple and go into the ground
where they transform into the adult fly, and leaving the
ground as the adult fly, they attack the later apples. They
are often in these late apples when the apples are gathered
for the winter, and when they come out of the apples they
icannot get into the ground, so they remain on the bottom of
the bins.

This insect is very hard to destroy. The adult fly is not
attracted by anything that we have been able to discover,
and there seems to be but one time when there is a chance
to do anything, that is v/hen the maggot is leaving the apple
and g^ing into the ground. Fowls and hogs may be de-
pended on to take care of the maggot at this time, if allowed
the chance. That is an indirect method of treatment, but
it is the best that we have, and if carefully attended to will
certainly be effective unless your next door neighbor has an

3.2

orchard that is neglected, as the adult insect is not inclined
to tly far.

All parts of the apple tree are subject to the attacks of"
insects and the Apple tree borer expends its energy on the
trunk near the roots. It appears during the summer months
and lays its eggs singly on the bark near the ground. The
young bore into the tree and dig out cavities about the form
and size of a silver dollar just under the bark. The bark
over these cavities is apt to shrink and crack and let the
sawdust fall out. At this time the borers can be located to
good advantage and be cut out with a knife or pointed wire.
The following spring the borer will work inward, into the-
root or into the trunk, and in the following fall will work
out to the trunk, preparing the way for its escape the follow-
ing year.

It spends its second winter in the tree in the pupa stage
and in the spring the adult beetle comes out and escapes and
then another generation of eggs is laid.

The question as to how important this insect is, may be
answered by examining two trees, one of which has been in-
fested by borers, and another from which the borers have
been kept. You can see the difference as shown by the pic-
ture (on the screen).

^ It is important to watch for these insects and keep them
out of the trees, first getting out all that are in, and then
keeping others from getting in. To keep the borers out the
most effective remedy seems to be the use of wire mosquito
netting made in the form of a cone set into the ground and
running about two feet up. Care should be taken that the
wire cone does not touch the tree except at the top. As the
borer likes the bottom of the tree, it will not often go up-
higher than about two feet above the ground, and the netting
is an effective protection, and is also a protection from mice
and rabbits during the winter time. Care should be taken
that there be no breaks in the netting through which the
borers can crawd. This has proved a very successful device.

Our fruit trees are infested by a large number of differ-
ent kinds of caterpillars. The treatment for these is to
spray a sufficient amount of stomach poison (generally ar-
senate of lead) upon the leaves that the caterpillar eats, and
the caterpillars Avill be destroyed. Where they feed in
groups hand picking is often more convenient than spray-
ing, but if for any reason this^ cannot be done, spray with

as

arsenate of lead and let them eat the poison and kill them-
selves when they come to it.

The main point is that insects of that type, feeding on
the leaves, are easily controlled, compared with those that
suck the juices and which are so small that we overlook
them.

The bud moth is a small moth which frequently does
much damage to our fruit. This insect lays its eggs on the
leaves in the latter part of June or in July, and the cater-
pillars skeletonize the leaves, leaving the upper surfaces.
When they stop feeding they crawl out on the twigs and
make places to pass the winter. In the spring, they go to
the buds (flower and leaf) and draw the parts together or
burrow in and feed. One caterpillar will not usually en-
tirely consume a bud. but will eat out the heart and then go
to another bud and thus destroy a large number of buds be-
fore we have any idea of what is going on. After feeding on
this way for a time, they draw the leaves together and go
into the cocoon and about the first of July, out comes the
moth which starts the new generation, whicli works during
the summer. The trouble with this is that the insect is
small and works at a time when we do not know of it. Or-
chardists judge their fruit by the estimate of the blossoms,
but in the case of this pest the injury has already been done
before the blossoms appear. This insect is easily controlled
by spraying with arsenate of lead, and the time to apply it
is just before the blossoms open. Fortunately, this is also
a good time to spray for fungous diseases, and the two treat-
ments can be combined by using arsenate of lead and Bor-
deaux mixtures.

The Fall Canker Worm.

It is now some years since Massachusetts has had what
would be called a canker-worm year. It is not unlikely
that we may have one before long. Connecticut has been
having hers. When it does appear it is liable to be pretty
serious. The male canker-worm has wings, the female not.
There are two kinds, fall and spring. In both kinds the
caterpillar is an inch worm, so called ; in both the adult moth
comes out of the ground; in both the eggs are laid on the
twigs of the tree ; in both the female is wingless and hence
must crawl up the tree ; and in both the caterpillars feed
in the spring of the year. The moth that lays the eggs comes

34

out of the ground, and anything to prevent that moth from
crawling up the trees is sufficient. The best thing for this
pest is whatever keeps sticky the longest and that is Tree
Tanglefoot.

For the fall canker-worm the band should be put on
about the first of October. If it is the spring canker-worm
the band should be put on about the first of March. The real
trouble is that most people do not know that the canker-
worms are present until the worm is feeding on the leaves.
In this case, spraying with arsenate of lead will be effective.

The Pear Psylla

Winters in the adult condition and in the spring lays its
eggs. The young suck the juices from the tree and when
abundant often check its growth entirely. The tree should
be sprayed with kerosene emulsion from the 15th to the
20th of May.

Peach Borer.

The adult of this pest is a very pretty little moth. These
moths appear from about the 10th of July until the 1st of
September and fly freely in the daytime, reminding one of
small butterflies. The eggs are laid singly on the trunk, and
the borer which hatches works its way through the trunk
into the stem and feeds until winter comes, then becomes
quiet. In the spring, it starts again and when through feed-
ing, makes its way outside, transforms to the adult, and es-
capes.

The Plmn Curculio

As an apple pest is becoming very much more important than
we appreciate, for it not only attacks and injures 80 to 90
per cent, of the plums, but going to the apples feeds upon
them, and while I doubt if the plum curculio ever matures
in the apple, it has an effect on the apple itself, so if you find
an apple indented at one point and a hardness running into
the core, you may decide that the plum curculio has been at
work there. We must count the plum curculio as one of the
worst apple pests in Massachusetts today.

The Tussock Moth

Is a general feeder, including fruit trees. This insect is not
often very abundant, and can easily be controlled by spray-

35

ing with arsenate of lead, or in most cases the egg masses
covered with white can be picked off. There are two broods
in a year, the egg masses of one being found in the latter
part of July and August, and those of the other brood in the
winter.

In conclusion I would like to say that in spite of our
400 odd insects that attack fruit trees in Massachusetts,
treatment just before the buds open, with arsenate of lead,
combined with Bordeaux mixture and a second spraying
after the blossoms have fallen but before the calyx lobes
have closed, together with a third spraying the last of June,
will prevent the most of the trouble with the chewing in-
sects I have considered.

For the scales and sucking insects, the entire treatment
is different. The point to be carefully adhered to is first, to
spray thoroughly, second to spray thoroughly, and third, to
spray most thoroughly. It does not matter how many times
you spray, or what you spray with, if you do not under-
stand the object of the spraying. Therefore, if spray-
ing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well, and the man
who is going to make a success in Massachusetts in fruit
raising, is the man who is going to do all parts of his work
thoroughly, at the right time and in the right way.

Quite a portion of the lecture was devoted to the ex-
planation of pictures thrown on the screen, and cannot
therefore be printed.

DISCUSSION

Q. Did I understand you correctly to say that it was
desirable to remove the Tanglefoot band after the spring
insect has gone?

Dr. Fernald : I think not. It can stay on and be ef-
fective a long time. The great point is to get it on in time.
If you are a week too late, you might almost as well not put
it on. Put it high enough so it will not be rubbed off.

Q. Would it be possible to use the wire netting for
peach trees?

No, for some reason the use of wire netting for these
sometimes increases the borers. Why that is, I don't know.
Nothing has been recommended that is always effective.
Tar is sometimes put on the trees and at one station it
worked first rate, at another it killed the trees.

36

Q. What damage would it do if you used 5 pounds of
arsenate of lead to 50 gollons of water?

AVell, for one thing, you would be paying 10 cents for a
5-cent article. Arsenate of lead is not supposed to burn the
tree, hoAvever strong it may be. Is not supposed to, I say,
but once in a while it does burn.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Chairman Whitnej^ : The nominating committee is
agreed unauimcfusly on the following as the list of officers.
(This list is printed on page two of the report).

Pres. : You hear this list of officers, what will you do
with this list?

]\roved and seconded that the Association proceed to
ballot for these officers and that the Chairman of the Com-
mittee, Mr. Whitney, cast one vote for the election of officers.

Pres. : You hear the motion, all in favor say Aye. Those
opposed Nay. It is a vote. Mr. Whitney will east the ballot
for the officers. I declare them elected.

Wilfrid Wheeler: In the Secretary's report this morn-
ing it was advocated that the date of the annual meeting of
this Association be changed from the present date to the
third Wednesday in January. It seems to me that this is
a very good change to make at this time. As the date of the
meeting is now, it is almost too late for many of us. Not
only that, if we wanted to have an exhibition of fruits at
the annual meeting, it would be better to have it in January
than at the present time, and I wish to make this motion —
That the Constitution of this Association be amended by
stating that the annual meeting shall be held on the third
Wednesday in January and at such place as the Executive
Committee shall decide.

Pres.: You hear Mr. Wheeler's motion. Has anyone
anything to say?

Mr. Whitney: Some of our members have wondered
if it was wise always to hold these annual meetings in the

37

same place. We could hold Institutes here in Worcester
and in other places. We do not Avant the Horticultural So-
ciety of AVorcester to feel that we do not appreciate their
courtesy, but we do feel that many would attend the annual
meeting if they did not have to come as far as Worcester.
There are other sections of Massachusetts that desire to have
the annual meeting.

Pres. : We can vote upon this at the next regular meet-
ing.

Mr. Mead: I think it would be better to hold the meet-
ing at some other time.

Mr. Moore : What is the meaning of the notice on the
Marlboro program, saying that "Action will be taken in
regard to changing date of annual meeting from second
Wednesday in ]\Iarch to the third Wednesday in January?"
Does it mean that we are to vote on it at that time?

Sec'y Brown: That will be a regular meeting of the
Association, and as previous notice is given at this meeting,
we can vote at Marlboro on the amendment.

Mr. Whitney : There cannot help being some difference
of opinion in regard to the time of holding the annual meet-
ing, but the point seems to be well taken that if the report
were printed and in your hands sooner you might get it in
season to do you some good the same season. It is not meant
to kill the Worcester meeting, but that the annual meeting
may be held elsewhere.

Pres.: This notice today is a formal notice of a change
in Ihe Constitution of the Association.

Mr. Sears: I wish to make a motion that we appoint a
committee of three to look into the matter of this Associa-
tion preparing for a State exhibition of fruit in connection
with the New England Fruit ShoM'.

Sec'y Brown: Would amend this motion so that the
committee consist of five members.

Prof. Sears: I accept the amendment.

Voted and committee appointed by the chair.

38

Mr. Clark : For this exhibition of the Massachusetts
Fruit Growers' Association the members should be urged to
keep the very best apples grown this season and donate
them for this purpose.

Q. Will the New England Fruit Show allow us space?

Wilfrid Wheeler : Yes.

Mr. Eace : This matter of the change of date of the an-
nual meeting is rather serious ; also, in our section of Berk-
shire County it is just the time when the ice harvest is be-
ginning. December is a better month for a fruit exhibition
than any other month so far as the fruit itself is concerned.
Action should not be taken on this now. It is a splendid
idea to hold the meeting in different parts of the state.

Mr. Whitney: If we had the annual meeting at differ-
ent places we could get more members in the different coun-
ties.

Sec 'y Brown : Merely in order to avoid future question
and acting according to our Constitution, I move that it be"^
the sense of this meeting that the next regular meeting be
held at Marlboro, March 22.

Q. Does this mean that we take action on this change
then?

Mr. Whitney: Before this motion is put I want to say
a word. I realize that it is a serious matter to change the
time of the annual meeting. If I understand it, our Constitu-
tion cannot be changed without notice having been given
at some regular meeting. This is rather rushing matters
along, and I realize the fact that most of us who come to
this meeting will find it impossible to be at the meeting in
Marlboro. I suggest we let the matter go over until the
next annual meeting.

Mr. Wheeler: Have a vote taken by those present to
show when the majority would like to have the annual meet-
ing. Take a test vote.

Pres. : There is a motion before the house.

39

Mr. Wheeler: I am perfectly willing to withdraw my
motion.

Mr. Clark : If the meeting was held sometime before
Jan. 15, it would be all right so far as the ice is concerned,
would it not?

Mr. Wheeler: The motion is withdrawn.

Mr. Whitney : To get the opinion of the people who are
here now, I ask you to take a test vote as to when they would
like to have the annual meeting. This will not decide any-
thing. Simply show their opinion.

Pres. : All in favor of this say Aye ; voted.

The result of this test vote :

For second Wednesday in March, 23

For third Wednesday in January, 55

For December, 3

Sec'y Brown: As long as we have had the test vote I
w^ant to make a motion that the next regular meeting be
held in Marlboro.

Mr. AVhitney: I oppose the meeting in Marlboro
as a regular meeting with a view of changing the Con-
stitution. I think we must go slowly or we shall antagonize
some of our older members who have always had the inter-
ests of this Association at heart, and I fear that we may lose
them. Many have not had the time to think this over, and
it seems to me it would be advisable to leave it until our
next annual meeting.

Sec'y Brown: Every member received notice of a pos-
sible change of the date of the annual meeting one month
ago, and a large majority of those I have talked with are in
favor of January. I am sure it is solely with the idea of
helping the Association that any change should be made,
and if it is liable to have the opposite effect by voting upon
this at Marlboro, I withdraw the motion.

The President then introduced Mr. Charles E. Lyman of
Middletown, Conn., who spoke on

40

PRESENT AND FUTURE OF FRUIT GROWING IN
NEW ENGLAND

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen :

I was up here a year ago, and I am very much gratified
with the appearance of our audience today. A year ago it
seemed to me that there were very few young men, but to-
day a very large proportion seem to be young or middle-
aged men.

I fear that the subject of my talk today will not interest
you as much as some others. You seem to be all interested
in apples, but I think there are other things that you might
be interested in as well as apples.

]My subject refers to the conditions of the peach busi-
ness as it is today, and its future. I shall first speak on the
condition today as it appears in New England.

In Connecticut there is quite an interest in peach grow-
ing, but it is confined to a few localities. There is a great
deal of interest there among certain growers, but I must
say that quite a good many are somewhat discouraged.
That is because of lack of intelligence in growing their trees.
They don't consider that the peach is a very different tree
from the apple to grow. It is adapted to a temperate cli-
mate, and is not supposed to stand the very low tempera-
ture that the apple tree will stand and live, but if grown
right, it Avill stand quite a low temperature.

Those orchardists that have failed — their failure is ow-
ing largely to new methods of growing their trees, to the
use, very largely? of nitrogen fertilizers. This makes a tree
which is very susceptible to cold. We, in Connecticut, are
not quite as cold as you are up here, but we are cold enough,
so if the trees are not grown right, if forced in the fall, they
are very apt to be thrown into some disease. Some people
think that the "yellows" is a special disease. The tree may
not indicate the yellows at all, and yet the fruit will indicate
that the tree has the yellows and the days of those trees are
numbered. I might say that peach culture is centralized in
Connecticut in parts of the state that do not exceed 500 fegt
above the sea level. A few years ago along the Sound were
many peach growers, but they became discouraged because
they grew the tree so that it would not stand up well. The
brown rot would get a foothold, (owing to the long contin-
ned fogs) and wipe away whole orchards. For that reason

41

the culture of peaches has almost died out along the shores.
I think, however, that they might have stayed in it if they
■had not used nitrogen fertilizers.

Now, we eome to ^lassachusetts. I think that the op-
portunities here are very favorable. I should not dare to
set out trees much above the 600 feet level.

We might take uj^ this matter of fertilizing, which is
the cause of so much trouble. These methods of forcing the
tree were not adopted in Connecticut until about 10 years
.ago.

Since that time a very great many peach groAvers have
Ijecome discouraged. ]\Ir. Hale, for instance, seems to talk
as if peach growing was a back number. But he was .mis-
led by the wrong methods of feeding his trees.

My advice would be to set out some fruit trees with
some peach trees between the other trees. Once I would
not have advised this, but now our spraying can be done
without injuring the foliage at all. The only thing needed
in my opinion is to regulate fertilizing and cultivation so
that there shall be no forcing of trees.

I took up peach growing as a side issue aliout 20 years
ago. I decided to set out a few peach trees, and from that
one experiment my orchard has grown. The culture that I
gave those trees was very indifferent, yet they bore great
crops of fruit. This opened my eyes to the situation, and
now I am more enthusiastic over the business than I ever
was. I do not see why others cannot do the same that I have
done. I am very certain that Massachusetts can do the
same. IMassachusetts has a better market for fruit than any
other place in the country.

I want to call your attention to the difference in the
price paid for the fruit according to the way it is shipped,
that is, by rail or by trucking. A grower told me that he
got $1.50 a basket for his peaches because he could let them
«tay on the tree until they were ripe and then carry them
right to Providence and sell them to the people who want
them and who will pay any price for good ones. I got 50c.
a basket for mine, but I had to pick them when hard and
ship to Providence by rail. There is no market in this
country that will compare with the IVIassachusetts market
for peaches, but they must be in prime condition.

I consider that the first three or four years, before the
tree bears, are perhaps the most critical years in the life of

42

the tree. There are so many things that may happen to the
tree that one must not try to raise it in a haphazard man-
ner.

DISCUSSION

Q. What kind of fertilizer do you use ?

One thing I am very careful about, that is, to have
plenty of phosphoric acid in the soil.

Q. "What do you consider a yearly average growth?

That I cannot tell. AVe cannot judge in one season
what any one kind of fertilizer will do.

Mr. Wheeler: Have you ever considered shipping^
peaches to England or any other European countries?

No sir. I think that was tried out years ago ; think it
might perhaps be done now. I don't know why Elbertas
should not stand up and arrive in fine shape.

Mr. Everett: My experience has been that people get
only one crop of fine peaches.

There is no need for that. I have trees that are sixteen
years old. I have one block of Elbertas that are at least
thirteen years, and they have been a regular gold mine.
These results that you speak of are owing to wrong growing.
They were grown by forcing the trees too much, and this
threw them into the yellows, and when a young tree has
the yellow^s, there is no hope for them. There is an idea that
you cannot grow two good crops in succession, but there is-
no reason why you cannot grow ten crops on the same tree.

Mr. Barker: What do you do Avith trees that have the
yellows ?

Take them out. You can force them for one sea-
son and then cut them out.

Q. Do you burn the old trees?

Yes.

Q. How cold has it been to kill the "Champion?"

We have had it 25° below zero.

Q. What are the three best varieties?

For a money maker, the Elberta, second is the Carmen
and third the Hiley. There are other varieties such as the
Champion and the Greensboro that are good.

Q. When you pull out a tree, do you put another in its.
place?

Not often.

Q. Does the white peach sell as well as the others?

43

It depends upon the market. Local conditions vary.

Q. Does it not make a difference what kind of a peach-
tree you have as to the length of its life ?

There are only a few varieties that I would set out any
way. I have six or seven varieties.

Q. What varieties would you recommend?

Greensboro, Carmen, Champion, Wardell, Hiley, Elberta,^

Q. What is the best location for a peach orchard?

I would select an eastern slope every time. I get the
most peaches from the eastern slope.

Q. What is the best soil?

Eotten sandstone. It is what you put on that brings
the color. I believe in the use of slag. There is iron in the
slag.

Q. Is there any iron in the soil?

We plant on any kind of soil. The Elberta does better
on general kinds of soil. Massachusetts people have the
finest conditions that I know of; you have the markets here
and can get half as much again as we can for what you
raise.

Q. Do you use lime-sulfur for summer spraying?

Yes, we cook it right on the farm.

Q. Do you use arsenate of lead?

No.

The meeting then adjourned till 10 A. M., Thursday.

Mr. Parker was unable to be present owing to sicknesa-
in the family but sent his paper.

PEACH GROWING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
ELMER B. PARKER, AVilton, N. H.

Peach growing in New Hampshire has in years past
been more of an incident than an industry. In a small way,
we find peaches have been grown in Southern New Hamp-
shire for thirty-five years, and have recently learned of their-
successful cultivation in Tamworth, up in Northern Coos
County, where a man purchased a run down farm, and con-
trary to the advice of his friends, recently planted a few
peach trees. He has proved to the people, by an abundant
harvest, that they only lacked faith.

Near Lake Winnepesaukee, a body of water that freezes
over, and from a scientific standpoint the conditions wouldJ

44

be adverse to peach growing, an orchardist is meeting with
success, and in several other towns in different parts of the
state the frnit is being successfully grown.

In a recent number of the New England Farm Magazine
was a sketch of my methods, etc. In consequence of which
I have received many letters of inquiry from men in our
state and from other states also, who were surprised that
New Hampshire could produce such peaches, and asking if
I supposed they could grow peaches in their town. No one
ever tried — some said it was considered too cold. This
shows that farmers have lacked courage and confidence to
break away from the old traditions. "It was good enough
for father — it is good enough for me." They seem to be
waiting for "bacteria," as it were, or a starter— someone
with a will-power to lead off. Take for illustration, spray-
ing. It took twelve years to convince all the apple growers
in our section that it paid to spray the orchards.

While New Hampshire may not ever be as important
a peach state as Massachusetts has been, yet, I believe there
are sections yet undeveloped where the orchardist will suc-
ceed who goes at it with the determination that he will prop-
erly care for the trees and study the needs as he would in
any other line of business. We surely have some of the best
markets here in New England, with only short distances of
transit by rail, and much of our fruit comes m direct com-
petition with that grown outside our state, yet our product
meets a ready market at very satisfactory prices.

In selecting a site for the orchard, one of the most im-
portant considerations is elevation. We nuist get back to
the hills to escape the late spring and early fall frosts, for
good air drainage is as essential as land drainage for the
trees. Extreme steady cold weather is not always so harm-
ful as sudden changes — trees are apt to have their buds de-
stroyed by a sudden low temperature when preceded by a
week or so of warm weather in mid-winter so as to swell
their buds. On a farm one-half mile below us, is an orchard
that last year did not have a peach — all because it was at
the base of the hill.

I do not consider any of our land too good for orchard-
ing when the returns are compared with other crops or
branches of farming, as, for instance, the milk business as
it has been conducted during the past fifteen or twenty
years. In my ease, I took the best fields first, planting the

45

more level ones with peach and the hillsides with apple
trees. These apple trees will not have the whole ground cul-
tivated, but a strip of three or four furrows is ploughed
each side of the tree, and this wall be worked over occasion-
ally. We have got to look out for the heavy rains Avhich do
so much damage in cultivated orchards; so some of the peach
orchards have furrows ploughed across the slope of the or-
chard to take off the water and prevent washing.

In going into an orchard the appearance and character
of the trees tell us what is needed, for the color and char-
acter of the leaves tell the whole storj^ and if we are care-
ful planters we will notice and investigate any trouble and
take measures to remedy the difficulty. If the orchard has
proper care it will make rapid development and be of a dark
foliage. We often see orchards shifting for themselves —
stunted trees, sickly, yellow foliage, an eyesore to the pro-
gressive grower. We must remember a tree is a living thing
— it cannot 'supply itself with nourishment, but must be
carefully trained and nourished from infancy.

We see orchavds of peach and apple trees planted by
men who have been influenced by the success of others, yet
who were entirely unfit for the work, become discouraged
after a few years, and put the orchard back into sod, and iy
the fall stock is turned in to get the last bit of vegetation,
and at this time the orchard, if any is left, gets fall pruned.

Pruning should be carefully considered and studied —
each tree must be shaped to conform to its individual needs.
We take the peach tree as it comes from the nursery, three
to four feet high, cut back to a whip, fifteen or eighteen
inches, and at the same time the roots are pruned or short-
ened. The second year one-third to one-half of the leaders
are removed. The third year about one-fourth of the new
leaders are shortened and some removed to keep the trees
with open tops or heads. This method brings many of the
bearing limbs near the ground, for many of the heads are
formed at the ground. The tops are low, thus making the
labor of spraying much easier, and allowing the harvesting-
of the fruit without the use of a step-ladder, so ladies can
pick the fruit equally as well as the men. In fact, in the
busy season, a man and a woman will take a row together
thus making the work more interesting where otherwise it
might become monotonous. We find people will help in
peach harvesting, who, if they were asked to do any other

46

labor on the farm, would feel insulted. Some of our pickers
have been with us every year that we have had peaches.

I was once asked the question, if I thought I would
have succeeded in any other locality. That was hard to
-answer. I am in the business because I love the work and
realized there was a great possibility in peach culture near
our home farm. Our local conditions were about as ideal
-as any I knew, and also having other local interests in mind,
I was content to settle near the home farm.

I remember once at a meeting, I think it was here in
Worcester, Prof. Rane said he was planting an orchard of
apple trees in a Western state. Mr. J. H. Hale asked him
why he went West — why he did not stay in New England
where they had the best markets on earth, the purest air,
and where man really lives. Prof. Rane replied he went
West because it was his old home, and there was a love in
his heart for the home place. Mr. Hale said he had always
liked the Professor, but now he loved him because he loves
the old home, and any man who loves the West enough to
go there and plant an orchard, he certainly hoped would
succeed.

I believe we have got to break away in many cases from
the old customs. Farmers have been slow in experimenting
— they were content with the old traditions and methods of
their forefathers. When I told one of my neighbors I was go-
ing to give up my dairy and devote my whole time to or-
charding, he said the farm would soon run down and we
could not afford to buy needed fertilizers. When I came on
my place, eighteen years ago, the farm had one field of eight
acres that had been well tilled, one field of twenty-five acres
that had been allowed to run down, some of the best fields
not having been ploughed for thirty years, all the hay that
-grew was removed and no fertilizer put back. The former
owner had tried peaches and said they were not a success.
I was not to be turned down, so started an apple orchard
of Baldwins, using peach as fillers, gradually other orchards
"were planted, until we have the farm practically covered,
the more level ground being kept for peach — the steeper
slopes for apple trees. Last spring an orchard of one hun-
dred Sour Cherry was planted. There is a great demand for
this fruit, and it is a very reliable bearer, the buds being
more hardy than the peach, yet we find but very few who
Are planting this fruit, commercially. Our orchards are

47

planted in the spring — fourteen feet apart each way for
peach, the land is squared and staked off and a notched
planting board used in setting the trees, so as to run ac-
curate lines. Ground bone is used under the trees, mixing
it well with the soil. The first two years field corn is gen-
erally grown, insuring good cultivation for the trees. Cul-
tivation commences in the spring by shallow ploughing with
a one-horse plow, and harrowing throughout the season with
the two-horse spring tooth. As our trees are low-branched,
many heads starting from the ground, we could not go close
enough with the harrow, so I separated the sections of the
harrow and put in a spreader, about eight feet long, which
enables me to go under the trees, and by going two ways,
and occasionally over the strip in the centre of the rows, I
completely control the weeds and save all hand labor. At
the last cultivation, about the last of July, a cover crop is
-sown. After trying several kinds ; crimson clover, cow-
peas, buckwheat, rape, winter vetch, and spring vetch, we
have concluded spring vetch is the best for us as this makes
a thick mat-like mass of vines, insuring a good soil cover-
ing during the winter, and also prevents washing of the
land, adds humus and nitrogen to the soil, and will not start
growth the next spring.

Last spring we used lime-sulfur for a dormant spray both
for apples and peaches, and it completely controlled leaf
curl. Previous to this time we used the home-made Bor-
deaux, until 1909 we used Pyrox with much better results
than from the home-made mixture. We spray peaches only
once, for the curculio trouble us but little and most of the
peach diseases are not found in our section. San Jose scale
we do not have, but one serious fungous disease, brown rot,
is working in on the early varieties, especially Carmen, so
eventually we will probably have to use a summer spray.
The borers trouble but little, yet we intend to go over the
orchards each fall in search of them. I have one mulched
orchard planted on a clover sod, the grass being cut and
placed around the trees. This orchard made a fair growth
and was more stocky than the cultivated trees. It received
the same fertilizer as the cultivated trees. For three years
things went well, the fourth year there was a big crop of
fruit set, but in July we had a very dry spell, and the or-
chard being on a dry place, suffered. The leaves were
turning yellow and the peaches were dropping, some trees

losing nearly all the fruit, others just eoniniencing. I took
the two-horse plow and turned the sod over, ploughing
toward the trees thus leaving a strip of sod two or two and
one-half feet Avide in the tree row which has not since been"
disturbed, only mowing it often. The disc harrow was im-
mediately put on and it was given a thorough harrowing..
In a few days the peaches stopped dropping and soon the
leaves began to grow darker in color. In ploughing this-
land not a particle of moisture was found, while in the
cultivated orchards with a dust mulch, there seemed to be-
sufficient moisture and there was practically no drop. Last
fall these trees produced some of the best fruit we had — the
orchard contained about two hundred Elberfas. The El-
t)erta is our principal variety, although Carmen. Belle of
Georgia, Crawford Early, and a few other varieties are
grown in a small way. Our trade demands a canning peach,,
the Elberta being called for and when it ripens on the trees,
as it does here, it has everything to recommend it, color,
size, flavor, and keeping quality. With a large testing or-
chard, we have found many varieties suited to our locality,,
and many which are worthy of trial. The tinest cpiality we
found in the Mamie Ross and ]Mi'ss Lolo.

For fertilizers, last year a mixture of two hundred
pounds nitrate of soda, three hundred pounds high grade
sulphate potash, and five hundred to eight hundred pounds
basic slag per acre was used, this being put on with the
Hoosier endgate broadcast seeder before ploughing.

We market in fourteen quart baskets, using the cushion
and wooden cover, costing about seven cents. Each bas-
ket is distinctly marked fourteen quarts.

Our planting of apples has been very successful. In
1904 an orchard of Mcintosh and Wealthy was interplantect
with peach here we made a mistake in putting in too many
Niagara for they were nearly a failure. In 1908 we picked
our first apples, in 1909 some trees produced a half bushel
and last fall we picked over a barrel from a few trees and
several had one half barrel each. These were sprayed with
commercial lime-sulfur when dormant 1 to 11, and Avhei>
the petals fell 1 to 30, with the addition of two pounds
Pyrox to forty gallons Avater. Before using this formula
I wrote our Experiment Station regarding it. After I had
used it, I received a letter saying, don't do so, so you can
imagine my anxiety in the niiatter. Wha;t was the result?'

49

I had perfect Macintosh, Hass, and Tolman Sweet, but
AVealthy were badly russeted. Others used the same form-
ula on Baldwins with the best of results. We do not pro-
fess to be scientifically correct, but a life spent in the fruit
business gives one a broad field lor observations and for
knowledge not learned in schools. "We visit many other
fruit districts and find the fruit growers a whole-hearted
people, ready to impart information on the How and the
Why of their methods.

If in this paper any points will be brought out that
will be helpful to anyone, then will my efforts not have
been in vain.

An effort was made by your Secretary to obtain the
presence of Prof. W. M. Scott, Pathologist, Bureau of Plant
Industry, National Department of Agriculture, but as his
field work in the South would be begun by the present date
of our Annual Meeting, he was unable to come. However,
he very kindly sent the paper which follows and which bal-
ances up the program of the meeting. I am sure Prof.
Scott has a hearty vote of thanks for this courtesy.

THE USE OF DILUTE LIME-SULFUR SOLUTION IN
THE SUMMER SPRAYING OF APPLE ORCHARDS

PROF. AV. M. SCOTT
United States Department of Agriculture

Bordeaux mixture has been the standard fungicide for
the control of apple diseases since spraying apple orchards
came into vogue. It has made profitable apple growing pos-
sible where it would otherwise have been a failure, and has
been the means of untold wealth to the commercial apple
growers of the country. It has formed practically the sole
remedy for apple scab, bitter-rot and various apple leaf
diseases, and has been universally used on grapes, potatoes
and other crops. In recent years, however, there has de-
veloped a very serious objection to the use of Bordeaux mix-
ture as a fungicide on apples owing to fhe injurious effect
it produces on both fruit and foliage. The fruit of many
varieties like the Ben Davis and Jonathan becomes russeted
and often dwarfed and distorted from the toxic action of

50

the copper in the Bordeaux. This injury is produced mainly
by the applications made within three or four weeks after
the blossom petals fall and is especially serious in a wet
spring. Midsummer or late spraying, such as required for
bitter-rot, rarely russets the fruit, the skin at that time hav-
ing become tougher and more resistant. The skin of the
young fruit is injured by the copper and as the apple de-
velops the injured portions enlarge, resulting in russet
blotches and streaks. In wet seasons the russeting of the
fruit is sometimes so serious as to reduce its market value
25 per cent, or in some cases even 50 per cent.

The pathologists and apple growers have, therefore,
been driven to seek a less caustic fungicide and the result
has been the development of various lime-sulfur prepara-
tions. During the past four years the Bureau of Plant In-
dustry, and some of the experiment stations, have been con-
ducting experiments with lime-sulfur fungicides and the re-
sults have been such as to warrant the recommendation of
dilute lime-sulfur solution as a substitute for Bordeaux mix-
ture in a large part of the apple spraying operations.

The Lime-Sulfur Sprays.

For two or three decades a preparation known as the
lime-sulfur wash has been used in the dormant season for
the control of the San Jose scale and other scale insects. It
has been known for years that the same spray applied to
peach trees in the early spring two or three weeks before
they bloom would prevent peach leaf-curl and it is now a
common practice to spray for scale and leaf-curl at the same
time, using the lime-sulfur wash. The lime-sulfur solution,
now rapidly coming into use as a summer spray for apples,
is only a modification of the old lime-sulfur wash.

Home-made Lime-Sulfur Solution : Concentrated lime-
sulfur solution to be diluted and used as a summer spray on
apples may be prepared as follows : Boil 16 lbs. of sulfur
and 8 lbs. of lime with about 10 gallons of water for 45 to
60 minutes, finishing with 8 gallons of concentrated solu-
tion. Then strain and dilute it with water to make 200 gal-
lons of spray. This makes 4 lbs. of sulfur in each 50 gallons
of spray, which in our experiments, has proved to be about
the right strength for summer spraying of apples. It may
be made in larger quantities by using 100 lbs. of sulfur and
50 lbs. of lime and boiling them together for 45 to 60 min-

51

utes, using enough water to finish with 50 gallons of con-
centrated solution. The boiling may be done in a kettle over
a fire, or in a barrel or other tank with steam. A 75-gallon
feed cooker is perhaps the most satisfactory equipment. In
diluting for summer spraying 2 gallons of this solution
should be used in 50 gallons of water. Used at this strength
in our experiments it controlled apple scab, leaf-spot and
cedar rust, fully as Avell as Bordeaux mixture, without se-
riously injuring the fruit or foliage.

Commercial Lime-Sulfur Solution : A number of manu-
facturers are now placing on the market concentrated lime-
sulfur solutions to be used as a fungicide and an insecticide.
Most of these preparations test 32° to 33° on the Baume
hydrometer and contain in solution about 2 1-2 to 2 3-4 lbs.
of sulfur to each gallon. They are practically the same as
the home-made solution, but are a little more concentrated
and therefore require more dilution. A strength of 1 1-2
gallons of the solution to 50 gallons of water gives about
4 lbs. of sulfur in each 50 gallons of spray and produces the
same results as the home-made solution diluted to contain
the same amount of sulfur.

We have experimented with several different brands of
these commercial products and have found very little differ-
ence in them. All that were tested gave fairly uniform re-
sults and compared favorably with the home-made solution.
It appears, therefore, that, except in the matter of cost, it
makes very little difference whether the preparation is pur-
chased from the factory or made at home. The home-made
product is less expensive but more troublesome.

Results of Experiments

Experiments comparing the lime-sulfur preparations
with Bordeaux mixture in the treatment of apple diseases
have been conducted by the Bureau of Plant Industry in Vir-
ginia, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas. Except-
ing bitter-rot and blotch, all diseases of the fruit and foliage
in all the experiments were as thoroughly controlled by
the lime-sulfur solution as by the Bordeaux mixture. The
lime-sulfur produced very little or no russeting of the fruit
and no serious foliage injury while the Bordeaux injured
both fruit and foliage of Ben Davis, Jonathan, Yellow New-
ton, and some other varieties. The lime-sulfur sprayed fruit

52

was invariably superior in appearance to that sprayed with
Bordeaux.

Experiments for the control of apple scab on AVinesap
were conducted in Virginia during 1909 with the following
results : On the plots sprayed with lime-sulfur solution less
than one per cent, of the fruit was affected with scab ; on
that sprayed with Bordeaux mixture about two per cent,
of the fruit was affected; and on the check or unsprayed
plot, thirty per cent, of the fruit was scabby.

During the same year similar experiments were con-
ducted in IMichigan with like results. The scab was held
down to four per cent, of the crop by the lime-sulfur solu-
tion and to three and one half per cent, by Bordeaux mix-
ture, while eighty per cent, of the imsprayed fruit of the
same variety (Wagener) was affected.

In both the Virginia and the Michigan experiments the
coiiiDiercial lime-sulfur solution at a strength of 2 to 50
slightly scorched the leaves particularly on the terminal
shoots, but this did not prove to be serious and at the end
of the season the foliage was in good condition, the apple
leaf-spot having been controlled and the cedar rust held in
check. It was found also that arsenate of lead used with,
the lime-sulfur solution did not result in injury to fruit or
foliage and that it controlled codling moth as thoroughly
as when combined with Bordeaux mixture. A full account
of these experiments was published in Circular No. 54 of the
Bureau of Plant Industry.

Experiments of 1910

During the past season further experiments with the
lime-sulfur sprays were conducted near Waynesboro, Va.,
in the orchards of J. G. Hunt, W. Plumb, and W. F. Gilker-
son. A part of the work was conducted as a demonstration
in cooperation with the Bureau of Entomology. From 75 to
to 200 trees each of Winesap, York Imperial, and Ben Davis,
were sprayed and ten trees of each variety left unsprayed
as a check. The principal part of the experiment consisted
of four plots treated as follows :

Plot 1. Commercial lime-sulfur solution, 1 1-2 to 50,
2 lbs. arsenate of lead.

Plot 2. Home-made lime-sulfur solution at the rate of

53

2 lbs. of lime and 4 lbs. sulfur to 50 gallons of waler. with
2 lbs. arsenate of lead.

Plot 3. Bordeaux mixture, 3 lbs. bluestone and 4 lbs.
lime to 50 gallons water, with 2 lbs. arsenate of lead.

Plot 4. Check, not sprayed.

The Winesaps were sprayed (1) after the cluster buds
opened, just before they bloomed (April 5) ; (2) as soon as
the petals fell (April 19), (3) three to four weeks later (May
17) ; and (4) nine weeks after the petals fell (June 26). The
Ben Davis and York Imperial received only three treat-
ments, the first application given the Winesaps having been
omitted from these varieties, for the reason that in Virginia
they do not suffer seriously from attacks of scab.

Eft'ect on the Foliage. The weather was unusually cold
and wet during April and May and the conditions were
favorable for spray injury. Toward the end I\[ay, soon
after the second spraying of the Ben Davis and Yorks. the
leaves of these varieties showed considerable spray injury
on all the plots. On the lime-sulfur plots, the leaves of the
young shoots were somewhat scorched around the margins,
and, as a consequence, some of them were crooked or curled.

A few dead spots appeared on some of the leaves and
at that time it looked as though the injury might prove se-
rious. It did not progress any further, however, even after
the next application, and the trees soon grew out of it. By
mid-summer nearly all evidence of injury had disappeared
and during the remainder of the season the foliage was in
excellent condition. In respect to injury there was prac-
tically no difference between the home-made and the com-
mercial lime-sulfur.

Bordeaux mixture caused more injury than either of
the lime-sulfur preparations and this injury increased as the
season advanced. The leaves were more or less spotted with
circular brown areas and a considerable percentage of them
turned yellow and dropped off. The trees sprayed with the
lime-sulfur solution went through the season with much
better foliage than those sprayed with Bordeaux mixture,
demonstrating the- superiority of the former fungicide over
the latter in this respect.

The api-le leaf -spot disease was controlled equally well
by both fungicides and about the same was true of Qedar
rust. The lime-sulfur solution, however, showed some su-
periority over Bordeaux in controlling cedar rust. This

54

disease seems to yield more readily to sulfur sprays than to
copper sprays.

Effect on the Fruit : There is practically no difference
between the lime-sulfur solution and Bordeaux mixture in
the control of the diseases that occurred on the fruit. Apple
scab, fruit spot, and sooty blotch were controlled equally
well by both fungicides. In the ease of the Ben Davis,
particularly, however, there was a decided difference in the
appearance of the fruit sprayed with the two kinds of
fungicides. The fruit sprayed Avith Bordeaux mixture was
russeted considerably although very little of it was dwarfed
or distorted as often occurs with Bordeaux sprayed fruit.
The Winesaps were also russeted but not so much as the
Ben Davis, while the York Imperial showed only a slight
roughening of the skin.

The fi-uit of all varieties sprayed with the lime-sulfur
solution was almost free from spray russet. The natural
russet of the stem end was enlarged slightly and on some
specimens this ran over on to the side of the apple, but as a
rule, the fruit was smooth, clean, and highly colored. The
high color and general appearance of this fruit would place
it in a grade higher than that sprayed Avith Bordeaux which
would mean twenty-five cents to fifty cents a barrel in
price.

The Control of Apple Scab : In order to determine the
comparative efficiency of the sulfur and copper sprays in
the control of apple scab, the fruit from four Winesap trees
in each plot and six check trees were sorted and the results,
in terms of percentage of fruit affected with scab, are given
in the following table :

Table I. Lime-sulfur Solu'ion vs. Bordeaux for Apple
Scab.

Per cent, of
No. of Plot. Spray Mixture Used. Scabby Fruit

1 Commercial lime-sulfur solution (1 1-2

to 50) plus 2 lbs. of arsenate of lead, 2.2

2 Home-Boiled lime-sulfur solution (2-

4-50) plus 2 lbs. arsenate of lead, 6.1

3 Bordeaux mixture (3-4-50) plus 2 lbs.

arsenate of lead. 6.2

4 Check, not sprayed, 99.8

It will be seen from this table that the home-made lime-

55

sulfur solution a\id the Bordeaux mixture both held the
scab down to about six per cent, of the crop, while prac-
tically all of the unsprayed fruit was scabby. The plot
sprayed with the commercial solution had the lowest per-
centage of scabby fruit (2.2 per cent.), but this was probably
due to a difference in the plots and not in the fungicides.
Plot 1 contained medium sized trees easily sprayed, while
the trees in plots 2 and 3 were large and rather difficult to
spray with the outfit used.

It would seem from these results and those obtained
in previous experiments that the efficiency of the lime-sulfur
solution as a remedy for apple scab could no longer be
questioned.

The Satisfactory Experience of Orchardists

A large percentage of the Virginia apple orchards were
sprayed with the lime-sulfur solution during the past sea-
sou. We personally examined some of these orchards and
have had reports from many of them. In every case, so far
as we have been able to ascertain, the results were satis-
factory both as to the control of diseases and as to the
effect of the spray on fruit and foliage. In the early part
of the season there were a number of reports of injury to the
young leaves, but in no case did this prove to be serious. In
the Yellow Newtown orchards where bitter-rot is a serious
factor the lime-sulfur solution was used in the early treat-
ments for scab and leaf-spof, and this was followed by ap-
plications of Bordeaux for bitter-rot. This plan was en-
tirely successful, the russeting of the fruit having been
avoided and the bitter-rot diseases controlled.

In one orchard, which had been sprayed with the lime-
sulfur solution, a small percentage of the fruit had a sun-
burned appearance. Brown sunken spots from one-half inch
to one inch in diameter occurred on the upper or sunny side
of the fruit. This is probably due to the action of the sul-
fur in hot. dry weather. The same injury occurred in our
experimental plots at Siloam Springs, Arkansas, during
1909, but it does not promise to be a serious objection to the
lime-sulfur sprays. It results mainly from the late spray-
ings, and applications made during July and August might
cause considerable damage especially in hot, dry seasons.

56

Conclusions

The evidence obtained from various experiments con-
ducted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and several
of the experiment stations, as well as the Avork of orchard-
ists, seems to Avarrant the following conclusions:

Bordeaux mixture often russets the fruit and injures
the foliage of many varieties of apples and its use in the
early part of the season should, therefore, be avoided as '
much as possible.

Lime-sulfur solution, diluted so as to contain four
pounds of sulfur in each fifty gallons of spray, is a good
substitute for Bordeaux mixture in the treatment of apple-
scab and some other diseases, and will not materially russet
the fruit nor injure the foliage. The concentrated solution
may be purchased from the factory and diluted at the rate
of 1 1-2 gallons to 50 gallons of water, or it may be pre-
pared at home.

This fungicide Avill control apple scab, fruit spot, leaf-
spot and cedar rust, fully as well as Bordeaux mixture, but
has not yet proved to be as satisfactory for bitter-rot.

Arsenate of lead may be safely and successfully used
in combination with the dilute lime-sulfur solution for the
control of the codling moth and other insects.

For the control of apple scab, leaf-spot and the codling
moth the following course of treatment is recommmided.
Use the commercial lime-sulfur solution at the rate of 1 1-2
gallons to 50 gallons of water or the home-boiled solution
diluted so as to contain 4 lbs. of sulfur in each 50 gallons of
spray. To each 50 gallons of the mixture add 2 lbs. oC
arsenate of lead for the control of the codling moth.

Spray the trees (1) after the buds push out just bo-
fore blooming; (2) as soon as the petals fall, beginning when
they are about two-thirds off; (3) two to three weeks later;
and (4) nine to ten weeks after the petals fall. In some
seasons, especially on bad scabbing varieties, it may be nec-
essary to make an additional application a week or ten days
after the petals fall in order to secure full protection against
this disease.

THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1911
JO.OO A. M.

The morning session of the second day opened wiih'a
■fine attendance. Pres. Maynard called the meeting to order
promptly at 10 o'clock, and asked if the committee on the
•Secretary's report was ready.

Prof. Sears. Chairman of Committee : I want to say,
personally, that I think this is an unusually good report and
complete in every detail. Your committee wish to recom-
mend it in every particular. It sho-ws the hard work that has
been done by our enthusiastic, wide-awake Secretary. We
ought to find ways of giving advantage to our members, and
one way that would be advisable and increase the member-
ship w^ould be to give to each member the .subscription of
some paper. Something to make the members feel that they
are getting more for their money than the outsider. A num-
ber of Field Meetings have already been arranged for at
different places. Now, some of these would be open meet-
ings wbere the public will be invited; others would be re-
«trieted to members, as those entertaining may wish.

Moved and seconded to accept the report.

Pres. : All in favor please manifest it by saying "Aye."
It is a vote.

Sec 'y Miles, Conn. Pomological Society : I am interest-
ed in this report, especially the idea of having the Field
Meetings restricted. This idea of restricting to members
only is a new idea to me, and I think there might be justice
in it. I think, if possible, the advantages of fruit growing
should be given to everyone who is interested in it.

We get invitations for Field ^Meetings during the win-
ter, but when the busy season comes on the invitation is apt
to be wifchdrawrL

58

The idea of giving a subscription of some paper we harve
tried in Connecticut, and found it worked out well, although
it is somewhat expensive.

Pres. : Recently we have not had so large a number at
our Field Meetings as to interfere very much with their use-
fulness, and it would seem that until we are overcrowded^
it would be better to let all come who will.

The first paper this morning is that of Mr. J. H. Putnamy
of Litchfield, Conn., ex-president of the Connecticut Pomo-
logical Society, on

CULTURE OF SMALL FRUITS

J. H. PUTNAM, Litchfield, Conn.

Ex-President Connecticut Pomological Society

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Members of the
Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association:

I do not feel like one coming into a strange country in
coming up here, because as a boy, I used to peddle cabbag-
es all through your .beautiful city, and was a member of thi»
Association when I was here.

The subject of fruits is at the present time one of in-
terest everywhere you go. They could not produce one hun-
dred years ago such fruit as we do today, because they did
not know how to do it. The farmer must be about every-
thing under the sun if he is going to produce today the finest,,
high-quality fruits.

It is only by knowing the scientific way of doing it that
we can produce them. The farmer must be a scientist, a
chemist, and a student of conditions. We do not need more
fruit so mush as we need better fruit. We have been teach-
ing and stimulating our farmers to grow more and more and
more. Now, the manufacturer does not do that. He limits
the output to a great extent and makes the people pay the
price. It is good fruit that the market wants, and good
fruit never goes begging.

What are the requirements for the growing of fruits?
Some people think it requires a knack. Now, it does not,
but it requires care. You can all remember some old farm-
house where there seem to be no conditions favorable for
the growth of plants, but the little old lady who lives there

59

has them in her windows, waters them carefully, puts papers
around them to protect them when the thermometer goes
down. You would say, "Why, she can never make plants
grow there," but some day the last of winter, you drive by
and her windows are filled with blooms, many more than
you Avill see in fine, warm, steam-heated houses where condi-
tions are better, and you say, "Why is it?" I can tell you.
It is because this old lady loves her plants. She knows what
they want and she does the best she can to supply their
needs. It is the sentimental fruit grower that is going to be
successful. The fruit grower must get into communion with
his plants. Not every man is such a man, but every man who
is willing to give attention to details and is willing to work
hard and is willing to smile when he finds that the weather
has practically spoiled his products, such a man is going to
make a success of fruit growing.

It is a pretty hard problem for me to come up here to-
day and tell you people how to grow small fruits. I can not
tell you anything new today. I am a great deal like the frog
who found himself in a can of milk that a farmer shipped to
Chicago. Now, this frog was very much afraid that he
would be drowned, but determined to do all in his power to
prevent such a disaster. Naturally, he kept jumping
around, and before that can of milk reached Chicago, he had
churned it and rode into the city on a ball of butter. And
so, if we keep agitating enough, and stimulating each other
and get each other thinking, perhaps we may be able to
learn something. Don't hesitate to ask me questions, and
perhaps together we may get some good out of it.

There is today an almost unparalleled interest in grow-
ing of fruits. This is especially true of apples and peaches.
In some sections the people seem to be going apple crazy,
and good fruit land is doubling in value, while it is almost
impossible to obtain good nursery stock at any price. At
first thought it might appear that this does not materially
affect the small fruit grower, but a careful consideration of
the subject will, I think, convince us otherwise. Many peo-
ple, hitherto not fruit growers, are becoming interested, and
while they are waiting for returns from their larger fruits,
will be likely to turn to small fruits for a revenue while their
trees are growing.

I do not, however, fear that there will be any danger
of overproduction, because the consuming public are in-

6o

'Creasing their appetite for good fruit more rapidly than it
is being produced, and because many who are planting very
heavily now will lose their enthusiasm and drop out, and
while there may be at some time temporary surplus of fruit
the careful grower who sticks to it need have no fear for the
future market.

Bacon wrote, ' ' When ages grow to civility and elegance,
men come to build stately sooner than to garden finely as
though gardening were the greater excellence." History
has proved this to be true. It is only when the development
of the sciences gives us the keys to nature's secrets, when
the study of the fine arts has created a refined taste, and
when the development of manufactories and the extension
of commerce has created the wealth to purchase, that the
united application of art, science and distribution to agri-
culture gives us the finished product of the modern skilled
fruit grower.

While there may be no especial knack needed for suc-
cess in fruit growing, one must be prepared to give careful
study and attention to details, and the man is really the
:first requisite to success. He must get in close touch with
his trees and plants, he must get into communion with them
so he can talk with them, ask them their needs and under-
stand their answers. He can then supply their needs and
reap his reward. Not everyone is such a man, but any man
who is willing to study and learn and watch and work, get
up with the sun and fight insects and diseases, smile when
frost destroys or muggy weather rots his promised
crop, take his medicine and smack his lips when the bulk of
his crop strikes an overloaded market and his returns barely
pay the freight bill, such a man is sure of success in fruit
growing.

I believe that the time is past when we should spend our
strength trying to stimulate the planting of fruit, but should
bend every effort to improve the quality of that being
grown. The fruit grower who makes quality his Avatch-
word will never have to search far for his market no matter
how much is planted. The public are becoming more dis-
criminating every year, and better able to pay for the privi-
lege of having the best.

It is a hard problem to stand before this body and try
to tell anything new about small fruits. Some of you were
:growing small fruits before I was born, and for years the

6i

best growers have been telling you of their methods. Like-
the frog, I can keep on agitating, trusting some good may
come from it.

The strawberry is the first fresh fruit of our climate, and,
none is more welcome. Modern transportation facilities
have made its season in our markets a long- one, but I no-
tice that no matter how many berries have been shipped in
or how cheaply they have sold, the first natives are just as-
welcome as ever.

The strawberry lends itself to such a variety of soils
that every farmer can raise his own berries at least. As a
rule, the early varieties do best on light soils and the late
varieties do best on the heavy soils.

The soil should be thoroughly prepared. Never use an
old sod if it can be avoided. Better cultivate, some other -
crop the first year. We have improved wonderfully in the
preparation of the soil for all crops in the last few years,
and modern machinery makes this comparatively easy. I
do not, however, remember that I ever fitted a piece of land
so well that I did not think I could have improved it if I
had had unlimited time, teams, men and fertilizers. Proper
fitting is of the utmost importance and if we fail here we can
never fully make up for it by cultivation.

Spring is the only time for me to plant the strawberry,
and the earlier after the land can be properly fitted the bet-
ter. Of the various modifications of the hill and malted row-
system, I prefer the narrow matted row for general market
and the placed runners for choicest fruit.

Three years ago I planted two plots of strawberries and.
kept exact account of the cost of each from the time of plant-
ing until cultivation ceased. This did not take into account
the cost of mulching, the cost of fitting the land, or the ma-
nure and fertilizers.

One plot was composed of nine beds of four rows each,
rows one foot apart, plants one foot apart in the rows, and'
beds two feet apart. This system is commonly known as the
Kivet system. This made 4,500 feet of land and took 3.600-
plants. The cost of planting, cultivating and keeping all
runners cut off was $25.10, or at the rate of $243 per acre
for labor of planting and growing. I charged nothing for
the plants, simply the cost of digging, trimming, and plant-
ing, which I found was about 15 cents per hundred. If I
had purchased the plants at $3 per thousand it would have-

62

-cost $105 per acre, as it takes 35,000 to plant an acre this
way.

The other plot consisted of 1,300 plants placed in rows
three feet apart and two feet in the row, thus making a little
less than one-fifth of an acre, or about twice the amount in
the other plot. One-half of this bed I let make matted rows
and the other half I placed the runners, letting five set to
each old plant, and cutting off the rest. The cost of this bed
was $22.10, or $125 per acre, just about one-half of the other.
Of course the cost of growing the matted row half was less
than the set runners, but I did not keep separate accounts.

As to yields, the yield was nearly the same in propor-
tion on the two plots, that is about 500 quarts on the Kivet
bed, and 1,000 quarts on the other bed of twice the size. The
Tuatted rows gave me the most berries and the set runners
gave me a little the best berries. This trial was not quite
fair, as I ran out of plants for the Kivet bed of the varieties
I planted in the other, and had to use some varieties that I
do not consider as good for that method of growing, but aft-
er two years' trial I gave up the close planting as not profit-
able for me. I now practice the narrow matted row for the
field, and the placed runners for the garden.

Whatever method is used, we must limit the number of
plants either by narrow rows or by thinning in the wider
beds. We must have quality for profit and to get this we
must have plants that have room to develop strong and vig-
orous crowns and root systems.

For planting I prefer a good strong mason's trowel to
any other implement I have tried.

Perhaps I am a crank on plants, but I think that the
first great mistake in many strawberry beds is made in the
plants used. Plants should be grown especially for that pur-
pose, the rows dug clean and only the strongest used. The
quicker I can get a plant back into the ground after I get
it out the better. I never but once had a really satisfactory
yield from shipped plants.

As to varieties, I used to be very free with advice, but
am glad to say I have recovered. It all depends upon you,
your soil, location, methods of culture, and object. If for the
family table or u private trade, you will look for quality first
and make the other characteristics subordinate to it; if for
local market, size, appearance, quality and productiveness

^63

Are the important requisites, while if for shipping, firmness
and ability to stand up must be given due consideration.

For myself, I have sifted them down to Brandywine
and Glen Mary for market, and Marshall for home use, and
«very summer when the white tips on the Glen Mary come
to table, I declare I will never plant it again. These vari-
•eties with the constant trial of new ones give me plenty of
Tange.

I have little faith in pedigree plants. I think that the
selection of strong mature individuals will accomplish all
that the pedigree will.

The strawberry needs thorough but shallow cultivation.
It is a gross feeder and wants plenty of food. I have used
•chicken manure with splendid results. In most seasons wa-
ter is one of the cheapest and most valuable stimulants we
<3an give the strawberry, and will pay the largest dividends
on the expenditure in increased size and yield. I know of
no crop that pays better for irrigation than the strawberry.

Some winter protection is needed, and I use straw horse
manure when I can get it, and then finish with oat straw.
-Care must be taken not to mulch too heavy. I like to select
& day after the ground is well frozen, when there is a little
rain or snow falling, to put it on, and then it will stay put.
Owing to our elevation, our season is later than your season,
and nearly two weeks later than the New Haven berry dis-
tricts, so I cannot, of course, compete with them in early
l)erries. I therefore leave the mulch on just as late as I dare
and select late varieties. Care must be taken not to leave
it on too long or the plants will be smothered. As a result of
our methods and conditions we escape all danger of late
frosts, and our first pickings go to market the last of June
and continue to about July 20. Our first berries come into
competition with the tail-enders of the berry districts, while
our tail-enders have no competition. With these conditions
it doesn't pay to be the early bird.

The methods of marketing depend on the local condi-
tion, and on attention to this point depends most of the profit.

I sort all berries at the table except the last few pick-
ings, which go as they run. I would have the pickers sort,
"but I cannot get pickers that I can trust with our reputa-
tibn. If the berries have been properly picked they can be
sorted at the table without injury and at very little expense,
and if they have not Ibeen well piclied they should be sorted

64

anyway. It pays well to sort, at least for my market. I cani
get from three to five cents more for the firsts and still get
market price for the seconds. Last year my berries netted
us twelve and a half cents a quart wholesale for the crop.
I can never supply the demand for the firsts. People of very-
moderate means will pay 18 cents for the firsts, when shipped
berries are selling for three baskets for a qtiarter.

The raspberry is a profitable crop, but it is not as sure^
with us as the strawberry. My conditions are such that my
experience may be of little use to you. Our winters are so-
severe that we do not attempt to carry Cuthbert through
without laying down and partly covering. Phoenix has
proved quite hardy, but it is not a strong grower, and while-
it has a long season and is desirable for the home garden, it
does not fill the baskets or make the money that we expect
from the Cuthbert. The Herbert is the most promising ber-
ry we have ever tried, and we are now planting it wholly.

As I have needed a long slender cane to lay down, I have
not practiced summer pinching in recent years. I use little
stable manure and fertilize with quick-acting chemicals,
stopping cultivation early to ripen up the canes as fully as-
possible.

I plant in rows six feet with plants four feet, and let
them' make solid rows. I set posts about 25 feet apart and"
two and a half feet high, and drive a nail in the top. I then
stretch a No. 13 wire rather loosely on each and hook it over
the nails. I can easily throw this Avire down for pruning-
and hang it up to keep the plants in for cultivating.

I prune twice, taking out the old wood in the fall after
fruiting, and removing the weak canes, and in spring I cut
out the winterkilling and if that does not thin enough I cut
more canes and cut back those left. I have had little trouble'
from diseases, having an eleven year old plantation now as
vigorous as ever.

I have made a complete failure with Black Raspberries
for several years, and until I learn how to grow them I will-
let some one else tell you how.

Currants are one of the most profitable of the small'
fruits and easily grown. The San Jose scale is cutting out
the bushes in the village gardens and many that have had-
what they wanted themselves and a few for the neighbors,
are now in the market to buy. Your Massachusetts cities;

65

furnish markets for much of the fruit from the Hudson Riv-
er valley, something you should not allow.

Currants like a rather heavy soil with good feeding and
cultivation, and will do well in partial shade so they can be
used as fillers in young orchards. A patch of good currants
helps keep the gang of pickers good natured when the straw-
berries get small and the raspberries don't fill up the bas-
kets very fast. A little while in the currants puts new life
into them.

In pruning, I try to cut out about one third of the old
wood, forcing new shoots from the base. I cut out the weak-
est of these and cut back the new growth about a third.

The Red currant is the only one profitable for market,
though I cannot see why the black currant is not more popu-
lar. To one who has acquired a taste for black currant jam
this is inexplicable.

I am now planting only the Wilder and Perfection
currants although others may be as good. The Perfection
is well named. While some think it too mild in flavor such
varieties will promote the use of currants as a fresh des-
sert fruit and greatly increase their consumption.

I spray the currants and gooseberries as soon as the
first worm appears with Bordeaux and arsenate of lead.
This takes care of both broods of worms and helps to keep
the foliage free from leaf spot.

The gooseberry is also a profitable fruit that is not
grown as much as it should be, but while the market is limit-
ed it is growing evry year. I am growing the Downing and
Chatauqua, both of which are of as easy culture as the cur-
rants.

I can remember as a boy when the hills of northern
Worcester County were covered with famous vineyards, and
[ believe that there is today opportunity for the profitable
cultivation of the grape.

The grape does well in rocky soil with little humus
where other fruits do not vsucceed and it can be used to
make profitable use of waste land. Of course we have to
give it close attention and spray very thoroughly, but
spraying is now looked upon as much an essential to the
growing of fruit as is the planting of it, and spraying has
lost most of its terrors.

In this tremendous wave of apple enthusiasm that is
sweeping over New England let us not forget the other

66

fruits which are just as well adapted to our soils, and
which our proximity to the best markets in the world en-
ables us to put into these markets fresh from the vines and
in condition to defeat all competition.

I might easily write a chapter on the profits that have
been reported in growing fruit in New England. Some of
them are astounding, and I cannot think that there will
ever be a time that good fruit produced in New England will
not net its producer a fair profit.

Russell H. Conwell, in his famous lecture, "Acres of
Diamonds," tells of the man who after a struggle with a
refractory collar button invented the lever button, and
made a large fortune from the royalties. He had been going
around all of his life with his fortune under his chin and
couldn't see it. Many of our New England farmers have
been in much the same position. They have been looking
away from their farms dreaming how they might make
their fortunes in some far off land or occupation. Many a
Massachusetts farm may be turned into ''Acres of Dia-
monds" if we but put into it all the enthusiasm, all the
brains and endeavor of which we are capable and make it
produce the best in kind and quality of fruit of which it is
capable.

DISCUSSION

Q. Do you pay by the box or by the hour?

Mr. Putnam : By the box.

Q. What do you pay per quart?

Two cents.

Q. Why do you raise the Glen Mary when you have to
sort one-half of them for seconds?

It is a big yielder. The Glen Mary is a good producer.
I think every year that I will not plant it another year, but
Ido.

Q, Is the Brandywine a good yielder?

Fine. It also has quite a large hull and when you get a
big berry the hull sets the berry off and makes it look hand-
some. With us it has a fine color but in some parts of Con-
necticut the hull turns black and is not thought much of.
My berries go down to my local market and are sold within
three or four hours after they are picked. I think every-
one' must try out the varieties for himself. I cannot do a

67

thing with such berries as the Clyde and the Senator Dun-
lap.

Q. Does not the soil make a difference in the flavor
and the productiveness of the fruit?

Yes.

Q. Does not the firmness of the berry have something
Vb do with the fertilizer that is used ?

Yes. And the irrigation also. My fertilizers for straw-
berries are chicken manure and sulphate of potash. I use
all that I can get on my strawberries.

The raspberry is a profitable crop for us to raise here
in New England. Where I live the winters are so cold that
we have to protect the raspberries. I prune them twice a
year. I don't do any summer pinching because I want a
long withy cane that I can lay down in winter and cover.
We do not have as much trouble with raspberries in spite
of our conditions as is experienced in some other sections.
The Phoenix has done pretty well with me. I have planted
the Herbert and it has done well. It is fully as vigorous
as any.

Q. Is the Herbert as large as the Cuthbert?

About the same size. My raspberry bed is about 11
years old and is just as good as it ever was. Blackcaps
I cannot make grow. They have been a failure with me so
I won't tell you anything about them.

The blackberry is a good crop to grow. It will stand
lighter soil than the raspberry. I lay them down in winter.
I trellis my blackberries and this trellis makes it easy to
cultivate and easy to prune.

Q. What varieties of blackberries ?n

The Snyder.

Q. Did you ever try the Agawam?

Yes.

Q. What is the best?

With me for market, the Snyder, but it is the worst
blackberry ever raised. I like the Erie and the Eldorado, but
they are soft and not good for market.

We now come to what I consider is one of the best
fruits to plant today, the currant. You, here in New Eng-
land, are buying lots of your currants and gooseberries
from the Hudson River Valley. The San Jose scale has
cleaned out all of the currant bushes that used to be in the
gardens and these people are coming into the market for

68

currants. It is a splendid berry to grow today. It requires
rather heavy soil but I consider it one of our most promis-
ing fruits to grow. I plant the Wilder and Perfection for
late crops. I cannot get the early bird so I try to be as
late as I can. The Perfection is a mild flavored berry and
it is a good berry every way, but it is very expensive at the
present time, being worth three or four times as much as
the Wilder. The Perfection is a bright color. Of course
we must spray and I aim to get a new plant about once in
three years.

Q. Do you get plenty of new wood in the Perfection
currant ?

I cannot tell, as it is a new variety.

Q. Do you get one or two year old plants?

Two year.

Q. With proper cultivation you could grow a currant
bed almost indefinitely, could you not?

I have a bed that I have had thirteen years and I ex-
pect to replant them this year.

Prof. Pickett was unable to be present at the last min-
ute, but his paper is printed in regular order.

STARTING THE APPLE ORCHARD

PROF. B. S. PICKETT, ^

New Hampshire College, Durham, N. H.

Of course you are going to plant an apple orchard.
The apple is King of New England farm crops today. Ev-
eryone— farmers, doctors, lawyers and politicians, are pro-
posing to mend or increase their incomes by planting"- ap-
ples. Some of these men will be successful, many will be
losers. The only absolutely safe class at the present time
is made up of the nurserymen who cannot supply stock
enough for the great demand. The successful ones are
those who will most carefully study the problems of the
business, commence right and handle it throughout in a
sensible, economical and skilful manner.

The man who proposes to plant an orchard has, among
considerations of greater or less importance, to take into
account the soil, the location, the site, the climate, the va-
rieties, the preparation of the soil for planting, the method

69

of planting", arrangement of his trees, character of the stock
which he will purchase and time of planting.

Apple Soils

The apple thrives on a great variety of soils. It may be
found growing on the lightest of sand and the heaviest of
clay, in valleys, on uplands and in river bottoms, but it
reaches its maximum of productiveness on well drained,
fertile, loamy soils with perhaps a preference for those of
limestone formation. Fertility and drainage are, however,
the most important features. Stony soils are not objec-
tionable unless they interfere seriously with cultivation.

Location for Apple Orchards

Commercial orchards should be located in sections that
have already proven themselves to be satisfactory for the
growth of this crop. It is exceedingly desirable that they
be on good lines of railway ^vithin short and rapid commu-
nication with large markets. Such locations reduce very
greatly the cost of marketing. Every cent saved on freight
rates is clear profit. Every hour saved in time of trans-
portation may mean the prolonged keeping quality of the
fruit or saving in ice charges where fruit must be shipped
under refrigeration. The nearer an orchard can be located
to a railroad station, the better, as the cost of hauling by
horse power is proportionally very much greater than the
transportation charges from the railroad station to the mar-
ket. The state of Massachusetts and in fact the New Eng-
land states in general offer a good choice of locations.
Sites for Apple Orchards
The site for an orchard means the immediate piece of
land on which it is located, with the character of its con-
tour, its aspect, and convenience to the house, water supply,
etc. The ridges and hills of northern, central and western
Massachusetts offer many suitable sites for apple orchards.
The ideal site is one at a considerable elevation above the
immediately surrounding country, with a gentle slope that
insures good air and soil drainage without the danger of
soil washing, and where the expense of cultivation, spray-
ing, pruning and harvesting will not be increased by the
cost of operating on a steep hillside.

It is an advantage to find a site protected on one side
by the hill on which the orchard is planted and on either

70

flank by other hills or wind breaks of forest or strips of
planted trees. Without going into a full discussion of the
advantages and disadvantages of wind breaks, it is suffi-
cient to say that in most localities they are a decided ad-
vantage. They afford the desired protection to the trees
during the winter a;id prevent breaking of the branches
when the trees are loaded with fruit or coated with ice.
They prevent severe losses by wind storms when the fruit is
approaching maturity and liable to be blown from the trees.
Wind breaks should be located on the side of the orchard
toward the prevailing winds, or on decided slopes should be
located along the top and sides rather than at the lower
edge of the plantation. Where locations face the water,
the wind breaks must be at the end farthest from the water
and along the sides of the orchard. Where the orchard is
exposed to bleak winter winds, it may be an advantage to
plant several lines of evergreen trees across it. Wind
breaks may consist of a considerable variety of trees, but
for this region, I recommend Norway spruce and white pine.

Preparation of Land for Planting

Undrained soils must first be ditched or tile-drained.
We may assume, however, that with the number of suitable
sites for orchards at the disposal of the Massachusetts fruit
grower, it will not be necessary to do much artificial drain-
ing.

Where conditions will permit of it, one season should
be given to preliminary preparation of the land. This will
consist in deep and thorough plo"wing. preferably with the
cultivation of corn or potatoes, and the application of a
generous supply of stable or commercial fertilizer. The
quantity should be sufficient to grow a first-class crop of
corn or potatoes and leave some for the future orchard.
If the land is not too steep, it should be plowecl late in the
fall after the crop has been removed and left exposed to
the frosts and rain of winter. On steep lands a catch or
cover crop of rye may follow the crop removed, thus pre-
venting washing down during the winter. The land should
be plowed again in the spring, just as early as it can be
worked and put into the best possible planting condition.

For planters who do not wish to grow farm crops in the
preliminary preparation of the land and whose soils are in
need of cultiva'ion and fer'iliza'im. T w )n]d r v- ^iMnv^nd

71

the following plan. Plow the land early the season preced-
ing planting and sow Canada field peas, plowing these un-
der early in July^ and following them with a crop of sum-
mer vetch or crimson clover. This crop in turn should be
turned under late in the fall if the land does not slope
steeply, or early in the spring in case there is danger of
washing. Such a system will add humus and nitrogen to
the soil and put it in excellent shape for the growing of
apple trees.

It is not impossible to start an apple orchard success-
fully in rough land that has not been previously tilled,
but the orchardist who attempts it must plant Avith exceed-
ing care and fertilize and mulch his trees freely.

Time for Planting

I have but one recommendation which I can consist-
ently make in this connection, plant at the earliest moment
in the spring that the ground can be properly prepared
and the trees set. We order our trees delivered by April
first and plant them as soon afterwards as possible. Had
we had our trees earlier in 1910, we should have planted
in March, but ordinarily the season is not sufficiently far
advanced to permit such early planting. By planting early
the trees become established and make a full season's
growth the first year they are set. If planted after May
first, they frequently fail to become established until the
growing season has passed and thus make little new wood
the first season. Many instances of successful fall planting
in New England are on record, but in our experiments at
the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, it has
been unsuccessful.

Varieties for Planting

Of all the fruits that garnish the granHe hills of New
England and gladden its fertile valleys there is none to
compare with the apple in popularity, usefulness and varie-
ty. Saith the Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes, ''To
every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose
under the heaven." And of the apple we may say there is
an apple for every season, an apple for every palate, an
apple to please every eye and satisfy every fancy for form
and color, an apple for the epicure and an apple for the la-
bourer's lunch, an apple for the wealthy and an apple for

72

the poor, an apple for the merchant and an apple for the
small boy to steal from the neighbor's tree. Folk-lore,
mythology and poetry find frequent themes in the apple. An
apple is declared to have been concerned in our original
parents' downfall, though we have reason to believe that it
was basely slandered. Even at the worst we should have
to admit that the temptation must have been a great one.
The apple has, however, outlived its first reputation and \\ (;
find the wisest of men in trying to describe truth and tactful-
ness saying that, "Words fitly spoken are like anples of
gold in pictures of silver." One of the nine labors enn-
sidered worthy of the labors of Hercules consisted in the
gathering of the golden apples of the garden of Hesperides.
A labor worthy of the farmers of this state of Massachu-
setts is the production of the finest and fairest apples for
the home and for the market, to supply the needs of the
people of the east with a plentiful quantity of one of the
most wholesome and satisfying products of the husbandman.
There have been described in this country morr; than
three thousand varieties of apples, enough one might siy
to fit all climates, soils, purposes and tastes. T might tres-
pass on James Whitcomb Riley for words to describe the
number and variety of our favorite fruit :

"Apples crimson, yellow, red,

Striped, pink, and mottled, too.
Prom golden skies to tintings drowned

In dusky drops of dew,
I praise you all, wherever found,

And love you thru and thru: —
Oh, Apples on the Trees,

With your breath upon the breeze.
There's nothing all the world around

Half so good as you!"

To a eonnoiseur this immense number of varieties of-
fers a great delight for he may choose many sorts, each
good in its own particular way. To the amateur with a
small garden they are his despair. To the commercial
orehardist they are a temptation and sometimes a snare
for he has difficulty in limiting the number which he should
plant.

To the uninitiated the differences between varieties is
often so slight as to pass unnoticed but to the close observer
many of these differences are of the utmo.st practical im-

73

portance. One can but become well acquainted with varie-
ties of apples by intimate association with them. The man
•who works in a nursery comes to know the trees with the
iong crooked roots that dig hard, the varieties that bud
easily, that must be rootgrafted, that are most subject to
nursery diseases and pests. Tke tree agent knows the
straight handsome growing sorts that please the customer
as young trees whether they produce good fruit or not.
The grower knows the trees by the character of their
growth, their hardiness and productiveness. The buyer
.■and shipper get acquainted with their shipping qualities,
firmness, texture of skin, bruising, etc. The storage man
learns the differences in keeping qualities and the consum-
er gradually but surely learns that the bright red skin, of a
Ben Davis or a Gano may cover an interior of cork or mush
while the dull homely skin of a Domine may hide a flesh of
<;risp and juicy lusciousness. In the days which are rapidly
going, "Man looketh on the outward appearance of the ap-
ple," but tomorrow he will try its heart.

Success in commercial fruit growing depends much up-
on the selection of the proper varieties. Varieties must be
so well adapted to their environment that they will be reg-
ularly productive and the fruit must be desirable in the
market. The planter must choose varieties to tit his condi-
tions. He will ascertain the more suitable kinds by con-
sulting his neighbors, the state experiment stations and the
standard books and bulletins and his markets. New varie-
ties should be tried sparingly and standard sorts relied up-
on.

The varieties which we are recommending for the
southern part of New Hampshire and which should be satis-
factory under your conditions are, for summer kinds, Yel-
low Transparent, Duchess and Red Astrachan. For early
autumn,'William''s Favorite ; for standard autumn, Graven-
•stein, Wealthy and Mcintosh ; and for winter, Baldwin,
Ehode Island Greening and Hubbardston. In a very lim-
ited way we are advising growers to try out the Stayraau,
Delicious and Esopus Spitzenburg.

Choosing Niirsery Stock

Orders for trees and plants for spring setting should
he placed early. Many growers prefer to order in the fall
or early winter specifying delivery by a certain date m the

74

spring. This plan has many advantages to commend it.
Nurserymen are not likely to be sold out of particular varie-
ties. His trees arrive on time. His selection of varieties^
being unhurried, will be made with great discrimination.
Late orders are very likely to be unsatisfactory, sometimes
to both the nurserymen and the buj^ers.

Ideal trees and plants cannot always be obtained. la
fact they are the exception instead of the rule. It is not
difficult, however, to obtain good satisfactory stock if the
purchaser insists on having it and pays the price that good
stock should bring. The original cost of the tree or plant is
the smallest item in the expense of bringing it to fruitage.
How often we see farmers, gardeners and fruit growers
nursing along a bunch of unthrifty trees that were bought
because they were cheap, for ' two or three seasons, spend-
ing fifty cents a tree each year on fertilizers, cultivation,
spraying, digging out borers, washing, etc., and then find-
ing at the end of that time that they were no better off than
they would have been at the end of the first season if they
had planted good stock! The old adage, ''Poor trees are
dear at any price," is well worth remembering when pur-
chasing nursery stock.

Good nursery stock should be free from plant diseases.
The diseases most commonly found are crown gall and can-
ker on apple trees, crown gall and pear blight on pears,
crown gall and anthrocnose (rust) on raspberries and black-
berries, and leaf spot (rust) on the strawberry. Crown gall
may be recognized by the large swelling immediately be-
tween the root and the stem or by the appearance of large
knots on the roots. Canker is difficult to detect in nurs-
ery stock but if the trees show any signs of winter injury
in the nursery, canker will almost certainly appear during
the first season. Pear blight may be detected by a black-
ened appearance of the twigs extending backAvard from-
their tips and stopping with a rather well defined line at
some distance from their extremities. Anthrocnose
causes canker (sometimes called rust) on the stems of the-
brambles. Strawberry leaf spot (rust) is seldom found on
trimmed plants.

Nursery stock should also be free from noxious insects,
including San Jose scale. Oyster Shell scale. Brown tail
moth nests. Gipsy moth eggs, borers and woolly aphis.
The best nurseries send out their goods under inspection

75

permits or certificates which assure reasonable immunity
from such pests, but as it is impossible for an inspector to
examine every tree, the buyer should keep a sharp look-out
on his own account and reject infested stock.

All plants should be well grown, thrifty, and be well
rooted for their kinds. Trees should be typical of their
variety whether it be naturally a straight vigorous grower,
a crooked grower, or a weak grower. Farmers often buy
trees from agents because they look like nice trees and pay
no attention to the variety. In planting commercial or-
chards, only standard sorts should be chosen. Up-to-date
nurseries seldom make mistakes of substitution for stan-
dard varieties. Direct dealing with the nursery is prefer-
able to ordering through agents, especially where large
numbers of trees are to be used.

The ages of trees wanted should be clearly specified.
In apples, pears, phuus, and cherries, two year old stock
will be found satisfactory. "Peaches are planted at one
year old and there is a growing demand for one year old
apple trees. Generally speaking the specialist should lise
one year old stock and the farmer who grows fruit as a side
line should use two year old trees. I strongly advise against
using any trees older than two years.

Finally, the planter should insist on an early delivery
of the trees. April 1st being about right for the southern
half of New Hampshire. A tree planted as soon as the frost
is out of the ground in April (or March if the opportunity
should present itself) will become established and ready for
a full season's growth by the time growth should normally
commence. A late planted tree will require so long to start
root action and establish itself in the ground that it will
lose a season's growth.

Arangement of Trees in the Orchard '

The arrangement will depend largely on the system of
management which the orchardist proposes to follow. The
specialist who proposed to make his trees yield the largest
possible income from the very earliest period will use fill-
ers and arrange his trees to permit the cutting out -of his
fillers at the proper time and leave his orchard in desirable
arrangement for later operations. He will plant on a rec-
tangular system with trees in the center of each rectangle

76

and perhaps also between the trees on the sides of the rec-
tangle.

The farmer who wishes to grow crops between his
trees and at the same time plant the most trees on a given
area of land will not use fillers, but will plant his trees on
the hexagonal plan, thus getting the maximum number per
acre, about fifteen per cent, more than as if he planted in
squares.

AVhere time and space are of little consequence, the
most convenient arrangement is that of squares.

The distance apart for standard trees is thirty-six
feet, but where fillers are used, this should be increased to
forty feet.

Locating the Trees

Many devices have been employed for the location of
trees. For the sake of appearance and for convenience in all
future operations in the orchard, the trees should be locat-
ed in straight lines in two directions. On small plantations
it will be most convenient to place a stake w^here each tree
is to stand, lining them each way, with a row of stakes
placed all the way around the piece to be planted or placed
where they may be seen from any part of the field. This
may necessitate dividing the field into a number of sections,
l3ut this is not likely to happen in a small orchard. When
the hole is dug for the tree, the stake of course is moved and
its re-location determined by means of a planting board

In large plantations the locations of the trees may be
•determined by setting a row of stakes around the sides of
the field to be planted, together with two rows of stakes
Tunning cross-wise to each other through the middle of the
field. From any point at which a tree is to be located, it
ivill be possible to obtain lines in at least two directions,
thus locating it correctly.

Where trees are planted on the hexagonal plan, a row
of stakes is set along one side of the field properly spaced
for the trees. Two wires made the exact length of the dis-
tance between the trees and each provided with rings at
•either end are used to determine the location of the next line
of trees. One end of each wire is slipped over the stake or
held against the first row of stakes or trees. The other ends
.-are brought together so as to form the sides of an equi-

77

lateral triangle at the apex of which the next tree will b-^.
set.

Planting the Trees

The hole should be dug two or thre*^ times wider than
the spread of the roots and somewhat deeper. The sub-soil
and the top soil should be kept separate. The tree with its
roots spread out in as natural a manner as Dossible should
then be placed in the hole for lining up or properly locat-
ing with the planting board. The top soil should then be
placed about the roots and packed in place very firmly, only
a little at a time being added. When the tree is finally in
place, it should be set as firmly as a fence post. The last
soil placed about the tree should be left loose so as to form
a mulch.

The Newly Set Trees

One year old trees are cut back to a height of eighteen
to twenty-four inches, depending upon the taste and nerve
of the planter. Two year old trees are headed in so as to
leave but three or four buds on each branch remaining. Un-
desirable or poorly placed branches are removed. The brok-
en ends of roots should be cut back to clean, unbruised
wood and exceptionally long roots should be cut back to
correspond with the remaining part of the root system.

Fertilizing the Young Trees

No other fertilizer appears to produce so rapid growth
in young trees as stable manure. This is spread on in the
form of a dressing, covering a circle three or four foot
across. As a commercial fertilizer we find that one ounce of
nitrate of soda, one ounce of sulphate of potash and two
ounces of basic slag meal or Thomas' phosphate per square
yard makes an excellent fertilizer for young trees. This
is put on just as the leaves begin to unfold and is hoed or
cultivated in at that time.

Following Mr. Putnam's discussion Pres. Maynard in-
troduced Dr. Wm. P. Brooks, Director of our Experiment:
Station, who spoke on

7«

"RESULTS OF ORCHARD FERTILIZING

- DR. WM. P. BROOKS
Director M. A. C. Experiment Station.

"We have been carrying on at Amherst some of the long-
est continued experiments in manuring apple orchards that
have ever been carried on anywhere, I believe, and I think
we may learn some very valuable lessons from these experi-
ments; what seem to me to be some of the most valuable
lessons, I am trying to point out. But, it is important first
that I give you an idea of what the experiments are.

The orchard is located on a hillside which is crowned
by a chestnut grove. The soil lies fairly uniform through-
out the entire length of the orchard. The soil is one of the
commonest types of soil selected for the use of orchards
in this state. It is a deposit of material brought there dur-
ing the ice age. A few boulders strewn around and some
stones. It contains a moderate amount of clay and retains
moisture quite well. It lies on the western slope of the
hill. I don't think there can be any question but that the
rains sink into the soil. They do not wash off down the hill
but sink into and work off down the hill and have a
tendency to ooze out on the hillside. You will recognize
that I have described a type of soil that is very common
throughout the state. You may question if there is not a
wash from the top of the hill. A roadway was made to ob-
viate this difficulty. This roadway has a ditch on the upper
side so there is never any wash from the top of the hill
over the orchard.

In 1889 the orchard was laid out and it was divided
into five equal parts. Originally it included pear and plum
trees and was interplanted with peaches, but none of these
trees did well and after a short time were taken out and
only the apple trees remain.

The system of fertilization began in 1889, a year before
the trees were set, they being put out in the spring of 1890.
The whole area was divided into five equal parts and the
portion remaining in apples is about one-third of an acre
in each plot, one and two-thirds acres in the orchard.

I may as well tell you how each plot has been manured,
and each plot has been manured in the same way and at
the same time. Plot No. 1 has received barn yard manure
at the rate of 20,000 lbs. or 3 1-3 cords per acre ; No. 2, com-

79

inon wood ashes at the rate of 1 ton per acre ; No. 3, in the
middle has not had anything applied to it from the start
to finish. No. 4, each year has had ground bone meal at
the rate of 600 pounds and muriate of potash, 200 pounds;
No. 5, bone meal at the same rate and low grade sulphate
«of potash.

The trees were ordinary nursery stock, two years old
when set. In each plot there are four varieties: Graven-
steins, Baldwins, Roxbury Russets and R. I. Greenings.

The differences in growth and in the appearance of the
1;rees has been marked. One of the first points is the aver-
age circumference of the trees. On the plot to which noth-
ing has been applied, the average circumference is 27.9 in. ;
where barnyard manure, 38 1-4 in. ; wood ashes, 33 1-4 in. ;
bone and muriate of potash, 32 1-4 in. ; bone and low grade
sulphate of potash, 37 in. The smallest circumference with
no fertilizing, the largest with the barnyard manure..

The question naturally arises, whether the quality of
the soil was similar to begin with, and to help you to judge
of that point, I can only say that it appeared to be uniform
.as shown by crops raised there previously. The plots are
about square and I should have said that if there was
any natural difference, it seemed probable that the soil was
a little richer at that end of the orchard to which the
manure has been applied. This is a little lower than the
other end of the orchard. The surface is a little higher at
the bone and sulphate of potash end, still I would expect
larger crops of hay at the manure end but it is possible
that the soil at the bone and sulphate of potash end may
rsuit the trees better. I don't think there was any essential
difference in the natural qualities of the soil.

Quite as important as the size of the trees is the ques-
tion of how much fruit the trees have produced for the
fruit is what we are after. The total number of barrels
of fruit per acre from the time they first began to bear
•down to 1909 is as follows: Where there was no manure,
the total yield is at the rate of 88 barrels per acre; wood
ashes, 286 barrels per acre; bone and muriate of potash,
322 barrels per acre ; bone and sulphate of potash, 488
barrels per acre ; barnyard manure, 556 barrels per acre.
"The bone and sulphate is not so very far behind the barn-
yard manure.

We have fouad considerable individual differences be-

So

tween the trees. TIus is a matter of common experience..
If I Avere to plan an experiment of that sort and start it
from the beginning, I should wish to use similar stock from-
the same lot and take the scions all off the same tree. That
was not done in this case.

Yon will be interested with the relative results Avitb
different varieties. There were four varieties and we findl
that these different varieties react somewhat differently to*
the different manuring, the yields being as follows :

Gravensteins, with no manure. 89 barrels ; with wood
ashes, 170 barrels; with bone and sulphate of potash, 267
barrels ; with bone and muriate of potash, 319 barrels y
with barnyard manure, 325 barrels.

I think the explanation of the bone sulphate plot not
giving as great a yield is that the chestnut grove towered!
above them and thus injured the apple trees. The chest-
nuts Avere at first cut back, but in the meantime they have-
been growing and so now it has been cut back some four-
rods further, and think that in some years the Graven-
steins have been injured by these chestnuts but in some-
years their yield on this plot has been equal to that on the
bone and muriate plot.

The yields of the Baldwius according to fertilizing-
have been :

No manure, 50 barrels ; bone and muriate. 175 barrels ;■
wood ashes, 285 barrels ; barnyard manure, 630 ; bone and
sulphate of potash, 819. I want to call your particular at-
tention in this contest to the results of the bone and muriate
and the bone and sulphate of potash. The amount of actual"
potash is the same in each and the amount of bone is the
same but the chemical combination is different.

It seemed to me that the different varieties shoAV char-
acteristic differences in respect to the returns they made
in regard to the fiertilizer applied, and I found in that re-
spect that the russets were the varieties that apparently had
the power to get out and hustle for themselves. With no
fertilizer applied the yield of russets Avas 114 barrels, Avith
bone and Ioav grade sulphate, 566 barrels.

The j'ield of the Greenings was : No manure. 97 bar-
rels ; bone and muriate, 328 barrels ; bone and sulphate, 341
barrels ; wood ashes, 347 barrels and barnyard manure, 730'
barrels.

The quality of the fruit lias shioAvn very- characteristic

differences under the different treatments. In the earlier
years of ihe experiment, the fruit ranked in size in this
order; Largest on the bone and low grade sulpha' e of pot-
ash; next in size on the bone and muria!e; next on ijarn-
yard manure; next on wood ashes and the smallest where
there was no fertilizing. At the present time ihe rank is a
li tie different the manure giving at the present the largest
fruiL

As to the color and appearance of the fruit, that has
taken the highest rank that was raised with the. wood ashes,
—next the bone and sulphate of potash; next the bone and
muriate of potash; next the barnyard manure, and last
where there was none.

Some experiments in keeping qualities have been made,
not every year however, and from this point of view, the
fruir which took the high rating was from the bone sulphate
and bone muriate plots; next the manure and next the wood
ashes. I presume some of you will be surprised at the rat-
ing of the fruit raised with the wood ashes, but I believe
it to be due to the fact that the fruit on the trees wi;h the
wood ashes always ripens considerably earlier than on the
other plo's, but we have followed the plan of taking off the
apples at about the same time. Of course, if you take fruit
and put it into ordinary cellar storage, that which is over-
ripe cannot be expec'ed to keep as long as that which is
not so ripe. I don't know that it Avill prove to be true that
fruit raised with wood ashes will always ripen earlier, but
1 think this may be true.

The fruit produced where no fertilizers were used did
not have good color or finish, and would not sell, as it was
unattractive.

We have made some efforts to determine whether there
Avas a difference in the quality in the fruit as shown by the
appearance, of sugar and acid, in the fruit taken from the
different plots, but we have found far less differences than
T had supposed we might find. The difference in quality
was a difference in color and appearance and finish, not a
real difference in flavor depending upon the amount of
sugar and acid.

The soil of this orchard Avas kept under cultivation for
about 5 vears and then seeded down, but for a number of
years circles about the trees were kept free from grass.
After about 1896, however, the grass was allowed to spread

82

in. For a number of years we cut Ihe grass and made it
into hay and carried it off. "We took two crops per year.
In 1897 the second crop of hay was cut with the machine
and left on the ground and since 1897 that plan has been
followed.

The question of cost, relative profit, etc., always comes
in when you consider anything of this sort. A ton of wood
ashes varied in price from $10 to $12 per ton. Bone meal
is sold from $22 to $26 per ton. Muriate of potash is about
$40 a ton. Low grade sulphate is sold for about $25 or $26
per ton. You will find that the bone and potash will have
cost about $12 per acre ; wood ashes, $10 and $12. For the
manure you can reckon 10 tons per acre, about 4 cords. If
you bought that it would cost more than the other fertilizers,
probably not less than $20 per acre against $10 or $12 for
the fertilizers, but I conclude that the use of so much man-
ure continually on the orchard causes the trees to make an
over-rank growth and the fruit has a poorer finish. As an
experiment I shall use it. The fertilizing material, $12 per
acre annually for 20 years, you must consider over against
the yield of fruit. $240 worth of fertilizer has been applied
to an acre of Baldwins and we have obtained 819 barrels
of fruit and the cost of the fertilizer has been close to 30
cents per barrel. But I told you that we cut the grass and
made it into hay and carried it off and unfortunately in
the early years the record of the hay was not kept. I have
had it kept for a number of years. It is fair to assume that
for the period of experiment under this management, the
hay has gone a long way toward paying the cost of fertiliz-
ing. The fertilizer cost of a barrel of Baldwins has not
often been more than 10 or 15 cents.

I want to speak of the results obtained with Baldwins
from using bone and muriate of potash and bone and sul-
phate of potash. On the bone and sulphate plot, 819 bar-
rels; on the bone and muriate plot, 175 barrels. We don't
yet know whether the sulphate of potash or the muriate of
potash is the best. There is first the difference of the acid
in combination, sulphuric and muriatic and then the low
grade sulphate of potash contains magnesium and the mur-
iate of potash does not and so we don't know just what
causes the difference. I am inclined to think that the high
grade would prove superior to the muriate, but I do not feel
at all certain that the magnesia is not of value. "Wood ashes

,83

would supply considerable magnesia. ^lagnesia increases
the fer(ili:y. I mean to find out, if possible, what is the dif-
ference between muriate of potash and the high grade, sul-
phate of potash, and we are now carrying on experiments
which will in time show a light on the three points: (1) As
to whether the diiference in results is due to natural differ-
ences in the soil, (2) whether it is due to the magnesia, or
(3) due to the different acids.

In conclusion, you will want to know, is this sys'em to
be recommended, is it the best? That does not necessarily
follow. I have told you the results of an experiment that
was planned by someone else, but in view of resuls that
have been obtained by myself and by others by the use of
basic slag meal, I am inclined to highly recommend the
use of basic slag meal in the place of bone meal. It is not
so expensive. J recommend the slag meal for several cou-
sidera ions. Not only because it is less expensive but be-
cause it contains a lot of lime, not much free lime, not
enough to sweelen up sour soil, but lime is highly impor-
tant for apples, so if I were to start an orchard and there
was any question about the soil being sour, I should lime it.
but because it is limed it does not necessarily keep sweet
and here slag would help o\\^. Acid phosphate would not
do it, bone meal would not do it, but slag would do it. This
is worth while for other crops, too. Slag furnishes you with
a lot of magnesia and it also contains a large amount of iron
and iron is largely associated wiJi belter color both of
foliagje and fruit. Slag has the advantages of lower cost, a
supply of lime, a supply of iron, a supply of magnesia, but
the slag will have one disadvantage, it does not contain any
nitrogen and on some soils some nitrogen is desirable. Fruit
may not attain sufficient size without some nitrogen. I
want to call your attention to this point. Where you use
lime and potash in abundance, having first limed the land
and keeping it sweet, you have the essentials that are neces-
sary for the production of legumes; lime and put on potash
and clover will grow in abundance and I 1»hink you will
not have to buy nitrogen except in some cases where the
soil is very light. In this particular orchard there seems to
be an abundance of nitrogen and clovers thrive in an as-
tonishing manner; even last spring when the season was dry.
I found great ma^s of Avhite clover so thick that you could
not get your foot through them. I know that the combina-

84

lion of slag and potash will give you just th& same results
M'iili clover and I want to s rongly commend to your fav-
orable consideration a combination of slag and the low
grade sulphate of potash in manuring of orchards. I be-
lieve it will give you as good results as in any other way.

You may want to know about apples in sod as com-
pared with those under cultiva ion. This I do not know
about as my experiment has been with an orchard in sod.
I believe it is primarily a question as to whether the soil
can supply both the trees and the sod wiih the mois ure
it needs. In this case I believe it does, but these conditions
are not uniformly met wi h and J don't think it would be
possible in the lighter soils. It is an easy enough matter
to supply both with food. That you can do and you can
raise both hay and fruit in the same orchard. There are
many finding a great deal of difference in the color of the
fruit and it seems to be in favor of the sod system.

DISCUSSION

Q. How much slag would you use?

That would vary with the soil.

Mr. Eace. This talk has been worth all that it cost me
to come here. I have an orchard that was set in 1879. It is
a well-kept and well preserved orchard. It is a good one.
The matter of fertilizing has been a question with me. I
am in favor of cultivation for some orchards no matter what
the age is, so 2 years ago I put on a dressing of muria+e
of potash, sowed it broadcast, let it get into the soil as it
could, then put on barnyard manure, about the amount that
you spoke of. I put it on in piles in the winter and in the
spring I spread it out but I did not like to leave it in that
condition so I put on muriate of potash and harrowed it just
as soon as the frost was out, then sowed down to clover
and the results have been that I had the only good crop of
apples in South Berkshire this last fall. Now, Avhat would
you think of that treatment?

I would advise, I think, that you would better use
sulphate rather than muriate of potash and use slag.

Would say that everything that we have put on this
orchard (experiment) we have spread on uniformly over
the ground. I think clean circles should be left around the
trunks with no manure right near. This does moer harm
than good for it makes homes for insects and mice. We

85

keep the circles around the roots of the trees for the feed-
ing roots are not near the trunks.

Q. Is the marl that is put on the market now, desir-
al)le to use ?

It may be. The rela'ive value of limes depends mostly
on the percentage of calcium oxide that it contains for this
is what you are after, not carbonic acid. ]\Iarl is carbonate
of lime, a combination of lime and carbonic acid and some-
times contains insoluble matter.

We propose to try to help you in relation to intelligently
buying lime. We have a law l:)efore the legislature now
that will require the dealer to guarantee the per cent, of
actual calcium oxide, also whether it is combined as car-
bonate or not, also telling if the lime is in part magnesia.
He shall s'a^e the percentage of magnesium oxide.

This raises a question because certain companies are
interested in selling lime which contains about 2-3 as much
magnesia as lime and they claim that the magnesia is just
as good as lime. That is p point upon which there is some
difference of opinion. If not much magnesia, it probably
is just as good, but where the percentage of magnesia ap-
proaches that of lime or is etjual to it. it is not certain that
it is equally valuable.

Q. We want lime for spraying purposes and Ave want
to know where it can be purchased.

It is a subject that I have not thoroughly investigated.
You want the pure lime and you want lime that has no
magnesia. I think that if you go to a reliable dealer you
will have no difficulty in finding it.

Q. How much basic slag would you recommend for
an old orchard that has been kept in grass and that you wish
to keep in grass?

Well, three years ago I took the deed f(n* a farm that
had an old orchard on it. I was told that the trees did
not produce anything. 6000 pounds of slag were placed on
the sod, 1000 lbs. to an acre, and the first two years I so
stimulated the trees that they made an annual growth of
3 feet or more. I wanted to spray them with soluble oil,
but they retained the leaves until winter set in and pre-
vented.

Q. Can you cultivate that orchard?

Not at first but I did th'.s last year. The apples have
become enormous in size. I have overdoiie it.

86

Q. Don't you think the size of those apples came
from pruning as well as from other causes?

The russets did not get much pruning. Still it may
have helped.

Q. You have not said anything about the pruning of
that orchard.

It was not a part of the subject. We have had such
intelligence as the College offers in the shaping of the trees.

Q. How many trees do you grow in that experiment
orchard ?

I think those trees are 35 feet apart. I am not sure
just how many there are.

The President then announced the following committee
to make arrangements for exhibition at the New England
Fruit Show : Prof. Sears, M. A. C. I John W. Clark, North
IJadley; John E. Thayer, Lancaster; E. Mortimer, Grafton;
¥. Howard Brown, Marlboro.

Motion was made that a vote -of thanks be extended
to the Worcester Horticultural Society for their hospitality,
and also to those speakers who have been so instrumental
in making the meeting a success ; also for the excellent
work done by the officers for this meeting. Voted.

]\Ir. Clark: I would like to say in regard to the
Fruit Show next fall, we shall need fruit for the exhibition,
and we want the best fruit you have. It should be gathered
Avhen it is well turned and stored in a proper place, and ar-
rangements will be made for any fruit than anyone wishes
to exhibit, so please bear this in mind and send us your fruit
and we Avill put it all together and put it in the show.

Meeting then adjourned. The afternoon session Avas
under the auspices of the Worcester County Horticultural
Society.

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT
GROWERS ASSOCIATION

ORGANIZED«MARCH»21«I895

J.

b:.3J^^''

REPORT OF THE

18th Annual Meeting

HELD IN

HORTICULTURAL HALL

WORCESTER

1912

PUTNAM CONNECTICUT
THE OBSERVER PRESS

OFFICERS OF THE

Massachusetts Fruit Growers*
Association, 1912.

H. L. FROST, President, Arlingtoa

F. C. SEARS, Vice-President Amherst

P. HOWARD BROWN, Sec-Treas Marlboro

H. WARD MOORE, Auditor, Worcester

DIRECTORS

ESSEX COUNTY: E. A. Emerson, Haverhill; John Bark-
er, North Andover.

SUFFOLK COUNTY: A. Warren Patch, Boston.

NORFOLK COUNTY: George N. Smith, Wellesley; Chas.
A. Wilson, Medway.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY: C. L. Blake. Ashby; E. Garland,
Groton ; E. R. Farrar, South Lincoln ;
Wilfrid Wheeler, Concord; R. A. Hittinger.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY: John W. Clark, North Hadley;
J. T. Geer, Three Rivers. A. J. Norman,
Amherst.

HAMPDEN COUNTY : L. W. Rice, Wilbraham.

BERKSHIRE COUNTY : R. H. Race, North Egremont.

FRANKLIN COUNTY: E. F. Copeland, Colrain; Wra.
Davenport, Colrain; Charles A. Smith,
Ashfield.

WORCESTER COUNTY: S. J. Emerson, Lunenburg; W.
D. Ross, Worcester; H. R. Kinney, Wor-
cester; Edmund Mortimer. Grafton, H.
A. Cook, Shrewsbury.

OUT OF STATE: J. H. Putnam, Litchfield, Conn.

EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING

OF THE

Massachusetts Fruit Growers* Association

March 13th and 14th, 1912

Horticultural Hall, 18 Front Street, Worcester, Mass.

In spite of the down pour during the night and its re-
sulting washouts and the continuous rain there was even a
larger audience than last year when the meeting was call-
ed to order at 10.15 a. m., President Samuel T. Maynard,
presiding.

The President : Ladies and Gentlemen : At the open-
ing of this, the 18th Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts
Fruit Growers' Association, we have with us the Mayor of
the City of Worcester, and he will give you a few words of
welcome. Mayor O'Connell of Worcester. (Applause).

Remarks of Mayor David O'Connell of Worcester

Mr. President and Members of the Massachusetts
Fruit Growers' Association: It is indeed a great honor to
the City of Worcester and a great honor to me personally
to have the privilege of greeting you today. Worcester
jfeels honored at your assembling here, and I extend to you
on behalf of all the people of this good city a hearty wel-
come. I trust that you will enjoy yourselves and enjoy
your visit most thoroughly and that your deliberations will
be such as will insure to the benefit of all. I only wish
that we could control the god of the weather so that we
might have brighter skies with this day, but that, of course,
is impossible, but on all other things we will do what we
possibly can to make your visit here a pleasant one, a pros-

perous one and of advantage not only to yourselves, but to
all the people of this city and the people of the entire com-
monwealth.

If during the week you can find occasion or a little
time within the next few days to visit City Hall I should
be pleased to extend you further courtesies, if possible. We
would like to show you the building and make your visit
here as pleasant and as agreeable as we possibly can.

We all realize the good work that you are doing for
the people, that you are doing for the Commonwealth. A
gathering together of this kind is of great benefit not only
to yourselves individually, but to the entire community.
The exchange of ideas, co-operation one with the other,
tend not only to good fellowship, but tend to better citizen-
ship' and tend to the uplifting of the people in whom you
and I and all of us are interested. I did not come here to
make a speech to you gentlemen, because I could not intel-
ligently discuss with you the matters of the various sub-
jects that ^vill be under discussion during the next two
days; but I give to you simply and solely the greeting of
the city of Worcester and tell you how glad we are to have
you with us. You manifest the true spirit; you manifest
the old New England system, which is the best system the
sun ever shone upon ; you manifest a system that is for the
good of all, a patriotic system ; and I have no doubt that at
great expense and great inconvenience to yourselves, you
have come here today for bettering the cause which you
love so well and which you are all so anxious should be suc-
cessful. Now, nothing is better for a system of this kind
than unity of action. The raising of fruit is one of the
greatest, the most laudable objects I can think of, and I
trust that some time in the near future we may have here
in the heart of the Commonwealth a municipal market
where your fruit can be exhibited, where the curb man can
be eliminated and where the people can deal with you face
to face, examine your goods and buy them at a reduced
•cost, which would have a tendency to reduce the high cost

-of living that exists in this country and in this community
at the present time. Therre is a move under way look-
ing to that, and there is a bill before the Massachusetts Leg-
islature, which has passed, I think, the House of Represen-
tatives and also the Massachusetts Senate and is now in the
hands of the Governor, which gives to the city of Worces-
ter, on a petition that was filed at the beginning of the ses-
sion, the right to purchase or hire land or erect such build-
ings as may be suitable or adaptable for the purpose of car-
rying out the wishes of the great mass of the people ; and I
think the great mass of the people in Massachusetts will do
all they can — and I certainly will do all I can, if that bill
passes, as it undoubtedly will, and be signed by the Govern-
or in a few days — will do all we can to have something done
here towards the establishment of a municipal market.

It is better for the producer and it will make it all the
better for the consumer, because the third man is entirely
eliminated. Of course, this may strike home with some se-
verity, because it will strike that third man, but that should
not be considered in the tendency that now exists that the
great mass of the people should be considered first. The la-
borer, the producer, is worthy of his hire and it is for the
consumer to buy in such places as he can buy with the great-
est advantage to himself and the greatest advantage to his
family. That order, as I said before, has passed the Legis-
lature, and I don't know but that when you come here next
year, as we want you to — you must come to Worcester; we
like to have you with us, because it is an honor to the City
of Worcester to have a gathering of this kind here — when
you come again next year to visit us I trust that we will have
made some move in Worcester towards the establishment of
a municipal market. Those markets are established in var-
ious cities in the West and are conducted with great success,
not only for the consumer but for the producer and there are
various ones in the southern cities, Richmond, Baltimore,
Philadelphia, New Orleans and many other cities ; and if
it was suggested in any of those cities that the municipal

market should be discontinued there would almost be a
riot. The people could not get along without them.

The only one objection that is made to them is that the
ladies who lives in this Commonwealth wouldn't go to the
market to purchase that which might be necessary for their
families. I don't believe it has come to this that the women
of Massachusetts haveso far forgotten themselves,
so far forgotten the interest they have in the community, so
far forgotten the interest they have in the people generally,
that they wouldn't go to a market with a little basket on
their arm or a hand bag, and purchase things for their own
families. That was one of the simple arguments used against
the municipal market at a hearing held some time ago, that
the good ladies wouldn't go to the market and purchase
from the producers so that they might take it home to their
immediate families. One man who made a speech said he
wouldn't like to see his wife floating around with a large
vegetable basket buying fruit and vegetables. If there are
such men in this community let them pay the high prices,
but the poor people, the common people, should not. (Ap-
plause).

Now, my friends, there is nothing further I can say to
you. I fully appreciate the true spirit which guided you
here ; T fully appreciate the manner in which you look at
these things, the manner in which you are building up and
rebuilding for the best interests of this community. I want
to thank you, Mr. President, for your cordial invitation to
be present, and if I can do anything for you. sir. or for the
members of your organization while in Worcester, please
call on me in my office in the City Hall and I invite you all
cordially to come to the City Hall some time and I will see
to it that you have a chance to make an inspection of that
beautiful building that we all admire and love so well. (Ap-
plause).

The President. Mr. IMayor, I want to thank you
heartily for the kind words which yaw have spoken and for

the interest you have sho^vn in the cause of agriculture and
horticulture. We will try and carry out the ideas and sug-
gestions that you have made to us.

Now, we have a very full, large program for today, and
I shall take but a very few moments of your time. The de-
tails of the year's work you will find in the secretary's re-
port, therefore I shall simply deal with the other cases.

ADDRESS OF THE PRESmENT

Ladies and Gentlemen and Fellow Fruit Growers:

We have a very large and varied program to offer you
at this our 18th annual meeting and I will not detain you
long Math my address as the details of the years work will
be found in the report of the Secretary and Treasurer.

The past year has been one of the most prosperous for
our association financially and in the number of new mem-
l)ers. For this condition we are indebted largely to our en-
ergetic and efficient Secretary. More field meetings and
institutes have been held than ever before and a greater
interest manifested in the growth of fruits of all kinds, but
especially that of the apple.

We have upon our program today many SDCcialists who
will answer our questions and give the latest facts in rela-
tion to the many problems that confront us.

There are problems to which we should give especial
attention, upon the solving of which depends largely the
success of eastern fruit growing. Some of these are given
in our question list but may be mentioned here.

1. The first covering the whole field is How to grow fruit.

2. When and with what shall we spray to keep in control
the insect and fungous pests

3. What fertilizers and methods of cultivation will give
the best results

4. How can we get our products into the hands of the con-
sumer at the least cost.

8

5. What varieties can we grow that will compete success-
fully with western gro'^vn fruit.
I thank you for your attention.

SAMUEL T. MAYNARD
President.

The President. We will begin the program today
with the report of the Secretary.

Secretary F. Howard Brown. The proceedings^
of our last annual meeting have already been published and
my report goes on from that stage.

REPORT OF SECRETARY

Mr. President and members of the Association :

Mr. Brown. We have now some 36 members or
more coming from surrounding states, going as far west as
Ohio, and we have 14 down in Connecticut. All the New
England states are represented and it seemed wise to sug-
gest that perhaps one director be appointed from Connecti-
cut to represent the out-of-state people.

It might be suggested that a standing committee on ex-
hibitions be appointed to develop this department. We have
not done very much in the exhibition line (Applause.)

Institutes

Two w<"ol\s afler the annual meeting Ihe joint institute
with Ihe Middlesex South Agricultural Society was held at
Marlboro. March 22. 1911 and the report of AVorcester meet-
ing delivered to members present. The attendance
equalled that of previous annual meetings and the following
attractive program was given:

Stereopticon lecture, AVilfred AVheeler, Concord: Mon-
ey in Strawberries; Secretary Lewis Ellsworth, How tO'
Prepare for the New England Fruit Show; Stereopticon
lecture, George N. Smith, Wellesley; Spraying for Insects
Attacking Fruit and Shade Trees. Dinner at 12 :30 by Marl-
boro Grange. Afternoon session at farm of Elmer D. Howe,
Pruning and Spraying Demonstrations Avere given by Prof
S. T. Maynard, Northboro and H. L. Frost, Arlington. Many
local power and hand outfits were shown in action.

The first institute of the 1911-12 season was held at
"West Springfield, Grange Hall, December 6th. Prof. A. J.
Norman on Pruning was followed by Prof. F, C. Sears on
Orchard Management. After dinner by West Springfield
Grange, Vice President Frost spoke on Spraying, and the
meeting adjourned to the farm of Ex-Treas. Ethan Brooks
where a pruning demonstration was given by Prof. Norman.

On Thursday, January 25, 1912 at Ashby, the 2nd insti-
tute was held ; the members from a distance used automo-
biles to get from Fitchburg. Wilfred Wheeler, Concord,
spoke on Small Fruit Culture at the morning session, and
A. J. Norman, Amherst, on Orchard Diseases, after a dinner
by Ashby Grange.

At Great Barrington, February 13th, Dr. George M.
Twitchell of Maine, spoke on An Old Orchard Reclaimed,
and at the afternoon session II. S. Frost spoke on Spray-
ing. This was the first Fruit Growers institute held in
Berkshire County so many new members were obtained.

At Colerain, FeTjruary 16th, Dr. Twitchell spoke on
Profits in Orcharding, and after dinner by the Woman's Re-
lief Corps, John W. Clark of North Hadley spoke on What
to do with our Apple Orchards.

At North Andover, February 28th, many new members
were obtained wlien Vice President Frost spoke on Spray-
ing, and Prof. Jarvis of Storrs, Conn., spoke on Orchard
Renovation.

The institutes have been successful in that they have
been largely attended by interested people, and many new
members have joined the Association.

Field Meetings

The seasons' field meetings began June 17th, with the
strawberry meeting, when the members only, met at the
farm of Wilfred Wheeler, and a most profitable and en-
joyable afternoon session was held. Another meeting, for
members only, was held at Littleton, August 5th at the
Drew- Munson Fruit Farm. The idea of keeping the invi-
tations within the membership was to impress upon outsid-
ers the advantages of becoming members. Messrs. Wheeler,
Frost and Munson showed the members every courtesy, as
did those who entertained at the other meetings,

•; August 10th found us at the peach orchards of Mr. Mun-
Eoe Morse Medway for the early peach meeting. Mr. L, W.

10

Rice, having been in the hospital for some time, was unable
to have iis with him, and Mr. Morse came to the rescue.
The other peach meeting was also open, and at West Berlia
with Albert A. Jacobs on Labor Day and Avas the El-
berta meeting. Not so many attended this meeting, as per-
haps would have, if they had known that both the airships-
passed over the Peach Hill orchards in the Tri-State Con-
test. At both peach meetings were seen fruit which would
be a decided credit any where, and the idea of having these
meetings open, as well as the later ones, was to get as many~
as possible to come in hopes that they would join the As-
sociation if not already members.

The Fruit Growers Excursion at Newbury scheduled
for Saturday, Sept. 16th, did not come off as planned on
account of the very heavy rains. The three who braved the
weather however felt more than repaid, and JMr. Perkins
has kindly invited us to try again this year.

The last field meeting was at Amherst, October 9th,
and after an inspection of the orchards and new cold storage
plant at the ]Massachusetts Agricultural College, and a box
packing demonstration by Mr. John B. Castner of Hood
River, Oregon, the trolley was taken to the Bay Road Fruit
Farm of Profs. Waugh and Sears, and we roamed among
the thousands of trees of varying ages.

These field meetings have a definite place in the Asso-
ciation work, as they bring the members together more in-
formally than at the Annual Meeting, and there is more
time to get acquainted and to develop the sj^irit of "get to-
gether."

The special thanks of the Association are tendered to
all those who contributed to the success of these institutes
and field meetings, as well as the annual meeting and other-
Association activities.

Invitations to hold field meetings this year have been-
received from Mr. Frank Perkins at Newbury, to try again,
Mr. Edmund Mortimer at Grafton, Mr. Fred A. Smith at
Turner Hill, and Mr. E. Cyrus Miller at Haydenville. One
was also received from Mr. L, N. Rice at "VVilbraham, but-
cancelled on account of loss of crop. The Secretary will'
be glad to hear of any member with a sufficient peach crop
to warrant a meeting with him.

The exhibit at the New England Fruit Show won sec-
ond prize for IMassachusetts, and a special note of thanks is
due Prof. Sears for his labors in this line which resulted so

11

favorably.

A Directors meeting was called at Horticultural Hail
Worcester, D^c. 19th, with a large proportion present. The
following business was transacted :

Report of Committee on New England Fruit Show read
and a vote of thanks extended to Professor F. C. Sears,
chairman. Suggestions were made as to speakers for the
annual meeting. Da^e of the annual meetinar discussed and
following committee appointed to report: H. R. Kinney, Dr.
F. E. Gilson, F. Howard Brown.

County Fruit Association, institutes, field meetings,
charges for list of members, and ^xtra reports were dis-
cussed. Vote of approval to State Board of Agriculture
and Senator Gates for work in defeating bill for ten vpar
close season on deer.

Considerable discussion regarding movement to get a
state appropriation for the Association. Ways and means
presented and the following committee appointed to take
the matter up in the new- session of the legislature, Vice
President Frost, President Maynard, S. J. Emerson, Lunen-
burg.

Committee on hall for trade exhibit. President, Secre-
tary, H. R. Kinney.

The Vice President and Secretary attended the Rural
Progress Conference at the State House, March 8th as dele,
gates. It was the largest gathering ever held in New Eng-
land of representatives of the rural life, and much good
should result.

At the session of the State Grange at Worcester in De-
cember a resolution was endorsed which approved of the
Association receiving an appropriation from the State, and
the amount reported by the legislative committee was $500.

A month ago a circular letter was sent out stating the
standing of each member as shown by the books. An ad-
vance list of probable speakers of this meeting was also in-
corporated so that two birds were killed with one stone.
While the purpose of the letter was particularly to notify
those members who were more than two years in arrears,
many of those who were paid to date responded with their
dues for 1912 and the new button was forwarded with re-
ceipt.

At the later institutes also the members have been eag-

12

er to pay their dues and bring in new membrs. At one
iustitule the Secretary remembers seeing a row of seven
members with the 1912 buttons on. This attitude is cer-
tainly appreciated by the Secretary, though please don't
follow the action of the member from Fitchburg, who has
just sent in a dollar bill and omitted to fill in his name or
address on the slip, and the post mark is our only guide.
Two more dollar ledgers are now necessary for increased
membership accounts.

It seems advisable to have a special membership commit-
tee who could furnish directors with the list of the mem-
bers in their vicinity, handle the membership desk at the
annual meeting, and report on advisability of establishing
a life membership for $15.00 or over. As a member of this
committee, the Secretary can recommend the Director, who
has just had printed at his own expense and sent out, pos-
tal notices of this meeling to persons not reached by the
regular notices.

Nearly tAvo-thirds of the dues have been collected by the
Secretary's office since last Annual meeting. In apportion-
ing directors according to the membership in each county
we find the folloAving for this year: Berkshire 1, Franklin
3, Hampshire 2. Hampden 1. Worcester 6. Middlesex 6. Nor-
folk 1, Essex 2, Suffolk 1. and Avith our large out of State
membership it might be well to have it represented from
Connecticut which furnishes 14 members of our Association.

It might be suggested that a Standing Committee on
Exhibition be appointed to develop this department.
Eespectfully submitted,

F. HOWARD BROWN,
Secretary.

The President. The next report Avill ])e that of
the treasurer, Avho is also the secretary.

The President. Will the Treasiu'er tell us how
many members there are in good standing?

Mr, BroAvn. According to this report Ave have re-
ceived $553 for memberships this year; but that does not
mean we have 553 members. It does mean that some have
paid for 1911 and some have paid for 1912. so that the tavo
years overlan. and it means that Ave have taken in since the
beginning of the last annual meeting .$553. Last year some
members had paid in advance, the same as some members;

13

have at the present lime, so that it almost seems as if very
soon after this annual meeting we will have an organization
6f 553 members. I certainly hope so.

TREASURER'S REPORT

Mr. President and members:

The report of the treasurer is as follows :

Balance on hand, ]\Iarch 8. 1911 $ 56.23

Membership dues at annual meeting 194.00

Membership dues since annual meeting 359.00

Office of Secretary received 4.02

$613.25 -

89.79

83.44

50.00

21.51

37.05

146.13

Expenditures

Annual meeting 1911 $ 185.33

Postage

Institutes and field meetings

Salary Secretary-Treasurer

^liscellaneous

Annual meeting 1912 Buttons, programs, etc.

Balance in bank

Balance in bank 146.13

Respectfully submitted

F. HOWARD BROWN,

Treasurer.

The President then called for the Auditors report which
M'as given.

Worcester, Mar. 13, 1912.
I have this day examined the books and accounts of the
Treasurer, F. Howard Brown, of the Massachusetts Fruit
Growers Association and find them correct, with the bal-
ance properly deposited or accounted for.

H. WARD MOORE.
Auditor.

It was voted to accept the reports of the Secretary,
Treasurer and Auditor.

The President. The next item on the program is
the report of committees. The first is on the New England
Fruit Show. Professor Sears is chairman of that commit-
tee and I had hoped that he would be here to make that re-

14

port. The Secretary has the report.

Secretary Brown. This is the report of the Com-
mittee on the New England Fruit Show. I will now read
this report.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON NEW ENGLAND
FRUIT SHOW

Your Committee begs to submit the following report of
its work in preparing the Massachusetts State Exhibit for
the New England Fruit Show:

We began early to canvass the state for good fruit, but
it was not until the very last moment that we finally made
up the required amount, viz. 100 boxes and 20 barrels. The
principal reason for this difficulty was the San Jose scale,
which, unfortunately, was found on several lots which had
been counted on as a part of our exhibit.

Your Committee wishes to acknowledge most grateful-
ly the assistance of those who furnished the fruit for this
exhibit. Several orchardists came forward at the last mo-
ment, when we had been disappointed in fruit we had ex-
pected to get, and brought in fruit without which we should
have found it impossible to enter the competition.

The following is the list of those who furnished fruit
free of charge for this exhibit:

H, J. Wilder, Washington, D. C. (from his orchard at West

Ley den. Mass).
Munson & Frost Company, Littleton, Mass.
A. A. Marshall, Fitchburg, Mass.
Geo. S. Knapp, Groton, Mass.
Alden Derby, Leominster, Mass.
F. A. Smith, Turner Hill Farm, Ipswich, Mass.
Chauncey D. Brewer, Boston.
Fred lUsley, Newbury
F. A. Hastings, Sudbury
L. F. Priest, Gleasondale
E. M. Bruce, Leominster

In addition to this, we bought 30 boxes of Mcintosh
from Mr, A. A. Marshall, of Fitchburg, which were re-
packed into barrels.

Your Committee wishes also to express its most sincere

15

appreciation of the unremitting efforts of Mr. Wilfrid
"Wheeler in our behalf. Although not a member of the com-
mittee, Mr. "Wheeler did everything in his power to assist
us,

"We believe that in general the Massachusetts State
Exhibit was very creditable to the state, to the society, and
to the men who furnished the fruit. While we were success-
ful in capturing only the second prize, we certainly had
some very fine fruit shown, and we are in much better posi-
tion to make an exhibit in 1913.

We feel that we made one serious mistake in our gen-
eral plan of handling the matter, and mention it here for
the benefit of future committees who may have this work
in hand. A good part of the fruit was sent to Horticultural
Hall and there packed for the exhibit. We believe that it
should all have been packed at the orchards of those fur-
nishing the fruit. It is practically impossible to repack fruit
in the way we did and still have it perfect.

The following is an account of our expenditures and
receipts :

Expenses

30 boxes Mcintosh from A. A. Marshall,

at $3.50

$105.00

Boxes and barrels for exhibit

19.60

Carting fruit

1.20

Cloth for covering exhibit

6.60

Sigii

4.00

Freight and express

7.50

Expenses A. R. Jenks

12.41

Expenses J. Openshaw

19.57

Expenses F. C. Sears

34.36

$210.24

Receipts

Apples sold $55.91

Mass. State Board of Agriculture 15.35

Friends in Massachusetts . 138.98

210.24

All of which is respectfully submitted,

F. C. SEARS, Chairman.

For the Committee

16

Secretary Brown. At the last annual meeting we also
liad a committee appointed to see what could be done abo\it
additional inducements to join the Association, though that
committee is not named in this program. Professor Sears
was chairman and is unable to be present today so I will
read it. I will now read this report,

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ADDITIONAL IN-
DUCEMENTS TO JOIN THE ASSOCIATION

Your Committee has considered the question of means
by which we may make membership in our Association of
more value to the fruit growers of the State and would
make the following suggestions ;

First — That some horticultural publication be selected
and offered to members at a reduced rate. We have taken
the matter up with the publisher of "Better Fruit" of Hood
Eiver, Oregon, and "The Rural New Yorker," and have se-
cured offers of a rate of 50c for the former and 75c for the
latter. As many of our members are already subscribers to
Rural New Yorker and as the rate is so exceptionally low
for "Better Fruit" (just half price,) we should be inclined
to recommend the latter. But that, of course, is for the As-
sociation to decide.

Second — "We would recommend that, if possible, some
arrangement be made with the management of the New
England Fruit Show whereby the members of our Associa-
tion might be granted tickets of admission to the Fruit
Show at reduced rates.

These are the only specific recommendations that we
have to make at the present time, but we believe that the
general question of making membership in our Association
of greater value cannot be too seriously considered by this
organization. At the present time, our members receive the
bound reports of our annual meetings and notices of all
field meetings as a reward for joining the Association. And
while the energy and business methods of our good Secre-
tary have done wonders in increasing our numbers, we can-
not expect to gain and hold a large membership without ad-
ditional inducements. And your committee feels very
strongly that if the Massachusetts Fruit Growers Associa-
tion is to have the influence and power that it ought to have,

17

this large membership is absolutely necessary.
Respectfully Submitted,

F. C, SEARS, Chairman for the Committee.

It was voted that these reports be accepted and adoi)te<l
and placed on file.

Pres. There was a committee appointed to look after a
trade exhibit at the annual meeting. It was found, however,
that there was no space in any hall in the vicinity, and the
space in this hall is very limited, so nothing w&.s done to in-
crease the trade exhibits at this annual meeting.

At the Director's meeting last December a committee
was appointed to consider the question of change of date of
the annual meeting. This Committee is represented by Mr.
Herbert R. Kinney, as chairman. Will Mr. Kinney report?

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON DATE OF ANNUAL

MEETING

Mr. President and Members of the Fruit Growers' Asso-
ciation : We find that in the report of last year, on motion
of Mr. Wheeler, that it was moved that the constitution of
this Association be amended by stating that the annual
meeting shall ]ye on the third Wednesday in January at such
place as the executive committee shall decide. Now, article
V of the Constitution, Section 1, is to the effect that the as-
sociation shall hold at least two regular meetings each year,
the annual meeting for the election of officers to be held in
the City of Worcester on the 2nd Wednesday of ]\Iarch at 2
p. m. Section 2, on the election of officers and transaction
of other business, states that 20 members shall constitute a
quorum and a majority vote shall constitute election. All
officers are to hold over until their successors are elected.

In Article VI for special meetings, it is stated that
the president and secretary shall have power to call spe-
cial meetings of the Association or of the directors or up-
on the written petition of 15 members they shall issue such
a call.

That is the way it stands now. This committee find that
the third Wednesday in January was liable to conflict with
other meetings and it suggests the second Wednesday or

18 -

second week in January. The directors do not call the
meetings anyway and so, without changing the constitution,
it would be necessary that the president and secretary or
15 members have charge of calling our meetings. We have
not done anything more than to investigate this matter.
There is no doubt but what the date of the meeting should
be changed from this time, which is very apt to conflict with
spraying, to an earlier date, and, as I said, the second week
in January would appear to us to be better than the third.

In rgard to the other part of the question that the call-
ing of the meeting be left with the president and the secre-
tary, that is a matter for you to consider and that was left
open to be brought up today and be acted on tomorrow, so
that the members would have time to consider whether it
was desirable to change really the place of holding the an-
nual meeting. I don't want that you should feel that I am
prejudiced in favor of Worcester, but I feel that under the
circumstances it is a good idea, as representing the Horti-
cultural Society, to say that we should like to have you
stay here with us. This organization was formed in this
hall and while the leading spirits at the time it was formed
have many of them passed away, still we feel as though it is
a kind of home and that many of you, I think, who have
been coming here for 18 years feel that it is home, and we
hope that you will consider this matter between now and
tomorrow and see whether it is desirable to change this.
Of course, it is necessary, if you leave it with the officers,
to change this first section of Article V which, as I said, reads
that the meeting shall be held in Worcester.

The President. You hear the report of this commit-
tee. What will you do with it?

Mr. Wheeler. Do I understand there is a motion
made in the report? I thought I understood that.

The President. The recommendation, as I understand
it, from this committee, is that the date of the annual meet-
ing be changed to the second Wednesday in January; and I
believe that is all the change that is necessary. The Constitu-
tion provides for the calling of meetings by the President
and Secretary.

Mr. Wilder. I should like to inquire if it is to be con-
sidered a requisite that an exhibit shall be held at the time
of the annual meeting?

19

The President. No, I don't know that it is; but it
is probably desirable if we could find a hall to have a large
exhibit of appliances. It certainly would be very instruc-
tive.

A Member. I move that the recommendation on
the whole subject be laid on the table until such time as it
shall be acted upon tomorrow. It was so voted.

Secretary Brown. I move that the report of the oth-
er two committees be postponed at this time and that we
proceed to the first address of the morning.

The President. The program continues with an
address by Dr. Burton N. Gates. Amherst State Inspector of
Apiaries: "Bees in relation to fruit production."

THE VALUE OF BEES IN FRUIT GROWING

Dr. Burton N. Gates, State Inspector of
Apiaries Amherst, Mass.

It may be read in the oldese of writings how complete
coimtries were divested of their bees by a raging epidemic.
Aristotle has mentioned this for the classical period. In
more recent times in America, marked depressions in api-
culture have been observed. For instance, in New Eng-
land, including also New York State, Langstroth men-
tioned in 1852 the low ebb which bee-keeping had obtained.
Just what this was due to is not certain, but in all prob-
ability, a bee disease had swept through the country and
reduced the number of colonies to a minimum. It would
not be unreasonable therefore, to assume it possible for all
the bees in a given locality to be completely annihilated.

It may be assumed that an agricultural country be-
comes entirely destitute of bees. What is the result? Would
it be possible to grow vegetables, squashes, cucumbers, mel-
ons; would the strawberries blackberries, the currants, the
raspberries, the apple, pear and plum bear fruit? More-
over, if the fiat included the bumble bee, would the clover
set seed? In fact, should the bee fauna be entirely reduced
as might be under most adverse conditions, it is safe to say
that it would be utterly impossible to produce the major-
ity of fruits and vegetables and horticultural seeds.

In a certain locality in Massachusetts through the agency

20

of bee disease, the honey bees had been completely wiped
out for an area of at least three or four miles on the radius.
It is not necessary to detail the proof of these conditions,
but 1o emphasize the results upon general agriculture. The
writer inquired of the farmers, they not knowing what was
being aimed at, how their squashes and apples and other
vegetables and fruits were setting. The topic was hardly
suggested, when they replied that it was an off year. It
was easy to see, therefore, that with the absence of the
honey bees, notwithstanding there had been present the
various solitary and other wild bees, the appreciable effect
upon the community.

In discussing the value of bees in horticultural work,
whether, in market gardening or the growing of fruits,
it is not necessary to prove the process or agency of bees
in transmitting pollen. This has been too often demon-
strated. For the sake of brevity, it may be assumed as a
hyjiothesis that bees, not only the honey bees, but the soli-
tary bees, are the means of transmitting pollen, which is
the male element of the plant, to the stigma which is the
female organ. This is accomplished as is known, by a mul-
titude of intricate contrivances. The ])rocess is so common
and general that it escapes thought or observation. But
the importance of bees in horticulture lies in a deeper,
more fundamental law which will be emphasized.

It is dou])tless a common experience with practical
growers that a part of the orchard may set fruit more ful-
ly and better than^ the more remote ])art. Probably if con-
ditions Avere examined carefully, it Avould be found that
that part of the orclmrd which bore fruit abundantly, was
l>rotected perhaps from the prevailing Avinds, was nearer
to an apiary, was not obstructed by a hedge row or build-
ings, so that the ])ees had an easy access to the trees. More-
over, it is a common experience during fruit bloom that the
weather conditions consist of cold or intermittent sunshine
and showers. In a word, the weather conditions are ad-
verse for the best setting of fruit. It therefore becomes
evident that the natural obstructions and adverse weather
are a check to the best possible work of the bee.

One concrete illustration of this is reported by a gentle-
man in Rhode Island who observed that part of an orchard
bore apples abundantly while the more distant part did not
fruit, t'pon examination, it was foiuid that the fruiting

21

portion of the orchard was protected from the prevailing
winds on the north and west by a hill while the more dis-
tant part of the orchard was windswept. Furthermore,
three or four hundred feet from the fruiting part of the
orchard were six or seven colonies of bees. The season
was adverse while the trees were in bloom: spring show-
ers prevented the bees from constant activity. It may be
seen then, that between showers the bees had an oppor-
tunity to fly forth and visit only the nearest and protect-
ed part of the orchard. Showers came up, the bees were
driven back to the hives; thus they alternated between the
hives and the nearby trees.

Among cranberry growers it has been observed that
certain portions of a bog sometimes bear heavy crops while
a certain corner of the field bears only partially. Inquiry
has shown that that part of the field which bears only par-
tially is obstructed by a windbreak or undergrowth which
hindered the bees from visiting it. The flight of the bees
is steered away. It is common experience of bee-keepers,
that a hill or shelter belt frequently acts as a barrier to
bee-flight, materially changing their course.

Similarly, the writer has observed a large cherry tree
adjacent to or beneath which were bees. That part of the
tree which was shielded in the west by a house, invariably
fruited while in years when adverse weather conditions
prevailed during the blossoming, the upper part of the tree,
luishielded, did not bear so freely. Here enters another
factor, also. Cherries, and sometimes other fruits, hold
their petals only for a short interval. Hence, an import-
ance of bees to accomplish quick work.

A significant observation comes from the west. Two
apple orchards were isolated in potholes or valleys. Dur-
ing several years the owner was baffled to know why one
of these orchards under exactly similar conditions as the
other, fruited heavily, ^he other not bearing fruit. The
contrast was so marked and the reason for failure so ob-
scure, that the orchardist called in the state entomologist.
A thorough examination could not reveal why there should
have been failure in one case and an ample crop in the oth-
er. Upon leaving one of the orchards and without having
satisfactorily accounted for the success or failure, the ento-
moligist came upon a fallen log on the edge of the orchard.
In this log was a colony of bees. It is needless to say that
it was this orchard Avbicli bore fruit abundantlv; the oth-

22

er pothole eontaining no bees and being isolated beyond the
reach of bees, was a failure.

Of course, this is an extreme case and in New England
we have different conditions. We have a less wild coun-
try to contend with. Our population is more dense or
scattered. There are more beekeepers to a given area and
there are more escaped colonies in the woods, than in some
western localities. Nevertheless, these observations show
the decided importance of maintaining bees for sucessful
horitcultural work. It is not merely the agency of the bees
in the transmitting of pollen which is the key to the situ-
ation; it is a far more important and fundamental biolog-
ical and economical factor.

It is a well known fact that all animal as well as plant
life under wild or natural conditions is subject to a fluctu-
ation; one year a given species of animal is prevalent, the
next year it may be more prevalent or less prevalent. Take
for instance the house fly; some years it is more trouble-
some than others. The mosquito also is a pest some years
and almost unknown in others. The fish in the sea become
abundant or lacking; the birds, for instance the quail, has
been more common during given periods than during oth-
ers. So it is with all life under wild or natural conditions.
This variation of fluctuation between prevalence and scar-
city, has been described as periods of ups and downs. It
may be illustrated by a horizontal curved or wavy line : the
crests of the waves indicate prevalence : the depressions in-
dicate scarcity. So it is with bees, especially those without
man's control. The wild solitary species, under adverse
wintering conditions, or during a period of scarcity of
food, become depressed and few in number. The wild honey
bees which have escaped to trees and ledges, during an
adverse season or succession of seasons are less numer-
ous than when favored by environment. To a certain ex-
tent this law applies also to the honey bees in the apiar-
ist's yard. Certain years are unsuccessful; the bee keeper
says there is no "increase," he says he has a poor year.
This has been especially true with the prevalence of in-
fectious brood diseases.

In a word, bees, like all life are subject to natural
forces; favorable ones bring increase, unfavorable ones,
as enemies or ill weather, as in the case of bees, cause a
reduction of the species, that is a depression or drop in the

23

wavy curve. This law of "ups and doAvns" of life, the
prevalence or scarcity of a species is as fundamental for
the orchadist, as was Newton's discovery for physics, upon
observing the fall of an apple. As all matter is subject to
the law of gravity, so all life is subject to a biological law
or laws governing its prevalence or scarcity.

Here then is the key to the horticulturist's need for
and utilization of bees. His problem is not merely that of
securing fertilization of his fruit or vegetables. It is more
grave. He must meet a natural force, overcome the ten-
dency of nature to reduce an overplus of the insects which
he is so dependent upon. Large blocks of fruit trees mean
an inestimable number of blossoms. If it happens that
bees are few, or the weather unfavorable, how, though the
trees are masses of bloom, is the grower to secure a crop?

It is only too evident that the orchadist in particular
has been trusting out the most crucial factor in his fruit
raising.^ He has been neglecting or if preferred, has been
chancing his crop against the freaks and fluctuations of
weather and nature. But it is quite possible to subject
this most vital of factors in producing a crop, successful
fertilization, to man's control. The crop may be prac-
ally assured, other conditions being favorable, by maintain-
ing honey bees to do the work. In the cucumber greenhouse,
w^ithout bees for a day or so, a material loss is sustained.
During fruit bloom the same is experienced only, too fre-
quently, it has been charged to "bad luck."

It would appear desirable, even though it may be
considered that there are plenty of wild insects, to main-
tain bees also ; it is a small investment, considering the
possible returns. Furthermore, the orchardist who owns
his own colonies, is independent of his neighbor bee-keep-
ers, he is independent in the broadest sense of the word. It
is better to flood the orchard with bees than to find after
the fruit has set that too few Avere present to have ac-
complished a heavy set.

The writer has in mind a melon grower who annually
hires one or two colonies of bees to assure a maximum set-
ting of his melons. It is not with the idea that he secures
a better grade of melons, but that he secures a melon
from each female blossom. It is more or less so with the
orchadist who has become aware of the benefits which ho
can derive from maintaining a few colonies of bees to pro-
tect himself against a possible loss under adverse climatic

24

conditions or when the wild bees have become depressed.
Just how many colonies are necessary for a ^ven acreage
of trees or vegetables has to be ascertained by the grower,
but the fact that remains that in order to secure a maximum
crop, to be independent of the neighboring bee-keeper, or of
uncontrollable weather conditions, under the acute compe-
tition of western production, it has become necessary not
only to grow more fruit and vegetables, but to be assured
of a maximum crop.

The game is to produce fruit, not merely to cultivate
plants or trees. The producer prunes, cultivates, fertil-
izes with carefully compounded mixtures, sjvays for
scale and codling moth and rears splendid tree specimens.
But how many have really subjected to control the one
factor which insures the crop, the control of the trans-
mission of pollen? It is this opportunity to control fer-
tilization Avhieh as insurance is seized by progressive
growers today. (Applause^

A Member. How far apart were those two orchards
you speak of where one was not bearing and the other did
bear?

Dr. Gates. I can't answer that definitely. It is re-
ported that they were exactly comparable. They may have
been a mile or two apart but in the same immediate locality.

A Member. Do you think bees would go a quarter
of a mile?

Dr. Gates. They will go three or four miles. The
ordinary range of traveling is two miles. Under pressure,
when there is a scarcity of nectar, the same as last year, they
will go three or four miles, and cases are on record where
they have gone seven miles across a country; but those are
■extraordinary. In all probability, being in a pothole and
having plenty to eat in this hole, the colony down there
did all the work.

Mr. R. H. Race. I would like to ask the speaker if he
would like to have us understand that we would have no
fruit if we didn't have insects of some kind to gather
pollen? ■^

Dr. Gates. I don't want to preclude the possibil-
ity, the bare possibility, that pollen is transmitted by the
wind, to a certain extent; but there are any quantity of ex-
periments on record which show that they are only very
'small in number and probably accidental.

25

Mr. Race. Would that apply to the strawberry?

Dr. Gates. The strawberry is not so susceptible to
the work of the honey bee as to the wild, solitary bee.

Mr. Race. What is the effect of the spraying on this
work of the bees in carrying the pollen.

Dr. Gates. That is a problem we are not prepared to
go into in detail just at present. I am perfectly frank to
admit that under confinement in a big tank, like this stage,
as it were, enclosing an apple tree, for instance, which had
been sprayed with arsenate of lead, it is found that the bees
taking food from that tree would be killed. That is as far
as I can go as an actual statement.

Mr. Wheeler. I would like to ask what method you
consider best for wintering bees in an orchard. I think we
all agree that the bee is essential in fruit production, but we
all have a great deal of trovible in Mantering them. I no-
ticed in Amherst yesterday that the bees were liAdng right
out, with apparently no protection. I cover mine and I find
that practically two hives out of three have been killed.

Dr. Gates. The problem of wintering is one which the
Department of Agriculture is taking up right now. There
are advocates on this side and advocates on that. From my
own experiments I found that the temperature just beneath
the cluster of bees and the hives is precisely identical with
the temperature outside the hive and consequently I have
concluded that the packing of bees around the bottom at
least is of no value. It merely acts as insulation, so that
when the rays of the sun strike on that insulation they are
repelled and do not enter the hive. That is the ground on
which I have been working. On the other hand, there are
those who advocate wintering bees in chaff packed hives
with an air space; that is. a false air space. Another way
is to have several coats of paper and fold it over and pack
it down. All those different methods seem to work with
certain individuals, although no one method for wintering
bees at present is absolutely safe for everybody, barring,
perhaps, the method of wintering bees in the cellar. For the
northern climate it is unquestionably perfectly possible,
with twenty or twenty-five colonies, to winter bees in the
cellar, maintaining, however, a temperature averaging 43.
If it goes above 43 to 48 they begin brooding ; if it goes be-
low 40 you find that they do not winter so successfully.

Mr. Race. I would like to ask one more question : If

26

spraying of trees with arsenate of lead is killing the bees
and yet we can have no apples without spraying, what are
you going to do about it?

Dr. Gates. I think it is a good horticultural rule that
to spray fruit trees when in bloom is not only dangerous to
the bees, but also kills the blossom. That is, it affects the
tender functioning part of the blossoms, the male and fe-
male part of the blossoms, so that the spray when your
tree has petals on it, when it is in bloom, is as fatal to
production of fruit as it is to the bees. Consequently the
rule is to spray either before the blossoms open or after
the petals fall, and the custom is generally the petals fall.

Mr. Wheeler. What would you say is the ideal lo-
cation in respect to the position of the bee hive? Which
side should they be, above, or below?

Dr. Gates. It would vary with the individual or-
chard. I should presume it would be preferable to place it
to the east or where the sun would strike them, where they
would get some sun, the east and south. I should prefer
to have them below, I think, rather than above. If your
orchard is on a hill I should prefer to have them below,
because the tendency of the bee, of course, is to rise.
They don't go down as well as they do go up. I should
liik out, too, if the orchard went around a hill, perhaps
to divide the apiary into two parts, because there is that
tendency of the hill to act as a barrier and shut them off
in this direction (illustrating) so that under those circum-
stances if the orchard went around I should divide it and
have them on two sides.

Mr. Wheeler. In a large, continuous orcliard, how
much ground will one hive cover?

Dr. Gates. That is something that will liave to be
ascertained by experiment. We are at a loss. We estimate
that two or three colonies will take care of five acres, as I
believe Professor Franklin has found with cranberries. But
the point in an apple orchard or in fruit growing is that the
blossoms hold such a short time and we should much prefer
to have bees on hand to actually flood that orchard during its
fruit growing. It is better to have too many than too few.

Mr. G. W. Sprague. I would like to ask in relation
to experience with poisoning the bees. In our orchard there
are currants and it is almost impossible to spray the orchard

27

without spraying the currants, while in bloom. We have
done that for two years past and of course we haven't bees
enough and haven't used the honey enough to know wheth-
er we were in danger. The bees work the blossoms and there
is arsenate of lead on the blossoms. Do you think we are
getting into danger from that?

Dr. Gates. Well, there is no question but that the
bees work currants. They do; they are very active in cur-
rants, so that if your arsenate from the apples falls on the
currants I should presume there might be some slight danger
There is only one thing to be done in regard to the killing
of bees by spraying, so-called, and that is to do the best you
can to overcome all the difficulties. I don't see how you can
avoid spraying under those conditions.

Mr. Sprague. Are there different kinds? If so, Avhat
kind would you have?

Dr. Gates. The Italian bees have been favored and
the tendency all over the country is to Italianize. They are
proving perfectly remarkbale. It is due not only to the fact
that the Italians are gentle and prolific and gather the honey
and stay at home and mind their own business and do not
go out roving like some of the other races, but at the same
time it is found that in dealing with the infectious brood
diseases which are found in Massachusetts and elsewhere,
particularly the European type of foul brood, it is found
that the Italian are greatly resistent to the European foul
brood; consequentl}^ bee keepers are everywhere Italianiz-
ing.

]\rr. Eace. There is another side you haven't touched
on. I dont' know much about it, though. When I was a
boy my father used to keep bees and I used to get stimg.
Of late years they have been exterminated in our section
and I never had a heavier growth of apples than last year
and I don't know that there was a dozen bees in the whole
field in that section. What is the bee on the flower for;
what is the bee there for? He has to get the sweet out
of it. Is that the germ?

Dr. Gates. No indeed.

Mr. Race. It isn't? Doesn't he do more damage than
he does good, by taking away something from the blossom
that should be left there to protect the fruit What sort of
a situation is that? The bee is there to get something and
he robs the blossom of something. He has to. He doesn't go

28

away hungry if there is anything there for him to eat.
He may take a little pollen, perhaps, and may be place-
the pollen on some other variety of fruit and he may do
more damage than he does good. The aroma from the
orchard comes into our nostrils, and we say, "How sweet
that is." Well, that is the pollen, little globules, like little
balls of oil going around and fertilizing everywhere, even
the nasal cavity. I never took much stock in this bee fer-
tilization. Still, it may be a good thing, but I think they do
more harm than good. Now, let's see what you can get out
of that. (Laughter).

Mr. H. A. Cook. Two years ago I was told that I
couldn't raise clover unless I had lots of bees. In '74 I
had a brother living in Missouri. He raised acres and
acres and thousands and thousands of clover seeds, and
I Avrote and asked if they were in any way dependent on
honey bees for fertilizing the clover. lie said they had very
few; no bumble bees at all. They were talking then about
carrying the bumble bees to Australia, and I asked him
particularly to notice in regard to the honey bee or any
insect visiting the clover, and he wrote back and said,
"There isn't a honey bee in Missouri that I know of, and
that was back in '74, soon after the war, and the state
was sparsely settled. He said he didn't believe there
was a honey bee visited one blossom, one clover head, in
ten thousand. He had acres and acres. He would have to
be a pretty lively bumble bee or honey bee to get around
over that acreage of clover and there would have to be a
great many of them. So I don't take much stock in this
bee feHilization.

A few years ago they said wo couldn't raise cucum-
bers unless there were honey Ijces there. \ placed some
late in July or August for that very purpose. They blos-
somed in October. The frost held off that year, and the
honey bees and other insects were gone to roost or some-
where else. I went to those more than ten times a day,
thinking that the bees or insects would be on those cu-
cumber blossoms, and never did I see one of any kind
of insect about those blossoms, and they gave me as pret-
ty a crop of cucumbers as you want to see. I don't think
an insect ever visited one of those blossoms. If they did,
they did it when it was too dark for me to be there. (Laugh-
ter).

29

As to apples or peaches or plums I don't doubt that they
are instrumental and of use in aiding under certain condi-
tions, when the weather is right; they might get a little on
them, some of the pollen stuck to their legs; but they
don't work when the weather is unfavorable very much.
They do sometimes and I don't doubt that they do some
good, but to say that we are dependent upon the bee or in-
sect for fertilization I doubt very much. I believe, as Mr.
Race does, that the pollen is floating through the air. We
know that it is imperceptible, but it is there and it is do-
ing its good.

Dr. Gates. In regard to the fertilizing of clover I
don't suppose that an.y insect would be necessary for fer-
tilizing it much longer. AVe have got something better; we
have got a machine now to fertilize clover, so that we need-
n't worry about that. We can set our clover seed bj' mach-
inery. That is one of the latest improvements.

In regard to the fertilization of cucumbers I want to
say that I have personally bagged cucumbers over and over
again with a paper bag or other bag- which will keep out in-
sects, and I have had the cucumbers blossom and the fruit
drop off almost before the petals opened ; while those blos-
soms which were artifieally fertilized, either by hand or by
bees, and then bagged, fruit perfectly. I think, too, that
under some circumstances the English variety of cucumber
is self-fertilizing; that is, fertilized from its own pollen. I
haen't seen that; that is merely from hearsay, but if there
is a chance of cucumbers fertilizing without the agency of
bees it is this English variety.

Also in regard to the question of why bees go to the
flowers and take away the sweet, it is pretty fortunate that
we have sweets in the flower. If it were not for the fact that
it is there the bees wouldn't bother them very much. That
is the bait put there for the purpose to attract the bees
and other insects to the flowers ; so that while they are
s^^paling this nectar as the gentleman says, taking it away
fr themselves, getting tangled up in the pollen, on their
visits to olher blossoms they deposit some other pollen,
which accomplishes the growth. If it were not for this
nectar the bees would probably disregard them and stay
away.

If there is any question in the mind of some of those
here as to the process of fertilization I may say that the

30

process of fertilization in plants is exactly the same as in
animals. It is a sex problem, the male and female element,
the egg and what corresponds to the spawn in animals.
Transfer is made and growth is made just exactly as it is in
animal life, and in that way the perfect fruit is brought
forth.

j\Ir. Race. I think that it is a strange idea to affirm
that a bee has got to attack a blossom in order to have it
fertilized. The idea of saying that in ten millions of blos-
soms in a large orchard, ten millions of blossoms in a straw-
berry or currant bed, you couldn't have that fertilization
without bees! Why, you couldn't have bees enough to cov-
er the plants if you had all the colonies there were. It looks
absurd to me.

Mr. Cook. I should like to make a statement in the
matter of English cucumbers. They floAver just the same as
ours. It is positively necessary on squash and melons and
cucumbers that we should plant the field where there are
bees, for without bees there wouldn't be a cucumber. We
have grown cucumbers under glass and knoAV that very
well. How far that goes on fruit trees I don't know, but
I know that it is necessary in a good many crops.

Mr. Race. I suppose it is like a man with 2,000 hens
who doesn't keep a rooster and the eggs don't hatch worth
a -cent. (Laughter).

Mr. J. W. Clark. I would like to relate a little ex-
perience I had in regard to keeping bees in an orchard. Two
years before I had about three thousand barrels of apples.
The second year after that they blossomed fully were very
full of blossoms, more by at least a third than there was two
years before. This year that they were so full, while they
were in blossom there was a cold, cloudy week, very little
sunshine, but not much rain, and if they had set as well as
they did two years before I woidd have had at least four
thousand barrels of apples; but with this cold, dull, cloudy
week, with very little sunshine — that was that week I speak
of, once in a while I would go out for an hour, perhaps,
during the day and walk through that orchard and it would
be just like death. There wasn't the hum or b-uzz of an in-
sect while the sun didn't shine. While the sun shone they
would come out for a few moments and buzz; it was alive
with insects. Instead of having the amount of apples I
thought I should have, I had 167 barrels. Now, what was

31

the reason? Then, after that, the next year or so the trees
didn't blossom remarkably full — but during the blosson
time the weather was fine, just as sunny, without any wind,
everything warm and nice, and the blossoms were not thick
on the trees at all, but it seemed as if every blossom pro-
duced three or four apples ; the trees were loaded. It was
nice weather while they were in blossom anl I am more con-
cerned with the week that the trees are in blossom, in regard
to my crop, than I am any other time in the year. If I have
good, mild weather, simny, while they are in blossom, the
fruit sets; if it is dull, rainy, it don't.

But we have one thing in our favor: All the blossoms
don't open at once, and one lot may be killed and not set
and the next lot will come out all right, so that I think that
without the agency of the insects we would have very little
fruit. That is my experience. That is what I say from
what I have seen.

The President. Might I a.sk Mr. Clark how many hives
of bees he has in his orchard?

Mr. Clark. They vary; there are 18 or 20 there now,
,or there were last fall.

The President. xVbout two thousand trees?

Mr. Clark. About that.

Mr. Eace. Couldn't the weather do just what you
claim for the bees, because the weather being damp the pol-
len couldn't fly? Couldn't you apply that the same as you
apply it to the bees?

Mr. Clark. I will answer that by stating what oc-
curred three or four miles out of where I live. I have had
bees there for years, and I found one year when there was
a cold Aveek, ver^^ little sun, the trees right near the bees
bore a good crop. Those just outside, say half a mile, had
nothing, but around where they were the apples set well
and had a good crop. But the bees wouldn't fly the dis-
tfiuce away from the hive to fertilize the other trees.

The President. I hardly like to interupt this interest-
ing discussion, but we have another paper. The next
speaker is Mr. H. J. Wilder, Soil Expert of the National De-
partment of Agriculture who will discuss "Soils and their
relations to varieties."

Mr. Wheeler. Before Mr. Wilder speaks I think there

32

is a matter that should be brought up at this morning ses-
sion. It has been the custom generally at the first session
of the association to select a committee on nominations of
officers : I therefore move that a committee on nominations
be nominated from the floor, and to start it myself I will
nominate Mr. Hittinger of Belmont.

The President. We have a list of directors by coimtie;s,
and they will consider the county arrangement. We have
a motion that Mr. Hittinger be one of the committee to nom-
inate officers for the ensuing year. All in favor of Mr. Hitt-
inger serving, please manifest by raising their hands. Con-
trary minded. It is a vote. Five members are to be ap-
pointed. Is there another?

A Member. I nominate Mr. Wilfrid Wheeler of Con-
cord. (Messrs. Hittinger, Wheeler, Cook, Race and Clark
are selected a committee on nominations).

The Presiderjt. This committee will bring in a list of
officers at the opening of the afternoon session. Officers are
to be elected the first thing after the opening of the after-
noon session.

Mr. Wilder, Soil Specialist of the Department of Agri-
culture. (Applause).

Mr. H. J. Wilder : Ladies and Gentlemen : I have
prepared a paper, all of which I will promise not to read to
you, but only some parts of it.

SOILS AND THEIR RELATION TO VARIETIES

HENRY J. WILDER

Bureau of Soils, Department of Agriculture,

Washington, D. C.

From the practical viewpoint there is just one reason
why we should try to know as much about the soil as pos-
sible, and that is that we may know best how to make it
yield us good crops. This involves two things, viz: to
know the crops the different kinds of soils are best ad-
apted to produce, and then how to handle those soils so
that the best possible yields may be secured. To solve the
latter problem much time has been spent. Experiment
Stations, farmers, scientists, agricultural students and fer-
tilizer manufacturers all have sought this, and great ad-
vances have been made. But a given method of farm prac-

33

tice or fertilizer use has brought a great variety of results
depending upon the soil conditions under which it has been
tried. Does it not seem strange, then, that we did not earl-
ier learn to study the first half of the problem of success-
ful crop production, namely, the soil conditions under
which we were trying to grow crops, and then to adapt
our methods of practice to our varying soils? A crop-
ping system well carried out on land to which it is adapt-
ed, generally means prosperous farmers, whereas the same
system pursued on soils that are not adapted to it may mean
that "farming doesn't pay."

Why is it that certain farming sections acquire a repu-
tation for prducing some crops especially well? In the
first place because climatic conditions are favorable. Sug-
arcane grows along the Gulf Coast but not in Massachus-
etts. Apples thrive in Massachusetts but not where sugar
cane grows. Onions are grown from seed in Massachus-
etts but not in the states from INIaryland south where the
bulbs mature too early and so the crop is grown princip-
ally from sets. Pennsylvania illustrates the same thing
with the onion crop within the climatic range of a single
.state. These cases of crop adaptation are due to climatic
conditions Avhich for the purposes of comparison it is
easily possible to group.

The influence of soil variation on crop production, in
distinction from climatic influence, is best illustrated, per-
haps, by the development of special crops in different sec-
tions of the country having the same or closely similar cli-
matic eondi ions. In many cases the highest development
of such crops has taken place under a definite and restrict-
ed range of soil conditions. We are inclined to look at
special crop districts already developed as examples of
agricultural adaptation that were bound to appear in the
natural course of events. "We are also inclined to forget
the many individuals who have fallen by the w^ayside in
helping to develop such districts. Yet it is exceedingly
doubtful if any section or locality in this country has
earned a reputation for producing some crop well with-
out having its course to that success marked by many
failures of the individual farmer,

* In many cases careful experimentation is necessary
before safe conclusions can be drawn and it is the endeavor
of the National Department of Agriculture together with

34

various State organizations to solve as many as possible of
these diverse farm problems. It is the province of the field
work of the Bureau of Soils to solve one of the several im-
portant factors of crop growing namely: how to select soils
so that the different crops, and where possible the different
varieties of the same crop, may be grown with most profit.
It is for this economic reason that the study of soil adapta-
tion to crops is of so much importance.

It may be said that the so-called "corn-belt" states owe
their title largely to the character of one soil type which oc-
curs in relatively large extent. The type is a black clay
loam and Iowa is the state that happens to possess the
highest percentage of this kind of soil. In Illinois, In-
diana and Ohio, it also occurs largely, and other kinds
of soil in the same climatic locality do not equal, and
rarely approach this in yield of corn.

It may be worth while, to note here that our natural for-
est growth also indicates clearly that many varieties of
trees succeed best on certain kinds of soil. The local name
^ 'black walnut land" is still used where that hardy tree
grows to indicate a heavy type of soil. In southeast Michi-
gan this is the Miami clay loam. The hickory thrives in the
northeastern states on the heavier soils. Black walnut and
hickory are both deep rooted trees. In the same region
"hemlock land" always indicates a sandy soil and the hem-
lock is not a deep rooted tree. In the orchard districts of
West Virginia the leading peach growers will not tolerate
"White oak" land but a mixed growth of " rock oak and
chestnut." about one-third of the former and two-thirds of
the latter, indicates a soil which has been instrumental in
making one of the most famous fruit districts in the world.
The rock oak and chestnut growth indicates a soil somewhat
stronger than that of chestnut alone, as a better supply of
moisture is maintained, newly cleared it is more productive,
and oven on old ground better results are secured from fer-
tilization. The subsoil is finer textured, that is more clayey,
than the chestnut subsoil, but soil is not so heavy as the
white oak soil. Yet on the latter some varieties of apple
thrive. Carrying a step further the matter of soil adapta-
tion to the different varieties of oak, it is a matter of com-
mon observation that poor and thin soils often support only
the dwarfish black jack oak and post oak.

Shreve has found in his forestry studies in Maryland

35

that "the general distribution of the Lobolly Pine is deter-
mined by historical and climatic factors, yet its relative
abundance at different localities within its area is deter-
nained by the character of the soil."

I want to call your attention at this point to the fact
that, the character of the soil upon which a crop is grown
is only one of several factors necessary for successful crop
production. Climatic conditions embracing not only abso-
lute temperatures but also the rainfall, air drainage, soil
drainage as effected by topography — the only kind consid-
ered until recently — elevation above sea level and with ref-
erence to topography, fertilization, and care are all impor-
tant. No one of these factors may be studied effectively un-
less the other factors influencing production can be bal-
anced. So soil comparisons can only be of value when the
other conditions are equalized, and to do this a large num-
ber of field comparisons is essential.

Let us now go a step farther and consider not the adap-
tation of soils to a given crop, but rather the adaptation of
soils to different varieties of the same crop. For some time,
the Department of Agriculture has been especially interest-
ed in working out th.e conditions of soil on which each varie-
ty of apple does best, and to some of these soil adaptations
I now ask your attention. Later I shall welcome any dis-
cussion pertaining to them.

BALDWIN SOILS

If soils are thought of as grading from heavy to light
corresponding to the range from clay to sand, then soils
grading from medium to semi-light fulfill best the require-
ments of the Baldwin. Following definitely the classifica-
tion standards of the Bureau of Soils with reference to the
proportions of clay, silt, and sands, this grouping would in-
clude the medium to light loams, the heavy sandy loams,
and also the medium sandy loams provided they were un-
derlain by soil material not lighter than a medium loam nor
heavier than a light or medium clay loam of friable struc-
ture.

From this broad generalization it will be seen that the
surface soil should contain an appreciable amount of sand.
The sands moreover should not be all of one grade ; that is,
a high percentage of coarse sand would give a poor soil,
whereas a moderate admixture of it with the finer grades of

36

sand, together with sufficient clay and silt, would work no
harm. In general the sand content should be of the finer
grades but soils also occur, though comparatively rare,
which would be too heavy for this variety were it not for a
marked content of the coarse sands, the effect of which is
to make the soil mass much more friable and open than
would be expected with the presence of so much clay. Such
soil dries quickly after a rain, and is not to be classed as a
moist soil. It will never clod if worked under conditions
at all reasoixable. The subsoil on the other hand must nev-
er be heavy enough to impede ready drainage of excess
moisture, yet sufficiently clayey to retain a good moisture
supply ; that is, plastic, not stiff. If the subsoil be so clayey
or heavy that moisture does not percolate down through it
readily a Baldwin of poor color with a skin more or less
greasy is the usual result.

The ideal to be sought is a heavy fine sandy loam, or
light mellow loam, underlain by plastic light clay loam or
heavy silty loam. It is fully realized that many will not
possess this ideal, but the soil that most closely resembles
it should be chosen. If corn be grown on such soil the lower
leaves will cure down before cutting time, giving evidence
of moderately early maturity. This is one of the safe crit-
erions by which to be guided i.n choosing soil for this varie-

ty.

Mention was not made in the above description of the
color of the, soil. The desirability of a surface soil of dark
brown, the color being due to the presence of decaying or-
ganic matter is unquestionable and generally recognized ;
and if the soil be not that color the successful orchardist
will so make it by the incorporation of organic matter
through the growth of leguminous crops, or otherwise. It
is often cheaper to buy soil with a good organic content, or
humus supply than it is to be compelled to put it there
after purchase before good crops can be secured. Hence
this is purely an economic feature. The warning should be
stated, however, that a soil should not be purchased or plant-
ed to apples of any variety because it is dark colored and
rich in humus. The soil should be selected because of its
textural and structural adaptation regardless of the organ-
ic content, then if such soils happen to be Avell supplied with
vegetable matter, so much the better ; if not, it may be sup-
plied.

37

To modify, however, by the addition of humus, the phy-
sical condition of a sand until it resembles a sandy loam as
far down as tree roots ordinarily extend, is unquestionably
an expensive process, and as orchards are pfrown for profit
the soils on which they are to be planted should be so se-
lected for the ditlferent varieties as to furnish the most fa-
vorable conditions possible before going to the additional
•expense of trying to change their character artificially.

While soils so deficient in humus as to be leachy in the
case of sands but stiff intractable and cloudy in the case of
clays, clay loams, and loams, should have their humus con-
tent increased until these unfavorable conditions for crop
growth of any kind be overcome so far as possible, it is ut-
terly futile to maintain that by the addition of plenty hu-
mus, the physical characteristics of any given soil may be
so changed that its inherent physical character is negligi-
hle so far as its adaptatioTi to crops or to different varieties
of the same crop is concerned. The agricultural practice
of the eastern United States is replete -jvitli instances of
special soil-crop-variety adaptation.

"While the hills of ^lassachusetts include a great deal of
ideal Baldwin soil, or soil that resembles the ideal closely
enough for practical purposes, they also include a great
deal of soil that is not well adapted to the Baldwin. The
greatly superior color of the fruit from some orchards when
compared with that from others on a different kind of soil —
elevation, slope, methods of culture and fertilization being
virtually the same — gives striking evidence of the impor-
tance of the soil factor. On just this basis the fruit from
some orchards sells for a higher price than that from others.
This illustrates the ecoiiomie advisability of selecting the
orchard site with soils adapted to the variety to be planted.

RHODE ISLAND GREENING SOILS

As the best prices for the Rhode Island Greening are
usually obtained in New York City, the general aim of the
commercial grower will be to meet the preferences of that
market. The demand there for a "green" Greening has
usually been stronger than for one carrying a high blush,
and while individual buyers may be found, it is said, who
do not discriminate against the latter, most of them do to
the extent of 25 cents a barrel or more in favor of the
"green" Greening. Of even more importance sometimes,
is the fact that a "green" Greening will move on a "slow"

38

market when a "blush" Greening fails to do so. There is
also a trade objection to the "blush" Greening from the
fact that the consumer is rarely able to distinguish it from
Monmouth Pippin — a red-cheeked green apple which is in-
ferior to Greening and does not serve at all well the purpose
for which Greening is bought. In view of these trade con-
ditions, the writer has especially sought those soil charac-
teristics which best contribute to the production of a
"green" Greening and in previous writings or in meetings
addressed, the soil adaptations for the Rhode Island Green-
ing have been described with the green type of apple as the
standard sought. Bearing this ideal in mind, the soils
adapted to this variety are distinct from the Baldwin stan-
dard. In fact, these two varieties, considered as standards,
differ so markedly in soil requirements that the soil adapta-
tions of other varieties may well be compared with either
the Baldwin or the Rhode Island Greening soil standard.
A surface soil of heavy silty loam or light silty clay loam
underlain by silty clay loam excels for the "green" Rhode
Island Greening. Such soil Avill retain sufficient moisture
to be classed as a moist soil, yet it is not so heavy as ever to
be ill-drained if surface drainage is adequate. The soil
should be moderately rich in organic matter, decidedly
more so than for the Baldwin. In contrast to the Baldwin
soil in the growth of corn, it should keep the lower leaves
of the plant green until harvesting time, or at least until
late in the season. Such soil conditions maintain a long
seasonal growth under uniform conditions of moisture, and
thus produce the firm yet crisp texture, the remarkable
juiciness and the high flavor for which this variety is not-
ed when at its best. If grown on a soil too sandy, the
Rhode Island Greening lacks fineness of grain, flavor, if
judged for its full matiire season, and the juicy quality in
greater or lesser degree depending on the extent of the de-
parture from those soil characteristics which contribute to
its production. If a high blush is desired, however, to sup-
ply other market conditions, a soil someAvhat warmer than
that described should be selected, — a deep, light, mellow
loam or productive fine sandy loam being favorable. To se-
cure a "finish" of this character, scils approaching more
nearly to the Baldwin standard are best adapted.

The Rhode Island Greening is more restricted in area
than the Baldwin, not adapting itself to the climatic condi-
tions as far south as the Baldwin, even though suitable soils

39

occur there. In fact, its southern boundary may be rough-
ly estimated as 1-4 degree north of the 41st parallel. South
of that it becomes a fall apple and keeps very poorly.

HUBBARDSTON SOILS

Compared with the Baldwin soil requirements, the heav-
iest soils desirable for the Hubbardston lap over for a little
upon the lightest soils desirable for the Baldwin, while at
the other extreme the Hubbardston will utilize to advantage
a more sandy soil than most other varieties of New Eng-
land. This does not mean that it will succeed on poor light
sands, for on such soils the apple will not attain sufficient
size to be of value, nor is the tree vigorous enough, but the
soil should always be very mellow. A rich fine sandy loam
to a depth of at least a foot is preferable, and the subsoil
may well be of the same texture. The Hubbardston does
remarkably well on a rich fine sandy loam in the Connecti-
cut Valley fertilized highly enough for tobacco, onions, or
garden crops. The fruit is of good size, well colored and
inferior in both flavor and keeping quality. This is un-
doubtedly due to the high humus content and richness of
the soil, as the same soil in much poorer condition brings a
better Baldwin. A subsoil containing enough clay to make
the fine sandy material somewhat coherent, or sticky, is not
objectionable, but there should never be enough clay pres-
ent to render the subsoil heavy. If the soil is too heavy or
too clayey the fruit is liable to have greasy skins and a de-
ficient color, while the flavor is insufficiently developed.

NORTHERN SPY SOILS

This variety is one of the most exacting in soil require-
ments. To obtain good quality of fruit, i. e., fine texture,
juiciness, and high flavor the soil must be moderately heavy,
and for the first two qualities alone the Rhode Island Green-
ing soil would be admirable. The fact that the Northern
Spy is a red apple, however, makes it imperative that the
color be well developed, and the skin free from the greasy
tendency. This necessitates a fine adjustment of soil con-
ditions, for the heaviest of the soils adapted to the Rhode
Island Greening produce Northern Spies with greasy skins
and usually of inferior color. The habit of tree growth of
this variety, moreover, is such as to require careful atten-
tion. Its tendency to grow upright seems to be accentuat-
ed by too clayey soils, if well enriched, and such soils tend

40

to promote growth faster than the tree is able to mature
well. On the other hand, sandy soils while producing good
color and clear skins fail to bring fruit satisfactory in qual-
ity with respect to texture and flavor, especially if the fruit
be held for very long. The commercial keeping quality,
too, is inferior to that of the Spy grown on heavier soils in
the same district. Hence the soil requirements of this varie-
ty are decidedly exacting, and are best supplied apparently
by a medium loam underlain by a heavy loam or light clay
loam, that is, a soil as heavy as can be selected without in-
curring the danger of inferior drainage, for a poorly
drained soil should in no case be used. It is surely best
not to plant Northern Spy on a soil lighter than a very
heavy fine sandy loam, underlain by a light clay loam, or
possibly a heavy loam. Good air drainage is also very es-
sential Avith this variety.

WAGENER SOILS

In northeast Pennsylvania where the climatic condi-
tions are not greatly dissimilar to those of this state Wag-
ener is one of the most profitable sorts for filler purposes.
It gave remarkable results, too. in northeastern IMassachu-
setts last year at a very low altitude, and in the western
part of the state at an altitude of nearly 1200 feet it is doing
very well indeed. The tree is weak in growth, hence a soil
that is deep, strong, mellow and loamy should be selected.
Stiif subsoils are especially objectionable with this variety,
and thin soils, also lis-ht sandy soils should be avoided. The
Wagener thus fits in nicely willi Xortliern Spy in soil re-
quirements, and its habit of early bearing makes an effect-
ive offset to the tardiness of the Northern Spy in this respect.

:\IcINTOSH SOILS

This is a sort of high quality that is now very popular.
As Mcintosh trees of sufficient age for safe comparisons are
rarely available in this state, over atiy considerable range of
soil conditions, no positive statement is made concerning
the soil preferences of this variety. The indications are,
howevep, that the heavier of the Baldwin soils as described
are desirable for the Mcintosh.

TOMPKINS KING SOILS

The Tompkins King is fully as exacting as . Northern
Spy in soil adaptation. The tree with its straggling tenden-

41

cy of growth does not develope satisfactorily on sandy soils,
but succeeds best on a moist yet well drained soil, i. e., the
light Rhode Island Greening soils a soil capable of main-
taining such supply of moisture that the tree receives no
check at the approach of drouth. But the fruit grown on
soils so heavy lacks clearness of skin, and the appearance
of the apple is marred by the greenish look extending far
up the sides from the blossom end, and the lack of well de-
veloped color which makes this fruit at its best very at-
tractive. Hence the problem is to balance these two oppo-
site tendencies as well as possible, and the soil of the fol-
lowing description seems best to do this. Light mellow
loam, the sand content thereof being medium rather than
fine, thus constituting an open textured loam rather than a
fine loam. The subsoil should be of the same textvire or
only slightly heavier, in no case being heavier than a very
light plastic clay loam. The soil must be brought to a pro-
ductive condition. Subsoils inclining toward stiffness in
structure should be carefully avoided.

FALL PIPPIN SOILS

Soils adapted to the Fall Pippin are somewhat widet
in range than those described for Northern Spy and Tomp-
kins King. In fact, this variety may be very successfully
groAvn on the soils described for both the Tompkins King
and the Northern Spy. It is preferable, however, that the
surface soil be a fine loam rather than the open textured
loam described for the Tompkins King.

GRII\rES GOLDEN SOILS

The Grimes is so similar to the Rhode Island Greening
in soil adaptation that a separate description of the soils
best for this variety will not be given. The Grimes has
been so profitable in some districts under certain conditions
of soil and climate, however, that its desirability for gener-
al planting has been widely heralded; and as a result this
variety is now being planted in some sections with too lit-
tle discrimination, with reference to both soil and climate.

The best general guide is to plant Grimes where the
Rhode Island Greening tends to become a fall apple. This
would eliminate it as a Massachusetts sort. That is, the
Rhode Island Greening soil, located far enough south for
that variety to be undesirable for extensive planting, is
well adapted to and may well be utilized for the Grimes.

42

It is recognized Ihat some growers as far north as Ne"vr
York may dissent from this vicAv. but I have yet to see the-
Grimes grown at its best in the Rhode Island Greening re-
gion. The tendency for a considerable percentage of the
fruit to be undersized when grown there is one of the prime
reasons why it can not compete commercially with that
grown under more favorable conditions. Besides, it is of-
ten not up to the standard in color.

The tendency of the tree to make unsatisfactory growth-
may be overcome in some measure if planted in soil to which
it is adapted. It should never be planted o^ii a light or thin-
soil, neither on a stiff soil. The tree maintains its best
growth on a well drained fertile, moist soil, and under such
conditions is a very desirable variety in its region. Good'
air drainage is essential. Lack of it makes necessary the e-
liminaHon of many soil areas that would otherwise be desir-
able. Its excellent dessert quality makes Grimes a favorite-
sort both for family and for commercial use. For a spec-
ial box trade it is especially valuable.

Even as far south as Pennsylvania the Grimes is less har-
dy than some other sorts. It is very susceptible to collar
rot, and the feeling prevails that a block of Grimes will
show many "skips'' as early as 15 to 20 years from plant-
ing.

romp: beattty soils

Rome Beauty bears the same relation to the Grimes in
soil requirements as Baldwin does to the Rhode Island
Greening in their respective regions. There is. however,
something of an overlapping of regions. That is, the Bald-
win extends farther south in adaptation than the Rhode
Island Greening: and the Rome Beauty extends as far
north as the Grimes. But this intra-regional overlap-
ping of Rome Beauty and Baldwin is largely a matter of
dove-tailing due to variations in elevation. Thus in south-
ern Pennsylvania as te Baldwin in its southerly extension
seeks its soil at higher ehivations to offset the climatic
changes, so does Rome Beauty in its northern extension
seek the same soil at a lower elevation for the same rea-
son.

The Baldwin tends to become a fall variety with in-
creasing distance south ,and where this tendency is suf-
ficiently pronounced to materially lessen its desirability

43

ic may well be replaced by the Rome Beauty which is
adapted to the same kind of soil.

Rome Beauty is grown with fairly good success in
the lower Hudson Valley and at low elevations in west-
ern New York, but there is some question whether it will
become a leading commercial sort in either region.

BEN DAVIS AND GANG SGILS

These varieties are mentioned not to encourage their
planting in Massachusetts, for it is believed they should
not be planted here, but rather to show their relation to
other varieties better adapted to conditions in this state.

Both Ben Davis and Gano show less effect from var-
iations in the soils upon which they are grown than any
others observed. Their well-known quality is probably
somewhat indicative oC Avhy this is so, yet there are dif-
ferences to be noted in the character of the fruit as af-
fected by soil and climate. The latter feature is be-
lieved to be of great importance, for while there is no
gain-saying the fact that in the Ben Davis will grow any-
where and produce fruit of some description, it requires
a good deal of warm weather for its best development.

The mere fact that the Ben Davis may well be called
the "apple of neglect," because it will probably stand more
neglect than any other commercial variety and still bear
fruit, accounts for the commercial growers' dictum that it
is "a good barrel filler and a good shipper;" while they
may follow this saying with the words, "and that is all."
No other varieties are so cosmopolitan with regard to
climate, and from New York to Alabama these apples
have numerous advocates.

Soils as heavy and moist as described for the Rhode
Island Greening are not desirable for either the Ben
Davis or Gano. The tree is naturally of strong growth,
hence this characteristic should not be intensified by
planting on an excessively rich soil on account of the
growth of tree and the poor quality and color of the fruit.
At the same time, the opposite extreme is not desirable,
for if the soil be too sandy the tree grows straggling.

Both of these varieties as planted in New York, Penn-
sylvania and states farther south in the Appalachian Re-
gion are bound to prove profitable but they are not altogeth-
er satisfactory. Soils adapted to the Baldwin, York Im-

44

perial or AVinesap will grow good trees and fruit of both
Ben Davis and Gano. Hence there are extensive soil
areas, particularly in Pennsylvania, Maryland, the moun-
tainous areas of Virginia and AVest Virginia that are well
adapted to these varieties and they are also profitable var-
ieties in western New York and in the Hudson Valley. But
many orchards have been planted, especially in West Vir-
ginia, on thin shale hills where the soils are so poorly ad-
apted to apple growing that not even the cosmopolite Ben
Davis can bring satisfactory resu,lts. This is not the fault
of the variety, and in fact the Ben Davis Avill probably
bring better returns from such soils than any other var-
iety. In the southern Piedmont region the Ben Davis
drops so early in the season that it is not of commercial
importance. In the southernmost Appalachian districts
it may be gro^vn, but only for the late fall trade in the ex-
treme southern markets, as there is no call for it farther
north.

From carefid observation it is believed that the Ozark
Ben Davis is a little larger than the Appalachian grown
fruit, and that under the same conditions the Ozark fruit is
sufficiently superior to the latter to bring a slightly higher
price in the market. As a commercial proposition, howev-
er, the greatest number of crops secured in the Appalach-
ian region in any considerable period, such as a decade, en-
ables that section to compete successfully in the production
of these varieties. A potent point to be considered, never-
theless, by the eastern growers is the outlook for future
markets.

While the Appalachian region is admirably adapted
to the production of varieties which yield well and are far
superior to the Ben Davis and Gano in quality, the Ozarks
have yet to find an apple of high quality which approaches
the Ben Davis in prolificacy. And although varieties may,
and probably will be developed which will replace the Ben
Davis even there to some extent, except possibly for exact-
ing shipment, it is certain to be grown 1here in enormous
quantities for a long time. Hence there is and will be. so
far as competition Avith that region is concerned, excellent
opportunity for the Appalachian districts to grow varie-
ties that do not have to compete with the Ben Davis, provid-
ed such varieties are grown, packed and marketed in ac-
cord with the most advanced methods. But this extra
]irofi* Avhich may be olilained from such fruit will never be

45

realized by the slack average grower. For these two rea-
sons, then, the Ben Davis and Gano are bound to remain
as they are now, strong commercial varieties over a large
area but New England can just as well grow varieties of
much better quality that will also bring good yields.
Hence, it would seem ill-advised to make further plantings
of these sorts within her boundaries.

GRAVENSTEIN SOILS

This variety has given growers much trouble, but its
general excellence, the high price the fruit brings and the
strong demand for it in some markets makes the Graven-
stein a tempting sort to plant. Its susceptibility to winter
injury, however, is often a serious matter. There is good
evidence to shoAV that Gravenstein should not be forced in
growth at least until it is 15 years old or older. On rich
moist ground or with heavy fertilization with nitrogenous
manures its growth is rarely matured early enough in the
season to avoid more or less winter injury. It continues to
grow until freezing weather and thus is very susceptible to
injury. On a medium soil neither too moist nor too rich.
its growth may the better be held in control, early annual
maturity may be forced and the color of the fruit is sat-
isfactory. The sub-soil should never be so clayey as to pre-
vent ready downward percolation of any excess or free soil
water. Annual applications of the mineral fertilizers such
as basic slag and potash seem desirable on such soils, and
a moderate aount of humus should be furnished but nitro-
genous fertilizers should be used sparingly.

Fruit of good color is especially desirable with this
variety, the color adding materially to the selling price.
This has led to its being planted on thin or light sandy soils
in some cases, but on such land, the Gravenstein is on the
whole unsatisfactory.

Gravenstein is a variety for the specialist and for such
is a very profitable sort \vhen grown near a market — espec-
ially if within driving distance. In the eastern part of the
state where the early "drops" can be marketed to advan-
age — early dropping being a tendency of the Gravenstein —
this variety is highly profitable.

ROXBURY RUSSETT SOIL

This variety is now seldom planted but there are some
commercial orchards of it in Massachusetts; and many of

46

the old orchards contain a few trees. It is most extensive-
ly grown in the Oldtown district of Newbury, near New-
buryport. The Roxbury Russett is a gross feeder, the grow-
ers believing that it will use heavy applications of stable
manure to advantage.

In one of the most successful orchards the surface soil
consists of a heavy loam from 10 to 15 inches deep which
has been highly fertilized with stable manure and kept well
supplied with humus for at least 50 years — the \ery antithe-
sis of the soil conditions desired for the Baldwin. The sub-
soil is lighter — a fine sandy loam or a gravelly sandy loam.
The soil of another excellent orchard consists of a light silty
and fine sandj^ loam underlain by fine sandy loam.

A deep rich loamy soil with the upper sub-soil of at
least medium porosity seems to be essential, though a heav-
ier sub-soil at a depth of 4 to 6 feet is apparently not ob-
jectionable. The first orchard mentioned is underlain by a
retentive sub-soil of clay loam to clay, at a depth of about
6 feet. The Roxbury Russett thrives on a much richer soil
than the Baldwin which does not color well on the best
Russett soils. The Rhode Island Greening soil on the other
hand is somewhat too clayey for the Roxbury Russett.

Grown on the soil conditions described the Roxbury
tree is prolific, the fruit attains large size and good quality,
its keeping characteristics are excellent and it brings a good
price, especially for export trade. Young trees of this sort
are now so rarely planted that there would seem to be a
good opportunity for it in a limited way to supply the
small yet definite demand for it.

"VVe have seen how several of our important crops have
reached their highest development on certain kinds of soil,
and in the light of this experience it seems inevitable to
conclude that soils may be selected for different crops in ac-
cordance with their relative adaptations to the growth of
such crops. In fact, there is nothing new or startling in this
statement. It is simply summing up a long line of experi-
ence in the best farm practice of the country. Only the best
farm practice the most perfect soil adaptation and the most
effective soil-crop management can long survive because no
other kinds pay as well. We have been forced by competi-
tion to recognize soil adaptation to different crops. It is a
matter of economic efficiency.

Attention has been called to the further fact that the

])('s results from certain varieties of some crops have beem
obtained on definite soil conditions, and Ibis is especially
well illustrated by different varieties of apples. Other-
fruits such as the Peach and the Pear show a similar range
of soil adaptability as to the individual variety, but these
will not be considered at this time. It has seemed best to
use my time this morning in the discussing of such adapta-
tion principles rather than in discussing Massachusetts soil
in detail. In the latter individual locations are of absorb-
ing interest and are best brought out, perhaps were there-
time for it, in open discussion.

Excellent opportunities for fruit culture in ]\Iassachus-
etts are abundant. No other state can grow a greater num-
ber of really good varieties of apples, and very few states
can equal her in this respect. Yet choice fruit is constantly
being brought into the state to supply her wants while cheap-
er fruit is as constantly being exported because it is not
grown as well as it should be. In common with other
northeastern states, Massachusetts possesses a climate in
which a large number of varieties of apples thrive. Her
soils vary greatly, but include large areas in the aggre-
gate which are well adapted to produce all the choice ap-
ples the State can consume. This land may be bought,
furthermore, at a low price— in fact at a lower price than in
many states that now ship large quantities of apples a long-
distance to markets. ^Massachusetts mai'kets are unexcelled,
and there are plenty of favorable soil areas within the state
on sites suitable for orcharding that are adapted to produc-
tive varieties of high quality and such lands may still be
bought for $10 to $30 an acre. It seems strange that such
opportunities have not been taken advantage of more fully,
yet I would not advocate that those without experience, or
at least careful study, plan orchards extensively eveji under
the favorable conditions that Massachusetts affords. Or-
charding is a business requiring a high degree of skill and
much patience, and there is danger lest some be led by the
present popular waA^e of enthusiasm for the business to en-
gage in it without due consideration of these matters. This
applies especially to urban dwellers who are unfamiliar with
crop growinsr, and for tbem in particular it may be said
that orcharding is an easy business to engage in, but suc-
cess is never easy in any line of business. Large plantings
of orchard are now being made in various parts of this
country. ]\Tany of these will be profitable and many others

48

unprofitable. I would suggest that no one plant orchard un-
less determined to be far above the average orchardist in
skill of management. One must at least be somewhat above
the average if any reasonable profit is to be secured for any-
considerable term of years. Stress is laid upon this point
because so many without experience, having become over-
enthused by the "back to-the-land" agitation now so often
heard, are contemplating the planting of orchard. Unfor-
unately, such are rarely able to attend meetings of this sort.
Notwithstanding this suggestion that the uninitiated begin
orcharding only after a reasonable and careful consideration
of its various details, I may say that there is always a good
opportunity for anyone who will so study the business as to
master it thoroughly; and for such, conditions are highly
favorable in Massachusetts (Applause).

A Member. I should like to ask the speaker in regard
to "Wealthy apples. Will they thrive on the same soil as the
Baldwin ?

Mr. Wilder. Yes, I should say so, very similar. They
may under the same conditions that I have described.

The President. How about the Mcintosh?

Mr. Wilder. The President asks about the Mcintosh.
Those in the district where I have been working have been
always young ones. It is almost impossible to see trees old
enough, of course, to draw any large experience from it, but
its general character of growth is such that I have seen
quite a good many trees of this sort that have reached such
an age that I wouldn't hesitate to draw a conclusion. I feel,
however, that the Mcintosh needs a somewhat little strong-
er soil than the Baldwin. On the other hand, if you want to
take the Baldwin, it will stand a little bit more humus in
the Baldwin soil. It should be mellow and deep. I think
the root system is not so strong as it is for the Baldwin,
which happens to be strong. Any stiff sub-soil on a weak
growing variety of that sort is undesirable. Where shale
rock underlies the soil only two or three feet the Mcintosh
curls up its toes, so to speak.

A Member. I would like to ask the speaker if he knows
any place in Central Massachusetts where he would recom-
mend the Greening?

Mr. Wilder. From what view point? Referring to
soil, or as a general proposition?
A Member. As to soil.

49

Mr. Wilder. I think so far as the soils are concerned
the Greening should grow successfully in Worcester Coun-
ty. Did you have in mind the clear green Greening, or a
Tiigh blush Greening?

A Member. I didn't think of that particular.

Mr. Wilder. For the green Greening the heavier soil
is right— these broad top hills of which you find so many in
Central Massachusetts, are perfectly good for Greenings.
The lighter ones I would utilize for the Baldwin, unless you
desire to utilize them for something else. I think, consid-
ering the life of the Greening, it is a tender variety to grow
as compared with the Ben Davis, or something of that sort ;
it is much more tender, has to be handled more carefully
and we must learn to use it with a good deal of care if we
are going to place it in the market in this country. There
have been very few Rhode Island Greenings brought into
the large cities like New York that haven't been more or
less bruised, particularly in such seasons as this, when the
fruit has matured quickly.

A Member. What is the condition as to the Graven-
stein ?

Mr. Wilder. That is another variety which is fastidi-
ous as to soil requirements. I have treated that at some
length in this paper. Now, I like a medium soil. It can't
stand too much ammonia or a soil which is too moist, which
will hold its growth away into the winter. I should always
use care to keep away from that sort of soil, to avoid win-
ter injury to the trees, to which they are susceptible.

A Member. I would like to ask the Professor one ques-
tion: For Western Massachusetts do you think there is
anything ahead of the old Baldwin as a commercial apple?

Mr. Wilder. I will say No at once, with this possible
qualification : If you can learn how to control that brown
spot, which is prevalent now in some other parts of the
state. Generally speaking I think as a statement that is
safe. The Baldwin apple is going to be grown in the north-
western United States and while we know it is grown every-
where, there is nobody that can compete with the northeast-
ern United States in its production. It grows well in north-
ern Pennsylvania, at an altitude of 1,500 to 2,000 feet;
from Wellsborough north to the New York line, in north-
eastern New York. It is all high land, and the Baldwin
does pretty well when you get it at high altitudes. It will

50

hold through, but in southern Pennsylvania it is the fall ap-
ple and of course it is a spongy thing, with not a great deal
of juice or flavor and you can't hold it in open storage af-
ter Christmas. I say without hesitation they have got plen-
ty of other varieties down there — I have told them the same
thing — I have said to them, "Shut down on the Baldwin"
and I always say, "Don't try to grow Baldwins in compe-
tition with somebody who can grow them better than you."
The York Imperial is their standard variety and succeeds
remarkably well, in the northeast corner of the state, where
the Baldwin does not.

A Member. How about the Stark?

Mr. Wilder. I don't know. I have seen it grown in
scattered places. I know that its color is not quite white
enovigli to attract the public in the market. That is the only
objection to it, so far as I know. Yet I find people who are
finding it profitable. In some places it is very prolific and
bears young and would be desirable only for that, as a com-
mercial fruit.

The President. There are two committees to report.
Shall we hear them before the dinner hour, or postpone it
imtil the afternoon session?

A Member. I move we have them after dinner,

A ]Member. Second the motion.

The President. A motion to adjourn is in order. (Ad-
journed to 1.30 p. m.).

AFTERNOON SESSION

Meeting called to order at 1.45 p. m. Mr. J. Lewis Ells-
worth, presiding.

Mr. Ellsworth. Gentlemen: Your president, Prof.
Maynard, has asked me if I would preside. Now, you re-
member that this is your meeting and I will do the best I
can to carry on the formal part. I will say that it is a pleas-
ure to me, being a Worcester man, to see the large attend-
ance and the great interst taken in the Massachusetts Fruit
Growers' Association. Of course, a great deal of credit
must be given to Mr. Brown, who is in all places at all times
and everywhere at once. (Applause). Another thing, on
account of the gi'eat interest that is being taken in fruit and
on account of the fact that Worcester is so centrally locat-
ed, we believe that a few years from now we Avill have to
have Mechanics Hall.

51

We will finish up the work of the morning by hearing
two reports that were laid on the table until after the lunch
hour, first, the report of the committee on State Appropria-
tions, by Mr. Harold L. Frost of Arlington.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON STATE APPROPRIATION

At a meeting of the officers and directors of the Massa-
chusetts Fruit Growers' Association, held in Worcester,
December 19, 1911, a committee of three consist-,
ing of the president, vice-president and S. J. Emerson of
Lunenburg, were appointed for securing state aid for your
Association.

Immediately upon appointment, your chairman confer-
red with members of the present Legislature and also
Messrs. R. H. Race and Wilfrid Wheeler, who are both mem-
bers of the State Board of Agriculture and the Massachu-
setts Fruit Growers' Association. It was found that the
secretary of the State Board of Agriculture had put in the
following Act :

"An Act for the Encouragement of Agriculture. Be it
enacted, etc., as follows :

Section 1. There shall annually be allowed and paid
out of the treasury of the Commonwealth the sum of five
thousand dollars, to be expended by the State Board of Ag-
riculture in the holding of special shows devoted to the pro-
ducts of special lines of agriculture, such as fruit growing,
corn growing and dairying, either by the Board or by other
organizations, acting under the direction of the Board and
under such rules and regulations as the Board shall deter-
mine, but no part of the sum herein appropriated shall be
paid for such exhibitions held by the agricultural societies
receiving bounty from the Commonwealth ; in the holding
of demonstrations illustrating the best methods in agricul-
ture ; in payment of the salaries and expenses of agents who
shall instruct the citizens of the Commonwealth in the best
methods in agriculture ; or in such other manner as the
Board may deem best for the encouragement of agriculture.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage."

After conferring with the above-mentioned gentlemen
and Secretary Brown, it was decided best for the Associa-
tion to combine forces with the State Board of Agriculture
and work for their Act for the encouragement of agricul-
ture.

If this had not been done it would have been necessary
to put in a separate act and antogonize the State Board. A3

52

there were no funds for carrying on the fight and pushing
the bill through the House and Senate, a verbal agreement
was made with certain members of the State Board of Agri-
culture. Although it w^as impossible to get any definite
agreement in writing, it was verbally understood that a
number of the members of the State Board of Agriculture
would use their influence toward giving our Association a
certain amount of the appropriation made by the State for
the encouragement of agriculture. The Act was drawn in
such a way that some of this money can be paid to our
treasury for the purpose of promoting its interests, and we
feel that Ave can work with the State Board of Agriculture
for the mutual benefit of both organizations, as has been
the case in the past.

Your committee at the same time looked up the advis-
ability of our owning some property and being represented
on the State Board of Agriculture, but we found that all of
the State aid must be paid for premiums or prizes. If this
should be thought advisable by the Association it will only
be necessary for us to incorporate and own one thousand
dollars' worth of property. Your committee at the present
time is not prepared to advise this move, but it may be wise
at some time in the future. This money would not cover
our required expenditures, as nearly all our work consists
in the securing of speakers on up-to-date subjects and dem-
onstration work. With the aid which we should secure
from the State Board Act and the money which should be
forthcoming from the increased membership, we should be
able to have ohe best speakers at our annual meetings that
it is possible to secure. Until the Act is passed, we ask ev-
ery member to use every effort possible toward influencing
his representative and senator for the interests of our own
Association and the State Board. Respectfully submitted :

HAROLD L. FROST.

Chairman, for the Committee.

Mr. Frost. The act asked for $5,000 for the promo-
tion or encouragement of agriculture, and that act was
drawn so loosely that some of the money could be given for
the use of the Fruit Growers' Association.

Mr. Ellsworth. You meant, drawn so broadly?

Mr. Frost. So broadly, yes. That was a slip of the
tongue. (Laughter). I want to say that the act called for

53

an appropriation of $5,000, which has been cut by the com-
mittee to $2,000; but I am authorized by Secretary Ells-
worth to say that that bill for $2,000 has been reported by
the Ways and Means Committee. It has gone through two
committees. I think you could help this go through if you
would ask your representatives and senators to vote for the
bill. We feel that we can have plenty of support if we will
work with the State Board in this matter. I don't know
that there is anything more that can be done at the present
time, as your committee was given full authority to act in
any way that it saw fit. They did not act individually until
they had conferred with a number of members of the asso-
ciation.

A Member. Can you give us the exact name of the bill?

Mr. Frost. "An act for the encouragement of agricul-
ture, and especially shows and otherwise." I haven't the
number of the bill, but I think your representatives will un-
derstand what the bill is.

Mr. Ellsworth. In regard to that bill that is referred
to, I am a little at sea as to the exact number, but it is some-
Avhere around 523, and it is drawn to encourage the fruit in-
dustry and the corn industry along the show line and it is
drawn, as Mr. Frost has already told you, so broadly that
it can be used, — a certain portion of it can be used for this
association, if it goes through ; and I hope that all you gen-
tlemen will speak to your senators and representatives to
favor that bill, and if you think it wise, all other bills that
the Board of Agriculture have introduced. That would be
very acceptable. Anything to be said upon that report? If
not, a motion to accept will be in order.

A Member. I move that the report be accepted and
adopted.

A Member. Second the motion.

j\Ir. Ellsworth. Moved and seconded that the report
be accepted and adopted. Those in favor say "Aye." Con-
trary minded "No." It is a unanimous vote.

The next business is the report on "Co-operation," by
Mr. J. H. Putnam, of Litchfield, Connecticut.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CO-OPERATION

If I correctly understand the duty of this committee, it
was intended that we should investigate and report upon

the advisability of co-operative selling of the products of

54

New England orchards.

Some of the. advantages of such selling that have come
to our attention in studying the subject are as follows:

1st. By advertising, to encourage the use of fruit and
educate the public regarding its value as a staple article of
diet, and so increase consumption to keep pace with in-
creased production.

2nd. By advertising, to acquaint the public with the
superior quality of New England grown fruit, and thus
hold our own markets against the much vaunted products
of the west.

3rd. To satisfy this stimulated demand with uniform
packages of standard grades of quality, that the market can
depend upon to be as represented.

4th. To more evenly distribute the fruit so that all
markets would be supplied at all times and yet all glutts
avoided.

5th. Properly worked, this should be to the advantage
of the consumer as well as to the producer. It would pre-
vent wastes, give better goods of guaranteed quality, and
by reducing cost of distribution, should lower the cost to
the consumer without reducing the profits of the producer.
This should increase consumption to the advantage of all.

The Connecticut Pomological Society has appointed a
committee to make a survey of the orchards and a census of
the fruit products of that state, and we would suggest that
if this could be done in all of the New England states we
would have a much better understanding of the possibilities
before us.

We believe, however, that the time has already arrived
when co-operative buying can be made of great advantage
to all our members. Fertilizers, machinery, spray materials
etc., can be purchased at a saving, thus reducing the cost of
production. There are now farmers co-operative associa-
tions at work through other organizations with which ev-
ery fruit grower can get in touch, and we recommend that
you investigate the opportunities they afford for the fol-
lowing reasons.

This co-operative buying will effect a substantial re-
duction in cost of production without sacrificing their in-
dividuality as growers.

55

It will be better to make use of and strengthen existing
agencies rather then to start competitive ones. Admitting
they have made mistakes, it is only by correcting our mis-
takes that we advance in anything.

We may thus become accustomed to co-operation, to
pooling our interests, to the methods of organization neces-
sary for its success, and when the time seems ripe, for the
co-operating in selling our fruits, if we find our purchas-
ing agency is not suited for this purpose, we should then
be prepared, with the experience gained, to form an organ-
ization, that, from the start, will fulfill successfully all the
functions, that, we believe such an organized movement ca-
pable of, in the co-operative selling of our New England
fruits.

J. H. PUTNAM,
C. A. SMITH,
G. S. KNAPP,

Committee

(Applause).

Mr. Ellsworth. You have heard the report on coop-
eration.

Mr. Wilder. I move that we accept that report, but
that we do not discharge the committee, that they be con-
tinued in force to carry on so far as possible their recom-
mendations.

Mr. Ellsworth. Very good. Mr. Wilder moves that
you accept the report but continue in force the committee
to study up that problem. Those in favor say "Aye;" con-
trary minded "No." It is a unanimous vote.

The next business is the election of officers, a report by
the chairman, Mr. Wheeler, of the nominating committee.

Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Hittenger has declined to serve as
chairman, and the committee appointed me. As chairman of
the nominaoing committee I beg to submit the following
list of nominalions: (See Page 2).

Mr. Wheeler. I notice that we have no delegates from
Plymouth. Barnstable and Bristol Counties. The Secre-
tary's books show that we have no members in any of those
counties and therefore can't have directors on the board un-
less we have membership in those counties. It seems rather
a pity that we haven't membership in those counties so that
the whole state can be represented in this Fruit Growers'
Association.

56

Mr. Ellsworth. You have heard the report of your
committee on nominations. Unless it is called for I won't
read the nominations. If it is called for I will read them
again. Motion is in order to accept and adopt this list and
elect the gentlemen that have been nominated by your com-
mittee.

A Member. I move that it be adopted.

A Member. Second the motion.

Mr. Ellsworth. It is moved and seconded that we ac-
cept the report and adopt the recommendations of this com-
mittee. Now, everybody wants to vote, for this is very im-
portant, as you know your offices are filled by most excel-
lent men. Vote one way or the other. All in favor say
"Aye;" those opposed "No." It is a unanimous vote, and
you have elected the gentlemen named by the committee.

Is there any other business before we take up the pro-
gram ? It is my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. A. T. Hen-
ry of Wallingford, Connecticut, on the subject of "Prac-
tical Details of Spraying." I introduce to you Mr. Heniy
of Wallingford, Connecticut. (Applause).

PRACTICAL DETAILS OF SPRAYING

A. T. HENRY
Wallingford, Conn.

Mr. President and Friends .- I am glad to be with you
here in Massachusetts today and to see so much interest in
fruit growing. When we used to come to call our meetings
in Connecticut — and I have attended those in other states
in the past years — the attendance was not anything like
what it is at the present time. Our own sociey has increased
in membership and I understand that yours has, too. One of
the principal points in going to the meetings is not so much
what the speakers say from the platform as in meeting and
making new friends and seeing new implements and know-
ing new people and talking with people at the hall, at the
hotels and other places. That is fully as important to me
as what the speakers may say from the platform.

This spraying subject is an old one. We all know more
or less about it and I have nothing startling or new to offer.
It has all been said and written many times over. Perhaps
I can give it to you in a little difiPerent way and perhaps
there may be a few practical points which I may be able

57

to give you. I want you to feel perfectly free to ask ques-
tions and stop me at any time, and we will go over any
point. Oftentimes when I go to these meetings and a per-
son gets up and speaks I wonder if he is really in the busi-
ness or if he is receiving his money from some outside source.
Now, personally I will say that we are in the fruit business
on a strictly commercial plan. Our farm is run to pay, has
got to pay its own way; no money coming in from any out-
side sources. I live on the farm myself and I have always
worked on a farm and always hope to be able to. I think
there is no business in which a person derives so much
pleasure and at the same time can have a reasonable income
as he can from the fruit business. We came from the west
to New England to raise fruit because I had previously
worked in New England and I believed in it. We could
have gone west just as well as come east, but I believe the
east has certain advantages, namely, in the markets, in
transportation and in the soil, which place it far ahead of
anything in the west. (Applause).

Well, we will have to get at this spraying problem. I
don't know of any better way than to follow it through,
than to go on the fruit farm and start in the spraying and
follow the seasons right on. all the way through. Perhaps
we will get all the spraying in that way and hit most of
the important points. The thing that brought this spray-
ing before the country perhaps as much as anything was
the San Jose scale. This came into the country from eight to
ten years ago. perhaps longer, and killed a good many trees.
If I had old apple trees or pear trees or peach trees and they
were badly incrusted with scale I should use oil on them.
There are several good oils on the market and also several
which are not good and which have done a lot of harm ; and
the harm which the poor ones have done has hurt the reputa-
tion of the good ones. But, as I say, if the trees are old
'»nd rough bark and covered with scale I should certainly
use oil on them for the first spraying. If the trees are in
good condition perhaps a dose of lime-sulfur will keep them
all right. Most of the fruit growers are familiar with the
regular old-fashioned lime-sulfur or, as it is sometimes
called, the 15-20-50 formula, so I don't think it is neces-
sary to go over that as most of you are familiar with it.
Something that has come on the market rather lately is the
commercial lime-sulfur. It has a good many advantages
over the old-fashioned ; it can be kept indefinitely in barrels,

58

it can be applied cold oftentimes, which enable a person to
go out and get in an afternoon's spraying when he wouldn't
have the old-fashioned on hand or when he wouldn 't feel like
going out and boiling it up. It is good for that purpose.
There is this commercial lime-sulfur, and lately there has
come out the home-made concentrated, in which there seems
to be a good deal of interest. This is practically the same
as the commercial, except that most of us make it so that it
is not quite as strong and cannot be diluted quite so much.
This is perhaps not so familiar as the old-fashioned, so per-
haps I will just go into the manufacture of this home-made
concentrated. There are several formulas given out for it.
One that we have used personally is 60 pounds of good stone
lime, with a high percentage of calcium and a low percent-
age of magnesia. If there is much magnesia in it, it forms
quite a heavy sediment. Then to that 60 pounds of lime, aft-
er you have got it started slaking with some warm water,
put in from 100 to 130 pounds of sulfur, which has previous-
ly been made into paste form. After this sulfur is added to
the lime, a very high degree of heat is generated and it goes
into combination Avith the lime. This is boiled for an hour
and if proprly made will give you a mixture which will test
from 26° to 28° with the Beaume hydrometer. Now, the
commercial mixtures test from 31° to 33°, and they are dilut-
ed about 1 to 9. The home-made isn't quite so strong, so
you can't use it Avith quite so much water added. We put
from 6 tv) 7 parts of water with this home-made. This can
be kept indefinitely if it is stored in a tight barrel. The bar-
rel ought to be filled full, and if the barrels are not filled en-
tirely full, if you have put it in an open barrel and can't
cork it up, pour a little oil on, or anything to keep the air
from it. If properly made there won't be hardly any sedi-
ment in it, and it can he stored from one year to another or
can be used cold.

There is a great deal of difference in the different forms
of sulfur. There is the flowers of sulfur and the crude pow-
dered brimstone. We tried all these forms and found that
the cheapest was the best. The flowers cost about $2.50 a
hundred, while the crude powdered sulfur only costs about
$1.50 a hundred. I have a sample of it here if any one of
you are interested, and it is very fine, as you see. It is sim-
ply the sulfur which has been ground up, so that it is the
cheapest form, but at the same time it gives the best re-
sults with us in the manufacture of anj^ of the lime-sulfur

59

products.

One of the difficult things about making this hme-
sulfur is the straining of it, to get all the sediment out. Of
course in 60 pounds of lime there is bound to be some par-
ticles of stone and the "Rural New Yorker" has several
times shown pictures of a strainer which we used, and I
am sure that some of you have used it and find it to be
very handy. Yesterday afternoon I made a little model
of it. The principle is different from most strainers. Most
strainers strain downward and when the sediment collects
on the strainer, it stops the strainer up and that makes a
lot of trouble. This strain upwards. (Mr. Henry explains
the working of the model to the meeting). At night or
whenever you are done you can take the strainer right out
nad fasten it on a board and the box can be turned upside
down and flushed out with water ; and we find that is a very
practical and handy form of strainer ; in fact it is the only
one that gives us any satisfaction at all. The others al-
ways get clogged up and bother us a great deal. This can
be made by anyone out of a wooden box and a few pieces
of board and a strainer, but it always wants to be loose
so that it can be taken out. I will leave that here if anyone is
interested. It is a very crude form, but perhaps will show
you something of the idea of the thing.

Now. before you start to spray you have got to have
some kind of an equipment. The first thing is a good pump.
Don't try to buy some little bit of a cheap pump, with
about eight feet of hose and expect that you are going to
spray big apple trees or peach trees with any satisfaction.
You want a good pump and plenty of hose. An equipment
with at least one hundred pounds of pressure is good and
200 will save a great deal of material and more time. It
is time which is precious. You all know what time is
worth when you are having a good spraying day. You can't
postpone it, and high pressure will do more to save time
than any other thing perhaps. It is surprising how much
more material can be applied at two hundred than at one
hundred.

A Member. How are you going to know what the
pressure is?

Mr. Henry. Put a pressure gauge on your pump. There
was never a pump made but what you can put a pressure
gauge on it if you want to. If you haven't got any other

60

way, get a quarter-inch drill, tap it out and put a gauge on.
Any plumber can put a guage on. It is easy to put a guage on
a pump and I should certainly never use a pump without a
pressure gauge on it, because oftentimes if you have three
or four going you can easily pick out the men that are doing
the hard pumping. It is the pressure that helps in the spray-
ing. So I say have a gauge on the pump and have plenty of
good hose. In spraying peach tree rows eighteen feet apart
we use at least twenty-five feet of hose, and we have found
the wire-wound to be very satisfactory, especially on stony
land. It prevents the hose from kinking. Where the hose
is wound with wire it is impossible for the hose to kink, and
it is kinking that breaks it. When wound with wire you
can't turn it short; it has to make a loop and it can't kink
and bend and be broken in that way. We like the wire-
wound hose. It only adds about 1 1-2 or 2 per cent, to the
expense of the hose and it lasts a good deal longer, especial-
ly on stony ground.

We use angle nozzles entirely. TKey save a great deal
of walking especially on young trees. Where a person can
turn the extension rod from one side to the other and so
on, on small trees and large ones it saves a lot of walking.
If you have straight nozzles and want to use the "Y, " here
(indicating) is what is called an angle Y, a very handy
thing; but putting an angle nozzle on a straight Y, some-
times you have them working at each other and your sprays
hit together at the center; but with the angle Y and solid
nozzles, the nozzles have to be in the proper position and
your sprays will never intefere. I think that the disc noz-
zles are coming into use a good deal. They are all right if
you change them often enough. It is just a hole in some
east metal and it has got to be changed. When you
use lime-sulfui- sometimes you have to change the disc
every day. They only cost a couple of cents apiece and it
doesn't pay to fool with the old ones. If you use oil you
don't have to change so often, because the hole is small
enough so that you get the oil pressure. In your shutoffs
see that there is a good opening. Oftentimes I have seen-
a shutoff on the market and when you looked through it
it was all filled up from the casting and that left a very
small hole through. While you may have good pressure
in your pump you will have very small pressure in your
nozzle. See that they are clean all the way through. If
there is any obstruction from the casting, take a file and

61

Team it out and keep it smooth aud clean on the inside.
It will help a great deaL

One of the most important things of all is to clean
out the pumps every night. That is the base, the work
which counts the most in the whole day, and a half hour or
fifteen minutes spent on the pump, pumping clean water
through your pump every night will save you a whole lot
of time. You never have any trouble in the morning then,
and everything is ready to go ahead with. If you leave
sediment there you find that the valves and everything
are all clogged up and it will make you a whole lot of
trouble. Have a good outfit all the way through.

The cost of a spraying outfit isn't very much and it
doesn't pay to try to save on that end of it. Now, this
lime-sulfur I spoke of a few minutes ago can be made
Avith live steam, and in Canada at the present time they are
using direct fires under it a good deal. They are taking big
wooden boxes about two feet deep and four by six in di-
mensions and nailing a piece of sheet steel on the bottom
of them, making a brick or concrete arch and putting the
fire directly under. This makes a very satisfactory and
cheap outfit. AYe are installing a boiler to cook eight bar-
,rels at a time and use log wood. It doesn't take such small
wood as does a steam plant, and any person that can build
up a fire can go ahead and make up your spray.

The next .spray for apple trees used to be for the cod-
dling moth, but now the experiment stations are recom-
mending an early spray. I noticed in a talk this morning
on bees one man said that a wet, rainy season he hadn't
got the apple crop which be expected, and he laid it to
the lack of bees. Now. this may be another question.
"When the weather is rainy and bad at this time of the
year, which is before the blossoms pollen ate. just before
they open, they stand for several days with the stems all
exposed, and if the weather is rainy and bad at this time
thore is a fungus which attacks the small stems of the ap-
y'''^, and kills them. AW this, of course, will prevent the
apple bloss'oms from pollenating and it is often called lack
of pollena^ion and it is blamed on to everything else but it
is caused by this fungus disease which kills the blossoms be-
fore they are open. I know you can go in orchards and find
them in handfuls under the trees, with this fungus disease
plainly showing on the little stems of the apples, and this
as a very serious thing. The stations recommend a good

62

spraying with lime-sulfur or Bordeaux at this time just be-
fore the bloom opens and before a rainy time, before the in-
fection can take place.

Then, of course, the next spray after this is when the
petals have dropped or are just starting to fall otf and are
ready for the coddling moth. You are all familiar with
them, so I won't take any time on that. Two or three
pounds of arsenate of lead I believe is being most generally
used or the Bordeaux is used and a good many are using the
commercial lime-sulfur, which is diluted 1 to 40 in the case
of strong trees or 1 to 30 or 35 depending on the strength of
your home-made. This makes a black, bad looking mixture,
but it isn 't quite as bad looking to us as it is to the coddling
moth and it doesn't ruin the fruit so much as the Bordeaux
does in some seasons. If the canker worms are bad we ap-
ply another spray about ten days later of arsenate of lead
and Bordeaux or lime-sulfur, and for the apple scab. We
have to be ver^^ careful in this spray. There are some varie-
ties of apples, like the Ban Davis, which are very easily
marked with the Bordeaux injury and so these varieties will
require a weaker mixture than some of the others, and this
can only be determined by experiment in your own locality.
If the weather is rainy and damp it seems as if a very weak
solution will cause injury. If the weather is clear and sun-
shiny it can be used stronger.

Perhaps we will go through with the apple spraying.
The last spraying is about eight or nine weeks after the
blossoms have opened, for the second brood of coddling
moths and any other leave-eating insects and some of the
later fungus troubles. That is the last spraying on the ap-
ples.

Now, the peach spraying: "We have already sprayed
them in the spring with lime-sulfur or oil, for the San Jose
scale and the peach leaf curl. In damp seasons the peach
leaf curl is very serious and fully as important as the scale.
We spray every year, regardless of any scale or any fungus,
just to catch the peach leaf curl. When the buds are open
the little peach blossoms begin to drop away perhaps ten
days or two weeks after the bloom is open and we spray
with what is called self-boiled lime-sulfur or Scott Mix-
ture named after Mr. Scott of Washington. That is real-
ly not a boiled mixture. It is made by taking eight pounds
of the same cheap form of sulfur eight pounds of limey

63

starting your lime to slake and adding this sulfur in the
form of a paste. Don't try to get all the heat of the lime,
especially if it is a hot lime. Just try to get up a kind of
whitewash out of your lime and sulfur. After it is thor-
oughly slaked it is drowned with cold water, so that we
say that all it is really is whitewash. This requires extra
good agitation. I have seen in the bottom of a barrel this
stutf pretty near as hard as cement, where they had to
take a sharp instrument to get it out, so that it requires
extremely good agitation if you are going to apply it to
peaches. This is applied again three weeks afterwards,
and at this time, if you have any curculio add two or three
pounds of arsenate of lead. The last application of this
same spray of eight pounds of lime and eight pounds of sul-
fur is made about a month before the peach ripens. I know
that year before last we were a little late on our spraying and
we applied it only about three weeks before they ripened and
they looked as if they had all been whitewashed. The peach-
es were all white with it but there wasn't very much com-
plaint, there wasn't any complaint, in fact, and they kept
fine; but I wouldn't advise it so late as that; it shouldn't be
applied within four weeks of the ripening, because it forms
a white coating and is hard looking. You can add the ar-
senate of lead with this material at any time. This is not
harmful to the leaves of the peach trees nor to the blossoms.

Mr. Morse. Could the concentrated lime-sulfur be used
on the peaches?

Mr. Henry. I was just coming to that. "We tried that
in connection with the Connecticut Experiment Station, and
I guess we had a dozen different mixtures there last year.
We tried everything we ever heard and a lot that nobody
else ever did, I guess, and all of them hurt the peaches. We
used a concentrated mixture as weak as 1 to 150 and with
us it simply seared the leaves and the peaches dropped on
the ground within three or four days after. They took all
the peaches off the trees, and they were a heavy load. Some
o'her people have used some strengths and it didn't seem to
do any damage with them. But you can use the self-boiled
lime-sulfur and I will guarantee it won't hurt, either with or
without the arsenate of lead. But be very careful how you
use the concentrated mixture on peaches. Use it on one or
two trees and if it doesn't hurt them go ahead; but we
haven't been successful with it and have found that it
did very severe damage on ours.

64

A Member. I want to say that I have used home-made-
lime-sulfur on peaches and I saw no perceptible damage, and
I used it a good deal stronger than you have mentioned.

Mr. Henry. Yes? Well, there are some who have,
and there are some who haven't found danger from it.
Perhaps there may have been some material in ours which
was harmful, but I have heard of a good many who had se-
rious injury from using the concentrated. This is a lot nicer
to use, it costs less to make up and it requires very good
agitation and leaves quite a coating on the peach. If it
doesn't rain the peach looks as if it had been whitewashed
and you have to be careful on that account.

One of the troubles that sometimes attacks young apple
trees is the aphis. These are green plant life and on young
trees take a pail of soap suds and bend the tops over into
the pail and work the top of the tree back and forth. If
the leaves on an apple tree are curled up there is no use try-
ing to spray for the aphis, because they are inside and you
couldn't touch them if you put a barrel of it on the trees.
The only way is to spray before they curl or, in case of
young trees, take a pail of soap suds and bend the tops over
into the pail and work it back and forth betAveen the hands
and force the suds in and kill the aphis. A couple of pails of
laundry soap suds will kill them as well as anything.

I think that is perhaps all there is on the subject of
spraying, only that in this spraying we have got to remember
that fungus diseases are plenty and that when the fungus
disease has got started under the surface of the leaf there
isn't any spray which you can apply which will kill it un-
less you kill the leaf too. You have got to get your fungi-
cide on the leaf before the fungus starts to grow, so that
when the spore lights on the leaf and germinates it will
be killed by the fungicide. That is the principle on which
it works. In spraying for insects, for the coddling moth
there before the worm is hatched, because if you get at it
the first week, the first half week, it only takes a very
small amount to kill. If you wait and spray when the
leaves are half eaten by the canker worm they will finish
the tree before they die, but if your poison is all there first
it just takes a little bit to kill them and there isn't much
damage done.

I have tried to touch upon most of the important
points. I have some bulletins here oa this concentrated lime
sulfur and some of these manufacturers, the self -boiled lime-

65

sulfur, and if any of you are interested you can get the num-
bers and can write to the experiment station and get them.
If there are any points I haven't made clear I shall be very
.glad to answer anything on the question of spraying.

Mr. Barber. Is there anything in spraying apple trees
that will injure the fruit or prevent the fruit from keeping?
Last year I sprayed for the first time and had the best look-
ing apples I ever had, firm and solid, but they never kept so
poorly as last year. Was it the season, or the spraying?

Mr. Henry. I think it has been proven that apples that
have been sprayed will keep a great deal better than apples
that have not been sprayed ; at least, it has been our experi-
ence that our sprayed fruit has kept a good deal better, and
I know that when the buyers come through the neighbor-
hood one of the first questions, they ask is whether the fruit
has been sprayed, and if it has not been sprayed they say
they will have to make a discount, because the spraying has
the result of making them keep a whole lot better.

Mr. E. F. Adams. Can you spray so as to catch the
browntail when they first hatch out, and not injure the
fruit.

Mr. Henry. I am not familiar with the browntail. I
am glad to say we haven't got that. We have enough oth-
er troubles, but we haven't got that. I never saw them.

A Member. Could hydrated lime be used for making
the summer spray of lime-sulfur?

Mr. Henry. I have 10 tons and I am going to try it this
summer, but I have never used it yet.

A Member. Do you think that the hot season of last
year had anything to do with these results?

Mr, Henry. I wouldn't be at all surprised. I know
that the apples often ripened up ahead of time and that
they were picked really after they ought to have been,
and that may have had a good deal to do with the fruit
not keeping, and so it was not on account of the spraying.
I think it was more the forwardness of the season and the
apples perhaps being over-ripe or being put into storage
too warm or left out too long before storing.

A Member. I would like to ask if anybody here in the
audience has practiced spraying so as to kill the browntails
by the last spraying, or whether it is a dangerous treatment
to try, in regard to spoiling the fruit, and so forth? I

66

would like to know if anybody has got as far as that.

Mr. Henry. Perhaps someone in the audience can an-
swer that question : I can't. I have had no experience
whatever.

Mr. Sprague. I would like to ask Mr. Harold Frost
what experience he has had as to its affecting the fruit. I
would like to tell you an experience we have had. "We
sprayed our young trees and where we had no fruit on the
younger trees we have had to pick the browntails this win-
ter, and we are a little bit afraid on some varieties where
we had fruit to spray at that time. Personally, I come from
western New York where the buyer is very anxious to see
the spraying on the apples and I am not so much afraid ta
spray as they are here, and we sprayed our Mcintosh this
year when they were badly spotted, so badly spotted that
the apples beneath the spray didn't turn red until very late
in the season and we successfully controlled the browntail
there and I don 't think the apple was hurt ; in fact, some of
those apples took prizes at the New England Fruit Show this
fall.

Mr. Frost. "What date was it ?

Mr. Sprague. The first week in August, from the 7th
to the 10th, I believe.

Mr, Frost. What did you spray with, and what
strength?

Mr. Sprague. We used arsenate of lead, about three
pounds to 50 gallons.

Mr. Frost. What date ?

Mr. Sprague. About the first of August, I think. We
were a little bit late.

Mr. Ellsworth. Any further questions to ask the speak-
er or anyone else? We don't want to waste a moment.

Mr. Frost. I would like to state to the gentleman who
asked the question about spraying for the browntails on the
shade trees we are doing a great deal of work in the con-
trolling of the browntail and we find it cheaper than cutting
off the nest; but is is very dangerous, I think, to use it where
there is fruit on the trees, although you might not poison
anyone. But I know there was a case in Maine where the
owner sprayed a crop and the information was spread a-
round that those apples had been sprayed with arsenate of
lead, and he had great difficulty in marketing apples. If

67

you spray thoroughly in May and June, with plenty of ar-
senate of lead, I don't know whether you will have very
much trouble witlj the hatching of the browntails in August.
I have sprayed apples and have used paris green, depending
on it to wash right otf. The arsenate of lead will do the
work well, but I think you do it at your own risk.

Mr. Ellsworth. Might I add a word in regard to spray-
ing when the fruit is beginning to mature, as you would have
to do to kill browntails? Two years ago a member of the
Boston Board of Health called at my office and said that
they were discovering poison on apples in Boston and they
were going to investigate it very thoroughly and were go-
ing to advise people not eating apples, and I asked him to
liold up until they found out whether there was more than
one lot on the market. Upon further investigation they only
found one lot, but somebody had sent some apples to the
market with poison on them. So you see the risk you peo-
ple run if you go to putting poison on the apples late in the
year against the consumption of the apples. You don't
know how the Boards of Health are looking out for the
health of you individuals, and they are liable to do some-
thing that would turn the tide from eating apples if they
started on this line.

Mr. John B. Castner — Hood River, Oregon. I don't
Isnow how strong you have to use the arsenate of lead to
spray in order to kill the browntails, but as to this talk of
this spraying with arsenate of lead injuring the apples, I
should say it does not. I spray every year the first of Sep-
tember. We have a late brood of worms, coddling moths,
along the latter part of August, and I spray along the first
of September.

Mr. Ellsworth. You wipe your apples, don't you?

Mr. Castner. No, never wipe an apple. We have been
putting hundreds of thousands into Boston and New York
and never heard one case of anyone dying from poison yet.
When that question comes up as to arsenate of lead injur-
ing the apples, you can take a solution of arsenate of lead as
mixed up, two and a half, or three to fifty, and drink it, and
it will not hurt you. (Laughter and applause). It is migh-
ty hard on the coddling moths, but it will not hurt you. It
does not, to my knowledge ; we are doing it every year. That
is the remark I wanted to make at this time.

A member. I would like to say that in regard to spray-

68

ing with arsenate of lead for browntail, last season I spray-
ed on the coddling moth. The orchard I sprayed the first
time hadn't hardly a browntail in the whole orchard, but I
didn't spray considerable many of them, so I laid it to the
arsenate of lead killing the browntail. Speaking of poison^
I keep sheep in one of the orchards. Well, the next day af-
ter I sprayed once the grass was all white. A man, not
knowing anything about it, turned the sheep in there the
next morning. I got home that night and my wife said,
"Did you tell that man to turn the sheep in?" And I said,
"I did not," and she says "I expect you will have a lot of
dead sheep there." But there wasn't a dead sheep.

Mr. Frost. I don't want to be misunderstood from my
explanation of spraying for browntails, that the arsenate of
lead will hurt the apples. It may simply hurt the sale of
them. And in regard to the poisoning of animals, I don't
think you will have any trouble except with the cows, but
be very careful about letting your cows eat grass that has
been sprayed. Horses and sheep and hens can stand a great
deal of it, but cows will stand very little of arsenate of lead.

Mr. Brown of Connecticut. We have been spraying
down our way for ten years. We have used the usual form-
ula, the Bordeaux mixture and the usual amount of arsenate.
We have used this mixture with paris green and have got
it on our orchar*ds right now and yve have used it at differ-
ent times. We have our Jersey cows out there, some pretty
fine Jersey cows, and every year we take our Jersey calves
at the first feeding and tether them out in the orchard, ty-
ing them to a post, and they eat all that grass and we never
keep them out in the spring. They are there every day and
they have been feeding on that for the last ten years.

A Member. I have sprayed in pastures where they were
young cattle, right underneath the trees, and never had any
trouble yet from using four pounds of lead to a barrel of
water. I have put on a lot, so that the trees were dripping
with it.

Mr. Ellsworth. I notice that your President has come
into the room. President Maynard, if you will come and
take the chair.

I don't wish to cut off any discussion or any experiences
you have had with poison, whether it will kill or won't; but
be a little careful, at the same time.

A Member. I would like to ask the latest date you

i- .

69

could spray without danger of hurting the sale of the ap-
ples.

Mr. Castner. I have sprayed as late as the first of Sep-
tember, and we are getting a larger sale every day.

Mr. Ellsworth. You let the Massachusetts State Board
of Health find any arsenate of lead on your apples and then
you will see.

Mr. Frost. Send them out to Oregon and you will get
it.

Mr. Race. It don't seem wise to have the word go be-
fore the public that you can have poison on anything and it
will not do any harm. Simply, the poison isn't good for
anything, or else it will do harm. i i, \^,,

Mr. "Wheeler. I would like to ask, Mr. Henry, if you
get 200 pounds pressure from a hand pump, or gasolene.

Mr. Henry. No. I have to use gasolene for 200 pounds
I would hate to have to pump a hand pump and get 200
pounds pressure by hand.

Mr. "Wheeler. I didn't know but you had.

Mr. Henry. I never. I wish I had. I wouldn't use
the power if I could help it, because gasolene engines are
rather cranky concerns.

A member. Is it advisable to use a hand pump if you
could get the pressure? i-,rir ro* ' i,

Mr. Henry. Yes, yes. You can do fine work with a
hand pump; only you musn't try to run too many leads or
to many nozzles. You want to get up a good pressure and
it is better to have that good pressure with two nozzles than
poor pressure with four nozzles. Keep up a good pressure
and do well what you do, rather than try to put out a lot
of stuff. Use a good pressure and a lot of hose. You caik
do fine work with a hand pump.

A Member. How many trees can you have and profita-
bly use a hand pump?

Mr. Henry. Up to the present time I can answer that I
have knowledge that Mr. Lyman of our state has 400 acres
and uses hand pumps up to the present time.

A Member. How many?

Mr. Henry. I couldn't count them. I don't know
whether he can or not. (Laughter).

A Member. How much acreage would you go over with

70

one hand pump?

Mr. Henry. It depends on the size of the trees. With
peach trees I suppose the reason he hasn't had power is be-
cause he has only sprayed on the spring with that lime-sul-
fur; and of course he can start early and there is no foliage
on to bother. It is a lot different from spraying big apple
trees for the coddling moths.

A Member. You spray as fast as possible for apples?

Mr. Henry. Yes. You have got to have enough pumps
to go all over the whole orchard within four or five days,
^nd really you ought to be able to get over it within three,
because while you have more than three, you are apt to have
bad weather, and if you have a couple of days of rainy
weather out of the week when you cannot spray for the cod-
dling moths, if you haven't got enough to spray, some or-
chards will loose a lot of money right there quick. You have
got to have enough to spray quickly.

Mr. Stone. I have some trees in an old orchard, but
they are high up. What can I use for nozzles ?

Mr. Henry. Instead of trying to get it from a nozzle
which will drive it against the wind — I have never been able
to do that yet — you have got to use a long extension rod.
We have some very high pear trees, branching out near the
ground, but very tall old trees, and so we got 20 feet of
quarter inch pipe and put the nozzle on top of that and
sprayed the trees. You can get a pressure up there easy
enough. There is no use in driving the stream. You ought
to use an extension rod; and, by the way, use plenty of ex-
tensions. We use 10 feet on peaches, and more, if necessary,
on apples. But you can get the spray up high by an exten-
sion rod and not by the nozzle. — Everything at our cooking
plant runs by gravity. We don't lift a pound of material
through the whole season. It runs into the cooking tank
and the spraying tank.

A member. How far do you haul it? Does your pipe
run through the orchard?

Mr. Henry. We have the spraying plant right in the
middle of the orchard. Locate it right; put up your tank
and substitute that for hose and pipe, use two inch pipes in-
to the spraying outfit.

Mr. Castner. Wouldn't it be a saving of time to have
the pipe and have the filling system there ? The time lost in

71

spraying is going back and forth and filling up. It isn't
while you are spraying.

Mr. Henry. No. It is the time lost in going around.
It might pay. I wouldn't be surprised if it did. — If any of
you haven't used this form of sulfur I strongly advise your
looking into it, because it is a very nice form and will save
lots of money.

A Member. What is it made from?

Mr. Henry. Powdered brimstone, commercially pure.
The best is the cheapest, and the cheapest is the best.

Mr. Davenport. Do you do any special spraying for the
curculio ?

Mr. Henry. These other sprayings ought to take care of
that. The curculio isn't very serious with us.

Mr. Davenport. In our section the curculio is the worse
pest on apples we have.

(Professor Maynard Presiding)

The President. We will consider the next question.
Owing to death in the family Dr. Whetzell is unable to be
here and therefore we can give the time to discussion and
ask further questions of the present speaker, or we will dis-
cuss any on the back of the program.

Mr. Frost. Before we go to the question, I understand
that Mr. Henry has saved quite a number of his fruit buds
this year, and I would like to ask him if he can describe his
method of cultivation during the past year, for his peaches.

Mr. Henry. I see there (pointing them out) some peach
buds, and there are quite a good many live ones on them.
Some of our varieties show a very good percentage and
some of them, the Crawfords are poor. These are not my
buds. They are some that yvere brought here ; but you see
there is enough there for quite a good sprinkling.

In regard to cultivation, Mr. Frost asked me about tha?; :
I think that the speaker dropped one point this morning that
paid me for coming up here when he spoke in a way that I
never heard the expression used before, and I think it is a.
little bit the best. He said that the trees use the water that
comes up and not the water that goes down. Now, that to
me was a very important point and was certainly worth the
whole trip up here, and it explains why cultivation is so im-
portant. You cultivate the top of the ground, you just stir

72

it a little bit, and it doesn't look as if it amounts to much;
but it forms a blanket over the top and the water conies up
through the ground — he didn't explain it — but it comes up
through the ground by capillary attraction, follows up the
same as oil follows a lamp wick up, and it has a regular
<30urse up between the solid part. When you plow and
wdien you cultivate, especially when you cultivate, you break
up that crust and that prevents the water from escaping. It
comes up and when it gets up to where the little courses are
broken it has got to stay right there, and there is where our
plants are able to use it, and that is why cultivation does so
much good.

In regard to cultivating peaches, we try to plow the
ground twice in the spring and we seldom plow over two
inches deep, just as shallow as we can hold the plow in the
ground, just enough so that it will turn the top layer of soil
over anywhere from 1 1-2 to 3. We don't like to get over 3
inches if we can possibly help it. We plough it twice and
harrow the ground within an hour after it is plowed. In no
case let it stay over longer than is absolutely necessary. We
try to have a rough gang plow and have ib<i harrow follow
so that there is not over ten minutes between the plow and
the harrow. We cultivate every other day through the en-
tire season, about twice a week we try to go over the ground
with the weeder. We don't use the harrow then. Fre-
quent, shallow cultivation is what we believe in. We don"t
cultivate over an inch or two deep, but by doing it all the
time the weeds don't get a chance to sprout.

Mr. Frost. What is the lowest temperature you have
had in your home this winter?

Mr. Henry. There are places near us wher-3 they got
down to 25 degrees below. On top of the hills Ihey didn't
get down to more than 10 degrees or 15 degrees, but we
found with us it made a great difference in the levels. I was
talking with one man last night who has peaches on the hill
and his peaches are alive. Just as soon as he begins lo dip
off eight or ten feet the peaches are all dead, but Avhen he
gets on top they are all alive.

Mr. Frost. What do you consider is the limit on peach-
es?

Mr. Henry. It makes a great difference about going
into the winter. That is where the cultivation helps out.
Trees go into the winter in strong, fine shape, and the buds
are able to stand a good deal. I think condition and eleva-

73

tion will determine whether or not the buds are suceessful.

Mr. Frost. How late in the fall do you cultivate?

Mr. Henry. A good deal later than we used to. We
used to cultivate deeper and start early; now W3 do it shal-
low and a longer time. It isn't really cultivation, but it
simply scratching the top, moving it and cultivating it just
as many times as we can.

Mr. Frost, How late?

Mr. Henry. Until we can't get through the trees any
more.

Mr. Frost. What sort of implements do you find best
for your purposes ?

Mr. Henry. We use weeders entirely. We have never
had a spring tooth. Our land is so stony we can't use the
cutaway. We use the weeder.

A Member. What is a good gang plow?

Mr. Henry. I don't like to advertise tools before a
meeting like this, but if you ask me personally I will tell
you. I think it is a pretty poor plan for a speaker to got
up before a meeting and run down one and boost another.

Mr. Carr. Do you prefer the cutaway, to the plow ?

Mr. Henry. I should like to use it, but the land up
there is so stony we can't. The cutaway is a fine tool.

The President. Are there any other questions? Now,
on the subject which was to have been presented by Dr.
Whetzell, "Substitution of Lime-Sulfur for Bordeaux," Mr.
Castner has consented to speak a few words on the question.

SUBSTITUTION OF LIME-SULFUR FOR BORDEAUX

Mr. Chairman : I am merely going to open the subject
of the substitution of lime-sulfur for Bordeaux. I don't
know what the eastern ideas are on this question, but I will
give you a little history of our use of both in Hood River.
Years ago. up until about five or six years ago lime-suliur
was practically unknown as a fungicide. Everybody Avas
using the Bordeaux mixture, known as the 12-12-50. There
are sume fmigus diseases that lime-sulfur will take the place
of Bordeaux, and some on which it won't. You take, for
instance, the apple scab, that fungus which works in tho
summer time and which practically works in the winter, too,
lime-sulfur will have some results the same as Bordeaux, but

74

when you come to anthracnose or canker, lime-sulfur will
not do the work. We have to use the Bordeaux, 6-6-50, and
I really believe you would get better results by using Bor-
deaux in that proportion in the fall after the fruit is picked
and before the leaves have dropped. You get more canker
and scab at that time than at any other time, especially in
the country where you have a rainy season. The season
last fall was a very good time for the apple scab to thrive.
I don't know how it was with you, but with us it was bad,
especially on the green apples and the Yellow Newtown.
"We sprayed for the apple scab in the fall just as soon as the
apples were picked and before the leaves fell. "VVe put it on
as a preventative. The fungus doesn't start to work until
after the rain; the leaves fall and if they are not sprayed
the fungus starts up and works all winter and is in fine
shape to start in the spring and it is a good deal harder to
control with lime-sulfur than Avith Bordeaux. I don't be-
lieve that fall spraying of Bordeaux has ever been practiced
here, but I believe it would be a mighty good thing if it
should be started. We find that it does away with the scab
and makes it not so hard a campaign in the spring. The
question of using Bordeaux in the spring is a hard problem
and one well worth looking after for this reason : You will
spray at the time of the year when it is damp and moist,
and that is the one time when it will do injury; in a wet
season, with lime-sulfur, we use the mixture of one to thirty
without any damage. One damage you will get, though,
from lime-sulfur and which we had two years ago was us-
ing it in extremely hot weather, because you get damage
from that in the hot weather the same as you do from Bor-
deaux in damp. I would advise being careful about the
lime-sulfur spray in summer time, when it is hot. Two
years ago we had considerable loss in Hood River, especial-
ly in the hot days. I quit spraying at noon, made up my
mind that something would happen if I didn't, and I looked
at it a couple of days afterwards and the apples were scorch-
ed. A good many neighbor's apples were ruined by con-
tinuing spraying in the hot weather, but at the same time I
had another neighbor who didn't use lime-sulfur but used
the straight arsenate and he burnt his, so that you couldn't
lay it to that entirely. No doubt he would have had some
of the same damage, but not to the same extent, if the Bor-
deaux had been used. Water or lime-sulfur going onto the
apples forms a mixture and burns. That is the result with

75

us of using Bordeaux and lime-sulfur.

President. Another chance for questions, I think Mr.
Castner will be willing to answer any questions on this sub-
ject,

Mr, Castner, I would say this: A good many people
don't think that they have got the anthracnose, but I have
discovered a good deal since I was here this spring. They
may not know what it comes from, but if they look around
they will find a dead spot, canker ; that is what is known as
anthracnosse,

Mr. Carr, Will lime-sulfur help that?

Mr. Castner, No, it has no effect. It takes the Bor-
deaux in the fall. It is a disease that works in the winter,
after the rain starts.

Mr. Carr. You spray immediately after picking the ap-
ples?

Mr. Castner. Before the rains come.

President. May we hear from Mr. Frost on spraying
with both lime-sulfur and oil and Bordeaux?

Mr. Frost. I would rather hesitate to say anything on
this subject because I feel rather at sea myself in regard to
a substitute of lime-sulfur for Bordeaux. As you know, in
1910, we had a very wet season in the spring and a good
deal of injury to the fruit and the plan was to put it on Bor-
deaux largely for that injury; but it was found in a great
many cases that in the valleys and near the seashore the in-
jury was much worse than on the top of the hills, where there
'was a free circulation of air. It was also found that many
trees not sprayed at all had injured fruit almost as much as
the sprayed trees. I made a great many notes in 1910; T
thought that I would correct myself in 1911 ; but during the
past year a great deal of fruit has been given to me that
was sprayed with lime-sulfur and it was quite as seriously
injured during the past year. Also I saw a gerat deal of fruit
that was what I should call sun scalded. AVe have had two
exceptional seasons, 1910 and 1911, and I think it is very
difficult to state just what the lime-sulfur does here in Mas-
sachusetts and what the Bordeaux mixture may do. I am
inclined to think, though, that you will use both materials
and that you will use Bordeaux for some varieties of some
diseases and lime-sulfur for other diseases. I am also con-
vinced that the mixture of lime-sulfur with the arsenate

76

of lead, which is made in the east, is very dangerous to han-
dle and I am advising many of the people that if they want
to spray with lime-sulfur and arsenate they should do it in
two applications. Spray first with arsenate of lead alone
and then lime-sulfur afterwards.

There is a brand of arsenate of lead made on the Pacif-
ic Coast which I understand is not affected by the lime-sul-
fur when mixed. If you are getting good results from ar-
senate of lead and Bordeaux, I am inclined to think it is
wise for you to use it in the future. If not, try lime and
sulfur and arsenate of lead and try it both ways, in a mix-
ture and separate. It may be that the injury this year was
all due to climatic conditions. In my own case I will spray
late in the season, will not spray in the hot sunlight or in
the middle of the day.

President. Any further questions of the speaker?

Mr. Wilder. I would like to ask Mr. Frost which he
uses for the San Jose, the oil or the lime-sulfur, in the early
spring?

Mr. Frost. I always use the oil until I get the scale un-
der control, and then I use the lime-sulfur part of the time ;
but I feel that the oil is the much better insecticide for the
scale than the lime-sulfur and I know it is much easier to
handle.

Mr. Morse. I would like to ask Mr. Frost if it doesn't
make a difference what kind of trees he puts it on, as to its
effectiveness. On a peach or some others lime and sulfur
may do the work, but when it comes to the young growth of
apple trees it is a little different and there I think oil will
do better.

Mr. Frost. I believe that lime-sulfur will kill every
scale you hit, but I find it very difficult to get the men to do
thorough work, and even if there are only a very few scales
left, they breed very fast in a dry season and there is a
good deal of danger; but I think it is immaterial on small
treefj as to which material is used, so long as every part of
■-■ vthe tree is covered. i;v-> iilixuif' I ih>\(i ;-;.,>/ i^.ii-

T^-^ Mr. Adams I would like to^y^¥ ii-^b^W^^i^hhim^as
-^^^' fungicide, as lime-sulfur? '^^'^"/^ ^''i'>. ^'^J*-- <^:* )Iu-;ifi[T.

Mr. Frost. On the fungicide effects of oil I am hardly
prepared to make any statement, but a great many of us do
feel that oil acts as a sort of tonic to the tree. We know it

77

liills some things. I don't think it is as good a fungicide as
lime-sulfur.

Dr. Gilson. Mr. Frost said that it was pretty difficult
to get men to do the work thoroughly. I would like to
know whether he knows anything that can be put with the
commercial lime-sulfur so that you can see it. If there was
anything mixed with it so that it would be visible you could
look after your help a great deal better and see that the
work was being done properly. Some say to use starch, but
I don't know.

Mr. Henry. You can use lime ; you can mix lime with
water.

Dr. Gilson. I have done that once or twice on some
commercial, and I didn't see any difference.

Mr. Henry. That is one of the serious disadvantages
of the commercial lime-sulfur, that you cannot see it well
enough on the tree and I don't know but that personally I
shall have to discontinue the use of it on account of that,
because sometimes the wind will change and blow it away,
and there are all sorts of different conditions, and when you
can't see you don't know whether the whole of the trees
have been hit. It is a serious thing. You have got to see
whether it is thoroughly sprayed, and where you have hired
help doing practically all the spraying you have got to have
something that shows.

Dr. Gilson. I have been informed by druggists that I
could add starch, but I never did and I never heard of it be-
ing done and I would like to find out if any one knows
about how to use it.

Pres. Has anyone had experience with mixing starch.

Mr. Smith. I would like to confirm what Mr. Frost
says. Oil will spread and crawl, and in an apple tree T
think that one application of oil will do as good work as
three of lime-sulfur. With lime-sulfur it is dicfficult to cover
the trees thoroughly, and in order to kill the scale every in-
dividual scale must be covered with the material and on win-
dy days it is praptically impossible. You can't get the men
to spray against the wind. But the oil will crawl, where the
lime-sulfur won't, and take a twig on a small tree, as large
as a lead pencil, if you spray it with a strong solution of
oil it will crawl around on the other side. You don't have
to go around the tree and spray against the wind, but it

78

crawls around, just where the lime-sulfur will not. That
is the beauty of oil. Am I not right, Mr. Frost?

Mr. Frost. The soluble oils do that, they have that
property which all crude petroleum has, of spreading or
creeping on the wood.

Pres. This question will bear further discussion.

Secy. Brown. In regard to adding lime to the commer-
cial lime-sulfur, in my own peach orchard when I get
through spraying the trees look as though a snow storm had
struck them. I cook my OAvn concentrate or use the com-
mercial adding about four pounds of a very fine hydrated
lime, as a milk of lime which practically makes a whitewash^
and the trees, after the first rain look as though they had
been snowed on.

Dr. Gilson. I have tried lime. I don't know that it is
the latest improvement, but I saw no difference in the color
on the trees; I couldn't discern any. I don't know how
much I used, but I mixed up quite a lot. What I want is
something to add so that you can see distinctly where they
have been.

Secy. Brown. Mine look like a snow storm and you can
see them half a mile away.
Dr. Gilson. Who^e lime?

Secy. Brown. At first I used ordinary stone lime, such
as I used in making my lime-sulfur concentrate but I found
considerable sediment and grit and it was much easier to
use the hydrated form Limoid. I bought a few bags spec-
ially for. that purpose. I added about four pounds, already
mixed up in a buttertub to each barrel when the spray bar-
rel is nearly filled. A good agitator does the rest.

Mr. Morse. I got hold of a bulletin somewhere that
said you upset the whole chemical combination of the com-
mercial lime-sulfur. I think it was the Arkansas Experi-
ment Station Bulletin. They said it upset the whole thing
by putting in more lime.

Dr. Gilson. That is one reason I asked, whether you
could add more lime that would cover it and not injure the
combination.

Mr. Castner. I don't believe there is enough added to
make any chemical change.

Secy. Brown. I know that as far as I am concerned

79

there is now practically no scale in the orchard, although
some three years ago every single tree was more or less in-
fested. There is practically no scale in the orchard now,
so apparently I haven't added enough lime to destroy the
insecticide effect and the fungicide value is certainly there
as to leaf curl, etc.

Dr. Gilson. I am not an agent for any company, but I
will say that what I have comes from Vermont. But there
was grit. I don't think there was a quart or two in the
whole batch but what there was a lot of grit.

Mr. Frost. In eastern Massachusetts you can get Ver-
mont Marble Lime which contains very little grit. There
are several very nice brands for that purpose.

Mr. Castner. What time do you use lime-sulfur in the
spring ?

Pres. Any time before the buds swell, from the first
of March to the ]st of May.

Mr. Race. I understand, Mr. Henry, that you make
lime-sulfur and use it right away, putting in 15 pounds of
sulfur and 20 pomids of lime to 50 gallons of water. When
you make the concentrated you put in 60 of lime and 120 ot
sulfur. Is that right?

j\Ir. Henry. Those proportions are practically right,
only for the concentrated that formula varies from 40
pounds of lime and 80 pounds of sulfur up to 60 and 130.
There are a good many different formulas right along in
there, and that has to be controlled by experiments. We
only use a high grade calcium lime, and very little magnesia.

Mr. Race. Will that show when you spray the trees,
or is it like the commercial?

Mr. Henry. No. It will show a little better than the
commercial, because it has a sediment. In the commercial
the sediment has been taken out, and the commercial doesn't
show up very well, and that is very serious. Of course, if
you have only a few trees and you are going to do it your-
self and know just what to do, then it is all right, but where
you have a big orchard the wind will change, blow heavily
down the rows and the spray will blow away in the or-
chard and the help have got to spray against the wind, we
know they won't know where they have sprayed and where
they have not.

A Member. I should like to ask what kind of a noz-

80

zle you use.

Mr. Henry. Personally, we use the Friend. Gould al-
so makes a very good nozzle. The Mystery, Jr., is a good
nozzle and there is one called the Angle Mist, made in Ro-
chester, giving a very good spray. There are a good many
good nozzles. There are a whole lot of good ones.

Mr. Race. Do you always use the Y?

Mr. Henry. Yes ; always an angle nozzle or Y. I have
never had any use for the straight nozzle. You can't af-
ford to walk around the tree when you can get a nozzle ta
do it by turning your hand. We just got hold of this an-
gle-Y the other day, and it is very handy.

Mr. Race. ]\Ir. Henry told us that some oils would be
good and others not good and he didn't want to tell which.
He has told about the spray nozzles and perhaps he has got
so open minded that he will tell us which are good and
which are poor oils now.

Mr. Henry. There are several good oils on the market
and there are several poor ones, as I have said. I have nev-
er heard anything against Mr. Pratt's Scalecide or Mr.
Frost's Arlington Oil; but I have heard a good many things
against one made in Martinsburg, Virginia, and I know
men that condemn all oil because they used that. It is
made in a dozen different ways. They have switched
around all the time and some lots has been good and some
lots have been poor and it has given oil a bad name and it
is a very unfortunate thing, because oil is a good insecticide
and the Pratt and Arlington and several others, I don't
think have done any harm. But you want to go mighty
slow, because whole orchards have been killed just as though
a cyclone Avent through them ; every tree killed.

Dr. Gilson. Does the experiment station state some
that are valuable?

Mr. Henry. Perhaps. I am not familiar. There are
several oils that have not been tried. Oil is very dangerous
unless it is made properly.

A Member. I should like to ask about the Baldwin
spot. Is there any control for that?

Mr. Henry. I don't know a thing about it. I don't
think any oil should be used when the weather is freezing.
If you apply it when it is cold or freezing, when the oil
dries it will injure the trees and some good oils have beerk

81

reported as doing damage because they have been applied
too early when it was cold and freezing, or too late when
the trees were out too far. ar.d that is vrhat caused injury
from some good oils.

Mr. Stowe. I understand you that before the cold
weather comes you have got to use the oil."?

]Mr. Henry. Yes, any time up to freezing, but I
wouldn't apply oil or lime-sulfur at any time when it is
freezing, there is no fun in it at all. There is no use in
spraying when you have the freezing nights.

A Member. What do you think about scraping apple
trees ?

Mr. Henry. I should scrape the roughest of the bark
off, because it gives a good hiding place.

A Member. And all that you scrape off is dead?

Mr. Henry. Yes. Scrape it off and give a chance for
the oil or the lime-sulfur to get in. If you have a rough
bark, use oil.

A Member. "What would you say %vas a proper price
to pay for a gallon of oil?

Mr. Henry. I don't make it. (Laughter). You set
the price of your apples and let the oil man set the price of
the oil.

Pres. We would like to hear from Mr. John W. Clark,
in his experience in spraying.

Mr. Clark. I never use any oil in spraying. I have al-
ways used lime-sulfur that I boiled myself, that's all. And
until last sum-mer we had very little scale indeed. I have
followed it up for five or six years, and where the scale
would appear I would extend the spraying, but until last
summer it never extended over the whole orchard, being
only in spots, but the dry weather of last summer made it
spread wonderfully and we have <?onsiderable spraying on
our hands to do now. I have little of the Baldwin spot on
the Baldwins, hardly enough to notice it. I don't know any-
thing about it.

Pres. Any further questions ? There is a question list
on the third page of the program. Shall we take up the
questions?

A Member. Can we take up No, 26?
Pres. If there is no objection, we will hear it. What
is to be said on the question, ''What is the best method of

82

protecting young trees from deer? Will arsenate on the
leaves keep them off, or lime-sulfur on the twigs be too much
of an appetizer?"

Mr. Parker. My experience with the deer is such that
I believe that if the state passed a law that we could use a
rifle it would be the best protection for an orchard. Day
before yesterday there were three lying around my orchard
all day. I don't think they did any damage yesterday, but
they have done damage before ; they broke down those op-
ple trees, and in a young orchard of 80 trees they nipped
lhe tops of every one. If the state will give the farmer a
right to use a rifle we can soon get over the deer question.
A man that gets within 50 or 75 yards of a deer in an or-
chard has got to creep pretty close and I think the state is
showing blame poor business management in putting in
demonstration orchards and turning herds of rteer in to eat
them up. That is my opinion. (Applause).

Mr. Wheeler. The state does allow a farmer to use a
Tifle on his own land at the present tim-; ^n sliooc deer do-
ing damage, with any gun; it makes no difference whether
it is a shot gun or a rifle. The law reads at the present
time "kill" and I know that several deer in a few weeks
have been shot in orchards and the game wardens have all
justified the shooting and allowed it.

Mr. Copeland. I have wintered some deer for two
years. I know them decently well and I have had them do-
ing damage for me and if I could kill them I would not care
whether I used a shot gun or a rifle or a stone, but I should
kill them. In the nest place, get a good game warden. We
have got some up our way and they will stand back of us,
and Iha^ is the way you want to do too. (Applause).

Mr. Eace. I think that it is getting to be a very serious
question in southern Berkshire county.

Pres. The law seems to read if you discover the deer
injuring trees you can shoot them.

]\Tr. Race. That don't cover it at all. The state pro-
jects the deer.

Pres. The state will pay the bill, will it not?

Mr. Race. The state has got a lot of what they call
oramr^ on hand — on our hands, not on theirs, — and we have
ofot *o support them for some fellow to shoot. A year ago
and la"t year I fed 16 on my farm and there were 16 on a

83

neighbor's farm, fed all summer that I know of. Now,
there are twenty-five in that same park and only a mile
away there were forty seen in one meadow day before yes-
terday. That is sixty-five deer on the premises, and I know
that three miles south of me is another herd where there
have been over 150 feeding and harboring there and going
down into the valley to feed at night and destroying the
farmers' vegetables and vegetation. Ten years ago there
wasn't a deer there, hadn't been one seen. "What are we go-
ing to do with the deer?

Pres. Buy a shot gun.

Mr. Race. Shoot them?

Pres. Yes. Use a rifle or anything.

Mr. Race. You can't catch them to shoot them. You
have got to shoot them nights. Out of these 16 deer there
were 7 shot on my premises. There wasn't one shot in the
day time. They were shot from seven o'clock at night un-
til two o'clock in the morning, and as it was a week of dark
nights it was pretty dangerous business. Three hunters lay
out in the cold and shot them, that I know of. From my
own personal experience I wish they had shot the whole
herd. The state of Massachusetts would do a wise thing to
dc away with the game and the game wardens and save
money, and the farmers would be better off.

Mr. Clark. I think we had better do the same as a
friend of mine did. He wrote the Governor to come and get
his dam deer and take them home. (Laughter and ap-

plause).

Mr. Wilder. In addition it is suggested that the Asso-
ciation could persuade the Massachusetts sportsmen to buy
the fruit orchards (Laughter and applause).

Mr. Copeland. We read that the deer don't do any
damage, but two years ago this winter in the town of Ash-
field a herd was discovered with 32. My daughter took
snapshots of them and if I remember she got 18 in one pic-
ture. You put in 32 sheep in an orchard and they won't
do as much damage as 32 deer will.

A Member. I should like to change the subject. Can
we hear from Question 21? The question is, "Has the time
come when growers should unite to pack and sell their fruit
through an association ?

Pres. You hear the question. Is Mr. Castner in the

84

room?

Mr, Race. I don't think we are done with that other
question. I want to ask this Association to pass some reso-
lution asking the state to do away with the deer nuisance.

Pres. Do you make the motion?

Mr. Race Yes. I make that as a motion.

Pres, Is that motion seconded?

A Member. I will second it,

Pres. The motion is made that this Association ask tha
Legislature to pass laws for the destruction of the deer; is
that it?

Mr. Race. That's it.

Mr, Wilder, If that motion prevails I hope that the As-
sociation will go down to the State House when the ques-
tion comes up and will be prepared to back it up.

Mr. Wheeler. It is practically useless to pass a vote
and not back it up by our presence down at the State
House. If all the people troubled or hurt in any way by the
deer, will go down and ask for a reasonable law, I think
they will get it, but not by simply passing a vote that it is
the sense of the meeting that the state should destroy the
deer. They won't pay any more attention than if we hadn't
done it at all.

Mr, Race, They will know the way we feel about it.

A Member .1 think that if the secretary will let each
one know the time the bill is expected to come up we might
go down and have as much fun as we do here. (New busi-
ness cannot now be introduced in this Legislature as the lim-
it was early in January. We must now wait for the next
Legislature. A bill adding Middlessex and Essex counties
to the list having an open season on deer is already in the
Senate and will probably pass. Secy.).

Mr. Clark. I think possibly that if we embody in our
resolutions a way in which we might get rid of the deer, it
might be a help. If we took a leaf out of Mr. Hale's book
and asked the Governor to come and get them — why should-
not we ask for a longer open season and let the sportsmen
kill them and pay their own bills?

A Member. Let's amend it to 365 days in the year.

Mr. Clark. At the present time I think our open season
is ten days. Why can't we ask for a month for the open

85

season?

Mr. Black. Hasn't the farmer a right to, a shot gun,
to shoot his own deer? ! ,,1 pf,

Pres. Yes, a shot gun or a rifle.

Mr. Black. Whenever you catch them doing any dam-
age there is no law that prevents the farmer killing his
own deer.

Mr. Frost. A man has no right to shoot the deer un-
less he sees, when he shoots him, that his trees are being
destroyed. The fact may be evident that they are being
destroyed, but unless Ije sees the damage being done he has
no right to shoot. That is the statement I want to make.

Pres. Must the man that sees the deer see him des-
troying his property? .,,. ,!.j,,|y ^,v/o:> 91M

Mr. Wheeler. It must be on cultivated land; the law
reads that it must be on cultivated land.

A Member. I think that a year ago my town got the
most deer of any town in the state and it was estimated
jthere were 150 shot there and they were not all reported.
Thank the Lord, there were a lot of them that were not, but
lots of them were reported and our game wardens bore us
out in killing them. I think our game warden took a dif-
ferent view from some, because he had had lots of occasion
to have damage done himself and he knew something about
the deer. The trouble with the people that make the laws
is that so many aren't acquainted with them. If they would
come up and winter with us they would get pretty well ac-
quainted.

A Member. The law reads that if they are destroying
any crops, except grass, on cultivated fields you have a right
to shoot them. That is, any crop except grass on the culti-
vated field. I know I shot one and my son one and we had to
report it, and the gam:e warden came and that was the end of
it. He didn' t take the deer. But we couldn' t sell it and had
to eat what we could of it.
■A'-.,. A Member. I merely wish to say this, that I liope the
'motion will not prevail in the exact form in which it is, be-
cause I think that by putting us on record as favoring the
destruction of the deer is too radical a measure. I will offer
an amendment so that the word "destroy" shall be omitted
and the word "control" will be inserted, because I think
that if this Association goes on record as favoring the com-

86

plete destruction of the deer it will seem such a radical
measure as to lose weight. I speak as one who has suffered,
damage myself from the deer,

A Member. Speaking about it being too radical, I
would like to tell my little story. I have got two and a half
acres of peach orchard up on the hills in the woods. There
ds a wire fence six feet high and some six or seven years th^3
deer have been eating the young apple trees, chewing them
off, gnawing them and eating the buds off and I have had
my men in and they have seen the deer, seen them doing tha-
damage, and I have had the men in there to go and look, dif-
ferent men, seven or eight men, to see what the total dam-
age was, and they say it is twenty or thirty dollars like
that; and I had the town clerk and the selectmen go and
view the premises and there was a gunner that had a talk:
with this selectmen that they didn't do any damage, that
they only ate a little grass down there. He goes down in
Maine every year and hunts and brings them home and he-
says they wouldn't do any damage, wouldn't eat the trees.
But the men that work for me say they do and I can see for
myself two or three hundred apple trees, three or four hun-
dred peach trees. They keep them nipped off as fast as they
grow, until they die. There is a wire fence around there six
feet high and you can see where they have gone out, against
that wire.

The wire is stapled to the trees around this woods, and.
they have jumped the staples out for five or six trees right
along. You would think some of the hair flew after they
went out. They sleep in the day time but they do their dam-
age at night, travel around nights a good deal because I have-
seen them evenings out around. I have put in a bill down at
the state house, the state stocks your farm (you pay the rent
and the state stocks it with what game they have a mind to
— but I put in a bill for $25 that these men said was the dam-
age, and I got hold of $5.

Mr. Sowerby. I have four deer every other day now
and I have been hoping that they would not do any damage,
and I go every day to see if they do any damage, and up to
the present time they have done none. Last year there was
a party in Marlboro that had some damage and I was one of
the men to go and assess the damage. I think it was $45 or
$50 and the state paid it without any more talk. He got the
money within three weeks. I don't see but what the state ?s:
doing its part.

87

A Member. I would like to say a word. The last speak-
er said they aren't doing any damage, but I think they are.
A neighbor of mine set two thousand trees. Last season he
had three hundred young trees eaten off as fast as they
sprouted and they went right through there so that he
has got three hundred little stubs, like a cane. They are
all withered. I was one of the members of the Board of
Selectmen, and the three of us were called down and made
an estimate, and the state never took any notice. They sent
us a little letter, saying our price was too much and they
wanted it cut. I, for one, said I would never change the
figures to reduce, and if I did change them it would be to in-
crease. We are still waiting. I don't think the state is do-
ing its part.

A Member. There are three or four trees down near our
place where they can hear the roosters crow, and those which
have never been touched, they are nice trees ; but of all the
rest, 90^per cent, you might say, are utterly worthless and T
wouldn't take a hundred dollars for damage the deer have
done.

A Member. I should like to ask the gentleman if he has
used a gun on these deer.

^ A Member. I don't have time. I have other business.
It IS four miles from my house.

Pres. Any further discussion? Do you accept the a-
mendment, Mr. Race?

Mr. Race. I accept the amendment.

A Member. That the state buy up some of the land and
sell the privilege to all of the fellows that Avant to hunt for
the deer so bad? (Laughter).

President. The motion is that this Association petition
the legislature to take measures to control the injury by
deer, to fruit trees. All those in favor of the motion please
manifest by saying, "Aye." Contrary minded. It is a vote.

We will take up question 21, as before stated, and
would like to hear from Mr. Frost.

Mr. Frost. I would like to state for the benefit of the
gentleman who asked for number 21 that last year a confer-
ence was held in regard to this very question, and another
meeting will be held as soon as this meeting has adjourned,
on the platform; and all of you who are interested in the
question are invited to attend this conference, and I think

88

the whole thing will be brought out. There was a commit-
tee appointed last year at our conference to report. You _
have heard the report today, and I think the members of"
that committee will have something further to say. f^

Mr. Barber. I should like to ask where that westerEy^.
system is used, do they transport the apples to a given point,;,'
that is to say, do the packers go to the orchard and pack*
and then go ten miles to another, or are the apples trans-
ported? ; , ^,

Mr, Castner. In some cases, especially with small ?>
growers, who haven't packing houses of their own, there is
a large warehouse and they are taken there and packed ;
but most of the growers have packing houses of their own
and a crew of, say, four packers and one inspector or fore-
man who goes out with each crew. They are packed right on
the premises.

Mr, Barber. I wanted to know whether they had to be
transported before they are packed?

Mr. Castner. To help some out who haven't packing
houses, the association has a large store house and packs
them there.

Mr. Barber. If the apples are transported one mile or-
five miles they will be bruised so that they are damaged ap-
ples.

Mr Castner. Yes. .There is. always more or less loss in
transporting apples any distance more than to be packed on
your own premises. I have noticed that when they are
brought into the warehouse to be packed the loss would be
probably one-fifth, mostly from bruises. If they are put
loose into a box and covered up, to keep the apples tight,
they will have bruises on them, and unless they are hauled
on springs there will be more bruises. We require every-
thing to be hauled on springs. Another thing in our hand-
ling apples : I do all my sorting right in the orchard. It
saves one handling. I would rather do that and keep the
culls out and save one handling and make less bruising.
Every time an apple is handled there is some loss, so we try-
to handle them as small a number of times as we can.

President. I would like to ask if you have rain storms.

Mr. Castner. Well, in the eighteen years I have been ,
there, we never had but one rainstorm interfere with our
packing, and that was only two days.

89

A Member. I would like to ask if they are sorted as
they are taken from the trees, or put in piles and then sort-
ed?

Mr. Castner. No, we don't put them in piles. Every
apple is picked and handled as though it were an egg. We
require all the pickers to wear cotton gloves. If we did not
there would be danger from the handling. You see a man
go up to an apple and take his finger and poke it, and to do
away with that we require them to use cotton gloves; that
stops it or does away with a good deal of it. They are
picked in half bushel baskets. We have tried picking bas-
kets, buckets, and use in some cases some that have canvass
bottoms that you can open and let the apples drop in the box
and they are all right provided the pickers will be careful
to put them near the bottom of the box when they open that
canvass bottom; but a good many come up to the box and
open it up and let them go.

I hire expert packers to do my sorting. The pickers
pick them in half bushel baskets, take them to the experts
/ iand they do the sorting. Every grade and size and qual-
' ity is sorted by these experts.

A Member. How many grades?

Mr. Castner. Three : extra fancy, fancy and choice. A
man will have probably ten or twelve boxes around him ; he
puts two sizes in a box. The sizes are very similar and very
close together. We don't ask a packer to pack over thirty
^r thirty-five boxes a day, and he must pack them right.

Mr. Henry. How big are the boxes ?

Mr. Castner, A bushel.

Mr. Henry. And he does thirty-five a day?

Mr. Castner. All we require.

Mr. Henry. In ten hours?

Mr. Castner, In picking time you can't work much over
nine hours.

A Member. Do you use sorting machines ?

Mr. Castner. No, we use no machines at all. One came
into the valley last year while I was east, but I don't know
what the result was. Mr. Marshall at Fitchburg had one
and while it did considerable saving, it isn't what it should
b.e yet. I understand they have a new pattern of the same
machine which does better sorting. The trouble with ap-
ples is that in the sorting you can't sort them as you can an.

90

orange. The oranges are round but the apples are not. It
all depends on how the apples hit the pocket. If they all hit
the same way it would be dilferent, but they can't; lots hit
on edge, and two or three sizes will go through one pocket.

A Member. I would like to ask the speaker if he thinks
that we are in shape where we could form an association in
this state and do some cooperative work ? Are we ready for
it? You had a fair chance to see the samples of apples here
last year.

Mr. Castner. I think you are. "Why not? The apple
buyers are all organized against you and why shouldn't you
organize and co-operate? It may be some time before that
happens, but it is time to start in. Here is an instance ia
Maine that I came across last year. There are seven broth-
ers who have organized into an association. When they
started up they had hard work. They wanted peocle to
join but they wouldn't do it but after seeing the results
these brothers got, — mind you, they put them up as they
should be, they graded them and sorted them as they were
guaranteed, — and they received so much more per barrel for
what they shipped that all the people around there lat^r on
wanted to join. I think you can do the same thing here,
even if you are not organized, if each grower will put his
conscience into the boxes, which will go a long way toward
helping the other fellow out. It is not the good stuff that is
going to hurt, but the poor. Good apples will bring good
prices any time in the eastern market.

Mr. Frost. I would like to ask Mr. Castner to answer
question 1, "Will not the early bearing of the modern or-
chard in New England cause a shortening of the life of these
trees?"

Mr. Castner. That all depends on how young orchards
will bear. I would say in my travels around last fall I saw
instances where they were bearing in two or three years. I
should say it would with the trees bearing at that age. I
would want a tree of mine to be at least six years old. Let
the tree make a good, strong groAvth and then start bearing
fruit and I think you will get better results in the long run
than you will by letting it bear too heavily when it is young.
In my own experience I know I had three Newtowns start at
,three years while the rest have made a vigorous wood
growth. Those three stunted ones bear fruit but it is an in-
ferior grade. I have tried every means imaginable, but I

91

can't bring them up. They are stunted. That is one trou-
ble in asking trees to bear too young. You can get a tree
to bear here as young as we can in the west, but you would-
n't want to have them bear too young. We have had them
come into bearing at five or six years, and they are eighteen
or twenty now and still producing good crops of fruit, and
there is no telling when they will quit.

The President. Question No. 12 is asked for: ''Would
you dynamite holes for setting young apple trees in ordin-
ary apple soil?"

Mr. Frost. I used djTiamite last year and I certainly
still should use it if I had a heavy sub-soil.

President. Can you tell the cost per hole of the dyna-
mite?

Mr. Frost. The dynamite costs from fourteen to twenty
cents a stick, and it takes but half a stick. The operation is
to punch a hole about thirty inches deep, with a crow bar,
and if there is a very heavy sub-soil use half a stick. If it
is not very heavy a quarter stick will do, and that would
make the price from seven to ten cents each, besides the
labor.

A Member, I would like to ask, where there is loose
soil going down twenty inches or so and then beyond that
you know the soil is so that you can shovel for twenty inches
and beyond that it is so hard you can't drive a pick in. How
deep would you go?

Mr. Frost. I should like to get six or seven inches into
the sub-soil. The dynamite to be used is not over forty per
cent, gelatin.

President. Question No. 9, is called for: "Is it advis-
able to set more apple orchards in view of the fact that im-
mense numbers of young trees are just coming into bearing
all through the fruit sections of the United States and Can-
ada?"

Mr. Wheeler. It seems to me that this question would
take the whole day to discuss thoroughly ; but just to give an
idea what market there is in the world for apples, I think
that if we go to South America in the future and Europe and
other places where apples are going to be in demand, at the
present rate of starting crops it will take a great many
years yet before we are overplanted. I was recently in

92

Bermuda and saw apples shipped down there from Canada^
from Nova Scotia, and the consumption of apples in that
land is something enormous, and the population will eat ten
times the amount if they can get good fruit. The apples
were shipped down in barrels, and I saw one shipment of
three hundred barrels taken off a steamer and the barrels
opened up, and I wish you could have seen them ! I would-
n't give them to pigs on our farm, because they had settled
and the barrel was five or six inches slack. If we are going
to send them down in those southern countries we should
take a great deal of care to pack them right, but if we are
going to send good, hard and sound fruit the people will
want our apples. The demand seems to me to be unlimited
.5n the south and in Europe. Other parts of the world cannot
grow them and they want them. It seems to me just simply
a question of developing our market, whether we are going
to have more planting, or less.

A Member. The market has been represented as full
all the season. I think the price has been lower.

Mr. Wheeler. I think that is brought about in the way
I have explained. They have been packed in barrels, and
packed poorly. I don't believe, to tell you frankly, that we
could ship our apples to go a thousand miles and have them
fit to eat. They may be all right to cook, but we have got
to get the quantity of eating apples out of the eastern mar-
ket. I think that accounts for the low price.

President. The time has arrived for the clearing of the
hall for this evening, and we must postpone the rest of
these questions until tomorrow. It is very important that
you be here on time, ten o'clock.

(Meeting adjourned to 10 a. m., Thursday, March 14)

THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 1912

10.00 A. M.

(SECOND DAY)

President. The time has arrived for calling this meeting
to order. We all have great interest in fruit growing at
present, and we have the western fruit to complete with a
beautiful fruit, that will keep up to the first of May. We
have no varieties here in New England that are in first
class condition after the first of March or possibly the mid-
dle of February. Now, we want to know what to plant in
order to compete with this western fruit, and we have with
us a man who, perhaps knows more about the new varieties
than anyone else in Massachusetts. I take pleasure in intro-
ducing Mr. Fred A. Smith, of Turner Hill, Ipswich. (Ap-
plause).

OBSERVATIONS ON APPLE VARIETIES

Mr. Fred A. Smith, Ipswich, Mass.

Ladies and Gentlemen and Members of the Massachus-
etts Fruit Growers' Association: If you examine your pro-
grams you will note that we are assembled in our eighteenth
annual session of this Association. If anyone had come be-
fore you seventeen years ago and said anything which in
any way could have been considered as undermining all your
traditions as to the. estimation of the Baldwin apple, I am
sure that he would have been called a heretic and would
have exposed himself to severe criticism. It is far from my
intention to do anything of that sort, but we must pause a
moment and notice some of the weaknesses which the Bald-
win apple appears to show. We fully recognize what a won-
derful variety the Baldwin apple has been and is. Probably,
with one exception, the Baldwin range, in this country, it is
the largest. Just recall for a moment that this is one of the
apples of Nova Scotia, that it is the commercial apple for the
southern portions of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont ;
it is certainly the standard apple today of southern New
England ; it is the great commercial apple of New York
State. It is a successful apple in Pennsylvania over a eon-

94

siderable portion of the state ; it is commercially grown in
the mountains of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia; it
is also commercial in Northern Ohio and Indiana ; it is com-
mercial in Michigan, and it is grown commercially clear to
the Pacific Coast; along the border they all know it and it
is highly regarded in the southern Canadian Provinces. I
half suspect that the man who has been reputed to have said
that if he wanted to plant a part of his orchard to do the
best he would plant 99 Baldwin apple trees in of 100, I half
suspect that that man is dead. If he is not, I am sure that
the present wave of optimism has reached him, for I clearly
imagine that this same man is now engaged in planting
1,000 trees instead of a hundred, and that of these thousand
I am sure when you look over his planting you will find he is
using 400 Mcintosh instead of 999 Baldwins, as formerly
suggested.

I think we need to pause for a moment and speak of
this over planting. It is interesting to notice at the pres-
en time what an enthusiasm there is on in the matter of or-
charding and orchard planting, and this is manifested in
the strong meetings. I have had a chance to notice in the
institutes of a county society during the last two months
*that have been given over to the question of orchards, in a
purely agriculoural society. It seems hard to get up enthusi-
asm enough to hold a general meeting. Attention has been
manifested in the very helpful meetings of the Horticultural
Society at Boston, who have a record of the largest attend-
ance ever held. All of the neighboring state fruit meet-
ings have been largely attended this year, much more large-
ly than in several of the years past. The horticultural sec-
tion during the present Farmers "Week at the Agricultural
College at Amherst furnished hardly standing room when
the meetings were in progress. All the professors at the
Agricultural College are under a severe strain from meet-
ing anything like the requirements for work outside of the
class room, for their out of door lectures, for their personal
conferences and their classes. Do you know it is a fact that
Harvard and Yale and the big classical colleges are turning
out more men today who have orchard ambitions than are
.the Agricultural colleges? I want to make a statement
that while I am usually very optimistic, I may say I am grad-
ually getting to the point, of pessimism. I even find that
some college professors are getting into the same class, and
I want to make a homely comparison. I fear that within.

95

ten years many of us orchardists will find ourselves in the
position of the passenger on the vessel that was sinking,
and we will find that altogether too few life boats and life
rafts are available. That may be a gloomy view, but I
think we ought to seriously consider it.

Now, speaking about difficulties with the Baldwin, tlie
most serious thing the Baldwin has today is the Baldv/in
spot, a little brown spot under the skin, and our scientists
all tell us it is nothing they can help and that there is noth-
ing they can recommend to help us out in that respect.
Isn't it entirely reasonable that we might expect to see
some decadence in a variety even so long standard as the
Baldwin? It is within the memory of all of us that we
have seen the same thing come about with certain varieties
of vegetables ; not particularly that they have been super-
ceded by better varieties, but that some serious disease, or
something of that kind has put the variety into the back-
ground. We very well realize that this is a fact with many
of the varieties of small fruits. We feel and we very well
understand that very many varieties of strawberries have
passed into oblivion on account of some constitutional trou-
ble. Undoubtedly there is a way to remedy this, and how
shall we do it ? By paying sharp attention to special varie-
ties that offer characteristics in which we can see something
more promising than we do in the Baldwin, some desirable
features of flavor, texture, or keeping quality, or some oth-
er desirable quality, and you may be interested to learn that
I know of the existence of some very special plantations in
Massachusetts ; I can tell you of a two-acre plantation of
Tolman Sweets, and they are planted by shrewd, keen,
smart planters. They know what they are talking about.
I can also tell you of the existence of a young orchard con-
taining several hundred Washington Royal. I know also
that the number of inquiries now received concerning the
Winter Banana and things of that kind are amazing. It
may be that you will be interested somewhat in our varie-
ties planted at Turner Hill, and I am going to tell you, in the
first place, that we are not following out the first instruc-
tions we received from our Horticultural instructors and
professors. Commercially, we are attempting to grow a very
wide variety, much wider than you would ordinarily recom-
mend, but we feel that we see some reason in this. If your
town tradesman is an energetic person he will aim to turn
his stock in his store over several times during the year; if

96

your nearest miller is an energetic person he will attempt to
operate his mill for as many months during the year as pos-
sible, believing that in the idleness of his machinery and e-
quipment, in the loss of his labor he will be seriously handi-
capped. The lesson is valuable, comes home to us, and I be-
lieve it is more or less true on the farm. I believe that the
farmer, the fruit farmer, is at a great disadvantage when
his crop is practically concentrated upon a few varieties and
into a short market season. As he can only realize on his
crop during the one time in the year, that is a very short
time, and you peach growers certainly have my sympathy,
when I think that you have to take a vacation until next
year before you realize on that, your major crop.

Do not think for a moment that we have abandoned
planting Baldwins, for such is not the case. Our four lead-
ing varieties at the present time are Baldwins, Mcintosh
Red, Wealthy and AVagener. Yet, if we carry out our pres-
ent intentions we shall have, practically, Baldwin orchards,
unless we have reasons in the meantime to revise our plan.

It is not my intention usually to confine myself to read-
ing from my notes, but in this case, when we are discussing
varieties, I feel the necessity of doing so, for there are some
descriptions which I feel very sure I could not carry out un-
less I had the benefit of notes, from which I will now read,
and consider a few varieties in their order of maturity.

Applause.

OBSERVATIONS ON APPLE VARIETIES

YELLOW TRANSPARENT

After your winter supply of Baldwin Apples is gone,
say April 1st, it is very pleasant to think that in a little
over 100 days or about July 18th to 20th you will be able to
pick the first apples of the new crop, from your trees f-f this
variety. Yellow Transparent is of Russian origin; intro-
duced by the United States Department of Agriculture a-
bout 1870, and was early and strongly advocated by Dr.
Hoskins of Vermont. This is about the first variety I re-
member in horticultural reading. It has one of the widest
ranges of any variety being satisfactorily grown from North

97

Oeorgia to the Canadian testing station south of Hudson's
Bay. Tree is an upright grower when young, capable of
close planting, and an admirable tiller. The tree trunks and
limbs have a peculiarly strong yellow color. It makes a
strong spur and bud system, and sometimes fruit buds form
terminally on strong annual growths, thus checking its early
tendency to wood growth. The fruit is of a waxy yellow
-appearance, hence the name, and sometimes carries a beau-
tiful blush on the exposed cheek. It is a fine culinary fruit,
and also would class it as a near dessert variety. It has a
good clear acid flavor, with conscientious thinning, this vari-
ety will be nearly an annual bearer. Succeeds well on an
early sandy soil. Clings well, would always include this va-
riety in the home orchard, and under certain circumstances
would advise its commercial planting. I think Mr. Frost
would endorse this view. The fruit ripens unevenly, and
would require successive harvesting. The fruit is tender
and shows bruises, even tinger marks, and should be literal-
ly "Handled with Gloves." As before indicated we made
the first picking of this variety July 17, 1911.

RED ASTRACHAN

This is another apple of Russian origin, hence we may
expect extreme hardiness and a wide range of cultivation,
and in this respect we are not to be disappointed.

The tree is a strong grower; inclined to be too thick
headed and requires considerable pruning to open up the
tree properly. This variety is a biennial or alternating year
bearer to an exasperating degree. All are familiar with its
fine red striped appearance over a yellow ground, and the
heavy bluish bloom is a most attractive feature. This apple
ripens unevenly, goes by rather rapidly, and sometimes
drops rather badly.

On older trees it will pay well for thinning. In spite of
these few short comings it has commercial specifications,
and should of course be included in the home orchard.

It is a cooking apple, and also perhaps a dessert apple,
although strongly acid. This variety bears heavily on term-
inal growths, and on long spurs.

The first picking of Red Astrachan in 1911 was July
27th. ^

If the women of the household have not tested this va-
riety for its jelly making possibilities both as regards color
and flavor a pleasant surprise is in store for them.

98

WILLIAMS' FAVORITE OR WILLIMS' EARLr RED

It does not seem proper to pass without calling favor-
able attention to this wonderful variety. I consider it won-
derful when we can grow so large and so handsome an ap-
ple at such an early date. It is, when well grown, a very
beautiful, long, large, dark red apple of the first dessert
type. A prime fruit-stand apple, and for table decoratij.'i
unsurpassed, but is not a cooking fruit.

Williams' Favorite is very popular in Boston, in fact
quite at home, for it originated within its present corporate
limits. If this is not the market-gardener's apple, it is the
apple for the market-gardener's soil, for it revels in a rich
mellow humus filled soil.

This apple seldom sets heavy enough to require thin-
ning.

OLDENBURG OR DUCHESS OF OLDENBURG

One of the best of the Russian apples and a successful
apple East or West,

Forms a broad, very open head, causing little worry a-
bout pruning. An early and prolific bearer, and a variety
which will require heavy thinning, although the tree will
make a wonderful effort to mature an excessive set of fruit.
Fruit somewhat flattened and has a beautiful bright red
stripe on a yellow ground. Flesh, crisp and very acid, hence
valuable for cooking but of doubtful quality to eat from the
hand.

This is a commercial apple and a valuable filler variety.
Its keeping quality is good for the season (late August) and
far superior to Red Astrachan in this respect. Practice suc-
cession picking for best results. The first picking of this
variety in 1911 was August 9th.

MAIDEN BLUSH
It seems improper to pass this valuable culinary variety
by without mention. Tree a strong robust but homely grow-
er while young. Comes rather early into bearing. Fruit
very beautiful fine waxy yellow skin with a full crimson
cheek often extending over the full lower or Calyx half.
Flesh is very white and very fine quality. This variety fur-
nishes the choicest evaporating stock in Western New York.

GRAVENSTEIN

This old and valuable variety is very popular in all New

99

England markets. This is the apple which would have prov-
en the strongest rival, in our markets had the fence been
broken down between United States and Canada. The
main crop of Gravenstein comes in from Nova Scotia usual-
ly rather after the local crop.

This apple is too well known by every one to require
description. The merits are fine quality, a superior cooking
apple, and valuable eating sort, beautiful in appearance and
has a long season of ripening for a fall variety.

Faults are ; tree late in coming into bearing, a rather bi-
ennial bearer a shy bearer and fruit inclined to drop badly,
and there are also many under colored strains on the mar-
\et. It is an extremely old variety being mentioned as ear-
ly as 1750. We picked our first market fruit August 24th,
the past season.

WEALTHY

This is a variety which has been heavily planted espec-
ially in Northern New England, and it is well, as the variety
is very hardy.

Originated with Peter Gideon in Excelsior, Minn., and
.is very valuable in the Northwest and Canada. It is a beau-
tiful apple and useful either for dessert or culinary purpos-
es. The season is long, from September to early Winter.
This variety needs heavy thinning and also, ripening unev-
enly, will need succession picking. The tree is open and
spreading and is a thrifty grower while young, but soon in-
•clines to become a slow grower. It is an admirable filler.

First fruit picked September 6th, in 1911.

ALEXANDER AND WOLF RIVER
These apples, together with Constantine, Bismarck, and
others, belong to the Aport Group. They are all character-
ized as being rather large and showy, but of from poor to
very poor in quality.

The two under consideration are being planted commer-
cially and have value in culinary ways. Alexander has
probably rather the better quality of the two, and is being
planted more than Wolf River in some sections, notably
Western New York, while perhaps this is reversed in Ver-
mont.

These are show or decorative apples. The trees are ra-
ther ideal in shape and seem to be extremely hardy.

100

SAVEET APPLES

A wonderful change has come about in this class of ap-
ples. Primarily, as we are told in old horticultural books^
they were planted to furnish feed for the hogs (and too
many of us today have had to send odd sweet varieties along^
the same line). They were also useful, to a certain extent,
in well made ciders and vinegars for their high sugar con-
tent made them very useful from a scientific standpoint ; for
sugars pass to alcohol and alcohol to acetic acid. Then
baked sweet apples (and cream) were high in favor and
very staple in the farmhouse menu and certainly formed on-i
of the connecting links to the old farmhome in the mind of
the city man or woman.

Now, for baking, the more acid apples have the (call)
leading place. Next we find the sweet apples acting as a
buffer to keep the boys and city boarder away from the
more valuable or saleable sorts.

Seriously, however, two varieties look commereially
good at present, if well grown. Sweet Bough for summer
use, and Tolman Sweet for a long winter demand. Good
prices are being received for these varieties today.

McINTOSH

This is the one apple which is proving a close rival to
Baldwin in the plantings of today.

This is the apple for the special grower, and I believe
it is a mistake to have such quantities set out as is now be-
ing done.

It is impossible for me to imagine a variety which car-
ries more of the requisites of a fine dessert apple than does
Mcintosh. Color, flavor, size, texture of flesh, aroma, and
shape are all good. It is a strong growing tree after a few
years and comes into bearing young and is the one apple to
consider an annual bearer when the very best methods of
care and culture are practiced.

Its great failing is its susceptibility to fungous troubles.
When orchards have been planted on the filler system rhis
is the variety which is destined to upset many well laid
plans.

We marketed the first apples of this variety September
25, and have with us (March 14) a plate kept in ordinary-
storage which is far from being too bad.

101

E. I. GREENING

With a few more seasons ' experience like thai: just past,
this variety will be blacklisted I fear, and yet this has been
and is a valuable variety. Boston is not a good market for
Greening, but New York is, and so if a growoc is \ lantJng
this variety he should plant enough to be ro[>: to ^nake a
reasonable shipment as 100 barrels, or a carload lot. Green-
ing is prized abroad. The good points of Greening are ; good
sized fruit, moderate crops annually nafurally low beaded
trees (this characteristic existing almost to a fc'Uit). The
faults probably stand clear in the m^uls of ail. Early ma-
turity and even premature dropi^ing In a dry season, also a
tendency to become too yellow. Tho most serious fault has
been its proneness to scald both in ordinary and commercial
cold storage. We have undoubtedly been too tardy in har-
vesting this variety. The Greeniuo: sliouid be planted en
lands of the heavier more moist typei.

WAGENEE

This variety has first come to general attention as a fill-
er variety for which it is most adrnifably adapted. It is
not a new variety by any means as it was known before rho
year 1800. and was winning prizes in 1S5(), and yet as with
Mcintosh it seems strange that so good a variety could have
remained in general obscurity so long.

This apple is flat yellow overspread with rod. Season
from King of Tompkins time to January and even February
from storage. It ranges from good foi* CMlinary use to ex-
cellent for dessert use, and is in many respects a valuable
ter sort. Our Massachusetts College of Agriculture is do-
ing much to popularize this variety.

Tree is a weak grower when old and you must expect
to practice heavy feeding, cultivation and thinning to make
it a good success.

Pres. You have heard this admirable paper, and Mr.
Smith, I know, will be ready to answer any questions.

Mr. Eace. I would like to ask whether you get good
results jn planting the Tolman Sweets 1

Mr. Smith. I am not a grower of Tolman Sweets, but
I know a neighbor of mine in Newburyport, who does get a
nice price for them in Boston. There is a decided call for
sweet apples in good condition.

Mr, Eace. I was in Boston recently and I had a little

102

■experience that I want to give to you. I had 250 barrels in
my cellar I wanted to market them, so I went to Mr. Patch
to see what the situation was. Mr. Pa+ch was in New York,
attending a conference of the United States Commission
men, and it was fortunate for me that he was, because the
man of the house would be careful about what he said, but
his foreman was ready to talk. I don't know his name, but
he was a very genial fellow, and told me just what I think
was the truth. He had four barrels of apples. One was a
barrel of Greenings that had scalded badly as they did this
year. All the apples, in my opinion, were over-ripe when
they were picked. That is a bad fault. The others were
Bellflower, Baldwins and Tolman Sweets. They all looked
nice. I said, ' * Now, what can you do with apples if shipped
in here?" He sized me up and said, "If you ha,ve any good
Baldwins we can handle them." All he wanted was Bald-
wins. I said, "How about this barrel of Tolman Sweets?"
I had a barrel of them so I asked about them. — He said, "I
have been trying to give that away, I can't get anybody to
take it," and they were nice, too. So I asked "How about
the Bellflower?" And he said, "No light colored apple sells
well when there are high colored apples around." The sum
of it was that if you have any good Baldwins you have got
a demand for them. I went home expecting to patronize
those people, when I got a circular from Cleveland, Ohio,
which sounded pretty good to me, and I got in correspond-
ence with these people out there. I wrote and asked them
what varieties of apple they could handle and they said, "If
you have any good Baldwins we can handle them. We are
all cleaned up on our market for New England Baldwins.
They are good sellers out here and we like to handle them
for you; but don't under any consideration ship us any Ben
Davis, because we can't sell them in Ohio. The consequence
was that I shipped my apples to Ohio and I got $3.50 a bar-
Tel. That was in the first part of February.

The speaker referred to a man that recommended 99
Baldwins out of a hundred. I was present at the Pomologi-
cal meeting in Connecticut when Mr. Piatt, the Ex-President
of the Society, made that statement. Mr. Barnes of Barnes
Brothers got up and asked Mr. Piatt if he was going to set
100 apples what varieties he would set. Mr. Piatt is a con-
servative man and one you can rely on, and he got up and
he said, "I don't like to answer that," and Mr. Barnes said,
■"You had better. We want to know." He said, "Gentle-

103

men, I would set 99 Baldwins." And he sat doA\Ti. Of
course, we all had a good laugh. Mr. Barnes wasn't satis-
fied and he wanted to know about that other tree, that 100th
tree?" And Mr. Piatt said "I have been thinking since I
sat down, and I guess that would be a Baldwin." (Laugh-
ter and applause).

Mr. Smith. I don't take too much exception to what
Mr. Eace has said, or a great deal of it ; at the same time, to
bear out my statement I shall have to show some facts and
figures on the case, and I shall have to tell you that I can
give you specific information concerning the statement
about Tolman Sweets, and yet you must realize that is a
special variety with a special demand, and also that your
Baldwin is the apple for carload lots, for thousand barrel
lots. In this case this man told me of one individual tree
which last year picked 12 barrels and his later shipments
upon the market were $6.00 a barrel; and this is the same
man who had enough results of this sort so that he is en-
couraged to plant out two acres of that variety, and still he
ds a good Bakhvin and a good Russet grower. That is a
specific case and these specific cases ought not mislead us.
The Baldwin is the apple and will be as long as apples con-
cern any of us in this audience.

Mr. Race. How about the Baldwin Spot?

Mr. Smith. I think Professor Maynard will tell more
about that. I think it existed at the time I was a student
in college, 20 years ago.

Pres. Some seasons I think it is very mild, and other
seasons it is not, in certain localities.

Mr. Smith. We could get into a long discussion and
talk Baldwin Spots for an hour and waste a lot of time. It
is not necessarily confined to old trees or immatured trees,
because this year we have Baldwins bearing their initial
crop and have had just as bad cases, both on the trees and
after they came into storage. It is a very annoying and
very discouraging thing to think that we had petted them
for six years and they developed a good case of Baldwin
Spot at the start. It is mighty discouraging. It is a ques-
tion arising constantly in the meetings, everybody asking"
about the Baldwin Spot, and yet I suspect that if next year
is a cold, damp season it will drop out of sight altogether.

Pres. I would like to hear from Mr. John W. Clark.
He says he doesn't have Baldwin Spot.

104

Mr. Clark. In regard to the Baldwin Spot, I think I
know as much as the rest of you know, not much of any-
thing, about it. I never was troubled with it to amount to
anything.

Pres. Does the exposure of the orchard have anything
to do with it?

Mr. Clark. As far as I have noticed, I have seen it on
low ground, where it is more moist than it is higher up, and
also where there were more or less apples that have drop-
ped and lay on the ground and collected tilth. We seem
to find it more in such places as that than on good, high cul-
tivated soil.

A Member, On soil that was pastured or fed with
sheep ?

Mr. Clark. I don't think I have, so I think that cul-
tivation will help it. In regard to these varieties that our
friend Smith has talked about, I am not much of a variety
man. Now, of course it depends on where you can run in
any day, some of these soft varieties are all right, but ii
you are where you have to barrel and ship, in hot weather,
they don't stand up, and you have to wait until the weath-
er is cold and if it happened to get into the market on a
-day that is hot and muggy, of course the price drops and
you don't get anything for them. So it isn't safe to set
many of the soft varieties. In regard to what varieties to
«et, I won't call any names, but the head salesman of one
of the largest apple firms in the state told me that there
isn't an apple in the world for an all around apple that is
as good as the Baldwin ; and he probably handles as many
apples as any man in the state of Massachusetts. But of
course we are not going to set all Baldwins, but set accord-
ing to what you can sell in your local market or where you
do dispose of them. I can't tell you what to set, but as a
rule bank on the Baldwin pretty heavily, and let the other
■varieties go,

Pres. Mr. Henry of Connecticut has some specimen
fruit that he would like to show the audience.

Mr. Henry. I think we had better put Mr. Smith's
apples in the background for a few minutes. (Removing
apples from table). The rest of the program is only going
to take just a minute, but whenever I go away from home t
like to take a few apples with me so as to have, them to eat,

105

but I left very hurriedly yesterday morning and I didn't
have any time ; so yesterday afternoon I went down into the
street here and found some very nice looking apples in the
window of one of the stores, and I went into the
store and I said to the clerk, "I want some
apples and he said, ''These are some western apples," and
I said, "I want some to eat, not to look at," and he said,
"Our New England apples are back there." I thought it
was rather queer to have the New England apples in the
back of the store, but I saw a large sign up there, "Choice
Massachusetts Baldwins." I thought that there I would
find some apples to eat, and I have brought a few of them
along with me. You know that apples haven't sold very
well this year and there has been a good deal of complaint.
(Exhibits a dozen very poor cider apples). These are just
as I got them, "Choice Massachusetts Baldwins," at one of
your best stores in town. (Laughter). That is no joke,
that is the straight truth. (Great applause and laughter).

A Member. How much did you pay?

Mr. Henry. They were marked five cents a quart, but
that is the kind of fruit that a woman buying it is so dis-
gusted with it that she isn't going to buy any more.

A Member. How is it with a man?

Mr. Henry. His language isn't fit to print, very likely.
But really, when we complain of the lack of sale of fruit
and then you can go into your best stores in town — it is
just the same where I am — and these are what they call
"choice Baldwins," it is no wonder that people in the cit-
ies don't buy more fruit. I guess we had better cover these
up.

A Member. Are they Baldwins?

Mr. Henry. Yes, all Baldwins, they grew on a Bald-
win tree, I suppose. But, seriously, we have got to grow a
better apple at a reasonable price, so that folks can eat
them. We can't get six or seven dollars a barrel. We
have got to grow cheap apples, but we have got to grow
something decent.

Mr. Race. I heard Mr. Henry say yesterday he didn't
trim his trees very much.

Mr. Brown of Conn. That is one of the greatest trou-
bles we have this year in the market business. With ^is
in Connecticut, we have got the village of Putnam. We see

106

several stores that call themselves first class grocery stores,
that handle now and then a box of western apples, but
otherwise than that there isn't a store I know of that has
bought a decent apple this winter. They will pay $1.50 —
the best grocery stores paid $2.00 a barrel — they will ask
forty cents a peck for those things, which is what they
ought to charge for the very best they could buy in New
England, and they charge that price for those little things
consequently, the man working for $2.00 a day, if he buys
a few quarts, can't afford to pay the price for the best ap-
ples.

For the number two apple that is just what it is rep-
resented to be there is a legitimate market. Some of them the
working people can use, but when the grocery stores pay a
dollar and a half or seventy-five cents a barrel and ask five
cents a quart for a core and skin it is an imposition and
they don't sell. There is lots of need of working out a co-op-
erative system; of distribution for the apple.

A Member. Here is another kind of trouble that we
didn't mention today, and I would like to hear Mr. Smith
say how he treats the Railroad worm. I would like to know
what he does with it on his sweet apples.

Mr. Smith. In answer to the gentleman, I will say that
we have not got it seriously. We had it seriously a few
years ago and put ourselves to great expense to destroy all
the trouble, and you people who raise Hubbardstons and all
the sweet varieties, I can tell you there is no control except
to destroy the fruit. This is speaking about the railroad
worm or the apple maggot. All varieties are subject to this,
but it is more prevalent on the yellow and sweet sorts.
Your Baldwins may be infested with it just the same, but
not nearly as likely to and it doesn't develop until the fruit
goes into storage.

A Member. It is on the Baldwin?
Mr. Smith. Yes, but not so prominently.
Mr. Morse. I would like to ask, in regard to growing
Baldwins, if it is necessary to inter-breed other varieties
with them in order to get the best results ?

Mr. Smith. I can't answer that. I can simply give you
these suggestions — Western New York has been putting in
the heaviest plantings of Baldwins and today those are in-
terplanted most carefully. Of course, in ordinary years and

107

■under ordinary conditions you will get plenty of interpol-
ienation and probably get plenty of it on the Baldwins, if
your orchard is solidly planted with Baldwins only. At
the same time, I have a feeling that a man is neglecting one
of his chances unless he makes some effort to interplant
other varieties blooming at the same time. I have that
feeling and I notice those commercial men, who have
thought deeply over it, feel the same thing; so I am satisfied
that on general principles it is the proper thing to do.
Certain varieties have a very short blooming season, pos-
sibly five or six days, and during that time you may have
some wet times.

That makes me come to the subject of the discussion
that was held yesterday, as to the necessity of having or
not having bees. During these short blooming seasons
you may have times of sunshine and then fog and then ab-
sence of mist and I don't feel satisfied that you are going
to get the best results unless you have a host of these little
fellows working for you; and if you can artificially intro-
duce a lot of bees that is very nice. If you could control or
produce conditions it would be very well, but if we can
let's do so. Many forms of insect do the same work, many
of the lesser bees, and beetles and bugs and the wind.

Mr. Race. Do the bees and the butterflies and those
things work in unseasonable weather when the blossoms
are wet.

Mr. Smith. No, they do not. On the other hand, I be-
lieve this: I would take chances and feel more safe if T
had an abundance of bees and had them distributed
through various orchards, and I would like it much better.
Of course, where the sunshine comes through a haze and it
is overcast and cold, the bees are chilled and driven back,
but I believe the chances are better to have them at it. Bees
get out very quickly; as soon as the sun shines on them
they are out and active.

A Member. Are you troubled with the black smut on
your Northern Spies?

Mr. Smith. If you mean that fungus that comes on in
the fall, that seems to be less than skin deep, so fine a film
that you can by hard rubbing rub it off, I will say yes, we
are. I would like to explain to you what you may not
know, that we are located within four miles of the seashore
and during the fall we get day after day of damp morn-

108

ings and early fog at night and we are seriously troubled.
It will be overcome by a very weak Bordeaux. The
strength for that purpose is one pound copper-sulphate,
four pounds lime and 50 gallons of water. We have had
very good success controling it with a mere dash of copper-
sulphate alone.

A Member. I had some Northern Spies shown me and
they were very badly covered with it,

Mr. Smith. It is a very serious thing for us who are
trying to grow fruit in a very damp location.

President Maynard. It is quite important we should
begin the next subject which is under the auspices of the
Worcester County Horticultural Society.

President Breed. It is certainly a great pleasure
to our Society to see that we can be help-
ful in the work of the Fruit Growers' Association and that
we can contribute, even in a small measure, to your pleasure
and happiness; and therefore we welcome you, and it is
certainly an inspiration to any speaker to look into the
faces of such an enthusiastic and interested audience, men
who have come here for a purpose and from a desire to im-
prove along our horticultural lines; and it certainly should
be a help to every enthusiast to feel that he has so many
who are interested in the same subject and who are work-
ing along lines for better fruit and better managemnt.

We have striven today to procure a speaker whom we
thought would be of special interest to you, and I have
every reason to believe that he will bring a message to
you at this time that will be helpful. I take great pleas-
ure in introducing Professor Pickett of Durham, New
Hampshire, who will now address you. (Applause).

A stereopticon lecture was given by Professor B. S.
Pickett on Fruit Bud Formation.

A Member. Is there any difference as to the use of
cow manure and horse manure?

Professor Pickett. I think that horse manure Would be
more desirable on heavy soil, and cow manure on the light-
er soils. In all cases stable manure, especially if the appli-
cation of it is continued, is apt to lead to poor colored fruit,
but to fruit of large size.

109

A Member. What about the excess of phosphoric
acid?

Professor Pickett. It gives the poorest results. An ex-
cess of potash gives slightly better than the excess of nitro-
gen, but not much; and I might say we got scarcely any
better colored fruit where we applied excess potash than
we did where other fertilizers were applied.

The President. A few moments more for questions.
Any further questions?

A member. I would ask the Professor if he would
please repeat what fertilizer he used with best results?

Professor Pickett. Well, I said I hated to recommend
one as giving best results. I think I can recommend a bet-
ter one. This one that gave us the best results consisted of
150 pounds nitrate of soda, 400 pounds of acid phosphate
and 200 pounds of sulphate of potash to the acre. We
worked these out, of course, for our purposes, at so much
per tree and actually worked it out in the quantities of
each element of plant food rather than in the totals. This
is for another purpose, but I think I could recommend it
better than we are using on that orchard. Of course, those
are to show actual effects of each particular element.

A Member. In regard to plowing, can you get very
near the tree with a plow?

Professor Pickett. We can on this particular orchard.
Those pictures I showed of the trees and the grass and sod
were taken in that orchard, they were high up so that there
was no difficulty in getting right up to them.

A Member. I would like to ask if those apples that
were grown on cultivated land were any better color than
those on grass or sod?

Professor Pickett. Just such color as these are; just
exactly the color. They didn't average up as big as those
are, though.

A Member. I would like to ask if the gentleman can
give any scientific reason why fruits grown on cultivated
land will drop much earlier than on sodded land.

Professor Pickett. Yes I can give you quite a number
of reasons why that is so. They don.t apply in
each case. On cultivated soil along about the middle of
the summer after you get showers or something of that
kind there in a heavy growth of small fibrous roots near the

110

surface. You cultivate after that and cut off a row of thosfr
roots for they are nearly always up by the top. Another
possibility in a summer like the last is that in those cultiv-
ated orchards where fruit grew rapidly, in the very hot
weather, they came to maturity a good deal earlier in the
cultivated land than on the sodded. That is borne out by
the way in which the apples keep this year. Those from
th sodded trees, which matured later, kept better than
those on the cultivated land, which matured too soon, and
I am sure there are lots of people in this audience that had
that experience and will recognize that condition. There
are two sets of conditions, with two sets of reasons. (Ap-
plause).

President. Owing to the limited time we will make a
change in the program by having the address of Mr. Castner
the first thing after dinner ; and we will hear a short talk
from Mr. Wheeler and a paper by Mrs. Shattuck. Mrs.
Shattuck is to speak first, Mrs. B. B. Shattuck of West Ac-
ton.

A BEGINNER'S EXPERIENCE IN SELLING APPLES
Mrs. Bertha E. Shattuck

There is always a reason, or group of circumstances
why a person enters upon a certain line of work, or makea
a radical change from a previous one. A city bred person,
who moves to a farm is often regarded as a curiosity by the
average city dweller. Why should one want to go? There
is no amusement, no excitement, few social advantages, and
the winters — "Oh! how can anyone stand a winter in the
country," they say.

An inherent love for the country ; a desire for the peace
and quiet of the simple outdoor life ; a firm belief that chil-
dren could be brought up to be more natural and unaffected
on a farm, where there is a chance for quiet thought, a
chance for the mind and soul to develop ; and also a belief
that a given amount of money would enable one to live on a
higher standard in the country; all these reasons made me
decide to leave the city. Not for one moment have I regret-
ted the change, nor have I longed for "th flesh pots of
Egypt."

In looking for a farm, I found that my knowledge of
values was rather limited. I wanted to rent for a year with

Ill

the privilege of buying, but the Real Estate Agents told me
it Avould be practically impossible to find such a place. How-
ever, perseverance won, and I finally found my farm.

My choice was providential, for upon that old, almost
abandoned place is an orchard of one hundred and fifty
bearing trees, with about fifty more that have not come to
maturity. No care had been taken of the trees in many
years, and as I was a tenant and unacquainted with the
place I did nothing for their good. The majority of my
trees are Baldwin with the fortunate habit of about half of
them bearing heavily each year. A neighbor bought the ap-
ples, he picking them all and taking only the firsts. The
rest I sold for cider, not knowing better than to sell them
all that way. Now I know how much better than to sell
them all that way. Now I know how much better I can do
by working harder and helping pick, sort, pack and sell the
apples myself. That first year I had no stock, and the sale
of standing grass and apples paid half the annual rent.

The next June it became possible for me to buy the
place, so I began improvements. I hired the oldest Baldwin
orchard ploAved ; the younger one pruned. I engaged a
neighbor to spray the trees, but he did not get around in
time as he had too much to do at home. The plowing and
pruning did a great deal of good, my apples being of better
quality than the previous year. My early apples were sent
in bushel boxes to a commission house in Boston ; the winter
apples were sold to a store-keeper who took all I had, Bald-
wins and Ben Davis, packed firsts and seconds in barrels.
The remainder went as cider apples. My receipts the sec-
ond year were 75 per cent, greater than the first. Besides
the apples, I raised a good crop of potatoes in the orchard
that was plowed, enough to pay the cost of the extra labor
hired.

This past year found me more anxious than ever to
care for my fruit trees. I had proven to my own satisfae-
tio that with care the trees would repay me for all I could
give them. All the trees were pruned, the orchard that was
not plowed the previous year was cultivated and buckwheat
sown as a cover crop. I made the mistake of having the
buckwheat plowed in last fall instead of leaving it until
Spring, but as it is almost impossible to hire a plowman
just when one wants to have him it may have been for the
best.

112

The trees responded bountifully to the care given them.
Spraying kept the apples free from fungus growth and
there were comparatively few wormy ones. The size and
color of the apples was much better than the previous years.
My sales were 200 per cent, greater than the first year ; this
I account for in several ways ; the fruit was of a higher
grade, they were sorted and graded more carefully, and I
understood selling them to better advantage. All the early
apples were sold as before in the square bushel boxes. In.
October I read about the Apple Show and how Mr. Castner
was engaged to demonstrate Western methods of packing;
that decided me to visit the show to see how the fruit should
be packed. I did not happen in at the right time to see a
demonstration but carefully noted the different packs in the
Western style boxes. The next week I ordered the desired
boxes, secured papers and proceeded to polish, wrap and
pack the Ben Davis apples for foreign shipment. The reas-
on I shipped the Ben Davis was, that the man who bought
my winter apples the previous year wanted my Baldwins
but declined any more Den Davis. Some of my neighbors
had done well with foreign shipments and why shouldn't I?
So for several days I worked industriously to get the apples,
that looked so beautiful but tasted so poorly, ready for
shipment. At last they went and I, tired, but proud of my
work, could hardly wait for the weeks to pass before my
cheek came back. When it came my disappointment was
great for I had only received half as much as I expected. I
shall ship no more apples as a speculation to England, as I
should have realized much more at private sale at home.

Two-thirds of my Baldwins I sold at a good price un-
sorted, just as they were picked and placed in barrels. The
rest were carefully sorted in four grades, the firsts were sold
at private sale, all seconds of both Baldwins and Ben Davis
were sent in bushel boxes to a commission agent. The next
grade were sold to a caning Factory and the remainder for
cider apples. This coming year I shall endeavor to sell all
apples direct to eliminate the commission agent so as to get
all the profit for myself. All the profit is none too much.
Anyone who thinks that growing apples is a good scheme
for ''getting ruch quick" or a way to make money easily
had better not undertake it. There is good money in it but
only in payment for hard work; in spraying, pruning, cul-
tivating the trees, picking, packing attractive, put your
name or trade mark on the wrappers and boxes as a guaran-

113

tee of quality, and sell direct to consumer or store-keeper,
then you will make a good profit.

In closing I wish to say a v/ord of the great advantges
one can receive in attending the !\Iassachusetts Agri^^Lural
College. Last month it was my privilege to be a member
of the first class to take a short course in apple packing.
The lectures by professors and apple growers were most
instructive ; giving as they did expert advice on everything
concerning apples, from the selection of an orchard site,
the choosing of varieties, cultivation, cover and associated
crops, pruning and spraying, to packing, picking, and sell-
ing apples, and it was an inspiration for us to put in practice
the good advice given. Each student could learn just the
best method for his individual case. I wish that every mem-
ber of the jMassachusetts Fruit Grov^^ers Association would
take advantage of a short course, or even a correspondence
course at the Massachusetts Agricultural College at Amherst.

Applause.

The President. The next speaker is ]\Ir. Wilfrid Whee-
ler of Concord.

TEN MINUTE TALK ON SMALL FRUITS
Wilfrid Wheeler

Mr. Chairman and Friends : The subject assigned to
me for a ten minute talk is such that it is almost impossible
to go into details, so I am just going to run over some of
the main things necessary in growing these small fruits.
Some small fruits are very well adapted to cultivation in
orchards, and return a profit to the grower while the large
trees are coming into bearing, but if you are going into the
business by itself as a small fruit proposition, the first thng
to consider is to get as near a good market as possible. In
that connection I want to ask this one question : Are we
planting berries enough and doing as much as we can to
supply the home market? I think we are not supplying the
local market enough with the small fruits. They should be
planted and grown near the small cities and towns and car-
ried right in where you can sell them directly to the con-
summer. I don't think we have looked that up nearly enough
We are apt to take them to Boston and Boston sends them
back to the local markets, the same products, that were
grown in that vicinity.

There are a number of splendid varieties that don't

114

lend themselves to shipping, and if we can get them direct-
ly to the consumer in a fresh, nice state, the consumption of
them will be ten times as great as at the present time. So,
if you are going into the business be sure to get near a
good market and look up all the markets you can, because
I ihink that is one of the most important things you have
got to consider.

In regard to soil and preparation, whatever soil you
have, just use one that will grow good corn or potatoes,
thai has an abundant supply of moisture. I would rather
use a soil that required draining rather than one that re-
quired irrigating, and then you will have plenty of moisture
a' the ime you need it most which is the fruiting season.
You can grow any kind of small fruit on dry soil, but you
cer-ainly need a good deal of wa^er at the time of planting
and it is better to have a soil that needs draining rather
than one that is dry. Then the preparation should be very
thorough; you should be as thorough and careful for small
frui's as you would be with any other crop. The root system
is very delicate and small entirely different from apples and
irees and the root is near the surface; therefore the soil
preparaion should be very thorough. I should recommend
plowing and getting well prepared for the crop at least the
previous ypar being sure to get rid of all the grass and
w*^'^d«!, ^^hich it is very hard to do afier they are put into
>-• .;rro';nd;

("i'^ance from plant to plant depends a good deal

• I of cultivation you are going to give. In straw-

■ ■• ma' ted system set 4 by 2 ft. or hills 14 to 18

according to the variety. With currants and

about 4 by 6 ft. or 6 by 6 ft. according to the

''^; and for blackberries and raspberries, 6 by 6

^ f\, if you are going to keep the direct row.

: 'stion of variety comes up again. If you are go-

^ '^' at a near point you want the very best, but if

hip away some of the firmer and harder varie-

M' planied but you can't have quality and still

r Tmit stand up in a long distance shipment.

'; of the soil for small fruits should be as thorough

.;:; any vegetable crop. Unlike the apple tree

^^jpy be grown in sod. For the raspberries and

currants and gooseberries there can be a par-

p pu^ on during the late summer, but for straw-

115

berries, never. Thorough fertilization and cultivation
should be practiced. Fertilization for small fruit should be
in the first place to get a fairly good wood and plant growth
of a fairly nitrogenous nature. Potash and phosphoric acid
should predominate. A good one for currants and goose-
berries should consist largely of phosphoric acid and pot-
ash, with a small amount of nitrogen in the form of manure.
I think that manure is the best thing to use on currants and
gooseberries, blackberries and raspberries. But an excess
of nitrogen in the form of nitrate of potash has a tendency
to soften the fruits and it is rather apt to make too much
wood growth, so that the fruit is poor in quality and color.

For varieties of strawberries, if you are near Boston or
south of Boston, I don't think there is a better variety to
grow than the Marshall. It will bring more money in
Boston or any good local market than any other I know. It
is only fit to grow near the coast, where you are not trou-
bled with late frost. If you are on a high enough elevation
to be rid of frost in May or April you can grow it success-
fully. But if you are a long way from the market I should
choose the Glen Mary or the Sample. The Glen Mary has
been probably more chosen in Eastern IMassachusetts, par-
ticularly near where I am situated, and there are more acres
of that grown than all the others put together. The Sample
is good for the local market and very good for the long
distance market.

I see on the list the question, "What are the six best
varieties of strawberries to plant to cover the season?" My
idea would be the Mashall for south of Boston and for west
or north I would grow the Barrymore for early, the Abing-
ton and Sample as mid-season, with the Glen Mary as late
mid-season, and the Minute Man and Stevens Late Cham-
pion to follow. The Commonwealth is of fairly good qual-
ity, but I don't consider it good enough to grow as a home
berry when we have other varieties that are much better.
The Everbearing have come into use and they are truly
everbearing. The Pan American, Suburban and Produc-
tive I think are best. They fruit in August, September and
October, and while they may not be at the present time a
commercial proposition still they should be planted more in
the home gardens.

For currants I consider the Fay, the Wilder and the
Perfection the very best at the present time. The Cherry

116

is very good, and while it is a big berry it doesn't sell in
the same class as the Fay or the Wilder. The Perfection
makes a very large bush ; it is not as dark red as either the
Fay or the Wilder, but still there is a good deal to recom-
mend it for the near future.

For gooseberries probably the only commercial variety
satisfactory to grow at the present time is the Downing,
I think we can develop a market to take them, particularly,
if we grow them larger, as they do abroad.

The raspberry and gooseberry, particularly the rasp-
berry, are grown somewhat in Massachusetts, but not near-
ly enough. We depend largely on New York and they ship
quite a distance, but it is not in as good condition as those
grown near the market. The Cuthbert and Herbert are the
most common varieties and I think the Cuthbert should be
the one preferred, having been raised longer and having es-
tablished a good reputation.

Considering the blackberry, I think the Snyder is the
best for market, but the Eldorado is also good.

It has been asked that some mention should be made
of grapes in this meeting, so I want to say that while I think
grapes are not a commercial proposition on a large scale in
Massachusetts, I think there is a splendid market for a very
fancy article, grapes that can be grown, weighing, from
three-quarters of a pound to a pound to thf bunch and cut
■with a bit of the stem on them, packed in shallow trays or
baskets so that there is only one layer in the tray, and sup-
plied to the markets, for anywhere from eight to ten cents
a pound, which can be received for them, even at whole-
sale, when they are grown in that way and shipped and
packed in those packages, and I think there is no more prof-
itable fruit when grown ^ on the lighter warm soil, on the
South side of the hills, than is the grape. For that pur-
pose I think the Concord and Worden might be grown, and
possibly the Delaware in some sections. It comes down
largely to a matter of pruning, and I think that is one of
the points where we fall down. We are apt to grow too
much wood. We are growing the fruit in the fourth and
sometimes the sixth year, Avhereas we. should keep the
grapes down more to renew the system of the entire vine
practically every year, and in that way get a very much bet-
ter bunch. We should keep in mind that the less wood
growth the stronger and larger the bunch will be. The

117

south side of a hill almost too steep to cultivate, lends itself
admirably to grapes and it is the warm side and will hold
the heat into the late fall and should be utilized, particular-
ly near a good market.

The automobile truck has been coming right along as
a means of transportation. At the present time the auto-
mobile trucks, most of them, are a little too heavy, too
shaky, to take small fruits for a long distance, but over our
good roads and with pneumatic tires on the lighter trucks
I think over a long distance we will be able to take them in
and sell them directly from the grower to the consumer.
The whole question is largely one of transportation and if
we are going to give all our money to the transportation
companies we are not going to get a great deal out of it
ourselves; and when we consider the high cost of commis-
sion a few years ago, the profit between the producer and
the consumer was in some cases as high as 60 per cent, it
seems as though the farmer who grows these things should
have a part of that profit, at least, and I think in communi-
ties where a great many small fruits are grown, a few peo-
ple could combine and get a truck and deliver the fruit ev-
en to the retail store and in that way get a great deal bet-
ver service and more profit. At the present time it goes
from the commission man to the retailer, from the retail
man to the customers, getting three handlings between the
farmer and the consumer.

All these questions I think could be well discussed in a
little more extended manner if I had time, but I see my time
is up and I just want to leave this thought with you that
the principal points in small fruit growing are, getting some
land near a good market, as near as possible, thorough cul-
tivation, plenty of fertilization of the right kind, and varie-
ties that suit your market or your locality, and, finally, mar-
keting them in neat, attractive, clean packages, and getting
them from the farm to the consumer as quickly as possible.

I thank you for your attention. (Applause).

President. Mr. Brooks, wishes to make a motion.

Mr. Brooks. This Association has been very fortnnRt'=i
all these years in boinpj invited by the AYorcpster Coun!".v
Horticultural society to the privilege of this hall and tbe
privilege of the city. The least we can do is to extend a
vote of thanks to the Horticultural society for these privil-

118

eges, and I move you, sir, that this Association extend a vote
of thanks to the Horticultural society. It was voted and
the meeting adjourned until 1 :30 p. m.

AFTERNOON SESSION

The Pres. The time given on the program for the af-
ternoon meeting is 1 :30 and we had better begin. I notice
that the card outside gives the time for two o'clock, and
there may be members who have not arrived yet, so before
calling the first speaker, let us devote the time to questions.

The second one is, ''Is it wsie to continue planting Bald-
wins with the Baldwin spot on the increase and no known
method of control?" Anyone to discuss this question.

Mr. Copeland. The idea with the Baldwin is that there
are very large sections which have never been touched with
the Spot at all, and it looks to me as though we could still
plant the Baldwin to good advantage. In our particular
section it is really the leading apple. So far as the other
apples are concerned, I, for one have lots of faith in the Mc-
intosh, but I do believe that we are overdoing it just the
same. If I were setting again I have 30 acres, mostly Bald-
wins, I would put in a lot of Baldwins. I know what it
can do, I know the reputation it has, and all we have to d^
is to improve it and it is going to hold that reputation. That
is my opinion.

Mr. Morse. I would like to ask what time the vote on-
the amendment will come up.

Pres. It can be taken up at any time, I think our Sec-
retary has some recommendations.

Secy. Brown. Mr. President and Members : In the
secretary's report is the recommendation that a committee
on exhibitions be appointed, and in order to bring the mat-
ter up I move that a committee of five be appointed by the
President, to be announced later, with the understanding
that an exhibition be held, if feasible, this coming fall. I
saw Director Hurd of the Agricultural College, recently
and suggested to him that an invitation be extended by the
College to hold a fruit exhibition at Amherst this fall. So
I would make this motion and I would like to hear a discus-
sion of it by the members to know what they think about it..

Pres. You hear this motion. Is it seconded?

A Member. Second the motion.

119

Secy. Brown. I would like to hear some discussion be-
fore this motion is put. I don't think we ought to go into
it unless a majority of the members favor it.

Pres. Anything to be said on the subject?

Mr. Wilder. Are we to consider that the committee
has power to hold an exhibition or not, as in their judgment
they think likewise?

Secy. Brown. I should think that would be necessary;
yes. Leave it to the committee.

Mr. Brown. Will you allow me to make a suggestion?
Down in Connecticut our State Pomological Society holds
an exhibition every fall, but we have the practice of meet-
ing with the various fairs around the state and sometimes
at Willimantic, and they usually give us some assistance
and furnish us a tent for placing our exhibit, because it is
quite a large exhibit and it helps both ways; it draws
attendance to the fair and helps us get new members.

Pres. The committee could be authorized to make
such an arrangement, perhaps. I think it is covered by the
motion that the committee arrange for an exhibition if
found possible. Anything further to be said on the ques-
tion? If not, all in favor of the motion please manifest by
raising the hand, contrary minded. It is a vote.

We will continue the discussion of our questions until
the committee is ready to report.

A Member. The third question: *'An orchard has a
heavy sod. Would it be advisable to plow in the fall?"

Mr. Brown. No.

Pres. Will you tell us why?

Mr. Brown. My idea is that it breaks up the roots
and exposes them too much.

Pres. If we are to plow at all, would you plow in the
fall?

Mr. Brown. Plow in the spring.

A Member. Question thirteen.

Pres. "Does it look practical to the fruit grower that
our city friends can engage in our business and make a suc-
cess?" There is a great tendency on the part of wealthy
city men to buy farms and operate them.

120

Mr. Wilder. I think that question was very ably aii-^
swered this morning by Mrs. Shattuck. I shall be glad, oT
course, to know if there are a lot more who can answer )t
the same way she did.

A Member. Number eleven.

Pres. "What kind of soil suits the Northern Spy
best?"

Mr. Mead. I should say a good, strong, rich soil; not
too moist, but good and heavy.

Pres. Is the bark not liable to injury by the frost
freezing it and shelling it off? I have seen a great many
cases.

Mr. Brown. A rather moist, heavy soil, natural grass,
^and; high ground, but what we would call a pretty good
grass land.

A Member. Question number four.

Pres. "Cost of production and marketing are steadily
'increasing. Where are our profits coming from?"

Mr. Morse, (Whose peach buds are all killed) I wisli
I could tell where my profits are coming from tjhis year. I
don't see that there will be any profits.

Mr, Hawkins, can you tell us about profits on pears ?

Mr. A, C. Hawkins. I expect to have a good crop, be-
cause I have taken pretty good care of the trees but it is
something of course I can't tell until later,

A Member, Question eighteen,

Pres. "What is the best cover crop for a peach or-
chard?" There are peach growers in the audience and a
good many peach orchards about. What is the best cover
crop?

Mr. Parker. In my experience we have used spring
vetch several years. Last year we tried crimson clover and
got the best results I think, we have ever had on that.

Pres. Did it withstand the winter?

Mr. Parker. I don't know how it is coming out. It
is covered with snow at the present time. We sow twenty-
pounds to the acre.

Mr Brown. At what time?

Mr. Parker. Last week in July.

121

Pres. Question twenty-seven. ''"What varieties of
pears pay best, and why?" Perhaps Mr. Hawkins can tell
lis about that.

Mr, Hawkins. I can only tell what kind pays best in
my locality. I have had great results from the Buerre
Bros.

Pres. What is the average price you are able to get
for them?

Mr. Hawkins. For the Buerre Bosc the usual price is
three dollars a bushel in Boston.

Pres. Question nineteen: "Is much planting of cher-
Ties being done in Massachusetts?" Who is planting cher-
ries?

Mr. Wheeler. I think there is about one-half of the
•cherries planted at the present time in Massachusetts there
ought to be; that is, young trees. I think there is a good
market for sour cherries in this state.

Pres. The sweet cherry does not grow readily?
Mr. Wheeler. I don't think it pays to grow it. The
sour should be planted a great deal more.

Mr. Sprague. Might I ask what section of the state
cherries will do well in ?

Pres. Will any one give us an idea or tell us where
there is a prifitable crop, for the sweet? The sour, I think,
is generally successful. (No reply).

A Member. Question twenty-three.

Pres. "Which is better, the 'drive' or 'mist' nozzle?"
That is, the mist nozzle gives a short spray, and the dri 'e
gives us a long, unbroken stream. Which is the better?

Mr. Putnam. I think the mist nozzle is. You want a
very fine mist, or else the spray slides off the leaf.

Pres. Mr. Frost, can you give us a word on this?

Mr. Frost. I don't know whether the question means
|the drive nozzle as a special form of disc nozzle, or some-
thing like the Bordeaux nozzle.

Mr. Morse. My idea was a form of Bordeaux or a
mist nozzle.

Mr. Frost. There is a disc nozzle gotten out by one
manufacturer for carrying the spray farther, which is

122

called the drive nozzle, and I think that for very tall trees
that is much preferable to the other; but wherever I could
reach the tops of trees with the ordinary disc nozzle I should
not use the drive nozzle.

A Member. It seems to me that that question can be
answered that if you do much spraying you must use both.
(If there is air stirring you must use the drive and cannot
spray with the mist nozzle, but if it is a calm day you can
do better work with the mist.

Pres. We will take up the date of the annual meeting.
The committee which reported yesterday has some recom-
mendations. Shall we hear from the committee? Mr.
Kinney.

Mr. Kinney. Mr. President and Gentlemen: When I
reported yesterday morning I was a little bit worried be-
cause I knew that there was a division of opinion and it
was liable to make hard feelings, but it seems to me that we
have come to an agreement where all should be satisfied.
We have decided that there is no necessity for changing the
constitution. We feel that it would be desirable to hold
the annual meeting in Worcester as formerly with a one-
day session only, on the same date as now, the second Wed-
nesday in March. We can have a two-days meeting hell
wherever and whenever it may seem desirable. Of course^
we have had the meeting here for a great many years, bat
■flf it is an advantage for us to have it held here it may also
be an advantage to hold it elsewhere, and this will leave it
so that it can be held where it is best. I think Mr. Frost
has a proposition.

Mr. Frost. We have invitations here today to hold our
meeting in Boston. A number of us have talked this mat-
ter over, the date of the meetings, and Mdiere to hold them
and we have thought, after conferring with some members
of the Worcester Horticultural Society, that it may be ad-
visable for us to hold our annual meeting here in Worces-
ter, at which time we elect our officers, but to hold our twa
days meeting perhaps in other parts of the state where we
may be invited. In this way we can hold our two days ses-
sion early in the winter, when we can all get away easier
and hold the short meeting in March, with the Worcester
Horticultural Society, and at that time elect our officers.

123

Now, I think, Mr. President, that the first thing to be
decided on would be the time of holding what we might
call our "other meeting." Our consitution calls for two
meeting during the year, the annual meeting and another
one and at the present time 1 believe, TVEr. Secretary, that
the annual meeting to be held the second Wednesday in
Macrh, at which time the officers are to be elected. To
bring this before you I am going to make a motion, Mr.
President, that we hold this "other meeting," a two days
meeting, during the second week of January,

A Member. Second the motion.

Pres. You hear the motion, that we hold a two-days
meeting the second week in January. This is not the annu-
al meeting. Anything to be said on the question?

Mr. Waters. Do I understand Mr. Frost to say that we
are to hold this two-days meeting where we get the best in-
vitation ?

President. That is it,

Mr. Frost. I think we would have it part of the timi^
in Worcester and part in Boston, and possibly part of the
time in the Connecticut Valley, At any rate, we all want
to spend part of our time here in Worcester, and without
doubt I think that we may hold the most of our meetings
here,

Mr. Knapp. It seems to me that this is a location very
favorable for the fruit growers to come to. We have pros-
pered very well and there is nothing about the meeting this
year to indicate in the least that we have fallen behind. We
liave a large and growing interest right here, and it seems
to me it is up to somebody to show that it would be some
improvement if we discontinue what we are doing and go
into anything new. Unless there was something to be
gained by doing away with the usual custom and some reas-
on why we can't come to Worcester, why shouldn't we con-
tinue, especially as the meeting this year is so large and en-
thusiastic ?

Mr. Wheeler, of the Massachusetts Horticultural So-
ciety. It seems to me it would be a big advantage for us to
go around to other cities. When I found yesterday after-
noon that we had practically no representation in three of
the biggest counties, it seemed as if we ought to go that

124

■way and get people in that section interested in our Fruit
Growers' Association. Last Saturday and the Saturday b'^-
fore in Horticultural Hall at Boston we held two meetinojs
on fruit subjects. At those meetings there was an average
of 400 people present at both sessions. Anybody that says
we can't get a big crowd out at Boston simply doesn't
know what he. is talking about. I think that next year if
we hold a meeting in Horticultural Hall in Boston we will
get at least 700 or 800 people there, not only our own mem-
bership, but we will have a great many chances to raise the
membership by getting the people in the eastern part of th-?
state interested in fruit growing in Boston, They may not
have farms in Massachusetts only, but they have them all
over New England and they would come to our meetings
and I heartily invite this Association to meet with the Mas-
sachusetts Horticultural Society next January, and they
will furnish free of expense to this Association one of the
best speakers we can get in this country on some fruit sub-
ject. That speaker can be recommended by your Associa-
tion, if necessary, aijd we want very much to have this As-
sociation come down there, take our halls, free of any ex-
pense and have an exhibit at the hall, if you want to, or do
anything you please. "We have got plenty of room to have
an exhibition and meeting at the same time, and we want
you to come very much. (Applause).

President. Mr, Wheeler, may I ask you a question? Ts
it necessary for us to act upon this matter of a meeting held
^n another place?

Mr, Wheeler, There is no need of any vote, excepting-
whether you want to accept the invitation or not.

Mr, Frost, I withdraw my motion,

Mr. Putnam, I move that we accept the invitation.

A Member, Second the motion.

Mr. Frost. Before the motion is voted upon I want to
read two other invitations:

"Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association, in Session
at Worcester:

We understand that the Boston members of your Asso-
ciation intend to extend to you an invitation to hold a
meeting in January, 1913, in Boston. The Boston Chamber
of Commerce hope very much that you will accept this in-
vitation. The advantages of this city as a meeting place

125

must be well known to you. Its hotels and convention halls
offer convenient and reasonable accommodations; its thea-
tres and other places of amusement are of high grade, and
for those who have never before visited the city its points of
historical, literary and artistic interests are points of great
attractions.

Hoping to welcome you here next January,
(Signed)
J. R. COOLIDGE, Jr.

First Vice-President.

JAMES A. MCKIBBEN,

Secretary.

D. CRAVEN PARKER,

Chairman Committee on Conventions.

A letter addressed to Richard Hittinger, a member rf
our Association and a member of the committee on agricul-
ture for the Boston Chamber of Commerce :

"I am informed that a movement is on foot to hold a
meeting of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association in
Boston in January, 1913. I trust that the Association may
vote to carry out this plan, as I believe Boston is not only
an extremely attractive city for the holding of conventions
but has peculiar attractions for the fruit growers. In the
first place, it is one of the best markets in the world for
fruits of all grades and the center of one of the finest mar-
ket gardening districts to be found anywhere. Through the
displays at Horticultural Hall its population has been edu-
cated to a fine discrimination in the higher grades of fruins
and vegetables, and I believe for this reason the Association
would be able to get the best kind of publicity to its ideas
through intelligent and appreciative audiences which it
would command here as nowhere else. I assure you that
the city government will do all in its power to make the
visit of your Association a pleasant one. I remain

Very truly,
(Signed) JOHN F. FITZGERALD, Mayor."

We also are offered Horticultural Hall free of charge
and there would be a chance to use another hall, at a small
expense, for an exhibition of the tradesmen. I think that
many of us would gain a great deal if we could see up-to-
date apparatus, spraying materials and nursery stock, and
at the same time replenish our treasury. We can go there

126

and make a charge to all the dealers, which should l;e
quite an income for the Association. The Massachusetts
Horticultural Society has a membership somewhere around
a thousand, and as near as I can remember only a very few
of them ever heard of the ]\Iassachusetts Fruit Growers*
Association. Some of us feel that if you could have a good
big meeting a"" ^heir hall we could increase our membership
to a grea ex'cn\ As ]).Ir. Wheeler said, within the last
month ihey have held two fruit mee1ijig3 here, at which
there have been in the vicinity of 400 present at each.

President. You hear this invitation of the Massachus-
etts Horticultural Society to hold a meeting on the second
week in January, at Horticultural Hall.

President. All in favor of accepting this invitation of
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society please manifest it
by raising the hand. Contrary minded? It is a vote.

Anything further before calling the next speaker, Mr.
Castner.

Mr. Frost. I would like to propose for action to be
taken next year — it can't come up for voting until the next
meeting — that" we have a life membership list, with dues of
$20. I am doing this because I feel that many wealthy men
are interested in fruit, who would join our Association if
they could pay their dues for life rather than have an an-
nual payment of one dollar. I simply propose this to come
up at the next meeting.

President. It will be brought up at the next annual
meeting.

Mr. Stowe. One of our members brought ud the other
day the question of appropriations made by the State and
asked some of us to consider it. As you know. Governor
Foss declined to sign the appropriation for the spraying of
\)rowntail and gypsy moths for the next three years, think-
ing it was too much money and on Saturday he sent a mes-
sage to the House asking for a bill to be enacted appropriat-
ing $50,000 to carry out the work of the browntail and gyp-
sy moth men through this year. Then, on top of that he says
that the foreign governments are having great luck with
birds and he wants a bill put through appropriating $50,000
for experimenting with birds to kill the brown tails and
gypsies. Now, it seems to some of us that $50,000 cou.d
be expended in a great many better ways than that. We

127

dont know what kind of birds they are going to get, whnt
kind of troubles are going to come. AVe think that we have
troubles enough and that if any of the members feel the
same as we do we should see the Representatives and Sen-
ators and have them look out that such a bill is not enacted.
It is nothing, I think, that we care to have the Association
take any definite stand on, but it does seem to some of us
quite important that such a bill should not be put through.
(Applause.

Mr. Mead. I want to say that if either the browntail or
gypsy is ever got under control it will either be by birds
or parasites. It won't be by human means. (Applause).

President. A question which is always uppermost in
the business of apple growing is how to pack and get our
crops to the market.

The next speaker is Mr. Castner, who will discuss the
matter of Comparison of Apple Growing in New England as
Observed by a Western Grower.

COMPARISON OF APPLE GROWING IN NEW ENG-
LAND AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

MR. JOHN B. CASTNER,
Hood River, Oregon.

Mr. President, Members of the Massachusetts Fruit
Growers' Association and Friends: I say "friends," be-
cause of the hospitality shown to me since I have been in
New England this trip and last fall.

I have been asked by your Secretary to speak to you
on the comparison of the apple industry in New England
and the Pacific Northwest especially Hood River Ore., a sec-
tion which I am the most familiar with. Hood River is the
most free advertised apple section in the world, for the rea-
son that all other sections claim they are just as good and by
this admission place Hood River at the top. I have had eight-
een years experience in the business in Oregon, and my trip
through New England last fall while not for a long period,
gave me a good idea of how the business is handled here.

It is certainly the hot bed of all the fruit sections, for
it was here the idea origiqated of putting up the box apples
in the manner in which they come on to your market here

128

today. Now why cannot New England go these other sec-
tions one better and grow better fruit?

The boosting of Hood River puts me in mind of a story
I heard not long ago. It is told of an enthusiastic Real Es-
tate dealer of our section, who was on a trip to the middle
west. It seems a stranger had died there and the usual ser-
vices were being held. When the time came to make a few
remarks about the deceased, the minister who was very con-
servative, saying he had not known 1he party, asked if
there was any one who had and was willing to make a few
remarks. There was a large congregation present, but no
one seemed to have anything to say. After a few minutes
had elapsed a stranger in the back part of the church arose
and saying as long as nobody had anything to say about
the deceased, he would like to make a few remarks about
Hood River,

Now, I did not come east to boost Hood River or any
other Western apple section but I did come here to give yoa
a few points and ideas about the growing and marketing of
apples and how we made a success of it.

My trip east then was in the missionary line, a home
missionary if you please, and was in the interest of the New
England Fruit Show and some progressive growers who
have aAvakened to the fact tha* there is some thing in the
up-to-date and modern methods of growing apples and
marketing them. It is a well known fact that the western
people have the idea that the East cannot grow good apples.
This idea has been installed in their minds by a good many
of your New England people who thought they had to go
West to grow apples.

What was and is the trouble? Is it the fruit or the
growers ?

I will answer that question. It has been the growers
themselves, for in most cases the apple has been a side is-
sue, and nobody knows what a lot of these old landmarks
would have done if they had been given half a show, as it
is you will find a good many of these old trees here in New
England that are from fifty to seventy-five and some of
them a hundred years old still bearing large crops of fruit,
although everything possible was done to kill them. I may
injure the feelings some of you who are still in the same old
rut, but nevertheless I am going to give you my observation
of the matter, where I know the trouble lies and the remedy.

129

As I said before your trees show that you have a natural
apple soil here in New England.

The apples have been a side issue, a good many of the
farmers picking out the poorest land for the apples, while
the best land they have they will plant to corn or hay for
the cows and sell milk from four to five cents per quart,
while ten acres of Apple Orchard planted on good soil will
net more than any other part of the farm if given the proper
care.

In choosing an orchard site there are many points to be
considered, which will vary more or less in degree of im-
portance according to locality. These points are air and
soil drainage, exposure, elevation and depth of soil.

It has only been in recent years that these different
points have been taken into consideration, but I know from
experience that these points should be taken into considera-
tion before starting an orchard, certain varieties doing bet-
ter on the same type of soil and at the same elevation.

One thing that should be looked after thoroughly is soil
and air drainage. A tree planted in shallow soil, the water
drainage being poor, or in other words a tree whose roots
stand in water during the winter months is never in an en-
tirely dormant state. The reason for this is that the roots
are affected by too much water, and decay, consequently the
tree is weak and this tree is the first to start in the spring
and is generally caught by frost. It is known with us as
the Winter Kill. Another thing is to avoid setting trees in
a frost pocket. I think these conditions exist here in New
England as they do with us.

Another thing I would guard against is setting on a
southern slope, as I have known of whole orchards being
killed by starting too early and being caught by frost. This
condition might not apply to New England. If I myself
were going to set apples even here in New England I think
I would look for a North, North East, or North West slope,
if it had the proper soil conditions.

I had to admit a good many things on my arrival here
last fall that I did not expect I would have to when I left
home. I saw a few orchards ''Not very many," and some
fruit that I did not expect to find, but I did see enough to
convince me that New England can grow just as good ap-
ples as any section in the world if its growers will take
hold of it as they should.

130

And I honestly believe there is just as good an opportu-
nity here for a young person who wants to make the start as
anywhere I know of. Although in the "West and especially
Hood Eiver, Oregon, you would have the advantage of get-
ting information from a good many who have made a suc-
cess of the business while here there are very few of these
cases and information is not so free, so the beginner would
have to rely upon himself a good deal and the information
he gets from the Agricultural colleges.

"We can grow better apples here in New England" was
sprung on me from all sides. That may have been true
years ago and I will admit there are a few being raised at
the present time, but if you are raising all this good fruit
here, why is it that we have been shipping apples in here for
the last ten years and receiving almost as much per box as
you have been getting per barrel?

I will tell you why. It is simply because the grower
could not put his conscience in the barrel, but I think the
day of reformation has come. "You can fool some of the
people part of the time, but you cannot fool all the people
all the time." I went on the Boston Market last fall and
received permission from a wholesale fruit firm to open a
number of boxes of Hood River Apples. Every box I op-
ened was in first class condition and the apples were just
as they were represented. I also opened some barrels of ex-
tra fancy Eastern apples. I suppose the most of you know
what I found. I* certainly was a fright, the apples were
hardly fit for vinegar. Had they been offered for sale in
Oregon or "Washington the fruit inspector would have taken
charge of them and destroyed the fruit and the owner fined
for selling them. What a fine time an inspector would have
had on the Boston Market last fall.

Mrs. Buckley. Who packs them?

Mr. Castner. The grower packs them.

Mrs. Buckley. The commission houses send men dowii
there to pack the apples?

IMr. Castner. The grower dodges the responsibility,
says the packers do it; but the grower himself is to blame
for ever letting it leave his place in that condition. The
grower is the one in the long run who gets the blame, so !t
is foolish for him to let it go off in that condition. That is
the reason New England people get the reputation of put-
ting up poor fruit. Very few ever have any culls. They

131

barrel up everything and label them "Extra Fancy."
(Applause).

The "Western box fruit I opened were selling from $3.23
to $4.50 per box according to variety while the barrel ap-
ples were selling from $1.75 to $2.00 per barrel. The Man-
ager of this firm told me that last year he handled thirty-five
ears of Hood Kiver Apples and did not have a complaint
from a single box. If that is not proof enough that it pays
to put up an honest pack I do not. know Avhat is.

I Avill not say that all growers here are affected with the
same trouble, there are some exceptions, but very few, but if
you will only take the trouble to inquire you will find they
are making some money in the apple industry.

On my arrival here last fall I was directed by Secretary
Ellsworth of the State Board of Agriculture to Mr. A. A.
Marshall of Fitchburg. I am not quoting Mr. Marshall to
advertise him or his orchard, but I do so for the reason that
it was so much different from anything I expected to find.
Mr. Marshall was one of the progressive growers who had
made up his mind to get out of the rut and try the up-to-(lale
methods of apple growing, and put up his fruit in a pack-
age he could guarantee. It was an experiment with Mr.
Marshall, but one well worth trying, for of the fifteen hur.-
dred boxes of Mcintosh and Baldwins we packed, the lowest
price he received was $2.50 per box and the highest $5.00.
A good many growers have the "I can't fever and can't
do as Mr. Marshall has done, but the trouble is they won't
or have never tried. One big advantage you have over the
west is nearness to market. Here you are right at your own
market, we are thirty-five hundred miles aAvay with a freight
rate of sixty cents a box. that is the freight is fifty cents
and refrigeration, ten cents. So with the sixty cents per
box which it cost to grow and pack each box makes one dol-
lar and twenty cents invested in each box of apples we ship
into this market. Here you can make money by selling ap-
ples for a dollar a box, we cannot. AYe have to get the high
price in order to make any money as Avell as interest on our
investments, so in order to do so we have to raise as large a
per cent of high grade fruit as possible.

Another secret of our success is co-operation of the
growers. It seems to be the opinion of some growers here
that this can never be accomplished in this section, but you
can never tell until it has been tried.

132

We used to have these same unbelievers with us whan
^ve talked organization, and some of them hung back for
five years, but as we continued to get better prices, they be-
gan to believe there was something to it and came into the
fold. The first year after the Hood River Apple Growers,
XTnion was organized we received $2.00 per box for apples,
which the year before brought us $1.00 and $2.25 for appbs
for which we received $1.25 per box, so you can see what the
organizing of the growers did for us. The Apple Growers
X^nion has as its members at least 95 per cent, of the Growers
of Hood River Valley. The Association does the packing of
the apples for its members. No grower is allowed to pack
his own fruit for very few of them could see the flaws in his
own fruit that he could see in his neighbors. So in or-
der to keep the grade and pack the same, it hires its packers
and the work is charged to the growers. It is a very hard
thing for the good apples in the box or barrel to bring ud
the price of the poor fruit you put in, but no where near as
much as the poor will bring down the price of the good, so
^we have to be on the alert all the time and keep our stand-
ard up.

Another thing that helps us to get the fruit we do is th3
laws we have in regard to spraying our orchards and the
marketing wormy or diseased fruit. We can sell the wormy
or diseased apples to the vinegar factory, but if they are of-
fered for sale on the market, they become the property of
the Fruit Inspector, and he gives them a dose of Kerosene,
which makes them unfit for use. So with these conditions
and the high price of land it does not stand a grower in
hand, to raise much of the inferior grade of fruit.

The question has been asked will it pay to renovate
some of our old trees. One of the finest examph^s I evr^r saAV
of this work was performed by Mr. George A. Drew at
Greenwich, Conn., who took an old orchard that was in very
bad condition and has brought it back in very fine shape. I
saw the trees last fall at picking time and they looked good
and had a fine crop of Baldwins and R. I. Greenings, but the
question arises, are not the majority of these old trees so in-
fected with different diseases that it would be doubtful
whether we would get a healthy wood growth and would
there not be danger of the new growth breaking from the old
part of the tree when it commenced to bear a heavy crop, I
think I saw several cases of this kizid last fall, and then agai.i

133

the age at which we are able to bring trees into bearing at
the present. I think it would be better to start a young or-
chard and have trees you know are right. I think one mis-
take that is being made by a good many of the growlers is
wanting a tree to bear too young. I myself would rather a
tree would make a good healthy wood growth and then go to
work bearing fruit. I knew from experience that a tree al-
lowed to bear too young and allowed to bear too heavy will
become stunted and will never become a money maker. Tt
may bear every year but the fruit will be ?mall and an in-
ferior grade. I should not Vv-ant a tree of mine to bear much
of a crop under five or six years. I saw a good many treos
here in New England last fall that were bearing very heavy
at three and four years.

The question of over production is a problem that ^*s
worrying a good many people who are thinking of starting
in the apple business, but I hardly believe there will be an
overproduction of fancy fruit. There is already an over
production of poor fruit. The large acreage of apple trees
being planted, does not signify so much, as a large per cent,
of the trees being set are not on apple land and also a large
number who make the start are doomed to disappointment
and will go out of the business. A person who does make
the start and makes a success of it will have to work and
work hard. Those of you who have been thinking of going
into the business don't get the idea into your head that all
you have to do is to plant the tree and in five or sis years
pick twenty dollar gold pieces from them, because you
won't, even though a lot of the literature that is being sent
into this section says it can be done. There are thousands
of acres being planted in every section of the United States
to catch the sucker who is looking for something easy. Hon-
estly it is like taking milk away from a baby to see how the
people will bite at some of these orchard schemes.

The Orchard business is a business by itself and needs
attention the same as any other line of business. Nobody
ever saw a business of any kind that would take care of it-
self. Your Apple Show at Boston last fall proved to you as
it did to me, and also the Land Show at New York, and Pert-
land and Augusta, Maine, shows that New England is going
to make a new start in the apple industry, your apple show
and vegetable exhibit at ohe New York Land Show was the
finest there.

Very few of the people who figure on going to the West

134

or Northwest to start in the apple industry realize what they-
are up against. The price of land in most of these sections
will cost from $250 to $350 per acre. When I speak of land
at this price I mean good apple land. This price varies
some according to distance from transportation. This land
which is covered with scrub oak or large fir or pine stumpa
from which the timber has been cut will cost from $150 to
$200 per acre to clear it for planting trees, so you see ho\v
much you have invested in land alone before you start your
orchard. Bearing orchards say from eight years up will
cost from $1,000 to $2,000 per acre so no matter whether a
person buys land in the rough or a bearing orchard he has a
fortune invested.

Now I don't want you to get the idea that there is no
money made from these high priced orchards because a
good many of them to my knowledge are paying a good div-
idend on the investment some of them paying fifteen and
twenty per cent, on two thousand dollars an acre land.

A person can make the start here a good deal cheaper
than he can there for the reason you can buy just as good
apple land as you will find anyAvhere, the highest price not
to exceed one hundred dollars per acre, and a large amount
for considerable less.

Some one has said that your statements do not verify
the literature that comes from that section. The literature
is all right as far as it goes, but in most cases it does not go
far enough, it does not tell the other side to show you what
our methods in Hood River did for us in 1910. I will give
you a few figures.

The Apple Growers Union received for its members ' i
1910 two million and a half dollars for their apples, while
the state of Maine with one million barrels of apples receiv-
ed less than a million dollars for its Growers, Now when a
small Valley like Hood River which is only six miles i:i
width and twenty long can take that much money right out
of your own market, it is high time that you sit up and take
notice. On my trip west I stopped in Michigan at the small
town of Lawton which is in the grape belt of Southern Mich-
igan. The growers were hardly receiving enough
returns from their fruit to pay for the harvest. On
inquiring what the trouble was I found that each grower
packed his own fruit and the majority of them were very
adept at putting the bad ones in the bottom and a few good

135

stems on top, but the buyers had got next to what they were
doing, so were sending to Ohio and New York for theiv
grapes. The Michigan grapes were finding a slow market
and poor price.

In conclusion I will say that -when the growers of New
England will get together and decide to put their conscience
in the box or barrel and give the consumer a square deal,
then they will make a success of apple industry in New Eng-
land, and get a better price for their fruit. (Applause).

President. Are there any questions to ask Mr. Castner?

Mr. Spaulding. I think it would be a good idea, wheit
we hear so much said about the situation in the north west,
if we could come down to cases. I would like to ask whit
the orchardist gets for the best fruit per box?

Mr. Castner. We sell our fruit f. o. b. Hood River.
Last year and in 1910 Newtons sold for $2.10, and Spitzen-
burgs for $2.25 a box. They cost us sixty cents a box at
least. The balance will be all net. AVe don't pay the
freight east ; the buyer pays that.

Mr. Spaulding. Who pays the cost of the packing and
the boxing?

Mr. Castner. We do. As I told you, it costs us sixty
cents for growing and boxing and packing. The other is
for the freight east, which the buyer pays.

A Member. Do you use the winesap?

Mr, Castner. We don't grow them. Our main variety
is the Yellow Newton.

A Member. Do you raise the Delicious?

Mr. Castner. Very little. It is a very good apple, but
will it take the place of the others? We have three varieties
we can make a living out of; we will stay with them. Let
somebody else experiment with those other varieties.

Mr. Dudley. I ould like to ask if it always costs the
same amount, just 60 cents?

Mr. Castner. Yes, 55 and 60. I have kept track for
six years and it varies between those. It costs more now.

Mr, Dudley. Weather conditions don't make much dii-

Mr. Castner. Very little, with us.

Mr. Morse. Does that include the cost of the land ?

Mr. Castner. Not figuring on that.

136

Mr. Miles. The Spitzenberg is the highest priced?

Mr. Castner. It is. Now, take our annual Fruit Fair.
There is one thing that you will see, that is the extra fiae
looking fruit at that fair. Evervbodv tackles it. anri thpv
offer prizes and they get the fruit put up in beautiful shape.
I met an eastern man going down the street with a great
big armful of Wolf Eivers, and I said, "You got a few,
didn't you?" and he said, "They only cost 50 cents apiece'
I think he was going to ship them back home somewhere.
What is the use of trying to raise apples that you know you
can't raise as good as somebody else can?

Mr. Mann. I would like to ask what the age is of those
western trees?

Mr. Castner. It is hard to tell. I have got trees .'n
Hood River 60 or 70 years old, still bearing good crops of
fruit, and nobody knows who planted them, but they aro
there, Baldwins and Ehode Island Greenings. They have
been taken care of and are still bearing heavy crops. I had
two trees pack 50 boxes each two years ago.

A Member. I would like to ask regarding the twenty
odd varieties on the market where the bulk of them come
from. There are twelve or thirteen red apples and about
five yellow. Of those apples, the yellow apples I see are
bringing the very highest prices, selling for from nine ta
twenty cents ai^iece at retail and some of the red at fifteen,
and those apples seem to have absolute, entire possession
of our fancy fruit marl-rets with the exception of two grow-
ers who can be named in Massachusetts — do the bulk of
those come from Hood River?

Mr. Castner. I couldn't say positively where the
bulk did come from. I saw some Mcintosh out at Mr.
Marshall's place apparently in as good shape as they were
the day I packed them five and a half months before. The
stores in AVorcester display them and will use them in pref-
erence to the western apples if they are only put on the
market in that fine shape and guaranteed. That was not
just because I packed them. The man who inspected them
this morning told me he took one bruised one out. You
couldn't do that with barrels.

Mr. Pratt. Have those been in cold storage?

Mr. Castner. Yes. I think they were put in last fall.

Mr. Dickinson. I would like to ask what are the com-

137

parative keeping qualities?

Mr. Castner. It all depends on where they are grown.
That is very easyy to expl.^in. It is just simply a ease of
not being able to put your conscience in a barrel or a box.
There is the secret of the whole business. Applause).
Mrs. Buckley. And the remedy?

Mr. Castner. That will have to come afterwards. I
tell you, the remedy is coming slowly, but is is bound to
come surely. The people who will acknowledge that there
is money in putting up fancy grades of fruit are going t3
make the money. Poor stuff will have to stand aside, be-
cause people will take the good fruit every time.

Mrs. Buckley. I understand you have in Hood Eiver
an organization?

Mr. Castner. "We do.

Mrs. Buckley. Does this control this conscience busi-
ness?

Mr. Castner. It does. (Applause). This, and the
laws we have.

Mrs. Buckley. That is what we need in New England?
Mr. Castner. It is.

Mrs. Buckley. That is the point I wanted.
Mr. Castner. I Avill tell you. it is going to be a pretty
hard thing for a good many of the old time growers to live
up to some of those ideas, and it is hard for them to see
that they have got to step aside for some of the younger
generation. It is going to be the younger generation who are
going to get the success, while a good many of the old^r
ones are going on in the same old way.

Mrs. Buckley. That is the lesson I think we ought t.">
learn from your talk.

]Mr. Castner. "We had the same trouble years ago. The
people who have made a success out there have been the
fighting spirits of the New England people have made that
western country. I think you have got enough left here
to pass some of these laws. (Applause).

A Member. How drastic are your laws?

Mr. Castner. In regard to spraying?

A Member. Yes.

Mr. Castner. I am a County Fruit inspector there. If

138

you are not spraying for the San Jose scale and your or-
chard is covered with it, I send you a notice. You don't
spray. It is immaterial whether I dig your orchard out or
spray it myself and charge it to you. I can go in and take
every tree out and the law will uphold me. The notice I
send you is enough. We had that tried after the law was
enacted. The Fruit Inspector of one of the counties of
Oregon claimed they could raise just as good fruit as any-
where, but they weren't doing it, the trees were covered
with lots of San Jose scale and you couldn't tell whether
they were apples or what they were. The Fruit Inspector
notified one man, who had ten acres of prunes and ten -^f
apples and he said a bad word and said he would spray
when he got ready, that he didn't have to spray. The
Fruit inspector didn't say a word, but he went down
town and hired a bunch of men, and took the man's prunes
right out, and when he started on the apples the fellow
squealed, and said "If you won't take them out I will
spray." Then he brought suit afrainst the inspector, but
the law Avas upheld. He carried it to the Supreme Court,
The opinion of the lower judge was sustained, 'hat the law
.should stand. So now, when a Fruit Inspector tells a man
to spray, he sprays. It is optional with the Fruit Inspect)r
"to go on the street the same as here or in Boston and if he
*sees fruit that he does not consider right, and he can con-
demn it. The man who has bought it loses, and the man
who sold it is fined.

Mr. Dudley. I should like to ask if they have the re-
call in Oregon and if they can recall the County Inspector
of Fruit?

Mr. Castner. Not yet. (Laughter). They have it in
"Washington. They recalled one man and put him back in
office again.

Mr. Teele. I would like to ask if we haven't here in
Massachusetts a similar law?

Mr. Castner. I don't know.

Mr. Teele. I would like to ask Professor Maynard.

President. Mr. Wheeler can tell us of that law in re-
gard to spraying.

Mr. Wheeler. We have got a law, I think, that con-
tains some provision like that in regard to the gypsy and
browntail moths.

139

President. It is not enforced much, however?

Mr. Wheeler. Not enforced at all. (Laughter).

Mr. Dudley. I think there is a law of Massachusetts
that distinctly states that if a man sprays his apple trees
and his next door neighbor don't he can get him hauled
into court by a civil suit for damages to his own property.

Mr. Teele. I have read that complaints can be made to
the State Inspector of Nurseries; Dr. H. T. Fernald, Am-
herst.

Mr. Frost. That only relates to nurseries.

Mr. Smith. I would like to say in regard to the law
on spraying, if a person's neighbor has trees infested and
he refuses to spray that person can go to the State Nursery
Inspector and when the Nursery Inspector hears it he can
notify that party to spray his trees, and if he doesn't spray
then the Nursery Inspector can spray them at his expense.
Of course, with regard to gypsies and browntails, everybody
is supposed to take care of their own trees. If they don't
the local superintendent is supposed to do it at their ex-
pense.

Mr. Castner. The proposition is, haven't the people here
got pride enough, the growers, to put up stuff right and
stop the extra heavy shipments from the west? Are thry
going to let us keep on doing that? "We are going ahead
doing it just as long as they let us. In order to stop it they
have got to take care of their fruit.

I would like to ask if all things considered,, the prom-
ise of commercial orcharding in the east is equal to that of
the west?

Mr. Castner. Yes, sir, it is. That is my point of view,
from my trip all around last fall. But the trouble is it has
never been demonstrated to the majority of the people that
you could do it. Such a thing as the Fruit Show last 7vear,
people getting together and holding a show, is the host way
for everybody to show what they have got to compare.* Iheir
own fruits with the fruits grown in other sections. Don't
be ashamed even if you don't get a prize the first time. Go
back again.

Now, there is packing the fruit. Take the recent pack-
ing school at Amherst. I came on this spring s^^nycd at the
Massachusetts Agricultural College, held a packing sr-liool,
and I believe it is going to be a start in the new arrange-

140

ment of the apple business in Massachusetts; .his pu^^ting
them up right is a mighty tine thing. (Applaaso).

The President. The next speaker, whom most of you
know, is Mr. H. W. Collingwood, of "The Rural New-
Yorker," who will discuss the question of "Cooperation.
(Hearty applause).

CO-OPERATION

Herbert W. Collingwood, Editor Rural New Yorker

"When I was a boy on the Bristol County Farm, the old
minister began his sermon about as follows :-

My Brethren, we have come today to discuss the theory
of religion, there is also a practice. Last Sunday on going
home I saw Deacon Brown out behind the barn forking hay
over. Last Sunday, Sister Smith, was out in the wood pile
cutting wood, while Brother Smith, was talking politics b/
the stone wall. I am told that Deacon Rogers sold a tub of
butter, and when the buyer cut into it he found a stone
weighing three pounds. Now this is the practice of religion.
These same people are here today with the best clothes and
best behaviour after the theory, but the good Lord will judge
them not by their theory, but by their practice. Now I have
thought that the trouble with most people is the fact that
they cannot make theory and practice co-operate. I have
been looking over your exhibit of apples. It is a beautiful
display, the pick of the New England crop, and is showing
the theory of what your fruit growers can produce, it is per-
fect. But in order to tind the practice, I Avent out to a gro-
cery store and bought a quart of apples; here they are, six;
little Northern Spys. They cost 15 cents a quart, which, as
I figure, is $14.40 a barrel.

They will sell you a peck for a dollar, or $12.00 a bar-
rel, and they have two sizes of Baldwins for 50 cents and 75'
cents a peck. It is doubtful if the man who grew these
Northern Spy got $2.50 a barrel, and I will leave some smart
boy to figure out how much of the consumers dollar he got.
Here again is another case where practice and theory fail to
co-operate, and therein lies one of the greatest lessons for
the New England Fruit grower. From childhood men see
from day to day the need of co-operation, yet it would seem
as if the older they grow the less they are inclined to work
together, until necessity drives them to it. My children

141

liave given me two illustrations, which I think cover the
point. The children were playing on the lawn. They had
been eating some little cakes, and wanted to save some it
them over for another day. As wise as was Joseph of old in
providing for the lean years of famine, the cakes were
wrapped in paper, and a pile of sand put over them. A hen
came, scratched this sand away, and made away with the
cakes, greatly to the disgust of the children. They heard a
mason tell that sand and cement mixed together would hold
anything, so the next day they got a handful of dry cement,
mixed it with the sand, and again made a pile over the lit-
tle cakes, and again the hen came and scratched it away
easier than before, for if you throw the fine cement into the
air, it will blow away as dust. Then someone told the chil-
dren that water should be added, but they had begun to lose
their faith in such things, for here were sand, cement and
water, three of the most unstaple things when used alone
that man could think of. Yet, they went ahead, mixed the
sand, cement and the water, and made a pile of what they
called dough over their little cakes. Then there was a
change, for that dough hardened ; the hen came again, but
this time she scratched the nails off her toes and was baffled.
The next day the children had to use a hammer to break
down the protection and get at their cakes. Here is the
great vital lesson of co-operation. The sand, the cement
and the water, each of itself, or two of them together, had no
power of protection ; a more futile or useless protector would
be hard to conceive of. Yet when they were put together
and molded into form, a sledge hammer was required to
break them down. Sometimes farmers think of the mighty
interests which are arrayed against them, and they become
discouraged, for what can individual farmers do against
such mighty power? They can do nothing, so long as they
permit themselves to represent the sand, the cement or
the water alone, but put them together in number reprs-
senting the sand, the power and thought representing the
cement, and the ambition and brotherly feeling represent-
ing the water, and they form a bond which could not be
broken. That is the first lesson we have learned from chil-
dren.

Again, my own children formed a little farm organiza-
tion. There was four of them, my daughter was eleetei
Secretary, one of the boys Vice President, the other boy
President, and the other girl treasurer. I gave them a piece

1 42

of ground for their garden and started them at the job, I
happened to look back after half an hour from my work,
and the girls were crying, while the boys were squabbling.
As a director in the enterprise, I started an investigation,
and my little girl came to me in great trouble, saying "Don't
the President have to work?" It appears that the Presi-
dent held that he didn't need to work, all he had to do was
to be President. The Secretary, of course, had nothing to
do but write in a book. The Treasurer, naturally, did noth-
ing but handle the money. It left therefore the Vice-Presi-
dent to do all the work, and he had resigned in consequence.
Now you may smile at the children, yet again and again
large organizations of grown up men have gone to pieces
and failed utterly, for just the same reason, for when men
organize they sometimes forget that even greater labor and
keener care are required than when they run their own bus-
iness, and in these two simple illustration lie just about all
that there is in successful co-operation.

And now you will ask why should a farmer co-operate ?
Let me ask anyone here to get up and name a single line of
business which either sells goods to farmers, or handles his
own product, which is not thoroughly organized in a busi-
ness way? The railroads the express companies, the com-
mission men, the milk dealers, are, every one of them, or-
ganized and standing like a well drilled army against the in-
dividual farmer. Can any one hope to make a successful
battle of the individual against the army? This organiza-
tion works in a dozen different ways. It is doubtful if but-
ter at 50c a pound would be anything like as extortionate
as a pair of rubber boots at $4.50 a pair. Both are called
necessities, one made by the individual farmer, the other by
an organized corporation. Yet if butter should go to 50c a
pound, our entire city population would unite in denouncing^
the farmer. They would call it an outrage and attempt to
prove that farmers were all getting rich, yet the public will
walk up and pay $4.50 for the rubber boots, although there
is a far greater margin between cost and selling price th i,n
in the case of the butter. The organization of the manufac-
turers and the railroads enables them not only to hold up
their prices, but through advertising and other means to
control public opinion to a large extent. It should be easy
for any man to see that if he can unite with 10, 50, 100 or
1000 of other farmers, that he can come closer to controll-
ing his business, as these large companies do. As is well

i43

known, the New England farmer never did like to be drilled
to give up certain things of his individual rights, and that
very thing has been to his disadvantage in a business way.
During the Revolution, the New England soldiers came close
to mutiny at Valley Forge. That will seem strange to New
England people who regard their section as the most loyal
part of the country, yet it is true, and the mutiny was not
over a principle, but over what our soldiers call a mean
practice.

Baron Steuben came from Germany and started in to
drill American soldiers. He had them out at all hours of
the day, drilling and drilling, handling their guns and
marching about. It seemed like an outrage to those Yan-
kee soldiers, and they went to Washington for relief. They
said they came to fight, not to march around like school
boys. AVashington told them to go back and learn how to
fight, but they said "We know how. With our rifle we can
pick a squirrel of the top of a tree, what more do we need?"
The answer was, "If that is so, why do you not stand in the
open field against the British regulars. AVe cannot always
fight behind stone walls as at Lexington, and you know that
you cannr/ stand up against those regulars until you learn
to fight together." They went back to their drill, though it
galled them to the heart, but when the British left Philadel-
phia and marched across New Jersey, AVashington chased
them, and at the battle of Monmouth, Baron Steuben was
vindicated As the result of his drill, the American soldiers
stood up like a stone wall, and for the first time in history
the British regulars found soldiers who were more than their
equal, because the Americans had learned how to co-operate
and fight together. And there lies the great lesson today
for the NcAV England farmer. He must learn all over again
through hard and constant drill how to stand ud with us
brothers on even terms, and fight not as individuals, but as
a strong body of men. Imagine the folly of a man, in bat-
tle using the power of his arm and his shoulder, and yet
sticking out one single finger, or his thumb, to deliver a
blow. He would hurt himself more than he did his enemy,
but when the fingers and the thumb are put together in the
form of a fist, the same power back of them makes the man
five times as effective.

Or if you ask further why tlie New England farmers
should co-operate, let us consider another point, the com-
petition which is constantly growing in our markets from

144

fruit sent to us from the Pacific Coast. As we all know,
this excellent fruit is coming into every large town, compet-
ing with our own fruit and in many cases actually driving
it out. Now think for a moment how impossible it would
be for those Pacific Coast growers, each one acting by him-
self, to send their fruit far across the country in little indi-
vidual lots. The reason why the Pacific Coast farmers have
formed their co-operative organizations is the fact that ne-
cessity drove them to it. Few men go willingly into a form
of co-operation, but stern necessity compels them to do so.
Those western men saw that they never could enter the east-
ern market as individuals. Co-operation alone would give
them enough of a crop to make it worth while to ship ; noth-
ing but co-operation would enable them to make terms with
the carriers or to compel the buyers to come to them and
handle their goods. And further than that, nothing but co-
operation or control of the business would enable them to
put the guaranteed perfect pack of fruit upon the market.
These things have been carried out in the "West, and we see
the result of them in our markets today. Those men who
represent an organization of 500 or more men may go to
the buyer and state what they have to sell, and guarantee
each box or barrel absolutely. The buyer knows what he
is sure to get, and he treats those men as business people,
exactly as he would be obliged to treat a manufacturer.

And strange to say, the most useful thing about such
co-operation is the thing which would be most galling at
first to the average New England fruit grower, for in a
co-operative enterprise the individual takes a back seat of
necessity. For example, if we were to form an organiza-
tion of 100 fruit growers of "Worcester County, we should
be obliged to handle them about as follows :

When the time came for packing the fruit, the grower
would be notified to pick it, put it in the packing shed and
then let it alone, for the packing would all be done by ex-
perts under control of the organization. You can imagine
what a tempest this would create for each man would claim
that he knew exactly how to pack the goods yet if each one
of the hundred were to do his own packing there could be no
possible uniformity in the pack and no one could guarantee
what was to be sold. The only hope would be for the in-
dividual to leave the packing absolutely along with cold
blooded experts to put all the apples in barrels or boxes re-

145

ject what they saw fit and guarantee the goods absolutely.
This has been tried out again and again and it has been
elearly demonstrated that there can be little hope for a
co-operation among growers oJ: vegetables or fruits unless
the goods can pass through some central point repacked and
handled to a standard by people who are not interested in
their growing. This is the stumbling block in most at-
tempts to co-operate yet it is the foundation principle of all.
Another thing which must be remembered in forming a co-
operative society is the fact that co-operation means quality.
The quick and the strong giving up something of their su-
periority to aid the dull and the weak. Hundreds of co-
operative efforts have failed because after a short period a
few strong and unscrupulous men saw an opportunity to ex-
ploit the rest. Such is usually a definite form oi robbery
and has thrown more discredit and suspicion upon an hon-
est effort to co-operate than anything else in the history of
the movement. The only safety lies in all the members real-
izing that each must accept a fair average and no more and
that the ruling spirit of any such organization must be the
square deal and brotherly feeling. Without this there is
no hope for permanent strength in a co-operative society.

That has been the history of every co-operative society,
thus far, and there can be no getting away from the proposi-
tion. One of the most successful instances of co-operation
in this country is the Citrus Protective League of Califor-
nia. That organization was formed to handle the situation
which grew up in the lemon and orange business. A strong
lobby of importers in New York City has been working over
congress for the free importation of citrus fruits into this
country, which it was claimed in the present state of Cali-
fornia conditions would have ruined the industry there.
When representatives of this industry went to congress,
found themselves handicapped because they were unable to
give definite figures about their business. They therefore
went back, organized their society, raised the necessary
money, and engaged a well known man to handle the bu.ii-
ness. This has enabled them to get together the most com-
prehensive statement of the cost of producing a crop, ev^r
worked out in the world. They know just exactly whit
their oranges cost from the tree to the consumer's mouth,
and with these absolute figures they were able to convince
congress that their industry should be upheld. And when the
railroads undertook to raise the price of carrying their

146

oranges, this organization was again on deck with the facts
and the figures, and the power which enabled them to make
such a contest that the rates were reduced. In numberless
other ways this organization has been able to help those
California farmers. They would have been powerless trying
each man by himself to do the work. The New England
fruit growers are in need of just such work, and cannot ob-
tain the legislation or the help as individuals. They can
only do it when thoroughly organized in a co-operative so-
ciety like that in California. There is another instance in
New Jersey where the farmers in the neighborhood of Free-
hold have formed a farmer's exchange. This grew out of
the trouble and loss in handling their potato crop. This is
quite a famous potato section, the soil and the conditions
being well adapted to growing that crop but before this ex-
change was started, the farmer sold his potatoes to the loc d
buyer. This local buyer sold to a jobber in New York or
Philadelphia; this jobber sold to another in some western
city, and this one sold to a wholesale or small jobber; th's
man in turn sold to a retail grocer, who sold them to the
consumer at 25 per cent, or more advance. Thus five sets
of dealers stood between the potato growers and the con-
sumer, and the growers received 41c. of the consumer's dol-
lar. It was impossible to remedy this trouble, so long as
farmers sold as individuals. The Monmouth County Farm-
ers Exchange was organized in 1908, and has steadily in-
creased its business. Until last year this Company sold
2.518 carloads of potatoes. Their seed potato trade amount-
ed to nearly $85,000, and their total business was $1,499.-
509.99. The average price obtained for potatoes as the re-
sult of this exchange was 89c. per bushel, and the estimat-
ed extra amount put into the hands of farmers of thit
neighborhood since that Exchange was started is $125,000.
And not only has this exchange helped those farmers in a
business way, but it has helped them in other ways as well.
Now the only hope for New England as a farming and fru't
growing section, lies along the pathway of co-operation. The
time has gone by when the New England man can afford to
conduct an individual business and not unite with his neigh-
bors. Wherever the co-operative principle has been fairly
tried, the results justify this assertion. In many ways it will
be harder to start true co-operation in this section than else-
where, because for so many years the New England farmer
has been taught in every way to act as an individual. He

147

must come to it, however, or be passed in his business by
other sections where men are able to get together, and :'t
can be done in New England as well as anywhere else. I do
not think it would be wise to attempt to start such work on
a large scale, because the strength of such an organizativ^n
will depend upon the strength of the units which go to make
it up, and the smaller organization of 10, 20 or 30 men
should be perfected first, and when such men have learnsd
to work together thoroughly, they can be united into a larger
organization and thoroughly welded together. The future
strength of the New England states lies where the real
strength was found in the past, among the hills and on the
smaller farms. Under the system of individual working,
such small farms are at a disadvantage, but let them *)e
brought together in a fair system of co-operation and they
would have a business strength as enduring as the old
strength of the hills themselves. There is every reason for a
true revival of the New England small farm and home, for
the real strength of New England is not to be found in your
cities, your banks or your great corporations, but out in the
open air where farmers may work and feel that they are to
receive full recompense for their labor and their care. (Ap-
plause).

On motion of ]\Ir. Wilder a vote of thanks was extended
to the speakers who helped make this the most successfal
meeting in the history of the Association. Adjourned at
4.12 p. m.

Officers of
Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association

IQ13

H. L. FROST, President
F. C. SEARS, Vice-President F. HOWARD BROWN, Sec-Treai.

MASSACHUSETTS
FRUIT GROWERS

ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE

19th Annual Convention

HELD IN

HORTICULTURAL HALL
BOSTON

1913

THE GAZETTE PRESS
WARREN, R. I.

OFFICERS OF THE

Massachusetts Fruit Growers'
Association.

HAROLD L. FROST, President, - - - Arlington

FRED C. SEARS, Vice-President - - - Amherst

F. HOWARD BROWN, Sec-Treas. - - - Marlboro

H. WARD IMOORE, Auditor, - r - - Worcester

DIRECTORS

ESSEX COUNTY: E. A. Emerson, Haverhill; John Bark-
er, North Andover.

SUFFOLK COUNTY: A. Warren Patch, Boston.

NORFOLK COUNTY: George N. Smith, Wellesley; Chas.
A. Wilson, INIedway.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY: C. L. Blake, Ashby; Dr. F.
Earland Gilson, Groton; E. R. Farrar, South
Lincoln; Wilfrid Wheeler, Concord; R. A.
Hittinger, Belmont.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY: John W. Clark, North Hadley;
J. T. Geer, Three Rivers, A. J. Norman,

Amherst.

HAMPDEN COUNTY: L. W. Rice, Wilbraham.

BERKSHIRE COUNTY: R. H. Race, North Egremont.

FRANKLIN COUNTY: B. F. Copeland, Colrain; Wm.
Davenport, Colrain; Charles A. Smith, Ash-
field.

WORCESTER COUNTY: W. D. Ross, Worcester; H. R.
Kinney, Worcester; Edmund Mortimer, Graf-
ton; H. A. Cook, Shrewsbury.

OUT OF STATE: J. H. Putnam, Conn.

INTEODUCTION

The splendid weather of the first day brought a large at-
tendance at the very opening of the session, the large hall
being filled when President Frost called the meeting to ro-
der. Memberships poured in at the Secretary's desk that
day, nearly 300 being taken care of and two thirds wc^-e new
members. The second day the rain cut down the record.
about 100 being taken in and only about one half were new-
ones. However all previous records were broken and the
wisdom of holding the convention in different places was
vindicated. Some sixty-six members are from outside the
state, the one farthest away being in Manila. We have
many ladies on our list and trust we will have many more.

To many members this report will be the first they have
seen. We would particularly request that they show it to
some neighbor who is interested in this line and invite him
to join. How easy it is just to send along that dollar. That
is the way we have added practically 100 per cent to our
membership each of the last two years. Everybody get a
new member and we can increase the benefits to all.

The 1911 Report was issued to members within two
weeks of the close of the meeting. The 1912 Report was
held up by delays at the printers so that spraying was well
imder way when it came out. That is one reason for issuing
the report now rather than waiting till March, so members
can have the material and study it up before the spring rush.
The Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday, March 5th at
ilorticultural Hall, Worcester,

The great success of the Boston meeting was due to the
imtiring efforts of President Frost in every direction. Send
those memberships to the Secretary at Marlboro, Mass.

Nineteenth Annual Convention

of the
MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION.
January 10th and 11th 1913
Horticultural Hall, Boston

[Convention called to order by President Harold L. Frost.]

PRESIDENT FROST. Ladies and Gentlemen: I will
open this convention now, and I feel that it will be one that
will be remembered by the members of our Association for
a long while, for four reasons. We are inaugurating several
new departures : The first one will be our Round Table Talks
for those interested in secial subjects, and they will be an-
nounced during the two days of the session. The first talk
will be held here in one of the small rooms of the hall and
Avill be for all of those interested in the growing of small
fruits. Now, the Round Table Talk idea is to give people
who are more interested in other subjects than the general
subject under discussion an opportunity to confer and dis-
cuss different questions with the special leaders. The talk
this afternoon will be in charge of Mr. Fred A. Smith of Ips-
wich on "Small Fruits." Now, if you will a.sk the secretary
in regard to it, those who wish to attend this talk will be
notified where it will be held. The other two talks will be
held tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon.

Another reason for remembering this convention will be
the unity of the subjects which will be the basis of the gen-
eral discussions and addresses. Our addresses will all relate
to the production of the apple, from the commencement to
the finish, including marketing. I do not think we have ever
iiad any addresses on the marketing of fruit, and one idea
of this convention will be to bring the commission and mar-
ket men closer to the producer.

Another reason for remembering it will be our trades
exhibition. We have never made a specialty of making
trades exhibitions of educational value. I think that they
will show you apparatus which has never before been shovni
in New England. The success of our convention, if we are
successful, will be largely due to the trades people, as they
have furnished the means for advertising our convention
here in Boston. Our Association is not very well known in
the eastern part of the state.

Another reason for remembering the convention will be
that this is the first meeting that we have ever held in any
city other than Worcester. You know we have met in Wor-
cester every year since the organization of the Massachusetts
Fruit Growers' Association. We hesitated to leave our
home city and would not have done it had it not been for
the sake of advertising ourselves and showing the fruit
growers in the eastern part of the state what benefits they
could secure by joining us.

Our speakers today are men of national reputation in
their line ; many of them have never been heard in Boston.
They are our guests, and we are their hosts; our treatment
of them at this time maj^ make them desire to come to Bos-
ton again. I am going to ask every one of you to feel as
though he was the speaker's individual host, that he feel as
though he had him in his own care.

At a meeting of the officers and directors it was voted
not to have any addresses by the president or other officers
or any addresses of welcome. The convention is going to
diet on meat alone. If you want any of the social functions,
come to Worcester in March and attend our annual meeting,
Avhich will be held on the same dates as during the previous
years.

Our subject for discussion this morning will be on
spraying, and I understand that Dr. Whetzel will confine
his remarks largely to the fungus diseases, more so than to
the insects which have been spoken of to much greater
length in this hall. We want this to be a very informal

meeting, and after the speaker finishes his address we would
ask that every one of you feel free to ask qustions. Now,
Dr. Whetzel is a man who can answer questions on sprayiu;^
better than anyone with whom I am acquainted. He is a
man that is liked by everj^one who knows him. Since our
programme was issued I have had several inquiries as to
when Dr. Whetzel was to speak; some of them have come
from his former students in Cornell, and when a student
asks to be given the privilege of hearing his former teacher
again, it means that he must think a great deal of him and
that he must have gotten a great deal from his lectures.

Before Dr. Whetzel gives his address I am going to
show you some apples that I picked up in a store in Arling-
ton. They were put in the window and were grown by one
of our professional men who is an apple enthusiast, and
they were marked "Number 1 Apples." [Laughter]. Is
there any wonder that the western apple is driving our ap-
ple out to such a large extent, when you see apples of that
description? [Exhibiting very poor specimens of apples].
Now, our Association is organized to help professional men
like the one who raised these apples. He can raise good
apples just as well as anyone else can.

I have the pleasure now of introducing to you Dr. H. H.
Whetzel of Ithaca, New York. [Applause] .

SPRAYING FOR THE CONTROL OF APPLE SCAB.

Professor H. H. Whetzel,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.

The Scab an Epidemic Disease. The apple scab is a
disease distinctly epidemic in character, appearing with
marked severity some seasons, being almost entirely want-
ing in others. This marked difference in the abundance oi
the malady may occur in two succeeding seasons. While
appearing in epidemic form throughout the apple growing
regions only at rather long intervals, it is nevertheless epi-
demic in some section of the country nearly every year, as
for example during the season just passed (1912), the dis-
ease was very severe in Maine, but almost entirely absent in
New York. An examination of the records available indi-
cate that the scab has been generally epidemic throughout
the United States at rather regular intervals every few
years. Since there has been but little scab generally for the
past three or four years, due largely to the dry seasons which
have been general it would appear that we are approaching
another epidemic period for this disease. I have chosen for
several reasons to confine my remarks to the control of ap-
ple scab, rather than to those troubles such as lice, etc. which
have more particularly concerned you during the past sea-
son or two. First I am not a "bug" man and so am in no
position to advise you in matters relating to your insect
troubles. Second, because the past history of scab epidem-
ics indicate that your chief concern in orchard troubles for
the next two or three seasons is to be the apple scab rather
than lice. The scab may not be upon you in full force next
season but rest assured it will come and that right soon. It
is but the part of wise and sensible men to arm yourselves
with the best and most recent knowledge of this your enemy

that when it does come up against you you will not be
worsted in the contest.

Life History of the Scab Fungus. The apple scab, as
every man in this room must know, is a disease caused by a
fungus, a minute plant living upon the leaf, fruit, and rarely
the twigs of the apple. It is a parasite, at least during the
growing season of the apple tree. Before entering into a
discussion of the control of this scab fungus we shall do well
to have before us the chief facts of its life and existence
during the round of the seasons. The fungus pa-sses the win-
ter in the old leaves on the ground. When the scabby leaves
fall from the apple tree in autumn the fungus which has
been living on the surface now grows into the tissues of the
dead leaf and there forms large numbers of globose spore
cases, more minute than the head of a pin. These grow dur-
ing the autumn and mature in the early spring, appearing
as very small black pimples discernable by the aid of a hand
lens, just under the skin of the leaf on the side lying upper-
most. The spores in these pimple-like cases are produced
eight in a sack called an ascus. Fifty or more of these asei
are produced in each spore case. These spores are ripe at
about the time the blossom clusters begin to show a trace of
pink and during the rains which usually come at this period
are forcibly discharged into the air. Within five minutes
after the old leaves on the ground are wetted spores begin
to be discharged. Mr. Wallace, working in our laboratory
some years ago showed that no less than 8,107,200,000 spores
may readily be discharged in 45 minutes of rainy weather,
from the leaves on the ground under a tree having a spread
of 40 feet. These spores while shot less than a quarter of
an inch into the air are very light and float off on the slight
air currents to lodge on unfolding leaf, flower bud, or pedi-
cle. If the rainy weather which has brought about the dis-
charge of these ascospores continues for 30 to 40 hours so
that the foliage and blossom clusters remain wet the spores
germinate and sending a germ tube into the skin of the leaf
establish the parasite which within 10 to 14 days develops

9

sufficiently to appear as an olive brown spot or scab. This
early establishment of the fungus is known as the primary
infection. It is usually the underside of the unfolding
leaves and the pedicles of the blossoms that are first infect-
ed. The spots developing on the pedicles cause the young
fruits to drop within a week or two after blossoming while
on the infected leaves, spots develop from which great num-
bers of summer spores or conidia are developed, which fall-
ing on the surface of the leaves below and on the upturned
blossom ends of the rapidly enlarging friuts give rise to the
black scab spots on the upper side of the leaves and fruits.
Prom these spots new crops of conidia are produced which
spread the parasite to other leaves and fruits throughout the
season, whenever rainy weather favor. The ascospores de-
scribed as causing the first or primary infection may contin-
ue to be discharged over a period of a month, so that if
weather is not propitious for discharge just before blossom-
mg time primary infection may occur later, after the blos-
soms have fallen. It is, however, generally the primary in-
fection before blossoms that destroys the set of the fruit and
the secondary infections later that gives scabby fruit. Not
infrequently one of these secondary' infections occurs later in
the summer, August or September, making scabby a crop
which up to this time had been clean. This is known as the
late infection. This late infection sometimes does not de-
velop until after the apples have gone into storage. Late
infection scab spots are not confined to the blossom end of
the fruits like the earlier lesions but are apt to be more
common about the stem end of the fruit. They are, more-
over, much smaller, seldom larger than a pin head arid in-
tensely black. The scabbing of the current year's twig
growth is known to occur in a few varieties but is not com-
mon. There is little evidence to indicate that the apple
scab fungus like the pear scab fungus winters on the twigs
or limbs of the tree. Neith-er do the fallen scabbed fruits
serve to carry the fungus through the winter. The eonidia
or summer spores are short lived and refuse to germinate

10

after one or two freezings. It is only in the scabbed leaves
that fall to the ground that the scab fungus can continue its
development producing the ascospores already described.
With this brief statement of the life cycle of the scab fungus
in mind we are prepared to consider the causes of its epi-
demic appearance and the question of control. , , ,
demic appearance and the question of control.

The Ecology of the Disease. ,The conjunctive appear-
ance of two primary factors is responsible for the epidemic
occurrence of this malad^^ These factors are, (1) an abun-
dant production of ascospores in the old leaves on th3
ground and (2) the occurrence of extended rain periods
during the time of ascospore maturity. The abundant pro-
duction of ascospores is primarily dependent upon the gen-
eral occurrence of the scab on the foliage the previous sea-
son though a severe infestation is not requisite. A single
scab spot on a leaf may give rise to hundreds of ascospor-i
cases (perithecia) throughout the tissues of the scabbed
leaf which falls to the ground. In the spring of 1911 in
New York there was an abundance of ascospores in the old
leaves on the ground, but no scab epidemic appeared as
there was no rain sufficient for spore discharge and infection.
In the spring of 1912 the situation was reversed, due' to the
almost complete absence of scab during the summer of 1911
there were no ascopores in the old leaves. In the spring of
1912 weather conditions, however, were ideal for infection
but of course no epidemic was possible. Sufficient infection
did occur, however, so that reports of a little scab in most
sections are recorded. Whether this was sufficient to af-
ford the requisite quantity of ascospores for a severe at-
tack next spring (1913) remains to be seen. Weather con-
ditions are likely to be favorable as we appear now to be
going into a series of wet seasons.

Control. The methods to be employed in the control of
any disease of plants involve one of four basic principles,
exclusion, eradication, protection from, or immunization to,
the causal factor. The very general distribution of the ap-

11

pie scab disease and the almost universal occurrence of th^^
apple, cultivated or escaped, makes the application of
methods based on either of the first two principles quite out-
side consideration. That method (spraying) most generally
employed to combat this disease is based entirely upon the
principle of protection of the host plant, fruit and leaf from
attacks of the pathogenic fungus. IMethods of immuniza-
tion, such as selection and propogatiou of resistant varie-
t"es, etc., are of little value to this generation of apple grow-
ers who must look to the varieties already producing, for
their returns and remuneration. To the question of spray-
ing then we address our attention.

The History of Spraying for the Control of Apple Scab
in this country dates approximately from 1885 when Saun-
ders in Canada and Goff in New York laid out and conduct-
ed apple spraying experiments with a form of lime-sulfur.
(Lodeman, The Spraying of Plants 1896 p. 88.) The then re-
cently discovered bordeaux mixture used so effectively by
French vineyardists against the grape mildew was first sug-
gested for apple scab by Lamson Scribner, Assistant Botan-
ist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture in his annual re-
port for 1885. It was soon generally recommended and em-
ployed and quickly proved its efficiency against the scab
fungus. Its use became general among those growers who
sprayed, not only in New York but throughout the other
apple growing sections of the United States. Two factors
of fundamental importance, however, tended with increas-
ing force to dissatisfaction with bordeaux as a fungicide for
apple spraying. From the first it was observed that russet-
ting of fruit and yellowing and falling of leaves frequently
followed spraying with bordeaux mixture. Especially was
this the case in wet seasons in which spraying was most
necessary. In the second place commercially prepared bor-
deaux was generally held to be inferior in efficiency to the
home made mixture and more expensive. I hold it to be a
fundamental principle that a fungicide to be universally
and continuously acceptable must be of a nature to be made

12

on a commercial scale, stored and doled out as needed by the
grower. Hence I regard the nonadaptibility of bordeaux to
commercial manufacture as one of two chief causes for its
final abandonment for general use against apple scab,
though I, of course, believe the question of injury to fruit
and foliage the more immediately potent cause. The climax
was reached about 1909-10 when lime-sulfur appeared on the
spraying horizon of our western apple sections. Its con-
quest of the east, the stronghold of bordeaux and conserva-
tism, has been most complete. It is uncommon to find in the
State of New York an apple grower who still clings to bor-
c'eaux. Lime-sulfur, commercial lime-sulfur, if you please
is the fungicide of the day. That it has come to stay I
doubt, that it will never be replaced by bordeaux I am quite
sure. Copper as the active principle of fungicides has had
its day. Sulfur formerly the basis of all fungicides is again
coming into its own and that with a vengence.

Philosophy of Spraying. Let us consider carefully the
why of our employment of spraying for the control of the
apple scab. It is required of a fungicide (1) that it shall
be effective against the fungus to be combatted, i.e. it shall
prevent the germination and growth of the fungus spore.
Both lime-sulfur and bordeaux conform to this requirement.
(2) It shall not at the strength effective against the fungu*
cause injury to the host plant. Here the bordeaux most
frequently fails and that too under weather conditions most
favorable to the fungus. To be sure lime-sulfur may cause
mjury but it is far less common and serious than in the
case of bordeaux.. Most of the injury reported due to the
lime-sulfur, results from applying it to badly scabbed or in-
sect injured foliage. (3) It must be of a nature to go to-
gether with an effective insecticide especially in the case of
apple spraying because here the control of codling moth and
other insect pests is quite as important as the control of the
scab. Bordeaux was particularly satisfactory in this re-
spect, any of the standard arsenical insecticides working
-vvith it quite satisfactorily. The lime-sulfur on the other

13

hand due to its more active chemical nature, tends to break
down arsenical compounds forming new combinations in-
jurious to foliage and fruit. One compound, arsenate o£
lead, has proven quite satisfactory with lime-sulfur, giving
but little injury even under exceptional conditions. Not
only must the combination of the fungicide with the insecti-
cide prove non-injurious to the host plant but the efficiency
of neither against the fungus and insect pest must suffer.
There is abundant evidence in the results of experiments and
in the general experience of growers to warrant the con-
clusion that neither the fungicidal value of lime-sulfur nor
the insecticidal efficiency of arsenate of lead are injured by
the combination. In fact Dr. Wallace was able to show that
the fungicidal efficiency of the combination was greater than
that of the lime-sulfur alone.

Having set forth the nature and requirements of a good
fungicide and having shown wherein lime-sulfur is superior
to bordeaux let us consider the matter of time of application.
To be effective the fungicide must be applied before the ar-
rival or at least before the germination of the fungus spore
upon the leaf or fruit to be protected. We have seen that
the first scab spores to reach the young leaves and blossoms
in the spring come from the old leaves upon the ground at
the time when the blossom buds just begin to show pink.
The ascospores are not mature and so not discharged before
this time. We have also seen that the fungus does not win-
ter on the twigs. It must be evident to all of you, there-
fore, that dormant spraying can be of no value for apple
scab. This is borne out by experiments and experience.
The first application therefore for scab is to be made as
shortly before blossoms open as possible. The next period
for infection is usually just after blossoms fall. Evidently
the time for the second application is as soon after the blos-
soms begin to fall as possible, say when two-thirds are off.
A third infection depending on weather may call for a third
application, within ten days to three weeks after the blos-
soms fall, but this is not usual with us in New York. An

14

application had always best be made the latter part of July
or first of August to protect the maturing fruit and the foli-
age from a general late infection that will give scabby fruit
in storage and a good crop of ascospores in the old leaves
on the ground the next spring. It will be seen from what I
have just said that the stage of development of the apple
foliage, blossoms and fruit is to be the chief guide in deter-
mining the times of application. Another factor or guide
of nearly equal value is that of the occurrence of rain pe-
riods. By this I mean cloudy rainy weather for periods of
two to several daj's. Always spray just before the rain
periods never just after them. You will recall that the
spores are discharged, disseminated and germinate during
these rain periods and also that the fungicide to be effective
must be on the parts to be protected when the spore arrived
or at least before conditions favorable to its germination oc-
cur, hence the rule I have just laid down.

Equipment. It is neither my function or purpose to dis-
cuss under this heading the very important questions as to
different types and makes of spraying machinery. That
lies wholly within the province of my colleagues the farm
machinery men. There are certain phases of the equipment
question, however, of which the field pathologist is or should
be most competent to judge. I want to point out a few
things in regard to the spraying equipment which from my
knowledge and experience in spraying apple orchards I
know to be of financial worth to every apple grower.

Pressure. What particular make of power sprayer you
shall use is as I have said is not for me to judge. There are
many good ones. I require only that the machine give a
constant uniform pressure of 175 to 200. Less pressure than
150 lbs. is never to be tolerated with the large nozzles now
generally used in orchard work and brings us to the ques-
tion of:

Nozzles. An efficient nozzle must give a good volume of
fne, evenly distributed, hard driven mist. There appear
from tests made in the farm machinery laboratory of Cor-

15

Dell University to be but few nozzles that meet this require-
ment. A very clever device known as a "sprayograph" has
been devised by my colleague, Professor H. W. Riley for
testing nozzles. All nozzles should be set on the pole at an
angle of about 60 degrees. For dormant spraying one
efficient nozzle to each pole is all that should ever be used.
More are wasteful. For later sprayings two nozzles on tow-
er pole may be effectively used but never more than one on
the pole on the ground.

Hose. Field experience has shown that in spraying
large trees, two men, no more no less, may work to advan-
age with each rig but only when proper length of hose etc.
are provided. For the man on the tower the length of free
hose should about equal the length of the pole, 12 to 14 feet,
with a length of 8 to 10 feet to bring the hose to the top of
the tower, a total length of 20 to 25 feet. For the man on
the ground a length of at least 40 to 50 feet is required.
The hose should be of as small a diameter as possible, of the
best material, etc. so as to be of as light weight as may be.
-■Large heavy hose are never to be tolerated. They interfere
directly with efficient work.

Poles. For the man on the tower a pole not less than
12 ft. long is required for effective work while 14 to 16 ft. is
far better. The lightest bamboo compatible with necessary
Srtrength should be used. The inner pipe should be of brass
or aluminum firmly fastened so it will not turn inside the
bamboo. The operator can spray effectively only when he
can turn the nozzle in any direction at will. Iron gas pipe
poles should never be tolerated. The pole for the man on
the ground should never exceed 10 or 12 ft. Longer poles
cannot be used effectively among the branches.

Tower. No apple tree after it is five years old should
be so small as to be effectively and efficiently sprayed from
the ground alone. The spraying of a bearing orchard should
certainly never be so attempted. The saddle type of tower
here shown (Fig. 1) has many advantages over other types.
Make one and find out. Height is the primary requirement.

Fig. 1. The Cornell Tower. Saddle type of folding
tower devised and perfected by the departments of Plant
Pathology and Farm Mechanics, Cornell Tuiversity.

IT

in a tower. The rule is, have a tower of such a height that the
hips of the man on the tower are well above the bulge of the
tree.

Facilities for filling the tank should b'e such as to re-
quire a minimum of time. At the periods when spraying is
necessary time is too valuable to be used for anything else
than spraying. Filling tanks is not spraying.

The fungicide and its application. I have already
pointed out the superiority of lime-sulfur for the control of
the apple scab.

The strength or dilution required for a given fungicide
is determined as we have seen primarily by the minimum
strength required to kill the pathogen and the minimum
dilution necessary to prevent injury to the host plant. The
more these limits overlap the more satisfactory the fungicide
since the greater the margin of safety and efficiency. It is
now generally held that lime-sulfur diluted at the rate of 1
to 40 of a 32o Beaume concentrate, is most satisfactory for
the control of apple scab. Arsenate of lead is at present the
only known arsenical both safe and effective for use with
lime-sulfur. Dr. Wallace (N. Y. Cornell Bulletin 289 p. 140
and. 290 p. 178) has conclusively shown that the addition of
arsenate of lead actually increases the fungicidal value of
the mixture. 2 to 3 pounds of arsenate of lead per 50 gal-
lons of the dilute lime-sulfur is all that is required for ef-
fective control of the codling moth.

Marker. Milk of lime has often been used and advo-
cated as an addition to the dilute solution for a marker. So
far as its effect on the fungicidal value of the lime-sulfur is
concerned Wallace's experiments seemed to show that it
actually increased it. (N. Y. Cornell Bui. 290 p. 185) We
have found the addition of three to five pounds of iron sul-
fate to a two hundred gallon tank of spray mixture the most
effective marker. It gives a black liquid which contrasts
sharply on the green foliage but soon turns to a rusty brown.
Its effect on the fungicidal value of solution has never been
satisfactorily determined. It does, however, markedly re-

duce the burning qualities of the solution.

The character of the application of this combined fungi-
cide and insecticide is of the greatest importance. Since the
principle involved is that of protection from the scab fungus
every susceptible part must be thoroughly covered but not
drenched. To do this Mill require time, intelligence and
honesty in the Avork. The most conscientious and intelligent
■workmen on the place will be none too good to manipulato
the poles, I was about to say "hold" the poles, but that is
just where most spraying fails. The poles are usually held
not manipulated. Most effective and satisfactory work can
be done spray ir^- against the wind, never with the wind.
To do this successfully drive with or against the wind.
Make two stops for each tree or rather for the two trees you
are passing between, one as you approach them and one just
as you are past. Hold the pole so the nozzle faces the wind
and spray a limb at a time. There is no nozzle or operator
that will spray a tree at a time. Hold the nozzle at such a
distance from the limb that the limb will be just where the
force of the wind breaks the spray thus exposing the limb
on one side to the forward driven force of the spray and
coating it on the other side with the backward wind driven
tipray, in short hold the nozzle at such a distance that the
limb is surrounded by the fog formed where the force of
the wind breaks the spray cone. You thus finish a limb at
cnce. No waiting for the wind to change. The applica-
tion is made at the most effective time. There is no spray
driven into your face or the faces of your horses. It blows
past you on either side. Try it and you will never again
spray with the wind when you can help it. To thoroughly
spray a tree 30 to 40 years old will require not less than five
minutes. Ten trees per hour is rapid work.

The quantity of the dilute solution to use depends of
course upon the size of your trees. From careful estimates
based upon extensive operations in many orchards the fol-
lowing figures are offered as reliable guides in this matter.
For trees 30 to 40 years old, 30 trees to the acre, will be re-

19

quired 6 to 10 gallons dilute solution per tree per applica-
tion. Even for dormant spraying this amount will be neces-
sary as a large percentage goes on the ground. In figuring
the amount of concentrate needed allow half for the dor-
mant spray, (on account of the greater strength of the
solution 1-9 or 11) and half for the summer applications
(three or four). In general this will require one barrel (50
gal.) of concentrate per acre (of 30 trees.) Count on using
about 40 pounds of lead per acre.

Schedule for spraying the apple orchard for sc:b. arid
codling' moth, etc.

Dormant Spray. As the leaf buds begin to show green.
Lime-sulfur (32 degrees Beaume) diluted 1 to 8, for San
Jose Scale, Oyster Shell Scale and Blister ]\Iite. Add arse-
nate of lead 2 lbs. to 50 gal. for Bud Moth and Case Bearer.

Summer sprays.

A. As blossom buds begin to show pink. Lime-sulfur
(32 degrees Beaume), diluted 1 to 40, for apple scab; add
arsenate of lead, two pounds to 50 gallons, for bud moth and
case bearers.

B. As the last of the petals are falling (begin when
tAvo-thirds are off) Lime-sulfur (32 degrees Beaume) diluted
1 to 40, for apple scab ; add arsenate of lead, two pounds to
50 gallons for codling moth.

This is the most important spray for the control of cod-
ling moth and should be thoroughly done,

C. Three weeks after the petals fall. Lime-sulfur (32
degrees Beaume), diluted 1 to 40 for apple scab; add ar-
senate of lead, two pounds to 50 gallons, for codling moth.

D. Last week in July. Lime-sulfur (32 degrees
Beaume), diluted 1 to 40, for apple scab, late infection; add
arsenate of lead, 2 pounds to 50 gallons, for second brood of
codling moth.

^0

UME-SULPUR

The concentrated Lime-Sulfur solution may be purchased
ready made or may be prepared as follows:

Lump Lime 40 pounds

Sulfur 80 pounds

Water 50 gallons

Make a paste of the sulfur with about 10 gallons of hot
water. Add the lime. As the lime slakes add hot water as
necessary to prevent caking. When the lime has slacked add hot
water to make 50 gallons and boil one hour, stirring constantly.
Store in air-tight hardwood barrels. Test the strength of the
solution with a Beaume hydrometer and dilute for use according
to the following table:

Dilutions for Dormant and Summer Spi-aying with Lime-Sulfur

Mixtures
I Amount of dilution.

Reading on hydrometer|Number of gallons of water to one gallon
I of lime-sulphur solution

" j For j For | For summer

Degrees Beaume | San Jose ] blister- | spraying of
I scale I mite I apples

32 I 8

3J I 7 1-2

30 I 7 1-4

29 [ 6 3-4

28 I 6 1-2

27 I 6

26 I 5 3-4

25 1 5 1-4

24 I 5 I 7 I 26

11 I 40

10 1-2 I 37 3-4

10 f 36 1-4

9 1-2 I 34 1-4

9 I 32 3-4

8 1-2 I 31

8 I 29 1-2

7 1-2 I 27 3-4

PRESIDENT FROST. If you haven 't got all you want
from Dr. Whetzel, dig in and get more; but I am going to
ask each one of you in asking a question to rise and give his
name. All of these discussions are taken down in short-
hand and will come out in the report. Now, this report will
be issued probably within a month of this time, so that you
will have this advance information for your spraying work
this spring. This puts you ahead of the man who is not a
member of the Association.

I am going to say that those apples I show you are
grown by a man who is not a member of our Association.
[Laughter]. These [showing other apples] were grown by
a member of our Association, The man who grew these
[showing apples] has become a member within two weeks.
[Applause] .

21

MR. MUNROE MORSE. I would like to inquire if
cultivating the land under the apple trees and burying the
leaves would have any effect in preventing that scab?

DR. WHETZEL. I expected you to ask that question.
Yes, it would have considerable effect, depending on how
thoroughly you turned under the leaves and when you did
it. If you plowed in the fall and did a thorough job you
would very greatly reduce the amount of infection the fol-
lowing spring ; if you did not plow until spring and plowed
so late that the spores were already discharged, you
wouldn't gain anything. On the other hand, while this is a
good sanitary measure to be employed in the control of ap-
ple scab, you must not depend on it alone. We have records
in certain orchards in New York State that have been
plowed and cultivated, in which the check (unsprayed) ap-
ple trees were in the middle of the orchard, and have been
thoroughly sprayed, by the way, for 12 years — 98 per cent
of the fruit showed scab, even though the land had been
thoroughly cultivated and the orchard thoroughly sprayed
the season before. It merely shows that there were a few
leaves sticking aroimd that hadn't been turned under, those
tliat were in the fence corners and under the trees, which
would have sufficient spores in them if the season was fav-
orable to give a large percentage of scab. Of course, 98 per
cent doesn't mean badly spotted, but it was that 98 per
cent showed one or more spots. Plowing under is a good
sanitary precaution, but not to be depended on, nor are you
to omit the spraying.

A VOICE. How about burning?

DR. WHETZEL. It might work, except that you
would have the same objection that you couldn't thoroughly
burn every leaf, and I am inclinde to think you would be
discouraged if you should try. It is dangerous to the trees
if you put around enough straw to burn all the leaves. If
,>ou get the leaves thoroughly dry, it would be more effec-
tive than plowing under and would probably kill a great
many spores on leaves which were not actually barned up.

22

MR. KIDDER OF MILTON. I was very much interest-
ed in the speaker's statement — which I don't doubt for a
moment, because I have arrived there by my own experi-
ence— that sprinkling is of no particular good, whereas
spraying is useful. Now, I thought that perhaps the speak-
er can tell us in a few words why that is the case, because
to the casual observer it might seem as if getting the ma-
terial on in any shape ought to do the work. Apparently it
doesn't, and I think it would be very interesting if we could
know why it is necessary to spray and not sprinkle.

DR. WHETZEL. Well, the gist of the matter is this :
If you sprinkle the leaves you do one of two things, either
put on large drops at various places on the leaves, or pour a
lot of it on, and the result is that most of that runs off. 11
you drench a tree, even when you are spraying with a mist,
many of the leaves will actually have no fungicide on them,
because there will be such a large quantity that it will run
off the leaves. If you only put a few large drops there will
be many places on that where the leaves are not covered.
These spores are not as big as a pin head, but are exceeding-
ly small and don 't require very much space in which to germ-
inate and grow. They are much smaller than the point
of a pin and an area as large as the head of a pin will be
ample, even though a big chunk of lime-sulfur or Bordeaux
may be quite close to it. Now, when you remember that
there are millions of spores in the air and that thousands
will fall on the leaves you will see that you are taking
large chances when you sprinkle. On the other hand, if you
spray and put it on in a fine mist, just to the point of drip-
ping but not quite dripping, you have covered the surface
of that leaf with many fine drops, and when it dries so
closely together on the surface of the leaves the ascosporehas
no chance of finding spaces between in which they can fall
and germinate. It would be surprising to see how small a
space a spore may occupy between two drops of Bordeaux
mixture, -and still grow. If you had it under the microscope,
with a magnification of say fifty diameters, you could see

23

one drop here and one drop there with the spore between
and growing, so that in order to be effective you must have
a very fine mist with the drops as close together as possible.
The test of a good nozzle is to have it give as many drops
per square inch as possible which will not run together.

MR. RICHARDS OF MARSHFIELD. What is that
scab that I find on some of my apples- — I raise some six or
seven acres — I find some that will have some black spots on
the surface of the apple, extending some ways into the in-
terior of the apple and destroying the taste of the apple.
Another question is this, in speaking about the use of lime-
sulfur and arsenate of lead the speaker gave us what pro-
portions to use. What proportion shall we mix them in to
get the best results for the apple scab.

DR. WHETZEL. I will answer the last question first.
I thought I had made it clear to you. Lime-sulfur, one part
to forty parts of water. To this dilute solution you add ar-
senate of lead, paste, two pounds to fifty gallons of this di-
lute solution of lime-sulfur. If you use the powered, one
pound to fiftj' gallons. For your conscience sake you can
throw in an extra pound if you want to.

Now, the first question was with respect to a particular
case. He has a black spot on the fruit which goes into the
flesh some distance, and he wants to know if that is scab.

MR. RICHARDS. It is very small.

DR. WHETZEL. I doubt if it is scab, although I
couldn't tell unless I saw the fruit. Most of the scab spots
on the fruit are as large as your finger nail except those
which come on the storage apple. They are always very
small, seldom larger that the head of a pin, and very black,
but they don't go into the fruit to any depth. Probably
v/hat you have in mind is the so-called Baldwin Spot, which
is very common. It is not caused by a fungus.

MR. RICHARDS. Can that be prevented by spraying?

DR. WHETZEL. No, sir. Spraying will not control
that.
^ MR. J. 0. HALE OF BYFIELD. I would like to ask

24

■what the trouble is on these russet apples [indicating] and
how it can be controlled ; and I want to ask at the same time
whether it is natural just around here, or whether you get
it in New York State.

DR. WHETZEL. This is the sooty blotch, caused by a
fungus which lives only on the surface of the fruit and does
not go in as deep even as the scab. It is a verj'- common
disease wherever apples are grown, especially on trees that
are not thoroughly pruned, not opened up enough, or stand-
ing in a low situation where the atmosphere is apt to be
moist. The remedy for this is opening up of the trees and
spraying thoroughly, spraying as for apple scabs, especially
the application made ten days or two weeks after the blos-
soms fall. I j

MR. HALE. Those were sprayed twice.

DR. WHETZEL. You want a later application, prob-
ably, than you made.

MR. HALE. I think probably that is it.

MR. WHETZEL. Yes. Along in the middle of the
summer, ten days or two weeks after the blossoms fall, will
undoubtedly catch that. The only injury to the fruit is
making it unsightly. It doesn't injure the fruit itself. You
can rub it off if you rub hard enough.

MR. HALE. They are just as good, but they don't
seem to sell so well.

DR. WHETZEL. Now; that is the trouble. Here
[indicating] is a spot on an apple that I can't diagnose.
There are a large number of fruit spots on apples which
have come into prominence recently, not that we haven't
had them before, but that we are getting more particular
than we used to be and we didn't use to see these at all.
The price makes a great difference in your eyesight.
[Laughter]. All apple growers have much better eyesight
today than they used to have.

PRESIDENT FROST. I will state for Dr. Whetzel's
benefit that the apple I picked up a while ago and showed
to the convention I picked out of a« Oregon box in one of

25

our stores yesterday.

DR. WHETZEL. These spot diseases all appear to
have come from Oregon, or the west. [Laughter], Tho
reason is that they got their sight sooner then we did, that's
all. We have some in the east, but the truth is that a large
number of these peculiar spots — that is, the Jonathan spot
and the Fruit Spot — appear to be a type of scald. You
have seen the scald on the Greenings.

MR. YEATON OF MAINE. Would spraying in tht
fall, after the leaves have fallen, spraying the ground
thoroughly, saturating it with lime-sulfur, be of sufficient
assistance or benefit to us in controlling the apple scab to
warrant doing it?

DR. AVHETZEL. The question is, will it be sufficient-
ly profitable to warrant us in spraying the leaves after they
fall in the autumn, in order to kill the fungus on the leaves?
Well, now, I will tell j^ou a story which will illustrate this,
T think. It isn't a funny story. Some of you must know
the black rot on grapes, in which the bunches turn black
and hang on the vines in winter. The disease is something
like the apple scab. It produces spore bodies inside of the
black grape, which produce these spores which are shot in
the spring the same as the apple scab fungus. A couple of
years ago, when Dr. Reddick was working in a vineyard in
i\ew York State, the hired man in this particular vineyard
thought there ought to be some way of killing this black
rot. He suggested spraying them thoroughly in the fall,
and Dr. Reddick said that wouldn't do any good but this
hired man thought he would try a little experiment of his
own. He took a bunch of mummies and hung them over-
night in a barrel of strong vitriol that they used there for a
stock solution, and the next morning he took it out early
and hung it away down in one of the vines right near a lot
of blossom clusters and then waited. Along in the summer
when the black rot became apparent, one day he said to Dr.
Reddick, "Doc, come down here; I have something to show
you," and he took him down to this particular place, and

26

there was this bunch of mummy grapes that he had soaked in
the vitriol, and all around that buiich the grapes were
plastered with rot. The fungus had lived through that
immersion in vitriol. That was due to the fact that tho
fungicide in solution in the water was filtered out. The
water went through. If you sprayed the apple leaves on the
ground the water might go through the leaves. But at that
time there are no spores yet formed. There would be in the
spring enough spores there so that they would ripen up and
be shot into the air just the same. Generally speaking, no
success has ever been attained by treating them in that way,
by spraying any solution on them in the fall.

MR. RICHARDS. I have been told by a fruit gromer
that you must spray early in the spring. The speaker spoke
of spraying at the time when the blossom is about to open.
Now, in the east we have to some extent the San Jose scale.
Shall we spray early in the season, say, the middle of March
or the first of April? The other question is in regard to
leaves. Some of my trees seem to be infected with yellow
leaves, which are curled. I don't mean being dried up and
ready to fall, but I thought that perhaps it is lice, that the
lice got on the leaves, and I would like to have him explain
I oth of those questions if he will.

DR. WHETZEL. To be sure, we make the dormant
spray in New York, but since I was talking about scabs I
(•mitted that on purpose. The so-called dormant spray is
made just when the buds begin to put out green, that it, be-
fore you see the blossom clusters, just when they have
swollen up to show a little green ; that is when we make
what we call our dormant spray for scale, blistermite, bud
moth, case bearer, and so on. It is almost entirely an insect
spray, and we use the lime-sulfur, one to nine or eleven, de-
pending on whether you have the San Jose there or not. If
you have the San Jose, it is one to nine ; if it is the blister-
mite, it is one to eleven. To this we add from two to three
pounds of arsenate of lead for fifty gallons. This catches
the bud moth. Lime-sulfur, one to nine for scale, and one
-to eleven for blistermite; to that we add 'the two or three

27

pounds of arsenate of lead for fifty gallons for bud moth.
It has no effect or control of the apple scab. There is a
tendency on the part of growers to hold this spraying off as
long as possible, as near to the opening of the blossoms as
possible, in order to make one spraying do. In some sea-
sons it may be done, but is a dangerous practice.

MR. W. F. GOULD OF IPSWICH. Will spraying have
any effect on honey bees? Is there any danger of their car-
rying the poison to their hives?

DR. WHETZEL. I am afraid there are some bee men
in this crowd. [Laughter]. I got stung once and it put me
t^ntirely out of business, so that I am a little skeptical on
that ciuestion. In the first place there is no object in spray-
ing when the apples are in blossom, nothing to be gained,
because ordinarily it is a period in the growth and develop-
ment when there is clear weather, when the fungus will not
be active. If you spray properly it is done before the blos-
soms form, so that the bees and the poison would have no
relation to each other. In the state of New York, again, it
is against the law to spray when the trees are in blossom.
Professor Slingerland, however, said that there was no
evidence to show that the bees were poisoned, even if th'3
trees were sprayed when in blossom. It has been shown
however, that spraying in blossom tends to reduce the set
of the fruit. There are many good reasons why you
shouldn't spray in blossom, even aside from whether the
bees are injured or not. There is no reason why you should
spray in blossom, so far as I know.

The other question that this gentleman asked in respect
to the curling and yellowing of the leaves, I suspect is
caused by lice, but I don't know. I am not a bug man, so
I can't give you any very good information. But I have
had some experience of my own, and I have concluded that
the lice is one of the big issues, I spent a good deal of time
chasing lice on a few small trees, so I haven't a suggestion
to make, because they got the best of me. [Laughter]. T
followed the advice of our staff and I found that the best

28

proposition, after they got to the leaves, was to use soap-
fcuds, about a pound to five or ten gallons, put a little Black-
Leaf-40 in, and dip the tips of the twigs in it. Do it just
before dark in the evening, so that they will have to sleep
in it. [Laughter].

MR. BROWN OF POMFRET, CONNECTICUT. I
would like to ask if it is not possible that that is orange
rust?

DR. WHETZEL. When the gentleman first began to
describe it I was on the point of concluding that I had an
answer for his question, but when he said the leaves curled
1 was inclined to think it was not rust, because so far as I
know now rust doesn't curl the leaves. It makes them very
yellow in spots and in the spring it causes a yellowing of
the foliage and also attacks the fruit. Certain varieties,
l:ke the Mcintosh, are especially susceptible.

MR. BROOKS OF BOXFORD. I read in a book some-
thing about destroying the old crop. How would it be pos-
sible to destroy it, what method would you use to actually
get rid of those apples so that there would be no come-back
en your trees?

DR. WHETZEL. You are asking me a question that
belongs to the grower, I am afraid.

MR. BROOKS. You wouldn't put them under the
barn would you?

DR. WHETZEL. In the manure heap, you mean?

MR. BROOKS. Yes.

DR. WHETZEL. No. I don't know what you would
have to do. You would have to try and see, first. If I had
a large orchard I think I should do just as the rest do, and
leave them on the ground. Someone might suggest that
you turn in the hogs. That is all right if you have hogs and
Ihey will eat them, I suppose it is really an exceedingly
good thing to do, but I personally know nothing about it.

I do know one thing that you ought to do, and that is
pick the gnarly and scabby and little fellows off the trees
before you do your main picking, thin your frait. You

29

will have to thin your fruit if you are going to compete with
the fellows in the west.

PRESIDENT FROST. That question might be saved
for the market men this afterQoon. Has anyone else any
other question?

MR. SPALDING OF BOSTON. I have heard quite a
prominent man advocate a kind of copious overhead irrigat-
ing system, simply the use of a copious amount of water.
Can anybody tell me anything about that?

DR. WHETZEL. I don't know a thing about it.

MR. WILSON. I would like to inquire about the Bald-
win spot, the cause of it.

DR. WHETZEL. I am afraied you are asking me a
hard one. It is an exceedingly common disease, not only
on Baldwins but on other varieties. The sympton is a
fc-lightly sunken, brown spot, usually more apparent around
the blossom end, and when you cut into the fruit under these
spots you will find the flesh dead for half or a quarter of an
inch inside. Oftentimes you will find the spot further in,
scattering through the flesh. Sometimes when it is serious
the flesh will be bitter, and it has been called "bitter rot."
It is not the bitter rot of the middle west. The best name
for Baldwin spot is stippen, a German name, which means
sinking or dipping. It is not a fungus disease, not caused
by fungi or bacteria. Therefore it is a physiological disease
which means that we don't know anything about it.
[Laughter]. I can detail for you several theories with re-
gard to the cause of this disease, and it will probably inter-
est you because of all the men I have ever met farmers are
the greatest on theory. [Laughter]. If you don't believe
it, just start a question about anything down at the hotel
and see how many theories you will get. There is a theory
in regard to the Baldwin spot which is worth considering,
however. Those who have investigated the disease most,
especially in recent years in South Africa and Australia,
where it is very destructive, hold one or two theories. The
first is that it is due to a disturbance of the water supply.

30

in which case the most destruction comes in seasons when
they have a wet spell follow^ed by a dry spell, and then wet
gnd dry, when they have sharp changes in the water sup-
ply. That is to say, when they have a season which is uni-
formly moist they have but little as compared with the
seasons in which they have, say, the first part wet and then
^, ery dry and then wet, and so no. The mechanics of the
injury I shall not go into. The lesson to be learned, how-
ever, which is up to the fruit growers, if that theory is true.
is to maintain as uniform a water condition in their soil
during the season as possible. That he will do by the or-
dinary practices which the horticulturist recommends, first,
drainage, because a drained soil is more uniformly wet and
more uniformly dry than an unclrained one; cultivation,
which conserves the soil moisture and makes it uniform, and
the putting on of a cover crop in the middle of the season,
which relieves the extra water pressure which may come in
the fall from the fall rains ; and spraying the trees. That is
not because of the direct results, but because you then have
foliage which is green and free from injury throughout the
season on account of the uniform removal of the water
which comes through the rots. If you start out with a
heavy foliage the roots respond with a certain amount of
water which they will bring up, with the expectation that
this crop of leaves will be there all the season. If that crop
of leaves become injured and half of them go off and tho
other half is badly injured, you will see at once that the
root system will bring in more water than the foliage will
be able to get out of the tree. The water that trees use
comes in through the roots and goes out through the leaves
from day to day. So, the better the foliage the more uni-
form movement of the water, so that if the leaves fall off
the uneven pressure which is brought about is said to bring
about that injury, from too much water.

The other theory, recently developed in Australia, is
that it is arsenical poisoning, due either to spraying or arse-
nic in the soil. We Americans do not believe that that is

31

the case. That is the best I can do for you on that ques-
tion.

PRESIDENT FROST. I want to break in on the dis-
cussion a moment. Some of our editors are desirous of
knowing what' states are represented, and I will ask thai:
question each session. I will ask how many there are here
trom Maine. Please raise your hands: Nine from Maine.
Now, New Hampshire : Eleven from New Hampshire. Ver-
mont. None? We have several regrets from people who
stated that they wished to come, and there may be someone
Iiere from Vermont later. Now, Connecticut : Nine from
Connecticut. Rhode Island : Five from Rhode Island. I
thank you.

Anyone who wishes to go out, who doesn't care for this
discussion, I am going to ask to visit the Trades Exhibit
Hall. You want to encourage the trades people as much as
you can to help our Fruit Growers' Association, and we will
continue this discussion as long as you wish. Now, I will
ask you to ask any more questions that you wish.

MR. COX OF WAKEFILD. Where there is apple
scab on the leaves on the trees and it is used for bedding for
cattle, when the manure is put on the land will there be any
danger from the fungus getting on the trees?

DR. WHETZEL. There is no question at all that the
fungus would persist in the leaf and ripen its spores, but if
you put the manure on the corn field it wouldn't hurt th-^
corn any. It would be bad practice to put it in an apple
orchard, but if you put it in any other field away from the
orchard there would be no harm caused, because it has no
place to grow.

MR. LYONS. Are not the two most essential things
for people that have trees to spray them, and then burn the
leaves ?

DR. WHETZEL. If I understand the ' question the
gentleman wants to know if the two important things to do
with respect to scabs are not, first, burn the leaves in the fall
and then spray the trees in the spring?

32

MR. LYONS. Yes.

DR. WHETZEL. Yes. But the first is very much less
essential than the second. That is to say, you can control
the apple scabs to within two or three per cent without mak-
ing any effort to destroy the leaves. Here, is a point that
you must not forget : If you spray the trees thoroughly
every year, leaving such a large percentage of green leaves
that have no fungus on them, they won't need to be burned
or plowed under or tinkered with in any way. The only
man who is justified in spending much time or money in de-
stroying the leaves is the man who has neglected his orchard
and has an exceptionally scabby crop of leaves to go on the
ground in the fall. Generally speaking, if everyone of you
apple growers would spray every year the question of what
you are going to do with the leaves would not be a ques-
tion for you. That is, if the foliage is clean it doesn't mat-
ter.

MR. WILSON. I understood. Doctor, that about five
minutes was an average time for the average size tree, and
about six gallons.

DR. WHETZEL. I said five minutes was the minimum
time for a tree of thirty or forty years. That is not an ex-
ceptionally large tree. And I said that six gallons was the
minimum solution. Now, ten gallons is better. It takes
approximately as much for the dormant spray as for those
later sprays, because so much mixture is lost. You have to
put more in the tree to get it covered, so that when the trees
are in foliage you will actually get more solution on in a
given time than you will when they are dormant. There
sre many trees in the State of New York that six gallons
wouldn't begin to spray. It takes ten or fifteen, even twen-
ty. I know a grower who puts on fifteen to twenty per
tree, and the trees don't drip. They are large trees. It all
depends on the size. I was merely giving you something to
go by.

It might be of interest for you to consider this, also:
We found our Fruit Growers' Association wanted to know

33

how much to buy and how much they would have left, and
we made an estimate and on the average we find they will
need one barrel of lime-sulfur solution per acre of thirty
trees or thereabouts. Half of that will be used for the dor-
mant spray and the other half for the summer. I thought
I could give you the exact figures, but I can't. It will be in
my paper, at any rate.

MR. WILSON. One more question, Doctor, that you
have left us in the dark about. You have told us there are
practically only two nozzles, or three, on the market that
are really good. How are we going to find out what those
are, the names of them? On the quiet, or how?

DR. WHETZEL. Well, sir, if I had not forgotten you
could find out. I am not afraid to tell.

MR, WILSON. I will leare my address with you.
DR. WHETZEL. Don't do that, because I might lose
it. But if you will write to me or to Professor H. W. Riley
of the Farm Machinery Department and ask him,. I think
he will send you the names of certain nozzles that were es-
pecially good. If I remember right, among the good noz-
zles were the Friend, the Gould Mystery, and one of the
Bean nozzles, and the Scientific.

A VOICE. But wasn't that at 175 pounds?
DR WHETZEL. Yes, those are all large volume and
must be from 175 to 200, or they won't do the business.
If you must have low pressure, use the Vermorel type.

Now, don't imagine that the more nozzles you get on
the end of the pole the more business you are doing. That
is another kind of poor eyesight. The rule we follow is
this : Never more than one nozzle on the pole on the ground.
One nozzle on the pole on the ground is all that is necessarj'',
because actually the man on the ground does a very small
part of the actual spraying. The man on the tower is
the man who does the business. On the pole on the tower
for dormant spraying, only one nozzle, because I have never
seen a man who could work two nozzles and make them do
business effectively because he is spraying a limb at a time

34

and while he is spraying with this one nozzle, the other is
shooting off into the air somewhere. When you are spray-
ing trees in foliage you may profitably use two if they are
set properly. If you spray with two nozzles, you must
Bee that they are set at an angle of about 60 degrees. I
know that a lot of you are spraying with nozzles set straight
on the end of the pole. You cannot do a good job with
them set that way. If you don't believe it, go home and
get one and try it.

MR. GOULD. Would you recommend scraping off
the loose bark and spraying the trees?

DR. WHETZEL. No, I never recommend anything.
Don't forget that I have recommended nothing to you to-
day, nothing. I wouldn't for the world have you say that
Whetz^el recommended this or that, and then have you cuss
me out. I wouldn't even suggest that you scrape the trees.
I don't scrape trees, because I haven't any to scrape.
[Laughter] . But if I had, I think I should not scrape them
unless I had a bad infection of the oyster-shell scale, say.
From the plant doctor's point of view there is no reason
why you should scrape trees. There are some however,
why you shouldn't. You are apt to injure the bark and
admit canker or something of the kind. It may be that
from the bug man 's point of view there is a need for scrap-
ing, but that is their problem. I don't know in respect
to that part of it.

MR. REYNOLDS OF HAVERHILL. I would like to
ask if we get better colored fruit and fruit that will keep
longer, in a sod than we do where our orchards are culti-
vated?

PRESIDENT FROST. Mr. Reynolds, I suggest that
that question be brought up this afternoon. Will you be
here with us?

MR. REYNOLDS. I will.

MR. RICHARDS. I am troubled some with my apples
with a dry rot that attacks the calyx. There will be a
space of perhaps a quarter of an inch around the calyx.

35

I thin out my apples, thin out everything four or five times
before they are gathered, and I always throw out those
apples that have this defect just around the calyx, a dry
rot. It spoils the look of the apple,

DR. WHETZEL. I can only guess the answer to that
question. There is a large number of calyx rots. One
which has been especially troublesome in the west and also
some in the east here is known as the ordinary core rot.
It starts at the blossom and goes down to the core. Does
this go into the core? ,

MR RICHARDS. No.

DR WHETZEL. Just a black spot?

MR. RICHARDS. Yes.

DR.WHETZEL. You probably have what is generally
held here in New England to be arsenate of lead injury. It
appears as a black spot around the calyx cup ; it doesn 't
go in very deep, but sometimes your fruit cracks. I think
the evidence is pretty good that it is due to an accumulation
of arsenate of lead ; I think that is probably what you have.

MR. COX. In spraying with oil is it well to drench
the tree?

DR.WHETZEL. That is the bug man's question. I
don't know anything about it.

MR. FOX OF TAUNTON. I would like to ask wheth-
er cedar rust can be controlled by spraying?

DR. WHETZEL. Yes, sir, it can be controlled by
spraying. At the Cleveland meeting of the American Path-
ological Association we had a number of papers on the ques-
tion of the control of cedar rust, which is now an important
question to Fruit Growers. We are just goings through an
epidemic of cedar rust the country over. It was conclu-
sively shown that rust could be controlled by one spraying.
The difficultj^ involved is to know just when to make that
spraying, and I was not able to gather from the evidence
presented enough facts to enable me to formulate in my
own mind exactly when that spraying should be done. In
general, the proposition is this: The fungus winters on the

36

eedar, showing big, yellow, gelatinous masses forming in
the spring, during the rains, some of these spores will carry
to the apple. The point is to get that spraying in just be-
fore the rains, which give you the gelatineous masses on the
cedar, and that will have to be individual matter for every
one if the growers. Study the situation and keep an eye
on the cedar and find what time it occurs. It varies in dif-
ferent localities by as much as two to three weeks. You
will have to study a little bit and then make your spray
time to meet it just ahead of that. The difficulty is that this
comes at a time when the apple leaves are opening, and
there may be a growth before and there may be some after
the spraying, which will be infected because you couldn't
cover it, it wasn't out yet. But I imagine that early spray-
ing just before the blossoms open, if you pay attention to
the rains which come in your sections, and put it on just
before those rains, would probably get it. "We have so lit-
tle of it in New York State that we never did anything
especial on it, and what I am trying to give you is merely
what I have gathered from experience of pathologists in
other states. It is second-hand information and isn't very
reliable.

MR. FARRAR OF LINCOLN. I would like to ask
the Professor if, in using arsenate of lead with lime-sulfur,
there is any danger of chemical reaction injuring the fol-
iage?

DR. WHETZEL. That is the chief danger, of course,
in mixing anything with lime-sulfur. Sulphite of lime is a
chemical solution which reacts quite readily with other
things, and you do have chemical reaction between arsenate
»f lead and lime-sulfur. But the bulk of the evidence indi-
cates that the danger of injury to the apples is very small.
It does injure peaches, and some varieties will not stand the
combination at all. In connection with some experiments
by Scott of the Department of Agriculture, it was found
that injury resulted where the apples were sprayed two or
three times or more during the season. Arsenic was appar-

ently set free. In the State of New York I recall no cases
where injury of serious nature was due to that.

There is one thing which I might mention, and that is
that you are practically certain to get serious injury from
lime-sulfur and arsenate of lead if you spray foliage that is
already injured. The common experience of our growers
is that in the early spraying there is a little burning; then
they use a much stronger solution when the leaves are young
than when they are older. The answer to that question is
that when the leaves become older they, get scabbed or
pimctured by insects, which allows the mixture to go in and
you get spots. Another reason why you should spray just
before the blossoms open is that if you get a bad infection
(•f scabby foliage and go on and spray after the blossoms
open, you will get bad burning and you will say it is bad
stuff. Well, it isn't. If the leaves are perfect and have no
.spots on them lime-sulfur, one to forty will not injure them.
MR. CARTER OF WILMINGTON. I would like to ask
the gentleman if it isn't necessary to use a different kind of
spray for peaches and plums and grapes than what we do
tor apples'?

MR. WHETZEL. Yes, sir, you can use a lime-sulfur
for apples. Generally speaking, you cannot use lime-sulfur
i^olution for peaches or plums or grapes. It has a dwarfing
and burning effect on grapes, even in very dilute solution.
We have tried it out very thoroughly on grapes in New
York State. If I had peaches or plums in the orchard I
should use commercial lime-sulfur, that is, on my own or-
chard. I don't want you to try it, just because I would, be-
cause you might burn all j^our leaves off. But if I had a
peach or plum orchard I should use it from one to one hun-
dred and fifty to one to two hundred for the control of thr;
brown rot and scab. I use it right along on my plum trees
at home, five or six of them, and have never had any serious
trouble. They are a little spotted, but nothing serious.
Certain varieties of peaches can be sprayed with a stronger
solution, about one to fifty, and others right side of them

'I B8

will lose every leaf, so it jsn't safe for the grower to go
ahead blindly. If youwant to experiment and try, that is
a different matter.

MR. TENNEY OF MAINE. I would like to ask, if you
use the same strength of spraying material at the first of
August, if there wouldn't be danger of your hurting the
fruit?

DR. WHETZEL. You want to know whether the same
strength of solution should be used for all the sprayings for
scabs ? Yes : one to forty. There is less danger of burning
your foliage in the first spray than there is the second and
third. As I pointed out, when the leaves first come out the
surfaces are protected by a cuticle which is perfect. Yoa
can actually use a stronger solution. As a matter of fact,
I know men in the State of New York who have used one to
eleven for this first spray when the blossoms showed pink,
without any injury. However, I shouldn 't advise you to try
it. On the other hand, with one to forty, if the foliage is
injured you will get serious burning. The general practice
is, however, one to forty. If you are to dilute it any it
should be later, the first of July or August, and then per-
haps one to fifty would be safer, because the foliage is cer-
tain to be more or less injured then and you might get more
or less injury by burning. I have never seen any cases
where it caused injury to fruit under ordinary circumstan-
ces. I have seen cases where they thought it did, but when
an examination was made the evidence didn't bear that out.
Apples may scald in hot weather from spraying with any-
thing, but that is due to the water, and the action of the
sun.

MR. WILDER OF LANCASTER. Will the Professor
kindly tell us the spraying outfit he uses for his small or-
chard?

DR. WHETZEL. I use the Gould Pomona outfit. A
barrel hung in a cart, and I can carry 200 pounds pressure
with that pump. Of course, I have to work a little, but they
say that exercise is good once in a while for a professor. I

39

use a boy to pump, though [laughter]. I think that is a
good outfit for a small place. There are other good pumps
en the market.

MR. ROBBINS OF LANESBOROUGH. In spraying
just before a rain, do you get all the benefit you need at the
instant of the spraying, so that itmakes no difference wheth-
er the rain washes your spray off right afterwards or not 1

DR. WHETZEL. No. In the first place, the rain does
not wash the spray off. That is a delusion some of you gen-
tlemen labor under. If the mixture has dried only a very
small quantity will be washed off. In the case of Bordeaux
mixture an exceedingly small percentage, but in lime-sulfur
perhaps a large amount. Of course, if it all were washed
cff in the first few minutes of rain it would be worthless, be-
cause it must be on the foliage during the rain when the
fungus is germinating, therefore if you wait imtil after the
rain starts, infection has already taken place and the spray-
ing is worthless. To be effective it must be a mixture that
will stick to the foliage during the rain in sui^icient amounts
to kill the fungus. The very fact that lime-sulfur does con-
trol it is evidence that it staj^s on and is not washed off.
Now, if lime-sulfur does not have time to dry a much larger
percent will be washed off, if there is a driving rain a much
larger percent would be washed off when the rain came.
But the ideal condition would be to have the mixture on so
that it would have half an hour or so in w'hich to dry be-
fore the rain strikes it. But since the spores are being shot
during the rain, after the rain starts, it would be more pro-
fitable to put it on even in the rain.

MR. FLOYD OF TOPSFIELD. I would like to ask
the Professor in regard to spraying outside of the trees or
under the trees,

DR. WHETZEL. Well, in the first place, as I pomted
out to you, the greater part of the spraying should be done
from above the tree, that is, outside of. the tree. The man
should be on the tower established well enough above the
bulge of the tree so that he can freely use all the pole to

40

reach out and spray thoroughly. The great bulk of the
fruit and foliage is on the outside and of course it is that
side that wants to be sprayed. The spores fall down and
not up. Most of the infections are on the surfaces exposed
upward. On the other hand, a certain amount wants to be
done on the inside of the leaves and limbs inside; it can be
done, most of it, by the man on the tower, and the man on
the ground can do it where the man on the tower can't
reach below. But the bulk of it should be done from out-
side. The pole on the ground should be short enough so
that the man can get under the tree to reach the limbs that
the fellow on the tower cannot reach.

PRESIDENT FROST. The hour is getting late and we
have a very busy afternoon before us, and I am going to
suggest to you who haven't had opportunity to ask ques-
tions that you get Dr. Whetzel in the corner, as he has sug-
gested, since we are going to try to keep him as long as pos-
sible.

We will now adjourn until two o'clock.
(Noon recess.)

41

AFTERNOON SESSION.

PRESIDENT FROST. If the meeting will come to or-
der I will say that there will be a Round Table Talk in the
hall below, commencing immediately, and if there is anyone
in the audience who is more interested in the growth of
small fruits than in the talk on pruning this afternoon, 1
v^ould ask that they go to the room below.

Our first subject of the afternoon is on pruning, with
special reference to summer pruning. Now, this is a subject
that w^e have not made a great study of, and there are only a
few people who have specialized upon it. This afternoon
we have with us Professor C. D. Jarvis of the Connecticut
Agricultural College, wdio has done some very fine work in
the line of pruning, and especially summer pruning. Sum-
mer pruning is something that is being taken up quite ex-
tensively by the most up to date and scientific growers.

I have the honor of presenting to you this afternoon
Professor C. D. Jarvis. (Applause).

PRUNING THE APPLE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO SUMMER PRUNING.

By Dr. C. D. Jarvis, Conn. Agr'l College.

Pruning is a natural process. It may be observed on
both fruit and forest trees. In the struggle for existence
the weaker branches, or those unfavorably located, die and
drop off. An attempt, often successful, to heal the wound
takes place. The modern practice of pruning is an attempt
to assist nature and to improve upon her crude methods.
OBJECTS OF PRUNING.

The objects of pruning are three in number. The pri-

42

mary one is to reduce the struggle for existence among the
various parts of a tree so that the remaining portion may
produce larger and better fruits. Pruning, therefore, is a
thinning process, the beneficial effect of which may be read-
ily demonstratejd by the cu,tting out of about half the brush
from a neglected apple tree. The process includes the re-
moval of dead or diseased parts as well as of superfluous
living branches.

The second recognized object of pruning is to control
and modify the shape of trees. Pruning, therefore, is a
training process. It commences when the tree is in the nur-
sery row and may continue throughout its life.

Finally, pruning is practiced on account of its effect
upon the formation of fruit-buds and leaf-buds. ■ The phys-
iological processes concerned in this are not well understood,
but it is well loiown that pruning during the growing season
produces an entirely different effect from pruning during
the dormant season. A heavy pruning of the top during
the winter tends to produce wood, because the same amount
or root energy is concentrated on a smaller top. The prun-
ing of the root has the opposite effect, tending to lessen the
production of wood, because the same amount of top receives
a smaller supply of the stored up energy of the roots and a
smaller supply of the soil water with its plant food consti-
tuents.

THE IDEAL IN PRUNING.

In the pruning of the apple tree there are two distinct
styles or ideals, the central type and the open-center type,
each with its corps of adherents. There are many support-
ers of the central leader type among the western growers
and they claim that a tree pruned in this form makes a
stronger sti-ucture and is not so likely to be broken down by
wind and heavy crops of fruit. This is a strong argument
and cannot be ignored. A tree of this type, however, is in-
clined to grow too high and completely shuts out the light
from the center of the tree.

The open-center type of tree is the one most commonly

43

found in the commercial orchards of the east. For New
England, where the maximum amount of sunshine is neces-
sary to develop fruit of high color, this seems to be the most
desirable type. If carefully growTi and properly tramed,
and if the trees are not allowed to overbear, there is not
likely to be much trouble from the breaking of the branches.
In order to develop a strong open-center habit, we must
have a good nursery tree to start with. We hear a great
deal nowadays about the desirability of growing low headed
trees and I am a strong advocate of such practice, but I do
not believe in heading them so low that there is no room for
the proper distribution of the main or scaffold limbs of the
tree. Many nurserymen are making a mistake in "rub-
bing" their trees too high; by this I mean that all the buds
?nd shoots are rubbed off from the yearling tree to a point
six or eight inches below the point where the tree is headed
in. If the practice is to head a tree thirty inches from the
ground, the "rubbing" should not extend more than twelve
ij.ehes from the ground leaving a space of eighteen inches
for the proper distribution of the scaffold limbs of which
there should be from three to five. These should be fairly
evenly spaced along the central axis and no more than one
should be allowed to develop at the same point.

An apple tree is a wonderfully tractable object when
handled properly. The man who follov/s the ordinary prac-
tice of severely pruning during the dormant season, only, is
going to have trouble for the more he prunes at this season
of the year the more persistent the tree becomes. To en-
courage the development of the weaker growing branches
and to check the persistence of the stronger ones, it is neces-
sary to do some pruning during the growing season. This
subject will be discussed more fully under the head of Sum-
mer Pruning.

GROWING THE YOUNG TREE.
I believe that in the past we have grown our trees too
last and have pruned them a great deal too much. To de-
velop a strong fruit-bearing structure, a tree should not be

44

unduly forced. It may be observed that with trees that
have made a normal growth the branches are more tapering
and more rigid than those on rapidly grown trees. The ex-
cessive growth is frequently due to liberal fertilization and
cultivation but is just as often due to severe winter pruning.
During the past six years I have had under observation
a young orchard that has been developed under various sys-
tems of pruning and I am forced to state that the best shaped
trees in the orchard today are those that have not been
pruned since they were planted. Now we should not deduce
from this that under all conditions a young tree should not
be pruned. These trees were Baldwin and Mcintosh and
v.ere grown under the grass mulch system. 1 was fortunate
enough to find another young orchard that appeared to be
about twelve years of age and composed of Baldwins and
Spies. These trees had not been pruned since they were
planted. They had been under cultivation part of the time
and in grass part of the time. The Baldwins were in bear-
ing but the Spies had evidently not started to bear. The
Baldwin trees were fine shaped specimens, but could have
been improved by a moderate prmiing. The Spy trees were
unsightly specim-^ns and their tops presented a broom-lik3
appearance.

It is safe to say that some varieties would be better left
unpruned until they reach the bearing age and that others
should have a moderate amount of pruning and that a large
part of this pruning should be done during the growing sea-
son. The character of the soil of course will exert consider-
able influence upon the behavior of a growing tree. Trees
grown on light soil undoubtedly will require less pruning
than those grown on heavy soil. - Drainage, also, exerts con-
siderable influence upon the behavior of a tree, and the
training of a tree on a well-drained soil is an easier propo-
sition than that of training one on land that remains wet
lete in the spring.

SUMMER PRUNING.
Summer pruning, as contrasted with the regular prac-
tice, is the pruning of trees while in foliage. Its influence

45

upon the tree in many respects is opposite to winter pruning.
The latter, as mentioned before, stimulates wood growth
while the former tends to lessen wood growth. As a rule,
any practice that checks wood growth tends to induce fruit-
fulness. Growers have taken advantage of this fact for
many years. In England the result is attained by root-
pruning. The method consists in digging a trench around
the tree at some considerable distance and severing some of
the roots. This interfers with the food supply and necessar-
ily reduces growth. In the famous Ozark apple region of
Missouri and Arkansas the same result is attained by ring-
ing or girdling the trunk or main branches of the tree, thus
checking the downward flow of sap. The roots in this way
are partially starved and are, therefore, unable to induce a
strong wood growth the following season. The work is
done during the growing season and, as a result, the wound
soon heals over. The growers in the Pacific coast region
practice summer pruning to check wood growth. A com-
.pjete or partial defoliation by insects, disease, or spray, in-
jury during the early summer seems to have the same effect.

Just why the checking of wood growth should induce
the formation of fruit buds and how it exerts this influence
is not well understood. The theory has been advanced that
there is some inherent tendency on the part of the tree to
reproduce itself before it dies and that when anything in-
terferes with the natural processes the tree prepares for
death. This is not a satisfactory explanation and it is hoped
that the physiologists may be able to throw some light on
the subject in the near future.

OPINIONS OF EXPERTS.

For assistance in the preparation of this paper I havu
appealed to some of the best authorities in this country and
in Canada. Personal letters were sent to twenty-four dif-
ferent people, mostly college and experiment station horti-
culturists. Twenty-two replies were received. While these
replies brought out many conflicting statements with regard
to the time and method of doing the work, they mostly agree

46

»

that there is a place for summer pruning in our orchard
practice. Extracts from some of these letters may be of in-
terest here : —

I. From the letter of Professor M. B. Cummings of the
University of Vermont, dated Dec, 16th, 1912 : — "In general,
I am very much inclined to believe that much of our prun-
ing is best done in the summer time, and if annual attention
?s given this matter, very little of the severe winter pruning
will be required. I think the taking out of the laterals
where the crown is too thick and pinching out the terminal
buds will tend to hold the tree in check and shape it up bet-
ter for the permanent stocky branches."

II. From Professor U. P. Hedrick, of the N. Y. Agr.
Expt. Station, dated Dec. 14th, 1912: — "As you know wo
have several dwarf orchards in different parts of this state.
We have done some pruning in these orchards every season
for the past seven years, the time ranging from the middle
of July to the end of September. As yet, we have found no
time in the summer in which trees can be pruned to advan-
tage in this state. If the work is done early in the season
the weak succulent growth which is nearly always winter-
killed, follows. If the work is done late in the season the
effects of pruning do not differ at all from those obtained by
winter pruning. We have about concluded that summer
pruning is wholly unsuccessful for this climate. At least,
it is in the average season, under average conditions, and in
the hands of the average fruit-grower."

Prof. Hedrick 's opinion seems to be based upon the be-
havior of dwarf trees only.

III. From Professor C. A. McCue, Delaware State Col-
lege, dated Dec. 17th, 1912: — "I am a firm believer in this
method of handling trees and I believe that in the past we
have done altogether too much winter pruning on peach and
apple trees. Of course summer pruning can be overdone
and if care is not used and proper judgment exercised, a
tree may be seriously injured by pruning during the summer
season.

47

IV. From Professor C. I. Lewis, Oregon Agricultural
College, dated Dec. 17th, 1912: — "I believe with trees thre<i
to ten years old summer pruning, if properly done, will have
a very good influence in keeping up certain characteristics
and tend to bring the trees into bearing earlier. Certain
trees like the Northern Spy, have been materially benefitte<i.
r have seen indications all over the coast of its being a hin-
derance. In some cases the work has been overdone and I
feel that the trees have been damaged. The tendency in
mature and bearing trees is to overdo. I have seen men cut
off branches six inches in diameter. I have watched a num-
ber of orchards, two or three years old, and I fail to see any
benefit from such work, in fact the effect if anything, was
injurious to the trees.

"Of course summer pruning can be done in two ways.
One is to help shape the tree, correct the habit of growth and
perhaps time can be gained in that way, and this type can
be done any time you desire. I believe, however, it should
be done moderately and that one should work with the idea
of avoiding undesirable growth and development by early
pinching and moderate cutting. I believe in doing consid-
erable work of this kind with trees from three years up and
perhaps two year old trees.

"The second type of summer pruning is to induce fruit-
fulness. There is no doubt but what you can increase the
accumulation of tissues around the buds and around the
branches by summer pruning, but whether this will result
in more fruitfulness and stronger growth, is still an open
question. Probably it would, like everything else, be in-
fluenced by the general treatment of the soil, the drainage
it is getting, any artificial stimulation it is receiving, etc.
This second pruning for fruit has to be done when the trees
are just in the right condition of activity. If the trees are
growing too strongly the results are not secured."
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

I believe that with young trees we should do very little
winter pruning and that we should direct the growth largely

48

by summer pruning. The work to be most effective should
be done a little each year and at just about the time the tree
completes its annual growth, which in this section is about
tile first week in July. If done too early it will defeat its
aim and produce a strong growth of shoots. If done too
late it forces out a soft growth which is likely to be winter-
killed. The 6bject of the work at first should be to direct
the growth and later to induce fruitfulness. Only strong
growing trefeS should be pruned during the growing season,
remembering that it is a devitalizing operation and may
easily be overdone.

With regard to bearing apple trees the necessity for
summer pruning is less pronounced if not entirely elimina-
ted. Since our mature trees tend to overbear there is no ne-
cessity for inducing fruitfulness and winter pruning would
therefore be the most logical practice. The problem is an
intricate one, and since there is so much difference in the
character of soils and the behavior of varieties, it is going
to be difficult if not impossible to formulate any set of rules
that any fruit-grower may safely follow. The physiologist
in time may be able to reveal the underlying principles in
connection with the work of pruning but the problem al-
ways will be .a local one and the details relating to the prac-
tical application of the principles must be worked out by
each fruit-grower.

(Applause.)

PRESIDENT FROST. The best part of any address is
the discussion following it. Now, in our discussions each-
day I am compelled to ask everyone who asks a question to
j^'ive his name and address. The Chair is going to ask this:,,
whether he recognizes the person speaking or not, so every-
oiie is requested to give his name as clearly as possible so
that our stenographer can get it. Remember that these dis-
cussions are all printed in the report, and oftentimes leading
([uestions may bring out the best information. We will have
something like half an hour in which to ask Professor Jarvis
these questions for him to answer, I will aAvait now any

57

the consummation of which will add dignity and renown to
my native and much revered state, the State of Massachu-
setts. The subject matter assigned to me seemed at first
glance not dilScult to present to you, but the more I con-
sidered it the more involved the topic became, and the less
it lent itself to conciseness.

Early in the history of this country the exchange of
one's wares was conducted along very primitive lines, but
in consequence of increased production and increased popu-
lation crude methods, were perforce, discarded and by vari-
ous ways of approach the several commodities have become
specialized and classified. Specializing will continue to gj
on until perfection shall have been reached, and I sincerely
trust that when attained it will be maintained.

I am not going to attempt to tell you the peculiarities
of the various markets in different parts of the country.
Boston is one of your natural outlets and what may be said
of its requirements applies equally to the other eastern cities
of the same or greater population, save only in this respect,
that in Boston there as a relatively greater demand for high
grades. This is not only true of apples but of other goods
as well. However, our good old city seems to be destined
to become more cosmopolitan and the conditions existing to-
day may not be so marked ten years hence. I imderstanj
that the all-absorbing topic today is apples, and my remarks
will have reference thereto. In dealing with the subject of
apples it would seem wise to take it up in chapter forms, a^
follows: Packages, Grading, Transportation and Distribu-
tion. 1 beg you to understand that all my remarks are in-
tended to be broad gauged and I trust they will be taken as
«uch.

PACKAGES. I boldly state that I advocate the stand-
ard barrel as the best and most adaptable package for mar-
keting New England apples, and I say this witlv the full
knowledge that many of you do not agree with me. Ex-
perience bids me oppose the box as a commercial package
for the distribution of large quantities of New England ap-

58

pies. Moderate quantities of short lived apples, such as
Mcintosh Reds and Gravensteins, have in many cases sold
relatively better than in barrels. Similarly, a few growers
have had success in marketing winter apples in boxes, which
has given rise to the belief that the box will be the popular
package. There is now a limited demand for fancy apples
in boxes, and it is my opinion that it will always be limited.
What concerns us the most is to determine the best package
in which to market the crop, not a limited quantity. Again
I say, standard barrels.

GRADING. There is probablj' more difference of
opinion on that point than on any other, and it is a pity that
it is so, for it is the cornerstone that holds the structure.
The apple industry of Massachusetts Avill progress or be re-
tarded, depending upon which course is pursued. I advo-
cate establishing three grades, — clearlj- defined and lived up
to. I Avould designate them as "Extra Fancy," ''Fancy,"
and ''Choice." The Extra Fancy would be apples of a min-
imum size of 2 3-4 inches in diameter, free from imper^ •-
tions, and, if a color variety, the surface of each ap[> c to
show 75 per cent, true to its natural color. The Fancy
would be apples of a minimum size of 2 1-2 inches in diame-
ter, free from imperfections, and, if of a color variety, ;)0
per. cent true to color. The Choice would include pale ap-
ples excluded from the higher grades, apples with vorm
hole in the blossom end and apples even down to two inches
in diameter, if perfect and of good color. These grades
make an assortment that would satisfy the demands of the
home market, and if established so that they could be relied
upon would go far towards fixing the supremacy of New
England apples. It would make it possible for the dealer
to order without personal examination.

Let us contrast th^ desired condition with what actually
exists. I think I '-speik 'Vithout exaggeration when I say
that not 25 pet cent' of "the' apples consigned to the. Boston
markets measure up to a"standard- such as I have outlined.
"Why is it not possible "for this •Associatioii to; create some

59

such grading law? Why is it not possible for this Associa-
tion to assume such proportions that it can afford to mam-
tain instructors and inspectors, to the end that some ideal
condition may exist ? The fact that we have such a small
percentage of really graded apples in Boston is not alto-
gether due to the poor quality, but more to the insufficient
knowledge of packing or indifference, and , I am sorry to
say, there is plenty of evidence of downright deception. If
we are to have an enduring structure we must have a strong
foimdation. Poor packing is a weak foundation and de-
ception is a rotten foundation. Now is your time to build a
lasting institution.

I firmly believe in the future welfare of New England
apple growing if but wisely managed. We have all the ad-
vantages of soil, climate and nearness to the richest markets.
Nature has given us much and seems but to ask that we make
intelligent use of her gifts.

I have heard it said that apple growing will be over-
done, that a Waterloo is ahead. Well, let Waterloo come if
it must, but let us be Wellingtons and not Napoleons. (Ap-
plause). The far west, famous on paper, is having a tast<i
of a Waterloo, but they seem to be Napoleons.

TRANSPORTATION. This is a subject for an expert
to handle, and it would not be fit for me to discuss it at
length. The chief features for us to insist upon are suit-
able equipment to transport our apples and prompt deliver-
ies of same. There are other changes desired, such as a mor-i
equitable bill of lading. Strong forces, however, are work-
ing for better conditions, which will doubtless result in bene-
fit to all. We need here much the same law they have in
Maine.

DISTRIBUTION. It is impossible to lay down any
fixed rules for distribution. Much depends upon the crop in
Europe and in other sections of this country. There will be
years when it will seem clearly wise to turn your crop into
cash as speedily as possible. On the other hand, there will
be seasons when a gradual imloading will net you the best

60

results. If there is to be no improvement in quality in Mass-
achusetts I would advise on general principles that you take
advantage of the earlier maturity of your crop and get rid
of them quickly. The Massachusetts crop today is like a
flash in the pan. It does not hold the same important posi-
tion as do other crops after the turn of the year. If the
standard of quality is to be raised, then I would advise that
some consideration be given to extending the market over a
longer period. I understand that some growers have built,
and that others are contemplating building apple cellars and
warehouses in which to store their crops. This plan is likely
to be successful only when weather co)iditions are favorable
at the time of picking and storing. In my opinion cold
storage is the best method, but even this is of little value un-
less your apples are stored promptly after they are picked.

Under the heading of "Distribution" must come the
commission merchant. I shall read, a typewritten letter re-
ceived by a Boston firm which maj^ be but an echo of the cry
of many. It is dated Maine, December 13, 1912, and is as
follows :

(Reads letter).

Boston, Mass.
Gentlemen : •

I am in reeipt of your circular card of the 11th inst.
suggesting that I ship apples for sale on commission, and in-
asmuch as you are soliciting business from me I think I will
lake the opportunity to say a few words regarding the
farmer's standpoint and attitude toward commission men,
and call your attention to a few things which we do not lik»^.
1 wish to be understood as writing this letter in entire good
nature and without any iU feeling whatever. I wish, how-
ever, to state a few facts, and let the facts speak for them-
celves.

In the first place, I have shipped several barrels of ap-
ples during the Fall, and have received returns around a
dollar a barrel. When you take into account that barrels

61

cost 40 cents, picking around 20 cents, and packing and de-
livering to the railroad 15 to 20 cents more, you see is leaves
me the magnificent sum of 25 cents to cover care of orchard,
spraying, interest on investment and profit(?). I can reach
the same result by letting them fall off and lay on the
ground.

You say thi^ is an exceptional year, perhaps, and that l
am getting all I am entitled to. Let us see. I talked last
week with an intelligent man living in one of the suburbs
of Boston, and he told me he had been unable to get apples
at any time this Fall for less than 46 and 50 cents a peck, or
at the rate of $5. to $5.50 per bbl. Now, adding to the dol-
lar which I get, the freight 38 cents, trucking 5 cents, and
commission 20 cents, we have a selling price, apparently of
$1.63. This leaves a margin to the middleman of $3.50 to
$b.75. The expenses are to come out of this, of course, but
it looks large beside the 25 cents the farmer gets for his ex-
penses and profit. Does it not ?

Again, while it may not be the correct view, the aver-
age farmer believes the average commission man sells his
stuff and sends him what he pleases ; and too often when he
compares his returns with the newspaper quotations of same
date, he feels justified in this attitude, and also justified in
making remarks that would not look well in quotation
marks.

For instance, I shipped you some Kings a short time
since. The quotations during all the time up to the time T
received returns were $3 to $4 for No. 1. My returns were
$2.50 as the selling price. Now, I am not accusing anybody
of dishonesty, but I do say that that is the usual result, and
when taken into account with the fact that receipts do not
any more than pay for his cash outlay, you cannot expec:
the farmer to be very anxious to do business with you.

Now this is the way we feel about it, and as a result I
have joined with several of my neighbors and exported our
apples, with much better results. And this brings me to
what I started to say, and that is that the farmers are get-

62

tmg it worked into their heads that they have got to com-
bine and do their own marketing, and that is what they are
going to do. It may be slow coming, but you chaps are cer-
tainly killing the goose that lays your eggs. There ought to
be no question about the proposition that the interest of the
producer, the interest of the transportation company, and
the interest of the commission man should be one and the
same. They ought to work together, but they do not, and
the farmer believes he has good cause to believe that he is
being crowded, and he is going to take the matter somewhat
into his own hands, or I am no prophet. But you can readi-
ly see that when a man only gets his bare cash outlay for
producing an article, he has no incentive to increase his
product. If he could get a square deal from commission
houses he could and would do more and ship more.

Perhaps it is idle for me to make these remarks, but it
certainly will do no harm to either one of us to discuss the
thing for a moment from the producer's standpoint. And
for myself, I don't care whether it does or not, for I think
I see my ,way clear along the lines indicated herein.
Yours respectfully.

That letter was written by an intelligent person, and [
confess that I don't know whether I am here as the plaint-
iff or the defendant (laughter). Perhaps before I finish I
shall have pleaded for and defended my associates suflScient-
ly. If I do not, I shall be only too pleased to be questioned.

The great and wonderful industry of producing and
disseminating food products must of necessity have its inter-
mediaries, perhaps more so than any other line of business.
Who are the intermediaries? The transportation compan-
ies, commission merchants, jobbers and retailers. No less
important than the others are the honest commission mer-
chants. Why are they important? Because they are in-
dispensable. Let us approach this subject broad-mindedly.
I know that there are many of you who through personal
energy and regular deliveries have created a demand for

63

your products and have profited thereby, but where a few
have accomplished this thousands are less fortunately situat-
ed and less fortunately equipped that cannot do likewise, and
it is to this great body that th6 commission merchant is ab-
solutely necessary, and I am not sure but what the best net
results would be given if all products were handled through
the commission merchant. The commission merchant is in-
dispensable because in no other practical way can the thou-
s.inds of packages that daily pour into our markets be quick-
ly and directly delivered to the ultimate destination of
consumption. Years of training and observation are re-
quired to accomplish this. The commission man must know
his buyer, must know the financial standing of his buyer,
he must know the goods and know the values thereof,
friends, fruit and produce salesmen are not made in a day.
More than an oily tongue is necessary to quickly sell tho
products of the farm and orchard. In my opinion there
must always be a class of merchants whose function it shall
be to receive from the farm and orchard the products there-
of and with skill direct the distribution of the same. None
are better fitted to do this than the commission man. This
sounds a bit egotistical, but what may be suggested as the
alternative? Farmers' cooperative stores? Direct sales t^
consumers? Now, let us take up the farmers' cooperative
stores analytically. Favorably located stores must be had.
skilled labor is necessary, capital is essential. In short,
farmers' cooperative stores must incur all the expenses now
incident to the commission merchant's business, which
amounts to quite 75 per cent, of the commission earned. T
ask, would a saving of one quarter of the commission paid
compensate you for the added cares and risks that w^ould
attend operating cooperative .stores? As to direct sales to
consumers I can only speak of the experience of those who
have tried it; complaints of breakage, loss of contents, de-
lays, collections of bills, all contributed to the impractica-
bility. Analysis of alternatives points to the legitimacy of
the commission merchant. I contend that the commission

64

merchant is necessary to you. If my contention is wrong,
if we are parasites, whether we will it or not, we shall cease
to exist as commission merchants.

I now pass on with some trepidation to that phase which
has to do with the abuses of the business, and I again ask
that none of my remarks be construed as harsh. Indeed.
J speak with the utmost kindness towards all. Were it oth-
erwise, I would be unkind to myself, for I am looking for-
ward to the time when I can afford to live on my farm.
(Laughter and applause).

In the fruit and produce commission business are men
of very excellent character, men of high ideals; and I am
sorry to say there are also some of the lowest types of im-
postors who have chosen to style themselves fruit and pro-
duce "commission merchants." It is largely because of
this impostor class that the commission merchants in gen-
eral are slandered and it is a pertinent question to ask. By
whose tolerance do these impostors exist? Their pickings
would indeed be small were it not for the easily deceived
farmer who only too readily grabs at the bait extended to
him. There are promises of extravagant prices, stories of
wonderful outlets, and these are but two of the many mag-
nets used to attract them to the impostor's net. The life of
the impostor is of course short in any particular spot, but
while it lasts it is a merry one and the sting remains for the
commission merchant, the reliable merchant, to bear. I was
surprised recently to learn that one of your most enlight-
ened members did not know of the existence of the National
League of Commission Merchants of the United States, and
it might not be amiss for me at this time to tell you briefly
about it.

The National League of Commission Merchants em-
braces or comprises about four hundred firms, representing
twenty-eight cities in the United States. It came into be-
ing twenty-one years ago and stands today, as it did at its
inception, for all that is upright and wholesome, and when
it ceases to champion the right it will crumble. While T

49

questions. There was one asked this morning that was re-
ferred to this afternoon, and if the gentleman is in the hall
I think it would be well to take that up first.

MR. D. W. REYNOLDS OF HAVERHILL. My question
was, is apple raising in sodded ground better for giving the
apples color and for keeping purposes than under cultiva-
tion ?

PROFESSOR JARVIS. There may be someone here
who can answer that question better than I can. It is surely
the case that apples are better colored Avhen grown on sod,
but whether they will keep better is another question. A
few years ago I conducted a little experiment along this line
and I found that there were a great many conflicting results.
AVith an apple grown on sod we have a little less water in it,
and therefore it is not quite so susceptible to some of the
diseases in storage and will not spoil so soon. On the other
hand, we found apples grown under cultivation that kept
better than some samples that were grown on sod, so that
there are a great many other factors entering into that
problem, and I am not prepared to say whether the appl'i
grown on sod will keep any longer than one grown under
cultivation.

MR. BROOKS. Suppose you have your young trees
v/ith a growth of, we will say, twelve inches and you don't
know when is exactly the right time to practice your sum-
mer pruning. Suppose you took that growth of twelve
inches and started pruning it, — were satisfied with that
amount — would that check up the trees enough so that they
Avouldn't go on and make a soft growth: i. e., when your
twig is out twelve inches, would you prune it then ?

PROFESSOR JARVIS. I would. You can do it then,
although it is a little better, I think to wait until the annual
growth is completed, then you have a better idea as to how
much bigger the tree is. You can cut back some of that new
growth and thin out even some of the past season's growth
if necessary. It is not necessary to restrict your summer's
pruning to the present season's growth; you can thin out

50

some of the branches in the center of the tree of the past
season's growth, but if a tree has made a normal growth it
is probable that summer pruning is not necessary. It is only
the trees that are making too much growth on which that is
necessary, and I presume that that is just as much of a fault
as is too little growth. In the east we have had trouble in
getting our trees into bearing early enough, we all admit
that. The western growers get their trees into bearing
much earlier than we do here. There are arguments in
favor of both systems. We have in the east trees that are
longer lived. The trees that come into bearing early are
usually the shorter lived trees and it may be short sighted
policy to induce that early bearing, but as a rule we like to
get them started a little earlier than we have been doing in
the past, especially for the trees used as fillers. Where we
are double-planting our orchards I think it would be well
to induce early bearing on the fillers and allow the perma-
nent trees to take their normal course and insure long lived
trees in that way.

MR. FRASER OF NEW YORK. Is the Professor sure
that the early bearing tree is necessarily a short lived tree?

PROFESSOR JARVIS. I think it may not be due to
the fact that it is early bearing, but evidence is that in the
west they are shorter lived than in the east.

MR. FRASER. But does that prove your contention?

PROFESSOR JARVIS. Not necessarily, although I
think that anyone has noticed that a tree that is weak tends
to bear early. In my own experience — and I haven't yet
been able to outlive very many apple trees — I know of some
apple trees that have always been bearing since they were
about six or seven years old, and they have actually borne
themselves to death, they have worn themselves out so that
anyone can easily see that they are now in the last stage of
decrepitude.

MR. FRASER. Isn 't that the fault of the man that had
them?

PROFESSOR JARVIS. Probably, although there are

51

a great many factors coming up that might influence that
point. But I think that that statement holds good, that the
earlier bearing the tree, the shorter lived it is. I can't bring
any evidence to bear on that point aside from observation.

MR. FRASER. I would like to ask further, is there
not a normal fall growth in your young apple trees, up to
ten years? I mean, the growth after August?

PROFESSOR JARVIS. Not a normal growth. Some-
times we have a little cultivation where we will get a second-
ary growth, but I have never noticed any on the trees except
where we have had abnormal fertilizing or cultivation.

MR. FRASER. We in western New York expect a
growth in the fall after August. On young trees from three
to ten we expect some growth, and that is one reason why I
have had difficulty in determining when summer pruning
should take place, because there is that normal fall growth.

PROFESSOR JARVIS. I would like to inquire if any-
one here has noticed any amount of fall growth in our New
England orchards. Personally I haven't noticed any to
speak of, and wherever I have noticed it I have always been
able to find a reason for it.

MR. BOWEN OF LAKEVILLE. I have got some trees
from New York and they always give me six or seven inches
of growth after the first of August.

PRESIDENT FROST. Is there anyone else in the audi-
ence who may have made any observations on that?

MR. R. H. RACE OF EGREMONT. Mr. President, I
have practiced some summer pruning and have always found
it dangerous because it induced a fall growth. The fall
growth, way up to September, is dangerous to a young tree,
because of the severe winters we have and the starting of
the growth in the fall is injurious because they can't stand
the hard winters. Take raspberries : I started to prune my
raspberries and blackberries in the summer as somebody
said, ''You don't want your raspberries to grow four and a
half feet tall. Pinch them off." Oh, no! That produces a
late growth that doesn't harden and they winter-kill right

52

off, so I abandoned that from experience; and I find that
with me it holds good with apples, except the very hardy
varieties.

There is a growth after the first of July on my youni?
apple trees. I have always found it so and the summer
pruning is dangerous on weak trees, young trees, simply be-
cause it induces them to put in their growth after the time
you prune them. You snip off a branch and the tree says,
'■] have lost something and I must go to work and make
tliat up," and it goes right to work to produce a new growth.
If it is the first of August it will start a new bud,
I have seen them do it, and those buds don't get hard enough
after that season of the year to stand the winter, which may
go twenty below zero. In the spring is the time to cut off
the raspberries and blackberries to the height you want
them. But we are not talking about raspberries at all. Go
ahead Avith your trees. (Laughter and applause).

PROFESSOR JARVIS. That point is just exactly
what I have tried to explain, that any late growth is always
the result of some unnatural condition. Now, our friend
here says that by pinching back the top in July you get a
late fall growth. Well, that pinching back is the cause of
that condition and we will always get more or less growtVt
after that pinching back or summer pruning is done. There
fore I recommend doing it as early as possible to avoid that,
or to give the tree a better chance to harden up its wood be-
fore the cold weather comes. There is no reason why an ap-
ple tree won't have plenty of time from that time on to
harden up its wood. Many of you people have seen the
second growth of trees as late as August, the middle of
August, and yet it has hardened up all right. Just two
years ago I happened to watch some trees which were serious-
ly injured by Bordeaux mixture, and those trees lost a large
proportion of their foliage and the second growth came out
that ripened up, with no winter injury whatever. That
occurred much later in the season than we usually practice
summer pruning. Wherever you find the late growth, as I.

53

must repeat since this gentleman has raised the question,
yon will always find a cause, and that cause may be the sum-
mer pruning as one item, it may be excessive nitrogenou;>
fertilizer in the soil or it may be excessive cultivation. There
are a great many reasons for it and it is often very easy to
find that cause. But normally the trees should produce a
large proportion of their growth not later than the first of
July, or anyway not later than the 15th. I have mentioned
the first of July being about the time to start this summer
pruning, but sometimes in some seasons, when the season is
late, that growth may continue up to the middle of July,
but it is more often completed by the first week in July.

MR. U. S. BATP:S of HINGHAM. The speaker hasn't
mentioned dehorning of the elderly trees for the purpose oi
renovating them, a subject which we have heard discussed
here in times past. I had in mind an instance in my own
neighborhood where this past season an itinerant tree man,
with two assistants, came through the town and persuaded
the people it was the proper time in the fall to graft the!:-
trees, and it has been estimated that they carried off from
.^1,000 to $1,500 at five cents a scion through grafting in the
fall. There were old trees and trees twenty years of age.
1. began before the first of September and practically de-
horned the trees, leaving but a very little growth to carry
the buds for another season. Moreover, I used two year
old wood as a scion. Perhaps we don't care to broaden the
discussion to include grafting, but I would like to have the
lecturer's opinion on fall grafting, putting in at least one
hundred scions. I know that one of my neighbors employed
that man for three trees, and the bill was $20 at five cents a
scion, (Laughter). I will say that we examined those
trees with considerable interest, and I have within a few
weeks seen some of the trees on which the scions were put in
as early as the first week in September, and so far as I can
see they are almost all alive. Whether they are true to
name I have my doubts. That was the case of a stranger
coming into a tovni under those circumstances with a very

54

persuasive argument, talking to people who are not experc
fruit growers, but working at places where there are thous-
ands of apple trees. What the results will be we shall know
next summer, I suppose, but the people here would perhaps
like to know what the Professor thinks of it.

A VOICE. A graft. (Laughter and applause).

PROFESSOR JARVIS. There are evidently two kinds
of grafting. (Laughter). I have never done any grafting
in the fall, but I have seen a great many examples of it that
have been successful. We don't usually recommend it at
that time of the year. Mr. Eraser, who is an expert nursery-
man, will probably be able to add somethmg to that discus-
sion.

MR. FRAZER. I think they worked a good graft,
that's all. (Laughter). I wouldn't give much for it, per-
sonally.

MR. RICHARDS OF MANSFIELD. I would like to
ask the gentleman a question. I have about perhaps 125
dwarf apple trees that I have been growing for two or three
years, some of which are bearing. Is it best to do summer
pruning or wait until winter? I suppose, to get the apples
he speaks of, it is better to do the summer pruning.

PROFESSOR JARVIS. I think the same principle
holds good with the dwarf trees as with the standard trees,
and it depends entirely upon the condition of the tree,
whether the tree is growing too rapidly. We have had
some sad experiences in getting dwarf trees -to bear early
enough. We wouldn't be able to get them to bear any
earlier than the standard trees, and that is one of the strong-
est points, usually, in the argument in favor of dwarf trees,
that they will bear earlier.

MR. RICHARDS. I have had them bear at three years.

PROFESSOR JARVIS. You can sometimes get trees
to bear in three years, of course, that is, the standard trees ,
and it is doubtful whether the dwarf trees will bear any
earlier than the standard trees under given conditions. If
the dwarf tree hadn't sta.rted to be^r as early as it should,

55

the only thing to do is to check the abnormal growth m some
way. But the abnormal growth is not always the only
reason for unfruitfulness. There are other reasons for the
trees failing to bear. It is oftentimes due to something de-
ficient in the soil, (possibly phosphoric acid.) sometimes caus-
ing the tree to fail to bear. It will throw out a largo
growth of blossoms, blossom out naturally and yet you will
have no fruit. That is almost a sure indication, or the indi-
cation points that way, at least, that the soil is deficient in
phosphoric acid. Oftentimes, too, we have a soil not drained
properly. There you will have a case of unfruitfulness,
when summer j^runing would have very little effect upon
producing an improved condition.

MR. EICHARDS. If they grow, say, two or three feefc
you would call that a pretty large growth ? '

PROFESSOR JARVIS. I should say that is too much
growth when you want fruit. After you get your tree to
the size where it ought to bear, then I would say that eight
or ten inches is plenty of growth for one season.

MR. RICHARDS. Then j'ou would have some summer
pruning?

PROFESSOR JARVIS. If they should produce more
than eight or ten inches I would do some summer pruning.

PRESIDENT FROST. Our time has now come to close
this discussion, and I think that if any of you have not had
opportunity for asking questions you will be able to reach
Professor Jarvis later in the afternoon, or tomorrow morn-
ing.

Coming to our next addresses, I will say that I never
have heard any addresses on the marketing end of fruit at
any convention that I have ever attended. Two years ago
T had an idea that I could retail my fruit. I tried that and
I found that I could not do it. So this year I h-ave decided
that I have got to use the commission man, and I have also
decided that he is not as bad as most of us are making him
out to be. As I stated this morning, about two weeks ago
I went into one of our nice suburban stores and I picked up

.56

these apples in the open window as No. 1 Baldwin apples
{showing apples). The grower of those apples claimed
that he had sprayed twice. I want you to compare those
No. 1 apples and these apples in my right liand, that are the
fourth grade of one of our Massachusetts growers. The man
who grew those apples (indicating) wondered why he did
not get just as much for his No. 1 apples as this man got for
his No. I's.

When we decided on our program I went to a friend of
mine in Boston and asked him if he could recommend to me
the best commission man, the one who understood the mar-
kets as w.ell as anyone else and who was brave enough to tell
the producer just why he did not get as much money as his
neighbor. He recommended Mr. Edgar W. J. Hearty, the
President of the Boston Branch of the National League of
Commission Merchants of the United States, President of the
Boston Produce Company, a member of the firm of Maynard
hJc Childs, very large exporters, and vice-president of one of
the largest cold storage companies in New York. I under-
stand that they have a capacity of 75,000 barrels. Now, if
he is not able to tell us something about the markets I am
afraid no one can. I feel that we all ought to come into
X3!08er touch with the commission man. When we know
him and when we know the markets I think our ideas will
change a good deal and we will blame ourselves for the low
I rices as much as anyone else.

I have the honor of presenting Mr. Edgar W. J. Hearty.
THE HOME MARKET— ITS USE AND ABUSE
Mr. Edgar W. J. Hearty of Boston.

^Ir. President and Members of the Massachusetts Fruit
Grower's Association, Ladies and Gentlemen: You have
heard the introduction and I confess that I don't know
whether I have got much to live up to or much to live down.
When your very excellent President asked me to address
you I reluctantly consented, not because of any unwilling-
ness, but rather because I wanted this Association to have the
very best. Your Association stands for progress along lines

65

know of no one within its ranks who is not reliable, it would
be presuming too much for me to say so unqualifiedly. I
would say, however, and I do say emphatically, that if he
is known he is not tolerated. The emblem of the league
means much, it stands for the highest ideals of reliable mer-
chants, and the wrong acts of one must of necessity reflect
on all. For this reason the league tolerates no misdeamor.
It is a most active body and through its business manager
and various committees accomplishes much for the
I cnefit of shippers and members. I wish I had time to tell
you more about this league, but I must pass on.

I have always contended that in the fruit and produce
business, more than in any other line, there are surprises
and situations that almost defy explanation. The wide va-
riance in our qualities and conditions lends itself to errors
in judgment. This is true not only of the salesman but of
the buyers as well. In our business we are also human.
We all make mistakes and, like everybody else, our hind-
sight is better than our foresight. One of the serious con-
ditions confronting not only the commission merchant but
the reliable shipper as well, is the imscrupulous shipper.
The salesman is embarrassed by him, the buyers are dissatis-
fied with the results that the acts of that man bring, and
those acts are reflected on the many, reflected dispropor-
tionately upon all shippers identically as the acts of impos-
tors reflect upon the reliable commission merchant.

One of the chief topics of conversation today is the high
cost of living and the elimination of the middleman, and yet
it is years since wholesale prices have been so low. Take
potatoes, cabbages, onions, all root products, all along the
line they have been and are selling ridiculously cheap, barely
averaging 3-4 of a cent a pomid. Take apples, have they not
been cheap! Yet shippers Avrite, "Why are the wholesale
prices so low and the prices to the consumers so high?"
Friends, I wish I knew. It might be that there is a leak
somewhere between the producer and the consumer; tlieri;
must be. vfhen the producer gets but 1-3 on an average of

66

the consumer's dollar, yet none of the intermediaries or so-
called middlemen get rich. Have we stopped to consider
that feature of it?

Friends, it is not possible to accumulate a fortune in
the fruit and produce commission business. Now and then
may be found men who have amassed a very respectable sum
of money, but on investigation it will be found that a few
hard earned dollars were wisely invested, say, in real estate
or railroads. Take the retailer, what about him? Failures
are not uncommon, and as a class their net earnings are very
modest. I believe that the problem would be more than half
solved if a system of spot cash were established by the re-
tailers. It is altogether too easy nowadays to get credit,
and charge accounts seem to be the fashion. Bills soon as-
sume unexpected proportions and cannot be paid. With a
system of spot cash the family man would be protected
against himself and the retailer would not have to consider
bad debts. He could, and, I believe would, sell cheaper and
the attendant benefits would be felt by all.

In conclusion, gentlemen, I ask that in your delibera-
tions you have the general good of all in mind. Care must
be exercised that we do not proceed with any selfish ends in
view. Selfishness in itself is reprehensible, but even more
it is a condition the outcome of which can only be unsatis-
factory and unprofitable. I thank you, Gentlemen.

(Applause).

PRESIDENT FROST. I am sure we all appreciate this
talk from a very busy man such as Mr. Hearty is, and we
have also received many fine points. In my own experience
1 believe that he has touched on the reason for the high cost
of the products and for the reason that the farmer does not
receive his share of it. I have felt that it was the credit
system and I have found in my own experience that the re-
tailer got nearly as much as the producer and that the com-
mission man does not. get as much as we would require for
over-head charges.

I failed to mention that Mr. Hearty had a farm and that

67

he had hopes of going to it some time, so he can appreciate
all sides of the subject.

I will call on our next speaker before we havQ any dis-
cussion on the address just given, so that we can ask the
questions regarding both markets at the same time and I
will try to give them to the proper man to handle. Ouv
next speaker is Mr. Walter Webling, whom I have known
for sixteen years. He is a modest man, and when I asked
him to come before us today he immediately thought of the
head of his firm in England. He wrote Mr. Simonds and
tried to get him here. Mr. Simonds might have been here
and talked to us on foreign markets had it not been for a
A-ery destructive fire in Glasgow. I have never heard any-
one say a word against Mr. Webling who knew him. Every-
one who has criticised him that I know of has been someone
who has exported apples that landed either in a poor condi-
tion or on a broken market. Anyone who has been in Mr.
Webling 's office or, I think, in any other exporter's office,
and watched the market will never criticise the honest ex-
porter.

I present to you Mr. Walter Webling. (Applause).

FOREIGN APPLE MARKETS.

Mr. Walter Webling of Boston.

Mr. President and Gentlemen: — Public speaking is an
art I am entirely unfamiliar with, but when your worthy
president approached me in the kindly manner characteris-
tic of him, I felt that I must do my small part. I have jot-
ted down a few facts in a rambling sort of way, which may
be of interest to you. I believe it is in just such gatherings
as these, where ideas are exchanged and methods discussed
to improve conditions, that each may gain that knowledge of
the other fellow's trials and tribulations that will tend to
show him up in not so black a picture as he has sometimes
been presented. A better understanding between the man
who grows the fruit and the fellow who comes between him

68

and the consumer must surely ensue, with a more perfect
knowledge of just what that other fellow has to contend
with.

I have been in the export apple business for 25 years,
and believe that much of the misunderstanding and preju-
dice that now exists, would be overcome if grower or ship-
per knew just what the man who receives his fruit. 3,000
miles away, is up against; if the grower only knew the
reasons why his fruit was not in as sound and fine looking
shape as when he shipped it. He finds it hard to believe re-
ports that reach him from Liverpool that his fruit has de-
teriorated at least 25 per cent, in condition, but I assure you,
gentlemen, that the elements one has to contend with, at
sea, are more uncerain and hazardous than those encoun-
tered when shipping by rail.

It was a Massachusetts fruit grower, of Salisbury, who
furnished the first apples to be exported from America, to
Great Britian. The shipment consisting of 5 barrels, wsl^
forwarded by a Mr. Buchanan in a sailing vessel, the ' ' Ocean
Monarch," in 1847, which made the trip to Glasgow in the
remarkably fast time of fourteen days. Last Saturday, at
the annual meeting of the Fruit & Produce Exchange. I had
the pleasure of meeting Mr. George Buchanan, a brother of
the gentleman who made the first shipment, and he informed
me that the apples arrived in good condition and sold for
$5.00 per barrel.

It was not until about 1870 that commercial shipments
were made, and the business did not assume large prportions
until 1880, — from which time our statistics date. In that
year 1,300,000 barrels were exported from the United States
and Canada to the English markets. The liulk of the apples
shipped from here at that "time, were handled b.y the com-
mission merchants either by purchase, or on consignment.
Growers did not make a specialty of packing their fruit for
export, and nearly all shipments had to be inspected and
branded at the railroad terminal or steamship wharf. In a
great many consignments there were slack barrels and the

69

buyers men, armed with presses and hatchets set to work to
open and fill these loose packages. Very often there was
not enough time to do the work properly with the result
that thousands of barrels were put on steamers in a very de-
fective condition as to packing, and by time the fruit ar-
rived in the foreign market, it was badly bruised and shaken
up. This state of affairs necessitated the present rule in the
foreign markets, for classifying apples as to condition.

THE MANNEE OP HANDLING FRUITS in European
markets is always good when prices realized are satisfac-
tory. On the other hand, when the reverse is the case,
there are screws loose everywhere. In the Glasgow market
the details of handling are about the same as those followed
in Liverpool, not only in respect of Commercial auctions, but
disposal by private treaty as well. The methods found to
be most successful at Liverpool are in the main being fol-
lowed by all the other seaport markets in Great Britian,
and for the purposes of this article, I shall use these methods
lor descriptive purposes. Most of the old established Brit-
ish houses have a representative at one, or in some cases, all
of the principal North American ports that figure in the ap-
ple export trade. These representatives look after shippers'
interests at the various ports of export, in a variety of ways,
such as rushing forward shipments, preventing delays, secur-
ing space, looking after the proper stowage, and promptly
advising the principals on the other side of the quantities on
board, brands, lists of varieties, etc. As soon as these ad-
vices reach Liverpool, and the steamers are reported,
freights, dock, town and river dues are paid, customs papers
passed, and the releases sent to the dock foreman along with
particulars of the marks or brands, and lists of varieties
under each brand. His duty is to have space allotted for
proper storage of the given number of packages, on the dock,
and to have the necessary men ready to receive, select and
pile the fruit as fast as it is delivered from the ship's side.
At this juncture, it will be readily seen how important it is
to have a full description of the brands and list of the varie-

70

ties at hand, so as to save the double handling of fruit, es-
pecially if it is at all tender or over-ripe. The selector class-
ifies the condition of the fruit, as it comes to him from the
ship's side. All barrels that do not shake and show no ex-
ternal signs of decay, are classified as sound or tight. Those
that shake or rattle when being handled, and show no out-
Vv^ard signs of decay, are called slack packed ; those that
show some juice coming through the heads or staves, are
called slightly wets, and those that are so wet with juice as
to indicate a considerable amount of decay, are called wets.
Each variety and grade and each classification as to condi-
tion, are piled separately, a record is taken, and this record
sent to the office, from which catalogues are printed. These
catalogues are then distributed among the buyers. Two
samples of the tights are taken out of every variety, where
lots are over 30 barrels : These samples are not opened or
tampered with by either buyer or seller, and are opened just
as they are put upon the sales platform, one showing the
faced end and the other being dumped in the presence of the
buyers, into a large flat basket, so that all the buyers may
have an opportunity to see the run of the fruit throughout
the barrel. If buyers or sellers are not satisfied, the other
sample may, after being shown, also be dumped. If the seller
is not satisfied with the price offered, he may either put on a
reserve price, or withdraw the parcel and have fresh sam-
ples brought and shown at the next sale, if not otherwise
disposed of in the meantime. Efforts to sell apples, "all
faults and defects as landed,'' have invariably ended in
failure, for several reasons, one of which need but be stated,
to convince. Buyers who have a high class trade, will not
bid on parcels that contain some varieties of apples, or on
parcels that have slack or slightly wet barrels because their
trade will not take them. Those having a trade for these
odds and ends, in varieties and conditions, cannot pay the
market value for the good stock, because their trade must
have a low priced article.

AUCTION SALE is the method by which the great bulk

71

of the apples are disposed of. It permits of a rapid distri-
bution, a feature of more importance than is generally rec-
ognized. The moist and very often humid atmosphere, even
during the winter months, of Great Britiau, is rapidly de-
structive to the keeping properties of American apples, es-
pecially when fully ripened. Therefore, a quick disposal
and a wide distribution is vitally necessary. Auction sales
permit of this, an evidence of this fact is that steamers are
constanth^ arriving at Liverpool, carrying anywhere from
5.000 to 25,000 barrels of apples. In most cases, the apples
are landed, sold, and proceeds cabled out on the evening of
the fourth "day after the steamers commenced to discharge
their cargo. Shippers can confirm this statement by their
own experience time after time. Another marked advan-
tage that the auction sale has over any other method is, full
market values are more likely to be obtained where there is
a congregation of two to three hundred buyers, ready to
compete for anything or everything they want, than where
but a single buyer is being dealt with. Further, many
dealers specialize or cater for certain classes of trade; among
these two or three hundred buyers, there are a number of
these, always competing with each other for their different
grades and classes of fruit. Not only do dealers specialize,
but various interior markets will take some varieties and
grades that other markets do not want, or will not take.
For instance, there are four or five interior cities, which will
take Talman Sweets at a moderate price, if the supply is not
excessive. Other markets, quite as large, so far as the con-
suming population is concerned, will not take them at any
price. Some markets will take Golden Kussetts and pay
good prices, while other markets are blocked with a few.
Some markets consume large quantities of low grade fruit,
and other markets will take but a very small quantity : they
must have the finer grades, or none whatever. The forego-
ing will explain to those shippers who have divided up their
shipments among inland markets, why returns are almost
invariably lower than those realized from their shipments,

72

at the same time, to the large sea port distributing markets.
I'ublie Auction Sales are held in Liverpool, on Mondays,
AVednesday and Fridays. In Glasgow, on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. Those who advocate private sale consist mostly
oil men who are anxious to get into the fruit business, but
have not the equipment to sell by auction and for that reason
decry that method. Public Auction acts as a preventive
of any species of fraud, for a Catalogue is practically a De-
tective Officer. I will not say that those who sell privately
are not honourable, but the door is opened by that method,
much more than it possibly can be by any other method, fof
peculation, and there are not lacking instances having hap-
pened in this direction.

THE LONDON METHOD of handling apples is some-
what different from that pursued in the provincial towns,
as, on account of the magnitude of the City, the docks, where
the fruit is landed, are at a considerable distance from the
market centers. Therefore, it is necessary to have the fruit
brought from the docks to the immediate vicinity of the mar-
kets where it is sold. Upon the arrival of the ship, the fruit
is discharged in the usual waj^ Those receivers who have
sufficient warehouse room for storage purposes, have vans
waiting at the time of arrival of vessel, so that the fruit is
simply taken from the ship's side to the van. Those who
have not sufficient warehouse room are obliged to leave the
fruit at the dock till an opportune moment occurs for them
to handle it. It is carted from the docks to the store where
it is placed, mark by mark, and countermark by cotmter-
mark and catalogued for sale purposes. It is always open
to the inspection of any prospective buyer. At the time of
sale, the show packages are brought down and opened on
the stand, catalogued and numbered, and at the actual
moment of sale, they are placed on the rostrum before the
buyers. After the sale, the buyers obtain their delivery
orders, and take the goods from the store as they require
them. I would like to point out that one of the greatest
benefits in having warehouse room, in the vicinity of the

73

sale, is that the buyer is then able, a few minutes after the
goods have been knocked down to him, to obtain his delivery
order, and get possession of the goods. You can quite un-
derstand that in a city such as London, the purchasers can-
not spare the time to send their vans to the docks: this is
one of the reasons why Covent Garden has grown to such
great importance, as shopkeepers can purchase there every
article — from vegetables to the heavy barrel and case fruit,
and obtain possession, immediately their goods are bought.
Auction sales are held in London any day when sufficient
fruit offers. The Liverpool market is the great distributing
centre for American apples, supplies going from there to
Continental market^s.

HAMBURG, however, is now receiving large quantities
of apples direct from this country,, and is supplying not only
all of Germany, but also the greater part of Austria, Russia,
and Scandinavia. Sales are conducted in Hamburg, similar
to those held in Liverpool. However, they only have one
sale day each week, Tuesdays, but in case of need, one is also
held on Thursdays. In the morning, from 6 until 12 o'clock,
all buyers go out to the Fruit Sheds, which are close to the
Salesrooms, and there they find printed catalogues of each
of the Brokers, and samples are put up so that they can take
their notes during the forenoon. In the afternoon, at 4
o'clock, the sale takes place, with the six important fruit
brokers selling in turn, similar to Liverpool. All apples aro
inspected by the German Authorities for San Jose Scale —
that is to say, a certain number of apples of each brand are
inspected, by well trained and responsible experts, — not
only by the naked eye, but also with glasses, and if they find
any apples showing this scale, such apples are not allowed to
be introduced into Germany, but have to be sold for re-ex-
port to foreign countries. If there are not too large quan-
tities of such infected apples arriving, there is always a
ready sale for them at the same prices being made for apples
not infected, to Scandinavia, Russia and Austria, especially
if they are of good quality and in good condition. As the

74

matter stands, I can only advise our friends to be very care-
ful and avoid sending apples from districts where they know
the San Jose Scale is prevailing, and rather ship such stock
to the United Kingdom. Hamburg is a good market for
really prime apples, in good condition, and shippers who
want to send there, must take more care in selecting, than
v/hen shipping to Great Britian. Within the last three
years, shipments to Hamburg have trebled in volume, owing
largely to the jiusli and enterprise of the German Fruit
Merchants. One firm, in particular, has chartered steamers
and purchased cargoes for same, loading them at Portland,
Maine. This season, the shipments to Hamburg from that
port, will run up to about 50,000 barrels. In order to reach
the German market, Boston shipments have to be sent via
Liverpool, at heavy expense and much extra handling.
However, this will all be changed when the Hamburg Amer-
ican Line service is inaugurated here, next summer, Avheri
shipments will be made direct.

TO RETURN to the manner in which apples Avere han-
dled in the early '80 's. At that time, steamship rates were
high, being $1.00 and even $1.25 per barrel, and the service
was slow, some boats taking fifteen or eighteen days to make
the passage to Liverpool. At times, sailing vesels, carrying
3,000 to 5,000 barrels, at about 50c per barrel, were em-
ployed, but this manner of transportation did not prove sat-
isfactory, for in some cases, the vessels were so long in mak-
ing the passage, that cargoes were landed in a wasty condi-
tion, sometimes not selling for enough to pay charges.

Along in the 90 's large shipments of apples were made
from Boston, and there was considerable competition be-
tween the various Liverpool lines, for the business, and much
improvement was made in the manner of loading and stow-
age. At the suggestion of the Liverpool fruit merchants,
the Cunard Line equipped two of their steamers with elec-
tric fans to ventilate the holds where apples were stowed,
with the result that these steamers became very popular
with apple shippers. In 1902, the "Ivernia" of this line.

75

carried 39,000 barrels, the largest cargo of apples ever
shipped and fruit was landed in fine condition. The
success of the Cunard steamers forced the other lines to
equip their boats with electric A'entilating apparatus, and
now nearly all the regular liners carry apples in very good
shape, and we get very few reports of "heated cargoes."

Just here, I would like to say a few words about FREIG HT
RATES. As everyone knows, ocean freight rates are continu-
all}'' fluctuating, (or will fluctuate if there is no combination
of steamship lines), according to the amount of freight of-
fering. Since the absorption of the various steamship lines
by the International ]\Iercantile IMarine, the apple export
business seems to have been singled out by this gigantic
trust as a very profitable field for the working of their un-
lawful combination. At the time this company assumed
control, the rate on apples to Liverpool was 44e per barrel:
now it is 70c, an advance of about 60 per cent. This is a
much higher rate than what they charge for other cargo oc-
cupying similar space in their steamers. I will admit that
rates on all commodities are higher this season than last,
but it has been the policy of this company to raise the rate
on apples everj^ year, without regard to the condition of the
freight market. Not once has tbe rate been reduced, and
this season it was advanced 13c per barrel. It is safe to say
there will be no reduction, and possibly another advance,
unless shippers get together and charter outside steamers,
vrhich may be done in the fall of the year when apples are
moving in large quantities.

AS TO THE USE OF THE MARKETS ABROAD, which
take a large portion of the New England crop, I can assure
you the prices of apples in the local markets would be very
much lower than they are, if it were not for the large quan-
tities shipped across the water. Our Massachusetts fruit,
suitable for foreign trade, is ready for shipment much in ad-
vance of that grown in any other state, and for the past
ten or twelve years, the Williams apple has been exported
in early August in moderate quantities, with good success,

76

owing to our being able to secure refrigerator space on
steamers. This variety sells well on account of its being
the first red apple to appear on the Liverpool market.
Gravensteins, when plentiful, find their way to the other
side, and are followed by Baldwins, which in some seasons
are shipped as early as September 10th. The growers, who
go over their trees selecting the best colored fruit, are the
most successful in their early shipments, red fruit being
most in demand in all the markets abroad.

This season, those who shipped their apples early, ob-
tained the best results, and it has been my experience for .\
number of years that the growers who have followed this
plan every year, get the largest net return for their crop,
A large proportion of our Massachusetts crop can be market-
ed before the Baldwins in Canada and New York State are
ready to pick, and why not take advantage of the situation?
Of course, in some seasons, the English markets will not take
a large quanity of our apples, in early September, if their
home crop is heavy, but their fruit being about all green
varieties, does not interfere with the sale of our red stock. An-
other reason why our apples are preferred to the English
fruit, is because of our more attractive package and better
grading. The British fruit grower has no barrel or box
factory at hand, and is obliged to use hampers, baskets or
crates. You can imagine in what poor condition the fruit
must arrive in the market, although it travels but a short
distance.

Apples are sold in Great Britain at retail by the pound,
and a medium sized, well colored, even graded barrel of
fruit sells the best. Of course, all apples must be solidly
packed to prevent bruising, and better results are often ob-
tained for under grades that are packed in this manner, than
for larger fruit which is loosely put up. The standard
bushel box of this state is being used for export, by a few
shippers, and is a good package in which to ship early vari-
ties that will not stand the hard pressing, if packed in bar-
rels. On the whole, I do not think it advisable to use the

77

box for export, on account of the extra cost of packing,
handling and transportation charges, and as the production
of apples is increasing, growers must try to cut down the
cost of these items instead of increasing them.

THE EXPORTATION OF APPLES from the United
States and Canada, has increased rapidly during the past ten
years. In the season of 1902 and 3 it reached two and one-
half million barrels and 212,000 boxes of "Western fruit.
The next season, three and one-half million barrels, and
400,000 boxes were shipped with good results. Last season
about three million barrels and 600,000 boxes were exported
at fairly goo 1 prices. There has been a great increase in
the exports of Western boxes during the last few year^, d ae
ko large production of attractive looking fruit, well packed
iiud graded. Although the orchadists of New EnMand are
packing and grading their apples much better than a few
years ago. yet there is room for considerable improvement,
and they must make up their minds that, especially in a year
of heavy production, they cannot ship inferior apples to
foreign markets and get good prices. When one sees some
of the apples offered for sale in Liverpool, it is almost im-
possible to believe there are any cider mills in this part ol
the country. We know there are plenty of them, but they
do not get all the fruit they should. Some barrels have the
appearance of being packed with the aid of a shovel, and
some of the stock is not fit for human food. An apple pack-
ing law was enacted in the state of Maine, two years ago,
and I believe the same kind of legislation should be passed
in the other New England states.

(Applause).

PRESIDENT FROST. There will now be an opportun-
ity to ask any questions in regard to the markets. I wish to
state that there has been quite a demand for keeping the
exhibition hall open into the evening and it has been decided
that the hall will be open as long as there is any demand for
it, but there will be no addresses. Our next address will be
at ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

78

MR. R. H. RACE. The speaker made the suggestion
that the other New England states have the same regulations
that Maine has, about putting up and grading. That is au
important thing, because I know when sending apples to the
New York market — that is where mine go — they are not re-
spected there, and if there is a dishonest shipper out of 40
the others of the 40 have to suffer for the dishonest one. If
I ship a real good No. 1 barrel to New York and my friend
ships one right beside it that is proved to be poor or not
very reliable, they say the whole shipment isn't very good
and they all go for about the same price, and the others have
to suffer. Now, is it necessary for us here to pass a resolu
tion or recommend something to the legislature which is in
session, that the voice or sentiment of this Association is that
they give us a law to regulate the packing of fruit?

MR. HEARTY. In reply to the last speaker, the nation-
al law that was passed last year, known as the Sulzer Bill,
in large measure covers the point that you speak about. It
is a law covering grading, and if you brand your barrels
packed under the Sulzer Bill, that carries weight, because
there is a penalty attached to the violation of the use of that
brand. (Note. — Sulzer Bill is printed in the back of this.
Report. )

MR. R. H. RACE. Now, Mr. Hearty, you people ar^
thoroughly organized and we farmers are thoroughly disor-
ganized. Why don't you demand that the farmers live up
to tlie law and live up to the requirements of a proper grade
of apples and refuse to take apples not properly graded,,
send them back to us?

MR. HEARTY. It takes about all our time to defend
ourselves (laughter),

MR. RACE. There is a wrong here that ought not to.
exist. I don't believe the farmers all mean to be dishonest,
but they don't know how to do, that's all.

MR. HEARTY. The gentleman speaks much truth. !
know that there are more honest than dishonest farmers.
I don't believe any farmers intend to be dishonest, but it is.

79

human nature for a man to think his own apples just as good
as his neighbor's, but it is not always so. There is a na-
tional law and I would like to see it extended and put into
operation, and I should be very glad, if a list of names is
sent to me, to see that everyone gets a copy of that bill. If
that bill is followed in spirit and otherwise, a better condi-
tion will exist all around, a better feeling will exist between
the farmers and the buyers and the commission merchants.

MES. DEVING. Mr. Hearty has stated here that the
commission man is, in his opinion, a necessity. I would like
to ask, is it not true that the cooperative societies of the west
have practically eliminated the commission man in their bus-
mess?

MR. HEARTY. That is what they started out to do,
but they are now coming back to the commission men. At
the outset, when relatively small quantities of high grade
apples were raised out west they could do that because it
was a novelty. Now, when they have got a very large crop,
they are seeking every medium that they can find to extend
their shipments. They are perfectly willing, I have heard,
to ship to anybody who will guarantee them the freight.

MRS. DEVING. Do they not place their fruit abroad
through their own agents?

MR. HEARTY. Not always, no. There are several
agents here, ourselves being one, Mr. Webling's firm being
another, and we all receive shipments of western boxed ap-
ples and from associations.

MRS. DEVING. Is it not true that they bring their
fruit here and get a better price, have a better market, than
the New England orchardist?

MR. HEARTY. Yes, their fruit brings relatively more
en this market than does New England fruit, and that is
easily seen by looking at the two grades. Another reason
for it is that people are eating more with their eyes today
than they are eating with their mouths. (Laughter and ap-
plause).

MRS. DEVING. Of course, we New England orchard-

80

ists believe that we grow the best tasting fruit there is to be
had.

MR. HEARTY. And in your belief you are quite right.
Jt is a fact that you take New England apples and the west-
ern New York apples, and I defy any other section of the
country to produce any better tasting fruit.

MRS. DEVING. But we cannot make the buyers be-
lieve that, the retail buyers.

MR. HEARTY. You can, by improving the standard
of your quality and through educational methods. People
have got to be educated, and I believe that the New England
Baldwin apple has a better future than it has a past, and
simply because we have got to keep pounding and pounding.
As I said in my address, the west is having a taste of a Wat-
erloo such as we have never had. It costs them in the neigh-
borhood of $1.50 to get a barrel to the eastern market as
against our fifteen or twenty cents. I don't see where they
stand much show if we improve our quality and get it at the
same standard as theirs.

PRESIDENT FRQST. I want to state, Mr. Hearty,
that these apples here (indicating) were taken out of cold
storage and not packed for the convention. These are the
ordinary pack from the farm in Ipswich. I want to show
here an apple that was picked in 1911.

MR. RANNEY OF DERRY, N. H. We have heard con-
siderable within the last year or so about poor apples being
dumped on our market both here in the east and abroad, and
J think it has been acknowledged by several here, both by
the producers and commission men, that the apples are bad.
The question is, how are we going to make them good? I
saw in this hall this morning Mr. Hale, who possibly is here
now, a man who has had large experince in the handling and
packing of fruit. He made the statement in Durham last
summer that there were not twelve men in the State of New
Hampshire that knew enough to put up a barrel of No. 1
fruit. One man objected and told Mr. Hale he though he
was honest in his opinon, but he did not agree with him.

81

(Laughter). If that is the case, if there are not twelve meu
in the State of New Hampshire that know enough to do that,
T should say the leading question today is, How are they go-
ing to educate themselves or be educated so that they will
know enough? Because it is the apples that the people wauo
that the producers should be selling them. I would like to
suggest that the gentlemen who has just been on the floor
can perhaps tell us how this can be done and how it may be
brought about through this Association in the State of Mas-
sachusetts.

MR. HARNEY OF PITTSFIELD, N. H. I am the man
that told Mr. Hale he was mistaken when he said there
were not twelve honest men in New Hampshire, and I stat.^
here today that I refute that charge. I want to say that wo
have honest men that pack honest apples in New Hampshire,
but our great trouble has been that we have had the buyers
come in and buy them on the trees and pack them them-
selves, and it has ruined our reputation. (Applause).

PRESIDENT FROST. I am glad to have Mr. Harney
uphold New Hampshire's reputation. I hope that every
•tate can be as well represented.

MR. HALE OF BYFIELD. I am not the Mr. Hale re-
ferred to just now, but I want to say that apples fifty years
ago were packed honestly in my neighborhood. My father
packed honest apples and a No. 1 was a No. 1, but his son
has plugged a good many since then and put bad ones in the
middle, and I am here to say that the commission merchants
came out in that section and bought our apples and taught
us that trick. Now we have here a good honest commission
merchant, and I have no doubt that the commission mer-
chants now have got to teach us differently. We are finding
out it pays to put up the apples in grades. There are honest
commission merchants and I am dealing with one now. He
is selling my apples today.

MR. HEARTY. I am very pleased indeed to find that I
have made one friend here and that there are some upright
commission merchants. (Laughter). In answering the speak-

82

er before the last, I think I covered the questions in my fee-
ble efforts on the platform. I outlined the three grades that,
in my opinion, would be the assortment that would fit our
home market demand. Now, he asks how may they best
reach that. I also suggested and hoped that this Association
would assume such proportions that it could afford to main-
tain instructors and inspectors. The best way to accom-
plish a thing is to be taught how to do it, and if you can
get the proper instructors and the subject is and wants to be
honest, it is only a question then of intelligence, and that, I
believe, this organization has. (Applause).

PRESIDENT FROST. I want to state that I think that
in Massachusetts our Agricultural College Extension Work,
with our experimental orchards, is attempting this in the
best possible way. They are doing a great work in the or-
chard line and have scattered experiment orchards through-
out the state, and right here, downstairs, Ave are to have
packing demonstrations. The Agricultural College Packing
Expert, Mr. Rees of Oregon, has his apparatus and fruit, and
before and after lectures as well as any other time that there
is a demand for it he will show the method of packing, es-
pecially the box packing. Everyone who attended the
Massachusetts Fruit Show last November would have seea
the college exhibit, showing barrels with one stave out, show-
ing the poor packing and the good packing. Are there any
other questions?

PROFESSOR STIMSON. The question has been asked
as to how we are going to get this knowledge spread about.
The Board of Education has an appropriation from the state
for helping support agricultural instructors in high schools.
These instructors take their vacations in the winter and they
are on duty through the summer. They help the boys who
are growing fruit, and help the fathers of the boys so far as
the fathers want help. Naturally, the fathers watch the
boys with the sharpest of eyes and watch the instructors,
and some of the most interesting things done this fall have
been done in connection with the studying ®f different varie-

83

ties of fruit and the grading of those varieties for quality.
I think, Ladies and Gentlemen, that you may interested to
follow this movement. In just a word I will say that twen-
ty-five of our boys, five taken from each of five different
points throughout the state, earned in farm work this last
year, while attending school, over $5,000. (Applause).

MR. R. H. RACE. I would like to ask a favor of Mr.
Hearty in behalf of the people that I represent — I live down
in Berkshire where we don't get so much as you do here, of
the good things going around. If Mr. Hearty would send
me a statement of condition of things in brief I would give
it to our local paper and get it before the people. It may
arouse them and get them to do things. We are going to
have in Great Barrington, on the 17th of February an insti-
tute with the Granges of "Western Massachusetts and the
Agricultural Society of Berkshire, and we might have it pre-
sented there.

PRESIDENT FROST. Are there any other questions?
If not, we will adjourn until tomorrow morning at ten
o'clock.

SECOND DAY

Saturdaj, January 11, 1913.

PRESIDENT FROST. We are this morning to have a
lecture by Mr. M. C. Burritt, Editor of the "Tribune
Farmer" of New York, who will discuss "The Cost of Grow-
ing Apples." I hope that if there is anyone here who an-
ticipates the growing of apples and has not yet tried it, he
will study this address. Mr. Burritt is a business man, he
knows how to figure costs, which I think very few of us un-
derstand. He is not only the editor of the "Tribune
Farmer", but he is running a large farm of his own. He
will show some lantern slides, giving figures, and some slides
Bhowing the orchards, and after he has given his address he
will take up the discussion. We value our discussions as
smch as we do our addresses.

I have the honor of presenting to you Mr. M. C. Bur-
ritt of New York. [Applause].

[Paper read by Mr. M. C. Burritt, with lantern slides].
THE COST OF GROWING APPLES
M. C. Burritt, Editor of the Tribune Farmer, New York.

Millions of apple trees have been planted in this coun-
try during the last decade, East, West, North and South.
Because most eastern orchardists have found the apple in-
dustry profitable, they have increased their plantings.
Spurred on by stories of great profits and promises of soon
becoming independently rich, many city persons have in-
vested heavily in the orchard business. Enticed by tales of
the abandonment of apple orcharding in the East, and of
fabulus returns from the king of fruits in the golden West,
many suckers have taken the bait and invested hundreds of
dollars an acre in orchard lands.

In too many of these enterprises enthusiasm has run
away with good and conservative judgment. In nearly all
of them there has been one serious fault — the investor has

85

.failed to co«ni, the- cost. The ineomchas usually been esti-
mated for all it was worth, and the cost of production
ignored, or practically so. It is true that there has been lit-
tle or no basis in accurate records of the facts for the deter-
mination of costs. Few growers of fruit have thought it
worth while to count the costs.

There has been good money in the production of ap-
ples. Under the right conditions and with good manage-
ment there is likely to be a fair profit in apple growing in
the future — though probably a smaller one than in
the past. But more and more are the profits in the business
likely to be measured by the cost of production. Those of
us so situated that we can grow good apples at the lowest
possible cost or who are able to obtain the highest market
prices for our apples are most likely to stay in the business.
Those whose costs are high by reason of unfavorable condi-
tions, and those whose marketing costs are large, will grad-
ually be eliminated from the business of apple growing.

Growers of apples in New England have two great fac-
tors in their favor. The first of these is a fairly low cost of
production ; the second is a comparatively low marketing
cost.

With a soil and climate especially favorable to the pro-
duction of high quality apples, with cheap land, and with
general farms on which there are other important sources
of income, the costs of production should be reduced to a
minimum. Few fruit growers realize the importance of
these advantages. But experience has shown that apples
can with few exceptions, and these mostly very large planta-
tions, be produced at a much lower cost on a general farm
than on a highly specialized one, because of a better distri-
bution of labor, equipment, interest and other costs.
THE PROBLEM.

Our purpose is to find out if possible the cost of grow-
ing an apple orchard to bearing age and the cost of pro-
ducing a barrel of apples in a mature orchard. These costs,
as we have found them out, are under Western New York

86

conditions, which are somewhat different' from yours. They
must therefore be used with judgment and with discrimina-
tion. No one can tell what the cost of production on an-
other's farm will be. Each individual must determine his
own costs.

The figures given are mostly taken from my own or-
chards in Monroe County, New York, but partly from the
orchards of E, B. Holden of Monroe County and Mr. L. A.
Toan, in Wyoming County, New York. I trust, that you
will pardon the use of costs from my own farm. I am using
tliem simply because I can vouch for their accuracy and
completeness. They have been accurately and well kept by
the manager of the farm, Mr. Kobert Hall, and are very near
the average of Western New York conditions, neither the
worst nor the best. Many records have been gathered on
other farms and will soon be published by the government,
I am told. The credit for the method of collecting and for
the tabulation of all the figures is due to Mr. E. H. Thomson,
of the Office of Farm Management, of the U. S. Department
of Agriculture.
FACTORS IN THE COST OF PRODUCING APPLES.
First let us get clearly before us the factors which enter
into the cost of growing any farm crop. These may be
classified under two principal heads, labor costs, and cash
or capital costs.

Labor Costs in Apple Production

MANAGEMENT.

I Cash Wages

Manual ] Board or Rent

I Privileges

LABOR

I Interest

I Depreciation

Horse ] Feed

I Care

I Stabling

I Misc. Shoeing, etc.

87

Labor costs are simply value of all the work done upoa
the crop by men and teams. The rate charged for all this work
may be fixed by the actual cost of hire and keep, or by an
assumed average neighborhood rate. We have used the act-
ual costs, which are 15c. per hour for man and 10c. per hour
for horse labor. The fairest way in which to measure these
costs is by hours of work done, but this is not as clear to the
average man.

Cash Costs in Apple Production.
Interest

CAPITAL

Land.

Improvements

Buildings .

Equipment in
Machinery, etc.

Cash and

Supplies-. ,

Taxes

Buildings, fences, drainage.

etc
Orchards, vineyards, etc.

Interest
Repairs

Depreciation -
Insurance

Interest
Repairs
Depreciation
General

Seed

Fertilizers
Spraying Material
Packages

Cash to run business
Cash costs are rather more numerous and complicated,
and we might add, variable. They include the original
cost of the trees, the cost of the tree protectors, spraying
materials, the fertilizer or manure charges, seed for cover

88

crops if used, taxes on the land, interest on the value of the,
equipment used in the orchard, or rent of the same, interest
on the land, the proper share of the general farm charges,
such as insurance of buildings or store and packing houses,
telephone service, general management, etc. It has been
necessary to omit this last charge in these records because it
was not definitely known, except for the last year.

It will be seen that all these charges may vary consider-
ably according to farm conditions, land values, etc. Our
only comment here is that the cheaper a grower can produce
apples the better able he is to compete with other growers of
this fruit. We have found that the most variable factors are
land values and hence interest and taxes. The amount and
the cost of the labor put upon the crop also varies consider-
ably, but this is partly reflected in the selling price. Al-
most needless to say the accuracy and comi)leteness of the
record is a very important factor. Now let us see how er-
rors have been mostly eliminated in our work by the method
used in gathering the figures.

METHOD OF OBTAINING COSTS.

As I have said, the forms upon which these records were
obtained were worked out by the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture. They were in two parts ; a labor report and a cash
report. The labor sheet is simply a diary, such as you or I
would keep, being the hours of the day at the left and the
ruled columns at the right of the page for the field or crop
designation and for the horses and man hours. A sample
of this sheet follows : —

Proprietor's or Superintendent's Daily Labor R«port.

U. S. Department of Agriculture

in cooperation with JOHN SMITH

Day of Week: Date May 1, 1910.

KIND OF WORK.

(Include Implements used, Number
of Loads, Etc)

Field,

Prunning trees

Hauling out brush

Meal hour

Spraying with Lime
Sulphur 1-11

Gasoline Engine

— Totals,

-Give weather and crop con-
ditions, general notes, etc. |

EXTRA LABOR

Man
Hours.

3A

Horse

No.

Hours.

1^ 2 3

4i

9i

12

) |Time A. M.|Time P. M.| No.

Kind of |Field|Begin.-|End-|Begin-|End-| of

Work I I ning. | ing. | ning. | ing. |Men

Pruni'g II II II

trees I A | 7 | 12 I 1

I No. I No. I No.
I Man I of I Horse
HourslHorsesj Hours.

6

20

Wage rate:

Signed

90

One of these sheets is made out by each regular work-
man on the farm every day. Extra men's time is put down
in the space provided at the bottom of the superintendent's
page as shown in the illustration. These records, after be-
ing passed upon by the foreman or owner, were sent to the
office at Washington where they were tabulated, checked
and put into the form in which I now give them to you.

The cash transactions were recorded in the ordinary
way in a single entry ledger form. The only difference be-
tween our form and the one ordinarily used is a column in
which all charges not cash are entered. The inventories at
the beginning and end of the year, and all miscellaneous in-
formation about the farm as a whole, were secured by per-
sonal visits to the farms. All field measurements were ac-
curately made with a surveyor's chain.
COST OF A FOURTEEN ACRE ORCHARD THE FIRST

YEAR.

The third case which we have to present shows a still
lower cost of growing a young orchard. In this case th*,
crops paid for the entire cost of the orchard the first year.
This orchard, which consists of 420 apple trees, set 40 feet
apart each way and filled one way with 400 peach trees,
covers 13.84 acres of ground. The cost includes the trees
and the setting out the orchard as in the former cases. The
fine showing is due to three principal factors: A compara-
tively low land valuation, hence a smaller interest charge,
an extra good soil in a very fertile condition and well adapt-
ed to the crops grown and to good management. It illus-
trates a possibility under ideal conditions. The orchard is
that of Mr. L, A. Toan in Wyoming County, New York. The
figures, which are for 1908, follow : —

91

The Cost of a 14-Acre Apple Orchard The First Year.

Total

Hours 1 Total |

PerAcreHoursI Cost | Cost

Operation Man

Horsej Cost

Man

Horse|p'rac'e|perlOO

1 trees

Hauling trees | • 7*

8

$1.93

.54

.58 $ .1391$ .23^

Heel'g in treesj 5

.75

.36

.054] .09

St'k'g outfieldl 26 3-4

4.01

1.93

.2901 .40

Setting trees |108 3-4

16.31

7.86

1.1781 2.00

Pruneing | 18

2.70

1.30

.195| .33

Flowing in fall] 48

63 3-4

13.52

3.47

4.57

.978 1.65

* Wiring | 38

5.70

2.74

.412 .70

T't'l labor cost| 252

1 7U

$44.92

18.20

5.15

3.25| 5.49i

400 peach trees at 10c each
4 20 apple trees at 25c each

Equipment

Taxes

Interest (100 per acre) . . . .

Total cash cost

Grand total cost

* Protection of trees

$40.00

$2.89|

105.00

7.58|

6.92

.50

6.92

.50

69.96

5.001

228.04

16.47

272.96

19.72

25.00

.84

.84

8.40

45^08

Income and Net Profit from Crops.

1 1 1

Total Net

Crop

lAcreslYield an Acre Income [Expense

Net Profit

1 1

Profit an acre

Corn . . .

• 1 4.77| 10^ T. silage

1 1 at $4.00

$202.00

$184.49

$17.51 $ 3.67

Potatoes

• 1 1.93|181bu. at 50c

175.00

103.28

71,72 37.15

Beans . . .

.) 6.10|21.1bu.at2.65
3-4T. straw

at 6.50

370.26

185.92

184.34 30.22

$747.26

$473.69

$273.57

Total I Per acre

Net income from crops )$273.57]$19.76G

Total expense on orchard 272. 96| 19.72

Net gain |$ .611$ -0^^

In a fourth example of which we have knowledge,
records kept by E. B. Holden of another Monroe County,
(N. y.) orchard, show a profit of $10.33 an acre on a five
acre apple and peach orchard similar to my own alreadj'
mentioned, at the end of four years. In this orchard wheat
was grown the first year and beans the second, third and
fourth years. The net income from these crops together
with a small crop of peaches in the fourth year left a net
Ijrofit at the end of the period of $51.63 on the five acre or-
chard.

92

SUMMARY OF THE COST OF GROWING AN ORCHARD
TO BEARING AGE

Two very important factors are supposed to operate to
deter many persons from going into the growing of apples;
namely, the large amount of capital required for the enter-
prise and the long time necessary to wait for returns. The
records here presented substantiate this supposition. They
show that in one case it cost $159.64 an acre to grow an ap-
ple orchard to ten years of age; and in another $95.01 to
grow the trees to five years of age ; while in a third the cost
of setting and growing one year was $19.72 an acre. But the
records also show that it is possible to offset this cost to a
greater or less extent by growing crops between the treo
rows and by filling the orchard with earlier bearing fruits.
By following this plan the cost of the ten-year-old orchard
was reduced from $159.64 to $52.70 an acre ; of the five-year-
old orchard, from $95.01 to an actual profit of .$36.27 an
acre; of the four-year-old orchard to a net profit of $10.33
an acre, while in the case of the one-year-old orchard the
entire expense was met the first year,

THE COST OF GROWING A 6.6 ACRE APPLE ORCHARD
FOR TEN YEARS.

The orchard for which the following figures were given
was set in the spring of 1903 and the records given begin
with that year and end with 1912 covering a period of ten
years in all. Throughout this period other crops have been
grown between the tree rows, thereby offsetting to a larg-2
extent the cost of growing the orchard. The year the trees
were set the crops were allowed to come within three feet of
the trees. As the trees grew older this space was widened
until during the season of 1912 in eight feet of space on either
side of the tree row no crop was grown. This space was
kept well cultivated each year.

Forty trees at the north end of the orchard are pears,
but they have received substantially the same treatment as
the apples and have not affected the cost. In 1904, one year
after the apple trees, 211 plum trees were set as fillers one

93

way. The apple trees are set 36x36 feet apart, so that filled
one way the trees stand 18x36 feet apart. Two thirds of
these apple trees were top grafted in 1908 and 1909, not only
increasing the expense of growing but delaying the bearing
period. These trees have not yet begun to bear profitably.
The other third of the apple trees (Dutchess of Oldenburg)
have borne three small crops. The plums have borne but
one satisfactory crop. The orchard is ten rows wide and 47
containing in all 467 trees.

The facts about this orchard are not necessarily cited as
an example of good management. In fact there are many
points about its management which illustrate how not to do
it. Still I suppose it illustrates an average condition of af-
fairs. We cannot all be Hales and Lyraans. Most of us
i-'iust be content to be John Smiths. Because this is the or-
chard of a John Smith we consider the record of it a more
"valuable example to the average grower.

Stuninary of Costs for Ten Year*— Field A.— <l.6 Acres

4 67 Treea Set 18x36 Feet Apart.

Net inc. Income Cost
Crop from from of

Year Grown Crop orchard orchard Profit Loss

1903 Com $15.17 $109.87 $94.70

1904 Beans 42.57 216.16 173.59

1905 Beans 43.13 83.78 40.65

1906 Beans 120.90 80.14 $40.76

1907 Beans 38.85 84.97 46.12

1908 Corn 37.68 64.22 26.54

1909 Oats and Strawberries 100.61 $27.88 84.73 43.76

1910 Wheat 60.70 38.65 96.35 3.00

1911 Hay 58.63 38.00 96.19 .44

1912 Hay 52.72 30.36 137.26 54.18

Total 570.96 134.89 1053.63 87.96 435.78

Net loss on field for ten years $347.82

Average annual loss 34.78

Total cost an acre for 10 years exclusive of income 159.64

Total cost an acre for 10 years including income 52.70

Total net cost a 100 trees 74.50

Total net cost a 100 apples trees 16.10

Total cost a 100 apples trees exclusive of income 48.70

We find that this orchard has cost $159.64 an acre dur-
ing the ten years of its life, but that the $86.51 an acre of
crops grown in the orchard during this time together with

94

$20.48 an acre from the orchard itself has brought this cost
down to $52.70 an acre. It is safe to say that the orchard
would have cost even more than it did had it not been for
the crops, for many operations charged directly to the crops
would of necessity have been charged to the trees. The cost
per 100 trees does not mean much as it often happens that
not all the trees are covered by an operation, and as the num-
ber of trees per acre greatly affects these costs.

It will be noted from the summary that in this case bean*
and wheat were more profitable crops to grow in the or-
chard than corn. Only about one-third of an
acre of strawberries was grown in the seventh year and al-
though showing good profits cannot be taken as the most
profitable crop to grow, because of the limitations of labor,
markets, etc., as to the number of acres which could be
handled.

THE COST OF A FIVE-YEAR OLD ORCHARD.

"We have another and younger orchard upon which the
records have been kept. This orchard of five acres contains
126 standard apple trees filled both ways with 375 peach
trees. It was set in the spring of 1908 so that the trees have
grown five seasons. The permanents, apples, are set 36x40
apart so that with the peaches between the trees stand 18x20
feet apart. A crop of beans was grown between the tree
rows each of the first four seasons. The first season a full
seven rows of beans 28 inches apart, were planted in the
wider space ; the second and third seasons, six rows and the
fourth season only four rows. In the fifth season no crop or
beans was grown in the orchard. The crop was very good
each year until the last. One application of manure, one
crop of clover and two seedings of rye have been plowed
imder, and in addition a liberal amount of commercial fer-
tilizer used with each crop of beans. In 1911 the peach
trees bore their first crop. The record of the five years is as
follows :

95

Summary of the Cost of a Five-Acre 5- Year-Old Apple and Peach

Orchard

126 Apple and 375 Peach Trees Set 18x20 Feet Apart.
Crop Net income Income from Cost of
Year Grown from crop orchard orchard Profit Loss

1908 Beans $ 63.37 $130.12 $ 66.75

1909 Beans 66.70 85.03 18.33

1910 Beans 79.81 83.39 3.5S

1911 Beans 11.09 $46.05 70.16 13.02

1912 389.38 106.35 $283.03

Totals $220.97 $435.43 $475.05 $283.03 $101.68

Net Gain on Field in 5 Years $181.35

Average Annual Gain 36.27

Total Cost an Acre, exclusive of income $95.01

Total Net Profit an Acre, including income 3 6.27

Total Cost a 100 trees exclusive of income 9.48

Total Cost a 100 Apple Trees exclusive of income 37.70

These figures show a still lower cost of growing trees to
bearing age. After paying all expenses connected with the
growing of the trees, including the interest on the land at
$150 per acre, and deducting the net profit from the crops
of beans and the sales from the first crop of peaches we find
that the growing of the trees left us a net profit of $36.27
an acre, or 36c. an apple tree at five year old. Had no crop
been grown in the orchard it would have cost us at least
$95.01 an acre not counting the income from the two peach
crops. To put it another way the beans have returned a net
income of $44,24 an acre, or $11.06 an acre a year for four
years. The peach trees are now at full bearing age and
should show a good profit from this time on. At five years of
age this orchard has more than paid for itself. The only
possible further charge which could be made against the or-
chard is the crop income which might have been obtained
from the land had the trees not been there. We estimate
that the presence of the trees cut down the crop of beans
from the land 33 per cent. As the average net income from
beans is $11.05 an acre, this would amount to $3.75 an acre,
a year, or a total of $15.00 an insignificant sum.

In summarizing these tables Mr. Thomson, who arranged
them, says: "The data can be taken only as an indication of
the cost under normal conditions. The records on no two

96

orchards even in the same township would give the same re-
sults, as local conditions and factors which cannot be con-
trolled affect the cost in many ways. It is surprising to note
the number of things which make a wide difference in the
cost of any farm crop, and it is only through a long period
of study whereby the influence of these variable factors can
be eliminated by averages which will enable one to draw
right conclusions."

When we consider the large and long iime investment
necessary, the long and uncertain period of waiting for re-
turns, the skill required, and the many chances for loss we are
impressed with the necessity of carefully counting the cost.
"We see nothing in the facts given here to deter one from go-
ing into the business of apple growing, where other condi-
tions are favorable. On the contrary, they seem to us en-
couraging. If they warn us to a careful study of the prob-
able costs and success, and to be conservative in our orchard
enterprises they certainly will not have been given in vain.

COST OF RENOVATION.

It may be of interest to many to know something about
the cost of renovating old apple orchards. This is con-
siderable, though no greater than the returns usually war-
rant. The following estimates of costs have been carefully
made from records obtained on several farms in New York
State. The figures are per acre and are given both as prob-
able minimum and maximum for the first year. *

Plowing $ 2.00 $ 3.00

Manure, 10 to 20 loads at $1.00 or its equiva-
lent in commerical fertilizer 10.00 20.00

Hauling manure average .50 5.00 10.00

Priming and hauling brush 5.00 10.00

Discing or harrowing twice 1.00 1.50

Discing or harrowing 3d, or 4th time 50 1.00

Cultivation 2 to 4 times 50 1.00

Spraying once L. S. Material (Diltn. 1 to 9) 2.00 4.00

97

Spraying once L. S. Labor 1.00 1.50

Spraying 2d. time L. S. Labor and material

(dilution 1 to 40) 1.50 2.50

Spraying 3d time L. S. Labor and material

(dilution 1 to 40) 1.50 2.50

$30.00 $57.00
COST OF A BARREL OF APPLES.

Many factors enter into the cost of producing a barrel
of' apples some of which are not usually taken into account in
reckoning this cost. As these factors vary, so will the cost
of production vary.

We naturally think first of the labor cost involved, as
this is one of the largest items. The orchard must be pruned
plowed and cultivated until mid-summer and a cover crop
sown. The trees must be sprayed two or three times, and
finally the fruit harvested, packed and marketed. The ap-
ple requires constant and careful attention from bud to bar-
rel, and all this means labor and money.

Then there are the cash costs which must be considered,
the fertilizer or manure, if any applied, the package, and the
spray material. Lastly we must not forget the large items
of cost which are so frequently omitted, a reasonable rate of
interest on the investment in the land and in the equipment
to handle it, and the over head charges, such as land and
school taxes and insurance on the buildings.

Our orchard consists of 6.1 acres containg 230 trees.
About one-half of the trees, or 110 are 39 years old. The re-
mainder are more than 50 years of age. As they are all in
one block and handled together the charges connot well be
separated; 132 of the trees are Baldwin, 44 Twenty Ounce,
38 Tompkins County King, and the remainder odd varieties.
Since 1902, the orchard has had good care and attention.
The records cover this period :

98

Table Showing the Items of Expense in Producing Apples in a
Six-acre Orchard in Western New York.

5per ct|Equip-

Over-

Cov'r

Sp'ay

Bar-

Int. on

ment

head

Labor

Total

Year

Crop

Mat'l

rels

land

charge

charge

Cost

Cost

1902

$6.64

$117.88

$27.45

$25.00

$ 2.97

$339.45

$519.39

1903

11.22

164.92

28.98

25.00

2.88

249.55

482.56

1904

10.50

109.90

30.50

25.00

3.93

180.55

360.38

1905

$6.10

12.45

88.80

30.50

25.00

3.40

158.06

324.31

1906

14.85

112.35

33.06

25.00

4.78

211.76

401.80

1907

10.00

16.85

79.80

35.56

25.00

4.89

192.30

364.40

1908

9.75

205.45

37.76

30.09

7.09

293.50

583.55

1909

8.68

19.26

196.35

41.97

38.98

5.91

280.78

591.93

1910

23.89

116.90

45.75

32.39

5.58

175.26

399.77

1911 1

10,50

27.54

207.20

45.75

32.39

5.58

203.40

532.3*

1912
11 yr.
av'ge

22.28

163.28

45.75

32.39

5.58

128.85

398.13

15.93

142.08

36.64

28.75

4.78

219.59

450.78

Av an

acre

2.65

23.68

6.11

4.79

.80

36.60

75.13

A. a bl

.037

.338

.087

.068

.011

.523

1.07

(71

jbls. a

n A.)

A cover crop was sown about every other year. When
town the charge was made against the orchard. The value
of the manure applied is the only thing lacking in this table.
This is omitted because there is some uncertainty as to the
amount, and more as to its real value. It was applied once
in three years — four applications during the period — at th«i
rate of about 12 loads an acre. If we asume that 225 loads
have been applied in the period and that the value was $1 a
load (tiie cost of hauling is included in the labor charges),
a charge of $25 per year should be added, which amounts to
$4.10 an acre or six cents a barrel.

Two or three spraying have been made every year. Un-
til 1909 Bordeaux mixture and Paris green were used.
Since then the commercial brands of lime sulphur and ar-
senate of lead have been used, doubling the cost of the spray
material. The average cost of the spray has been $2.65 an
acre — over Si/o cents a barrel of apples harvested. In 1911
this cost was $4.51 an acre and 4i/^ cents a barrel. The cost
of the package has varied from 28 to 40 cents, and averaged
about 34 cents or $23.68 an acre.

Interest has been figured at five per cent in all eases, but
as the price of the land has varied from $90 at the beginnings

99

of the period to its present valuation of $150 per acre, due
to its improvement and the general increase in the price of
land, the amount of interest has also varied. The same is
true of the equipment charge, which has also increased each
year. The average valuation of the land for nine-year
period was $122.13. This means an annual interest charge
an acre of $6.11 or 8V2 cents a barrel. The equipment
charge, which is interest, repairs and depreciation on the
machinery used in the orchard, amounts to more than 61/2
cents a barrel or $4.79 an acre. Taxes and insurance on the
buildings distributed per acre for the farm, averaged 80
cents or a trifle over a cent a barrel.

Labor is the largest single item. For the first thre^
years this was estimated on the basis of the cost for the next
five years for which more careful records were kept. This
labor is computed at its actual cost to us on the farm. The
rates an hour were 151/2 cents for men and I314 cents for
horses. The rate an hour of the man labor was obtained by
dividing the total amount of money paid for labor, plus the
cost of the board, by the total number of hours worked on
the farm during the year. In the case of the horses a fixed
charge of $10 a month or $120 a year was made, and this
amount divided by the number of hours the horses worked,
gave the rate an hour. These charges amount to $4.25 a
day for man and team. The cost of the labor to grow, pick
and market a barrel of apples was 52 cents, or $36.60 an acre
■with an ayerage yield of 7Q barrels an acre.

100

Average Income, Cost of Growing and Net Profit a Barrel of
Apples in a Six Acre Orchard for 11 Years

Bbls.

Income

Net

Profit

Year

per

bbls.

inc.

Cost

bbls.

inc.

acre

only

culls

only

culls

1902

102.6

$1.96

$1.46

$ .83

$1.13

$ .63

1903

71.1

1.90

2.23

1.11

.79

1.12

1904

51.5

1.66

1.78

1.15

.51

.63

1905

48.5

2.30

2.68

1.10

1.20

1.5S

1906

52.6

1.96

2.55

1.25

.71

1.30

1907

34.4

3.49

4.10

1.73

1.76

2.37

1908

96.2

2.03

2.32

.99

1.04

1.33

1909

92.0

3.00

3.38

1.06

1.94

2.32

1910

54.6

2.69

3.03

1.20

1.49

1.83

1911

99.6

2.06

2.38

.88

1.18

1.50

1912

68.5

1.87

2.18

.95

.92

1.23

11 yr

av. 70.1

2.13

2.45

1.07

1.06

1.38

To sum up these items of cost we find that, taking the
average of eleven years, with an annual crop of 418 barrels
or 70 per acre, on 6.1 acres of old apple orchard, that spray
material costs $.037 per barrel ; packages, $.338 ; interest on
the land $.087, use of equipment, $.068; taxes, etc., $.011;
labor, $.523, or a total of $1.07 per barrel. If the estimated
cost of the manure, six cents, be added, the total will b^
$1.13. This cost, of course, varies with the size of the crop.
When our yield was 100 barrels an acre the cost a barrel
was only $.88, When it was only 35 barrels an acre the cost
a barrel rose to $1.73. In 1912 we grew a crop of 68I/2 bar-
rels per acre for $.95 a barrel.

To put it in another way, we believe we could grow and
deliver on board the cars at our station a barrel of apples
for from $1 to $1.25 with an average crop under average
conditions. In doing this we would expect to make five
per cent on the capital invested and to receive fair wages
for our labor. In addition to this we should have all tho
culls and the windfall apples to sell at a clear profit, for the
cost of producing and handling these has been included in
the costs given above, as it could not well be separated.
These have -amounted to an average of 33 cents a barrel in
the last eleven years. To reduce the matter to a still lower
basis, our experience has shown that we can grow a barrel
of apples for 75 cents.

101

We would not agree to do this, however, for several
reasons. In this account, no reckoning has been made of the
cost of bringing this orchard to bearing and to its present
state of productivity. $150 per acre is probably less than
the actual cost of the orchard. "We do not know how much
this cost is, although our records on our younger orchards,
throw much light on the subject. Moreover there are too
many risks in a long-time investment of this nature, which
have not been taken into account, such as a decline in the
price because of over-production, heavy winds and hail
storms, which may destroy not only the crop but the trees
fclso, and the depredations of old or new insect pests or
fungus diseases which are difficult to control. All these
lisks demand a much larger rate of interest than five per
cent, to make it pay for a person to make such an investment
for a period which cannot well be less than 50 years. "We
should want a guarantee of not less than $1,50 a barrel to
make such an investment temptingly profitable.

SUMMARY

Our experience has taught us that : —

1 . It will require from $20 to $40 an acre to establish an or-

chard.

2. It will require from $10 to $20 an acre a year to main-

tain an orchard.

3. An apple orchard at 8 to 10 yrs. of age which has cost

less than $100 to $150 an acre is an exception.
4.= Under our conditions we can produce enough on the
land by intercropping to nearly pay for the cost of
growing to 10 yrs. of age, and under favorable con-
ditions in 5 years.

5. The average apple orchard cannot be counted on to re-

turn a profit under 10 yrs. nor the average peach or-
chard under five years.

6. A barrel of apples costs from 88 cents to $1.73 and aver-

ages $1.07.

7. It costs from $50 to $100 an acre to grow apples in a

mature orchard.

U'2

8. Eenovating old orchards costs from $30 to $57 an acre.

[Applause.]

PRESIDENT FROST. I hope you will feel free to ask
any questions of Mr. Burritt that you wish. He has
given us some very valuable information.

DR. H. J. WHEELER. I should like to ask Mr. Bur-
ritt what he charges in there for management, in connection
with his orchard and in connection with the other orchards
which he mentions. He did not mention what the charge
per year was.

MR. BURRITT. I didn't charge anything for my own
orchard, for this reason: It doesn't cost me anything to man-
age it. I have been on a salary working for somebody else
during the past six years and the management I have given
it hasn't cost anything. I have therefore charged nothing
for that item for myself, as my management is largely done
by letter and by occasional visits to the farm every two
weeks or once a month. I operate my farm with a farm
manager, who is paid by share of the income from the farm,
but net in the ordinary tenant way, because I own all the
equipment, horses, machinery and everything, to operate
the farm and keep it under my personal direction.

MR. SAMUEL FRAZER. Might I say a word on tho
cost of management? I am charging $10 an acre, because
we use a method in the proposition which gives us that
amount. Mr. Timothy Costello, of Pen Yan has a 50 acre
orchard, and he is charged with $30 an acre. So, you see,
we have got from $10 to $30 for an operating charge.

MR. BOURNE. When I get my tax bill the cost of
taxes is a lump sum for real estate. How shall I establish
what the valuation of this field of apples is and the valua-
tion of the other fields which have other things? How shall
I know what the increase of taxes will be with the increased
value of the land that the apples are on, as the apples grow
older?

MR. BURRITT. That is a knotty proposition, sir; I
wouldn't tackle some of those things because my experience

103

has been that the further you go in this business the more
complicated it gets, and you are apt to get discouraged. I
have stuck to the simple things. If I were to start in on that
proposition I should divide the taxes by the total acreage and
assign them at so much an acre. That, of course, won't b6
quite fair, I know. Or you could make another division like
this ; If you have a lot of timber or land not tillable, rough
Icind, I would divide it into tillable and nontillable and mako
the different valuations on that. But the only fair way is to
give a different valuation to every field, only if you attempt
it you are getting into complicated bookkeeping. We are
doing it ; we started this year. Every single field and each
orchard has its own valuation, according to what it is, to
what is growing on it and what it will produce, and the taxes
should be divided up acording to that valuation. But T
advise every one to start in a simple way, if he is going to
keep records. I have seen this thing a good many times,
and I will say now that the value of keeping records is
largeh^ in what you learn by it. I don 't care what you do,
hut I would guarantee that if any of you men will keep «.
record of this sort on your farm for one year if you threw
that record into the stove just as soon as you finished it,
it would have paid you big money, because you would have
learned a lot of things you never knew before and never
would have found out, although you lived on that farm a
lifetime. Keep a record ; it gives a distinctive point of view
in the business; that is what we are talking about. I don't
say that I would advise throwing them away by any means.
T would keep them. Every year you add to the record you
learn something more and you will see errors appear in the
year before that w^ill be straightened out, and in three or
four years you will have it down to a system, as Mr. Frazjr
has, so that you will know exactly how to go at it.

I would like to say a word, too, regarding that manage-
ment item. He is talking about large proposition ; he has a
big commercial orchard under the charge of a man, and it is
right to charge that. Almost all of us, as I said, are John

104

Smiths and have only; 50 acre farms. If you have an earning
capacity of $5 or $10 an acre, all right, charge it, but not all
of us have. I think for the average farm from $500 up to
$1500 is a fair charge for management. I am talking about
the average farm, understand. I might say incidentally
that this gentleman he mentioned who charges $30 an acre
got $2.50 a barrel for his apples.

ME. HULSE OF NORTH ATTLEBORO. I would like
to inquire what your orchard it?

MR. BURRITT. The first orchard, A, was one-third
Duchess of Oldenburg, the other two-third was Ben Davis,
top worked to King and Twenty-Ounce. The second was
one-third Northern Spy and two-thirds Baldwin. The other
orchard was approximately one-half Twenty-Ounce and one-
half Tompkins County King.

MR. GEORGE SMITH OF AVELLESLEY. It seems to
me that those apples didn't get all the credit to which they
are entitled. For instance, the horses were charged with
everything they might be charged with, but they didn't ge'u
credit for the manure or for the time they were used for
driving purposes. The use of the horse for the man wa,3
counted, and it seems to me the horse ought to have credit
for that. Then, in the buildings there are charges for de-
I>reciation, interest, everything of that sort, but no credit.
The apples received no credit for the land, and the same with
the value of the land. The apples were charged with in-
creased taxes, interest, and so forth, because of the increased
value of the laud, but they were not credited with any of
that increased value of land. If that were done in a great
many cases, if the farm was situated near a growing town
or city or they put a railroad through, the increased valua-
tion would offset the cost, and the apples wouldn't cost any-
thing. If they are going to be charged it seems to me they
ought to be credited.

MR. BURRITT. This is getting interesting. (Laugh-
ter). That is always the experience, that when you take up
this record proposition, the further you go the more inter-

105

esting points you bring out, and that is its whole value. TI!
I had gone into every detail we would have been at the
talk until the middle of the afternoon. We did credit, sir,
the horse with the manure and the driving purposes. T
didn't speak of that as I should have done. I didn't givi
the actual cost on the screen, but I gave a table of all the
costs; it should have appeared, I admit, but as a matter of
fact, I did credit the horse with those things and the net
cost, after charging all those factors and after crediting the
net return, was 13 1-2 cents an hour for the horse. As to
that other proposition, I would not agree. I think you are
mixing up farming and real estate. The apple orchard isn't
to blame because a railroad goes through or because you are
near a prosperous town and your valuation increases. That
is, there is such and such a profit or less in operating a farm
and growing a certain crop for a definite period. If the in-
creased valuation of that land is due to some outside factor,
that is surely a real estate factor, just the same as if you
took the money you got out of the farm and went into Bos-
ton and bought a piece of property and it increased 20 per
cent, in ten years, making you a good investment. That
should be taken into consideration, but I don't think it
should be mixed up with the growing crop.

MR. SmTH. Yes, I agree with that, but if you charge
the apples with that increased value you have made it pret-
ty costly to produce apples, haven't you?

MR. BURRITT. No, because that is due to the in-
creased valuation. If you are looking for business, when
you get that increased A-aluation the presumption is that yo>a
will get a further increase and you had better sell out and
buy somewbere else. For instance, on that land which I.
showed there with a value of about $90 an acre it is now
worth at least $200. That is partly an increase caused by
the apples being planted and the general management, but
it is mostly because of the apples having increased. If there
wasn't anything in it but business I would sell out the whole
proposition and I could go within 50 miles and buy other

106

land at one-quarter of that price exactly as good, and de-
velop it. But it is my home and I won 't sell it.

MR. ROGERS OF CONNECTICUT. I would like to
ask about the difference in value of the trees from the time
they are set out until they are ten years old. You haven't
stated the value of the ten-year-old trees. There is a nat-
ural increase from the time they are set out, and I think you
haven't stated that.

MR. BURRITT. No, sir. If I did, you would all dis-
agree with me, probably. Get this in mind: I was talking:
about the cost, but not about increase ; I was talking about
just the actual cost. I might say that each tree has in-
creased a dollar in a year, but I wouldn 't take $50 for a lot
cf those trees, and yet somebody else would say that during
ten years I have a tree worth more than $100. It is a good
deal a matter of opinion. As a matter of fact, our ten year
orchards have cost, as I recall it, about 40 cents a tree in ten
years, 40 to 50 cents in cost. I wouldn't sell one for that.
But you see you have two propositions ; one is cost and one
is real value; what it is worth now. I wouldn't attempt to
say accurately, for it varies a great deal.

MRS. DEVINS. I would like to ask Mr. Burritt if he
lives on his place.

MR. BURRITT. No, madame, I do not, unfortunately.

MRS. DEVINS. You spoke of its being your home?

MR. BURRITT. Well, it is my home farm.

MRS DEVINS. I see. I was thinking about the value
of the home as such, the commercial value. I wondered
why, if you lived there, you didn 't credit yourself with that
much. But of course it is different if you don't live there.

MR. BURRITT. Well, that does bring up a point that
T might say a word about. A farm home has this value, it
is a business residence for a farmer and his men. For in-
stance, illustrating this way, suppose you went out and
bought a piece of bare land anl wanted to put a man on that
land ; you would have to build him a house. The cost of that
house, merely to house the man to work the place, would be

107

the business end of it. On the other hand, if you wanted
to go on that farm and live yourself and you wanted to have
a better home than you needed, say you put up a house that
cost $2,000 to build, a livable house, for a manager to live in,
a good, comfortable place, that might fairly be charged
against business. But suppose you got out and built a
$10,000 house on that farm, where you might have only fifty
acres, it ivsn't fair to charge all of that in that way. Part
of it is home value, because you have other sources of income
and the other part is the business value. I thinL that in gen-
eral where you have no other source of income than your
farm the home on it ought not to be too expensive, because
the farm has got to carry you. You have got to keep the
thing more or less of a business proposition, and that is what
most of our farms are, or should be, on a business basis. If
we should start any year on my farm and couldn't make
what I thought was a reasonable business investment, therv^
would be something happen very quickly. This crop or
that crop must pay; if it don't, what is the trouble? If you
can fix it, all right; if you can't, throw it out. I told you, I
threw out two crops because I didn't see any money in them.
So that everything we put into that farm, we add to the in-
vesment. It is an invesment that has got to pay interest
and I think we ought to put that charge on our farm first
and stick to it, because that is the basis of all other prosper-
ity. We can't have good roads and good schools and good
churches and bathrooms in the house and all sorts of conven-
iences unless we can make our business return the money
to pay, or unless we happen to be fortunate enough to have
a large income outside ; and even then it isn 't good business,
because the farm must pay. The basis of rural prosperity is
the return on the investment or the business.

MR. RICHARDS OF MARSHFIELD. From Western

New York, where the gentleman comes from, I believe, we

get magazines, "The Fruit Grower," and so forth, that tell

us they make from $400 to $500 an acre on raising apples.

Now, I have an orchard of about six or seven acres, a mod-

108

ern, up- to- date orchard, where, if I could make half of that,
I should think I was doing pretty well. In raising straw-
berries as we do in Marshfield, that being the leading town
jii the state for raising the best berries, we make $300 or
$'400 an acre. Is it possible to raise what some of these fruit
growers magazines tell us, from $300 to $500 an acre on ap-
ples and do it as you have done, using the costs that you
have?

MR. BURRITT. My answer, is, that it is possible but
not probable, for the average man. I wouldn't undertake
any responsibility for what the various magazines say. I
will undertake responsibility for what my own paper says.
"We don 't print anything but facts. I wouldn 't want to say
that all the others do, although they may. I wouldn 't want
tc take responsibility for them. As a matter of fact, on that
basis if you are going to make an investment or are going
into the orchard business on the basis of what somebody tells
you the profits would be, we might as well all move to Ore-
gon, because, according to the circulars we get from there,
their average income per acre is about $1500, — that is, if yoa
believe the circulars and papers. As a matter of fact,
when you boil the thing down and get down to a real solid
basis, you don't find those things are true. I know, for in-
stance, an orchard within three miles of my home where the
owner has had an actual gross income of $1100 an acre. I
know an orchard of twenty-five acres today that turns off
an average income of $250 an acre above all expenses. But
.'is a matter of fact by actual count of all the orchards in
Monroe County, and not only Monroe, but Orleans and
Niagara and Wayne as well, in the survey made by the State
College of Agriculture, the average gross income is about
$150 an acre; and if we may guess at the expense from my
OAvn experience the average expense will run in the neigh-
borhood of $75 an acre. I should say that the average
grower in Western New York, who is taking good care of his
orchard would make $75 an acre from his orchard. Wouldn't
■ihat be fair Mr. Fraser?

109

MR. FRASER OF NEW YORK. Yes.
MR. BURRITT. But of course you must rermember
that most of those growers inherited their orchards from
their fathers and we have no knowledge what it cost th'3
fathers. The father of this man I speak of, who had $1100
from one acre grew those orchards and was on the verge of
bankruptcy for ten years, in order to keep that orchard
growing, with no income coming in. He was all but sold
out in 1890 on his mortgages. The whole income was from
farm crops. About 1895 the orchard began to bear, and
when the man died ten years later he left upwards of
$5d,000, all made from a 100 acre farm. The father left that
orchard to his two sons, who make a big gain from that
farm, now, from this plant which he left them to do it with.
It is like going into the business of manufacturing soap,
where your father built the whole plant and equipped it and
gave it to you and you say that now you are making so much
money. But really, your father did it. That is the case
with Western New York. Most of them were grown under
circumstances the expense of which we have no accurate
knowledge. But as a general thing, I think the man who
has it now and takes care of it, averages about $75.

MR. BARNES OF CONNECTICUT. In view of the
fact that your estimates are from Western New York which
therefore may not be wholly in touch with conditions here
m Massachusetts and Connecticut, quoting orchard land at
$90 and $100 and more per acre, I would like to say that in
our locality in Central Connecticut a very short time ago,
in the revaluation and classification of agricultural land for
the purposes of taxation, land suitable for orchard purposes
was finally classified and A'alued at about $50 per acre, just
for the land. In going about in Massachusetts and Ne^v
Ham-pshire — I find what appears to be much land of good
character that I think can be bought for very much less than
the values that have been mentioned here as prevailing in
regions further west. I would like to call your attention to
that.

110

Also, in regard to the value management. I think, if
I understood rightly, the statement was made that $1500 for
8 man able to handle fifty acres of orchard was paid in some
cases. I should feel that if I were making such a deal as
that I should hire the man as superintendent, would want
him to be able to handle very much more than fifty acres, to
be worth such a sum.

MR. J. F. FROST OF BELMONT. You stated that you
eliminated two crops and made a larger profit on the balance
grown. Isn't that the tendency of modern farming from
New York westward, to specialize ?

MR. BURRITT. Now that is a great big question aijd
I might spend half a day on it. I had to give them up since
they couldn't hold up the profits along with the others, sa
that my income with the remaining three was greater than
with the previous five.

I would like to point out in my talk that specialization
must be accompanied by a good system of agriculture, with
good management behind it. If I were to go into the busi-
ness of growing apples today I would put seventy-five acres
of general farm crop lands against twenty-five acres of or-
chard, every time. Mr. Frasep has done the same thing. I
told you that I had purchased extra land to go with my or-
chard, and I bought twenty acres more to back up the twen-
ty-five acres of orchard. Mr. Fraser purchased about 200,
to back up 50 or 60 of apple orchard. I would be willing
to stake my reputation and pocketbook on this, that you
could produce apples on a general farm, with a general sys-
tem of agriculture behind you, 25 or even 50 per cent less
than the man who goes into the orchard business and has
nothing else, with the possible exception of a man who has
several hundred acres of orchards, or perhaps you might
have 100 acres and a number of varieties of fruit, and per-
haps a vegetable garden or something like that connected
with it. I belive in specialization, but I think we have over-
emphasized it in agriculture.

Ill

MR. FROST. But isn't that the modern tendency
west ?

MR. BURRITT. It is ; and the modern tendency, right
np to date in the northwest, is to go busted in the orchard
business. (Laughter and applause).

MR. FROST. That is what I wanted to get at.

MR. BURRITT. I believe we should specialize, but we
ought to back it up with a general system of agriculture. I
believe in diversification ; I think that if there is one thing
New England needs more than another it is diversification
in our agriculture. Not that she hasn't it now, but she needs
this development along those lines rather than going into in-
tense specialization. I believe in a general system of farm-
ing.three or four good sources of income, with one good,
strong specialty. Push the specialty harder than anything
else you want to, but keep your other things behind you, be-
cause you can utilize your labor better, keep your machinery
at work on them, keep your capital doing business. I be-
lieve that is soimd business judgment. We can't judge al-
together from the western conditions just now, unless wc
analj'ze them very carefully. That is because their work
has been in a period of development. If I am not greatly
mistaken we will see many things going on in the west in
the next fifty or one hunlred years that have gone on in New
England in the past fifty. Not to the same extent, perhaps,
because they have our example to profit by and because their
land is more naturally tillable farm land than our eastern
land; but at the same time I think the lesson to be learned
not only for America but for European agriculture is that we
must have a good, strong, all-around system of farming, us-
ing system in its large sense, with a good strong specialty to
lead it.

PRESIDENT FROST. It will now be necessary to
bring our discussion to a close. We have some general bus-
iness to bring up at this meeting. The Constitution calls for
an annual meeting in Worcester in March, at which time
most of the business will be carried on and the election of

112

officers will occur. I am going to ask Professor Sears, our
"vice president, to take the chair, and then there are two or
three things we want to decide at this meeting. I hope you
will all stay until we are through.

PROFESSOR SEARS. The president invited me to
take the chair, but I don't see the chair. (Laughter). If
I understand the situation, the first question is, Where shall
we hold the next meeting? I would like to ask the presi-
dent if he has anything to bring before us in that connec-
tion?

PRESIDENT FROST. Mr. Sevey of Springfield has
something to bring forward.

MR. SEVEY OF SPRINGFIELD. Ladies and Gentle-
men : Just a word. I am sure you all appreciate the meet-
ing we have had here, and Boston has done the right royal
thing. Nothing succeeds like success and we want to see you
take another great forward step, which we believe you will do
if you come to Springfield, for your next session. We hav-j
the finest facilities for a convention of any city in New Eng-
land, not excepting Boston; we have an active Board of
Trade and Ave have a new Auditorium which will accommo-
date about three times the number you have here, so that
you have ample space for growing. Our hotel accommoda-
tions cannot be beaten. They tell me you have about 900
members today, the largest horticultural society in New
England and the most enthusiastic at this moment, I believe.
I used to bank on Maine and Connecticut, especially Connec-
ticut, but I guess they will have to take a back seat now.
But I am sure you are not going to stop here, and that being
the case you must look out and ahead. You have been in
the middle and in the east. Now, come into the western
part and see wliat we have there. I want to back up these
remarks by a letter from the secretary of the Springfield
Board of Trade. (Reads letter).

We want you to come, not some time in the future, but
the very next time.

PROFESSOR SEARS. You have all heard of the abil-

113

ity <!f the west to advertise, and apparently we don't have
to go very far west to see that ability.

MR. POWELL OF SPRINGFIELD. I want to second
that invitation. Springfield is going to make a specialty in
the future of entertaining conventions. We are going to
have the finest entertainment hall in the east, without excep-
tion, that will seat about 5,000 people, with a very large hall
below for exhibits. So large a hall need not be utilized un-
less necessary, but the galleries around it will provide for a
very large audience. We have also in Springfield, or near
it, the peach center of the state, the Wilbraham Range of
mountains, which go down into Connecticut and give us the
finest peach land there is. Horticultural interests, while of
moderate size, are developing, and we want to have the Mas-
sachusetts Fruit Growers' Association come and encourage
those now starting in the industry. I want to second the in-
vitation, because I know if you come to Springfield you will
feel like coming again. We want you and we will see that
you have a good time.

PROFESSOR SEARS. I am glad to have Mr. Powell
second it. Are there any other invitations? You don't
want to accept too hastily. Springfield is a good place, I
know from experience. If there are no others I presume a
motion is in order that have our next session at Springfield,

MR. RICHARDS OF MARSHFIELD. When?

PROFESSOR SEARS. About a year from now, the
exact date to be fixed later.

MR. SEVEY. I move that we do hold our next conven-
tion in Springfiell,

(Moved, seconded and unanimously carried).

PRESIDENT FROST. At our last meeting it was pro-
posed that we make an addition to our by-laws to include
life membership. The only membership at the present time
is the annual membership, costing one dollar a year. For
this we hold these conventions, hire our speakers, have some
institutes and summer meetings. Everything is printed in
the report which is given to every member. Also, some of

114

us have felt that therewere quite a number of people inter-
ested in the growing of fruit who would not want to be
bothered with the dollar a year. It was propsed in Worces-
ter last March that we have a life membership to cost $20.
It was figured out that the interest on that $20 would bring
in very nearly a dollar to cover the expense. The question
has been raised since then that $20 for life membership was
no bargain, but the officers have felt that they couldn't af-
ford to give any bargains more than Ave are giving. We are
giving everything that we possibly can for the dollar. 1
have talked it over with some of the people whom I had in
mind to ask to become life members, and they have thought
that $20 was not too much ; in fact, one man here just pro-
posed to come in as an annual member, but said he didn't
like the trouble of paying that dollar every year, and I
asked him if he wouldn 't wait until after today, and he said
he would, gladly. I have a great many people in mind, such
as ex-Governor Draper and a number of others, who will
gladly come in as life members. For this reason Mr. Chair-
man, I am going to make a motion that we add to our by-
laws a clause making life membership, on the payment of
$20.

PROFESSOR SEARS. It is understood that this has al-
ready been proposed at a former meeting, and Mr. Frost
now makes the motion that we change the by-laws so that
we can create a life membership for $20. Any second? Mr.
Frost said that people didn't like to be bothered with the
dollar a year, I am sure that I can assure him I am perfect-
ly willing to be bothered with a dollar a year, but I don't
think that there is any question that this is a good move and
that there are people who would prefer to get the thing over
with for life.

(Motion seconded and unanimously passed).

MR. WILFRID WHEELER OF CONCORD. I would
like to propose a motion which will come up for final action
at Worcester, which will be our annual meeting, to the ef-
fect that the compensation of the secretary, who now re-

115

ceives $50, be amended so that his animal compensation will
be $100. I make this motion for the reason that the business
of the Association has increased so tremendously in the last
year or two that the secretary really devotes a great deal of
his time to it and receives practically no adequate compen-
sation. The $100 isn't enough, but at the present time, with
our increased membership and increasing activity, certainly
the secretary ought to get more nearly fair compensation
for his work. I make this motion for that reason.

PROFESSOR SEARS. You have all heard Mr. Wheel-
er's motion, that at the regular annual meeting of the Asso-
ciation at Worcester it shall be proposed to raise the salary
of the secretary from $50 to $100 per year. If put in that
way it simply means that the matter will be brought up at
Worcester?

MR. WHEELER. Exactly.

(Motion seconded and unanimously carried.)

MR. SEVEY. I have often asked myself and one or two
others why it is that we have no State appropriation. Other
horticultural societies of New England and the west, all over
the country, have anywhere from $500 to $5,000 a year, but
not one single penny does the great and glorious state of
Massachjisetts give our horticultural interests to my knowl-
edge. It seems to me that our officers might be delegated to
investigate this matter. Certainly it is worth while for the
state to back up is horticultural interests with appropria-
tions as much as in other line of agricultural activity.

PRESIDENT FROST. That was taken up during the
past year, and there are reasons why we couldn't have any
money from the state, because we are not incorporated, and
also because the state money goes through the State Board
of Agriculture. We appointed last year a committee on leg-
islation to see if they could get aid from the state, and found
that the State Board of Agriculture had asked for a certain
amount of money for the encouragement of fruit growing.
We also found that if we would work with the State Board,
and the State Board secured its appropriation, we would be

116

given some of it. That money was used for the exhibition
in November; we had a very successful and fine exhibition
of fruit in this hall in November, 1912, and the State money
carried it on. As I understand, this is to be an annual ap-
propriation, and we have been told verbally that influence
would be used to get some of that money for our own work.
That will save us the expense of going to the legislature
and trying to get a bill through.

MR. SEVEY. That's all right if we get it and it is
thoroughly imderstood, but it should be thoroughly under-
stood so that we can get it. Another line I have in mind —
and others have, too — is the matter of institutes and field
meetings. The Association has done some of that work, but
has not developed it to the extent it should. We haven't
had any up our way, and we want some, and if we put in a
plea they say, "We haven't any funds." There is no need
to consider the source, provided you get it, but I think there
should be an understanding.

(Noon Recess).

SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

(Meeting called to order at 2:15 by President J. K. M.
L. Farquhar, of the Masachusetts Horticultural Society.)

PRESIDENT FARQUHAR. Members of the Massa-
chusetts Fruit Growers' Association and of the Massachu-
setts Horticultural Society : I wish to call your attention to
the fact that this lecture is given under the auspices of the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the subject being ap-
propriate to the convention being now held here, and it is
the second of the course of lectures of our Boston Society.
Those of you who are interested in the lectures that will fol-
low this one will have an opportunity to get programs here
which will be ready for distribution and which we hope
those present will avail themselves of and carry home as a
memorandum of future meetings.

Before calling upon the lecturer of the afternoon I
would like first to call upon Mr. J. Norris Barnes, President

117

of the Connecticut Pomological Society, who is present. Mr.
Barnes will please come forward.

PRESIDENT J. NORRIS BARNES, OF CONNECTI-
CUT. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : I appreciate
the courtesy extended to me as a representative of the Con-
necticut Pomological Society. It is something of a surprise
to me, however, but I am very glad to be present and
bring greetings to you from the Connecticut fruit growers.
Certainly I am enjoying the enthusiasm and the good work
that you are giving forth here in this meeting, and it is not
hard for me to imagine that I am among Connecticut people
for one of our annual meetings in Hartford, in point of at-
tendance and enthusiasm and interest which you show here.
I think there are quite a number of Connecticut people here
with me, enjoying the good things that you are having. We
appreciate this interest M'hicli you are exhibiting and I think
that it promises much for the future of the fruit growing
interest in Massachusetts. I should like to make an an-
noimcement at this time that the Connecticut Pomological
Society's annual meeting will be held in Hartford, February
5th and 6th, at Footguard Hall. We shall be glad to have
ah- many of you present with us as possible and we will do
our best to make the meeting worth your while. I thank
you. (Applause).

PRESIDENT FARQUHAR. I think Mr. Frost of Ar-
lington has a word to say to us. Mr. Frost?

PRESIDENT H. L. FROST. I asked President Far-
quhar if I might not just give you the numbers of those at-
tending these meetings, because I thought it might be inter-
esting. Yesterday morning there were 619, besides the ex-
hibitors; yesterday afternr)on there w^ere 820. We figured
there are about 100 exhibitors, so that you can add one hun-
dred to these figures. This morning there were 493, and
this afternoon, since noon, there have been about 550 come
in. Our Fruit Growers' Association has already taken in
over 300 members and it looks as though we would reach
the 1,000 mark tonight. (Applause).

118

PRESIDENT FARQUHAR. Ladies and Gentlemen, I
have much pleasure in announcing the lecturer of the day,
Mr. Samuel Fraser of Geneseo, New York, who will speak
to us on "Planting Fruit Trees propagated from strains of
known worth." Mr. Fraser is an orchardist of reputation
and one of the most successful, and I am sure we will be edi-
fied by what he shall tell us today. (Applause).
PLANTING FRUIT TREES FROM STRAINS OF KNOWN

WORTH.
Mr. Samuel Fraser, Geneseo, N. Y.

In speaking to this heading I am aware of the fact that
I am on dangerous ground. The problems connected with
the propagation of trees are feebly understood and the se-
lection of indivduals for the purpose of reproduction is on no
statistical basis. In other words, we have very little data
either for or against any such policy, but it seems to me it
is necessary that we begin at least to inquire as to the merits
of the situation, whether there is any possibility for improve-
ment along this line, or whether it is merely the theory of a
few imaginative minds. The idea has been discussed for
several years. We find it in horticultural literature as far
back as 30 years ago, that there was something in the selec-
tion of buds or grafts from individual trees which were pro-
ducing large yields or were favorable in other respects.
Before I go further I would like to make myself clear so that
I can get out of the hole, if I need to, should I be found to
be in it. I claim, therefore, that in anything I say, I be ac-
corded the same privilege as the railroad time table, subject
to change without notice. In other words, our information
is at present feeble and weak, but we are looking for more
and expect to find it and should we later find it necessary to
modify our views we shall do so in accord with the increased
weight of evidence.

Our methods with fruit, at the present time, are much
the same as those of the farmers in regard to such plants as
timothy, clover and various grasses which are used in our
pastures and meadows. One goes to the seed store and pur-

119

chases timothy. What is in those timothy seeds? The in-
herent power, the vigor, productivity, the power of germina-
tion and all the various things which go to make up a plant,
are unknown. The percentage germination may be readily
determined; the capacity of the individual seed to make a
productive plant cannot be measured; there is no Babcoek
test for this particular feature, in fact, there has been very
little attention paid to the necessity for such, and no doubt
when there is a sufficient demand, there will be a means sup-
plied for measuring these different values. Thus far, how-
ever, there has been little evidence that these differences oc-
curred, and no commercial recognition thereof.

In 1903 the Cornell Station began" a series of experi-
ments with Timothy^ to determine the differences which exist-
ed. In the first patch some 12,000 plants were put out in rows
•3 feet apart, from 22 different sources of seed ; these were
properly checked by having a relatively uniform- sample of
seed sown at intervals. The variations which occurred in this
block of plants were extremely interesting. A large number of
the indivduals did not show sufficient ability to live more
than one season. They may have been annuals or they may
have been plants which could not endure the adverse cir-
cumstances which came in their way on the heavy loam soils
upon which they were planted, although as a grass soil no
one type is perhaps better than the Dunkirk clay loam upon
which the experiment was conducted. To make a long story
short, there were all kinds of differences ; some plants would
yield 1 pound, others would not produce one-hundredth of
1 pound of hay; they were all given uniform conditions so
far as the amount of room was concerned; they were all
supplied adequately with moisture and plant food. Marked
differences were found between individual plants ; one hav-
ing small narrow leaves, another large broad leaves; one
might be tall and its neighbor short ; these were not due to
soil conditions ; they were not due to climatic conditions ;they
were simply due to inherent power and vigor in the plants
themselves, and yet, with this fact demonstrated to a man

120

he would go into a nursery to buy Baldwin trees and assume
that each individual tree was of equal vigor provided it was
of equal size at the time. We have no proof that the one
which is vigorous is necessarily'' a more productive or more
valuable tree than the one of slightly less caliper; in other
words, there is no proof that the tree which is 3-4 inch in
diameter will be a more productive tree and a better money-
maker than the one which is 5-8 inch, and yet, in the nursery
we are iuA^ariablj' able to secure more money from the tree
which is 3-4 inch in caliper than from the one which is 1-2
inch or 5-8 inch, in fact, the 1-2 inch tree is not worth more
than half as much as the 3-4 inch tree.

Is this based upon rational judgment? Does the man
v/ho purchases know that he is securing greater value from
the 3-4 inch than the 1-2 inch, or is it merely the idea that wo
like to get something which fills the eye, and so long as the
man can get a large amount of v\^ood for his money he feels
satisfied ? There is a great deal in this, for if we go into the
apple market we shall find that about 90 per cent, of the
sales are made upon the pleasing effect upon the eye. Only
some 10 per cent of weight is given to quality, although
there is beginning to be in certain markets a tendency to dis-
criminate in favor of quality, but at the present moment 90
per cent, of the sales are made upon the effect upon the eye-
sight and the same is as true in nursery stock as in apple-
selling; it is just as true in the selling of many other pro-
ducts. Is it wise? Is it the right basis? This is the ques-
tion to decide. If not, we should have some better method
of value. "What is an adequate measure of value in the case
of apple tree?

in the case of our horses or cattle we have used per-
formance. We measure the value of our Holstein cattle by
their value for the production of milk. We measure the
value of our trotting horses bj^ their ability to pull off i
speed test in a given amount of time. Are we going to
measure our apple trees by their ability to produce apples
or not? Or is the idea of any such difference occurring in

121

apple trees merely the fancy of a disordered mind? We
cceasionally hear some enthusiast claim that a Baldwin is a
Baldwin ; that there are no differences ; that the present-day
R. I. Greening is no different from the Greening whicn
originallj^ stood in New England. Whether this is so or not
I would like to question. If it is true the individual will not
be hurt neither will the trees be hurt in any way and wc
shall know definitely whether to search further in this prob-
lem. It is to my mind then necessary to determine first
whether there is a difference in apple trees, or whether they
are unlike any other tree with which we are dealing. If we
look at the lemon, orange or grapefruit we now find that the
growers of these fruits have recognized marked differences
in yield and other characters in certain varieties of these
trees, not differences in varieties for those are realily rec-
ognized and are conceded to be of very great import. No
man would undertake to plant NewtoAvn Pippin here and ex-
pect to grow^ an apple as he might in the Virginias ; no man
would undertake to grow Shockley or Yates in New Eng-
land; they belong in the Southern limit of apple production,
yet these differences are so striking that they are accepted
on their face; we are used to them. Are there not differ-
ences just as striking among the individual trees in our or-
chards which we have not accepted for the simple reason
that they have not been impressed upon us ?

We have a little statistical data which has been collect-
ed through the energy of Mr. Shamel in California in con-
nection with oranges, lemons and grapefruit. Permit me
to direct your attention to this report which is found in the
Proceedings of the Forty-first California State Fruit Grow-
ers' Convention, August 1912. The work has now been in
progress for three j^ears and some rather astonishing and
striking facts have been disclosed in regard to the variation
among citrus fruits and especially in regard to the
characters of bud variation. It may be stated here by the
opponents of the theory of differences that bud variation
should promptly be excluded. To my mind a bud variation

• 122

is something which stands out as apparent to the eye at one*?
without any statistical measurement. I do not see, however,
to what degree one can accept this and yet bar out any fac-
tor which might have to do with yield, which variation could
not be determined save by statistical records. Why is not
ability to produce a large amount of fruit just as important
a bud variation as ability to produce no fruit or ability to
produce a leaf which is smooth along the edges or one which
is serrated, or ability to produce a white-splashed leaf com-
pared with one which is totally green, or the ability to pro-
duce foliage like Weir's Cut-leaf Maple in comparison with
the ordinarj^ Maple. We have accepted these differences
because they appeal to the eye, but there are plenty of dif-
ferences which cannot be determined except by some statis-
tical basis of measurement and they are frequently of more
economic value than those which are so readily accepted.
Of all purposes for which fruit trees are grown there is none
which is of more importance than that of ability to produce
fruit. In other words, we do not, in my judgment, grow an
apple tree in order that it may be a nice looking tree, in or-
der that it may have good shape, in order that it may be
pleasing to us when we look at it. We grow an apple tree
for the production of apples which can be used as human
food. We may for a time be able to produce apples which
are exquisite in appearance, which are valuable for table
decoration only, but I affirm that such a business will in-
evitably be over-done and that the prime object and the one
upon which the buiness is based is that of producing applet
for human consumption, and those who undertake to go into
the fancy grade alone, for the production of apples merely
for showing, will frequently find their business is quickly
over-done ; there is some room for this, but in my mind, a
commercial apple orchard is planted solely for the produc-
tion of apples for human consumption, and the great body
of the consumers are the workers who can pay only a certain
price and above that price apples become a luxury and not
an article of food and the demand is curtailed. Therefore,

123

I contend that we need trees which will produce the maxi-
mum of first class merchantable fruit in the minimum tim'3
and at a minimum cost; and if we find that yield is an he-
reditary factor, it will become a very important matter to
the future planter of commercial orchards.

To return to our citrus fruits we find then that the num-
ber of bud variations is considerable. Taking the Eureka
ranch in which the Washington Navel orange is grown ex-
clusively, or almost exclusively, and where considerable of
the work was done, on a block of 150 acres, generally con-
sidered to be the most uniform grove of its kind in the State
of California, the fruit from which commands an extra price
in Eastern markets on account of its fine character and its
consistent uniformity, a grove in which to the casual ob-
server the trees and fruit are notable for their uniformity in
appearance. A close study of the trees in this grove has re-
vealed the fact that there are at least seven frequently oc-
curring types of the Washington Navel orange. Five of the
types are unproductive; they bear low grade fruit which is
imdesirable and unprofitable. Out of about 13,500 trees
over 1,000 trees have been located as absolutely undesirable.
In fact, at the end of three years the National Orange Co.
regarded these so undesirable that they have rebudded them,
using buds from selected trees of the standard type of th^
Washington Navel orange. These rebudded trees do not
represent all of the undesirable type trees present in this
grove, from the fact that only the most striking and certain
cases of undesirable types of trees were rebudded. Dr.
Shamel states that in these cases they felt absolutely sure
that there could not possibly be any mistake. The striking
feature of this condition lies in the fact that the trees in this
grove were propagated from buds, but shortly removed from
the two parent Navel trees in Riverside. This, of course, i3
the most interesting statement because it appears to throw
doubt upon the whole value of bud selection and bud propa-
gation. If such a remarkable difference should occur in so
short a space of time, one may question whether there is

124

something more underlying propagation than we have been
in the habit of assuming; in other words, it will naturally
bring up the question as to whether there may not be not
only bud variation in the tree itself, but whether the rela-
tive position of some of the buds on the bud stick may have
some importance which we have not given them credit 'for
Hedrick of Geneva has suggested that there may be, and cer-
tainly is, a necessity for investigation along this line of the
relative importance of position of buds. I know of no data
thereon. From other data which is contained in this report
of Dr. Shamel's we are led to assume that the Navel orange
is in a particularly variable mood ; in other words, the fre-
(|ueney of varience is remarkable and nothing -has revealed
the variation so much as statistical measurements of the
yield secured. The grading and counting and weighing of
the fruit from each tree has revealed the presence of enor-
mous variation apart from those which were readily seen by
the eye and one interesting thing is the frequency of off-type
brandies in a given tree ; in other words, the bud mutation
is quite frequent and easily recognized by one who goes
through the grove carefully. In the Dixon grove, planted
to Marsh's seedless grapefruit, where part of this work was
carried out, out of a total of 500 trees, it was found that 123
were unproductive, some of them bearing fruits with as
many as 96 seeds. Many of the off-type trees, produced
extremely large, coarse skinned, juiceless and flavorles-;
fruits or same were otherwise undesirable or unsaleable. In
addition to these off-types they had found a type of th-;
standard Marsh's seedless tree that bears a full crop only
every alternate season, being practically barren in other sea-
sons. In some of the standard type trees there was fruit
borne which sold as high as $3.75 a half box or $7.50 per
box, which Avould make an enormous difference from the in-
come from an orchard as compared with an orchard of tho
undesirable type. Again, in another case, there were found
three trees in one experimental plot of 25 tiiat have borne
consistently large crops of the finest qualities for three sea-

125

sons without any off-type fruits at any time. The unpro-
ductive types have averaged about one picking-box per tree
of full fruit, mostly unsuitable for shipment ; while the best
types have averaged about 16 picking-boxes per tree of the
highest grade of grapefruit. In other words, differences
occurred in grapefruit as remarkable as those which oc-
curred in oranges. Taking the lemon, it was found that in
a large orchard of Eureka lemons a similiar condition of af-
fairs existed. Several types of Eureka trees and fruits were
observed; one, the standard Eureka type tree, was quite
productive, every branch being loaded with blossoms, small
and large, fruits in all stages of development at all times of
the year. Another type made up of large, thrifty trees,
that at first sight would seem to be superior to all other
trees in the orchard, revealed on closer examination that
these trees were nearly fruitless. A third type which was
of compact growth covered densely with foliage, apparently
thrifty and desirable, was found on closer inspection to be
almost barren. All kinds of variations and differences oc-
curred. In some in which the tree might be fairly produc-
tive, the fruit produced would be of rough, thick skin and
produced mostly during the winter months ; in other words,
it was undesirable, and in the Chase plantation, out of a
total block of 16,000 trees, over 3,000 of the most striking
off-type trees have already been budded to the standard,
fruitful and productive types of the Eureka lemon variety.

Do such differences occur among apples or peaches or
any of our Eastern fruits? Are there not some trees which
come to your mind? We have, for instance, three Spy trees
on the Dunkirk loam soil and for five years we have tried to
secure some well-colored fruit from these trees. The trees
have been opened up; they have been pruned; they have
been fertilized, but we have failed to secure any good qual-
ity fruit therefrom ; they will set a large abundance of fruit,
but it will not color; while this soil type in other parts of
the village is producing a Spy of excellent color. Why the
difference? Is it the local conditions, or is it due entirely

1216

to the individuality of the trees? We shall know more
about it later, because we have considered this land fit for
Spy and have planted a small block not far from these three
trees. The individuals planted, however, have been budded
from a tree which has the faculty of turning off highly coi
ored fruit.

For two years previous to going to California, Dr.
Shamel was investigating these problems in regard to our
Eastern Fruit and in the J. H. Hale peach orchard at South
Glastonboury, Conn., during these two seasons he found that
in four peach varieties which had the alternate habit of pro-
duction, not only did he find fruitful peach trees bearing
large fine crops in the off-season, but also that these same
trees would bear a crop in the general bearing season. In
other words, regular fruit-bearing habits were a character-
istic of these individual trees. Would the same be trans-
mitted to their progeny ? That is the next important ques-
tion. To what extent will they be transmitted? Is there
anything which will interefere with their transmission or-
are there any factors which it is necessary to control? None
of these things to my knowledge have been solved. They
are all awaiting solution at the present time.

Can an individual go into an orchard and pick out the
best trees? Can a dairyman go into his bam and pick out
bis best cows without some assistance from the scale and
the Babcock test ? We have had the latter so well demon-
strated that we can generally answer the question with an
emphatic No ! The former has not been worked upon and
naturally we raise the question as to whether we might not
be able to go in and pick out the best trees apart from sta-
tistical measurement. We look at a tree and it meets our-
fancy and we say there is a good tree; it looks well; it is
thrifty and healthy. We do not know whether it is thrifty
or healthy because it is not working or whether it is so in
spite of a large amount of hard work. Mr. R. S. Vaile of
Santa Paula, California and another man decided that they
would pick out the hundred best trees out of a grove of

127

2 000 and then keep statistical record to see how near they
were correct. These were lemons. After careful consider-
ation they selected 100 individuals as the best in the block,
giving due regard to such factors as type, shape and size
and number of thorns and foliage and description of the
fvuit, including its shape and smoothness, the thickness of the
rind and the number of seeds and the various other factors
which go to constitute a first class lemon. A grading record
was established for the trees as the final measure ©f value,
the number of fruit which came ripe at a certain time,
whether they were green, or light green or ripe, and also
sufficient data was kept in regard to the methods of irriga-
tion and the times, the cultivation and fertilization, with the
idea of determining whether such had any influence upon
the bearing. In other words, all the factors which they
could conceive as entering into the problem were considered.
During the first year the special trees selected averaged
13.45 field boxes, 45 pounds each; while the average for the
rest of the section, all misses and young reset trees having
been eliminated from the count, was 10.25 boxes; in other
words, there was an average difference of over 150 pounds
to the tree. This striking difference, however, does not
necessarily prove that the first choice of trees was perfect-
or sufficient for bud selection, for the special trees them-
selves varied from 15.4 boxes to 10.1. The fact that this,
large variation exists shows the possibility open to success-
ful bud selection, for the difference between the orchard
run and the special trees shows an average increase of at
least 100 packed boxes per acre or about 30 per cent. The
records for the second year were not complete but they
brought out several interesting points. The average for
the special tree was 5.5 boxes, while the orchard run was
4.5, but 11 of the special trees fell below 4.5 average of that
season and 5 of the 11 were below the average orchard in
the first year's record; in other words, 4 of the trees out of
these 11 were consistently poor. It is also interesting to
note that out of the 5 highest trees, number 9, 14, 70, 93 and

128

86, all but number 9 were the highest in the second year ; in
other words, there is a certain amount of consistency in th-i
matter of yield and this gives grounds for hopes in the fu-
ttire.

To summarize this work I quote the statement by Mr.
Fred Reed of Riverside, California. "I have the figures
right here on a couple of trees, the accumulated data for
two complete years and a part of this present year. Our
tree No. 2, for the average of the three years, has turned off
'7G8 pounds. Tree No. 4 has turned off 443 pounds. Those
two trees are not so different that any one who is not an ex-
pert passing through an orchard would notice any difference
in them, but there is a difference in their production in three
years of 325 pounds of fruit. Up there we think we are do-
ing pretty well to get two cents per pound, orchard run for
the fruit. The difference between the value of the product
of tree No. 2 and tree No. 4 is something like this : The
value of product of tree No. 2 at two cents a pound, orchard
rim, is $15,36. The value of the product of tree No. 4 is
$8.86. There is a difference of $6.50. We have about Tl
trees to the acre on our ranch, and if all the trees were of as
good a grade as tree No. 2 the difference would be a little
matter of $468.00. I think anyone can digest the point to
his own satisfaction."

Prof. Hedrick of Geneva in recent bulletins on the ques-
tion of pedigreed trees, states, "It is very doubtful if apples
can be improved by bud selection and the so-called "pedi-
greed stock'' is probably worth no more than trees grown
under general nursery practise;" elsewhere he notes that
the yields from the 200 Rome Beauty trees at the Geneva
Experiment Station, all of which were propagated from one
individual tree, by their wide variation in yield, gives food
for thought to those who have faith in the possibility of the
selection of buds. However, the interesting point is that
we have no statistical record of the performance of this
parent tree; we have no knowledge of the grounds upon
which it was selected ; it may have been a tree like number

129

9; it may have been a tree which bore well one year and
then fell down ; this matter of record is absolutely necessary
before we can prove anything. The fact that one experi-
ment fails to reveal anything does not settle the issue at all,
because one individual tree might be better, due to local con-
ditions; it might not be that its value was due to inherent
power. It will take a considerable amount of work to set-
tle this question right, and the first thing is to prove that
differences occur and occur consistently.

In regard to apples, probably no work is of longer dur-
ation than that undertaken by Professor Maeoun of the
Canadian Experiment Station. The number of trees in-
volved in this experiment is not large, but the records have
been maintained carefully for a period of ten years; also
the conditions under which the trees are grown are consid-
ered to be sufficiently uniform for experimental purposes.
The records for the period 1898 to 1908 are as follows.

Wealthy, 17 trees in the test, varied from 59 gallons
gross yield to 154 gallons per tree, or 261 per cent. One of
the interesting things noted is that two-thirds of the trees
fell below the average in yield; in fact, this is the most
significant part of the whole record ; one-third of the trees
did over half the work. Also, it is of interest that the high-
est yielding trees took the lead the first year. We often
hear critics state that if we force the trees into bearing early
we may injure their vigor. The results so far do not indi-
cate such to be the case ; they do not indicate either in other
lines that power of reproduction necessarily means impaired
vigor. We may have impaired vigor followed by increased
reproduction, but the contrary is not thereby proven.
Many of our strongest and vigorous families, so far as re-
production is concerned, are strong and vigorous in other
lines and it w411 depend upon us to select those strains which
are not only vigorous in reproduction, but are also able tio
carry our their reproduction without entailing loss of vital-
ity.

In the MciMahon white varietv there were 8 trees, which

130

raried from 163 gallons yield to 753, or 462 per cent varia-
tion and again the best tree began business early and made
a record the first year it bore which it retained throughout
the test. In two Mcintosh trees one produced 230 gallons
and another 501, a difference of 218 per cent. In five Patten
Greening trees the yield varied from 209 gallons to 502
gallons or 240 per cent. In other words, in these trials, the
variation in yields between the different varieties was from
218 per cent to 462 per cent between the highest and tho;
lowest. We may not be able to raise the average of the
Avhole orchard to this degree any more than in the timothy
breeding experiment in Cornell University where it is ex-
pected to raise the average yield under field conditions to
the same degree to which it occurred in the test plats ; but
there in the timothy experiments it has been found to be
possible to increase the yield 40 to 45 per cent under field
conditions which is an enormous gain. Taking one of our
own orchards which was neglected until five or six years,
ago, the trees being about 30 to 33 years old at the time,
about 220 trees in the orchard, we find that the average
yield is about 4 barrels per tree, in other words, we have
one tree which has produced for the five years, 10, 4, 12,
14 and 4 barrels of apples, that is, first class fruit fit to barrel.
a yield of nearly 9 barrels average. Naturally if the yield of
the orchard is 4 barrels there are some trees which are not
paying their way compared with such a tree as I have men-
tioned. We find that there are three E. I. Greening trees
which have stood out remarkably for 2 or 3 years and about
6 trees more which come in as of excellent quality in regard
to yield, but have some other characteristic which militates
against them. For instance, two trees will ahvays furnish a
Greening which we can use for exhibition purposes in Sep-
tember, because they are so large that they are attractive,
but this fruit does not show as good keeping quality as is
found on certain other trees. We have been able to pick G
barrels of 3-ineh apples without any trouble from one tree
and never run them through onto the table at all, merely

131

starting the men to pick the 3-ineh size and put them into
the barrel and head it up ; this, of course, is uniform fruit ;
the tree had been thinned where there was an excess, but
wherever the crop is not excessive we do not practise thin-
ning. We secure, however, a certain amount of uniformity
which is a decided asset when one come to the picking sea-
son and the rush which attends it. In addition to the '3
barrels mentioned there were four which were somewhat
less or which were taken off at the second picking.

We have a currant patch which averaged 6 pounds of
fruit per bush during the past year, yet certain individual
bushes in the same bore 21 pounds, in other words, there
are a number of tops and a number which are below the
average in yield. I think from this discussion we can realize
that it does not matter whether it is apples, lemons, oranges,
grapefruit, currants, pears or any other crop ; there are a
certain number of average individuals and there are some
which are above and some below ; there are runts and board-
ers in an apple orchard just as surely as there are runts and
boarders in the cow stable. The case is proven in so far
as that is concerned.

The next point is how can we distinguiseh the individ-
uals and we know of no other means than statistical records
of the products. The product recorded for 3 or 5 years is
a safe indication in many cases of the possibilities of the in-
dividual ; this would isolate the best and also the worst.
The next factor to consider is whether the individual will
transmit. In this connection I may say that if a certain
individual which was 100 or 150 per cent above its fellows
.should produce a race which was 15 per cent better than the
previous average that I should consider it a satisfactory and
wonderful advance. We never secure as large an average
advance as we have individual advance, but any such gain
as this would be adequate to make this a very important fac-
tor in orcharding. We have propagated from a number of
individual trees of different varieties. Taking the Baldwin,
and in fact, the same is true of all varieties, a certain indi-

132

vidual will produce trees which at one and two years of age
are strikingly better than their fellows; these trees hav-'
been selected in the first instance because of their yielding
power. Now, we notice this variation in ability to produce
a one or two year old tree. Of course, with the present
standard of requirements, everyone wanting the larger tree,
it. will become absolutely necessary, if we wish to meet the
same, to select the best-growing trees for our work. It is
perhaps well to say here that anj- tree taken from a bearing
tree will not make as satisfactory growth in the first two
J' ears as a bud taken from nursery stock would; in other
words, if we should pass these trees through the nursery
row for a couple of years and reproduce from them we could
give a much more satisfactory appearing tree so far as thvi
purchaser is concerned, whether it will be any better or not
is a question which must be settled by direct experiment.

But to return to our individual rows we find that tak-
ing the case of the Auchter Baldwin, which is one of the
best bearing trees known to Mr. Taylor and Prof. Hedrick
and occurring on the Auchter orchard at South Greece, N.
Y., which has been leased by the Geneva Experiment Station
for ten years, that the trees propagated from this individual
are uniformly poorer growers than those propagated from
several other individuals grown alongside. This is not only
true in Geneseo, but it is true in the nursery of Mr. McKay
at Geneva. Why should this be? The individual wanting
trees and looking at this row would never take them from
that one ; they would much prefer the row alongside, known
?s 4.05. In the case of the R. I. Greening we find similiar.
results; stocks grown from the two trees 6.19 and 8.13 will
produce . a larger number of relatively first class trees at one
and two years old than 5.03 which is grown between them. So
far as an experiment this is a very good check, 5.03 pro-
duces a uniformly large number of trees about 3 feet when
one year old. which are sprawly in growth at two years old
and not first class in appearance; in other words, there
would be difficulty in selling these trees. No one would

133

desire them if they saw the others, yet it is my firm convic-
tion that 5.03 is just as good an individual as 8.13, and in
the case of other trees which we have tried since, we are
finding that we can get better growers than 8.13. In other-
words, there is a question as to whether vigor in a young
tree, and productivity are correlated in any degree or
v/hether they are antagonistic. I feel that is is possible tu
select individuals in which both will be found. One of the
iriost striking illustrations of this is the strain of Duchess of
Oldenburg, which has been taken from two or three owned
by the Collamer Bros., Hilton, N. Y. Here we find no dif-
ficulty in securing 6 feet tall and well-branched trees when
headed low and strong and stocky, which are strikingly
uniform, whereas it is much more difficult with other selec-
tions to secure a height of more than 5 feet and a lower cali-
per. This is a strikingly vigorous lot of trees and we know
that they have been wonderfully productive ; the original
trees are now of good age and, strange to say, are top-worked
on some other variety. Has this added any vigor to this
strain or is there some inherent power? So far as we can
find these Duchess were selected and top-worked because of
their good bearing power; in other words, have we found
an individual which has ability to transmit its characters
and is both vigorous and productive at the same time? One
strain of Mcintosh we have from Mr. Teator of Red Hook
and also a Baldwin from him are strikingly vigorous, also 3
Baldwin which we secured from ]\Ir. De Los Tenney of Hil-
ton, has shown wonderful vigor in producing a two-year old.
Now these trees are well checked because we frequently
will run one row then repeat it at a distance of six or seven
rows apart and they stand out as markedly as steps. Again,
by selection in the nursery row we can get a crooked variety
to grow straighter. We have a strain of Bosc, which while
generally recorded as a very poor grower, is producing a
relatively large number of straight trees and just as strong
growers as we can find in Bartlett; this, however, is the ex-
ception. We know that these Bosc are from good individ-

134

iials ; in other words, we are at the present time propagating
from three individual trees, all of them of the best strain of
Bosc and all excellent individuals and to us it seems that
they are showing ability to produce a good tree and are
from heavy producers. To what extent they will reproduce
the latter power, of course, we are not yet aware. We have
a number of orchards planted from individual trees ; in some
cases we have these top-worked ; in others we have the young
trees themselves. Our earliest records will be secured from
varieties which have been top-worked on others. Here wc
f nd that Greenings which have been selected because they
were green and maintained their green color, and because ot
imiformity in size and ability to yield are transmitting those
characteristics. We have Greening trees which are four
years top-worked which this year bore 182 anl 179 fruits and
every tree bore some fruit, from 40 apples up to this num-
ber. The tree number is 3.15. The Baldwin, 3.03 has also
shown ability to make a rapid growth and come into bearing
early ; in other words, we have a large number of trees which
are four years top-worked which have borne a nice lot of
apples this year. Incidentally, I may say that I am not at
all in favor of top-working. We find that this merely de-
lays bearing instead of causing the trees to bear earlier; in
addition, it is a considerable amount of work and very un-
satisfactory. It will often take three years in order that
all of the block of trees may be worked over. It results in
dwarfing the tree and on the whole is detrimental. It
does not matter whether the top-working be done in the or-
chard or in the nursery row, the evil results of excessive
pruning are apparent in both cases. In one block of Hub-
bardston which we top-worked we found a remarkable vari-
ation in the color of the wood produced, that is, on some
trees the wood would be of a light-broMTi color, and on others
a reddish-brown. There was so much difference that we
finally decided to select a certain type for all future propa-
gation in order to get more uniformity. What caused this
breaking-up? I do not know, whether it was the influence

135

of the stock on the scion or whether it is merely that the
"variety Hubbardston is ready to break up in this particular
character. Whether it would have any bearing upon the fruit
T cannot say. We have not yet proceeded far enough to
determine this feature. In the case of the Northern Spy
we notice considerable difference in the trees, a certain Spy
produces wood, which is light-brown in color, extremely
thin and willowly and in such cases the trees do not seem to
make as much growth as in others. Another type of Sp^--
which is much stronger in growth has reddish-brown wood.
Now, whether these things can be correlated with productiv-
ity or not I cannot say; we have not proceede4 far enough
to determine any such conditions, but there is no question
so far as furnishing wood is concerned that the reddish-
brown tree which we find in our own orchard is the one from
which we ought to work; the light-brown tree gives a much
smaller growth and would not be as acceptable to the aver-
age purchaser ; whether it will be as acceptable later to the
orchardist I cannot say, perhaps it may be, perhaps not. I
may say that the Spys sent out by Mr. R. L. Hemenway of
Bridport, Vt., have the light-brown colored wood and his
Spys have sold as high as $14.00 per barrel; a number of
them have this character and make a relatively short growth
in the orchard. It would seem to me that there is execellent
opportunity for the selection of types of Northern Spy. in
fact, there are so many strains that we can practically find
varieties in this variety. It is also a possibility that we
shall find that certain strains are better adapted to certain
districts than others. Of course, there is no apple in which
Koil has a greater influence than the Spy. If planted on
>ery heavy land it grows a close-bunched tree, shooting up-
v\'ard straight and thick and bushy, fruit being greasy and
lacking in color and quality. On the other hand when
grown on shaly land, especially limestone shale and soil not
too rich, we shall find the tree making a much more spread-
ing growth and higher color resulting. There is not the
same necessity to prune, although the man who prunes in the

136

former case will merely add to the troubles, unless it be a
certain amount of judicious work in the summer. Exces-
sive winter pruning would merely result in disaster.

A few of the best colored Spy trees in Geneseo, or
rather trees producing the best colored fruit, are inclined to
be of the light willowly order and not the thicker wood
growth. Here, it would seem to me that the orchardist and
the nurseryman might have different ideals, for from the
nursery standpoint, Avhere one desires to sell wood, one
would naturally select scions from the heavy growing tree.
At the present time we have strains of our own and from
Bridport, Yt. and also one from the Bradley tree in Wyom-
ing County; it was from this tree that Mr. Pat Gleason,
formerly well-known as an extensive apple operator used to
select his fruit, for a great many of his shows and it was
fruit from this tree that won the prize at the Paris Exposi-
tion. One would judge looking at this tree that it was not
ideally located, for Spy ; it is situated down on the valley
floor, on a gravel loam soil ; the tree has been planted in
among others rather close and shaded somewhat, and yet, it
has a local record for producing some of the highest quality
best colored fruit grown in our vicinity. Is it local condi-
tions or is there individual merit in the tree? We hope by
planting from this to secure data, but when? Ten years
frohanow? Perhaps twenty ? We cannot hurry this work,
it is a slow piece of business at the best. We cannot tell
definitely anything about it, until we have data which can
be secured only at the expense of considerable time to say
nothing of money. Is the game worth while? That is ths
question of a great many. One thing certain : By selecting
buds and wood from such trees we know that our variety
is true to name ; otherwise, we are losers if there is no bene-
fit from heredity, because the same buds from the nursery
would produce a larger tree at the end of two years than we
can possibly secure from these individual bearing trees ; and
it is quite possible that my friend, Prof. Hedrick of Geneva
is right when he tells me that I am merely wasting my time

137

and money by chasing after trees of this nature; in other
words, I am gratifying a dream, but I have faith and am go-
ing to pursue my vision.

Now, I am going to leave this, because two or three have
asked me more or less about the business of planting trees,
and what is probably of equal importance, the care of the
tree after you have it. Some prefer a one year old, some
prefer a two ; some prefer a big tree, and some would pre-
fer this 5-8 inch tree. Nearly all trees are sold by height,
measured from the point of insertion of the bud to the tip,
and their caliper taken at two inches above the bud. That
i9 the diameter and they are sold as 11-16 inch, 5-8 inch and
1-2 inch or whatever they happen to be and their height.
If you want to know how to order intelligently, you can buy
that way. You get an idea then of the size of the tree.
Also, it is well to know their age. A great many men write
me that they want buds. Here are two trees (indicating).
Which would you take ? So far as the roots are concerned,
the roots are of equal age. The only difference is that this
one is a root graft, and this one is a bud. In the case of the
budded tree the seedling was planted in April or May and
in August or September a bud was put in the stem. Th-3
following spring the top was cut off and the bud grew and
made the trunk and eventually the tree. In this case a root
was taken and a graft or small piece of wood of the desired
variety was put in it. It was planted in Ma,y, just the sam^
as the seedling and grew into this tree. Which do you want,
how do you know which you want? (Laughter). Don't
3'ou think there is a lack of knowledge as to what you Avant?
Some men want the bud, some want the graft. We try to
give them just what they want, then they are satisfied?
They may be, and they may not be, but in many varieties
we can grow a bigger tree in the time from a graft than we
can from a bud. Why? I think that explains a fundamen-
tal principle in causing an orchard to come into early bear-
ing. In the ease of the graft we planted the little tree and
it grew and was never touched ; it was left alone. In the

138

case of the bud, we grew the seedling tree for a year and
then cut the top off and lost all that year's growth and it
never got over it. And if you want a very good illustration
of the effect of pruning, severe pruning, just take two or
three trees and top-work them. If you can get any mora
discouraging situation in an orchard that to top-work them
I don't know of it. In other words, top-working apples
appeals to me about the same way as when a little boy came
in and told his mother, "Mother, Tommy Jones says Daddy
has got a big head." "Well," she says, "go on, go on.
There is nothing in it." (Laughter). Don't get into top-
working. The less pruning you can do to the young tree
until it bears, the better, and the sooner it will bear, I
have no use for summer pruning, and I don't think you need
iv, I am talking now from New York, my own conditions.
You can use what you like of it, but it seems to me that any
where the less pruning you can do, the better. Shall I
prune when I plant the tree? No. Plant your tree, take
off the limbs you don't want. If you can form your head,
do so. If you don't want all the limbs, decide which you
are to save, three limbs and a leader, perhaps, and if you
can posibly make the head when you plant it, do so. Take
everything else off, but don't cut back limbs you leave ; don't
cut them back. Why? I know that you all differ, and
that is what I want; I want a good discussion. Now why?
This terminal bud will start into growth ten days earlier
than any of those lower dow^n and you can't afford to lose
that ten days especially in the first year. In your heading
try to have limbs distributed at least six inches apart on the
trunk. If you begin your heading at 18 inches, then go up
10 or 12 higher for your next limb and so on. Make No.
T at 18 inches or probably 2 feet, No. 2 at two feet 6 and
then 3 feet, probably j get your head distributed. If you
get them all close together and the variety is Spy, when it
comes into bearing it will tear right down and crack open.
The distance the limb is from the ground will never be
greater than it is to-day. As the limb gets thicker, the lower

139

portion grows nearer the ground. I belive in low-heading.
It is business. I believe in three or four limbs, and the
leader in certain varieties, varieties which are apt to tear
down, varieties in which you want shade in the tree, such
as Greenings, where you want to keep them green. I be-
lieve in an open-headed tree in varieties where you want
color, especially if your conditions are adverse to spreading
the tree. In other words, with us, if our soil is heavy, our
Spy tends to grow thick, branches bunched together. Un-
der such conditions I would try to make an open-headed tree.
As a rule then for our conditions the Spy head is open, the
Baldwin is open, the Greening and the Wealthy would be
left with the center in.

My contention is that if you will leave the limbs alone
and not cut them back, they will fill up with fruit spurs and
come into bearing quicker. We have Baldwins five years
planted bearing 1 1-2 bushels. There is an orchard nearby
which has been handled in this way, an orchard of Hub-
bardstons, which at four years picked half a barrel. Some
of the Baldwins did the same at five and every tree in the
orchard was bearing.

We are going to follow a system which is suited to the
times, and are not going to follow the previous methods.
Until a tree was in bearing I would not prune it any more
than to probably take out a limb that was interfering. The
early bearing induces a normal spread of the branches. We
have trees five years planted, Greenings, which are bearing
and have a ten-foot spread. We have Greenings which have
been propagated from individual trees which give me faith
in the value of selection, because we selected Greenings
which maintained their green color and on the young trees,
apples which were left on until November retained their
green color. Everj'- tree of one block, 3.03, were bearing at
four years, one of them had 179 fruits and another 182.
With some trees you will have to take a couple of years to
form the head, the limbs may be too close together to leave
them all.

140

The ordinary nursery trade calls for a tree to be
trimmed up to that 30 to 33 inches high, which I think is a
mistake, but the trade calls for it. The head is then too
high.

Now as to planting. If the trees are dry when received
throw them into water, root and branch and leave them
there 24 hours before planting, taking them out as needed
or heel them in, in wet ground. Plant just as soon as you
can after you get the tree; don't wait for the land to dry
off so that you can cultivate it. Get the trees in early and
pound them tight. Don't go chopping off a lot of roots. I
wouldn 't take off any more roots than I had to. If the root
is damaged I would cut it back a little, but I wouldn't take
any more off. Dig your hole as small as you like, jam the
roots in and pack them tight ; get the biggest man you have
and keep him busy tamping. If you don't get them tight
that way, take a fence post and tamp them tight. The main
thing is to place the soil in touch with the root so that the
water Avill move from the soil into the plant. Now, it can 't
move through an air space, and you want that plant to grow
just as quickly as you can in the spring. If they are pound-
ed tight, moisture circulation is established and the tree be-
gins to grow as soon as possible ; do everything you can to
bring about that result. Leave the buds on, which grow
first, leave all the roots on, get it in the ground as soon as
you can and cultivate it just as much as you can. once you
have it in. Then you can grow an apple tree. You will
not only have them growing until July, but you will have
them growing imtil August. Then you can make it grow,
in spite of what I heard yesterday, that your trees quit in
July. I never have had trees celebrating the Fourth in that
way. Laughter). I would have them take a new lease of
life right off, and do business.

Funny things happen sometimes: I had some trees re-
turned by a lady in Ithaca. She bought a small order and
1 was very much surprised to have a letter back saying that
those two-year-old trees that I sent her were four-year-olds.

141

I said that was impossible, I knew where they came from,
and I would give her a dollar a piece for every four-year-old
tree she sent me. They had made a fall growth, as well as
their spring growth, and those folks didn't know it.
V Laughter). Now, know what you know; be sure of what
you know, and then you are ready to go ahead. Know that
you are right and go ahead, in this business. The whole
thing will depend upon yourself ; you will have to pay for it.
Get all the advice you can, and use your own judgment and
get wise to all the propositions you can before you go in,
and if you don 't know, if you are not positive what you
ou^t to do, you ought not to go in the fruit business ; keep
out. You can go out of the business all you like, enough
will stay in. I don 't think that as an organization we ought
to go telling that everybody should go into fruit-growing.
We don't want everybody in. We want those men in that
will do the most good. This idea of filling the country up
with a lot of people is not real economy, not rational. We
: don't necessarily want the little farm well tilled; we want
the efficient farm well tilled. In our section a 200-acre farm
properly run will turn off more stuff to the city than will
four fifty-acre farms with families thereon. The measure
of economy is the amount you produce, and the cost at which
you produce it. There is an economic side, and that eco-
nomic side is going to prevail in spite of everything. There
is the economy which unAvittingly you will be forced to
recognize, and the man that has conditions right for grow-
ing Greenings should grow Greenings: the man that has
conditions for growing 'Gravensteins should grow Graven-
steins. Find out what you are going to do ; find out what
you are capable of doing, and then do it. There are cli-
matic conditions that you can't change, and those you must
recognize ; there are soil conditions that you can influence,
but which you must consider, and the adaptation of variety
to your conditions is just as important as the recognition
above mentioned. You must consider all and then go ahead.
I thank you. (Applause).

142

PRES. FARQUHAR. Ladies and Gentlemen : I think
that Mr. Fraser may have left the platform too soon ; I think
that he is so thoroughly convinced of what he knows that
there are a great many people here who would like to get
opinions of him, and I am sure Mr. Fraser will be glad to re-
ply to those who may have such questions to ask him.

MR. H. L. FROST. I would like to ask Mr. Fraser what
varieties he would carry a leader in.

MR. FRASEp. Rhode Island Greening for one. T
would have the leader in Greenings for the simple reason
that the best market for the Greening requires a green apple.
They will pay more in New York for a green Greening than
for one that has a blush, for good and sufficient reasons, and
Ave can secure more shade with a leader in and also stop the
trees spreading easier by leaving it in. I would leave it in
the "Wealthy, under all conditions, because the tree is apt to
break down. I would leave it in Mcintosh where it does
well. I would leave it in the Twenty-Ounce, under most
conditions. Does that answer it, Mr. Frost?

MR: FROST. Yes. Is that the whole list you would
recommend leaving the leaders in ?

MR. FRASER. I don't know. Give me varieties that
I have worked with and I will answer.

MR. FROST. How about the Yellow Transparent?

MR. FRASER. On the Yellow Transparent I think I
would, because of the Fire Blight. I have grown the Yel-
low Transparent, both in New York and New Jersey, and I
haven't been very particular about it. I have rather let the
tree head itself, because it was planted as a filler.

MR. FROST. Duchess, Spy, Baldwin?

MR. FRASER. Duchess. I wouldn't mind; not partic-
ular about that. But on Baldwin, I wouldn't, for our con-
ditions; I wouldn't leave it in. I would rather have it out.
On Spy I would rather have it out.

MR. FROST. Wagener.

MR. FRASER. Leave it in.

143

MR. FROST. Jonathan.

MR. FRASER. We don't grow it; I am not well
enough informed about the Jonathan.

MR. FROST. King.

MR. FRASER. You can leave it in the King. I don't
mind about the King, the tree tends to grow open and when
it is in good shape and the fruit colors well I should leave it in
and if it wasn't I would open it up. The King wants a lot
Ox color. There is one thing that you must realize. The
eastern part of the state of New York and New England
have a great deal more sunshine than we have in western
New York. Bear that in mind. You may have more
trouble from sun scald than we. The Ithaca Station re-
ports 85 days of sunshine for the year at Ithaca, while the
Hudson River stations report 180 days. AVe have got condi-
tions there which may render our management somewhat
different than yours.

MR. H. E. CHASE. I would like to ask what .assur-
ance we have that the people of New York will always want
a green Greening?

MR. FRASER. I think we have a good one. If yoa
go into New Jersey you will find them planting the English
Codling and the Monmouth Pippin. They look something
like a Greening; both are large and the Monmouth Pippin
has a red cheek, and the women of New York have recog-
nized that those red-cheeked things that they bought for
Greenings are not nearly so good cooking apples. In other
words, the Monmouth Pippin masquerading as the Rhode
Island Greening isn't a very good proposition, and the
women are beginning to discriminate, and just as soon as the
Monmouth Pippins are grown and sent into New York the
women are going to say, "No; no more of the Greenings
like those." That is the proposition. There are business
reasons underlying this Greening business.

MR. MOORE OF ARLINGTON. You speak of a large
percentage of trees not bearing fruit in the orchard.
'May I ask if they grow wood at the expense of the fruit,.

144

and if so, if you have ever practiced root pruning? I ask
this question because I planted some Japanese Plums and
there was one tree that made three times as much wood aa
any of the others, but it didn't bear a plum until I cut it,
say, six or eight feet — I have forgotten just exactly the
distance from the bottom — and I dug out clear around it
eighteen inches deep and cut off every root I found. I dug
that channel, and from that time on that tree bore excel-
lently.

MR. FRASER. Summarizing the question, it really
means would root pruning not be a remedy for the trees
which are making a large amount of wood and bearing lit-
tle fruit. I have never tried it. I have felt that we didn't
need it to any extent. I haven't tried it to any extent in
this country. I am familiar with it in Europe, under their
conditions. Over there I know how much it is used, but I
have not seen it in use here to any extent, and I don 't think
it is a commercial proposition. That is only my personal
opinion, though. I think it might be used in small plant-
ings with profit. I think if you are going into a commercial
proposition it is very much easier to girdle the trees, rather
than prune the root. You can, of course, girdle them very,
very quickly and you are sure to make them bear. Just
take a ring of bark off the trunk or limb in June, an inch,
or ten inches if you like — it doesn't matter on a big tree —
you can do a lot on a old tree, taking out quite a chunk
without harm. It will heal over in a day. while the sap i?
running. It will do very little harm at that time. At
other times it will kill the tree.

MR. BOGUE OF NEW YORK. May I be pardoned if
T answer the question of the gentleman who spoke about the
Japanese plums? It is purely a technical question and I
want to assure him that what he did on that plum was just
right. The Japanese plum requires more of that than any
other variety, because it is a surface feeder and he did just
the right thing to cause it to fruit.

MR. HULSE. I have seen an old orchard badh' sun-

145

scalded. I would like to know whether to have a tree doc«
tor, or shall we cut them down and re-set them?

MR. FRASER. Where is Whetzel. (Laughter). Why,
Professor Whetzel has done a great deal of work in regard
to fire blight and canker, which are somewhat similar to the
sun-scald, and he has cut out the injured bark and tarred
over the cut surface and practically renovated several or-
chards in Western New York. He has done a lot of work
in that way, cutting out to the sound, healthy wood, giving
good cultivation and spraying, and brought the trees back.
There were some excellent Kings near Ithaca which were
nearly dead and he has brought them back.

MR. H. L. FROST. This is from the question box:
Would you put peaches in among apples on a south- south-
west, rather sharp slope?

MR. FRASER. That is a local question. Now, I have
no use for them among apples, personally, but that doesn't
answer the question for New England. Pe'rhaps someone
here will answer that better than I can. I have no use for
them because the peach trees shade the young apple trees,
and the latter do not get the right spread. It makes them
contracted, and if you have Baldwin trees you want them
to spread all they will. The Baldwin grows up close
enough, so I have no use for peaches. Greenings will grow
out, but on the whole I do not like them together. Per-
haps some other gentleman will answer that in more detail.

MR. WILFRID WHEELER. What do you do with
your one-year-old tree when you set it out ? Do you cut it
at all?

]\IR. FRASER. (Indicating on young tree on plat-
form). What will I do with this? Take the top off at
about 33 inches from the bud and rub off every bud below
18 inches and let the rest start, i. e., those between 18 inches
and 33 inches, and the next year form the head, if it has
started enough limbs. If not, you will have to take a little
more time to get it going. That is the proposition with the
one-year-old.

146

One other thing I might mention. In our own planting
now we put a wire guard on the tree immediately after plant-
ing. The one from which we get the best result is made by the
Clinton Wire Cloth Company, New York, they are the lowest
priced. The guard is 18 inches by 13, and we feel that it
Avill last five years. It costs us five cents, put in place. Wc
would rather do that then mound our trees or take any
other means, tar paper or some such thing, to keep th.?
mice off. Just keep the trmik clean of limbs for 18 inches.
"We look at our trees twice a year for borers, and if we find
them w^e take them out while they are small. Does that
answer it?

MR. WHEELER. Yes.

MR. M. C. BURRITT OF NEW YORK. AVhat general
planting would you advise, one-year, or two-year old?

MR. ERASER. For general planting? Two or three
gentlemen in New England who have tried the one-year
old claim that they prefer the two-year-old. For commer-
cial planting in New York I am using the one. I don't
think it matters a great deal, so long as you get vigorous
trees, whether they are one year or two year. And, by the
way, the two-year root graft is the same age as the one year
bud, and the three year root graft is the same age as the
two- year bud. These trees are practically the same and
probably unless the differences were shown to you you
wouldn't know one from the other.

MR. ERASER OF MASSACHUSETTS. I would like
to ask Mr. Eraser if he would preserve the suckers on his
trees and cut them back, to form a shade for the boughs?

MR. ERASER OF NEW YORK. We have tried to cov-
er the branches in old trees which have been allowed to run
away out to the end by saving the suckers which start on
the side and topping them back and leaving them in, trying
to make fruit spurs. We have tried that, and I think it is
quite practicable in some cases, especially those that come
out of the side in this way (indicating), which can be made
to clothe the limb, so to speak.

147

MR. FRASER OF MASSACHUSETTS. In case there
might be danger of a branch breaking, might not one of
these Slickers be trained as a leader?

]MR. FRASER OF NEW YORK. I have never done it,
but I don't see why it couldn't be done. There may be
someone here "who has ; I haA'e never done it.

PRES. FARQUHAR. Any other questions?

MR. FRASER. Mr. President, I would like to take this
occasion to thank the members and the people of Boston on
behalf of my colleagues and myself for your kindness, your
hospitality and the manner in wdiich j^ou have entertained
us and greeted us, and I certainly am very glad to be here
to express to you on their behalf and on my own our ap-
preciation thereof. (Applause).

MR. H. L. FROST. Might I ask Mr. Frazer if he has
ever experimented with dj'uamite in -any way for the young
trees ?

MR. FRASER. Look here: You wnll get all my bad
doings out of me yet if you keep at it. (Laughter). I
have made so many mistakes, that I don 't want to /own up
to all of them. I have made as many mistakes as anybody
else, and some more. I knew a gentleman who wanted to
plant an orchard in Vermont last spring and desired to
use dynamite. He wanted me to look it over. He d;yTia-
mited and we are not sure yet as to what the results will be.
But I am afraid that in many cases we got a hole which
remained below ground, and when the water dried out we
had a hole which the roots couldn't bridge, with the result
that those trees sank considerably during the season, to their
detriment. Also, in one or two places where the hole h.-.r
been made at the time of planting instead of probably six
months before there has been a higher mortality than in the
case of trees not dynamited. So that under some condi-
tions you may have trouble from dynamiting in that way.
Also, I would question the value of planting apples on land
that needs to be dynamited to make it apple soil. I ques-
tion very much whether you are not going to be beaten in

148

the game. We have considerable faith in Western New
York in imder-drainage of our lands in order to make them
lit for apples, much more than we have in dynamite, al-
though I am willing to be shown.

MR. NELSON OF WELLESLEY. What is your idea
about scraping?

MR. ERASER. Oh, if you are attacking a run-down
orchard for the first time.* and you think you have a lot of
codling moth under the bark, I would scrap them. It will
be all right. As a general orchard proposition, where the
trees are well sprayed. I don't think it pays.

MR. ERASER OF MASSACHUSETTS. I would like
to ask Mr. Eraser what he thinks about putting a potato
crop in the orchard. In bringing back an old orchard that
has been neglected for a number of years and hasn't been
plowed for fifteen or twenty years, would you advise that,
to help cultivate the land?

MR. ERASER OF NEW YORK. Is it doing well now?
MR. ERASER OF MASSACHUSETTS. No.
MR.' ERASER OF NEW YORK. Are the trees past re-
demption now?

MR. ERASER OF MASSACHUSETTS. The trees arj
redeemable.

MR. FRASER OF NEW YORK. I would be inclined
to try it. I would like to see it first, but I would be in-
clined to try it.

MR. FRASER OF MASSACHUSETTS. The reason I
ask is more because I feel that there may be some that have
not tried it. I have tried it with great success, and ths
profits derived from the potatoes paid for the cultivation of
the orchard.

MR. RICHARDS OF MARSHFIELD. I would like to
ask the speaker's opinion as regards orchard planting in
sod and kept in sod.

MR. FRASER. All I can say is that there may be con-
ditions where that is good business. Since you are run-
ning your business you ought to be able to determine from

149

your greater knowledge whether your conditions are right
for that. It has already been mentioned that Mr. Grant
Hitching at Syracuse, N. Y., has a very profitable venture
in an orchard in sod. Mr. Cox and Mr. Vergon of Ohio
have very good results from orchards in sod. In other
districts there seems to be a feeling that is fairly well
proven that cultivation is better. I think it is a local
problem.

MR. ROBERTS. Is it better to cut back an old orchard,
or set out a new one?

MR. ERASER. We found on some of our big trees
which were occupying the land for a long time that where
ever a man had to go up over 30 feet to get the apples the
cost ran up to 60 to 75 cents a barrel to pick them and it
was better to cut them off right at the ground.

A VOICE. Why not discharge the man that cost so
much as that to pick them f

MR. ERASER. Well, I thought I would make sure
that he w^ouldn't be doing that work any more. (Laughter
and applause).

MR. FAVRE. In setting out an orchard for Baldwins
would it be advisable or better to intersperse those with
some early varieties, or set them in all in one block?

i\IR. ERASER. With the object of cross-pollenation?
We have no evidence that Baldwins need a pollenizer.
Personally, I believe that the Rhode Island Greening does
in an unfavorable year in Western New York, and for that
reason for Rhode Island Greenings I have planted Baldwins
as pollenizers, and in no case have we any varieties wider
than four rows. I have used Baldwins four rows and
Greenings four rows, Baldwins three and Greening three,
although I suppose that if I didn't have the particular type
of soil that I have I couldn't do it. The Baldwins do the
best with us on a sandy loam, and the Greenings do best on
a clay loam, and it is only because we have a loam soil that
we are able to do this. But I don't think that the Baldwin
needs any other variety.

150

MR. SYLVESTER. I would like to ask Mr. Fraser
how he feeds those trees to get half a barrel of apples at four
years old?

MR. FRASER. We have given them the year they were
planted about three-quarters of a pound of a mixed fertili-
zer around the tree, acid phosphate, muriate of potash and
nitrate of soda, something like 5-8-8, three-quarters of a
pound to one pound to the tree, the first year, and som^i
manure in the fall, and then we have grown a crop in be-
tween which we have fertilized, potatoes or beans, and we
have tried manuring the land every year, six loads to the
acre. We have put on half a ton of slag to the acre lately,
and just kept them humping generally. (Laughter). If a
tree wasn't growing, why, it got looked after. I would use
a little nitrate if necessary, to keep them growing in the
spring, and all the manure you can get. It is a good, safe
proposition.

MR. H. L. FROST. Would you give us the varieties
you think need pollenization ?

MR. FRASER. I have Ho evidence of any which have
a direct need, other than the Rhode Island Greenings, of
the varieties we are growing, which are Greening and Bald-
win and Spy, although with the Spy I should put a pollenizer
if we had one which blossomed at the same time. But it is
difficult to find one that blossoms with it, usually. The
fillers we have are Wealthy, Yellow Transparent, Twenty-
Ounce, Hubbardston, Mcintosh, Maiden Blush, Boiken and
Wagener. I don't know that I have any evidence that
they need pollenizers, but there are enough varieties planted
so that they will get it if they do.

MR. VOLES. I would like to a,sk, on a sandy soil, very
gravelly, sandj' soil, if there is any use to trj' planting apple
trees with about a foot of loam over it? It is coarse sand
iinderneath about a foot of loam?

MR. FRASER. Plenty of moisture in it, or not?

MR. VOLES. Well, I can get plenty.

MR. FRASER. I think that would be a better question

151

for the Bureau of Soils or the soil man in your station, be-
cause he would be familiar \yitii the local problems. But
we have lots of sandy land growing apples in different
places. I don't know that I could answer that to any ad-
vantage to you.

MR. KITTREDGE OF MOUNT VERXOX. I would
like to ask Mr. Eraser what he thinks is the best cover crop
for a young orchard?

MR. ERASER. Under our conditions we have tried a
number of things and have tried to rotate. In years when
clover was dear, like last year, we have used four pounds of
Dwarf Essex Rape, costing us 24 cents an acre and we got
a fine groAvth, a big mat of stuff, Avhich turned in plenty of
humus. I have tried Hairy Vetch, and in the case of a
young pear lot I pretty nearly brought disaster on the whole
business, because the Hairy Vetch got to taking the water
away from the young trees, and since half that block was in
vetch and half in buckwheat, we had a very good test.
The buds on the portion in Hairy Vetch started badly in
the spring and then went back and were a whole month
late, seemingly due to the fact that the Vetch took the
water supply from the pear and injured the proper maturing
of the buds, the dry fall causing that condition. Therefore
I regard Hairy Vetch as quite uncertain. I got the same
results in New Jersey, so that I have cut it out entirely.
Now, we are trjdng probably buckwheat and clover, rape
and clover, or we will put in half a pound of cowhorn tur-
nips and two pounls of rape and two of crimson, and two of
red clover, or, if the red is very dear, a couple of pounds of
alsike clover. You can use all kind of things, and all the
pigweed and redroot, and any other things that you can get
to grow. I think the best compliment ever paid me was at
e. Grange meeting where they got me in and a man said,
^' What have you got in that field along the Mount Morris
road?" And I said, ''That is a currant lot.'' He said,
"Currants! Why, I think it is the most disgraceful con-
dition there is in Geneseo. You can't see anything but pig-

152

weed, and that would hide a horse." I said, "That is just
what I was looking for." (Laughter and applause).

A MEMBER. I have an orchard twenty years old, of
Baldwins, and I want to graft it over into an earlj^ summer
apple. Is it feasible to do it ?

MR. ERASER. No, sir. If you have got that bug,
just try it once and M^atch. and if I were you I wouldn't try
it more than once. (Laughter and applause).

MR. WARREN OF WHIT:\IAN. I should like to ask
Mr. Eraser, if you had a chance to buy a parcel of land
which had never been plowed because it was hilly, what
could you afford to paj^ for it if you wanted to put it into
apples ? It will bear apples, no doubt about that.

MR. ERASER. I don't know what you could afford to
pay for it, but I would rather go and take land somewhere
that I could control the situation a little better, personally.
I don 't know that I can answer that, as to what you could
afford. Personally, if I had it and I thought you were a
good customer, and your money was sure, I would let you
have it. (Laughter).

MR. CARTER. I would like to ask the speaker if he
can give me any formula for feeding young trees for early
bearing.

MR. ERASER. I think, gentlemen, the whole thing is
just seeing what the trees will respond to. Now, my formu-
la is no good; I haven't any. Try something on a piece, if
they respond to acid phosphate and muriate of potash and
nitrate of soda, and it is keeping them going, put it on.
We have used basic slag, putting on half a ton to the acre,
and we left enough trees without it to check by, which we
could see the difference in just as though we had marked it
out, Avhere the fruit and foliage and everything else was
different. But I don't think it would have given the re-
turns unless it had had the land built up with several crops
of weeds and organic matter and had manure at different
times and been underdrained and a lot of other things.
There are just six letters in the formula : B-r-a-i-n-s. Brains.

153

(Applause).

MB. EICHAKDS. What do you think of dressing an
orchard, putting on stable manure? All the college men
advise putting on sulphate of potash and ground bone. I
have used them together. I want to know just which is
best in your opinion

:\IE. FRASER. I haven't any opinion. Perhaps I
might give you a story, if you ask for my opinion on that.
A poor old colored woman was brought before the Court
for abusing her child. The Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children had a very strong case and it looked
bad for her. The Court said, "Have you anything to sayT'
She answered "Can ar arsh your Honor a questhun?"
The Court nodded assent. Turning and looking at th«
Judge she said, ' ' Was yoor Honor ever the parient of a puf-
fiely wuthless colored chile?" (Laughter and applause).
You see, the authority needs to be competent. (Laughter).

:\IR. POWELL OF SPRINGFIELD. Mr. Eraser said
that in pruning his two-year-old trees he wouldn't cut off
the terminal bud, but in pruning the year old he would cut
it back. If you are going to set the trees like Greenings
where you want a leader, what is the object of cutting back
and training up a new leader?

MR. FRASER. I cut it back because I want to start
branches below. That is the only reason. If some had
started already I never would have cut it back in the case of
the Greening. Only on that particular tree there were none,
and so I topped it back to start some, that is the only
reason.

A VOICE. Which would you prefer; stable or barn-
yard manure, or commercial fertilizers for an apple orchard ?

MR. RICHARDS OF ]\IARSHFIELD. I hope you will
answer that question; you haven't yet.

MR. FRASER. I would put them all on. (Laughter).
I will tell you just the way it is : If you go to call in a
Chinese doctor, the first thing he does is to look over the
patient and see what he can bear. If he has two cash then

154

he has so much medicme ; if he has 100 cash, then he can have
so much more, and if one doesn 't kill you the other will.
(Laughter). I would size it up by the gentleman's pocket-
book, and if he wants to try them all, try them all. If he
must spend the money let him go to friend Wheeler and
bring his money and buy a carload and use it all.

A VOICE. That is a practical question.

MR. FRASER. It is.

A VOICE. Some of these college men here in Boston
tell us, and have told us in years past, that those people
v/ho use commercial fertilizers in growing their apples will
grow a great deal better apple than we in our section, whj
use barnyard manure. For the last three or four years I
find that those apples that grew in stable manure, on land
manured continuously for the last twenty years, were keep-
ing better, with better shape and color, than those that grew
on some other soil. So it is a practical question for me and
a question which I am not fully decided on.

MR. FRASER. I think the question really comes back
to the individual involved. The fertilizer problem is a lo-
cal one. If you are getting good results from any one thing,
J would stick to it. I can't really answer for sure. I know
just what I would do in my locality. I know that for my
peaches I will put certain things on, for my peaches I will
use basic slag; I am satisfied. A man can't sell me acid
phosphate for it. On my apple trees, if I have manure J
will put some on, and I know I will put on basic slag. I
have proven to myself that that is paying me. In a few
years I may find that I need to change, and just as soon as
I can prove to myself that I can change with profit. I will
change. I find that it pays me to lime some pears,becauso
I have limed part and have not limed part I am going to
lime more. The only way I can see that the question cau
i)0 solved is to go to the land with the question I am using
fertilizers of all kinds and all the manure I can get ; but T
am getting returns, and I do feel that fertilizer with
manure Avill frequently give better results than manure

155

alone. In many cases they will give better returns com-
bined. Really, to be candid with you, I think that you will
have to solve it yourself.

A VOICE. I understood when I got up to ask you a
question in regard to that grafting I spoke of, that you ob-
jected to it. Why do you object to that method of graft-
ing? I didn't learn anything from your answer. It was in
regard to that twenty-year-old orchard that I want to graft
over.

MR. FRASER. Why, on any work of that nature that
I have seen, unless the trees are already low, they are apt to
shoot up, and there is considerable work and a lot of dif-
ficulty. I don't want to run that question down, because it
is entitled to a proper answer. Top grafting is an awful lot
of work. I tried it on a lot of trees, and I am sorry I did
it. I am giving you my honest conviction on the propo-
sition. If I could possibly avoid it I would never do it.

A VOICE. I realize it is going to be a lot of work.

MR. FRASER. Not only a lot of work, but you will
have limbs in there for five years that won 't be working and
you will be fussing over it with two varieties on the trees
and an awful lot of trouble and bother, and I don't think it
is worth while in these days ; I don 't think it is worth while,
don 't think it is commercial.

A VOICE. You don't think but what we can grow good
apples that way?

MR. FRASER. No question but that you can grow
them. The only question is, can you grow them commer-
cially at a profit?

A VOICE. If that were the only piece of land you
owned, would you do it?

MR. FRASER. What variety?

A VOICE. Baldwin.

MR. FRASER. I would never do it; I would never
change.

A VOICE. That is all right for you, but I know I want

156

tlie other kind. You want Baldwins and 1 want the other
kind.

MR. FRASER. Can you not possibly find some man
that wants Baldwins and sell to him and buy a piece of land
with the money?

A VOICE. I could sell him the trees, but not the land.

MR. FRASER. I would make business business, and
cut out sentiment. I don't think sentiment is business.

PRES. FARQXIHAR. Any other questions while Mr.
Eraser is still on the platform?

MR. EDWARD B. WILDER. We have heard a very
instructive address today and it is very hard to express our
appreciation of all the information that has been given to
us but I w^ould like to move you, sir, a most hearty vote of
thanks to Mr. Fraser for his lecture and also for the discus-
sion here on these very vital themes.

A VOICE. Second the motion.

PRES. FARQUHAR. You have heard Mr. Wilder 's
motion, moving a vote of thanks for Mr. Fraser for this prac-
tical and valuable discussion. All those in favor of this mo-
tion will signify by rising.

(Motion carried unanimously by a rising vote).
(Convention Adjourned),

157
APPLE PACKING DEMONSTRATION.

The Apple Packing Demonstration in room downstairs
where the Round Table Talks were held was a decided suc-
cess. Prof. Rees of the Agricultural College Extension De-
partment had a throng about the packing table before and
after the lectures as well as at many other times and many
new people learned first principles.

TRADE EXHIBITION.

The Trade Exhibition completely filled the large hall
and every conceivable thing for use in the fruit business,
from the high powered gasolene tractor to the extra discs for
spray nozzles was on exhibition, and the different makes of
the same article could be compared under the same roof, a
new situation in Massachusetts. The constant streams of
visitors more than pleased the exhibitors who showed theii'
satisfaction by sending more than one new member to the
Secretary's desk.

ROUND TABLE TALKS

PEACH GROWING IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS.
L. W. Rice of Wilbraham.

First choose the site of the orchard. This should be a
place of good elevation with good air and water drainage,
which some times is hard to find and purchase. The land
should be cleared of all trees and rocks. This can be ac-
complished best, and with least expense, by using dynamite.
An orchard can be raised if the stumps and rocks are not
all cleared away but in the end the cost of clearing is saved
m broken tools, loss of time, and unpleasantness while spray-
ing and cultivating. It is a pleasure to work in an orchard
that has been well cleared, while one in which the stumps
and rocks have been left is constantly trying one's patience.
We want to so carry on our business that the work in the or-
chard will be a pleasure; and it is a pleasure to work in a
good orchard. If the land contains any wet places they
should be tile drained. These should be placed 3 1-2 feet
deep, so that the roots of the trees will not displace them;
?.lso, so as to drain the soil deep enough to give the roots
plenty of room. The land should be thoroughly plowed.
This is a slow tedious job on rough land. It is best to plow
the land in the fall, for then it will be finer and in better
shape than if left until spring. If, however, one is unable to
plow until Spring, and it be a dry Spring, harrow every
morning what was ploughed the day before. In this way
the lands holds the moisture.

Next comes the problem of selecting the trees. This
should also be done the previous fall in order to obtain the
desired varieties and grades of trees. In selecting varieties
it is best to choose such as will ripen in succession so as to
hold the market and distribute the labor over as long a
period as possible. A good succession covering the period

159

fjom about August first to September 15th is as follows: —
Greensborough, Waddell, Carman, Hiley, Belle of Georgia,
and Elberta. Chairs Choice comes later than the Elberta,
but has been nearly a failure here. Don't plant it. A few
^ ears ago it would have been very desirable to get something
later than the Elberta, but now so many peaches are put
into cold storage and held until after the bulk of the crop is
marketed that later ones do not bring as high prices as
formerly. A No. 1, -1 to 5 foot yearling tree is a good grade
for orchard planting.

If one is ready to plant the trees within a few days after
they are received they may be left in the box. The box
should be put into a shed or barn cellar and covered over
with hay or straw to keep the trees from drying out. If
not ready to plant the trees at once, open the box, cut the
bundles and cut the body of the tree off for about 20 inches
above the bud, cutting off all limbs. Cut off the broken
parts of the roots also, and dig out the borers. The trees
should then be placed in a trench deep enough so that they
wiU be covered above where they are budded, taking pains
to sift the dirt in around all the roots. Do not allow the
roots to dry out. If possible the trench where the trees are
to be placed should be in the lot where they are to be plant-
ed, as they are much handier and save time in carting.
When it comes to setting out, it is well to have a barrel of
water on a stone boat in the lot to wet the roots in. As to
distance apart, the writer plants apple trees 32 by 40 feet,
and plants two peach trees between one way, and one the
other way, making the trees about 16 by 13 feet. This, no
doubt, is too close for some localities, but here where the
life of the peach tree is so short it is far enough apart. Dig
the hole deep enough so there can be 2 or 3 inches of good
top soil placed in the bottom. Then set the tree in the hole
so that the place where it is budded will be a little below
the level of the ground, sift the good soil in around and over
the roots and trjead firmly. Care should be taken not to in-
jure the roots while treading. Put about a pound of bone

160

or other good fertilizer into the hole and mix thoroughly
with the soil. Next fill the hole nearly full leaving a little
hollow with the tree in the center, so that when it rains the
water will have a tendency to settle around the tree instead
of running aAvay from it.

Cultivate and hoe the trees as you would care for a field
of corn until the last of July or first of August. Sow oatu
and turnips or some other cover crop such as vetch or clover
if you can grow it. If the land is steep so that it is liable
to wash, plow furrows along the side of the hill, beginning
near the top and turning furrow down hill to catch the
water. Plow furrow so there will be fall enough to carry
the watep off. Plow similar furrows along the side of the
hill as often as is necessary to take care of the water. These
furrows should be plowed deep and cleaned out with a shov-
el. Then sca.tter a little fertilizer in and on the furrow and
sow oats rather thick and rake in. The oats will help keep
the furrow from washing. When the trees get so large it
is impossible in some places to plow the furrows along the
side of the hill all the way, plow them so as to catch the
water and if need be plow straight down the hill to carry the
water off. It is much better tp have a few deep gullies
washed that can be filled up with stone, than to have a lot of
the top soil washed off as would probably be the case if the
water was allowed to run down over the surface of the hill.

Trim the little trees in August, forming the shape of
the head. Trim a peach tree just opposite from what you
would if you were raising a tree for a saw log. A tree with
fl»m five to seven branches at the crotch will not be nearly
so apt to split down as one with only two or three branches.
If the tree is so shaped as to make it impossible to form a
good head, tie up one of the best branches so it will grow up
straight. Later cut off all 4;he rest of the tree and form
the head out of that brandd. Late in the fall, just before it
freezes up, bank the trees with dirt 10 or 12 tnches high.
Be careful to pack th§ dirt firmly. If pieces of turf are
thrown up loosely mice are apt to get in and nest and gnaw

161

the trees. This banking not only protects the tree from
mice but it keeps the water from running or standing around
it. Then again if it is an unusually severe winter and kills
the tender tree back, it will not usually kill it below the top
of the mound. That leaves plenty of live wood between
the bud and the top of the mound, from which new limbs
will start, and a new head can be formed from one of these.

The writer used to raise a crop of corn or potatoes m
the orchard the first year and gives clean cultivation to all
the land every year after until the last of July or first of
August. Experience has taught that it is mighty hard in
this locality to raise a cover crop after the trees are three or
four years old, that will add much humus to the soil. So
now am trying to raise some legumes the firs't few years to
store up humus for the orchard later.

The second spring cut off one-half or two- thirds of tho
last years growth. Along in August or the first of Septem-
het thin out the branches where they are too thick. From
this time until time of fruiting do not allow the branches to
become too thick for it is fruit that we are after. If the head
is thick the fruit may set but it will drop. After the trees
come into bearing they need very little trimming, except to
cut off broken limbs and cut out the dead wood, with a little
thinning of the head occasionally.

ORDER OF SEASON'S WORK.
Along in February we begin to trim the old trees leav-
ing the young ones until the last, as they are more apt to be
killed back, and the longer we can leave them the plainer
they show where they are killed. We pick up the brush on
a wooden shod sled without any pole in it. This brings the
load near the ground and takes very little room in turning.
Just as soon as it does not freeze much during the night, w^
begin to spray with lime-sulfur. In other words, we leave it
just as long as possible and still get through before the leaves
get started too much. We then plant what trees we havj
bought. This should be completed in April, but in favorable
seasons if the work is not finished before the 10th or 12th of

162

May the trees will grow all right. Make it a point however,
to get the trees planted just as early as possible.

Next comes the fertilizing of the older orchards and the
harrowing. This may or may not be the first harrowing.
Just as soon as the ground is dry enough we start the har-
row, working one Avay one week, and crossways the next.
Let neither haying nor hoeing interfere with the harrowing
but keep at it every week from early spring until the last
of July or first of August. When the fertilizing is done,
we dig the borers, and hoe the young trees. In August and
first part of September we trim the young trees.

If we are blessed with a crop we begin to harvest it
toward the last of July. Before harvesting begins we go
through the orchard every five or six rows tying back th<i
limbs and raking out the stone to make a road so as to get
through with a one horse wagon. This wagon should be so
rigged as to carry 40 or 50 baskets. Two men can draw a
great many more peaches in a day on a wagon of this kind
than on one that will carry 15 or so. At this time of all
times we want the work to count. The peaches are picked
and set beside these roads. Later the men go through and
pick up the baskets and draw them to the packing shed,
which is located in the orchard. Plan to keep all the work
as near together as possible. Then it is easier to look after
and if it is necessary to change part of the help from one kind
of work to another, there is not so much lost time. For
instance, if the packing shed is right in the orchard and one
wishes to load a wagon of 200 or 300 or more baskets in a
hurry, he can call a gang of pickers and in a very few min-
utes the load is ready to go.

The peaches are picked by sight, not by touch, for the
latter way takes too much time. Divide the pickers into
gangs and put a foreman in charge of each gang. The size
of the gangs depends upon the kind of men that make up
the gang. If they are men of experience that will work
anyway then the foreman can take charge of 7 or 8, and pick
himself. If however, they are inexperienced pickers and
are men that are in the habit of working under a boss, don't

1B3

give the foreman more than 6 or 7 and tell him not to pick
a peach himself. Don 't try to economize by giving the fore-
man too many men, better hire another foreman. Being
near our market we let the fruit ripen on the trees, therefore
some of it gets the best of us and drops. The first thing
every morning the men go through the orchard and pick up
what have fallen. In this way they do not destroy them
while working, and they are ready for the day's retail trade
and the peddlers.

By going through the orchard in the winter and picking
the dried or rotten peaches, and burning or burying them,
and by going through the Greensborough just before they
begin to get ripe and picking the rotten peaches, we have
had very little trouble with peaches rotting on the trees.
Let us go back for a few minutes to the trimming of the tree?
We have made it a spreading tree to allow the sun to get at
the fr.uit to give it high color. Therefore in order to save
many of the trees from destruction we are obliged to bolt
many bad crotches and wire from one limb across to the
opposite one. This can well be done by using about No. 108
screw eyes which are screwed into the wood. Wire across
with about No. 12 wire. Many limbs can also be saved when
carrying a heavy load by tying one limb to another with
soft strong string. Care should be taken when tying trees
in this way not to tie too short, but to allow the limbs to
bend well over before the string supports them. If they are
tied too short it makes the bend in the limb too sharp, and
it will break right above the string. After the crop is har-
\ested these strings should be cut off to prevent them from
injuring the trees. The fertilizer should be bought in the
late fall or winter, so that it can be drawn during the slack
season, and be ©n hand when needed. It is well to have a
little nitrate of soda on hand, then if the trees are making
if. slow growth and the fruit begins to drop too much, put
on some, or if a tree here or there does not look quite thrifty,
doctor it with a little nitrogen. Do not put on too much at
V. time but put it on two or three times if necessary.

After the peaches are unloaded at the sorting shed, they

164

are sorted by women. We insist that the friiit be handled
with care both by pickers and sorters. One woman haa
charge over the other sorters. This woman also has charge
of the retail trade. The peaches are sorted so that most of
them are No. I's or No. 2's. However the very ripe ones
and the specked ones are sorted out, also the very large
ones, which are marked extras. Make the peaches the same
grade all through the basket. Toward the top place tha
red side of the peach up, and round the basket. A basket
finished off this way is pleasing to the eye. After the
peaches are sorted they are loaded on the wagon or wagons,
according to the number of baskets on hand. One 3 horse
wagon carries 386 baskets. This wagon was built specially
for hauling peaches. In the rush season it makes two trips
a day or rather in 24 hours to Springfield wholesale houses,
a distance of about ten miles. It starts about one o'clock A
M. and returns about 9 or 10 o'clock. The wagon is again
loaded and another team goes with it, returning in the even-
ing or night, according to the travelling. This time the
wagon is loaded by lantern light ready to start in the morn-
ing.

Now we have gotten the peaches to the wholesale houses,
where they are sold on commission. Right here I want to
say a word about the wholesale men. We read so much in
the farm papers about the wholesale men, as if they wer^i
our enemies, trying to rob us, and so little about the help
they are to us. How could we handle our crops without
them? I consider the wholesale men my friends and help-
ers. If I did not have confidence in them I should want to
go out of the fruit business to-day. I believe that there are
just as upright, lionest men in the wholesale business as there
are in any other, raising peaches not excepted. Furnish
them witli the best of produce and they will be anxious for
your patronage, and get the best prices that they can for
you. Let us hope that occasionally, at least the farm papern
n^ay have a word of praise for the wholesalemen.

At harvesting time a man has a great deal to look after,
and is very busy. The better his system, the easier and

165

better he can take care of his business. Having put a
woman in charge of the sorters he can go into the sorting,'
}*hed and look around. If he sees that the baskets are not
full enough, or are too full, or that the sorting is not don ;
r"ght, he does not have to hunt up the one that made the
mistake, but simply call the attention of the woman in
charge to the error. She looks after it. Tf a customer
comes and wishes to buy a few l)askets of peaches he can
.iust say, "The lady will wait on you." He can then go into
the orchard and look around. If he finds that a tree has
been skipped, that the peaches are being picked too green,
or not close enough, or are being too roughly handled, or
again if he wants a gang of men to go somewhere else to
work, he simply has to tell the foreman who looks out for
the rest. In this way a man can handle an enormous
amount of work. While men who have large gangs of men
working all the year roimd have a system, we who have a
large gang of men for only a few weeks are apt to handle
them in a slipshod way.

Buy your baskets early, that is, just as soon as the
Winter is far enough advanced so that you are reasonably
sure of a crop. So to get the hauling out of the way and
have the baskets on hand. Then too they are generally a
little cheaper at this time, than at harvest time. While
harvesting keep close watch of your stock of baskets and
the amount of peaches to be picked. If you see that you are
going to run short order more just as soon as possible. For
sometimes, it is difficult to get baskets at this season. If
you have not baskets enough to hold the crop, and cannot
get them, then you must let the peaches rot on the ground,
and you have had the expense, labor and anxiety all for
nothing. Better carry over 1000 baskets than be a hundred
short.

In some fields, the trees, especially apple trees, are bad-
ly damaged by deer. The writer built a fence around an
eleven acre field, using woven wire 55 inches high at the
bottom and put two barbed wires about a foot apart on top
making the fence about 6 1-2 feet high, putting the posts a

166

rod apart at a cost of 82 cents a rod, put up. One of our
good assessors told one of the men, "We can assess him mor-;
for that field next year for putting that fence around it."
That is the way we fruit men have to take it. The State pro-
tects the deer. We try to protect our trees from the deer,
and the assessor comes along and gives us a whack for doing
it.

In our own locality it looks as though we were going to
have, or rather already have a pest much worse than the
deer and harder to fence, the pheasant. -In the spring oC
3911 there were many buds eaten in the writer's orchard.
He was satisfied in his own mind that it was pheasant 's work,
for they were often seen in the orchard, but never caught
budding. However, one of my neighbors saw one budding
in his orchard a few days ago. This bird is getting to be
very plenty in this section. Twenty-two were seen in an
cpen field a few weeks ago. The writer has an orchard
where there was about 550 peach trees set 10 years ago this
spring there are less than 200 left. In another orchard of
about 750 peach trees set 7 years ago this spring there are
360 left. Yellows are to blame for nearly all of these trees
being pulled out. The best stump i)uller that ever came into
this section is a four horse team combined weight about
6000 pounds. I hope that each one may get some idea from
iLis session that will help him in his business, and that thi;j
will be a prosperous year for all.

The Round Table Talks on Small Fruits by F. A. Smith
of Ipswich and on Pears by Richard Hittinger of Belmont
were not written out so they are not printed in the proceed-
mgs.

A special vote of thanks is due President Farquhar, of
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for the decorative
plants so freely furnished.

167
SULZER BILL

The Apple Package and Grade Bill Signed by the President
August 3, 1913

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the
standard barrel for apples shall be of the following dimensions
when measured without distention of its parts: Length of stave,
twenty-eight and one-half inches; diameter of heao, seventeen
and one-eighth inches; distance between heads, twenty-six inch-
es; circumference of bulge, sixty-four inches outside measure-
ment, representing as nearly as possible seven thousand and
fifty-six cubic inches, provided that steel barrels containing the
interior dimensdons provided for in this Section shall be con-
strued as a compliance therewith.

Sec. 2. That the standard grades for apples when packed in
barrels which shall be shipped or delivered for shipment in inter-
state or foreign commerce, or which shall be sold or offered for
sale within the District of Columbia or the Territories of the
United States shall be as follows: Apples of one variety, which
are well-grown specimens, hand picked, of good color for the
variety, normal shape, practically free from insect and fungous
injury, bruises and other defects, except such as are necessarily
caused in the operation of packing, or apples of one variety
which are not more than ten per centum below the foregoing
specifications shall be "Standard Grade minimum size two and
one-half inches," if the minimum size of the apples is two and
one-half inches, in transverse diameter; "Standard Grade mini-
mum size two and one-fourth inches," if the minimum size of
the apples is two and one-fourth inches in transverse diameter;
or "Standard Grade minimum size two inches," if the minimum
size of the apples is two inches in transverse diameter.

Sec. 3. That the barrels in which apples are packed in
accordance Avith the provisions of this Act may be branded in
accordance with Section two of this Act.

Sec. 4. That all barrels packed with apples shall be deemed
to be below standard if the barrel bears any statement, design or
device indicating that the barrel is a standard barrel of apples, as
herein defined, and the capacity of the barrel is less than the
•capacity prescribed by Section one of this Act, unless the bar-
rel shall be plainly marked on end and side witb words or figures
showing the fractional relation which the actual capacity of the
barrel bears to the capacity prescribed by Section one of this Act.
The marking required by tMs paragraph shall be in block let-
ters of size not less than seventy-two point one inch gothic.

Sec. 5. That barrels packed with apples shall be deemed
to be misbranded within the meaning of this Act:

First. — If the barrel bears any statement, design or device
indicating that the apples contained therein are "Standard Grade"
and the apples when packed do not conform to the requirements
prescribed by Section two of this Act.

Second If the barrel bears any statement, design or device

indicating that the apples contained therein are "Standard Grade"
and the barrel fails to bear alpo a statement of the name of the

168

variety, the name of the locality where grown and the nattie of
the packer or the person by whose authority the apples werp
packed and the barrel marked.

Sec. 6. That any pp.rson, firm or corporation, or associA.'
tion who shall knowingly pack or cause to be packerl apples in
barrels, or who shall knowingly sell or offer for sale such barrels
iu violation of the provisions of this Act, shall be liable to a pen-
alty of One Ddllar and costs for each such barrel so sold or
offered for sale, lo be recovered at the suit of the United States
in any court of the United States having jurisdiction.

Sec. 7. That this Act shall be in force and effect from and
after the first day of July, nineteen hundred and thirteen.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The Package

The size of the barrel will be found in the first paragraph,
and is now in general use in the barreled apple sections.
The Grade and Sizes

These specifications are found in Section 3. There is but
one grade. This grade is divided into three sizes governed by
the minimum size of the apples in each grade. A limit of tol-
erance of ten per cent is provided to allow for erroi'S in packing.
This means that if you are not more than 10 per cent below the
specifications, your pack is deemed up to the legal standard.

For example, if you pack your apples "STANDARD GRADE
MINIIVnJM SIZE 3 1-2 INCHES" then the apples in the barrel
must be "apples of one variety, well grown specimens, hand
picked, good color for the variety, normal shape, practically free
from insect and fungus injury, etc." (See Sec. 2) or not more
than 10 per cent below these specifications, and must not be less
than 2 1-2 inches in transverse diameter. They may be as much
larger as you desire. Exactly the same principles apply to the
2 1-4 inch and «2 inch size.

Branding

All barrels marked " Standard Grade," etc., must also have
branded upon them (1) the variety, (2) the name of the local-
ity where grown, (3) the name of the packer or person by whose
authority the apples were packed and the barrel marked. (Sec.
5,' sub. second.)

The brand on the head of the barrel should read something
Mke this:

Stan(i*ard Grade Standard Grade

Min. Size 2i/a inches Min. Size 2ys inches

Baldwin or Baldwin

Grown in Western New York Grown and Packed by

Packed by John .Tones John Doe

St. Louis, Mo. Rochester, N. Y.

An opinion from the Acting Solicitor of the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture also advises us that the following or similar
words may be used as a part of the brand "Packed in Accord-
ance with the Act of Congress approved August 3d, 1912."

These words may be worked into a small rubber stamp and
should lend strength to the brand. As the law has not yet gone
iato effect, you are advised to use "Packed in Accordance with."^
etc., rather than "Packed Under the Act of Confires^," etc.

MASSACHUSETTS

FRUIT GROWERS'

ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE

20th Annual Convention

HELD IN

THE AUDITORIUM

SPRINGFIELD

1914

THE GAZETTE PRESS
WARREN, R. I.

OFFICERS OF THE

Massachusetts Fruit Growers'
Association

HAROLD L. FROST, President - - - . - Arlington
FRED C. SEARS, Vice-President ----- Amherst
F, HOWARD BROWN, Sec.Treas. - - - - - Marlboro
H. WARD MOORE, Auditor Worcester

DIRECTORS

ESSEX COUNTY: E. A. Emerson, Haverhill; Fred Ilsley, New-
bury.

SUFFOLK COUNTY: A. Warren Patch, Boston,

NORFOLK COUNTY: George N. Smith, Wellesley; Chas. A.
Wilson, Medway.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY: C. L. Blake, Ashby; Dr. F. Earland
Gilson, Groton; E. R. Farrar, South Lincoln:
Wilfrid Wheeler, Concord; R. A. Hittinger, Bel-
mont.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY: John W. Clark, North Hadley; J. T.
Geer, Three Rivers.

HAMPDEN COUNTY: L. W. Rice, Wilbraham.

BERKSHIRE COUNTY: R. H. Race, North Egremont.

FRANKLIN COUNTY: E. F. Copeland, Colrain; Wm. Davenport.
Colrain; Charles A. Smith, Ashfield.

WORCESTER COUNTY: W. D. Ross, Worcester; H. R. Kinney,
Worcester; Edmund Mortimer, Grafton; H. A.
Cook, Shrewsbury.

OUT OF STATE: J. H. Putnam, Litchfield, Conn., O. M. Pratt,
Plymouth, N. H.

INTRODUCTION.

To those who overcame the embargo placed on the meet-
ing by the terrific weather and the traffic conditions, the
Springfield Convention of 1914 will go on record as a red
letter event. The local committee did their work well and
are certainly to be congratulated upon the results of their
labors. We would especially thank at this time the city
authorities, the Board of Trade, the Hampden County Im-
provement League, the commission houses and all others who
took such an interest in making our stay so pleasant.
Springfield is an ideal city in which to hold conventions,
with all its modern conveniences, its truly wonderful munici-
pal group and its cordial hospitality.

Let us repeat for the benefit of the new ones that each
member is to consider himself a committee of one to show
this report to some interested neighbor, explain the advan-
tages and get him to join, as the larger the membership the
more the Association can accomplish. The Secretary is al-
ways glad to receive memberships at Marlboro.

Our Exhibitors

Owing to the extremely cold weather during the week
of our convention in Springfield the attendance was much
smaller than expected and proved a great disappointment
to the trades people who had the finest trades exhibit ever
shown at a N. E. Fruit Growers' Convention. We owe these
exhibitors much and ask every member to trade with the
following dealers- all of whom bought space of us, and en-
courage them to be present again at our next convention.

Barrels & Barrel Stock,

0. M. Pratt, Holderness, N. H.

Barrel Header and Accessories,
Goodell Co., Antrim, N. H.

Dynamite,

Atlas Powder Co., Boston.

Fertilizers,

The American Agricultural Chemical Co.,

State St., Boston
The Coe-Mortimer Co., 51 Chambers St., New York City

Fruit Packages & Commission Merchants.,

Coles & Co., 109 Warren St., New York City
H. J. Perkins Co., Springfield, Mass.

Insecticides and Spraying Apparatus,

Bacon-Farnum Co., 27 Lyman St., Springfield, Mass.

Bowker Insecticide Co., 43 Chatham St., Boston

Frost Insecticide Co., Arlington, Mass.

The Grasselli Chemical Co., 70 Kilby St., Boston

Interstate Chemical Co., Bayview Ave., Jersey City,N.J.

Merrimac Chemical Co., Boston

B. G. Pratt Co., 50 Church S^t., New York City

Nursery Stock,

J. W. Adams Nursery Co., Springfield, Mass.

The Barnes Bros. Nursery Co., Yalesville, Conn.

Breck-Robinson Co., Lexington, Mass.

Harrisons Nurseries, Berlin, Md.

The New England Nurseries Co., Bedford, Mass.

Stark Bros. Nursery Co., Louisiana, Mo.

The Van Dusen Nurseries, W. L. McKay, Prop.

Geneva, N. Y.

Orchar!i Implements and Spraying Supplies,

Bateman Mfg. Co., Grenlock, N. J., & Springfield, Mass
Brackett, Shaw & Lunt Co., 62 No. Washington St.,

Boston
The Cutaway Harrow Co., Higganum, Conn.
W. & B. Douglas, Middleton, Conn.
Fairbanks-Morse Co., 109 Lyman St., Springfield, Mass.
Fitzhenry-Guptill Co., 49 No. Washington St., Boston
Goulds Mfg. Co., 58 Pearl St., Boston.
International Harvester Co., Somerville, Mass.
Rumsey & Co., 234 Congress St., Boston
Van Nouherys Machine Works, Albany, N, Y.

Seedsmen and Spraying Apparatus,
Joseph Breck & Sons Co., Boston

0. H. Dickinson, 243 Worthington St., Springfield,Mass.
Ross Bros. Co., Worcester, Mass.

Twentieth Annual Convention

OF THE
MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION.

Auditorium, Springfield, Mass.,
January 15, 16 and 17, 1914.

The Twentieth Annual Convention of the Massachusetts
Fruit Growers' Association was called to order at 11 o'clock
a. m. by the President, Mr. Harold L. Frost.

THE PRESIDENT. If the convention will come to
order we will now begin our proceedings. . Unfortunately,
due to the weather I imagine, a great many of our members
are not present who intended to be with us today. Yester-
day the main switch house of the Boston & Maine Railroad
was burned and I understand that not a single train ran into
Boston, and one of our members told me he had to come
across country to Worcester and over the Boston & Albany,
and I suppose a large number who intended to be here, have
been prevented by similar difficulties.

The first address this morning will be by Professor M,
A. Blake, Horticulturist, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, on
"Experiments and Observations with Peaches." We are
very proud to have Professor Blake here, as he was former-
ly a Massachusetts man, and I think we can claim we started
him, even if we didn't finish him up in his career, and we
hope to see him come back and make Massachusetts a good,
big peach state.

There are really only two peach men that we know, —
Professor Blake and Mr. Hale of Connecticut, who I think
is here with us. We hope that Mr. Hale will ask Professor
Blake questions and help lead us in the right direction, so
that we will get a great deal of information.

8

I now have the honor of presenting Professor Blake
who will give us all there is to be known on peaches.
(Applause).

PROFESSOR M. A. BLAKE. Gentlemen, Members of
the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association: It is with a
great deal of pleasure that I address you this morning. I
am reminded of a story, which some of you I know have
heard, A city man was asked to lecture in the country. He
had lived in the country when a boy, and he desired very
much to impress that fact upon his country audience, and
he went on to say that he had been born in the country and
could almost say that he grew up between two hills of corn.
At this point someone in the back of the room remarked
aloud, "Punkin, by Gosh!" (Laughter).

The first fruit growers' meeting I ever attended was a
meeting of this Association in Worcester in the winter of
1903. At that time I was a senior in the Agricultural Col-
lege, and I guess Professor Waugh thought I would learn
more in a day at that meeting than I would in a day at the
college.

EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS WITH PEACHES
Prof. M. A. Blake, Horticulturist, New Brimswlck, N. J.

The New Jersey State Agricultural Experiment Station,
began a thorough study of the peach growing industry in
New Jersey in 1905. The work was commenced by Dr. G.
F. "Warren in the form of a general peach survey of the state
to determine the methods of culture then in practise and to
determine just what problems confronted the growers.

The survey was followed by the establishment of an ex-
periment and demonstration orchard of 1200 trees set at
High Bridge, N. J. in the spring of 1906.

A second experiment and demonstration orchard of 675
trees was established at Vineland, N. J. in the spring of 1906
by the writer. This planting was increased by 534 trees in
1908 and by about 500 additional trees in 1912.

The experiment station assumes the entire control of

9

these orchards and ships the fruit to the large wholesale
markets.

In general the experiments conducted in these orchards
consist of spraying and fertilization tests, pruning and or-
chard heating studies; observations of the effect of the
weather at the different seasons of the year ; notes upon the
behavior of a considerable number of varieties beside prac-
tical and scientific studies of innumerable details of orchard
practise.

The Experiment Station has tried to put itself into a
position where it could offer assistance to the practical
grower upon any of the details of peach culture from its
own direct practical experience as well as from its results
of scientific study.

It is not possible, of course, to give the detailed results
of all of this work in New Jersey in an hour 's discussion and
besides at a meeting of practical growers such as this, I be-
lieve that brief statements of experiences and facts are like-
ly to prove of most interest and value.

THE LOCATION OF A PEACH ORCHARD

In the northern counties of New Jersey where condi-
tions most resemble those of New England a peach crop is
most certain at elevations above 600 feet. This fact was
very clearly demonstrated in 1912. There was practically
no fruit in Northern New Jersey upon orchards that were
below 600 feet elevation, while at elevations from 600 to 900
feet there were good to heavy crops. This condition oc-
curred generally regardless of variety or system of orchard
management and from what I was able to learn, the same
condition prevailed in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
Southern New Jersey was an exception. Special conditions
due to location prevail there so that elevations of from 100
to 200 feet may be equally as satisfactory as elevations of
from 600 to 700 feet in northern New Jersey.

Although a location somewhat above the surrounding
land level is desirable, it should not be one that is exposed
to severe prevailing winds. Orchard operations are much
more difficult in such a case and the danger of damage to
jtrees, flowers and fruits is greatly increased.

10

SOILS
A deep, well drained sandy or gravelly loam soil is be-
lieved to be ideal for peaches. This fruit will succeed upon
a wide range of soils if they are well drained, but by all
means avoid a wet, or poorly drained soil.

SIZE OF TREES FOR PLANTING

There is some difference of opinion as to the relative
value of the various grades of trees for planting.

My experience has been that in general a medium to a
medium large tree is most desirable or, in other words, trees
that will caliper five-eighths to three quarters inch. Larger
trees will make a good growth if dug carefully from the
nursery and are not cut back too severely when set. Trees
three-eighths to one half inch in caliper may make about as
much growth the first season as slightly larger trees, if soil
conditions are favorable. But, on the other hand, if the
smaller trees have been culled out from among the large
trees in a nursery some of them may be naturally weak
trees. The very small trees with small fibrous roots are also
more easily injured if subjected to dry conditions at any
time before they are planted.

DISTANCE APART TO SET TREES

Peach trees are quite commonly planted at all dis-
tances from 15 feet up to 20 feet. Some have also been set
closer than 15 feet apart and also at a greater distance than
20 feet.

The advantages claimed for close planting are that one
has a much larger number of trees per acre and by keeping
them cut back they are easier to spray and harvest the fruit
from and the yield will be as large or larger than from a
smaller number of large trees.

The trees in the Experiment Orchard at Vineland, N. J.,
which was planted in 1907, were set 15 feet apart each Avay
to test out the close planting method. The trees have been
cut back annually to keep them within bounds so they could
be properly cultivated. These trees have cropped regularly
since 1910 and have produced good crops,but I would not
advise practical growers to set trees as close as 15 feet.

11

It is not only a question of greater difficulty in cultivat-
ing and in harvesting the fruit but in a dry season the trees
will suffer more from drought than trees planted farther
apart. In New Jersey we also believe that an important
feature of good orchard management is to maintain the
organic matter in the soil and this is most commonly done by
means of cover crops. Where the trees are set as close as
15 feet it is impossible to produce a good cover crop each
year after the trees come into bearing. Soil conditions and
the locality determine the maximum size of peach trees, but
from my experience I belive that 20 feet each way is a good
distance to plant trees.

There is one orchard at Rancocas, New Jersey with
trees set 22 feet apart each way and the branches touched
about the sixth year. This orchard has also produced some
remarkable crops.

Have sufficient distance between the trees to allow of
good cultivation, the growing of a cover crop and economy
in harvesting the fruit.

A close planted orchard must have special attention,
for if it is negelceted, even for a brief time, trouble is cer-
tain to occur.

VARIETIES

The question of what varieties one should plant com-
mercially is a most important one and success or failure com-
monly depends upon the selection that is made.

In 1899 an inquiry among the peach growers of North-
ern New Jersey showed such varieties as Crawford Late,
Mountain Rose, Old Mixon, Stump and Reeves' Favorite to
lead in popular favor. To-day, the first five to be mentioned
would be Elberta, Carman, Belle of Georgia, Champion and
Hiley with Lola, Iron Mountain and Fox Seedling also in
favor.

The New Jersey station has about 80 varieties under
test at the Vin eland orchard, 40 of which have already
fruited a number of times.

The varieties which have proved to be the hardiest dur-
ing winters of low temperature are Greensboro, Waddell,
Carman, Lola, Alton, Early Wheeler, Hiley, Belle of Georgia
and others of this type. Elberta, Frances and Champion

12

are medium hardy while Early and Late Crawford, Momi-
tain Rose, Reeves ' Favorite and Fox Seedling are tender.

During the past spring, however, other facts in regard
to fruit setting of the peach were noted which may well be
mentioned in a discussion of hardiness. Most varieties of
peaches are self fertile or in other words their flowers are
capable of setting fruit when fertilized with their own
pollen, so that comparatively little attention has been given
to the pollination of this fruit.

Cold, wet, weather prevailed at Vineland, N. J. last
spring during the blooming period of peaches and Greens-
boro failed to set scarcely any fruit. A test of the pollen of
a considerable number of varieties of jDcaches in the labora-
tory showed that the pollen of some remained viable for a
longer period than others and the Greensboro pollen the past
spring was one of the weakest.

OTHER WEATHER TROUBLES
Injury to peach buds and twigs are weather troubles
often experienced by peach growers in localities where low
winter temperatures prevail.

We are told that a late wood growth is the thing most
to be feared in such localities but I believe that a too severe
check to wood growth especially in midsummer is equally
as bad. Much of the winter injury to trees in general fol-
lows a dry summer and fall. Old trees suffer more from
bark splitting and winter injury than young trees. There-
fore maintain cultivation in the orchard until about August
1st, in eastern districts. Georgia and Ontario districts may
vary from this rule.

Twig and bud killing by low winter temperature is
seldom serious in New Jersey in well managed orchards of
hardy varieties but considerable collar rot as a result of
winter injury does occur. This injury is in the form of bark
killing on the trunk at or just below the surface of the
ground. Unless the injury is very severe the trees do not
begin to die until about midsummer when the fruit becomes
shrivelled and the trees gradually die. If the injury is very
slight so that the bark is simply yellowed and spongy the
fruit is often forced up to an unusually large size as would

13

be the case following artificial girdling-. Such fruit can be
detected by the enlarged dots or lenticels. Even slightly
injured trees however are likely to grow weaker each year
and finally succumb to bark beetle and further winter in-
jury.

Mounding up the soil about the trunks of the trees just
before freezing weather in winter is quite eifective in pre-
venting injury of this sort upon well drained soils.

Forced or abnormally large peaches may occur from a
different form of winter injury. Instead of a whole tree
being affected at the collar a single branch or twig may be
injured at some one point in such a manner as to interfere
with the downward circulation of sap, which will result in
unusually large fruit beyond the point of injury.

During the past season in New Jersey healthy peach
trees also bore specimens that were small and sometimes
shrivelled. The unusual feature about this was that these
specimens persisted upon the twigs until the normal fruit
had ripened. Close study of the matter revealed the fact
that the stems of such specimens had been injured by cold
after the fruit had set in such a manner as to nearly shut
off the circulation of plant food into the fruits from the
twigs; only a sufficient quantity reaching the fruits to
enable them to stick to the twigs.

COLOR IN PEACHES

High color in peaches is as important as quality from a
commercial standpoint. It has been shown that the red
color in apples is due largely to sunlight and the degree of
maturity. Peaches are no exception to this rule as one may^
readily determine for himself.

Some Belle of Georgia peaches were bagged at the New^
Jersey Experiment station last spring so that no sunlight
reached the fruit. At ripening time these bagged specimens
did not show a single trace of red color.

The light colored specimens often produced upon young
trees are due to shading by the dense foliage. Peaches in
localities where there is a considerable amovmt of fog or
smoke are less highly colored than peaches grown where
bright days and low humidity prevails.

14

Abnormal colorings in shades of purplish red sometimes
occur following injuries of various kinds.

PEACHES

A considerable number of fertilizer tests with peaches
are being conducted by the New "Jersey station. Among
these is a test of three sources of potash, muriate, high grade
sulphate and kainit. Thus far, however, no apparent dif-
ferences have appeared between these different treatments.

Comparative tests have also been made between stable
manure and nitrate of soda as sources of nitrogen.

Statements have been made that stable manure should
never be applied to the peach orchard. Such statements
should be qualified. Soils poor in organic matter and nitro-
gen can be fertilized with stable manure with good results.
The grower is obliged to use some judgment in orchard
fertilization. If a soil is rich in organic matter and nitrogen,
the application of stable manure might prove to be an in-
jury instead of a benefit.

Chemical fertilizers are more economical than organic
manures in most instances, but their success is dependent
upon a good supply of organic matter in the soil. You may
have an abundance of plant food but if moisture is lacking
the fruit will be small. Fertilization then is largely a mat-
ter of Mdiat your soil needs and what is the most economical
source of suppl3^

INSECT AND DISEASE TROUBLES

As practical growers you may be interested in the in-
'sects and diseases with which we have to contend, in New
-Jersey and what methods of control are practised.

The more common insects causing injury to the peach
are the San Jose scale, peach tree borer and the plum
curculio. The bark beetle only causes injury upon weak
"trees and the peach aphis is not serious. The San Jose
scale is now kept in complete subjection by applications of
lime sulphur.

The best remedy for the peach tree borer to date is a
sharp knife and a piece of wire. Numerous materials have
been suggested for painting the trunks of the trees to keep
out borers but most of these are delusions. Any material

15

which cracks as the bark expands with growth is unsatis-
factory and the bark of the peach is also very susceptible to
injury by such materials as coal tar.

Tanglefoot proved most effective for the first year in
some tests by the New Jersey station, but by the second
year it had also effectively injured the bark upon the trunks
of the trees. Therefore, be cautious about painting any
material upon the trunks of young trees to repel borers and
do not draw conclusions from one season's results.

Good results can be secured against the plum curculio
by spraying with arsenate of lead if favorable winter har-
boring places for the insect about the orchard are cleaned
up as it does not pass the winter in well cultivated orchards.
This insect is rather difficult to kill by arsenical poisons but
by using 3 lbs. of a good arsenate of lead paste to 50 gallons
of water it can be accomplished. A lead containing at least
15 percent of arsenic oxide is required for quick killing.
The first application of lead should be made just after the
petals fall from the blooms and the second when the calyx is
being shed or when the fruit is about the size of a green pea.

The most common peach diseases occuring in New Jer-
sey are leaf curl, peach scab, brown rot, peach yellows and
little peach.

Peach leaf curl is readily controlled by a lime sulphur
spray applied at a strength sufficient to control the scale.
Success also depends upon the time and thoroughness of
application. The disease attacks the leaves as soon as the
green tips appear beyond the bud scales and once inside, it
continues to develop and distort the leaves as they expand
and is then perfectly protected from any fungicide. Spray
before the leaf buds make any growth for effective control.

Peach scab and brown rot are now readily controlled
by applications of self-boiled lime and sulphur. Peach
yellows and little peach are both causing some damage in
New Jersey but they appear to be slightly decreasing at
present. The nature of yellows is still unknown but it will
probably be determined within a few years, as rapid strides
are being made along plant pathology lines.

However it is doubtful if this will help us very much at
first in its control.

16

We can now recognize early stages of yellows and little
peach and we know that they are sometimes distributed by
the nurseries.

The New Jersey station is trying to co-operate with the
nurserymen and is helping them to secure buds free from
disease as far as science can determine this.

The individual trees in the State experiment orchards
are under close observation at all times. Last summer the
station offered to supply buds to nurserymen from trees in
the experiment orchard which were Icnown to be healthy.
Only a limited number of buds could be supplied to each
nurseryman, but this was sufficient to provide stock from
wliich to propagate in the future. Over 30,000 buds were
distributed upon request.

My talk has been a somewhat general one and it may be
that I have failed to go into detail sufficiently. If so, I shall
be glad to attempt to answer any questions which anyone
may have ta ask.

THE PRESIDENT. I think you will agree that Profes-
sor Blake knows his subject, and I hope you will feel free to
ask all the questions you wish. We want to make this a
very informal meeting. Are there any questions?

I\IR. R. W. REES. I would like to ask what form of
nitrogen has proven the most satisfactory.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. I will say that we have used
nitrate of soda in all our experiments. I think there is a
question as to which is the most economical to buy, but if
you use chemical fertilizers entirely, you need plenty of
organic matter in the soil. If the soil is deficient in organic
matter, you can't get the best results with chemical ferti-
lizers, and if you can't get organic matter by means of a
cover crop, it will have to be secured in some other way.

MR. W. D. ROSS. In regard to Tanglefoot on ^ the
bark, I would like to ask the Professor whether he knows
of experiments by putting on paper, and then putting the
Tanglefoot on the paper, and whether that would be any
protection to the bark.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. It might be possible to put on
something that would prevent the injurious material in the
Tanglefoot from going into the bark, but we haven't made

17

any experiments of that kind. There must be something in
the Tanglefoot that is gradually absorbed by the bark and
which is injurious to the peach tree. Tanglefoot is being
used on shade trees, (which have thick bark), without in-
jury, so far as I know, but the bark of the peach tree is
thin and may absorb these materials more easily.

MR. I. I. MARGESON. Is there any injury from
spraying with arsenate of lead?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. We have never had any injury
from spraying with arsenate alone just after the petals fall.
At the time the calyx is being shed we always use self -boiled
lime-sulfur with the arsenate of lead. I think there might
be more danger from the arsenate of lead spray after the
trees are in full foliage, if no self-boiled lime-sulfur were
used, but from the studies in New Jersey it would seem that
there would be no advantage in spraying with arsenate of
lead after the period when the calyx is being shed.

MR. L. W. RICE. Did I understand you that there
was no difference that you could see between sulphate of
potash and muriate of potash? You are recommending the
t.Tse of muriate because it is cheaper, aren't you?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Yes. Of course, it might be
that one of these forms might give somewhat different re-
sults on different soils, but so far, with us, there has been
no difference between the two. I might say that in our
experiments we have limed the soil rather freely where
these tests have been made.

MR. MUNROE MORSE. You spoke of using self-
boiled lime-sulfur for spraying after the trees start in the
spring. Would there be any difference in the result if 1
used a solution of the commercial sulfur?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Our experience with the
solutions of the commercial lime-sulfur has not been satis-
factory. If we used mixtures that were any more concen-
trated than about 1 to 125, we found burning was liable to
occur; and mixtures more dilute than that did not control
the peach scab as well as the self-boiled. I believe the
Delaware Experiment Station will have something new to
report upon the use of concentrated lime-sulfur before very
long; they think they have found the element that causes

18

the burning and claim that if that is corrected, the material
is safe to use even upon peaches. That was the announce-
ment made at Washington in November. With us, a mix-
ture of flowers of sulfur and lime will control peach scab
but will not control brown rot as well as the self-boiled.

DR. F. E. GILSON. I have had some success in hand-
ling borers by digging them out and putting wood ashes on
them, and my neighbors who have made a success of raising
apples have done the same thing, and I have had no trouble.

PROFESSOR BX^AKE. Do your put the wood ashes
in the hole around the trunk and leave them there?

DR. GILSON. Well, it varies. Some of the borers are
from the surface down. I put it above and below, perhaps
three or four inches, a shovelful both sides of the tree.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Several of our growers who
have tried that method have had trouble with the bark
where the ashes went np against it. Of course, some wood
ashes would be more caustic than others, but we are afraid
to use it,

DR. GILSON. I use it very frequently with my apple
trees. I don't know how far I would dare go on small
trees, but on large trees I have had no trouble with it.

MR. KELSEY of CONNECTICUT. What would you
give as the reason for what you term "collar rot"?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. The trunk of the tree where
the bark of the root joins the bark of the top is usually
termed a collar of a tree, and in the case of injury where
the bark dies at the base of the apple or peach tree, the
term "collar rot" has often been applied to that injury. I
think everyone agrees now that the decaying of the bark
largely follows winter injury, whether on apples or peach-
es. We know, in New Jersey at least, that this trouble
practically never occurs unless the bark is first winter-
injured. It become rather yellow and spongy, and decays.

MR. KELSEY. Nearly always on the south, southeast
or southwest side?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. No, I wouldn't say it was
confined to any one particular side. Sometimes the tree is
completely girdled by winter-injury. We do have some
bark splitting occasionally on old trees in cold weather, but

19

mostly it is in the form of this bark killing at the collar,

MR. MUNROE MORSE. When speaking about eleva-
tion, I suppose you meant elevation above sea level?
PROFESSOR BLAKE. Yes. above sea level.
MR. MORSE. Suppose the general level of the ground
was 100 feet above sea level and you had an orchard per-
haps 150 feet above that, wouldn't that be secure from frost
as well as 600 where the general elevation was in propor-
tion?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Not in some seasons. For
instance, two years ago in Huntington County in New Jer-
sey there were no peaches at all at elevations from 200 to
300 feet, — none whatever. Now, at elevations from, say, 600
to 900 feet, there were good crops, and I think this was gen-
eral even in Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia. That
might be called an exceptional season, perhaps, but I be-
lieve that for northern New Jersey a man would do well to
locate at 600 feet or a little higher. Of course, that might
not apply to your localities here. Remember, I stated that
100 to 200 feet in southern New Jersey was just about as
good as 600 feet in northern New Jersey, owing to the
specific conditions according to locality.

THE PRESIDENT. I would like to ask Mr. Hale what
he thinks of New England conditions.

MR. J. H. HALE OF CONNECTICUT. I don't think
any more about such things, because every year upsets my
'Hhink."

MR. MORSE. You spoke, Professor, about crops at
600 to 900 feet. What was the general elevation of the land
at those elevations? Were the orchards placed on hills
rising a great deal above the general elevation, or was the
whole land at that elevation.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Our experimental orchard at
High Bridge is about 700 feet above sea level. It is about a
mile and a quarter from the town of High Bridge, and the
town is about 400 or 500 feet elevation. And orchards
north of us, on the hillsides and high points, were from 700
to 900 feet, and they all had good crops.

MR. MORSE. And they were a good deal above the
general level?

20

PEOFESSOR BLAKE. Yes. There were orchards on
slopes where, at the upper or the highest side of the orchard,
the trees had full crops, and as you went partway down the
slope the fruit was all in the tops of the trees, and at the
bottom of the slope there was scarcely any fruit at all. The
distinction could not be any more marked than it was there
in 1912.

MR. R. H. RACE. Now, we want to get at the practi-
cal side of this thing. If you lived in Berkshire County,
where the thermometer got to 15 or 25 degrees below zero, as
it did night before last, what would you do about setting
out a peach orchard?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Well, I think where the ther-
mometer goes down to 25 below it is quite a lottery. I think
you have a good chance if it doesn't go below 15 or 18, if
you have good elevation.

MR. RACE. We have got elevations from 1000 to
2600 feet.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Well, I couldn't say exactly
what would be the effect of winter temperature at an eleva-
tion of over 2000 feet. I think there is a limit to the height
you ought to go. I would not recommend selecting a loca-
tion severely exposed to the strong prevailing wind, for T
believe you may have as much damage from a strong, high
wind in spring and summer as from anything else, so I
wouldn't recommend an exposed slope where the wind was
very severe. I have seen orchards in full bloom exposed to
a very high wind, and many of the petals would be actually
stripped off by the the high wind. I do think, however, that
elevation is quite important, especially above the general
land level.

MR. E. M. IVES OF CONNECTICUT. I know a loca-
tion in the town of Templeton in this state, where peaches
were grown successfully last fall at an elevation of 1200
feet, which is of course away up above the country around.
I don't know about the year before that. Is such an eleva-
tion in the northern end of the state likely to be a successful
position for an orchard?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. That is a hard question to
answer, as I do not know the conditions of the locality.

21

From my own experience, I would prefer to locate at
elevations from 600 to 900 feet at least, north of central New
Jersey, but there might of course be localities where this
rule would vary, as I know it does in New Jersey. I would
also avoid if possible a very severely exposed side, as I
would be afraid of damage from severe winds and rough
weather under such conditions. I think there must be
growers here from Wilbraham and other points whose ex-
perience would be valuable in answering your question.

MR. IVES. There is a windbreak— I don't recall the
direction — but there is a belt of timber which is higher and
protects it from exposure on the side, I think, that would
be most likely to get the severest weather.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Well, that might help. There
must be men here who are growing peaches as far north as
that at an elevation, who might be able to help this matter
out.

THE PRESIDENT. Is there anyone in the audience
who would volunter any information on the subject?

MR. E. F. COPELAND. I think I have raised more
peaches than any other man in our county, and I am 1200
feet above sea level. Years ago, when I had a small or-
chard, I took pretty good care of it and had good success
15 years out of 17. Yesterday morning was the lowest 1
ever saw it — -23 degrees below at my place — and I am sure
it knocked out the crop, but we have had it very severe,
wh^n it was 16 or 17 below, and we had a good crop, or
anyway enough would come through to give us a fair crop.
J\IR. F. .HOWARD BROWN: I would like to ask Mr.
Copeland wheth.er the temperature was taken in the or-
chard, or at the house. Wasn't the orchard quite a little
higher than the house.

MR. COPELAND. The thermometer will register
about 4 degrees higher where the orchard is at 1200 feet,
than at my building. Now, I can't tell you why, but there
are orchards within a mile and a half of my place that some
seasons haven't had any, when I have had a full crop. It
may be that there is a wind current that helps me.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. I think a good circulation of
air is important in preventing winter injury or frost injury.

22

ME. J. H. HALE. Mr. President, that remark of Pro-
fessor Blake's brought me to my feet. While absolutely-
correct in a broad, general way, and while what he has stat-
ed about elevation is practically correct, there are times
when you don't want too much wind. Within the last 3G
hours, the peach growers of Connecticut who have been
trembling at all, have been those on the elevations, and I
believe if there are any buds found dead when -this thaws
out, we shall find it is on the higher elevations and the live
ones will be in the valleys or less high places or less exposed
places. In more than 40 years of peach growing I have
stood for the high ground, but in that time I have had peach
trees die in the high lands, and crops in the lower lands.
The high wind of the last 36 hours has probably killed them
on the high hills, and not in the valleys, so that you can't
lay down any absolute rule as to location. But as a general
proposition, seek the hills.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Here is another point that
would help out : We know that a good deal of winter injury
comes as a result of drying out the twigs, and if you have a
very cold, very dry wind and the orchard is severely ex-
posed, you may have injury, where, if the air were quiet,
you would not. That is my point in making the statement
that I would avoid a severely exposed location. I would
not recommend a high hill where it is too severely exposed,
because you may have damage, as Mr. Hale points out.

THE PRESIDENT. Are there any other questions?
This will be the last time that we will take up the subject of
of peaches at this meeting.

MR. C. W. CARPENTER. I would like to ask what
form of phosphoric acid the Professor uses for fertilizer.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. We have used several forms,—
acid phosphate, ground bone, basic slag and ground rock.
We have an experiment starting now which is for compari-
son of ground rock, acid phosphate and basic slag. The
trees have only been set a few years, however. In the old
orchard we have used ground bone and acid phosphate en-
tirely upon all the plats.

MR. NORRIS. If you could get plenty of stable
manure, where the bedding was sawdust, would you be

23

afraid to use it on peaches? It is pretty acid, but I tried it
for the humus.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. If it contained a good deal of
sawdust, it wouldn't give you as much organic matter as
though you had straw for bedding. I think that where
anything is applied that might make the soil acid, it would
be desirable to have lime to correct it. With us, lime is
comparatively cheap, so that it may not be quite as much
of a problem with us, but I would not be afraid to use
manure with some sawdust if the soil was well limed.

MR. NORRIS. Using about a ton or so of lime to the
acre?

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Yes.

MR. NORRIS. It costs us about $7.00 here, I think.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. It doesn't cost us over $5.00;
but I believe if a man has a truck crop or some other crop
that needs stable manure very much, he can use it with
better economy on that crop and that if he supplies plenty
of organic matter by means of a cover crop, he can get good
results with commercial fertilizer.

MR. NORRIS. I wanted to use it in the peach orchard.
I didn't dare use it on the vegetable crop, because I have had
too much trouble. I have got to use it on the peaches, or
throw it away.

PROFESSOR BLAKE. Well, the peaches will certain-
ly do well upon a soil that is fairly well supplied with lime.
I think a very acid soil is not so favorable.

THE PRESIDENT. I am going to ask you, if you have
any questions that you would like to have answered, to
write them out and leave them with the Secretary, and we
will have them brought up whenever the opportunity
occurs.

[An adjournment was taken to 2 o'clock. The Presi-
dent announced a banquet to be held on Friday evening,
January 16th and a meeting of the Directors at 1.00 o'clock]

AFTERNOON SESSION

The convention was called to order at 2.00 p. m. by the
President, IMr. Harold L. Frost.

TliE PKESIDENT. Here are some apples which I got
from one of the commission men here in Springfield. I
asked him to show me one of his barrels of apples, and he
showed me a barrel that was put in as a Number 1, grown
in the Connecticut Valley, and I asked him to tip it over for
me. Now, he didn't pick it out, but I picked it out myself,
and it looked mighty fine on top, but the apples in the cen-
tre were like this (exhibiting to the convention a number of
very poor apples). I was wondering what that grower
would do if he bought a barrel of flour and found a peck or
two of wormy flour in the middle.

This same commission man showed me where nails had
been driven into the head to hold the tags on. One of our
members here this morning said those nails were driven into
the head of the barrel so that the apples wouldn't roll
around. (Laughter). Here are some of the apples. (Ex-
hibiting to the convention apples with nail holes in them).
That is what is discrediting the rest of us apple growers
here in New England.

On the right are three barrels of apples which this same
commission man brought here, and one of those barrels
shov/s the apples were put in a flour barrel and the barrel
was evidently never cleaned. Now, when the commission
man opened up the barrel, the apples were covered with the
flour, and the purchaser left without buying.

I won't mention the name of that grov\^er, but it was
given to me, and he is growing nice apples, but is not spend-
ing any time packing them. That barrel on the right was
grown in the Connecticut Valley and bringing $6 a barrel
at wholesale, while that other one they had hard work sell-
ing for $3. We tried to figure the cost of those two barrels.
We figured one with a second-hand barrel at 20 cents and

25

packing, 20 cents, a total of 40 cents; the other barrel we
figured at the price of a new barrel or 40 cents, and the
packing, 25 cents, a total of 65 cents. But the 65-cent bar-
rel sells for $6 and the other, for $3. Now, who is making
the more money? What must a customer think of us when
we pack apples that way !

I also want to show the first Hood River apple I ever
saw that was covered with scale (exhibiting apple to con-
vention). That only shows that they are up against it
almost as badly as we are when it comes to sending out
scaly apples.

I have asked Vice President Sears of Amherst to preside
over this meeting this afternoon, and I now take pleasure in
turning the meeting over to Professor Sears. (Applause).

(Vice President F. C. Sears of Amherst presided during
the remainder of the afternoon session).

PROF. SEARS. Ladies and Gentlemen : The Vice-Pres-
ident is expected to do anything that nobody else wants to
do or has time to do, and that is the reason your President
has turned this meeting over to me, — not because he didn't
want to preside, but because he hasn't time to preside this
afternoon.

As you probably know from the program, the meeting
this afternoon is held jointly with, the Hampshire, Plamp-
den. Franklin Beekeepers' Association, and we are to have a
piogram on the general subject of bees; more particala'-ly,
bees in connection with fruit growing and horticultare.
The iirst speaker this afternoon is Dr. Burton N. Gates of
Amherst, who will talk to you on the subject, "Bees indis-
pensiblc to Modern Horticulture." Dr. Gates, (Applause),
whom 1 take great pleasure in introducing to the meeting.

BEES INDISPENSIBLE TO MODERN HORTICULTURE.

Dr. Burton N. Gates, Amherst, Mass.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : The program, as
the Chairman has said, is more for the benefit of the fruit
growers, yet we find that the beekeepers are becoming fruit
growers, and the fruit growers are essentially or necessarily
becoming beekeepers. It is then, from the standpoint of
the two phases of agriculture that we will consider the sub-
ject this afternoon.

I want first to dispose of the horticulturist's end of the
^ question, the end of it which I shall treat, because Professor
Chenoweth will discuss the advantages of bees in fruits
more particularly. Now, there is one point of view which 1
want to bring forth when talking to beekeepers or horticul-
turists on the importance of bees in any horticultural pur-
suit— using the term in its broad sense — and that point of
view may perhaps differ somewhat from the point of view
taken by many, and is based on a certain broad psychololgi-
cal principle, if I may so term it.

You know that some years, for instance — ^let's take this
city of Springfield, for example — there may be a pest of
house flies ; house flies may be extraordinarily prevalent, or
mosquitoes may be a pest in this section of the country.
Then, in the following year, the mosquitoes will be few in
that same locality. You know, if any of you are hunters,
that in some years game is plentiful and in the succeeding
year the same kind of game is scarce in that same locality.
The same with fish. If you are a fisherman, you know that
in different years the fish may be plenty or few. Two years
ago, for instance, lobsters were scarce and the price was
high ; and this last summer I believe they were more plenti-
ful. It is the same with plant life, — weeds for instance ; and
all this illustrates the point I want to bring out, namely,
that all animal life and plant life is subject to a fluctuation.
It will go up, then decline a little and perhaps come up again
and perhaps decline away down so that it is especially

27

scarce, and then come up again. Now, you can't get away
from this fundamental principle of high and low, the "up"
and the "down" period, because all life has the periods of
"up" and "down."

It applies to the human species as well as to wild life.
For instance, in India human beings are thinned out by
disease or famine; then the disease is suppressed, it has its
"down" period; then the curve of the human race comes up
again, and if that were to be drawn out in a graphic curve,
you would have a curve which would be alternately up and
down.

That principle of "up" and "down" applies particulrly
to the horticulturist, because the average horticulturist de-
pends, even today, for the fertilization of his fruit, for the
pollination of his fruit, upon insect life over which he has no
control and which are subject to conditions, such as hard
seasons or inclement weather or disease, which bring about
this self-same curve of "up" and "down" as applied to the
those insect fertilizing or pollinating agents upon which the
fruit grower so depends.

To sum it all up in a few words, the horticulturist
may plough, he may fertilize, he may thin, he may spray and
do all of those things which are recommended to produce the
best crops, but, after all, isn't it more fundamental that he
should provide for the transferring of pollen from flower to
flower where it is necessary? Isn't that more important
than, or quite as important as, any other branch of horticul-
tural technique.

The thing, then to do, it would seem from the beekeep-
er's standpoint at least, is to control that curve; instead of
allowing it to go up and down, to control it and bring it up
to its highest efficiency, hold it up there, so that the frequen-
cy or number of bees in the orchard or the vineyard or in
the melon patch or the cucumber patch — wherever they are
needed — will be "up" at the highest level, and will be main-
tained there. That is the one point of view in all this dis-
cussion of the relation of bees to fruit growing and vegetable
growing, which I want to bring out very strongly, and the
way for the fruit grower to protect himself is by securing
and maintaining a few colonies of bees — not depending up-

28

on his neighbor's or upon the wild bees which may abound
in the nearby woods.

I want just to outline the various ways in which bee-
keeping is applied to horticulture. There are two or three
new phases of this question. For some years, however,
bees have been quite indispensible in the market crop of
cucumbers which are grown around Boston in the cucumber
greenhouses, and at a very conservative estimate there have
been 2000, and probably 2500 or more, colonies of bees put
into the cucumber greenhouses around Boston, a condition
which is particularly local and almost peculiar to Massachu-
setts. Very few other states utilize any such number of
bees in a particular horticultural pursuit.

This opens up a view of beekeeping in Massachusetts
which is also peculiar to this (state, namely, that there must
be beekeepers to supply this demand ; and I am sorry to say
that Massachusetts men are not holding up t*heir end, be-
cause we know they are buying numbers from New Hamp-
shire constantly, and even from southern localities.

Another use -of bees in Irorticulture is, of course, in the
orchard, and I will show on the screen some orchards in
which bees are kept.

Another utility is in raspberry grov,^ing or small fruit
growing, and that has been recognized.

Up and down the Connecticut Valley here, and else-
where, those who grow cucumbers for pickling purposes —
and it is by no means a small industry — are maintaining
bees or borroMnng from neighboring apiarists, in order to
secure the crops of little cucumbers.

Right here in the vicinity of Springfield is a melon
grower who ships his product to the most important hotels
in the country and who produces annually a large crop.
He told me that it cost him practically $2.50 per colony, and
he uses two colonies a year, and he is able thereby to secure
the maximum crop of melons.

One of the recent adaptions of the industry in horticul-
ture is in cranberries. The cranberry crop is worth at a
conservative figure, at least $1,000,000 a year to the state,
and perhaps even more. Through the work of Doctor
Franklin of the Cranberry Experiment Station Bog at South

29

Hanson, it has been proven that bees are of no slight im-
portance in the setting of a satisfactory cranberry crop.
At least, they apply this fundamental principle of holding
insect life up to its highest efficiency as a pollinizing agent.
Another phase of the utilizing of bees in plant life
which doesn't apply particularly to Massachusetts, but is
especially so in Ontario and perhaps some other localities,
is that it has been found that in oi'der to secure a satisfac-
tory crop of clover seed, bees must be maintained. The
seed growers have found it necessary to have apiaries of at
least 100 colonies of bees about every mile or mile and a
half throughout the territory where alsike clover seed is
grown. A very significant fact comes out in that connec-
tion, namely, that if there are 100 colonies as a centre at
some point, on the first mile radius the clover seed crop is-
the heaviest. After you pass that first mile and come to a
distance of a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half, there
is a lessening of the clover seed crop, and when you reach a
point two or two and a half miles away from the nucleus'
of the apiary, the crop is considerably smaller. So, on that
basis, I was told last winter by a practical grower, the tend-
ency is to place about 100 colonies every mile or mile and a
half, in order to secure the maximum crop of seed ; it is a
great protection.

With these few suggestions, then, concerning the adap-
tation of bees in the growing of plants, I want to turn more
particularly towards the way in which we keep bees ; and
show you, especially those who have not yet commenced to
keep bees, some of the internal mechanism of the bee hive
and demonstrate some of the habits of a colony. We will
then turn to the lantern slides, after which, if you wish, I
will operative this hive as a beekeeper would. It is sup-
posed to contain a colony of bees. I will also show you
pictures which concern the construction of a hive, so that
if you utilize hives, you may know all the superior features
of this hive here.

(Dr. Gates continued his lecture with accompanying
slides)

MR. STAPLES. Would it be best to have them close to-
gether, or scattered.

30

DR. GATES. That is a very pertinent question.
Location was a topic which we hoped would be discussed
here this afternoon, but the speaker, I understood, is ill. I
think that protection of the bees is of the first importance.
The beekeeper tries to locate his apiary where it is shielded
from winds. We know that a wind-swept apiary doesn't
produce honey, and the brood doesn't come there, so if your
orchard doesn't afford more than one place which is near
shelter, the bees had better be located in that sheltered
spot; if, on the other hand, your orchard is very extensive
and you can secure several places in which to scatter the
bees, it will be well to do so. You can work from this
standpoint : We know that bees fly ordinarily two miles
for their honey, and from the experience of those seed grow-
ers in Ontario it would seem that the maximum efficiency
may be obtained at a radius of about a mile, and I presume
there are very few orchards in this locality which would
have to depend on more than a mile radius.

There is another aspect, namely, that the care of the
bees is much easier if you have them focussed in one spot.

I will now open the hive which I have here. It is a
novelty to some of you, perhaps. (Illustrating on hive)
The base on which the hive rests is known as the bottom
board, and there is only one feature in a bottom board
which needs to be emphasied, namely, to have it solid and
of good weather-resisting wood. They are usually made of
cypress. As to thickness, you should specify that the board
be ys of an inch in thickness, reversible, so that you may
liave an entrance % of an inch one way and % of an inch
the other. This is as near standard as anything we have
,been able to obtain.

The hive proper is the brood chamber. The standard
Mve for the country is termed the ten-frame Langstroth
hive, invented by a man from Greenfield and Colrain. The
most satisfactory dimensions will be 16 i/i inches. While
there are both 16 and 16 y^ inch, we recommend the 16 i/4
bcause it gives a little more leeway in operating frames.
An effort will be made at the National Beekeepers' Conven-
tion next month to standardize the Langstroth 10-frame.
which beekeepers ha>e been looking forward to.

31

Then there is what is known as the division board,
merely a thin board which can be shoved around in the in-
side to give more or less frames. You can use any number
of frames by shoving the division board around, and the
hive then serves as an 8-frame, 7-frame, 6-frame or what-
ever you wish. The division board is not very well liked,
by the large beekeeper.

(Doctor Gates here gave a practical illustration of the
correct and the wrong ways in which to reverse the frames
when wishing to examine the other side or end).

One thing I would like to impress upon you, and have
you impress upon your friends, and that is that there is no
such thing as an artificial comb. There has been a prize of
$1000 offered for a good many years for the production of
a pound of artificial-comb honey, and that prize has not yet
been claimed, and probably won't be. There is, however,
a story current that there has been artificial comb produced,
which without doubt originated from the foundation which
is Mr. Manufacturer's foundation. It is pure beeswax run
between rollers, impressed with the six-sided cell, which is
truly a foimdation and is not in any sense of the word a
comb, but merely a basis or septum on which comb is built,
and all the bees do is to draw it out on one side and the
other and build the comb on this support. It is used by
beekeepers to support and strengthen the comb and secure
regularity, as he wants his cells all uniform and regular.

Here is what is known as a full sheet of foundation.
The wires are used to further strengthen the comb and
make it rigid when the bees have drawn it out.

The bee hive usually contains 10 frames. There are
varieties using 8 and 12 frames, and even 13 frames, but the
10-frame hive is standard.

This Avhich goes above the brood chamber, is called the
"super".

Since there is an inherent tendency to store honey
above the brood chamber, beekeepers take advantage of
that and secure honey in the super. It is merely a frame in
which there are these boxes which, as I have said, hold ap-
proximately a pound.

Then there is the section box. Where they secured the
name I don't know, except that they are a section of the

32

super. Each of those section boxes rests in a carrier, so
that you get four sections in a carrier. There are two
shapes'^the square and the oblong. To secure those sec-
tions against separating in any way, springs are placed in
the super.

The cover which we most prefer is the telescope cover,
with a metal roof, but this which we have here is not of that
kind, I am sorry to say, for I would like to show you one.
This which is here will show you why we prefer the tele-
scope cover, for in this form the wind drives the rain in un-
derneath. It is called the gable end cover. To be sure,
there is a bead here which is intended to catch the rain
drops and drip them off on the outside, but it doesn't al-
ways work, because the cover turns and twists. The tele-
scope cover which I mentioned consists of two parts, the
tent which goes inside, and the cover which telescopes
down on the outside, and the roof is of metal.

I will show you how to put the cover on in a manner
which will not kill the bees. (Dr. Gates illustrates on model)

Are there any questions.

MR. NORMAN. How do you keep the hive from blow-
ing away?

DR. GATES. If it is in a windy situation, put a stone
on top.

MR. NORMAN. Does that hold the super in place?
• DR. GATES. Oh, yes, if you use a heavy enough stone.
With the telescope cover, the cover is less liable to blow off.
But nearly every aviary has a stone on top of each hive.
We don't like to have the bee,s kept in a place where covers
are liable to blow off, however.

PROFESSOR SEARS. We will now call on the next
speaker, who will give us an address on ''The Benefits of
Orchards to Beekeepers", and I take pleasure in introducing
to you Mr. Wilbur M. Purrington, of Haydenville, Mass.
(Applause)

33

MR. PURRINGTON. It is fair that both sides of the
subject should be heard. We have had from Dr. Gates a
very entertaining and instructive lecture on the uses of bees,
and you will hear still more from Professor Chenoweth of
the Agric. College on their usefulness to you, so I think
it is well that some orchardist should set forth to the bee-
keepers the benefits of the orchards to the apiaries, as well.

THE VALUE OF ORCHARDS TO THE BEEKEEPER
By Wilbur M. Purrington.

It is my good fortune as a keeper of bees to be located
in the Hampshire foot hills some six miles from Northamp-
ton just across the narrow Mill River from the large fine
orchard of Baldwin apples of Edwin and E. Cyrus Miller;
who Avith their forefathers have been growing apples in that
same locality for more than one hundred and fifty years.

Within three miles of my apiary there is also the farm
formerly owned by Prescott Williams of one thousand trees
famed locally as the big orchard of years ago and at least
ten other farms with orchards of from fifty to three hundred
trees, so that there are within the flight of my bees more
than five thousand apple trees. I am surrounded in May
with apple bloom" as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers."

To the south the hills slope away to the meadows along
the Connecticut river while to the north and west they rise
to ten or twelve hundred feet; and as the trees bloom first
in the lowlands we have a succession of blossoms from low-
lands to highlands prolonging the period during which the
nectar may be gathered.

I am in a position therefore to appreciate the orchard
value to the apiary, and while only an amateur naturalist
have observed for hours and hours with greatest interest in
my apairary of some fifty colonies, the awakening of the
bees with the opening of the fruit bloom, the rush of flight,
the high pitch of the note of wings humming in the hurry,
the emergence of young bees covered with down like a
chicken fluttering before the hives to mark the location be-

34

fore setting off for the fields, and the appearance of the
drones foretelling the coming swarm.

It is easy to see that the great value of the orchard to
the keeper of the bees lies in the added supply of nectar, its
abundance, the season at which it arrives and its delicious
quality; for the honey from the fruit bloom tastes as the
blossoms smell. Men may talk to me of honey from the wild
sage of Colorado, from the eucalyptus of California, from
alfalfa of the middle west, from the wild raspberry of
Michigan, from linden and clover or even from the wild
thyme growing in luxuriance on the slopes of Mt. Olympus,
but the nectar from the apple bloom in these New England
hills has an aroma all its own, superior to every other and
like to nothing else so much as to liquid sunlight in an or-
chard in bloom.

To the beekeeper of any experience the greatest in-
terest centers in the sources of nectar, its abundance, the
duration of the flow and the season when it arrives. No
plant is too small, no tree too large, from the creeping Run-
away Robin of our gardens to the Basswood by the river to
escape the notice and calculation of the keeper of the bees;
who sends forth his messengers everywhither seeking in the
open bloom for the delicate sap that rises about the pistil
of the flower, where it is swept by the hairy tongue of the
bee into a tiny globule, pumped into the honey sac, and
borne homeward to the hive on wings as swift as beams of
morning light. Or if the young in the hive are calling for
food the fielders will visit the flowers for the pollen, robbing
the anthers of their baskets of pollen dust, raking it off with
the front legs and stowing it with restless hurry into the
baskets upon iho Irlnd legs, hastening back they will pack
it into the cells about the brood red, yellow and light green
like butter in tubs ready for the nurse bees to feed the young
with the water brought by the water carriers from the sand
by the brook ; for unlike the leaf eating insects whose young
are reared in the trees and feed upon the tender green, the
young of these wholly beneficent bugs are entirely reared in
the hive to our gain and not loss.

Now to the bee-keeper who has watched the winter sup-
ply ol honey dwindle in the spring when the brood rearing
begiiis in earnest; who has noted too the loads of pollen

35

from the poplar and willows, with the scant supply of sweets
from the maples, dandelion and wild cherry coming in, the
opening of the fruit bloom, beginning with cherries and
pears and on to apples brings relief, content and joy.

For by this time the hives arc filling with young bees
that must be ft^d. . Dajl>, hourly, they arrive; by tens, by
hundreds, by tiiousan-ly and the remnant of winter stores
disappear as by magic.

Now if the orchard bloom be extensive, the weather fair
and not too cold, the activity of the hive is multiplied, food
is gathered in abundance and the surplus honey is stored in
the cells along the tops of the frames and by the sides of the
hive ; the queen stimulated by this richest of food offered
constantly by her attendants is laying eggs like steam, five
hundred, a thousand or twenty-five hundred per day if there
be room, the hive is filled with bees with more hatching or
emerging every hour, the spirit of the hive begins to build
the new queen cells along the frames of comb, the hive pre-
pares for the coming swarm.

If the orchard be large and the weather continue fair
some of this delicious honey may be forced up into the boxes
in the super although this is rarely the case with me.

But the flood of nectar in May has a secondary effect
beyond the amount of honey gathered for the life of all the
apiary has been stimulated to the production of thousands
of bees which will be ready three weeks later for the white
clover coming in the warmer weather of June.

And the mention of clover brings us to the second con-
sideration of the value of orchards for the bees, which lies
in the use of the clovers for cover crops and the use of ashes
for fertilizer which also brings in the clover. The red clover
is often used but is of little use to the bees for the tubes are
so narrow and so deep that only the bumble bee can reach
the nectar at the bottom unless is be very aboundant. On
the other hand the alsike clover offers every advantage of
the red for forage, humus, and nitrogen, and in addition
thereto afford excellent forage for the bees as the tubes are
much shorter.

If therefore the orchardist would consult the interest of
the bees which as you have heard are his very efficient aids,
he will use the alsike in preference to the red and as far as

36

possible give them a chance at the blossoms before plowing
under; for while it may not appear to be of any advantage
to him to have them visit the clover as he does not raise
seed, yet the more that can be done to make strong and pro-
fitable the bees the more there will be ready during the fruit
bloom to insure the setting of the fruit.

The same with the use of ashes or of other orchard
dressing which will bring in the clover, for clover is the chief
source of nectar in this region and were it not for that there
would be but few bees here except those in orchards kept
by the up to date men for the fruit bloom alone.

PROF. SEARS. Are there any questions to be asked
about Mr. Purrington's most interesting talk?

MR. STAPLES. Might I ask the time which elapses
between the laying of the egg and the maturity of the bee?

MR. PURRINGTON. It is three weeks. The egg is
laid, we will say, as soon as the blossoms open, or about the
15th of May; within three days it is hatched into a larva;
eight or ten days more and it is capped over, and emerges at
the end of the three weeks, which brings the date to about
the 7th of June. For a few days then the bee is a nurse-bee,
all downy like a young chicken. In seven or ten days it
comes out of that, so that with the opening of the clover
blossoms, about the 20th of June, we have all those bees
which the fruit bloom has brought.

MRS. HOWE OF MARLBORO. Do you find that the
honey is as good when the bees are feeding in the alfalfa?

MR. PURRINGTON. I have had no experience myself
with that phase of it — I am only an amateur — but I know
some say they will yield very abundantly a very thin, white
honey, which is considered excellent by those who produce
it. But I know well it isn't as good as that from the apple
blossom — it can't be.

MRS. HOWE. It is cut just before the bee is ready to
make honey, and I would like to find out if it would pay to
let it go a little bit longer, whether the value of the honey
would be enough to pay for doing that.

MR. PURRINGTON. It would be to me ; it might not
to them.

37

MRS. HOWE. I would like to know the quantity per
annum.

MR. PURRINGTON. Perhaps you had better ask Mr.
Nichols. His wife's father has carried on some interesting
experiments in regard to clover and other things. But per-
sonally I think it would be fine if you could persuade all
growers of alfalfa to wait until it had finished blowing, be-
fore cutting.

QUESTION. I would like to ask if it would pay to
feed the bees in the spring, before the blossoms come out, so
that when they come out, the apple blossoms would be de-
veloped.

MR. PURRINGTON. There is an objection to that
which all honest men like beekeepers bear in mind, and that
is that their first store in the spring goes into the brood nest,
and when there comes a rush of honey — which increases the
activity of the queen — the bees are likely to take the stores
out of the brood nest to make room for the brood, and carry
it up. When it is cloudy weather and the bees have nothing
to eat, then you have got to feed them, but the almost uni-
versal practise is to feed them in the fall. The comb along
the outside will be filled with stores and many people take
the comb out, put it into an extracting apparatus, where the
top is sliced off, and crank is turned and the honey thrown
out, and you will find it in the tumbler, and then they will
feed 25 or 30 pounds of it in the fall, which is the proper
way, and there is no hazard of getting sugar syrup when
you want honey.

MR. R. H. RACE. I would like to ask what the bees
take away from the plant, in that which we call honey.
They rob the plant of something; what is it? Is it some-
thing which is essential for the growth of the fruit, or can
we spare it just as well as not, with no robbery done, no
loss anywhere?

MR. PURRINGTON. Well, let's take the squash blos-
som, where the bee is easily seen. Standing upright in the
middle of the bloom is the pistil, with the little lump at the
bottom which is afterward the fruit. Right around that is
a little moisture which exud.es, and the bee tumbles in and
disturbs these q^iantities of pollen that are all about in there,
and gets it on himself and carries it off, and with his little

, 38

hairy tongue he goes around in the little tube and sweeps
up the moisture :nto a little globule. That is nectar. It
isn't honey. It is raw; it is not particularly pleasing to the
taste, and that is what he carries away, I never heard of
its bfing termed robbing of the blossom,

MR, RACE, And it don't spoil the fruit?

MR, PTjRRlNGTON, Oh, it adds to the fruit,

MR. RACE. There is the essence of something that
they take away, that they call honey, and if it is there, it
must be essential for something. I don't know much about
it, only it strikes me that they might rob the flower and per-
haps destroy it.

MR. PURRINGTON, Oh, no. It is only like taking
the fragrance from the violet,

PROP, SEARS. That tree has got sense enough to
know that it is a good thing to have bees, and it puts the
honey there to induce them to come there. (Applause).

MR. RACE. Well, we will accept that.

PROF, SEARS. I now have the pleasure of introducing
to you the next speaker of the afternoon, Mr. E. M. Nichols,
who will address you upon the subject "Beginning with
Bees and How to Secure Stock." (Applause).

BEGINNING WITH BEES AND HOW TO SECURE
STOCK

Mr. E. M, Nichols, Lyonsville.

It is a habit to regard bee-keeping from the commercial
standpoint and measure its profits solely by the amount of
honey produced thus many of us have overlooked the real
mission of the honey-bee in life, which is properly to pollen-
ize blossoms.

From an entirely mistaken notion that bees puncture
fruit, some fruit growers have been opposed to the keeping
of bees by their neighbors, and little knew that by so doing
they were injuring their own best interests. If for no other
reason than to insure the proper fertilization of fruit and
other blossoms, every farmer, fruit grower or gardener
should keep a few colonies of bees upon his grounds.

39

There are a great many so-called bee-keepers who have
from one to five colonies of bees tucke^ into some back
corner, and perhaps once or twice a year they are visited,
dug out of the weeds and brush just enough to make sure
that they are not all dead. Now this is by no means a fair
deal. The farmer would not think of treating his stock or
fruit trees in this way if he expected results, consequently,
we should give the bees proper care if we expect results.
Results are measured by care and attention.

It is well to start in bee-keeping on a small scale, and
increasing the colonies as you become more experienced in
the work. In two or three years you will be able to handle
successfully many colonies, whereas at the beginning you
might have resulted in failure.

If it is the purpose to make bee-keeping a profession or
to get a large stock at once, some time should be spent in
the yards of a successful bee-keeper, or avail yourself of the
short course in bee-keeping at the College, under the direc-
tion of Prof. Gates; then the bee-keeper will learn more in
one season than in years of unaided work.

Still another way to start, is for several fruit growers to
co-operate and employ an experienced person who can act
as circuit bee-keeper, going from place to place during the
busy season and caring for the bees. In so doing the or-
chardist would soon acquire sufficient knowledge to enable
him to successfully care for his own colonies.

By all means procure modern hives, as this will make
the work in the apiary much easier, as the frames and other
parts of the hives will be interchangeable, and in securing
new stock for repairs you should have no difficulty in replac-
ing the old. It would be well for the prospective bee-keep-
er to secure a supply of hives and fixtures during the winter
or early spring. This will enable him to get better prices,
and also to assemble the hives and fixtures, having them in
readiness before the rush of the busy summer's work is at
hand.

The standard outfit for the American bee-keeper is the
161/4x20 in hive or ten frame Langstroth hive, supers may
contain 4i/4xiy8inch bee-Avay comb-honey sections.

There are several ways to secure bees. One way is to
buy a hive of bees of a neighbor or dealer, and by the aid of

40

new hives make artificial increase by dividing or shaking
the bees.

Another way is to purchase bees by the nucleus colony,
of three or five frames each ; that is, brood and bees on full
drawn combs, with a queen; and thus increasing full colo-
nies.

A third way is to obtain your bees in the combless
package of two or three pounds each, with a queen ; liberate
them on frames of full sheets of foundation in the- new hive,
and thus increase to full size colony.

By any one of the above methods one can get a much
larger gain or increase in less time by feeding a thin sugar-
syrup each day, by means of some good bee-feeder. This
will stimulate brood rearing and encourage the bees to build
comb very fast; this should be continued until the hive is
well filled. With proper care and favorable conditions I
have made a gain of five colonies in one summer from a
three frame nucleus in the spring.

Owing to the fact that foul brood already exists in a
great many localities, I can fully recommend the beginner to
purchase bees in the combless package. Although this is
practically new, it has been sufficiently tried out by the
large dealers and improvements added from time to time,
so that now bees are being transported successfully from
North to South and vice versa.

I have shipped bees by this method to Prince Edward
Island and Nova Scotia, during some of our hottest summer
weather with a very small percentage of loss.

Whichever way is chosen to start, procure bees from an
apiary in a locality that is visited annually by the State
Inspector of Apiaries, or his deputy.

Of the various races of bees there are none that will
equal the Italians, as they seem to possess in a larger meas-
ure than any others, all desirable traits. They are not only
gentle but of a beautiful color, and are very prolific. They
do not run all over the combs when disturbed as do the
blacks, and they are less liable to be troubled with bee moth
or disease. If properly cared for in the matter of ventila-
tion and shading their hives, they are not much given to
swarming.

MRS. BROOKS How would you divide your brood

41

when you were putting it into another hive?

MR. NICHOLS. I would divide about even.

MR. COPELAND. Perhaps you can give us some in-
formation in regard to alsike.

MR. NICHOLS. In regard to clover, I will say that we
had an old, worn-out piece of land that was worth worse
than nothing to us, because we had to put a cow into it and
we had the trouble of putting her out there in the morning
and then going and geting her in the evening, and we could
have kept her in the yard, which would have been just as
valuable. We plowed that land and gave it a good, thor-
ough cultivation and then started it to clover. We used
sweet colver there, and in the first place we put oh a good
application of lime and used chemicals, basic slag, nitrate of
soda and potash. When this clover was growing, the best
part of the plot, in the low land, was 6 feet and 5 inches
tall. It affored a good cover crop for the l^nd, and, as most
of you know, it takes its nitrogen from the air, and it
brought the land up very quickly. Now, we let it grow un-
til it was nearly through blossoming. It begins to blossom
early and lasts a long while if it is allowed to stand until
the bees get through working it. So we had a double crop
— used it as a cover crop and got the honey too. In regard
to other kinds, I don't know how it would work. I thiuk
that if it were to be used for feed, the farmer would proba-
bly cut it before it blossomed.

MR. WINSOR OF RHODE ISLAND. What do you
mean by sweet clover ? Is it a different variety from alsike ?

MR. NICHOLS. Well, I see Professor Brooks here in
the audience, who is one of the best informed men in the
country, and he will no doubt be glad to answer that.

PROFESSOR BROOKS. The sweet clover is really not
a clover at all. It is closely related to alfalfa. It is not so
valuable for silage or hay as the true clover, although there
are many who say it is not very difficult to teach stock to
eat it. It has, however, a strong, pungent odor which, at
first at least, repels the animals; they don't like it. As Mr.
Nichols has said, it grows to be six feet tall; it is thick
stemmed and pretty woody when matured. It is a valuable
plant for soil improvement or for a cover crop, for renovat-
ing comparatively unfertile soil, and a very valuable crop

42

for honey, as it blooms for a long time and furnishes honey
of fine quality. It is, perhaps, not quite so good as some
white clovers, but it is very good indeed. The honey from
it is light in color ; not quite so thick, not so heavy as that
from white clover, but it has a very attractive flavor. There
are two kinds of sweet clover — the white-flowered and the
yellow-flowered, and the white-flowered is the more valuable
of the two, whether for soil improvement or as a source of
honey.

VICE PRESIDENT SEARS. We will now go back to
where we started, on the question of bees from the stand-
point of the orchard man and Professor W. W. Chenoweth,
Assistant Pomologist at the Mass. Agricultural College at
Amherst is going to talk on "Importance of Bees in the Pol-
lination of Fruits." (Applause).

IMPORTANCE OF BEES IN THE CROSS POLLINATION

OF FRUITS.

Professor W. W. Chenoweth.

In presenting this subject there are three fundamental
principles I desire to discuss and if possible to prove:

1. Cross-pollination of our orchard fruits is always de-
sirable and frequently necessary. 2. The wind is not an
efficient agent in distributing the pollen. 3. Bees are the
all important agents in effecting cross pollination of our or-
chard fruits.

For proof of these statements we must rely upon:
1. General observation, which often times is as reliable as
experiment, depending of course upon the observer. 2.
Results of actual research. 3. Common sense reason and
deductions based upon the above. It is upon the results of
research that I desire to lay greatest emphasis. And an
attempt has here been made to bring together all essential
material relating to this subject that has so far been ob-
tained by our experiment stations. I must beg your in-
dulgence in presenting some of these experiments somewhat
iu detail as it is done for the purpose of placing before you
the conditions under which certain results were obtained

43

and will therefore enable you to form more accurate judg-
ment as to the reliability of the evidence. However, before
attempting to present this data I wish first to discuss briefly
the morphology and physiology of the flowers of our fruit
trees.

The term fruit as it is ordinarily used means the pulpy
m.ass connected with and surrounding the seeds of our
various orchard plants. It develops primarially as a pro-
tection to the growing seeds which are the vital products of
the plants.

Seeds are the result of the union of two unlike cells
known by various names, but for our discussion we may call
egg cell and sperm cell. These cells are produced in differ-
ent organs in the flowers, sometimes in different flowers, more
commonly in the same flower. Our common tree fruits such
as apple, pear, peach and plum produce complete, perfect
fl.owers. Perfect because they contain the essential organs
of reproduction ; complete because they contain all the floral
parts, pistil, stamens, petals, sepal.

The essential organs of the flower are the stamens which
bear the pollen grains or sperm cells, and the pistil made up
of ovary, style and stigma which bear the ovules or egg
cells. These are soft single cells found in the ovary which
is the tube like portion forming the base of the pistil.

When the ovules are ready to be fertilized the stigma
prepares itself for the reception of the pollen. Usually this
is effected by a gellatinous exudation making the surface
stick}^ and forming a medium in which the pollen is readily
caught. This deposition of pollen on the stigma is known
as pollination. When the pollen grain on the stigma pro-
duces its pollen tube, which is an outpushing of the coat of
the cell and this tube penetrates the stigma, passes through
the style, enters the ovary, attaches itself to the egg cell and
when the nuclus of the sperm cell or pollen grain has passed
through this tube and has become fused with the nucleus of
the egg cell then fecundation or fertilization has been
brought about. This stimulus is necessary to start the
growth of the flower parts which ultimately develop into
the seed and fruit.

If these uniting cells, the egg and the sperm are borne
by the same plant, or in the case of our orchard tree fruits

44

by trees of the same variety, the process is known as self-
fertilization and the plant is said to be self-fertile. If, how-
ever, these cells must be from different plants, or as in our
orchard fruits from trees of different varieties the process is
cross-fertilization and the plant is said to be self-sterile.

If plants are naturally self -fertile the question of poUin-
ation is as a rule quite simple ; but if nature demands cross-
pollination the problem becomes more involved. There
must, in most cases, be some means to prevent self-fertiliza-
tion and there must be some agency of transferring the
pollen.

Thomas Andrew Kiiight a famous plant breeder of a
century ago concluded from observation and experiment
that nature intended the crossing of plants of the same
species ; but it required the master mind of Darwin to show
the true value of cross-pollination and to work out the many
interesting methods nature uses to bring this about.

Some of the more common methods by which plants
avoid self-fertilization are; different periods of ripening of
pollen and ovule, difference in length of styles and stamens,
the placing of essential organs in different flowers, but the
most common is the sterility of the pollen, i. e. the pollen
born in a flower is impotent when placed upon the pistils of
same flower or upon a flower of the same pomological varie-
ty.

Since our fruit crop depends almost if not altogether
absolutely upon pollination and consequent fertilization, it
is of vital importance to know the habits of our orchard
fruits with respect to this important function.

Fortunately a few men have seen fit to investigate this
problem and I now invite your attention to a brief consider-
ation of their work.

M. B. Waite*acting with the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture
made the first extended orchard studies relating to this
problem. His first work was with pears and his experiments
were conducted about as follows. Strong manila paper bags
were placed over clusters of buds and by fastening tightly to
fruit spur, all chance of foreign pollen entering was exclud-
ed. In order to offset any charge that these flowers were

►Div. of Veg. Pathology, U. S. Dept. of Ag. Bull. No. 5. U. S.
Year Book 1898

45

under unusually abnormal conditions other clusters were
enclosed in bags of cheese cloth and still others in bags made
of coarse mosquito netting. These last two would permit
of free circulation of air and would not therefore place the
enclosed flowers under unnatural conditions. It might be
stated here that the results obtained from the use of the
three types of bags were essentially the same, at least no
marked difference was noted.

Of the more important varieties tested it was found that
Angouleme, Buffum and Flemish Beauty were reasonably
self-f ertile ; Bartlett, Bosc and Seckel partially self -fertile,
the trees tested varying from self -sterile to 4.4% self -sterile,
while Anjou, Clairgeau, Clapp's Favorite, Keiffer, Lawrence
and Sheldon were self-sterile or practically so as none of
these showed greater degree of self -fertility than 0.4%. It
was noticed in these tests that trees of the same variety
showed quite a wide range in their ability to self-fertilize.
Bartlett for example showed a range of 0.% to 4.4%. This
individual variation is no doubt due in a large measure to
the vitality and vigor of the tree. While these results are
not to be taken as final nor as applicable to all seasons and
localities the very fact that of all the varieties tested more*
than half are practically self-sterile under the conditions,
imposed is rather significant.

The above results obtained in New York are corrobor-
ated by observation and experiment in the old Dominion
orchard at Chestnut Farm, Virginia. This old orchard
originally consisted of some 22,000 standard Bartlett pear
trees and were at the time of this experiment 1892, eighteeri
years old. This orchard had never borne a full crop. The
largest crop was an average of three pecks per tree. Blight, ,
root rot and other causes had removed about one sixth of
the original planting. These missing trees, had in the earlier
history of the orchard been replaced. By mistake, in re-
planting, two Clapp's Favorite and a Buffum had been set
among the Bartletts. Also near by were a few old trees,
the remnants of a former variety pear orchard which had
been very productive and because of this the larger planting
had been made.

The Bartlett trees near the old variety orchard and those
near the two Clapps and Buffum always bore good crops

46

when there were any pears in that section and the drooping
branches of these trees testified to the truth of the mana-
ger's statement respecting this. The same experiments were
tried here as in the New York orchards. Also much cross
pollination by hand was done. In no case where Bartlett
pollen was applied to Bartlett pistil did fruit set, while a
very large per cent of the flowers cross-pollinated set fruit.

Mr. Waite also investigated the apples, using the same
methods as with pears. He found that a very large per
cent of the varieties were either self-sterile or only partially
self-fertile.

Mr. Fletcher's * work extending over a period of three
years in both Michigan and West Virginia corroborrates
Mr. Waite 's results with respect to Keiffer and Bartlett
pears. Mr. Fletcher confined his efforts to these two varie-
ties and the results from the thousands of blossoms experi-
mented with should be conclusive. Neither of these
varieties show sufficient self-fertility to warrant setting
them without provision for cross-pollination.

In 1897 Professor Waugh at that time with the Vt. Exp.
Station **began a series of experiments with plums to
determine if they were self-fertile or self-sterile. Some of
this work was done in Vermont and some in the large
'Orchards of Mr. Kerr of Denton, Maryland.

His method of procedure was essentially the same as
that of Mr. Waite. Large clusters were enclosed in paper
l^ags. When the pistils were receptive some of the bags
were removed and the flowers hand-pollinated with the
pollen found in the bag or in enclosed flowers. The remain-
ing bags were allowed to remain until petals had dropped.
No appreciable difference was noticeable in these two
methods of treatment. Altogether some 55 varieties of
native and 5 varieties of Japanese plums were tested. The
results show that for all practical purposes all species of
native plums are absolutely self -sterile, and while it is gener-
ally believed that some varieties of the Jajaanese group are
self-fertile the varieties here tested were self-sterile. All

*Va. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1909-'10.
**10th, 11th and 12th An. Rept.

47

general observation confirms this conclusion especially re-
garding certain species of native plums.

Professor Waugh's studies in pollination also included
the apple. The method of procedure was essentially the
same as with the plums. Of the varieties studied, Baldwin,
Esopus, and Fameuse showed some degree of self-fertility,
while Ben Davis, Rhode Island Greening, King, Spy, Red
Canada, Wealthy, Westfield and Williams proved to be self-
sterile.

In the spring of 1898 Prof. Lewis' * of the Oregon
Experiment Station began the investigation of the apple.
His method was practically the same as that of Professor
Waugh except that in each case the bags were removed
from one half of the cluster when the pollen was ripe and
the pistils of the flowers were hand pollinated, using the
pollen from the enclosed flowers. The bags were then
returned to keep out any foreign pollen. The remainder of
the bags were left untouched until the petals had fallen, at
which time all of them were removed. In addition to this
work in self-pollination much work was also done in cross-
pollination. Altogether results were secured from 87
varieties, 59 of which were found to be self-sterile, 15 self-
fertile and 13 partially self-fertile.

Of the varieties important to the New England fruit
grower Baldwin, Ben Davis, Esopus, Fameuse, Grimes and
Newton were either self-fertile or partially so, while Graven-
stein, Jonathan, King, Maiden Blush, Rhode Island Green-
ing, Tolman and Wealthy were self-sterile.

The only difference between the above results and those
obtained by Prof. Waugh are a larger set of fruit in the
self-sterile sorts and self-fertility of the Ben Davis which
was reported self-sterile by Prof. Waugh. This difference
only serves to emphasize the statement that the degree of
self-fertility of any variety is subject to variation depending
upon vigor, location, season, etc.

Senator Dunlap **one of the large fruit growers of
Illinois says that in his state where there are many large
orchards of 40 to 80 acres of a single variety seldom or never

*Ore. Exp. Sta. Bull. No. 104.
♦♦2nd. An Rept. Mo. State Board of Hort.

48

boar large crops, while mixed orchards in the near vicinity
often produce bumper crops. He further states that where
orchards are set in small blocks of different varieties that
the first and second rows along side another variety bear the
larger crops and that the crop decreases toward the center
of the block.

V. R. Garner^of Oregon investigated the sweet
cherries in 1911, 1912 and 1913, and reports that of eleven
varieties studied Lanbert and possibly Knight may be classed
as self-sterile. Wood, Elton, Rockfort and Windson are
partially self-fertile and Williamette, Napoleon, Coe, Bing
and Black Republican are self-sterile.

Dr. Whittengof Mo., Prof. Beachgof N. Y., Prof.
Sternes, Ga., Prof. Reiner^of N. C, and others have shown
through exhaustive trials that a large percent of our grapes
are incapable of setting fruit unless cross pollinated. This
is especially true of the native- Vinifera hybrids and the
Muscadines.

The general opinion seems to prevail that peaches and
European plums are self-fertile. There is little actual data
outside of general observation to be had relating to these .
two groups of fruits.

Fletcher reportSgas a result of experimental work and
from reports of several hundred fruit growers that of the
European plums. Golden Drop, French Prune and Italian
Prune are risky being variable in their power to self-ferti-
lize. Of the peaches Susquehana is classed with the above
varieties of plums, while Gold Drop is classed as self-fertile.

The effect on the fruit itself resulting from cross-ferti-
lization was investigated quite thoroughly by many of these
men. Waite and Fletcher agree that the si^e and form of
the pear is modified by crossing and that the normal typical
fruits and usually the finest and largest specimens even in
self-fertile varieties are crosses. Both Waite and Lewis
studied the effect of crossing the varieties of apples. Waite
found that the unsatisfactory character of the fruits

1 Ore. Exp. Sta. Bull. No. 116.

2 Univ. of Mo. Bull. 46.

3 New Yark Exp. Sta. Bull, 157, 169, 223.

4 North Carolina Ag. Exp. Sta. Bull. 209.

5 Cornell Exp. Sta. Bull. 181.

49

obtained from self-pollination was even more pronounced in
apples than in pears. The crosses correspond to the better
specimens in the tree while the self-fertilized fruits corre-
spond to the undersized, poorly colored specimens. Prof.
Lewis goes a step further and gives actual figures obtained
from comparison of a large number of specimens. The
following table shows the effect of cross-pollination of the
Yellow Newtown a self -fertile variety, and Esopus a partialy
self-fertile variety.

EFFECTS OF CROSS-POLLINATION
Ore. Exp. Sta. 1908.

Ne^vtown

Pollination

Av. wt.

of fruit

Seeds

X self

73

grams

.05

grams

X Bellflower

104

"

.40

"

X Esopus

147

"

.66

"

X Jonathan

162

"

.65

"

X Grimes

173

"

.60

"

Esopus

X Self

100

.13

X Newtown

126

.65

X Ark. Blk.

128

.68

X Jonathan

144

.70

X Baldwin

157

.71

No comment on the above is necessary as the figure.?
speak plainly enough.

AGENTS OF CROSS-POLLINATION
While working on the problems of self -fertility of the
various orchard fruits some of the investigators also made a
definite study of the means used in bringing about cross-
pollination.

It has been mentioned that Mr. Waite used a coarse
mosquito netting for covering pear blossoms ; such a covering
would not materially interfere with cross-pollination if the
wind disturbed the pollen, but would, if properly adjusted,
exclude insect visitors. His results show no variation from
those in which the clusters were enclosed in paper bags.
Fletcher used this same covering for large trees and while
a few more fruits were set than on trees covered with sheet-
ing he attributed it to the fact that where blossoms were
closely pressed against the netting insects were able to cross-
pollinate them.

50

Prof. Waugh also used the mosquito netting in his work
with plums. His records show no variation from those
obtained where paper bags were used, except in the ease of
the Cumberland which set two fruits, and these he maintains
were the result of insects as some of the blossoms were found
pressed closely against the netting.

Prof. Waugh also prepared glass plates 1x3 inches by
smearing one side with vaseline. These were exposed in the
plum orchard and later a count made of the pollen collected.
The first column in the table designates the glass plate, the
second the distance from a tree in full bloom, the third its
position and height from the ground, H meaning the plate
had a horizontal position and V that it was vertical to the
tree and facing the wind, the fourth the length of exposure
and fifth the amount of pollen both as single grains and as
masses.

WIND AS AN AGENT IN CROSS-POIiLINATION.
Vt. Exp. Sta. 1900.

Distance Position Time of Amt. of pollen

Plate No. from tree and height exposure grain, mass.

A

10 '.

H.

6 ft.

24 hr.

0 0

B

15

V.

6 "

24 "

1 0

C

10

V.

6 "

24 "

25

D

under tree

H.

0 "

2 "

0 1

E

8

H,

2 "

20J "

7

Most of the pollen found on the plates was in the form
of masses rather than single grains. This shows its sticky,
doughy nature, also its non-adaptability to being carried by
the wind.

Prof. Lewis repeated this experiment in his work with
apples with results as shown in table below.

WIND AS AN AGENT IN CROSS-POLLINATION.
Ore. Exp. Sta. 1908.

No. Pollen grains
Slide No. Dist. from tree Height of slide after 24 hlours

1

4

OD

I ground

16

2

12

6 ft.

9

3

15

4 "

11

4

15

6 "

8

5

20

9 "

6

6

30

6 "

7

51

Keeping in mind the relative size of a stigma and one or
these glass plates one can readily see that if the fruit crop
depended upon cross-pollination by the wind the chances for
a bumper crop would be remote indeed.

Still another experiment tried out by Prof. Lewis shows
rather significant results. A seven year old tree having
1500 blossoms stood about 20 ft. from trees in heavy bloom.
The flowers of this young tree were emasculated (i. e. all
floral parts, except pistils "^ere removed.) The result was
that five fruits set on the tree. A watch was kept on the
tree to see if insects visited it. During the time when the
pistils were receptive eight bees visited the tree, while more
than twice that number were seen in a half hour on another
tree 20 feet distant.

Scientists have long pointed out the fact that those
plants which depend upon the wind to bring about cross-
pollination are as a rule distinguished by having an abun-
dance of powdery pollen, by the absence of nectar glands and
also by having flowers that are not showy. While on the
other hand those plants that depend upon insects to bring
about cross-pollination are characterized by having showy
flowers, nectar glands and sticky or doughy pollen. Also
many of these flowers emit a perfume. Whatever value, if
any, may be attached to this generalized statement it- is
curious to note that the plants under discussion, the orchard
fruits, without exception belong to the last named class,

INSECTS AS POLLINIZERS

The foregoing experiments indicate quite clearly that
the wind cannot be depended upon to bring about cross-
pollination of our orchard fruits, consequently with its
elimination it necessarily follows that this important work
must be done by the insects found in our orchards at bloom-
ing time.

Prof. Waugh kept a record of the various insects seen
visiting the plum blossoms. In 1898 twenty-eight species
were counted ; of these eighteen species were Hymenoptura
or bees. In 1899 there were sixteen species of which seven
were bees or their allies and nine species of flies. While no
actual figures are given the general statement is made that
of all the species the honey-bee is by far the most important.

52

Mr. Gardner in reporting his work on sweet cherries
cites the case of an orchard which had not as yet produced
a heavy yield. The crop of 1912 was 13 tons. Acting upon
his recommendation the owner of the orchard in 1913 cut
branches from seedling cherry trees at blooming time and
placed them in buckets of water throughout his cherry or-
chard. In addition to this several colonies of bees were
placed in the orchard. With no better season and with the
trees only one year older the crop was 39 tons. Mr. Gardner
in commenting on this attributes a large part of this in-
creased yield to effective cross-pollination and bees as the
agent.

Mr. F. Howard Brown, Sec'y of this Association writes
me that the severe winter of 1911 and 1912 together with
foul brood very greatly reduced the number of bees through-
out the state. In his own case only one colony survived.
In the spring of 1912, the weather during blooming time was
cool, cloudy and rainy, with only short intervals of sunshine.
During these short periods of sunshine the bees would come
out and visit a nearby cherry tree, but would not venture
into the peach orchard some 300 feet distant as only one
honey bee and a few bumble bees were seen among the peach
blossoms.

This colony of bees was moved into the center of a small
block of peach trees so that when they did come out they
would work upon the peaeh blossoms. The result was these
trees set all the crop they could carry through the following
dry season. While other peach orchards that bloomed
equally well, but did not have bees in them failed to set a
crop.

Mr. Brown feels confident that this single colony of bees
is responsible for his 1912 peach crop in this particular or-
chard and recommends all fruit growers to keep bees as a
sort of insurance.

By carefully studying the habits of bees during the
blossoming time of our orchards the Ohio Experiment Station
has been able to give us a rather definite idea of the amount
of work that may be accomplished by a single colony of
these useful insects.

53

TABLE SHOWING ACTIVITY OF BEES AT BLOOMING TIME

OF PEACH AND CHERRY.

Ohio Exp. Sta.

Outgoing Returning Loaded Loaded
workers workers with with
Time No. hive per min. per min. pollen honey

8.30—9 A. M.

1

35

30

22

8

2

40

31

20

11

11.30—12 "

1

40

42

8

34

2

-48

51

5

46

2.30—3 P. M.

1

78

81

2

79

2

84

95

2

93

When we remember that the bee may visit several
flower clusters in a minute^ we realize that thousands of
flowers will be visited by the workers of a single colony in a
day. They cost the fruit grower nothing. They take from
his trees nothing that he can utilize and they render a ser-
vice invaluable.

By actual count in orchards, favorable located, the
honey bee has been found to outnumber all other insects 20
to 1. This is no more than we should expect if we remem-
ber that the common bees are the only insects that live
through our severe winters in considerable numbers. At
blooming time colonies of bees number around 15,000 while
practically all other insects which have been so reduced in
numbers that only eggs or single females successfully passed
through the winter have not had sufficient time to multiply
and produce large numbers. And herein lies one of the very
strong arguments in favor of the honey bee.

While flies, butterflies, moths, ants and beetles are us-
ually found in our orchards it is quite generally believed that
these accomplish little or nothing in the way of cross-pollin-
ation. The flies, butterflies and moths are often seen hover-
ing about the flowers or reposing upon them, but they do
not burrow doA\Ti into the flower for the nectar nor crawl
around over the stamens and styles collecting pollen as do
the bees. Nor do they confine their attention to any one
species as is the habit of the bees, which by the way is one
of the very strong recommendations of the honey bee as an
agent in cross-pollination. The smooth bodies of ants and
beetles totally unfit them for cross-pollination though they
may be useful in self-pollination.

54

The value of the honey bee to the orchardist is contin-
ually increasing. Modern methods of orchard care tend to
destroy large numbers of the wild insects — spraying, prun-
ing, and clean culture which are now the rule in all well
ordered plantations render insect life in the orchard more
precarious than formerly. As long as men were content to
grow a few mixed varieties of fruits in the back yard or
along stone walls, th6 wild bees, other insects and neighbor-
ing apiaries were capable of effecting cross-pollination — at
least after a fashion. Now, however, with the development
of large commercial orchards this task has grown beyond
these casual agents and if profitable crops are produced
adequate provision must be made for a thorough cross-pol-
lination.

The spraying of fruit trees while in full bloom has given
rise to much discussion between bee men and fruit growers,
and as a result many states have enacted laws forbidding
this practice. The bee men have maintained that their bees
were badly injured if neighboring trees were sprayed with
arsenical poisons at blooming time. "While the fruit men
claimed various advantages and belittled the complaint of
the bee men as of secondary importance as compared with
the fruit interests.

General observation has as a rule shown that the bee
men were in the right, and instances are noted where great
damage has resulted to bee owners. All the research so far
made corroborates this. The Ohio Exp. Station* has se-
cured results which warrant the conclusion that bees may be
and frequently are injured by spraying blossoming trees
with arsenicals. Not only are adults that visit the sprayed
blossoms killed, but the nectar and pollen carried to the hive
has been known to destroy both the adults and the brood
resulting quite frequently in the destruction of whole
colonies. ,

Prof. Beach**found that spraying apple trees with
arsenicals while in bloom often resulted disastrously to
bees. Both adults and brood being poisoned. It was also
shown that the application of spray mixtures to open

*Bull. 68.
**N. Y. Exp. Sta. Bull. 196. 27th.

55

blossoms may stop the further development of the flower
and might under certain conditions seriously reduce the
crop.

SUMMARY

A thoughtful consideration of all the evidence before us,
it seems to me, fully warrants the following general con-
clusions :

1. All tests wherever made and all general observa-
tions agree that many varieties of apples, peaches, pears,
plums, sweet cherries and grapes are unable to set a crop of
fruit when limited to their own pollen.

2. Some varieties of the above named fruits are partial-
ly self-fertile and a few are apparently wholly self-fertile
though the degree of fertility varies between rather wide
limits depending upon location, season, vigor of tree, etc.

3. All investigators agree that as a general rule the
fruit resulting from crossing even in self-fertile varieties is
larger and better developed than self-fertilized fruit. This
is explained by saying that foreign pollen furnishes a
greater stimulus to growth because it is more acceptable to
the pistil and not because it transmits size character of the
variety from which it came.

4. All evidence at hand contradicts the theory that the
wind renders any dependable assistance in bringing about
cross-pollination among the above named orchard fruits,
while it does emphasize the importance of the honey bee as
an agent in rendering this great service to the fruit groewr.

5. It has been shown beyond dispute that spraying
open blossoms with arsenical poisons is injurious to bees.
The orchardists who persist in this practice secure little if
any benefit which would not result from either an earlier or
a later application. Also he runs the risk of injury to the
unfertilized open flowers in addition to leaving thousands of
poisonous cups which kill the goose that lays him golden
eggs.

6. The character of the weather at blooming time is the
final determining factor of the fruit crop. Cool, cloudy, or
rainy weather at this season not only affects the development
of the pollen, the growth of pistil and consequent develop-

56

ment of ovules, but the action of insects is also reduced to
the minimum, thereby lessening the chance for cross-pollina-
tion. It has been shown that excessively cool weather at
blooming time often renders self-fertile varieties incapable
of self-fertilization though they still retain the ability to be
cross-fertilized.

In conclusion it seems safe to say that the fruit grower
cannot afford to make very extensive plantings of any of
the orchard fruits under discussion without making pro-
vision for abundant cross-pollination. This is most easily
and practically done by choosing commercial or standard
sorts that will bloom at approximately the same time, setting
these varieties in small blocks of only a few rows each and
by establishing a few colonies of honey bees near or in his
fruit plantation.

MR. W. M. PURRINGTON. How many hives ought
there to be in an orchard of, say, 100 trees?

PROF. CHENOWETH. I don't know that I can
answer that very definitely, but I have heard it stated that a
colony of bees to 50 trees would be plenty. It would per-
haps be better if you had more bees than that. I should
think one colony to 50 trees would be satisfactory.

MR. PURRINGTON. Even in cold and cloudy weath-
er?

PROF. CHENOWETH. No ; probably not under those
conditions. Then you would probably need more bees, and
1 think that in that sort of weather you would want your
bees scattered, because in weather of that kind the bees
won't go very far from home, and if your fruit plantation is
very large it would be better to have the bees distributed
over the plantation.

I will refer you to the experience of the Secretary of
this Association as given in my paper, which will explain
some points — this last one, at least.

MR. PERKINS. I would like to ask if you have pub-
lished, or if there is any bulletin which will give practically
up to date, substantially what you have said, as well as any
other late experiments on this whole subject?

PROF. CHENOWETH. There are bulletins from the
Oregon Station; the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Annual Re-

57

ports of Vermont ; the New York Station has published two
or three. The one from Oregon is the latest, and has been
published and distributed within the last six weeks or two
months.

MR.PERKINS. Thank you. Now, I want to ask an
abstract question, on pears. What would be the effect of
planting 500 Beurre Bosc trees all by themselves? I have
an orchard of several thousand trees and was thinking of
putting in some Beurre Boscs. They are sterile, as I gather
from your figures. What would you suggest as some other
pear tree to use for purposes of cross-pollination ?

PROF. CHENOWETH. If I were going to plant 500
trees, I don't believe I would want to put them in solid
blocks unless I had many others growing near. If you have
others near, you would perhaps get a fair degree of cross-
pollination, but I should think you would get better results
if you alternated, with probably two or three rows of
Beurre Boscs and then a row of, say, Anjou,

MR. PERKINS. I want to get something in the way of
a -fall fruit.

PROF. CHENOWETH. The Bartlett is seK-sterile. It
doesn't follow that it won't cross-pollinate, because it does,
but it won 't pollinate itself. Th6 Bosc would also pollinate
your Bartletts; also the Bartlett and Seckel cross-pollinate
very nicely.

QUESTION Could you tell me anything about experi-
ments on, for instance, the Northern Spy, as to what any
experiments have shown as to their being self -pollinating?

PROF. CHENOWETH. That is a self-sterile variety.
Professor Waugh recites a case of a large orchard in Ver-
mont that never has borne a paying crop. It is a large, old
orchard, and he attributes it entirely to the fact that the
only other variety planted in the orchard is the Rhode Island
Greening, and that blossoms and is gone before the Spy
comes into blossom. The Spy is a late-blooming variety,
and in order to cross-pollinate that, you have got to get some
varieties that would blossom rather late. We have no record
at the College of the blossoming period of the Spy, but wa
have of Ben Davis and Baldwin, York, Wealthy, Mcintosh
and a few more, and they all blossom at approximately

58

the same time. If there is someone who is familiar with the
blossoming habits of some late ones, I should think you could
get those and that you ought to have some of those with
your Spy.

In regard to the Bosc, it doesn't necessarily follow that
because it was self-sterile in New York, that it would be in
Massachusetts, but it is risky.

QUESTION. The way to do is to try, I suppose..

PROF. CHENOWETPI. No. I think the way to do
would be to provide for cross-pollination.

QUESTION. With a fairly large variety — say a dozen
or fifteen standard apple trees — would we stand a pretty
fair chance of ^getting some ourselves ?

PROF. CHENOWETH. Yes, you would have abundant
opportunity for that.

QUESTION. It is an extremely interesting subject, and
I have found it difficult to get anybody that seemed to know
much about it.

PROFESSOR SEARS. This gentleman has asked
where he can get certain information. I would suggest that
if he joins this organization, he will get all of this from the
reports we send out.

QUESTION. Will it have these very figures?

PROF. CHENOWETH. Yes ; and I have given also the
authorities from which I have taken the figures, or which I
have consulted in preparing this paper. That, I think, will
be the most valuable part of it, because you can go then to
your source and can get it in much greater detail than I
would attempt to present to you here.

MR. NORMAN. I would like to ask the speaker if there
is anything in the idea that bees follow flowers of one color,
and if it might be that, if you let the cover crop blossom at
the same time as your trees, the bees would neglect the fruit
and go to the cover crop.

PROF. CHENOWETH. I think Mr. Purrington can
answer that.

MR. NORMAN. I ask that question because of a specif-
ic instance. We have a pear orchard of perhaps four acres
in extent and have a cover crop in which rape predominates.
This spring we failed to plow it until after it blossomed. It
has big, yellow flowers, and lots of them. It blossomed a

59

little bit ahead of the pears and it continued to blossom until
the last of the season of the pear blossoms, and the bees be-
gan to work on the rape and they seemed to continue to
work on it, and we had no pears. We set the orchard with
special reference to crossing by the use of Bartletlis and
Seckles and others all through the orchard, but still we had
no pears to speak of.

MR. PURRINGTON. The gentleman's observations
seem to have covered that point pretty closely. I am only an
amateur naturalist, but I am sure that the bees will leave
everything else for fruit blossoms. They will leave the
dandelion, they will leave the honey locust, which is very
attractive to them, and go to the fruit blossoms, so that T
should say that in almost every case they would take the
fruit blossom rather than anything else. They will leave
honey exposed in the field, or .syrup, and go to the fruit
blossom in preference.

PROF. SEARS. You will have to get a pear with a
yellow blossom. (Laughter.)

PROF. CHENOWETH. I may be able to add a little
to this. The pear blossom has a little offensive odor, and
when the apples come into blossom bees will leave the pear
and go to the apples. The possibilities are that this rape
appealed more to them than the pears did.

MR. NORMAN. I had gone away from the place dur-
ing the pear blossoming period and I had no personal
observation of it, but the men said the bees were thick in
the rape when we supposed they would be thick on the pears.

MR. PURRINGTON. Then the rape spoiled the pears.

PROF. BROOKS. I would like to add a word which
bears on this subject. Bees know their business thoroughly,
and they never fail to work on what gives the most product
for a given amount of exertion. They don't hesitate to
change at once. Now, red clover contains much more nectar
than does alsike. Ordinarily, as one of the speakers has
said, the bees cannot reach it, but in those days which make
humanity "wish it could take off its flesh and sit in its
bones," when the air is full of humidity, when there is no
wind and the weather is hot day and night, and the red
clover is in bloom, then the nectar rises up high in these

60

tubes, because the air is too wet to let it evaporate, and the
ordinary honey bees can get the nectar out of the red clover.
T have watched certain hives, and they have stopped working
on the alsike and devoted their attention wholly to the red
clover. But when the wind changed and went into the west,
and the sun came out, that nectar fell somewhat and they
went back again into the alsike. I suspect that in this par-
ticular case the bees could get more honey for a given
amount of horse power, or ' ' bee-power, ' ' from the rape than
they could from the pears, so they stuck to the rape.

MR. STAPLES OF CONNECTICUT. What is the
effect on bees of spraying for the codling moth, just as the
petals are falling? Is it dangerous?

PROF. CHENOWETH. I think it is conceded that
there is no danger when the petals have fallen, but there is
considerable danger there when they are falling and a con-
siderable portion of the petals are still on.

MR. E. M. IVES OF CONNECTICUT. Do those bulle-
tins you have referred to from Oregon relate to cherries,
also?

PROF. CHENOWETH. Yes.

MR. PERRY. I would like to state that in a raspberry
patch I believe bees are essential. I would like to find out
if possible how many hives I would best put on an acre.
There aren't enough bees in the patch to thoroughly pollinate
and get a full crop.

MR. PURRINGTON. I am growing raspberries, too, in
a small way, and I know something of what the problem
would be. The raspberry bloom comes at a time when the
weather is fair and consequently they have a good oppor-
tunity to visit its bloom. I should say that three colonies
to an acre would be abundant.

MR. PERRY. Then on gooseberries, too. There is a
great deal of pollen to them.

MR. PURRINGTON. Well, gooseberries come earlier.
I should say the same bees would cover them, as well.

MR. PERRY. But it is very apt to be colder.

MR. PURRINGTON. Yes, that is so.

MR. PERRY. Then, on the strawberry patch, what
about that?

MR. PURRINGTON. My notion is that you would want

61

more for strawberries. They come earlier; and it is more
essential, isn 't it, that you should have thorough pollination ?

PROF. CHENOWETH. Particularly if they are im-
perfectly flowered.

MR. IVES. You spoke about one colony to 50 trees,
a while ago. You didn't state how large those trees would
be, but did you mean trees 20 feet high and 20 feet broad,
or 5 feet high? Will you give some definite or average age
or size, or "bee capacity?"

PROF. CHENOWETH. Trees of, say, 20 or 25 years of
age.

MR. COPELAND. I am from Colrain, and we all know
that we raise some apples in Colrain, but I don 't know of five
colonies of bees within many miles. You folks know some-
thing about Apple Valley, (this whole section produces more
apples than the state of Oregon), and they say they haven't
many bees, and we want to know how we get the apples
without the bees. We spray and don't have any more in-
sects than the rest.

PROF. CHENOWETH. Well, I don't doubt but you.
have a great many wild bees.

MR. COPELAND. Well, I don't know where they are.

PROF. CHENOWETH. Well, you just get out into
your orchard in blossom time.

MR. COPELAND. I haven't seen but one swarm of
bees within 10 years, and that was found right in the very
village itself.

PROF. CHENOWETH. When I spoke of wild bees, I
didn't mean such as you find in trees, but the Sweet and
other members of the bee family.

PROF. SEARS. You go out into your apple orchard
when the apple trees are in blossom, and I'll guarantee you
will hear a good, big humming.

PROF. CHENOWETH. I think it has been demonstrat-
ed that in the case of Baldwins, they are a self fertilizing
variety and a great many are grown, but there isn't any
question in my mind that if you had good cross-pollination,
Apple Valley would be even more celebrated for its fine
apples, for experiments show in every case that as to size
and form of fruit you would get better apples and larger

62

apples if you had adequate means of cross-pollination.

MR. COPELAND. I have been studying the Baldwin a
little myself. I had one back pasture there where I cut all
the apple trees down but one, which I left just for the fun of
the thing, and because some of the neighbors wanted that I
should, just to see what it would do. It is on a hill, and
tliere are no other apples trees nearby, and that tree bears
every other year ; full of nice apples. I am satsified that it
is self-fertilizing.

PROF. CHENOWETH. All demonstrations have shown
that it is, yes.

PROF. SEARS. The trouble with Mr. Copeland is that
he is getting all the apples he wants already, and this no-
tion that he could increase his crop by 50 or 100 per cent
doesn't appeal to him. (Laughter).

MR. NORMAN. I am about 10 miles south of Mr-.
Copeland, and we have the same experience. Last spring
we had mighty few bees, saw hardly any, and yet we had
trees bearing 8 or 10 barrels to the tree.

PROF. SEARS. And probably would have had 20 if
you had bees!

MR. NORMAN. Well, I didn't want that. That
raises another question: If you have too many bees, how
much thinning have you got to do?

MR. TORREY. I would like to say for the benefit of
these gentlemen, that in my spare time I hunt bees, and I
Relieve that all these New England hills are just covered
ivith swarms of wild bees, and they have a hard time to live.
I had 7 swarms that I found in 1911, and in the spring of
1912 every one was dead. The hills of western Massachu-
setts are just alive with swarms of bees.

PROF. CHENOWETH. That explains why Mr. Cope-
land gets fruit without bees.

QUESTION. I would like to ask what a good colony
of bees should weigh, say, the first of September.

MR. PURRINGTON. I should, say they would weigh
50 pounds.

QUESTION. Without the honey?

MR. PURRINGTON. Oh, you mean the bees them-
selves? Doctor Gates ought to be here. I suppose there
are 40,000 to 50,000 bees, and they will weigh 5 or 10 pounds
with any hive.

63

QUESTION. I would like to inquire if bees would
have any tendency to keep away injurious insects by work-
ing in the trees.

PKOF. SEARS. You mean, the codling moth, for in-
stance?

QUESTION. Yes.

PROF. CHENOWETH. I don't belive they would.

PROF. SEARS. I think they would require some
training before they would do that.

MRS. BROOKS. How can you arrange to spray so as
not to interfere with the bees, so that they will be safe?
The blossoms of the different trees fall at different times,
and 3^ou can't hang around with the spraying apparatus at
the different places.

PROF. CHENOWETH. You would have to take the
time when the maximum number of trees are shedding theic
petals, and do it then. You would probably kill a few
bees, but not enough to do serious damage.

MRS. BROOKS. I started keeping bees with one hive,
and I wouldn't allow the men to spray the trees until the
blossoms had all fallen, consequently the spraying didn't do
any good.

PROF. CHENOWETH. You waited too long.

MRS. BROOKS. Some of the blossoms fell early.

PROF. CHENOWETH. I should say that if you began
to spray when two-thirds or three-fourths of the blossoms
had fallen, there wouldn't be any great amount of damage.

MRS. BROOKS. Do they work on the apple blossoms
until the very last?

PROF. CHENOWETH. Until the petals begin to fall,
and then, of course, the pollen is dried up and the nectar
has ceased to secrete, and then of course the bees have noth-
ing further to induce them to visit the tree.

MR. PURRINGTON. How late can you spray for the
codling moth, when the apple is standing up with the blow
end open, before it closes, which is usually considered to be
about a week, possibly sometimes stretching out to eight or
nine days after the petals have fallen?

PROF. SEARS. I think that depends a good deal on
the weather. If you have cold weather, you can stretch

64

out the time, but if they are growing very rapidly, a much
shorter time.

MR. PURRINGTON. Is it true that the proper time
to spray is when the little bit of apple is standing straight,
up and the calyx is standing open?

PROF. CHENOWETH. The proper time to spray for
codling moth is when the calyx is open, yes sir, and before
it closes up, so as to close the material in there. The cod-
ling moth usually takes his first meal down in the calyx cup,
and if you get that full of poison, you get your codling moth
where you want him.

PROP. SEARS. If there is no further discussion, I
presume we had better close this session. I hope you will
all be out at this evening's meeting. There are some pre-
liminary exercises in the way of a welcome from the City,
and then the meeting is to be in connection with the deer
nuisance, and I hope you all appreciate the importance of
that. The question of spraying for the codling moth is a
mere incidental matter with us, for if we could get rid of
the deer, the codling moth and other small things like that
wouldn't bother us.

(An adjournment was taken to 7.30 p. m.)

EVENING SESSION

Thursday, January 15th, 1914.
Professor F. C. Sears, Presiding

The meeting was called to order at 8.05 p. m. by Vice
President F. C. Sears of Amherst.

PROF. SEARS. The hour has long since passed for
calling this meeting to order, so we won't delay any longer.
The first thing on the program is to be music by the Y. M. C.
A. Training School Quartette.

(Music by Quartette.)

PROF. SEARS. The next number on the program is
"Springfield's Welcome." We have already experienced
her welcome in a great many ways, among others in these
splendid quarters that have been provided for our meetings.
We are to have, hoM^ever, the official welcome tonight. As
his Honor the Mayor is unable to be present, we are very
glad indeed to have the Honorable Scott Adams, City So-
licitor of Springfield, here to represent him, and I take
pleasure in presenting to you Mr. Adams at this time.
(Applause).

SPRINGFIELD'S WELCOME
Scott Adams, Esq., City Solicitor.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Massachu-
setts Fruit Growers ' Association : I am sure that you re-
gret with me the fact that brings me before you to perform
this function. Personally, I regret it not at all, for to me it
is a privilege and a pleasure to deliver to you the welcome of
the City of Springfield, but from your standpoint I can as-
sure you that the Mayor should have been here.

He has asked me to welcome you; he has asked me to
say to you that he and Springfield are glad that you are

66

here; he has asked me to say to you that Springfield hopes
you will come again.

The topic assigned to me by Mr. Jenks for thirty-sec-
onds' speaking is "Superior Springfield's Welcome.". It
would be presumptuous of me to talk of Superior Spring-
field. What Springfield is, what Springfield offers, what
Springfield means, is not for Springfield to say, but for you,
who view Springfield from the proper perspective, to deter-
mine. I would be content myself, for the Mayor and for
Springfield, if I could paraphrase that subject, and deliver
to you Springfield's Superior Welcome, a welcome which
you would recognize as being sincere, as coming from the
heart of Springfield as a city and as a civic community, a
welcome that meant something, and a welcome that, more
than all, would mean your presence with us again. I thank
you. (Applause)

PROF. SEARS. I am sure that we already feel that we
are welcome here, but our welcome is to be made a little
broader by receiving a welcome from Western Massachu-
setts, which is to be delivered by Mr. F. J. Hillman, Director
cf the Board of Trade, instead of Mr. J. L. Brooks, their
President, who was to deliver it. We are very glad indeed
to have Mr. Hillman with us, (Applause)

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS' WELCOME

Mr. F. J. Hillman, Director of the Board of Trade.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Massachu-
setts Fruit Growers' Association: I had supposed that I
v/as asked to speak to you upon this occasion, and to bring
to you the welcome of the business men of Western Massa-
chusetts, because of my absolute lack of knowledge of any-
thing pertaining to the fruit growers' industry or of horti-
culture in any of its branches, but as I have been sitting
here this evening awaiting my turn, my attention has been
drawn to this exhibit of fruit upon the table, and it reminds
me that I was born and raised upon a farm in Western Mass-
achusetts, and that the one thing that I do remember having
been taught in my youth was the necessity of perserving

67

carefully apples of this kind (indicating some good fruit)
to pack at either end of the barrel, and I judge, by some re-
marks that I have heard, that that is a custom that hasn't
been entirely outgrown yet.

I feel that it is a peculiar privilege to come before the
members of horticultural organization and to bring to you
the welcome of the business men of Western Massachusetts.
There is peculiar significance in the fact that today, more
than at any period during the history of this community,
the business man of the community is interested in your
subject and in the subject of agriculture. There is no topic
which one can introduce into the conversation of any gather-
ing of business and professional men, and particularly in
this section of the country which has been referred to as
"The Effete East'', which will bring such an immediate
hearing and response, as the subject of agriculture or horti-
culture.

Even in that great and select club, the University Club
in New York City, I have discovered that there is within the
organization a "Farmers' Club", a club made up for the
m.ost part of millionaires who have taken up farming for an
avocation, and who meet and discourse learnedly upon the
quality of fertilizer, upon the methods of fruit growing and
marketing, upon the question of seed and of soil, and it is
a very select wheel within a wheel.

Now, is that a fad? No. It is business. Your modern
business man is a man of broader intellectual attainment ; he
is a man with a growing appreciation of the underlying prin-
ciples that govern the progress of business, and he knows
that, economically speaking, the importance and the balance
of power of a nation, a commonwealth, a community, depend
upon and are in direct ratio to its productivity; and hence,
following that process of reasoning, that ultimately, pro-
ductivity used in that sense, the productivity which is the
foundation of his business, means the productivity of the
soil. It is a business proposition.

I glanced in the newspapers as I came down, and I ob-
serve that you have decided to hold your conventions in
Springfield, in Boston and in Worcester. We feel that you
have done us an honor, and a proper honor, in coming to us
upon this occasion. We think that you have shown excel-

68

lent judgment in selecting the three cities of Massachusetts
that you have selected for your convention places. We rec-
ognize Boston as the foundation, the feet, so to speak, of the
Commonwealth; Worcester, as everybody knows, is the
heart of the Commonwealth — and Springfield is the head!
(Laughter and Applause)

Springfield, seriously, is the metropolis of Western
Massachusetts. In that respect she occupies a position com-
parable with Boston in Eastern Massachusetts, and our citi-
zens are proud of the fact. But greater significance lies in
the realization by the men of Springfield of the burden
which is upon them and the responsibility which is upon
their shoulders, and our business men are meeting that re-
sponsibility and they are endeavoring to reach out and offer
their best protection and cooperation, and particularly are
they doing that with respect to those who are pursuing agri-
culture and fruit growing and kindred lines.

Now, you ask, "What is the attitude of the something
more than one thousand practical business men who comprise
the membership of the Springfield Board of Trade ? ' ' Almost
exactly a year ago this month a small number of rich men
met in this city and organized the Hampden County Im-
provement League for the promotion of just that sort of in-
dustry which you are interested in and which you stand for.
In that League are to be found some of our very best, big-
gest, brainiest and busiest business men, men who have put
their shoulder to the wheel and who are giving freely of
their time, of their money and of their knowledge, and at
personal sacrifice are taking up this matter of progress in
the rural community, the development of scientific agricul-
ture and scientific horticulture. With such men as they
have back of that organization, there can be no failure, and
it is going to do, and is doing, one of the greatest works in
that line, probably, that has ever been done in any com-
munity.

Now, we would not for a moment rob the Hampden
County Improvement League of any of the credit or any of
the glory which rightly belongs to it — and it is much — but
nevertheless it is true that but for the Springfield Board of
Trade there would have been no Hampden County Improve-

69

ment League, probably. It is the Board of Trade that made
it possible ; it is the active men in the Board of Trade who
are, in large measure, the active men in the League. I cite
that to show you the interest that the business men of West-
cm Massachusetts have in your work.

I assure you that you are welcome; that the business
men of Western Massachusetts receive you with open arms.
No prodigal was ever received with a more sincere and cor-
dial welcome than that which I am permitted to extend to
you tonight, and we expect much from your organization
and others like it. We are depending upon you to bring
about the time when the rugged hills of Western Massachu-
setts will be painted with the soft colors and tints of the
foliage and the sun-kissed fruit of prolific orchards. More
than that, we are depending upon you to bring to us the time
when we can hold out to the world the noblest fruit that the
Creator has given to mankind — a perfect Massachusetts
apple.

You are indeed welcome. You have done us an honor
ic coming here, and we hope that you will stay as long as
possible, and when and if you must go, be assured of the
sincerity of our invitation to return soon. I thank you.
(Applause)

PROF. SEARS. I am going to call on our good Secre-
tary, Mr. F. Howard Brown of Marlboro, to answer these
welcoming addresses. (Applause)

ADDRESS OF MR. F. HOWARD BROWN.

Secretary of the Association.

Mr. President, Representatives of the City Government
and the Board of Trade of Springfield: We certainly ap-
preciate the words of welcome and the acts of welcome that
we have received, not only since we have been here at this
time, but at previous times.

The first appearance we made here in looking up this
meeting was along in October, I think, when the President
of the Association and I came to the city and happened to
strike the meeting of the Hampden County Improvement
League at the luncheon at the Cooley House. Nobody from

70

the eastern part of the state who had never attended a meet-
ing of that sort would have any conception of what enthus-
iasm you have up here. Although it is being developed
around New England, it is something that has not been
disseminated at least in the eastern part of the state.

I had the privilege of being in Lewiston not long ago,
and saw the same tendency in Maine. The Lewiston Chamber
of Commerce were entertaining the Maine State Pomological
Society, and there the business men and the farmers were
getting together.

Now, that is something that ten years ago was absolutely
impossible. It was not the fault of either the business men
or the farmers alone. Pehaps we were too independent.
We New England farmers are altogether too independent,
to my notion. We are always, you might say, looking for
trouble, or at least have been in the past, and perhaps when
any organization of business men would invite an organiza-
tion of farmers to cooperate with it. why, the farmers began
to look for the nigger in the wood pile, and the business men
would think that they had nothing in common with the
farmers.

That day, without the slightest doubt, has passed. The
business men are sometimes taking up their old homesteads
not alone as summer places but are producing and sending
that product to market, and they find that the farmer has
got a straight up-and-down problem to deal with. He isn't
making the money that perhaps some folks think he is. He
has got a good hard row to hoe in the help line alone, and
in the financial line, also. The business man is realizing
that the farmer can help him, and the farmer is reciprocat-
ing.

I was asked to say a few words in regard to the Massa-
chusetts Fruit Growers' Association. Recently, in going
over the books, only as far back as 1908, the receipts for the
year were under $100, while the receipts when the books
were balanced in March 1913 were over $1000. Of course,
that is not an entirely fair comparison, because we had the
Worcester meeting in March and there was also the January
meeting in Boston, which were included between the two
balancings of the books; but it gives an idea in general as to

71

the progress the Association has made within the last few
years, merely between 1908 and 1913.

Perhaps I had better explain that ordinarily the Secre-
tary has something to do with making out the program.
The program this evening was made out by the local com-
mittee here and the Secretary saw it for the first time prac-
tically after it was in the printer's hands, so that the Secre-
tary had no chance to get after it in the first place. If he had,
you may be very sure that his name would not have ap-
peared on the program. The Secretary has always consid-
ered that the proper place for him was down behind the
scenes, working, rather than appearing in public, and I
trust that the representatives of the City and Western
Massachusetts will excuse me if I do not come up to the
expectations they might have in responding to their wel-
come.

I am sure that the Association very heartily appreciates
it, not only the words, but the acts. Some times an organiz-
ation may be invited to hold a session, and then the invita-
tion may be forgotten and nothing futher done officially,
but from the very first the invitation which we have had has
been sincere and the welcome has' been continual and still
continues, and we have had help from all the organizations,
not only from the City and the Board of Trade and the
Hampden County Improvement League, but everybody in
this part of the state, and I am very sure that, so far as the
organization is concerned, we will be very glad to come
again. I thank you. (Applause)

PROF. SEARS. Speaking merely as a resident of the
western end of the state, I am glad that our Secretary is
being educated as to the possibilities and general conditions
out here in the west.

We are next to have another musical number.

(Music by Quartette)

PROF. SEARS. We are rather accustomed to feel, T
think, that most of the big stories, the stories that have to be
taken with a grain of salt, come from the West. I found it
very interesting, in visiting the West recently, to discover
that we could tell some stories from our end of the line that
they found difficult to swallow, and the story that even I,

72

with my reputation for veracity, found it difficult to make
them believe, was that the deer cause us trouble here in
Massachusetts. If I had told them some stories a good deal
further from the truth, I presume they would have believed
them. I really think that we have a most interesting situa-
tion here, to the fellow that has no trees to be damaged by
deer. To think that the powers that be spend thousands
and millions of dollars to develop an industry, and then turn
around and protect, or practically protect, the very worst
pest to that industry, certainly makes a unique situation,
and I am very glad indeed that the Hampden County
Improvement League and other people are becoming inter-
ested in the situation.

We are to have for the rest of the evening a Round
Table on this subject, the deer pl-oblem, and the session is
to be in charge of Mr. Scheuerle, the General Secretary of
the League and I take pleasure in presenting him to you
now. (Applause)

Mr. Scheuerle outlined the history of the League, its
purposes and aims and the manner in which its operations
are conducted.

The damage which deer do to fruit trees was discussed
by Mr. R. H. Race of Egremont, taking the place of Profes-
sor Waugh, who was unable to be present. Mr. Race stated
that he had seen and experienced a great deal of damage
caused by deer ; stated it was a very serious problem to fruit
growers and farmers. Mr. Race said that 15 years ago he
saw only one deer in his locality, that 5 years ago he saw 16
at once, and that he has been told of 150 being in one local-
ity; that he has been told of deer destroying 91 out of 100
trees which were set out a year ago ; that it costs the farmer
$40 for each deer raised ; that unless the deer nuisance is
stamped out it will be impossible to raise fruit in Massachu-
setts in the near future ; that the deer meat is tuberculous,

A speaker corroborated Mr. Race, following which
many others made the same statements in effect.

Mr. C. W, Carpenter of Monson, gave his experiencet
with the damage done to grass and field crops by deer;
stated that the deer are very fond of grasses and legumes;
that he had had alfalfa and clover destroyed by them with-
out its being given opportunity to grow, being browsed even

73

closer than cutting with a lawnmower ; that he used to
protect deer, but now would destroy them if he could; that
the farmers are raising deer for the sportsmen to shoot ;
that they are very destructive.

This was corroborated by many speakers.

Mr. F. T. Jorey spoke in favor of the deer, as did one
other speaker, sajdng that they were beautiful creatures and
that he did not believe they did as much damage as many
thought. This was disputed on every side; suggestions
were made that the less deer there were, the less cruelty
could be practised in the killing of them.,

Mr. H. K. Herrick of Blandford, stated that deer herd
where they can be protected from winter weather and can
feed upon the young sprouts of trees, of maple, oak, chest-
nut, willow and black birch, but won't eat the gray birch,
which everybody wishes they would; that they simply nib-
ble off the tops of young trees and spoil them; that seedling
trees nibbled by deer are killed; that this is having a very
serious effect on the raising of lumber; that the legislature
is inconsistent in reforesting, and protecting deer at the
same time to help destroy them.

A speaker stated that he had been sceptical as to
damage done by deer, but had seen the damage and become
converted to the idea that they destroy much lumber; that
he had planted a cover crop, and had an eight-foot fence
around his orchard, but it was impossible to keep the deeir
out ; that in improving land, one is simply inviting the
ravages of the deer.

Mr. Jorey again stated that he had not seen much
damage caused by deer.

Many speakers disagreed strenuously with Mr, Jorey.

Mr. Archer N. Tuttle of Warren, read a paper on the
damage done by deer to garden crops.

Mr. Jorey stated that the deer had damaged him only
to the extent of $1.50. He was again strenuously opposed by
a great number of speakers.

Mr. Edward S. Butterfield of Brimfield, gave a talk on
adequate reimbursement, and stated that it is impossible to
get anywhere near the amount of damage done by deer from
the State, in spite of the law which is supposed to reimburse

74

the farmer; gave instances of getting very small reimburse-
ment for large damage.

Various speakers corroborated Mr. Butterfield.

Ex-Representative W. J. Sessions, of Hampden, gave his
reasons for thinking the deer laws unsatisfactory; compared
them with the laws protecting gulls and game birds ; stated
that when the laws were made there was no thought, prob-
ably, that they M^ould develope into a nuisance and source
of damage to farmers; that the same protection should be
given against deer as against domestic animals doing
damage ; that a farmer should have the same right to protect
himself from deer that he has from human trespassers ; that
by the present law many men are made lawbreakers ; that
the hvnting of so many deer is placing human lives in
danger, many times; that he hoped it would be brought be-
fore the House of Representatives.

In answer to a question, Mr. Sessions stated that doe
with young should not be killed, but they could all be killed
as soon as the young were old enough to take care of them-
selves.

A speaker advocated the use of round slugs instead of
the shot now used, since shot will spread too much and some
times only wounds the deer slightly, causing him to go off
and suffer and die in pain.

Mr. Herrick stated that at a meeting of the State Board
of Agriculture, the Governor had stated that he would do all
he could to help the farmers in this regard.

Mr. A. R. Jenks of Springfield stated that something
must be done to lessen the number of deer in the state ;
stated that many men who were working for a close season
were not farmers; that the Hampden County Improvement
League had appointed a committee of eleven to take up the
subject; that they had advocated an open season the year
around except during the three months when the deer are
breeding; that the legislature must at least be asked for a
longer open season; that they had modified the requested
law to call for a six-weeks open season, from, say, the middle
of November to the end of December ; that the bird hunters,
fox hunters, and the automobile people are with them ; that
it would be well for all who are interested to get in touch
with their Representatives and Senators and push the bill.

75

Mr. Harold Frost, President of the Fruit Growers'
Association, stated that they wished to get the bill through
this year; suggested that everyone write his Representative
or Senator giving the amount of damage he has known of;
that each man speak to his neighbors to the same effect; that
the President and Secretary of the Asso^^iation, on receipt of
such letters, will see that they go Fefore the Committee at
the hearings at which he would be present ; that the presence
of those who had been damaged would count for more than
anything else.

Secretary Wilfrid Wheeler of the State Board of Agri-
culture expressed the opinion that there would be strong
opposition to the bill carrying a six-weeks open season all
over the state ; suggested restrictions on private deer
reservations, stating that deer are often found coming out of
them and doing damage ; that a farmer should be allowed to
shoot a deer that has damaged his property, even if the deer
were not on his own property ; that it might be well, on
account of the strong opposition which would be encount-
ered from the eastern part of the state, to limit the six-weeks
open season to the western part of the state. Mr. Wheeler
emphasized the opposition which this bill was sure to en-
counter.

(Adjourned to Friday, January 16, at 10 a. m.)

T?^' SECOND DAY

Friday, January 16, 1914

The convention was called to order at 10.30 a. m. by
President Harold L. Frost. President Frost again called
attention to the poor apples which were on the table, and to
the three differently packed barrels of apples on the plat-
form.

THE PRESIDENT. This morning we have with us a
man who is a practical fruit grower, who has made a great
success in his line. I understand that this is the first time
that he has ever addressed an audience. Now, we all like to
hear from a man who has done things. Mr. Margeson is
sending the best currants and some other small fruits, that
go into the Boston market, and I have known of him getting
sever^ cents a quart more than the market price. I also
think that he is getting more per acre than any other fruit
grower in the state, and possibly in New England. We had
to work hard to get him to come and speak to us, and I am
sure that you will appreciate his efforts as much as your of-
ficers do. I now take great pleasure in presenting to you
Mr. Ingram I, Margeson, of Westwood, Mass., who will give
you his personal experience on a fruit farm. (Applause).

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES ON A FRUIT FARM
Mr. I. I. Margeson, Westwood, Mass.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Brother Fruit
Growers, Members of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers'
Association and Prospective Members: —

I feel sure that after attending this grand meeting all
of you prospective members will become real members of
this association by each depositing one dollar with our
Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. Brown. If you are in the least
interested in fruit-growing it will be your best possible in-
vestment, returning you many and many 100% dividends.

77

I am going to give you a little talk this morning on the
subject of "What CAN be and what HAS been done on a
five acre plot of old Bay State soil," or "Personal experi-
ences on a fruit farm. ' ' These personal experiences of mine
I trust will be of benefit to those who are contemplating
fruit growing as well as to those who are already engaged in
that line of work.

In January, 1904 I purchased a farm at Westwood,
Massachusetts. The five-acre field which is the subject of
my discussion this morning was in sod and full of stone.
Located on, or near the boundary line of the field was an
orchard of forty-five old apple trees, all very much in need
of renovation, covered with moss, filled with dead wood and
bearing a very small amount of fruit.

During the year of 1904 I pruned and scraped the apple
trees, cut about five tons of hay, blasted and dug out the
stones, carted them off and cleaned up the field.

In 1905, the second year, I planted about one third of
the field to vegetables, principally corn and potatoes. I
selected these crops because the corn shades the ground well
and the potatoes necessitate stirring up the ground deeply.
The land was thoroughly cultivated and witch grass and
weeds found it a difficult job to exist. In the fall, stable
manure, about seven cords to the acre, was ploughed in, I
was forced to buy my manure but I would strongly advise,
if one has land enough, the carrying of enough stock to
raise one's own manure.

In 1906, the third year, I thoroughly cultivated the
three acres in the early spring and planted them to fruit
trees and bushes as follows :
follows :

About 1 % acres to apple trees 100 trees, 30 feet apart.

About % acre to peach trees 100 trees, 15 feet apart.

About 1/4 acre to pear trees 50 trees, 15 feet apart.

About % acre to cherry trees .... 100 trees, 15 feet apart.

For fillers in the apple orchard I used 100 plum trees,
in the pear orchard, dwarf apple trees. I realized that at
some future time either the plums or the apples would have
to come up. At present I am undecided which. By next
year I feel that I shall Imow positively. Among the large
apple trees and the cherry trees I planted 4000 currant

78

bushes — two rows of bushes between each row of trees and
three bushes between each tree in the row. In the adjoin-
ing field of 1/^ acre I set out about 800 of these currant
bushes in order to compare their growth and production
with those among the trees. All the planting was done in
the early spring.

In planting, holes were dug 3 feet in diameter by 2^/2
feet deep. The surface soil was well packed about the roots
of the trees, no manure being put in the hole. The poorer
grade of soil was placed about the tree nearer the surface
and on the surface was applied a good mulch of stable
manure. Continuous cultivation was given the soil until
August 1. After that all weeds were removed by hand or by
hoe.

In 1907, the fourth year, I gave a thorough cultivation
to the three acres already planted and planted another acre.
On this new acre which I planted as a standard apple or-
chard, I tried the experiment of using peach trees and
dwarf apple trees as fillers. As peach trees demand more
space than plum, I set out my standard apple trees 35 feet
apart each way. Between these in the rows, I planted
peach trees each I7I/2 feet from the apple trees. Between
the rows I set out a row of dwarf apple trees, 10 feet apart.
Then between each standard apple and peach tree I planted
-4 currant bushes ; between the dwarf apple trees, two cur-
a*ant bushes. In the fall the currant bushes were pruned
lightly and all the trees and bushes were given a liberal
samount of stable dressing.

In 1908, the fifth year, three years after planting, es-
pecially good care was given the trees and bushes, all being
sprayed and pruned. That year I gathered my first real
fruit. In the fall I again manured the land.

In 1909, the sixth year, I gave the first three acres clean
cultivation, eliminating all garden truck and cover crops,
finding that in the fourth year the trees, with my intense
fruit culture, required from the soil all the food it contained.
Generally good care was given the trees and I was rewarded
with a good crop of fruit most excellent in quality.

In 1910, the seventh year, I sprayed, pruned and fed the
trees giving careful attention to each detail. The fifth acre
was then planted with standard apple trees the same as the

79

preceeding acre except that cherry trees were used in place
of dwarf apples — partly because I had not had time to see
just what the latter would do and partly because I wanted
to learn by experiment, just what the cherry trees would
come to. In the fall I harvested another good crop of fruit.

In 1911, the eighth year, I continued giving the closest
attention to all the fruit planted. On the 4th and 5th acres
vegetables and garden truck were raised between the trees.
Two thousand more currant bushes were planted, filling in
the peach and pear orchards first planted. A large crop of
fruit was gathered although it was somewhat affected by
hail from the storm of June 20th.

In 1912, the ninth year, I did not cultivate the three
acres first planted. I believe in it, but I could not use a
horse between the rows. Some day, not far distant, I hope,
there will be put on the market a new machine, motor-driv-
en, which will work in 3-foot rows and will neither smash
the limbs of the trees nor destroy fruit like a horse. Al-
though I did not cultivate these acres I kept all weeds out
and mulched heavily with manure and green rye straw. I
gathered a good crop of fruit, the currants harvesting the
largest crop to date.

In 1913, the tenth year, the eighth after planting the
first three acres, seventh after planting the fourth acre and
the third after planting the fifth acre has proved the banner
year in general fruit production.

PLANTING

April, I have found to be the best month for planting,
for all stock planted thus early has a chance to start its root
connections with the soil before the summer drouths arrive.
Thorough planting is very necessary. "Work the soil into
the roots; press it in all around the root system and tramp
firmly into the hole. Use the top soil for this. Do not use
soil dug from the bottom of holes except on the extreme top.
Do not tramp this in.

CULTIVATION

Cultivation is very important in the early life of trees
and plants. I begin cultivating as soon as the trees and
bushes are planted and continue twice weekly until August
1. I stop cultivating then in order to eliminate further

80

growth and to give the wood a chance to mature sufficiently
to withstand the rigors of a New England winter. This
early spring and continued cultivation, I have found, forms
a dust mulch which retains the water in the soil and so
proves of the greatest value to trees and bushes during the
periods of summer drouth.

PRUNING

I prune my currants either late in the fall or early in
the spring with hand clippers, removing about one-third of
the bush, all weak new wood and a large portion of the 3-
year-old wood. My apple, pear and cherry trees I prune in
March and April. My young apple trees I head back from
6 inches to 1 foot. My pear and cherry trees I prune light-
ly, cutting out the chafing and interlocking branches. In
pruning the latter trees always remember to leave room for
the sun to get at the cherries if you would harvest the finest
fruit.

Plum trees should be pruned in April. Some varieties
should be headed in severely, cutting back as much as 2 feet.
Others, especially the Burbanks, should be encouraged to
grow upright, b.y leaving the lateral bud on top of the limb
where the cut has been made.

Peach trees should be pruned during the latter, part of
April, at the time of their blossoming. This affords an op-
portunity to cut out the unfruitful and the weaker branches.
I have found that vigorous pruning gives the best results.

SPRAYING

Dormant spraying I have found to be the best. Abso-
lutely ALL fruit trees and bushes should be sprayed, and
THOROUGHLY. I use lime-sulfur and find that it will
keep in check all kinds of scale if applied to ALL parts of
the tree or bush. Spraying 90% of a tree is very unsatis-
factory. My trees run in rows North and South. In spray-
ing I go over each tree twice, once with an East wind, once
again with a West wind or vice versa. If no wind is blow-
ing at the time, I spray both sides of the tree.

FEEDING AND MULCHING
In the late fall, after the foliage has fallen I use stable
manure to the extent of 6 or 8 cords to the acre, placing it

81

around each tree and plant with a fork. Early in April I
apply to each acre 1000 pounds of basic slag, 250 pounds of
sulphate of potash and 250 pounds of bone meal.

IRKIGATION
I feel confident that if water can be properly applied to
orchards at certain times during drouths that the crops can
be greatly assisted. In fact I have saved an entire peach
and cherry crop by irrigating, carrying water to the trees
by pipes and digging trenches about the trees five or six
inches deep. For young trees I have made the trenches six
feet in diameter. I fill and refill the trenches several times
according as the water is absorbed by the dry earth around
the trees.

jMARKETING
In marketing, ALWAYS put your fruit up honestly and
give good measure. Sell only as A No. 1 fruit, that fruit-
which is A No. 1. Do not try to work off seconds as firsts.
This takes more time and care, but the time and care are
Doth well spent. If practicable, sell direct to the family
trade as this is generally the most profitable way to dispose
of fruit. The commission merchant, if his firm is reliable,
is well worthy of patronage and will many times return you
net as much as you would have received from the family
trade, time and general expense being considered. I have
very little use for fruit ' ' hawkers' ' as I find that they usually
try to get your product at low figures and make all kinds of
complaints about it, no matter how good it may be.

DIFFICULTIES

I have found many difficulties in fruit-growing but have
generally been able to cope with them. Some of them are
San Jose scale, leopard moth, aphis, borers, currant worm,
gypsy and brown-tail moths, breakage of heavily-laden
branches by wind-storms, peach leaf curl, drouths, hail-
storms and lack of competent help. I have also been
troubled in getting my fruit picked and marketed promptly.

I have found that close attention to spraying, dormant
and later, locating and digging out the leopard moth, early
bracing with props of heavily-laden branches and thorough
dormant spraying of peach trees with lime-sulfur for leaf

82

curl have proved very successful. The help question, one of
my greatest difficulties is still unsolved.

STATISTICS
Apples and peaches have returned the largest net in-
come to me. Currants used as filler crop have been very
profitable, yielding good dividends.

Largest crop of currants in one year

From 6000 bushes— 18,000 quarts.
Largest crop of peaches in one year

From 125 trees— 1200 14 qt. baskets.
Largest crop of cherries in one year

From 100 trees — 4700 pounds.
Largest crop of apples in one year

From 45 old trees — 700 bushels, as against 100
bushels the first year.
Largest crop of plums in one year
From 90 trees— 5200 qts.

VARIETIES

I have been most successful with the following varieties
of fruit.

Apples — Baldwins, Rhode Island Greenings, Roxbury Rus-
sets, Bellflower, Yellow Transparent, Bismark.
Peaches — Elberta, Stump, Greensboro, Lady Kneeland,

Champion, Ray.
Plums — Burbank, Abundance, Shippers Pride, Bradshaw.
Cherries — Large Montmorency, Early Richmond, Bay State,

Bing, "Windsor, Governor Wood.
Currants — Wilder, Perfection, Red Cross, Cherry, Fay's

Prolific, Prince Albert, Black Champion, White Grape.
Pears — Bartlett, Bosc.

Let me say one word in conclusion before I answer your
questions. I have found fruit-growing a most pleasant occu-
pation. Everyone here knows the delight of watching a
tree or bush slowly develop, day by day, knows the delight
of caring, tending and administering to it; knows the de-
light and pride when the full, ripe fruit — perfect in shape
and luscious to the taste — comes to the table.

Such pleasure alone can only be enjoyed by our weal-
thy neighbor who raises fruit for fun. We here, who are in

83

the business for a livelihood need another pleasure — that of
a well-earned profit. And I can safely say that I have en-
joyed that pleasure.

So can each one of us here, but only at a cost of much
hard labor, incessant care and deep thought. This labor
and care and thought must be applied every day. We must
labor in our thorough and clean cultivation ; we must take
care in our daily inspection and in our thorough spraying;
we must think deeply oji every change and on every turn
that our trees and bushes may take. And no detail of the
entire work can be held as too trivial for our notice.

A man who puts all this into his orchard, even if it is an
old worn-out one, will have his double reward. He will en-
joy the healthy growth of his trees and the beauty of their
fruitage with his wealthy neighbor. And he will enjoy,
what perhaps his neighbor cannot, the pleasure of a fair
profit on his investment and on his labor.

THE PRESIDENT. Now, you have here a man "with
the goods." Ask questions and get the information that he
Ctin give. We want to make this meeting a very informal
one and we don't want to have anyone fear to ask questions,
because we are all ignorant on some things.

MR. FORBES. I would like to inquire as to what is
the very best variety of currants.

MR. MARGESON. That is a hard question to answer.
Several varieties are doing well. Perfection is the most
productive, but I believe it needs to be grown in the shade
insead of in the open. If you grow it in the open it is liable
to be afflicted with sun scald. I should put the Wilder
second.

MR. WILFRID WHEELER. I would like to ask Mr.
Margeson if he doesn't consider Perfection too light in color
for a good seller.

MR. MARGESON. I haven't had any complaint, and
have found it goes very satisfactorily. I don't pick it quite
as soon as some might, but I think that if you let it hang, it
will get more color. I have got a larger yield from Perfec-
tion than any other. I have kept account of the yield, and
have taken as high as eight quarts to the bush, which I can 't
get from any other variety I have.

84

MR. MacRAE. I would like to ask if you will give us
in rough numbers the returns from five acres as intensely
cultivated as are yours — the net returns.

MR. MARGESON. Well, do you mean at the present
time ?

MR. MacRAE. Any one year; say, last year.

MR. MARGESON. Last year was more productive
with me than were the earlier years, as the trees and bushes
are getting up. I have taken a gross amount from those
five acres of about $5000 in 1913. Of course, you can figure
it in different ways; you can make your net profit small or
large, but I feel it netted me at least half of that amount.

PROFESSOR W. P. BROOKS. What is the speaker's
judgement in reference to the profit on dwarf apple trees as
compared with the standard apple trees?

MR. MARGESON. I would not advise planting dwarf
apple trees as a commercial proposition, but I believe that
when you are starting the orchard, if it is filled in with
dwarf trees, there will be a profit in them. I have got fruit
from dwarf apple trees after two year's planting and
at three years I have got nearly a bushel on some of the
trees, but they must be very carefully handled.

MR. STAPLES. How about dwarf pears, and the
profit from them ?

MR. MARGESON. I think you will get very little
profit from dwarf pears.

MR. WINSOR of Rhode Island. I don't want to ask a
question, but I think the gentleman is worthy of congratula-
tion on the results of his labors on five acres of land.

MR. MARGESON. Thank you.

MR CURTIS. How much do you prune the dwarf
trees ?

MR. MARGESON. Well, I prune them vigorously, try
to keep them down.

MR CURTIS Is there danger in pruning the dwarf?

MR. MARGESON. I would fear that there might be
with some varieties in so doing, but when you are growing
trees as intensely as I am. you have got to prune to keep the
limbs from getting into the limbs of the other trees, and I
prune quite heavily.
, MR BILLINGS. Do you find that fertilizing with

85

stable manure and the heavy pruning of peach trees gives
you trouble by having winter-killing from stimulating new
wood?

MR. MARGESON. You get plenty of new wood, but
you cut it out, and I get better results than if I didn't feed
them as well as I do.

MR. BILLINGS. But don 't you have trouble with win-
ter-killing from the new wood?

MR MARGESON. I have very little trouble. In my
earlier planting I was very careful, and about the first of
September I cut back the new wood, and it seemed to
harden up the wood and they stood the winter all right.

MR. NORJIIS. Is the Ray peach a good variety with
you ?

MR. MARGESON. Yes, very good.

MR. NORRIS. How does it compare with the Carman?

MR. MARGESON. I am not growing Carman, but I
think it is a better peach. It gets off the tree very quickly
if you have much wind, but it seems to keep well and has a
very fine flavor. It seems to grow fast and large and heavy,
but it presses itself off the stem and we have difficulty in
keeping it on the tree.

MR. BUTTERPIELD. I would like to ask if you have
trouble in interplanting peach and apple trees, by increase
of borers.

MR. MARGESON. I haven't found that, but I wouldn't
altogether recommend planting peach trees as fillers in
an apple orchard. You see, you lose the shape of the apple
tree which you desire. The peach tree is the quicker grow-
er and takes more of the sun, and the apple tree has to shoot
up and make itself a higher tree in order to get its share.

MR. STAPLES. Have you found any remedy for
borers, except the knife and wire?

MR. MARGESON. I have followed an experiment that
I think was helpful. I have taken crude fish oil and applied
it to the trunk of the tree with a brush, for probably a dis-
tance of about six or eight inches, digging away the soil for
about two inches and then going up four or five inches
above the ground.

MR. STAPLES. For both peaches and apples?

86

MR. MARGESON. Yes, I have used it on peaches and
apples.

THE PRESIDENT. I would like to state that Mr.
Margeson and some of the rest of us in our locality were
troubled with the leopard moth, which is the most serious
borer we have in the eastern part of the state,

MR. WILFRID WHEELER. If you want to get rid of
the leopard moth, put up plenty of good nesting boxes for
the woodpeckers. They will take care of them, and will
find them more quickly than you can.

MR. MARGESON. I have found more of them recently
than for some time, in the young apple trees, at the begin-
ning of the branches, three or four feet frofti the ground,
and all I would notice was just a little sawdust effect coming
out, but on digging it out, I would sometimes find the cavity
of one or two inches. I think we will have to keep looking
over our trees for that pest.

MR. CARPENTER. I would like to ask how you ferti-
lize your currants.

MR. MARGESON. I use stable manure. The fruit is
so intensely planted that the manure has to be conveyed in
by wheelbarrows. I put on slag and potash and bone meal,
sowed broadcast in the spring.

MR. CARPENTER. About how much to the acre do
you put on?

MR. MARGESON. As I stated in my paper, about
eight cords of manure per acre. That takes care of the
trees and the currant bushes. I use about 1000 pounds of
basic slag, 250 pounds of sulphate or muriate of potash, and
250 pounds of bone meal.

MR. GEER. How low down do you head your trees?

MR. MARGESON. Well, I have tried different experi-
ments, but now I head them 'way down, getting the trees to
branch from six to ten inches from the ground. I have had
some that were two or three feet, but the low-headed tree
interests me the most.

MR. A. J. NORMAN. Have you ever had any experi-
ence with the low-headed trees having their lower branches
cut off just as though done by a knife? I had some low-
headed trees in my orchard, and found the branches had

87

been take off low down. I found 15 trees that way, and
since then I have been willing to have a high head.

ME. MARGESON. I wouldn't be surprised if the
leopard moth should attack your tree in that way. They
will cut your branches pretty clean, and they will drop off.

MR. WILFRID WHEELER. I would like to ask Mr.
Margeson what experience he has had with sweet cherries.

MR. MARGESON. My experience has been poor,
generally speaking. I don't believe they are profitable to
grow.

MR. WHEELER. What kinds have you that you
recommend ?

MR. MARGESON. Montmorency has been the largest
money getter.

MR. WHEELER. I mean, in the sweet cherries.

MR. MARGESON. Bay State is a fairly sweet cherry,
and if you can get a crop, it is a very fine fruit, but they
don't fruit very heavily. Windsor is another.

MR. WHEELER. Have you tried Black Tartarian ?

MR. MARGESON. I have tried it, but I haven't had
much success with it.

THE PRESIDENT. If there are no further questions,
we will give up this subject. We want very much to hold
a field meeting with Mr. Margeson, when he will let us see
just what he is doing. I have always been astonished at the
amount that can be done on a small area, and whenever I
have seen a place like Mr. Margeson 's I have felt that most
of us are making a mistake in trying to do too much and
only half doing it. I wish that this address might go to
many of the city people who anticipate buying farms and
making a living on them. I don't believe that many of
them can make the success that Mr. Margeson has, but if
more people could only see what he has done, I believe it
would save a great many failures in this respect in the fu-
ture.

Now, we also have with us this morning Doctor E. Por-
ter Felt, State Entomologist, of Albany, New York. We
have called on Doctor Felt for many years. He is a Massa-
chusetts man and a graduate of our Agricultural College,
and he has always been much interested in both the College

and in the Fruit Growers' Association. He is one of the
men that the Commonwealth can feel proud of. We have
sent out many entomologists who are making a name for
this state, and I consider that Doctor Felt is the leader of
those men who have gone out to help the other states solve
their problems.

I now take pleasure in presenting Doctor Felt, who is
the only speaker on spraying that we will have during this
convention, and we will give you ample time to ask ques-
tions, even if we have to carry it over into the afternoon
session. (Applause).

89

SPRAYING FOR INSECT PESTS

Dr. E. Porter Felt, State Entomologist, Albany, N. Y.

Primarily and fundamentally we are dealing with a
business proposition. Spraying is protective not curative;
it is a species of insurance, not reimbursement; it differs
from both life and fire insurance, in that returns are not
conditional upon demise or destruction but upon production.
The profits are proportionate to the activity of insect pests
and the development of fungous diseases, and yet the assur-
ance of comparative crop safety is worth something.

It is evident that the remedy must not be worse than
the disease, though the speaker knows of cases wnere spray-
ing was conducted in good faith and the latter condition of
the orchard was worse than the first. A man dependent for
a living upon his trees may advantageously keep clear of
experimental work, especially of the kind which may jeop-
ardize the existence of- his orchards. Trees are living
organisms and the mere fact that they have successfully
withstood a given treatment one season, gives no assurance
that the same will be true another year, though it may go
far to establish a probable freedom from injury. The great
trouble with a man unaccustomed to experimental work is
that he jumps at conclusions and soon is taking greater
chances than are justified by the available facts. If I could
say but one thing, it would be this: Cultivate such a con-
servative and prudent habit that it will be impossible to
adopt on a large scale, any method or procedure whicli is
not thoroughly justified by competent authority.

Does spraying pay? The mere fact that most commer-
cial orchardists and a large number of farmers spray one or
more crops, would indicate that this is a paying operation.

90

The cost of spraying six apple trees in 1911 was 48 cents or
less than 12 cents for each barrel of fruit kept from being
thrown into the second class or cider apples because of
injury by the apple worm or codling moth. These six trees
were representative of conditions obtaining throughout a
large orchard and clearly indicate that the thorough spray-
ing was profitable. In another orchard six trees sprayed
at a cost of about 10 cents each, produced eight barrels more
of sound fruit, the cost of spraying amounting to 7^2 cents
per each barrel, which would otherwise have been wormy.
The check or unsprayed trees in this orchard produced over
32 barrels to the hundred of wormy fruit, while the trees
treated as mentioned above, yielded less than two barrels
per hundred of wormy fruit. These are only two illustra-
tions of the profits resulting from spraying, and by no means
represent the maximum returns, since the orchards were not
badly infested. Many similar instances may be cited.

Steps may be taken when planning an orchard and
selecting a location which will materially increase the
efficiency, of spraying later. The trees should have ampxc
room and every one be readily accessible from all sides.
Crowded trees on uneven hillsides are never thoroughly
sprayed. Planting varieties in blocks assists since it is much
easier to meet varietal peculiarities when a number are
grown together than when they are scattered. In the case
of the codling moth there are reasons for believing that it is
more difficult to secure a high percentage of worm-free ap-
ples in orchards where the varieties are mixed. Some
attention should be given to the surroundings of the pro-
pose orchard, not only for the present but for the future.
If a little selection is possible and will make the work of the
future easier, by all means attend to this phase of the
problem.

The first essentials in spraying are: The recognition of
the need, the appreciation of the possibilities, and some
knowledge of the insects or fungi causing the trouble. The
two first are necessary to supply the incentive, and the last
must exist or there can be no intelligent direction of ener-
gies. Spraying for San Jose scale is practically of no value
for the control of the codling moth, while the poison used
for the destruction of this insect has no effect upon the

91

developing plantlice : In other words, sprays must be adapted
to local needs, and the farmer and fruit grower should first
of all know something about the more injurious insects
affecting his crops, otherwise the results from spraying are
apt to be extremely unsatisfactory.

The spraying next on the calendar is that for the con-
trol of the San Jose scale. This may be done at any time
conditions permit between now and the starting of the buds
in the spring. Personally we are inclined to favor late spring
applications because they seem equally efficient and, theor-
retically, should be more so, — and if the work be delayea
until the buds actually start, we also have in this treatment
a specific against the blister mite, and if tobacco and poison
be added, a very efficient check for early appearing plantlice
and the early leaf feeders, such as the apple tent caterpillar,
the bud moth and the case-bearers. Some of our Hudson
valley growers do not give this spraying until the buds have
started well, sometimes waiting till even the pink shows in
the blossom, and thus obtain very satisfactory results agamst
the scab. This late spraying, especially when tobacco is
added, may be of much importance in orchards where red
bugs have become numerous. Last year about one-third of
a large crop of Greenings in one orchard in the Hudson val-
ley were practically blasted by these pests.

The best spray material which can be used against San
Jose scale is one of the standard lime-sulfur Avashes, com-
mercial or home-made, testing about 4.5 degrees Baume'
after dilution. The general excellence of this material is
shown by the fact that it constitutes probably 90 per cent,
of the spray used for scale insects in the important orchard
sections of New York State. Individuals and manufacturers
are still endeavoring to improve this wash and various
brands and modifications have appeared or are likely to be
put upon the market in the future. Prof. Parrott of the
Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva has been making
a test of various sulfur compounds. For the purpose ot
standardizing these comparisons and thus obtaining definite
results, he adopted for the experimental work a solution con-
taining 4I/2 ounces of sulfur per gallon for the winter spray
and 1 ounce of sulfur per gallon for the summer spray. Sul^
fur compounds used for spraying may contain lime (calcium)

92

barium, sodium and potassium. Certain results of tests con-
ducted by Prof. Parrott with these various compounds are
given below.

Efficiency and Cost of Sulfur Compounds

Per cent, living scale

Cost per gallon of spray

Calcium (lime)

1.4

1.7c

Barium

1.6

3.8c

Sodium

2.3

3.9c

Potassim

9.3

22. c

Only a glance at the figures is necessary to show that
the old reliable lime-sulfur wash is a little more efficient and
decidedly cheaper than the other compounds. It was found
in these experiments that sodium and barium compounds
lacked uniformity, while the sodium and potassium prepara-
tions were apt to burn the foliage very badly when applied
as summer sprays. The Federal insecticide law compels all
insecticides entering Interstate commerce to bear on eacn
and every package, a label giving the percentage of the
essential ingredients, and it is therefore very easy to judge
correctly as to the value of the sulfur compounds, if com-
parison is made with the above table. By all means pur-
chase insecticides on the basis of the efficient content. Mere
pounds count for nothing unless you have the real thing in
the package. With this table, so far as sulfur compounds
are concerned, one can easily judge as to which is the best for
average orchard spraying. The Baume or specific gravity
test is the most reliable indication of the relative value of
lime-sulfur washes. A high grade concentrated lime-sulfur
wash, commercial or home-made, should contain practically
no sediment.

A miscible oil is sometimes used in the place of a lime-
sulfur wash for the control of San Jose scale and blister
mite. This, either home-made or commercial, is not entirely
safe, owing to the fact that under certain climatic condi-
tions or the physiological state of the tree, serious injury
may result. Such a preparation appeals to many, however,
because it spreads more readily than a lime-sulfur wash.

In view of the great abundance of San Jose scale
parasites, the question may arise as to the probable need of
spraying in sections where these insects are numerous. There

93

is no question but what the parasites in many instances
rendered material aid in checking the scale last summer.
We found on a part of a twig an inch long and 5-16 inch
in diameter, 184 exit holes, each of these meaning one scale
insect destroyed. Although encouraging, it should be re-
membered that in many cases the parasites had become
numerous only after the trees have been severely injured,
and in not a few instances, killed. This is the first occur-
ence of the kind we have seen in a period of fifteen years,
and these insects may not render material service again for
a decade or more. It does no harm to know about the
parasites, the entomologists have known of them for decades,
although the time has not come when we can safely rely
upon these little friends. The Good Book tells us to "pra>
without ceasing." The horticulturist should spray with-
out ceasing.

The most important insect the orchardist must control
is the apple worm or codling moth, a pest which may reduce
the crop of sound fruit by one-fourth to nearly three-fourths.
Tiiis is such a serious loss that we may well spend a few
minutes studying the insect, in an effort to ascertain the
most efiicient method of checking its ravages. This inseci
winters, as most know, in a tough, silken cocoon usually
located in an oval cell under the rough bark of treies. With
the appearance of warm weather in the spring, usually late
April and early May, the caterpillars change to apparently
lifeless pupae, and a week or ten days after the blossoms
fall, the moths commence to emerge and continue to appeai
throughout the greater part of June. The minute, whitish
eggs are deposited largely upon the leaves, though a number
may be found on the 3'Oung fruit. They hatch in about a
week and, as a consequence, the young apple worms of the
first brood may be entering the small fruit from early in
June, approximately three weeks after the blossoms fall, to
nearly the end of the month or even later. These caterpil-
lars require about four weeks to complete their growth, at
which time they desert the fruit, wander to a sheltered place
and spin a cocoon. They transform once more to pupae and
in about two weeks, namely the last of July or in August
another brood of moths may appear. These in turn deposit
eggs which hatch in due time and the young caterpillars

94

usually enter the side of the fruit, producing the familiar
side-wormy apples. Two broods appear to be the rule in the
northern fruit growing seijtion of the United States.

With the above summary of the habits of this insect in
mind, it is easy to see that there are three well defined
periods when applications of poisons may be more or less
effectual.

The first comprises the week or ten days after the drop-
ping of the white petals or bloom, and during which the
much smaller green calyx lobes remain open and the young
apples upright in such a condition that the calyx cavity can
be more or less filled with poison.

The second period is about three weeks after blossoming
and is the time when the young codling moth larvae or apple
worms hatch, begin feeding and enter the fruit.

The third period is the latter part of July or early
August and is of especial importance because the small
caterpillars of the second brood, the young apple worms are
then hatching and feeding on the leaves or entering the fruit.

We were desirous of obtaining some information as to
the actual value of poisoned sprays applied during these
different periods, and also wished to ascertain ?iow many
were necessary to control the apple worm under average
conditions. Experiments were begun in 1909 and continued
through 1912. The work was planned along practical lines,
so far as possible, and special pains taken to secure only
fairly representative trees in orchards kept in good horti-
cultural condition. Invariably the spraying outfit and the
men on the place were employed, the entomologist contenting
himself simply with explaining his methods and insisting
upon reasonable thoroughness in treatment. It only re-
quired, for example, one minute and three gallons of spray
material to treat a tree 15 feet high with a power outfit
equipped with two lines of hose. The experiments were
conducted in four well separated localities, while the trees
selected were of the standard varieties, being Baldwins,
Greenings, Northern Spy and Ben Davis. The diversity of
season, location, equipment and men and the different va-
rieties used for the tests, prevent these experiments being
classed as local or exceptional. The spraying was invariably
given as soon as possible after the dropping of the petals,

95

special pains being taken to throw the poison down upon
the upturned ends of the young apples. The results we
propose to discuss for a few moments should be compared in
every instance with the yield from check or imsprayed trees,
which, during the four years period under discussion, pro-
duced 32 per cent, or practically one-third wormy fruit.

Spraying during the first period, namely the week or
ten days after the blossoms drop and preferably as soon as
possible thereafter, depends for efficiency upon poisoning the
floral organs and the calyx cup or the calyx cavity, the small
depression at the blossom end of the young apple. This
application, as mentioned above, is given some two to three
weeks before the small apple worms begin feeding, and finas
its justification in the fact that two-thirds to three-fourths
of the wormy apples on unsprayed trees are what are known
as end wormy; in other words, about three-fourths of the
young caterpillars seek to enter the fruit at the blossom end.
There are those who insist upon the necessity of using a high
power and a coarse, driving spray in order to secure the
maximum benefits, though experiments in earlier years, un-
dei Hudson valley conditions, have shown so little difference
between the two methods that we are unwilling to insist up-
on this point. In fact the weight of evidence, which is not
strong one way or the other, is somewhat in favor of the fine,
well distributed spray. The method of application has in-
variably been to adjust the nozzles so that the poison (2 to
3 lbs., 15 per cent, arsenic oxide, arsenate of lead to 50 gals,
of water) would be thrown down into the upturned blossom
ends and an effort made to cover all portions oi the tree
rapidly and uniformly. Most of this spraying was done
from the ground with ordinary nozzle extensions and disk
nozzles set at an angle of 45 degrees, though in one orchard
the owner preferred to use bamboo poles to which the hose
was tied and nozzles adjusted so that they would discharge
in the desired direction. One thorough spraying given as
outlined above and during this period, gave an average foi
the entire series of experiments, of 97.56 per cent, of worm
free apples, less than 21/2 per cent, being wormy; or, stated
differently, out of a yield of 423 barrels, one spraying gave
over 55 additional barrels of sound fruit when compared
with the product from unsprayed trees. These returns are

96

based on practically every apple the tree produced, including
the drops, and every fruit grower knows that such figures
would mean over 99 per cent, of sound fruit upon the trees
at picking time. Obviously, with such results from one
spraying, a second and a third application could not add
greatly to the returns.

Theoretically, spraying during the second period, ilame-
ly about three weeks after the blossoms fall, should be more
efficient than applications at any other time, since it is then
that the young caterpillars are just beginning to feed and
enter the fruit. We tested the efficiency of this one spraymg
during two seasons and found that it was by itself, about
one-half or one-third as effective as the treatment given
during the first period, in each instance making comparisons
with the unsprayed trees as a standard. A spraying during
the second period, when given in addition to the first spray-
ing, produced only a very slight additional gain in the four
year period, namely but .09 of 1 per cent; surely no very
material advantage.

The application in the third period, the latter part of
July or in early August, is designed to check the second
brood and is applied at about the time the young caterpillars
of the new generation are beginning their feeding. These
latter are the ones responsible in large measure for the side
wormy apples of the late summer. In our experimental
work this third treatment, in addition to the first and second,
gave an average of 99.22 per cent, of worm free fruit, a gain
for the third treatment, of practically IV2 per cent. (1-57
per cent).

There are one series of figures which are particularly
significant, namely the percentage of end wormy apples.
That for the unsprayed or check trees was a little over one-
fifth of the total yield (21.73 per cent.) The trees sprayed
only once and during the second period, gave one-eighth of
the total yield (12.26 per cent.) of end wormy apples ; those
sprayed once and during the first period, practically one-
third of 1 per cent. (.353 per cent.) of end wormy apples;
those sprayed twice (namely once during the first and once
during the second period) yielded less than one-tliird of 1
per cent. (.308 per cent.) end wormy apples, while the trees
receiving the three applications bore less than one-fifth of 1

97

per cent. (.185 per cent.) of end wormy apples. It will be
seen at once that the one spraying during the firsc period is
by far the most effective in reducing the number of end
wormy apples and this, taken in connection with the fact
that two-thirds to three-fourths of all the wormy apples on
unsprayed trees are entered at the blossom end. enows why
the early spraying (the application within a week or ten
days after the blossoms fall) is the one which produces the
results. It is obvious that if the first spraying for the cod-
ling moth is by far the most efficient, this is the one upon
which special stress should be laid. One thorough spraying
at that time is fully twice as effective as an application given
a little too late to secure the best results. In our experience
we are satisfied that more penetration is secured if the work
is done just after the blossoms fall and before the stamens
have dried and twisted so as to present a more or less effec-
ual bar to the entrance of the poisonous fluids into the calyx
cavity, the point where most of the young apple worms
should meet their fate.

If the fruit grower can fully realize the importance of
the first spraying for the control of the codling moth, there
is little probability of his suffering much from later broods.
Paradoxical though it may appear, the way to control the
second brood is to spray thoroughly for the first.

A study of the data collected during a series of years,
justifies the conclusion, for the Hudson valley at least, that
in normal seasons when the crop is abundant or fairly abun-
dant, one thorough early spraying within a week or ten days
after the blossoms fall and preferably early during that
period, should result in the production of 95 to 98 per cent,
of sound fruit. A slight gain will accrue from a second
treatment about three weeks after blossoming, and addition-
al returns may be secured from a third spraying the latter
part of July. The benefit from the latter two is compara-
tively small, so far as the codling moth is concerned, though
ample to meet the cost of the poison and, in many instances,
probably the expense of the treatment. A small crop almost
invariably means a larger percentage of wormy fruit, and il
the prospects are even fair for good prices, the third spray-
ing (the latter part of July) would justify itself because ot

98

the additional protection from possibly severe injury by the
second brood. The treatment three weeks after the blos-
soms fall may be advisable, especially if the first application
is not thorough for some reason or other, though as stated a
moment ago, we much prefer to emphasize the importance
of thorough work during this first period.

It may be contended by some that the results from a
single spraying, given above, are better than the average
fruit grower can obtain by himself. The best answer we
can make to this is that during the past two seasons we have,
without previous warning, gone into the orchards where
experimental work was conducted in earlier years, and found
that the owners had obtained practically the same returns
witliout the benefit of any supervision or suggestions from
the entomologist, aside from that gained while the experi-
mental work was in progress. Last summer one of our fruit
growers became somewhat worried about the possibility ot
injury by a second brood and, to satisfy himself in regard to
the matter, sprayed two rows in an orchard in early August,
all having been thoroughly treated during the first period
as described above. An examination of the yield at picking
time showed that the trees sprayed but once bore about 95
per cent, of worm free apples, while the second application
in August resulted in a gain of approximately 2 per cent of
sound friut. Practically this made little difference, since
the infested apples produced by the trees sprayed but once,
were mostly on the ground and therefore very few, in any
event, could be run in as first-class fruit.

Spraying for the codling moth, so far as we are con-
cerned, has not resulted in making an enthusiastic supportei
of any one system. It has, hoAvever, shown us the possibili-
ties, and if conditions are such that one spraying will not
do the work, by all means giA^e more. Before concluding
that the latter is necessary, be sure you know what thoroug^i
work means, because it is much more economical to spray a
tree satisfactorily in one treatment than to make two trips —
the second, if unnecessary, simply means wasted effort. We
are well satisfied that under Hudson valley conditions, and
they are not very different from those of Massachusetts,
orchards in what we term a good horticultural condition
will give surprisingly satisfactory returns with one thorough

99

spraying as outlined above. This treatment should ordin-
arily prevent serious injury by early leaf feeders, such as
the apple tent caterpillar, canker worms, bud moth and case-
bearers, and if tobacco has been added at the rate of % of
a pint of 40 per cent., nicotine to 100 gals., it will destroy
many plantlice and possibly obviate the need of later appli-
cations for these pests. A fungicide, either Bordeaux or
lime-sulfur wash (not a soda sulfur wash) should also he
added to the spray because of the protection thus afforded
against fungous diseases.

A word as to plantlice may be timely. It is exceedingly
difficult to forecast probabilities with these insects, thougn
as a rule, a cool, backward spring is favorable to their de-
velopment. Precautions are justified under such conditions
which could hardly be advised if the skies were bright and
the temperature rising, because the latter conditions are
favorable to the rapid development of efficient natural ene-
mies, such as the black spiny grubs of the ladybeetles, the
varicolored maggots of the flower flies and the small four-
winged parasites which live within the bodies of the plant-
lice.

The pear grower has special problems. He may find it
very desirable to delay the lime-sulfur treatment for San
Jose scale until the buds begin to start and the pear Psylla
has deposited its yellowish eggs. Spraying at that time
takes care of both the scale and the Psylla if the work is
thorough. It is advisable to supplement this by keeping
the trunks of the older trees smooth and thus diminish the
shelters and eliminate, in some measure, the number of flies
which survive. In cases of unusually serious infestation it
may be advisable to spray during warm days in late fall or
early winter for the purpose of destroying the Psyllas as
they emerge temporarily from their winter retreats.

Blasted pear blossoms, the mysterious blossom blight,
has resolved itself in the Hudson valley into injury by pear
thrips. The slender, dark brown insects are about 1-20 of
an inch long and have very delicate, narrow, fringed wings.
They appear on the trees as the buds start and quickly
shelter themselves among the expanding flower buds and
later between unrolling leaves. The bloom is literally
blasted, presenting a brown, seared appearance, there is an

100

unusual drop of bud scales and the small leaves have a
characteristic spoon-shaped deformity. Sticky honeydew
is abundant on the infested trees. Here again, are condi-
tions where late treatment with a lime-sulfur wash, to which
a tobacco extract such as black leaf 40 has been added in the
proportion of 1 to 800, is justified. This will destroy many
of the early appearing thrips, and if the insect is numerous,
another spraying may be advisable just as soon as the young
pears have separated sufficiently so the insects at the base of
the stems are exposed. It may even be necessary to give
another spraying after the blossoms fall. This insect works
so rapidly and seeks shelter so persistently, that promptness
in treatment is a prime essential to successful work.

The false tarnished plant bug is capable of producing on
pears, a condition similar to that caused by the red bug on
apples, namely an irregular, gnarly development, the de-
pressions being marked by pithy cores which may extend
some distance into the fruit. The young begin to appear
when the trees are coming into blossom, and the pest can be
most successfully controlled by spraying with a tobacco
preparation such as black leaf 40, using % of a pint to 100
gals, of water to which is added 3 lbs. of soap. Some grow-
ers have been satisfied to delay the regular lime-sulfur spray-
ing for San Jose scale, adding thereto the requisite amount
of the tobacco extract.

Specific directions might be given for the control ot
other insects and this paper continued to an almost indefinite
length. The main thing is to appreciate the fact that, as s*
rule, most insects can be controlled if one understands the
method of attack. Complaints of unsuccessful work invari-
ably lead us to ascertain the cause. We should remember
that a chain is not stronger than its weakest link and any
defect in our method of spraying, be it lack of thoroughness,
untimeliness, a poor or unsuitable material, is bound to have
disastrous results. We would urge upon all progressive fruit
growers, the desirability of adopting a system of spraying
which may be profitably followed year after year, becaust;
in this manner alone, can the best results be obtained,
especially in controlling such a pest as the codling moth.
Trees producing a large crop one year, like the Baldwin,

101

need protection from insect enemies and fungous diseases
the following year, in order to store sufficient energy to
produce a large crop the next season. The early leaf feed-
ers, such as the bud moth, the two case-bearers and canker
worms should be kept in check by annual sprayings. Un-
fruitfulness, in a measure, may be due to unsuspected
injuries by any one of these insects. The production of
large crops of high quality fruit necessitates vigorous trees
practically free from insect pests and fungous diseases, a
condition which can be brought about only by thorough and
systematic spraying.

THE PRESIDENT. We will now welcome all the
questions you wish to ask.

MR. E. M. IVES OF CONNECTICUT. The Doctor has
alluded to Black Leaf 40, which perhaps some of us are not
using. There has been trouble in combining Black Leaf 40
with arsenate of lead, and also in using Bordeaux mixture,
if you should use it in that first spraying before the petals
open. What suggestions has the Doctor on any experiments
that he has made along the line of using another combination
with Black Leaf 40 as an insect spray, and also as a fungi-
cide ? In other words, a combination of sulphide of iron and
zinc arsenate with Black Leaf 40. Have you made any ex-
periments with those combinations? This combination
spraying is something we have got to get right, and we have
evidently got to hit all these different things with the one
spraying, and this problem of summer spraying is a pretty
serious one ; and just where to hit, and hit right and combine
right, is a very intricate problem.

DR. FELT. I don't know that I can answer you very
definitely, except to say that so far as Black Leaf 40 was con-
cerned, I understood that it could be used safely with a lime-
sulfur wash not with Bordeaux mixture, and that some other
tobacco preparations have given trouble. I do not wish to
be misconstrued as trying to defend one product more than
another, but I have alluded to this one because it seemed to
be a moderately standardized material, and the great diffi-
culty in the past in recommending a tobacco product has
been to get hold of something which you could refer to
definitely as containing so much of the actual insecticide.

102

We have not made any experiments with sulphate of zinc.
We have a number of growers who have been using the
Black Leaf 40 and lime-sulfur combination with a great deal
of satisfaction.

MR. IVES. And arsenate of lead combined?

DR FELT. Yes.

MR. IVES. Well, there are Station Reports that show
injury where they used either arsenate of lead or combined
it with Bordeaux mixture.

DR. FELT. I was at the New York State Fruit Grow-
ers' meeting the week before last, and there the statement
was repeatedly made that this tobacco preparation could be
used on apple with the lime-sulfur wash and also with the
arsenate of lead.

MR. IVES. But under New York conditions.

DR, FELT. Yes. Of course, there may be a difference
in the conditions between here and over in the Hudson Val-
ley, but I would not expect anything very marked. I am
willing to admit that these combinations are new and per-
haps present some new features. A heavy spraying with a
lime-sulfur wash, at summer strength, to which poison is
added may of itself produce hurning. The spraying must
be carefully done and pains taken to secure good distribu-
tion. Here is one question: Was this a lime-sulfur, or a
sodium sulphide ?

MR. IVES. I don't know that I have anything in re-
gard to lime-sulfur combination, but I am speaking more of
the arsenate of lead and copper as a compound.

Dr. FELT. I can 't answer that quite so definitely as in
relation to lime-sulfur.

PROFESSOR BROOKS. I want to say only that at the
Experiment Station last summer we combined Black Leaf 40
with Pyrox, "wdth extremely_satisfaetory results. We had a
great deal of trouble with red bug for one or two years, and
we had very nearly perfect fruit last season, almost wholly
free from red bug. This combination spray was made just
after the petals fell.

MR. STAPLES. What protection would you suggest
for browntail moth? They have been troubling us in our
vicinity for several years. They come on in May or about
the first of June, and strip the trees.

103

DR. FELT. You mean under orchard conditions, or
woodland ?

MR. STAPLES. Orchard conditions.

DR. FELT. With the trees sprayed ?

MR. STAPLES. Certainly. We sprayed five times
last season, and yet they persisted somewhat, in fact, quite
largely, with their work. We picked the nests in the winter
and thought we had pretty well got rid of them, and yet we
had an abundance of browntails in the spring, and then we
sprayed again in August, and a good many persisted through
that and lived and ate the leaves. They would not die with
arsenate of lead.

DR. FELT. I think Mr. Frost would be better quali-
fied to answer that, because he knows about it. We are not
spraying for the browntail in New York, because we haven't
got it yet. Mr. Frost is in the business, and he might tell
you.

MR. BRONSON. I would like to ask about sweet spray
for the control of the cherry fruit fly and the apple maggot,
and whether the use of such sprays would interfere with the
beos.

DR. FELT. I can't tell you about the bees, but Pro-
fessor Herrick of Cornell conducted some experiments in
1913 near Lake Cayuga, in which he obtained very satisfac-
tory results by spraying a small amount of sweetened
arsenical poison on the foliage of the cherry for the control
of the cherry fruit flies. In regard to the fruit fly on apples
— railroad worm — there seems to be some advantage, but
there seems to be comparatively little injury from that insect
in orchards which are systematically sprayed for codling
moth. I have yet to learn of any definite experiments show-
ing that this insect is equally well controlled by the use of
these sweetened sprays, though I would rather expect that
such might be the case. We have been trying for seven or
eight years to find a condition where we could thoroughly
test out the sweet spray, and as j'et have not been able to do
it. We find a few in some orchards, but these were mostly
sprayed, and the flies never became abundant enough so that
we could get any decisive rata.

MR. MANN. I want to ask the Doctor what he can tell
us of the use of soluble sulfur in killing the San Jose scale.

104

DR. FELT, I have 'not tested that out carefully, but it
has been tested by the Agricultural Experiment Station at
Geneva, and so far as .they have got at it at present, it works
very nearly as well as the lime-sulfur wash. There is a
variation of less than 1 per cent, in the case of San Jose
scale. This is necessarily based on only a few season's work.
I don't want to say too much about soluble sulfur. It is a
material which can hardly have been tested out thoroughly,
and I am a little curious to know what the results will be
when the application is followed shortly by heavy rains.

MR. MANN OF ESSEX COUNTY. I notice you recom-
mend the combination of lime-sulfur and arsenate of lead in
spraying for codling moth. I think that is a very dangerous
doctrine. It may be safe in New York, where you haven't
the browntail and gypsy moth, but not in eastern Massachu-
setts. Here'in Massachusetts 3 pounds of arsenate of lead to
50 gallons of water just gives the browntail and gypsy moth
enough to get fat on, and don't do any good at all, and I
don't think that less than 5 pounds of arsenate of lead to 50
gallons of water is any use. That gives them enough so
that they stop business right away.

As for the combined lime-sulfur and arsenate of lead, I
haven't used that combination, but I have repeatedly been
in orchards the first of the summer, where you could see the
foliage burned in some places quite badly, and I would ask
the man if he didn't use the lime-sulfur with the arsenate of
lead, and he would say, "Well, yes, we did use it on this part
of the orchard, but on most of it, we didn't," and in most
every place where I would see the foliage burned and the
fruit hard, it would be where they had used that mixture.
It may have been a climatic condition or perhaps it wasn't
put on right, perhaps they didn't use the right amount, but
at the same time, there was the damage and we ought to
know how to protect ourselves against it. In some places
where they used the highest priced poison of the lot, which
I suppose really is arsenate of lead and lime or Bordeaux
mixture, I noticed they had used it on their Mcintosh and
Gravensteins, and when they were ripe they didn't have a
fancy apple in the lot; — all blasted on one side where they
got that spray. We ought to know how to do these things
right.

105

I don't know much about the use of soluble sulfur. It
is nice stuff to handle and you don't have to pay a lot of
freight, but I have used the combination of soluble sulfur
a,nd arsenate of lead and I damaged two or three orchards
very seriously. Whether it was a climatic condition or not,
I don't know. . Perhaps I used more of the arsenate of lead
than I should have, but I don't believe it is safe to combine
the two in my section of the state, from what I have ob-
served. I think it did more damage than it prevented. I
want to get rid of the scale, of course. I have followed the
teaching of the scientific men and the Docor and everybody
else, to the best of my ability, and still there is scale. Last
fall I made a heavy application of oil, and again in the
spring I dosed them heavily with the soluble sulfur. On some
trees there was no scale at all, and I don't know whether it
was the oil in the fall or the soluble sulfur in the spring.

MR. STAPLES Is it safe to piit on 5 or 6 pounds of
arsenate of lead with water?

MR. MANN. I think it would be safe to put on 20 as
far as injury to foliage is concerned.

DR. FELT. If I understood the speaker correctly, it is
possible that he and perhaps somebody else has misappre-
hended my remarks. I have recommended, and still
recommend, the use of a fungicide with an insecticide, —
that is, either Bordeaux mixture or a lime-sulfur wash with
arsenate of lead, and over in New York State a great many
of our fruit growers are drifting into the use of a lime-sulfur
wash rather than Bordeaux mixture, and unless the appli-
cation is quite heavy, they get very good results. Here,
where you have browntail and gyps.y moths and use a larger
amount of arsenate of lead and presumably make a heavier
application, I would not be at all surprised if you should
have some foliage injury.

Another thing I want to make clear is this : the gentle-
man asked in regard to soluble sulfur for the San Jose scale.
I gave you the data in regard to it in my paper. He refers
to serious injury following the combination of a soluble
sulfur and arsenate. We have had just that experience in
New York State, and at present consider the combination
unsafe. I saw trees last summer with three-fourths of the
leaves taken off, and the men who made the applications

106

told me that they had followed the manufacturer's direc-
tions.

MR. MANN. I ought to make clear one point in de-
ciding whether it is that combination. I didn't want to con-
demn the soluble sulfur because the combination had done
the damage, and I proved to my mind that it wasn't the sul-
fur, but was the combination that hurt the trees. One day
a little later on, when the trees were in full foliage, I thought
I would give the hen-house a good soaking, and I had the
soluble sulfur handier than lime, and I made a strong solu-
tion, twice or three times as strong as I would put it on for a
winter application, and I soaked the hen-house thoroughly,
and then I turned the hose on to an apple tree that was right
handy, and it didn't hurt that any, so that it seemed to me
that it was the mixture, it was the combination, that did the
damage. It would be valuable for me, I think, if I could
learn to do these things right the first time.

THE PRESIDENT. For the benefit of the audience I
would like to give the opinion of Dr. Boker, the chemist of
Brown University. He is very much interested in fruit
growing and fruit spraying. He states that, knowing what
he does of the chemical elements of arsenate of lead and
sulfur, he would not use the arsenate and sulfur compounds
on foliage. He says that sulfur has a great affinity for the
arsenate and will react on any arsenic compound if it is in
sufficient quantity. That is simply the chemical end of that
combination, and I think you should use your own judgment.
Many people are using a combination of lime-sulfur with
arsenate of lead with safety, and manufacturers are sending
out some letters showing where soluble sulfur and arsenate
of lead are used in safety, but I shouldn't advise any of you
to use those combinations unless you are pretty sure of them.
And bear in mind the opinion of this chemist of Brown
University, who stands very high in his profession.

MR. FOSTER. Until last year I have always used self-
boiled lime-sulfur preparation with arsenate of lead, but last
year I tried some of the soluble sulfur. I had never been
told by anyone but what I could use arsenate of lead with it
just the same as I had the other preparations, and I immedi-
ately got into trouble, and by the time I had burned enough
of my apple trees, I found others had been doing the same,

107

and I got frightened and would not use any more of the
soluble sulfur, and I have it on hand now. I am told it was
a splendid thing to use alone and use the arsenate of lead in
a separate spray, so I would like to ask if that would be 'a
safe plan, to spray with the soluble sulfur and let it dry on
the tree, and then spray with arsenate of lead, at two differ-
en times? They would be mixed on the tree, and I was
wondering if anyone has had any experience. I would like
to use up the rest of the soluble sulfur in some way, and I
don't know what to do.

DR. FELT. If I were in that fix, I would certainly try to
use my soluble sulfur as a San Jose scale spray. I don 't know
just what the result would be, and I am not sure that any
living man could tell you. I think a good deal would depend
on conditions following your application. If you put soluble
sulfur on first and there was considerable rain, there might
be enough of that washed off so that you could make an ap-
plication of arsenate of lead and there wouldn't be any
reaction. If, on the other hand, there was no rain to wash
it off, or wash off either one or the other — and the rain
wodldn't wash off much arsenate of lead, anyway — and you
got both on, and even though there was subsequent drying,
I wouldn't want to be responsible for the result with the
recurrence of moist conditions. In New York State trees
sprayed with a combination of soluble sulfur and arsenate of
lead showed progressive burning, which extended over a
considerable period. Some of the leaves which received a
heavy coating, came off early, and the others dropped off at
intervals of even three or four weeks, showing that there was
more or less chemical activity going on for some time. With
that in mind, it would be a little hazardous to permit a possi-
ble combination of that character.

MR. IVES. It seems as if the western fruit growers
have met with all the troubles that we are going to be up
against, in these combined sprays, and I incidentally men-
tioned this zinc arsenate and sulphite of iron as a combina-
tion they are working on. I don't know whether the
Doctor has taken it up or not. If you use a Bordeaux
mixture for the first spray, on the bud we will say, and cease
to use Bordeaux then and use it just for one spray for that
period, for a fungicide with arsenate, if you want to. and

108

then for the next spray cease that and take up this sulfur
and arsenate, you will have trouble: I have. I wouldn't
want to use that strong Bordeaux after the petals drop, but
I have for rust, etc., and found the other trouble of complete-
ly stripping the set of fruit, as well as some leaf injury. I
wanted to get a combination that wouldn't produce injury
or be affected by the weather, that would hit all these bugs
and fungus diseases, but I haven't got it yet. I have had
trouble, as this chemist from Rhode Island says, and they
probably have had the same thing in the west. They are
mighty careful of their fruit; they want that fruit just as
fine and near perfection as they can get it, and they have
trouble with combined spraying.

THE PRESIDENT. I would like to say, the West is
still having trouble. I have here some Hood River apples I
picked up in one of the Boston stores, which are covered
with scale, and also have flaws in them, the first western
apple I ever saw that had sea'".

MR. PUTNAM. Yesterday a scientist told us that we
must plant our apples in mixed plantations in order to secure
the great benefit of cross-fertilization, and Dr. Felt tells us
that we must plant in blocks in order to aid in controlling
the codling moth. If we plant in small blocks, will those be
large enough blocks to be of use in controlling the codling
moth?

DR. FELT. It is a little difficult to answer that ques-
tion, because I doubt if there is any exact data. I made the
suggestion for the reason that in some orchards I have seen
alternate setting in the rows, and some of my friends have
had a good deal of difficulty in controlling the codling moth
under those conditions, I couldn't attribute it to any other
feature than that mixture of varieties. I didn 't mean to make
that recommendation in opposition to the advice of a compe-
tent horticulturist, but I did mention it as one of the factors
which might make spraying a little easier for the control of
insects, from the entomologist's standpoint. It is up to the
fruit grower to judge which is best for himself — mixed or in
blocks. Planting varieties in alternate groups of two or four
rows would probably harmonize this difficulty.

MR. STAPLES. Is there any advantage in Bordeaux
mixture as a fungicide, for instance for the scab, over the

109

lime-sulfur, for the early spray, say, when the bud is pink?

DR. FELT. I don't care to take a position on that one
way or the other, it not being an entomological question.

MR. STAPLES. It is claimed in good authorities that
the lime-sulfur is entirely equal to that work, and I wanted
to ascertain if it is, that's all.

THE PRESIDENT. I will ask for an expression of
opinion from the audience.

MR. IVES. I probably haven 't got percentages in com-
paring these things, but it is generally recognized that
Bordeaux has been the better and stronger. The only
truble is that it is too strong at certain periods and does the
work too well, sometimes causing rusting and injury to
foliage. I have never had that trouble, but on certain
varieties you will have more than on others. I doubt if the
Spy will be affected by any spray ; certainly not by Bordeaux
or sulfur.

MR. MARGESON. I would like to ask if we can use
arsenate of lead and tobacco together as a dormant spray
for bud moths?

DR. FELT. They are being used in New York State.
They are making an application of lime-sulfur, and leaving
the spraying for the San Jose scale until the leaves get out a
distance of a quarter of an inch and sometimes even until
the pink shows in the blossom, putting on a lime-sulfur wash
and Black Leaf 40, and arsenate of lead, and are not getting
material injury. They are using it in the central fruit grow-
ing section of the state, and there has been an insistent
demand in that section for an opportunity of putting on the
poison in connection wath jthe San Jose Scale spraying. The
only advantage I can see from that is that when you delay
treatment until you have something green to put your
poison on, you can get some of those early leaf feeders, and
in that section we have one or two which may possibly be
very serious, namely, the leaf roller, which has destroyed
fruit in several orchards in recent years, and which begins
feeding and works right down into the buds and ordinarily
escapes the usual poison spray. The only way to get at it
in time is by putting on the poison just as soon as the first
green shows, and then you have a decided advantage. I

110

might say in regard to this leaf roller that experiments in the
West, and some conducted by Professor Herrick of Cornell,
would indicate that the spraying in the spring or during the
dormant season with a miscible oil or petroleum emulsion is
perhaps the most effective method of checking them when
abundant in an orchard.

MR. MILLER, I am pretty firmly convinced that the
simpler we keep our spraying mixture and the more effec-
tive we are in the use of them, the better results we will get.
The average fruit grower is apt, when he gets into the realm
of various spraying mixtures which we have today, to be-
come confused. I feel that with a good thorough application
of the lime-sulfur compounds for the dormant spray we can
control most of the scale insects and the fungus troubles,
and then when we get into the summer season where we are
liable to get the codling moth and the chewing insects, at
that time, if we have thoroughly worked with the lime-sul-
fur, I believe we can thoroughly control the chewing insects
with the arsenate' of lead. Now, I hope that every fruit
grower here today, whatever else he may get from this dis-
cussion, will go home with the idea that if he uses these two
spraying mixtures thoroughly, he can practically control the
entire situation as relating to the production of perfect fruit.
I would suggest with relation to the liriie-sulfur that the
mixture may be made a little stronger than is ordinarily
recommended ; I believe about 6 gallons to 44 gallons of
water is the ordinary formula, but my rule has been about
S gallons and I have observed, as to practical results, that
the stronger the mixture up to that point, the better the
results are. I likewise believe that a little stronger mixture
of arsenate of lead than is ordinarily advised produces
better results, and I likewise believe that this spraying
problem should never be disassociated with the other factors
and the other essentials that are necessary in order to pro-
duce fruit. In other words, I believe that better cultural
treatment, more attention to pruning, is an important factor,
together with the thorough spraying, in order to grow the
fine fruit which we are trying to produce today.

MR. IVES. I would like to ask Mr. Miller how he is
going to fight the pink and green lice. There is a scourge
of it here.

Ill

MR, MILLER. When you have trouble like that, use
something especially suited to that trouble. We who have
used Black Leaf 40 understand that it is a preventive, that
it will control the Green Aphis. If you have browntail or
gypsy moth, then you have got to use arsenate of lead,
stronger than you would ordinarily use it to control the
codling moth, say. My point primarily is to give the insect
the proper treatment, and not try to make a combination of
mixtures in the hope that one spray will control the entire
situation.

MR. IVES. One point to be considered is that if you
follow one treatment by another, you are going to get into
trouble. You have got to follow up one fellow pretty soon
after you chase the first, and the overlapping of those sprays
is going to make trouble, and you will find it so if you try it
out ; if you don 't look out, you will have trouble with your
Black Leaf when you put on something else.

MR. ROGERS. Is there any danger in using Black
Leaf 40 with arsenate of lead for spraying for codling moth?

DR. FELT. I don't think so.

MR. ROGERS. Years ago, in spraying in the dormant
season on apple trees, we used to use Bordeaux mixture 4-4-
50 and didn't have but very little trouble for a good many
years from injury, and now, just before the petals open we
use the 4-4-40 Bordeaux for the fungus diseases and immedi-
ately after they open we use arsenate of lead and sulfur
combined and have had no injury all through some seasons
and then the next season we would get injury. Why should
we get that under practically the same conditions?

DR. FELT. You may get an appreciable difference in
the amount of application. If you spray very freely with
arsenate of lead and lime-sulfur in a combination, you are
apt to have more or less of it collect in depression in the leaf
and some injury, and you have therefore got to make that
application pretty uniform and stop before you apply too
much or there will be injurj^

MR. BILLINGS. To come back to the codling moth
again, I understood the Doctor to say there was no difference
in the pressure used in the first sprayisg, that high or low
pressure made practically no difference. I have had five
years' experience in the Northwest, and they used high

112

pressure for the first spraying, so as to drive the spray
through the trees and into the calyx. Since I have been
East I have seen people just spitting the spray at the trees,
as you might say, without pressure enough to get at the top,
and then saying it didn't do any good to spray. It seems
to me that the pressure question in spraying is something
that the people here haven't got on to yet.

DR. FELT. My position in regard to the pressure is
this: the higher the pressure, the more rapidly you can do
thorough work, but with a pressure of 80 pounds or there-
abouts, if you are willing to take the necessary amount of
care and can get it all over the tree, I fail to see why you
can't secure almost as good results as though the pressure
ran up to 200 or 300 pounds. Of course, it takes more time
with a pressure of only 80 pounds. In our initial experi-
ments we ran a pressure test on six plots, three by spraying
with a high pressure of approximately 150 pounds and using
a coarse spray with a Bordeaux nozzle adjusted so as to get
something that would drive ; and in the other three using a
disc nozzle which gives a more uniform spray. We were
insistent upon having thorough work especially with the
driving spray, because we wanted to give it a good, fair test,
and it took longer, so long, in fact, that the man who owned
the orchard almost lost patience because we took so much
time. With the other spray we went over it rapidly. So
far as distributing the spray, the covering was pretty nearly
uniform in both series, though I think if we had kept close
watch we would have found more used per tree where we
employed the heavy pressure, than in the others. On check-
ing up at the end of the season I think there was less than
one-half of one per cent difference. If you can get 98 or 99
per cent with a fine spray, why say anything about the
absolute necessity of using a coarse spray and high pressue?

MR. BILLINGS. Take it on a high tree, how would
you get at the high limbs?

DR. FELT. That is just the point. You have got to
have your pole or equipment of the proper dimensions. You
have got to have proper distribution. My ideal of spraying
for codling moth is not to stand under a tree and shoot up
the spray and let it fall down. You must have a nozzle

113

extension and the nozzle should be set at an angle of 45
degrees or 90 degrees so that you can give a thorough spray
downward, then if the trees are away up high, you can spray
to the best advantage. You may have to use high pressure
to throw it up, but I am not willing to state that you are
going to get 95 or 98 per cent sound fruit. If your land will
permit, you ought to use a tower and a good long extension
so that, even in the case of high trees, you can reach up ;
then, so long as you have pressure which will give a fairly
good distribution at the end of your nozzle, you are all right.
We have found on moderate size trees that 80 pounds was
plenty. As you go up, you must increase your pressure, of
course, in order to get fairly good distribution from the
nozzle ; you have got to put your spray, in other words,
where you want it. So far as driving it down into the the
calyx cavity is concerned, our experience doesn't show that
that is necessary.

MR. SESSIONS. If you had a young orchard that you
were pretty sure wasn't affected, then what about spraying?
Would you need to ?

DR. FELT. That would depend a little on conditions.
I will get around that by saying this : in most orchards it is
probable that your secondary benefits resulting from lime-
sulfur application would pay for the treatment, and if you
wanted to be sure, spray ; but if I was moderately sure and
didn't want to spray and was willing to keep a close watch
on the orchard, I would see no particular hazard in taking
a chance.

MR. SESSIONS. Well, knowing what the San Jose
scale was, and after you concluded that you didn't have
scale enough to necessitate spraying, what then? This is on
three-year old trees.

DR. FELT. Your practical orchardist should not find
it necessary to go through his orchard with a microscope.
He ought to be keen enough to distinguish between the
normal, healthy bark and one that had scale. If he had any
experience with the San Jose scale he ought to be able to
detect it on young trees with the unaided eye before it be-
came very injurious.

MR. SESSIONS. I have been through that experience ;
I didn 't know what it was. But I am not speaking so much of

114

myself as perhaps some of the others, who might wonder if
it wouldn 't be safe for them to let the r^praying go, with the
idea that possibly there might not be any scale.

DR. FELT. You see, a good deal depends on what
familiarity a man has with the scale and his ability to
recognize it. I had an experience with a man who had read
up on everything he could find in regard to scale, he and his
two sons, and they read very thoroughly, and yet when they
got through they found some of their trees literally covered.
They didn 't know what to look for. A man may lose a lot of
trees because he doesn't know what to look for or doesn't
look right. In sections where the scale is abundant you
■would be taking more or less of a hazard unless you knew
what it is and how to control it, but in New York many
could spot it before the trees were badly injured.

MR. SESSIONS. What would you do if you found a
young tree in the orchard that was thoroughly covered with
it? Would you try to save it by spraying, or pull it out?

DR. FELT. That would depend on the tree. Generally
speaking, I wouldn't pull it out, because I have been repeat-
edly astonished at the recuperative ability of trees badly
infested by San Jose scale. In my earlier years my impulse
would have been to tear it out and start over again, but I
am inclined to say that if the tree wasn't too badly deformed
and the limbs not actually killed, I should give it a chance.

MR. ROGERS. The Professor has given the idea that
if he had a small orchard that didn't have scale, that he
wouldn't spray apple trees. If I have judged right. I differ
from him. I certainly think it would pay as well for the
young orchard, and I believe it is one of the most essential
things, to spray the trees every year.

DR. FELT. Personally, on my own trees. I would
spray, biit I do not feel like urging a man to spray a young
orchard unless he feels it is well worth while, himself. I
certainly believe it is the safest and soundest policy. This
gentleman asked if it was absolutely necessary when the
young trees were not infested and a man was watching them
and was familiar with the scale, or at least, that was the
basis on which I gave my answer. Necessity is one thing,
and desirability another.

MR. SESSIONS. Where I live, we are trying to get the

115

young men to start in and raise fruit, even where they have
got limited capital and the dollars count. We are looking
for individuals to get out of this state what they ought to,
and they haven 't always got enough to do it with. If a man
has got a big bank account, he can go ahead and spray, but
if he has got to go and borrow money or dig it out by raising
corn or something of that kind, the question that he wants
answered is whether it is absolutely necessary to pay out his
hard dollars and cents that he got out of the soil, in spraying,
if he don't see any scale, or whether he can let it go. If
they can let it go, every dollar that he can keep in his pocket
means something to him.

DR. FELT. That is a question that every man has got
to pass upon personally. I wouldn't want to say to any
man, "It is absolutely necessary for you to go in and spray
your orchard for San Jose scale.'' I can take you over into
the Hudson Valley and show you trees that have never been
sprayed and have been infested by San Jose scale for a de-
cade or more, and they are still alive, but not producing
fruit that you gentlemen, perhaps, would like to grow. There
are so many factors that come in that, in my opinion, one
can't lay down any hard and fast rule. I believe in spray-
ing and if a man wants to be absolutely safe with a young
orchard in a locality where San Jose scale exists, he should
spray, because I believe he would get his money back in
good, hard dollars, if you please. But if his means are
restricted and he knows what San Jose scale is. there is no
call to spray it until it is necessary, and if he is inclined to
save down to the last dollar and will watch closely, he
might get by. I could watch an orchard and not get
caught, and I think others could.

MR. IVES. What nozzle do you like. There is the
driving mist spray, you know, not the Bordeaux type, but
a modernized type, driving a mist spray, and then there is
one that throws a more restricted spray, but a little more
area, but not so far ahead. Have you worked out those
types? Which do you prefer?

DR. FELT. I would prefer to have a driving, moder-
ately well distributed, fine spray.

MR. IVES. In a large tree, for instance?

DR. FELT. Yes. For codling moth spray I like to get

116

thorough distribution and yet enough power back of it so
you can direct it, because you have got not only to take care
of your blossoms on the outside, but should be able to throw
the spray down in and get at the inside blossoms, and if
your spray is so fine that it simply drifts' it is beyond con-
trol; you don't get enough into the blossoms that are away
in, so I would say a moderate drive and a good distribution.
I use one if the disc nozzles, but I don't care to designate.
The Friend is good. Personally. I prefer to have a moder-
ately large hole, because you get a little coarser spraj' which
you can place more nearly where you want it.

MR. MURPHY. Mr. Sessions spoke of a young man
starting out to spray young trees. Now, he would probably
have some other trees on his place which would need it.
What would be the extra expense of spraying the young
trees over the others.

DR. FELT. Not very much.

MR. MURPHY. Then why run the risk?

THE PRESIDENT. I will state to the gentlemen
present that the officers of the Association anticipated just
these things, and that is why we got Mr. Margeson here to
tell his experiences. Mr. Margeson is producing more from
five acres than a lot of men in New England are who have
planted 50 acres. They haven't got a bank account nor
have they got a good orchard, and Mr. Margeson has got
both! We have discussed this subject, and we feel that one
of the duties of the Association is to try to teach the begin-
ner not to plant more than he can take care of thoroughly.
My personal experience is that nearly all of us plant more
than we can take care of well, and lose in the end. and in
planting in the future I shall not plant any more than I can
spray at all times from one year up as they require it.

MR.. PARMELEE. I would like to ask if birds or bats
or anything of that sort would help eat up insects and bugs
that grow on trees, enough so to encourage their growth.

DR. FELT. Birds are very important friends of the
farmer, generally speaking. I have been interested in
looking up that phase, more particularly in connection with
an outbreak of leaf eaters in the forests, because there much
depends -on a natural check. Back in 1899 there was esti-
mated to be a decrease of approximately 45 per cent in the

117

number of our native birds, and I have noticed in recent
years a large number of outbreaks by leaf eating caterpil-
lars in the forests of New York and to a certain extent, in
New England. I believe in protecting the birds. The
experience of Professor Forbush, who was in charge of the
gypsy moths in 1891, is interesting. He had an orchard in
a badly infested section where there was about everything
in the way of an insect that could be found, and he simply
attracted the birds, and. according to his own statement,
obtained very desirable returns as a result. Now. for the
fruit grower. I do not know that I would advocate relying
upon the birds. I would recognize their value, but I would
do my part in the fight and try to encourage and protect
them, not so much on account of the returns in the orchard,
but on account of the protection to forest and shade trees
which under many conditions we cannot spray at present.

THE PRESIDENT. Before we adjourn, I would like
to state that I have here a lot of peach twigs brought in
yesterday by the vice-president of the Connecticut Pomo-
iogical Society. Mr. Barnes has examined them and re-
ports that from 75 to 90 per cent of the buds are alive, so
if that is correct it looks as though they had come through
the cold spell very well.

(An adjournment was taken to 2.00 p. m.)

AFTERNOON SESSION

Friday. January 16, 1914.

The meeting was called to order by the President at
2.30 p. m.

THE PRESIDENT. While we are waiting for the
audience to come in. I am going to give you just a few
statistics. We are asked constantly if we don't fear an
over-production of apples. Some of us have tried to figure
out the percentage of trees that are being planted now, that
are going to produce first class fruit, and we have agreed
that 10 per cent of the trees being planted now will be
taken care of in the future and will produce first class fruit.

At the present time you know what the market is for
good eastern apples. I was talking with one of the big
grocers in a suburb of Boston, and he wanted to know what
was getting to be the matter with people here. He said, "I
can 't sell western apples. ' * That shows that we are educat-
ing the easterners up to demanding a good eastern apple.

I have got some statistics from the census which show
that in 1910 there were about 480,000 less apple trees in
Massachusetts than there were in 1900. I will let you
account for that in any way you want to! That includes
355.868 trees that are not bearing. The totals were, for
Massachusetts, 1,852,046 apple trees in 1900: in 1910,
1,367,379. Now, the production of apples was 3.023,436
bushels in 1899 and 2,550,259 in 1909. being about 500,000
bushels less in 1909 than in 1899. You may be interested k>
know about Hampden County, which ought to be one of
our big apple-producing counties ; but I am sorry to say that
it comes very low. Hampden County had in 1900, 129,818
trees, and in 1910 had 115,264 trees, so you see there was a

119

reduction. In 1899 she produced 293,302 bushels, and in
1909 produced 183,012 bushels. Now, Hampden County
comes fifth in the counties of Massachusetts in the produc-
tion of apples, and one reason for the meeting here is to see
if we can't help her ^et ahead.

(It was moved, and voted, to have a committee of five
appointed to bring in names of officers to be elected at the
ann\ial meeting at Worcester in March, the committee to be
chosen by the President.) Messrs. Hittinger, Cook, Morse,
Copeland and Jenks were appointed.

(It was moved, and voted, that the Secretary be in-
structed to write a vigorous protest to the members of the
committee in Washington having in charge the bill provid-
ing the keeping of all food products in artificial storage
shall be limited to 90 days, asking that the fruits such as the
Association is interested in be exempt from the provisions
of that bill.)

(The Secretary was instructed to embody in said letter,
the number of fruit growers that are in the Association).

(It was moved, and voted, that the Association accept
the invitation to meet with the Worcester Horticultural
Society in Worcester in January of 1915.)

THE PRESIDENT. I have received a letter with a last
year's program enclosed of an apple show and convention
of the International Apple Fruit Shippers* Association.
This association offers a v^ry valuable cup for fruit to be
exhibited in August in Boston. This is the first time, I
think, that they have met in Boston, and one of their officers
who is a Boston man is very anxious to have our Massachu-
setts growers show the western states that we can raise good
apples. They do not expect ripe apples, and I want to ask
everyone present, if you possibly can, to send to your officers
for a prize list and to show some apples next August. They
expect green apples, but they will have apples from the
western, central and southern states, and Massachusetts has
hardly ever taken any interest in this convention and show.
If you wish any other information in regard to this later on,
write to our Secretary.

I want to ask you today to visit the exhibitors after the
address. Our attendance has been small, and the exhibitors
have done a good deal for us at this convention, and we will

120

be able to close early enough today to visit them and we
also ought to give them some time tomorrow morning. We
also wish you would stay over and meet the commission men.
They are coming here from Boston and Worcester, and then
there are the Springfield men, and they want to get
together with the fruit growers and see if we can't come to
some better understanding in regard to selling and market-
ing our fruit.

We have an invitation from the H. P. Stone Company
and the H, J. Perkins Company, both very large commission
men here in Springfield, to visit their plants, and they will
show us every courtesy, and I wish we all might to do that.
Both of these gentlemen have been very generous. H. P.
Stone furnished this fruit and the samples of packing, and
Mr. Perkins is paying for the large advertising banner
across Main Street, and has also put in quite an exhibit in
our exhibition hall. It has been suggested that we meet
here at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, and then we will
make a circuit of the plants of the commission men.

Now, for this afternoon's session we are going to have
an address on "Experiments on Cultural Methods, Cover-
crops and Fertilization in Apple Orchards", by Dr. J, P.
Stewart, Experimental Pomologist of the Pennsylvania
State College, Dr, Stewart has spent a good deal of time
on this subject and has a great deal to say and he has con-
densed it so that we should get much information which
will be of great value, Dr, Stewart gives the results of a
number of experiments covering a period of several years
in widely separated localities, and without doubt is the best
informed of anyone on this subject, in the country. I now
take pleasure in presenting Dr. J. P. Stewart of Pennsyl-
vania. (Applause.)

EXPERIMENTS ON CULTURAL METHODS, COVER-

CROPS, AND FERTILIZATION IN

APPLE ORCHARDS.

Dr. John P. Stewart, Experimental Pomologist,
State College, Pa.

To develop and maintain an apple orchard in its highest
state of efficiency involves many decisions. Even among
the principal operations, there are generally at least two
available courses, between which it is often difficult to de-
cide. In such cases the ideal procedure whenever possible
is to ask the trees. With the individual orchardist, how-
ever, this is frequently out of the question, especially when
immediate action is required or when only a few trees of a
single variety are available. The comprehensive orchard
experiments, and the careful determination of the general
effects of the leading operations, should therefore be cared
for by the various state and national agencies already pro-
vided. The net results of such experiments then be-
come available to the grower as a basis for immediate
action, and the latter can be further adjusted to the exact
local needs by means of suitable tests wherever the opera-
tions are sufficiently extensive.

Experiments of this general character have now been
in operation under the writer's direction, in the leading
orchard sections of Pennsylvania since 1907. Altogether
ihes€ experiments include ten different soil types and about
3700 trees, some 2200 of which are in various stages of bear-
ing. The latter have produced over 42,000 bushels of fruit
Tinder the various treatments during the last 6 years. The
wide extent of the work largely eliminates the variations of
individual trees and localities, and incidentally makes thia
much the largest and most comprehensive series of experi-

122

ments on apple production so far reported. The details of
the Pennsylvania experiments are given elsewhere, so that
the present discussion is confined merely to the more strik-
ing and practical phases of the results. Of these the first
that we shall consider is the matter of cultural methods or
soil management in young orchards.

CULTURAL METHODS IN YOUNG ORCHARDS.

How should the soil be managed in a young orchard so
as to give the best growth and the earliest fruiting of the
trees? Should it be thoroughly tilled, both before and after
planting, or may equal or superior results be secured in
otiier ways? Does it pay to fertilize 3'oung apple trees,
and if so, how? Do covercrops pay? Can intercrops, or
crops for profit be grown betAveen the rows without ma-
terial injury to the trees? These and similar questions
must be answered in some way by everyone who expects to
earn his living by means of apple production. Fortunately,
data now available from three of the Pennsylvania experi-
ments, covering the first six years of the life of the trees,
will assist materially in answering them.

The first of these experiments is on Volusia silt loam,
in the western end of the state and about midway between
Pittsburg and Erie. The experiment was started with the
planting of the orchard in the spring of 1908. The field had
been in sod, of a rather light and poor growth, and it was
plowed and prepared about as for corn before the trees
were set, in all plats except the last. No. 14. In it the sod
was left undisturbed, the trees were planted with a spade
and were mulched at once with about 100 pounds each of
straw or similar vegetation and were also protected from
mice. Since then the mulch has been maintained by means
of the intergrowth and by further additions of outside
materials as needed to prevent any appreciable growth of
vegetation immediately over the majority of the tree roots.
AH the other plats have been tilled annually in the usual
manner, and in addition they have received the various
treatments indicated in Table I. The first 10 plats contain
18 trees each, of three varieties, — Baldwin, Northern Spy,
and Rome Beauty. The last four contain 45 trees each, of
the same varieties, and all are set at the rate of 27 to the
acre.

12B
TABLE I.

Influence of Fertilization and Cultural Methods on Gi-owth.

(Average Increases in Trunk-girth, 1908-'13, the first 6 years.

Expt. 337)

Average Gain over

Plat Treatment Increase Normal Growth

inches per cent,
(a) Fertilization

1 Check (Unfertilized) 4.85

2 Nitrogen and Acid Phos. 5.43 10.1

3 Nitrogen and Potash 5.07 1.2

4 Check 5.09

5 Phosphate and Potash 5.79 6.2

6 Complete Fertilizer 6.45 11.2

7 • Check 6.19

8 Manure 6.63 11.4

9 Lime (and Ftlzr. 1912-) 6.21 7.8

10 Check* 5.54

(b) Cultural Methods Gain over lowest.

per cent.

11 Tillage and Covercrop 5.41 5.67

12 Tillage and Intercrop 5.12

13 Tillage alone 5.34 4.30

14 Mulch 6^00 17.20

*The average check equals 5.417 inches of increase.

In connection with the average increases shown here,
it should be stated that plats 6 to 10 are situated slightly
lower than the others, and apparently more favorably.
Hence their actual gains are not so valuable for comparison
throughout the experiment as their percentages of gain over
the normal growth for the situation. On the latter basis,
it will be noted that certain forms of fertilization, — particu-
larly those containing nitrogen and phosphorus — are begin-
ning to show considerable influence. This is doubtless
connected with the fact that this particular soil type is often
unusually low in these elements, as young apple trees fre-
quently fail to respond appreciably to any application in-
volving plant food alone.

This soil is also usually well supplied with moisture,— r
so much so in fact that drainage is generally its first need.
Even at that, however, it will be noted that the mulched
trees of plat 14, — a treatment especially fitted to conserve

124

moisture — have made the largest per cent ol Increase of
any trees in the experiment. The excellent showing of the
trees receiving manure is also doubtless partially due to its
mulching effect.

In the other cultural plats, all those involving tillage
without any definite fertilization have fallen much below
the mulched trees in rate of growth. The intercrop here has
apparently been a slight detriment, but the reduction in tree
growth is less than 6 per cent and judging from other results
this is probably due more to a slightly unfavorable location,
recently corrected by drainage, than to any necessary in-
fluence of the intercrops used. All cereals, excepting corn,
have been excluded here and elsewhere in our experiments
and none but tilled annuals have been used. The addition
of an annual covercrop in Plat II shows a slignt gain over
its absence in No. 13, but the benefit as yet is much too small
to pay for itself.

Results on Young Trees at the College. — Most of the
results in the above experiment are brought out more clearly
and are extended considerably in two of the experiments
locateii near the College in the central part of the state.
The treatments and results in one of these experiments are
shown in Table II.

The soil in this case is of limestone origin, technically
known as Hagerstown silt and clay loam, and it was badly
run down in fertility before the trees were planted. This
field also was in a rather poor sod, which waa left undis-
turbed in plats 7 to 9, and the trees were merely planted
with a spade and mulched, or mulched and manured, as
indicated in the table. The other plats were plowed in the
fall and thoroughly prepared as for corn before planting in
the spring of 1908. Plats 1, 4 and 7 contain 45 trees each
and the others 27, of three varieties, — York Imperial, Stay-
man Winesap and Baldwin. The other details of treatment
are as already indicated in connection with Table I, or as
shown in the present table.

125

TABLE II.

Influence of CiUtural Methods on Tree Growth and Soil Moisture.

(Average Increases in Trunk-girth 1908-1913, the first 6 jts.

Expt. 331.)

Average Gain over Av. Moisture Rel. to
Plat Treatment Increase Tillage alone Sept. 1913 optimum

in. per ct. per ct. per ct.

1

2

Tillage alone
Tillage covercrop

5.19

10.6

53.0

& intercrop

5.42

4.43

5.5

27.6

4

Tillage & covercrop

5.21

.39

8.5

42.7

5

Tillage, covercrop

& manure

6.62

27.55

9.2

45.9

6

Tillage, covercrop

& com. ftlzr.

5.92

14.07

9.4

47.2

7

Mulch

6.32

21.77

17.1

85.6

8

Mulch & manure

6.81

31.21

18.2

90.8

9

Mulch & com. ftlzr.

6.89

32.26

18.1

90.4

4

Tillage & covercrop

5.31

.39

8.5

42.7

In this case again the untilled, mulched and spade-
planted trees have shown decidedly the best average
growth. They also have developed by far the most blos-
soms and they would doubtless have borne a lair amount
of fruit during the past season had it not been killed by the
imusually late and serious frosts. The addition of a mulch
alone has given a gain in tree growth of more than 21 per
cent over the trees receiving annual tillage alone. On the
same basis, the further addition of manure or a "complete'*
fertilizer shows an additional gain of about 10 per cent
more than the mulch alone.

In this ease, therefore, it appears that moisture conser-
vation, which is the chief accomplishment of the mulch, is
about twice as important in trees of this age as the applica-
tion of plant food. Fully half the benefit shown in plat 5
is also doubtless a result of the mulching effect of the ma-
nure, though this does not appear in the present moisture
column chiefly because in 1913 the mulching effect was pur-
posely eliminated so far as possible by removing the accu-
mulations from around the trees and working them into the
soil.

While the mulched trees are doing so well, those re-
ceiving annual tillage alone are making the least growth of
all, and the addition of a covercrop has improved it by less

126

than a half of one per cent. Incidentally, the moisture
content is noticeably less under the covercrop, and this re-
duction has evidently practically offset the plantfood addi-
tions that should have come from the annual leguminous
covers. The further addition of an intercrop here has thus
far actually improved the trees by a trifle more than 4 per
cent, although the moisture content of this plat was lowest
of all at the time taken. This result is probably due partly
to the presence of a fertilizer in connection with the inter-
crop and also to the later seeding of the covercrop on this
plat. The addition of a complete fertilizer in plat 6 is now
showing a somewhat larger benefit than might be expected,
but this has just begun to appear in the last couple of years,
and its moisture situation is slightly favorable, — a fact
which shows up in the last two columns.

The striking correlation between moisture supply and
the growth of young trees is evident here in the first two
and last two columns. The only important exception ap-
pears in the manure effects in plat 5 and this has already
been at least partly explained. In general therefore, on the
average soil and with average moisture conditions the best
growth of young trees will naturally b§ secured by the
method that is most efficient in conserving moisture.

In this connection we may state that the samples for
the present moisture determinations were taken on Septem-
ber 6, after a six-week period of unusual drought, which
enabled us to test quite fully the moisture-conserving quali-
ties of the various cultural methods. Only 1.27 inches of
rain had fallen in the 43 days immediately preceding the
test, or only about 22.6 per cent of the normal for the
period, which is about 5.6 inches. The moisture was de-
termined both in the first and second 6 inches of soil, at a
distance of about 41/0 feet from the trees, and the figures
given in the third column show the average moisture pres-
ent in the surface foot. The figures in the last column are
calculated from those in the third, on the basis that a moist-
ure content of 20 per cent is about the optimum or best
possible content for the soil involved.

In both the third and fourth columns, the remarkable
efficiency of the definite mulches in conserving moisture is
evident. Next to them, but decidedly lower, comes the plat

127

that had received tillage alone, while those receiving cover-
crops and especially the one with an intercrop had been
reduced practically to an air-dry condition, from which
little or no more moisture could be extracted by the trees..
This comparison may be hardly fair to tillage, since the
tests were made long after the regular tillage season was
over. But they do show exactly what is likely to occur in
the latter part of any season, with the result that the growth
is frequently curtailed, under the drier conditions. And
even the most active tillage has never yet proved equal in
moisture conserving to a definite vegetative mulch, so far
as the writer is aware. From this and other data now
available, we would say that orchard tillage is simply to be
regarded as preferable to sod or to the presence of other
untilled intercrops, but it is not equal to a definite mulch
either in moisture conservation or in promoting the growth
of young trees.

Results from Covercrops alone. — The other experiment
at the College referred to above is concerned with tillage
and covercrops alone. This is because some form of annual
tillage and covercrops was generally considered best at the
time these experiments were started. Along with the 12
annual covers, however, we have one permanent cover, viz.,
alfalfa in plat 13. It was sowed the first year, along with
the usual liming, manuring and inoculation necessary for
its proper growth, and was turned under and immediately
reseeded the following spring owing to a poor stand. Since
then it has remained as a permanent cover and has been cut
two or three times per season and placed around the trees
as a mulch so far as needed. It thus has developed and
maintained a very satisfactory mulch for five years without
the addition of any outside materials. The other crops are
seeded annually at the usual times and plowed under the
following spring. The results thus far are shown in Table
III.

128

TABLE III.

Influence of Covercrops on Tree Growth

(Average Increases in Trunk-girth, 1908-13, the first 6 yrs.

Expt. 333)

Average

Gain over

Plat

Treatment

increase

original size

Rank

in.

per cent.

1

Medium Red Clover

5.70

274.0

12

2

Mammoth Red Clover

5.40

278.3

11

3

Alsike

5.53

298.9

9

4

Crimson Clover

6.00

339.0

6

5

Hairy Vetch

6.50

401.2

2

6

Cowpeas

5.75

273.8

13

7

Soy Beans

6.03

291.8

10

8

Oats and Peas

6.12

336.3

7

9

Rye

5.76

331.0

8

10

Millet

6.52

360.2

4

11

Rape and turnips

6.07

344.9

5

12

Buckwheat

6.65

363.4

3

13

Alfalfa

7.12

442.2

1

Here again the mulched and untilled trees of the alfalfa
plat are distinctly in the lead. In fact their actual increases
are the greatest of any trees in the entire experimental
orchard of 33 acres. And this is accomplished without the
addition of any outside materials whatever and by means
of a plant that has been widely stated to be injurious to
apple trees. The latter might possibly be the case where
the roots are allowed to compete too freely, but where this
is prevented as in the present case, the results are all that
could be desired.

Among the annual covers the vetch has given the best
per cent of gain. It is a leguminous plant, of very low
moisture draft owing to its hairy or woolly covering, and of
a spreading and matted habit of growth which largely pre-
vents direct evaporation from the soil. It is therefore not
surprising that its trees should show an exceptional growth.
Incidentally this plant is likely to be one of the best for a
permanent cover and as a basis for a mulch where it does
not winterkill too badly. Although naturally an annual,
it is being kept satisfactorily without re-sowing by means of
a thorough discing along in August or whenever a sufficient
amount of its own seeds have formed. This plan is now
working very well both in Virginia and in Southern Penn-
sylvania, and it is well worth trying farther north, especial-
ly on the lighter or sandier soils.

129

The other leguminous annuals have not fared so well.
This is especially true of the cowpeas and soy beans which
are practically at the bottom of the list. The unusually
low rank of the medium red and mammoth clovers is prob-
ably due more to some unfavorable condition of the soil in
their plats than to any direct action of the clovers them-
selves, because it has been difficult to get even them to grow
satisfactorily. From the general characters of these plants
we would expect them to rank about with crimson clover,
which itself has unexpectedly dropped from third to sixth
position during the past year. In the case of the cowpeas
and beans the difficulty appears to be largely due to the
fact that they have to be seeded too early, — about the 25th
to the 30th of June, which materially shortens the tillage
season, and the crops themselves soon begin growing vigor-
ously and thus apparently do more harm through competi-
tion for moisture than good through the addition or release
of plant food.

The high rank of the millet, buckwheat, rape, and cow-
horn turnips is worthy of note, and it is also. rather hard to
explain, though in the case of buckwheat it may be partly
due to location. Our results with this class of crops, how-
ever, are not materially different from those of Emerson at
the Nebraska Station, published in 1903 and 1906 in their
Bulletins 79 and 92, and the same is true of our results
with intercrops. Our results with mulches are also practi-
cally duplicated by the experiment at the Ohio Station,
which is reported in their Bulletin 171.

This particular group of crops is composed of frost-
killed annuals which make no demand for moisture in the
spring and this is apparently much to their credit. The
millet is much the best of the lot as a winter cover, and the
rape and turnips are the poorest. For the average orchard,
however, the writer is still inclined to prefer vetch and at
least some of the clovers. But from the present indications
and especially in view of the low cost of their seed, these
plants are undoubtedly worthy of attention and they are
very likely to come more nearly paying for themselves in
many cases than many of the plants now frequently sown
for orchard covers.

130

CULTUEAL METHODS IN ORCHARDS OF EARLY

BEARING AGE.

The data from our experiments in orchards ranging
frdm 6 to 20 years of age are too extensive and somewhat
too complicated for definite presentation here. In general
however their results are not materially different in trend
from those already given. The mulched trees have usually
been first in both yields and growth, and they have been
followed in most cases by those receiving tillage alone.
The tillage and covercrop treatment has fallen slightly be-
hind tillage ialone in the majority of cases, while the sod
treatment has practically uniformly resulted in the least
growth, and it is now also last in yields in about two-thirds
of the comparisons. The mulched fruit also has usually
averaged largest in size, and generally second to sod in
color. The sod fruit on the other hand has practically al-
ways been highest in color, but lowest or next to the lowest
in size in most cases.

The addition of a mulch alone in these orchards, at the
rate of about 3 tons per acre of outside materials, has given
an average increase of about 25 bushels per acre annually,
and a maximum average gain of 36 bushels. The mulch
therefore must evidently be confined to relatively cheap
materials in order to show an immediate and regular profit
in trees of this age.

In two cases out of nine the addition of covercrops has
given an average increase of about 25 bushels per acre
annually over the use of tillage alone. In one other case
there has been a slight gain from the covercrops, but in all
the remaining comparisons they have fallen behind tillage
alone, and in one instance they now show a deficit of over 40
bushels per acre. In growth the covercrops have shown a
slight advantage in five cases out of nine, but the benefit has
been too slight to justify clearly their use. In view of these
and other results already presented, it now seems inadvis-
able for any orchardist to make an extensive use of annual
covercrops without first testing them fairly thoroughly and
determining whether or not they are of any material value
in his particular location.

131

CULTURAL METHODS IN MATURE ORCHARDS.

When we come to mature orchards, we find some re-
versals of previous form, especially in regard to growth.
Data on this will be found in Table IV. This experiment is
located on a sandy loam of alluvial origin in Wyoming
County, north of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. The trees are
Baldwin and Spy and they were 36 years old at the start of
the experiment in 1907. The usual orchard tillage has been
used, along with annual leguminous covers composed of
vetch and clover. The mulch has been made with annual
applications of swamp hay at the rate of about 3 tons per
acre, in addition to the intergrowth, which has been rather
light. The manure has been added annually at the rate of
12 tons per acre, and the fertilizer at the rate of 30 pounds
of nitrogen, 60 pounds of P2O5 and 100 pounds of K2O per
acre. At present, however, we are recommending only 8
tons of manure or the fertilizer indicated later.

TABLE IV.

Influence of Cultural Methods On Yield and Growth, Expt. 221.

(Annual yields per acre, 1909-13, and the average increase in
trunk-girth 1907-12)

Average Yields, Last 5 Years. Average Growth, 6 Years

Treatments

Tillage &
Covercrop

Sod
Mulch

Tillage &
Covercrop

Sod
Mulch

Without fertilization

Gain over mulch
Relative gain
Rank

hu.

381.7

7.9

4.9%

1

bu.
363.8

in.

5.39

2.20
69.0 %o
1

in.
3.19

2

2

With manure

Gain over lowest
Relative gain
Rank

436.8

561.4

124.6

28.5%

1

6.72

2.46
57.7%
1

4.26

2

2

With fertilizer

Gain over lowest
Relative gain
Rank

463.4

489.7

26.3

5.7%
1

6.06

1.90
45.6%
1

4.16

2

2

In this experiment, where the mulch alone has been
compared with the tillage and covercrops alone, the latter
have excelled in yield by about 18 bushels per acre annually.
In this case therefore the covercrops are evidently furnish-

132

ing something that cannot be fully equalled by the mulch.
Their plant-food value may be coming more to the front in
this soil and with trees of this age, where the cropping strain
has been fully developed and plant food has also been with-
drawn for many years in the annual wood production.

In the other treatments, however, where definite
amounts of plant food have been added to both cultural
methods, the superiority in yields is still with the mulched
trees. The advantage in one case amounts to more than 26
bushels per acre annually and in the other to nearly 125
bushels. This evidently makes it possible to continue or-
chards under the mulch treatment without loss of efficiency
even after full maturity is reached, provided sufficient ma-
terials are available and a proper fertilizer is used-

As indicated in the table, the tree growth in this experi-
ment has been rather decidedly greater throughout, under
the tillage and covercrop treatment. In fact, it is quite
possible that too much growth is being made by these trees
in some cases. In any event, a large growth is generally
objectionable in, mature trees, and it is the growth that is
associated with the highest average yields that counts.

Relation of Cultural Methods and Fertilization to Stead-
iness of Yields. — It is not sufficient to have a good crop
merely once in a while. It is the steady crop every year
that counts and enables one to develop and maintain his
reputation on the market. In this same experiment we have
a rather striking case of steady and uniform crops being
produced right alongside of the typical bi-ennial sort. This
appears in Table V, which shows the annual yields under
the various treatments during the past 7 years.

As shown in the table, in all the tilled plats there has
been a well-defined biennial bearing habit, while in the
adjacent plats receiving a mulch and fertilization, the yields
have not only been steady but they have shown an almost
continuous increase. Tbe real cause of this difference is
not yet fully determined, but it is apparently connected
with three facts, — the presence of sufficient plant food, the
absence of excessive yields in any one year, and undisturbed
root-systems on the mulched trees. Judging from our other
similar data, none of these three conditions can be omitted

133

without breaking up the series and destroying the steadiness
and regularity of the fruiting.

TABLE V.

Influence of Cwltttral Methods, with and without Fertilization, on
Steadiness of Yield.

(Yields in bushela per acre annually, for 7 yrs., in Expt. 221.)

Average
Treatment 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913* last5 yrs.
bu. bu. bu. bu. bu. bu. bu. bu.

1 Covercrop

alone 23 467 195 505 202 481 525 381.7

2 Mulch alone 29 221 215 391 246 439 527 363.8

3 Covercrop

& Manure 117 145 493 216 612 188 654 436.8

4 Mulch &

manure 84 215 493 526 621 413 753 561.4

5 Covercrop &

Ftlzr. 129 122 639 118 573 161 826 463.4

6 Mulch&Ftlzr. 38 199 409 560 370 416 693 489.7

*The 1913 yields are based on the Spy alone, since the Bald-
wins were seriously and irregularly affected by frost.

These and other results apparently demonstrate the
feasibility of obtaining practically annual crops from such
supposedly refractory biennial bearers as the Baldwin,
York Imperial, Spy and Tompkins King, provided the con-
ditions are made right. They also indicate that where
annual tillage is followed, it should be done with double-
action discs or cutaways, or their .equivalent, in preference
to the regular plows, wherever the soil conditions will per-
mit. '• ' ••■,'.

EELATIVE INFLUENCE OF. CULTURAL METHODS
AND FERTILIZATION ON YIELD.

As apple trees become older, and their yields are in-
creased, the need and influence of proper fertilization
usually become greater. In most cases, this results sooner
or later in the fertilization influence surpassing that of
cultural methods. .

Data on this are available in another of our experiments
on Volusia silt loam, in Lawrence County north of Pitts-
burgh. This is in the famous Johnston orchard in which
we have obtained such remarkable results from fertilization.
The variety is Baldwin, now 25 years of age, and planted at
the rate of 48 trees to the acre.' The mulching and tillage have

134

been the same as above, with the exception that all the
cultural-method plats received a uniform application of
fertilizer in 1911. This fertilizer was made up on a 6-10-5
basis and applied at the rate of about 600 pounds to the
acre. The frost also injured the crop quite severely on
most of the fertilized portion of this experiment in 1913,
while that on the cultural-method plats was scarcely
touched. "Whatever experimental advantages have arisen
therefore have been distinctly on the side of the cultural
methods rather than otherwise. The results up to date are
given in Table VI.

TABLE VI.
Relative Influence of Cultural Methods and Fertilization on Yield.

(Annual yields per acre, during five years, 1909-'13, in Expt. 338)
An. Yields An. gain An. gains 3 yrs. before

Treatment per acre over sod fertiliz'n of Cult Methods

(a) Cultural Methds. bu. bu. bu.

Sod 204.9

Sod Mulch 293.2 88.3 22.0

Tillage and covercrop 356.0 151.1 100.0

(b) Fertilization

te

123.0

451.0
390.0

The results here are self-explanatory. Through a 5-.
year period, the addition of a mulch alone has increased the
annual yields by 88 bushels per acre over sod, and the sub-
stitution of tillage and covercrops have increased this gain
to as much as 151 bushels. These are both important gains
and they are the maximum thus far shown by either treat-
ment in any of our experiments.

When we add certain kinds of fertilization to this same
sod, however, still more important increases are secured.
These have not been obtained by the orchard fertilizer com-
monly recommended, viz., phosphorus and potash. This
combination has here given an increase of only 46 bushel?,,
per acre, and that incidentally is a fairly characteristic
showing for this particular application. But when nitrogen
and phosphorus are added, either in commercial form or in
manure, the annual gains are more than twice as great as

Sod plus phosphate

and potash

2^1.0

46.1

Sod plus nitrogen

and phiosphate

519.2

314.3

Sod plus manure

541.3

336.4

135

the maximum shown by the best of the cultural methods.
And these results have been obtained merely by spreading
the proper fertilization over the surface of the ground,
above the majority of the tree roots, and letting the rains
carry it down, — and we also have other quite similar gains
from this same combination elsewhere.

A GENERAL FERTILIZER FOR APPLES.

In view of the evident importance of proper fertiliza-
tion in many orchards, we have derived from our present
experimental results a general fertilizer that should n ^et
the needs in most cases until the particular requirements }1
the given orchard can be ascertained. This general f tr-
tilizer is one carrying about 30 pounds of actual nitrogen,
50 pounds of actual phosphoric acid (PgOg) and 25 to 50
pounds of actual potash (KoO). Where potash is not
known to be lacking the smaller amount should be used, or
after a little testing it may even be omitted entirely. With
the smaller amount of potash, the essentials of this com-
bination are carried in 500 pounds of a 6-10-5 fertilizer or
its equivalent, and this is the amount recommended for an
acre of bearing trees W;here most of the ground is to be
covered. For younger trees these amounts should be re-
duced approximately in proportion to the reduction in area
covered.

In. our work about half of the nitrogen is carried in
nitrate of soda and the other half in dried blood. This
combination gives a quick action and also one that is pro-
longed well through the season. There is also no objection
to stable manure or to leguminous covers for a part or all
of the nitrogen, where they are available and have been
shown to pay. With the other elements any of the ordi-
nary carriers should be satisfactory and hence those that
are actually least expensive or most convenient should be
chosen.

If nitrates are used, the applications should not be made
too early. From present indications, the best results with
nitrates can probably be secured from applications made
some time between the setting of the fruit and the first of
July. An incidental advantage of this delay appears in the
opportunity that it offers to vary the rate of application

186

somewhat in accord with the amount of fruit set. In other
words, one can reduce the applications when the crop is
light, because enough fruit buds are naturally formed under
such conditions, and they may then be increased when the
crop is large, so as to avoid a complete failure in the fol-
lowing year. The mineral fertilizers can be applied any
time and hence we apply them along with the nitrates.
Manure also may be applied almost any time, excepting
possibly late summer and fall, without danger of apprecia-
ble loss or ill effects.

J\s to method of application, we have simply scattered
thf ^'-ertilizer broadcast around the trees, applying it heav-
iest under the outer two-thirds of the spread of the branches
ancf grading it off more lightly for several feet beyond. It
may then either be left on the surface to be washed in by
the rains or it may be harrowed or lightly plowed into the
soil. With this done, the results must not be expected
until the following year at the earliest, and it may be even
later before important results appear.

ADJUSTING THE FERTILIZER TO PARTICULAR

ORCHARDS.

Not all orchards will respond to fertilization, and those
that do will not always respond to the same elements. If
one desires to find out just which of the ingredients of our
general formula is most important in his own orchard, and
which if any may well be reduced or 'omitted, he can do so
by following the local testing plan given in Table VII,. This
plan is especially adapted to the needs of commercial or-
chardists and to "Community' tests among the smaller
growers. A test of this kind naturally requires some work,
but as yet it is the only way that one can become really
acquainted with the exact needs of his orchard, and where
the income from it is important, the time thus spent should
be most profitable.

137

TABLE VII.
Plan for Local Orchard-Fertilizer Test.

(Pounds for a Mature Tree in Bearing)

1 Check (Unfertilized).

2 Nitrate, 2i lb.; Dried blood. 3i lb.; Acid Phosphate, 10 lb.

3 Nitrate, 2^ lb.; Dried blood, 3i lb.; Potash 2 lb.

4 Acid phosphate 10 lb.; Potash 2 lb.

5 Check

6 Nitrate, 2i lb.; Dried blood, 3^ lb.; Acid phosphate, 10 lb.;

Potash 2 lb.

7 Same as No. 6, plus lime, 12 to 25 lb.

8 Manure, 400 lb.

9 Check

This test should be located in a typical part of the
orchard, and should include not less than 5 average trees
of the same variety and age, in each plat. All the trees
should be labeled and carefully measured at a fixed point
on the trunk, and definite records of their growht and yields
sihould be kept for at least 3 years. Frequently, good in-
dications of the orchard's needs may be obtained in less
time than this, but at least this period should be allowed
and more should be used when necessary.

The same time and methods of application should be
followed as described above. The materials are indicated
here in amounts per bearing tree instead of per acre as
above, and the same proportionate reductions should be
made for younger trees. In other words, if only a third of
the ground is to be covered, then only about a third of, these
amounts should be used, if the rate of .application is to be
kept within proper bounds.

on the trunk,- and definite records of their growth and yields
kept ,within proper bounds. This test or its equivalent
properly carried out, will give one a more exact knowledge
of the real fertility needs of his orchard than can be secured
in any other way now known.

QUESTION. Were these trees in sod f.

DR. STEWART. The fertilized trees were.

MR. BARNES. I would like to ask the Doctor what
the character of the foundation of the soil. was in different
cases.

DR. STEWART. Well as I have said, we have got
about ten different soil types, so that they vary all the way

138

from a light, sand}^ loam down to a heavy, limestone clay-
loam.

QUESTION. Has the soil made any difference in the
result? Wouldn't that have to be taken into consideration?

DR. STEWART. The soil, and especially the previous
treatment of the soil, I believe does make considerable dif-
ference, but it is rather surprising to me that in many
instances the soil influence is much less than I might have
expected it would be. I am almost coming to the opinion
that the age of the tree and the amount of fruit it has
borne. — the business that that tree has done, and the
previous treatment of the soil are likely to cut a much
greater figure in the chances of benefit from the application
of plant food, than does the original type. Peculiarly
enough, one of our lightest soils is not responding much to
fertilization, and, on the other hand, one of our heaviest
soils is. which is again quite contrary to the customary
opinion.

DR. BROOKS. I wanted to ask a question in regard to
the different colors; are the results based upon one soil?

DR. STEWARRT. No. These two here (indicating)
are based upon two totally different soils in different parts
if the state, and in addition to that, we have similar com-
parisons from four other soil types that I simply referred to.

PROF. BROOKS. I noticed that the plots which
ranked highest in the cover crop experiment were near one
side of the field, that is. numbered consecutively. Do you
suppose that shows that there is a natural superiority in the
soil on that side of the field?

DR. STEWART. We have a fertilizer experiment
right next to that one and it gives us a check on the soil
conditions throughout,and, with the exception that the buck-
wheat plat is a little more favorably situated with regard to
moisture — and perhaps the same is true of one end of the
alfalfa plat — ^I wouldn't say that there is any appreciable
advantage in one end or side over the other.

PROF. BROOKS. I asked because I noticed the buck-
wheat ranked high, and I was surprised that it outranked
the soy bean.

DR. STEWART. It certainly was a surprise to all of
us and is probably due, partly at least, to the rather slight

139

advantage that it may have in regard to moisture.'- '

PROF. BROOKS. I must say that from my own
experience where I find that there are natural differences in
productive capacity which I can't account for, I am still a
little bit inclined to wonder whether that side of the field is
not naturally a little better than the rest. You also spoke
of thorough preparation of the alfalfa plot by the addition
of lime, and, I think you said, some manure. Were the
other plots treated in the same way?

DR STEWART. They^ were so far as lime was con-
cerned, but not in regard to manure, because there wasn't a
very large application of the manure and it was put in be-
tween the trees rather than around them.

PROF. BROOKS. I should think that might have some
effect, considerable effect. What is your experience on
that?

DR. STEWART. We are testing out the manure
thoroughly with annual application and much heavier in
another part of the same field, and my belief is that the
comparatively light manure application that was put on the
alfalfa has very little to do with the present superiority of
its trees.

MR. DERBY. I want to ask how you control the mice
in your mulched trees.

DR. STEWART. We control them by means of
galvanized wire screens, about 18 inches square, made with
Number 20 wire, and 3 meshes to the inch. You can get'
those screens in 36 inch widths, in rolls, and when you split
it right down through the middle you get the 18-inch width
with selvage on one side which is enough. (Dr. Stewart
illustrates with a strip of paper how it is fastened). It
costs about 7 cents per tree and in the long run is the
cheapest method I know of. Where borers are bad, most
any kind of coating that you care to put on your trees will
do. and it will keep mice and rabbits away, providing you
can get a satisfactory coating. I have been at it for six
years and am not yet in a position to recommend what I
would call a satisfactory coating, but I believe we are
making a little progress. I believe that as soon as we can
get a satisfactory coatmg to cover the bases of our trees
and which will keep the borers out, instead of poking

140

around in there to get them after they are in, th^t we will
very largely eliminate a great deal of this so-called collar
rot and crown rot and King disease and all that sort of
thing. I can give you what I consider the characteristics
of a coat that should be used on the base. In the first place,
it should be safe; in the second place, it should be easily
applied; thind, it should be cheap; fourth, it should be
somewhat elastic so that it will increase in size without
cracking as the tree grows; and fifth, it should be prefer-
ably light-colored so as to reflect the sun's rays instead of
absorbing them and increasing the danger of sun scald or
winter injury. Now, as I have followed them through, the
lime-sulfur concentrate, more or less mixed with sediment,
plus a sticker, comes as near having all those characteristics
as any one single coating that I know of, but that sticker is
the "sticker," when we come down to getting the right one.
We have been able to hold it on the tree all right by the
addition of a little iron sulphate, but that changes the color
to dark instead of light, and I don't know how much of an
objection that is going to be. I believe as soon as we can
get a little better sticker, that that is a very good start.
There are a few oher kinds : we have used white lead and
oil on the base of the tree, mixed with pure linseed oil, with-
out turpentine or any other dryer in it, and it has never
given us any material damage. It has the proper color, but
it does roughen the bark and is not elastic enough, in my
opinion: , . , •

QUESTION. How near do you. put the mulch? .

DR. STEWART. We always try to keep it at least
six inches awaj^ from the base of the tree. That is one of
the important points in the work against the mice.

MR. FRASER OF NEW YORK. (Mr. Fraser illus-
trates the putting up of a wire guard around the tree),.

• MR. GRAY. You told us when you used nitrate of
soda, but you- didn't say when you apply the other ma-
terials.

DR. STEWART. We put them all on as a complete
mixture at the same time we apply the nitrates, because, so
far as I have been able to determin eithr from our own re-
sults or those of anybody' else, the time of application of the
other materials is of little importance, so that you might

141

just as well put them on along with the nitrate of soda as at
any other time. It saves labor.

MR. DAVIS. Carrying out that experiment, what
should be the average good yield increase per tree?

DR. STEWART. Well, an average of anywhere from
three to five bushels. That would be a very satisfactory
increase, I should think. We have some of them that show
an average increase of 10 bushels per tree for a five-year
period.

MR. BUTTERFIELD. When you recommend the use
of muriate of potash instead of sulphate, have you found
any^ difference in the quality of the fruit when muriate is
used? Does it make poorer quality, as on potatoes?

DR. STEWART. We have not been able to distinguish
closely in the eating or dessert quality of the fruit, but
there was no outstanding difference that we could see. or
could measure, and I have been keeping this matter in mind.
Our work is partly on the quality, but thus far I have been
unable to get anything that I could use as a real measure of
the slight differences that exist in the dessert quality of the
fruit. In some insstances we have been able to get differ-
ences in the amount of this punky pitting, and that sort of
thing which is an evident difference, but outside of that,
outside of things like that, we have not seen much differ-
ence. We have kept records of the average size and amount
of color in all cases, but I don't believe there has been an
appreciable advantage for the muriate over the sulphate, or
vice versa.

THE PRESIDENT. Do you consider it worth while
to protect mulched trees against fire?

DR. STEWART. It might be. We have had no
damage from it, but that nevertheless is a possible danger
that is associated with the mulching treatment. I don't
know just what protection would be needed, except the use
of ordinary judgment.

MR. BUTTERFIELD. How about keeping it away
from the trunk of the tree several feet ?

DR. STEWART. That is all right after the tree gets
to some size.

MR. STAPLES. I would like to ask as to the amount

142

of manure used with the mulch per acre.

DR. STEWART. We have adopted the 12-toii per
acre unit for the manure applications throughout our ex-
periments, but, as I have said my present recommendation
would not be more than eight.

MR. STAPLES. And on the complete fertilizer?

DR. STEWART. There again I would recommend 500
pounds of the 6-10-5 combination. We have used somewhat
more than that in our experiments, but that is what I would
recommend.

MR. IVES. You spoke of using three tons of mulching
material. What source do you obtain the mulching material
from and about what does it cost year after year? In other
words, what was available to you at a reasonable cost?

DR. STEWART. We have used in these experiments
anything from swamp hay or buckwheat straw — hay avail-
able merely for the cutting and hauling — or the buckwheat
straw which is available for the hauling, in that instance —
up to baled straw costing us $8 and $10 a ton. We had to
have it, because we were running experiments, and had to
get it there regardless of cost. When mulching material
gets up to eight and ten dollars a ton, however it is out of
the (question as a mulch, unless the conditions are very
nisual. You have got to be able to get cheap material,
-cheaper than that, to get a steady profit. The best return
in apple values we have had for our mulching was about 88
bushels per acre of apples with three tons of mulch. That
means that you have got to stay down among the relatively
cheap materials. On young trees we are getting good in-
creases in growth from it, and they will probably show up
later, but for immediate profit you need relatively cheaper
materials.

MR. IVES. What price are you getting for the 88-
bushel yield?

DR. STEWART. The fruit is handled by the grower,
and he is getting all the way from 75 cents to $1.25 a
bushel. I would say that it has been averaging pretty close
to a dollar a bushel, but you can't always guarantee an 88-
bushel gain. As a matter of fact, in our intermediate
orchards,— those just developing the bearing habit,— our
gain from mulch has run around 25 bushels per acre, and

143

that means it must run still lower in the price of material, to
get a steady benefit from the mulch. At the same time, our
mulch results do not show that the mulch is extremely
efficient in the securing of growth on young trees, because
it conserves a most important thing for young tress, which
seems to be moisture. They can usually ferret out their
own needs in plant food if you will give them moisture and
keeg.it there. In the second place, we have shown the great
possibilities of using permanent covers plus the mulch
around trees in all situations that are in any way subject to
erosion or in which tillage is objectionable for any reason.
In addition to that we have shown that in mature orchards,
after the trees themselves get out and begin shading the
soil, the moisture requirements seem to go down in their
relative importance, so far as plant food is concerned, and
it looks as if results had shown in those situations that you
could gradually reduce the quantity of your mulch and
adjust the proper fertilizer to it and go ahead.

DR. GILSON. What depth do you call the best for
mulch ?

DR. STEWART. Any depth that is sufficient to keep
the growth of vegetation down. We use six to twelve
inches of a mulch, which is depth enough to keep most of
the vegetation down.

PRES. BARNES OF THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOG-
ICAL SOCIETY. I would like to say that the first week
in February the Connecticut Pomological Society have their
annual meeting, and among other things that are scheduled
is an address by Doctor Jenkins of New Haven, bearing on
experiments with a peach orchard for a term of years. I
think possibly many of us in Connecticut and Massachusetts
who are possibly members of this Association are peach
growers, and I feel quite sure that address will be of inter-
est to all of them, and I hope as many as can will be
present at that meeting and hear what the Doctor has to say
about those experiments.

THE PRESIDENT. You will have opportunity, I
think, to ask Dr. Stewart some questions as individuals. We
have some other business to come up, and I am very aorry
to have to ask that the discussion now come to a close. Mr.

144

Scheuerle wants to speak a few moments on some matters
he wishes to bring before you.

(It was voted that the Massachusetts Fruit Growers'
Association heartily endorse the petition of the Hampden
County Improvement League presented to the Legislature
of Massachusetts and the bill submitted with the petition, —
the act providing county and state aid for corporations
organized to promote agriculture and country life, — and
that the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association herewith
instruct its President, H. L, Frost, to do all within his
power and according to his judgment to assist in securing
such county and state aid for such corporations as provided
in the act providing county and state aid for corporations
organized to promote agriculture and improve country
life.)

(Adjourned till 9 A. M. Saturday).

THE BANQUET

Friday evening the first banquet ever held by the
Association was given at the Cooley House at 6 P. M. and
from the thirty who expected to be present, the final at-
tendance was nearly 100 more than that. The caterer took
care of this increase exceptionally well and a fine dinner
was enjoyed by all at nominal expense.

Pres. H. L. Frost introduced Prof. F. A. Waugh of
Massachusetts Agricultural College as toastmaster and he
kept things going in his inimitable way. H. E. Montague
of New York represented the trades exhibitors and noted
that the package business increased twenty-five per cent last
year. Hon. Charles A. Gleason of Springfield, a trustee of
Massachusetts Agricultural College, made his initial
acquaintance with the Association and praised the success
of the Convention. Pres. J. Norris Barnes of the Connecti-
cut Pomological Society spoke of his state as a source of
supply to Massachusetts both for mirsery stock and for fruit
and referred to the deer problem in Connecticut. Director
"W. D. Hurd of the Massachusetts Agricultural College Ex-
tension Service said that no state was making such strides
in apple growing as Massachusetts and that more apples are

145

produced in the northwestern section of the state than in the
whole state of Oregon. General Secretary John A.
Scheuerle of the Hampden County Improvement League
spoke of the wark of the League in co-operation with the
Association, referring to the ideas and ideals held in com-
mon. Mr. T. K. Winsor of Rhode Island who won so many
prizes at the recent New England Fruit Show also spoke on
Rhode Island conditions.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1914.
VISITING SPRINGFIELD

The extreme cold had moderated and when the party
assembled at the Municipal Group for the trip over the
various plants, an ideal day was promised. The first place
inspected was that of the H. P. Stone Co., wholesale and
commission house. Mr. Stone and his assistants took the
growers through all the different departments of the busi-
ness and here we discovered the "fruit growers' cigar," for
although we were all offered the real thing by our host not
one quarter availed ourselves of the privilege. But later
when inspecting the banana rooms and the "freedom of the
place" was ours there was not a man but what accepted
THIS "cigar."

We next walked around the corner to the new establish-
ment of the Frank Perkins Co. located in Market Square,
Here we found conditions which might well make firms in
much larger cities envious. In planning the new building
all previous experience was made use of and everything was
laid out with efficiency and economy uppermost. After in-
specting the refrigerating plant and artesian well the party,
which had been increasing in size as time passed, visited the
various storage rooms and then the peanut roasting room
where the automatic roasters were at work and where a
large box was filled wnth freshly roasted nuts and the in-
structions were for everybody to fill their pockets and the
trail of shells from then on testified that all obeyed. On
the way to the upper floors both elevators were loaded at

146

once, and there was a race which was won by the "light
weights" arriving first. More storage rooms were inspect-
ed and a mountain of peach baskets was noticed overhead.
More "fruit growers' cigars" were indulged in and on
passing out to the waiting autos every one helped himself
to an orange and received as a parting souvenir a silver
spoon showing the Municipal Group. :

President Oakley of the Bay State Storage Co. whisked
us away to his fine fire proof plant where again efficiency
had first call. Everything under the sun can be stored here
at a minimum of handling, etc., — from a box of needles to
the largest machinery. There were individual rooms for
household furniture, a specially warmed room for pianos,
auto storage, carriages and floor after floor of farm machin-
ery and parts for repairs — each in its special bin and in-
stantly available when a rush order comes in. Separate
storage each for flour, fertilizer, oil and immense elevators
making each floor a "street" floor. A spur track runs
right into the building and a trolley siding adds its share
there. The very large new concrete stable and garage was
another model in efficiency and completeness and showed
careful study of every detail in planning it. It is self evi-
dent that Mr. Oakley is an expert on transportation and
knows the fine points which obviate all possible jarring
during transit.

AT THE HALL

We were whisked back to the Auditorium and as many
were obliged to leave soon after noon the President immed-
iately called the gathering to order in the Mahogany Room
and introduced Mr. Alfred W. Otis of the commission house
of that name in Boston. Mr. Otis said that the fraud in
packing was so common in years past that such a thing as
absolute confidence between grower and commission man
was almost unknown. Some growers even gathered the
idea that the commission men winked at the -practice. Mr.
Otis said he wanted to clear up that delusion at once and
most emphatically. What the commission men do advise is
that packers choose the most highly colored fruit for the
facing layers, but every other apple in the barrel should be

147

exactly the same quality. The establishment of confidence
between shippers and buyers is THE one thing which the
fruit traffic needs and the over facing of the barrels did
more to destroy that than anything else. Many of the ideas
expressed by Mr. Otis were applauded during his talk.

The President then introduced Mr. Orcutt of Boston
who explained a chart which he had prepared showing
graphically the points he wished to bring out in his talk.

SELLING APPLES

Mr. John C. Orcutt, Secretary Committee on Agriculture,
Boston Chamber of Commerce

For years the grower has been studying and working
to improve his methods and his product. Lectures, discus-
sions, books and bulletins have dealt with nearly every
phase of the problem but "Selling the Product." "Selling
Apples' ' has always been of great importance to the grower,
but until recently it has not been given very much thought,
study or attention. The speaker does not come here as an
authority on the selling of apples, as he realizes that he
knows very little about the subject as a whole, but to give
you the conclusions he has reached from some little experi-
ence, study and observation.

CLASSES OF GROWERS

Growers may be divided into three classes :

1. The grower whose fruit is his main crop and income,
who takes care of his orchards and packs his fruit in a sys-
tematic manner.

2. The grower whose fruit is a side issue, who takes
care of his orchards and packs his fruit in the best manner
he knows how.

3. The grower whose fruit is a side issue, who takes
no care of his orchards and packs in no systematic way.

Large and small growers of all these classes are found
in nearly every section of New England. Because of these
facts and while it is the desire of all growers to sell their
product for as much as possible, it is evident that all the

148

product of any one section cannot be sold in the same way
or sent to the same market and have the results satisfactory
to all.

AVAILABLE MARKETS

There are two principal markets for apples. The local
market and the outside market. The local market is the
growers' immediate vicinity. There are generally four
ways in each of these local markets to sell your product.
First, direct to the consumer; second, to the small retailer
who sells in that vicinity; third, to the local buyer who
buys for himself or some wholesale firm and fourth, the
traveling buyer of wholesale houses.

The outside market is in the large towns and small
cities, outside of the growers' immediate vicinity, and the
large cities that are distributing points for local and foreign
demands. This outside market affords three principal ways
of marketing. First, selling direct to retailer; second, to
general commission men ; and third, to large wholesale com-
mission men.

All of these markets are open to the growers of apples
in New England, and it is up to the grower to decide which
one he will take advantage of. The growers have been
putting much energy into producing their product and have
for the most part paid little attention to finding a
market for their product but have expected the market to
come to them. The buyers and commission men have found
the market and come to the grower. Mr. E. C. Simmonds,
President of the Simmonds Hardware Company of St. Louis,
the manufacturers of the Keen Kutter line of goods, saj^s
that he built up the annual business of $20,000,000 by nine
parts of salesmanship and one part of general management.
The fruit grower and also the farmer have been taught for
many years that it was a great thing to make two blades of
grass grow where one grew before, and to this end they
have been putting in nine parts of their time and energy,
and only one part into selling. All are agreed that it is a
great thing to make two blades grow where one grew be-
fore, but some think that it is quite a stunt to sell the one
that already grows for a fair profit.

149
PRINCIPLES GROWERS SHOULD OBSERVE

The fundamental principles in the selling of apples are :

1st. Planning ahead.

2nd. Understanding the ways of marketing, who the
buyers are in these markets, and what these buyers want.

3rd. Having a knowledge of salesmanship and finance
to handle the product.

Planning ahead. Each grower if he wants to get the
most money out of his product must be planning ahead.
This does not mean just for next season's crop, but you have
got to work and plan, every week, for fifty-two weeks in
the year and every year. It is the net results that count.
The grower should all the time be looking up and learning
all about the buyers, markets and their conditions, become
acquainted with as many as possible, and plan out how he
can make conditions so that he can put up some good argu-
ments why his fruit should be sold for a good price.

Understanding the ways of marketing. The grower
should thoroughly understand the various ways of market-
ing,— first in his local market, how many consumers are
there who would buy direct, to whom he can easily deliver
and how much will they buy, who are the retailers and how
much will they buy, who are the local buyers and how
many buyers from outside commission firms are likely to be
in the vicinity. Inquire from other growers how they sell
and to whom they sell. Second, in the outside market,
make the same study of who and where the large retail and
wholesale buyers are, and how they handle apples, the
varieties, the package, commission and storage rates.

Having a knowledge of salesmanship and finance to
handle your product. To successfully plan ahead, look up
markets and hold apples in cold storage, takes money, and
time, which is just the same as money, — so does the studying
up of selling plans and the getting out of literature to ad-
vertise your product. Each individual grower must decide
according to the importance of his crop as to how much
planning, time and money he can put into this work.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE MARKETS AND
, THE BUYERS

Each grower in his local section can get in touch with

150

the buyers by expending some time and a little energy. The
outside market is a little more difficult to get in touch with,
but I am sure the Boston Chamber of Commerce and your
own State Board of Agriculture will be only too glad to
furnish you with a list of buyers in the large markets. There
are some growers who have gotten in touch with large re-
tailers in Boston, and working together the growers are
marketing part of their fruit. This is a good way but can
only be used to a limited extent, as the majority of retailers
do not want to buy of the grower because they do not know
the growers, his brands or reputation. These retailers want
to buy from day to day from a wholesaler who will furnish
them just what they want when they want it, adjust any
claims for poor and damaged fruit and at times extend
them credit. There are a large number of general commis-
sion men who handle more or less apples, some buy outright
of the owner and others handle on consignment only. The
growers have found a great deal of fault in this way of
doing business, claiming the commission men do not give
them a square deal, for they read in the paper that apples
were quoted $4.00 per bbl. and in going through Quincy
Market, a dealer told them he asked $5.00 a bbl. and they
had only received $2.50 return from the commission man
they had shipped to a week previous. So the grower im-
mediately concludes the commission man charged him an
enormous profit. The grower did not understand that his
shipment was a small one, the commission man did not know
in advance the kind or quantity ®f the apples, or that he
was to receive any at all, so he had no time to work up a
market, but as the grower wanted his money right off he
had to sell at what he could get. Then on a small quantity
the overhead charges are very high.

If the grower has small lots of apples to sell which he
■wishes to sell through a commission man, the best thing he
can do is to go to the nearest large town or city, look up
some commission man, become acquainted with this man,
and work with him to dispose of his apples. This generally
is very satisfactory. If not, find another man to deal with,
but the grower must always remember that if he does not
look out for his interests, nobody else will. The same method
applies to the selling of apples to the wholesale commission

151

men, who handle the bulk of the apples. Know what you
are going to have to sell, then get in touch with some whole-
saler and work together in grading, advertising and market-
ing your fruit. You can easily obtain the names of large
dealers. Every grower should keep a checking account in
his nearest national bank or trust company. This will
bring you to know the bank and the bank to know you.
They can help you to look up any dealer you wish and will
undoubtedly be glad to. After looking up your dealer, call
upon him and go over the matter of handling your apples,
and I do not believe but what you both can obtain satisfac-
tory results.

It must be kept in mind that, if a buyer pays you cash
for your apples it will necessarily be less than the present
market price less regular commission rates of say 20 cents
per bbl., because the man who takes the risk must make
more than a regular commission profit. A quantit}^ of ap-
ples can be handled cheaper than a few barrels. This is
where cooperation comes in, if the growers of any one sec-
tion can combine and decide to grade and sell their apples
together. Get in touch with the local banker, some good
wholesale commission house, and all pull together. In a
few years a very profitable market can be worked up.

Right here in New England we have a good example of
a cooperative society, which has been steadily at work for
the last four or five years and have made a good success, the
Oxford Bears Fruit Growers' Association of Buckfield,
Maine. They have established a brand name and that with
a good pack of fruit is the most important asset in selling.

I realize that on account of the various condiions which
exist in the different sections, it is hard to do this. But
you must realize that the more you go out to the market, the
more net money you will receive, and as long as you let the
market come to you the less money you can expect to re-
ceive. And lastly, we cannot get rich in one season, and we
must have time, energy and patience to accomplish lasting
results.

I believe one of the most fundamental things for the
growers to do is to get in touch with the way apples are
marketed in the large cities and the people who are hand-
ling them and the different grades and markings for apples.

152

This I think will be a help to all and eliminate much of the
misunderstanding that now exists. I am sure the Com-
mittee on Agriculture of the Boston Chamber of Commerce
will be very glad to help you to get in touch with these
markets, buyers and conditions.

Final adjournment was then taken so that members
could catch early trains.

ANNUAL MEETING, WORCESTER, MARCH 12, 1913

The morning session was called to order by Pres. Frost
with some 200 present and Mr. Archer N. Tuttle of Warren
spoke on "Personal Experiences on a Fruit Farm'' and told
of what he had accomplished in his orchard of 5000 trees
which he had developed from almost nothing and through
many discouraging experiences.

This was followed by Dr. H. J. Wheel,er of Boston who
spoke on "Fertilizing the Orchard with Special Keference
to Lime." He stated that Acid Phosphate was immediately
soluble while Slag must be thoroughly worked in. In
fertilizing young orchards put some on out from the tree as
roots run toward plant food. Use a fairly quick acting
fertilizer to give early growth. An old orchard, not show-
ing full amount of growth, needs more nitrogen but there
should be the correct relation between the nitrogen and the
other mineral elements or a poor keeping quality will result.
Bearing apple orchards require more potash than young
ones as the fruit contains much of it.

On heavy soil lime has a floculating effect, making the
small particles larger. Sandy soil may be overlimed even
with ground lime-stone. Light soil should have light appli-
cations periodically but not too often. Destruction of
nitrates takes place upon soil puddling. Liming a soil
helps the natural, development of nitrification. Clover
needs lime moderately while vetch and alfalfa need much
more. Lime liberates phosphoric acid when entangled with
alumina and iron and has some influence on plant diseases
as in potatoes and scab. Lime affects the wood growth on
some fruit trees. Early Kichmond and Black Tartarian
cherries show benefit. Peach shows no influence. Bartlett
pear also thrives on acid soil. Baldwins seem to be helped
by liming. Quince showed marked increase. Blackberry

153

and black cap are indifferent. Cuthbert raspberry moder-
ately benefitted. White currant not helped while cherry
currant is decidedly helped, and the gooseberry even more
so.

Both the speakers were questioned after their talks and
it was a very profitable occasion. The Secretary regrets
that both of these are not to be published in full.

BUSINESS SESSION 2 P. M.

The meeting was called to order at 2 o'clock by Pres.
H. L. Frost and Chairman Dr. F. Earland Gilson of Groton
reported for the committee on nominations (Dr. Gilson,
Groton; Ethan Brooks, W. Springfield; E. R. Farrar, So.
Lincoln; M. Morse, Medway; F. A. Russell, Methuen.)

It was voted that the Secretary cast one ballot for the
list as read and the following were declared elected.

(For list of officers see front page).

President Frost referred to the local co-operative asso-
ciations in Maine with a large association to come later and
called on all to work for the continued growth of the
Association and for quality in the fruit grown so prizes
might be won at the New England Fruit Show at Boston.

Secretary's report was then read, accepted and
placed on file.

SECRETARY'S REPORT

STATISTICS. ' Our by-laws require that a list of the
members be kept each year and on going over this member-
ship book recently the Secretary found that up to March
1910 only 72 pages had been required to enter these names,
while since then 73 pages have been covered, or in other
words, during the last three years the Secretary's Office has
taken care of more than in the previous 15 years.

The Treasurer's report for 1910 showed an income from
137 membership. The next year showed $285; this 100%
increase being due largely to the publishing of the report
for the years 1906-10. 1912 showed 553 paid membership
still another 100% increase, while for 1913 we show an in-
come of $919 of which $28 is for the sale of lists or 891
memberships.

154

Although our books show 891 memberships paid since
the last annual meeting of course there are some who are
recorded twice, i. e. those who joined at Worcester for 1912
and who have also since paid for 1913, and there are a few
whose dues are as yet unpaid. Hence our total membership
list March 1st is 940, of whom 468 are new members since
the books were closed March 8, 1912. Exactly one half of
these new ones were received at Boston in January. We may
consider our Association in a broader aspect than a state
affair, as we now have 75 members outside of our boundaries,
mostly in New England. There are 35 ladies who are now
members and the 2iumber is constantly increasing.

FIELD MEETINGS AND INSTITUTES. Owing to
crop shortage only one peach field meeting was held but this
was very successful. The fame of the splendid young peach
orchards of Director Edmund Mortimer of Grafton with
2000 baskets of ripening Waddell brought members from all
over the state and an auto party from Wilton, N. H., Aug.
1, 1912. Block after block of many ages and varieties of
trees all in the pink of condition were visited and after a
basket lunch under the pines, prominent visitors from out-
side the state as well as our local growers spoke on peach
growing.

The visit to Hillside Orchards of E. Cyrus Miller of
Haydenville, September 26, 1912, showed an orchard in
action as the picking of his 3000 barrel crop of splendid
Baldwins was then going on. His methods of harvesting
were shown and his orchards planted where had been stand-
ing timber, were seen "before and after" as a new section
of woodland was to be cleared this winter for new orchard-
ing.

A successful institute was held in Marlboro February
26, 1913, when the reports of the Boston meeting were dis-
tributed to paid up members. Prof. F. C. Sears spoke on
"Spraying" to the intense interest of all present at the
morning session, while at the afternoon session Pres., John
P. Bowditch of the Middlesex South Agricultural Society
introduced Mr. F. A. Smith, of Ipswich who gave many
practical points on Small Fruits. Two hundred and twenty-
five were present and 12 new members obtained.

155

Farmers' week at the Massachusetts Agricultural College
with our Rally Day on Thursday March 20 and a last
institute at Colrain probably April 16th will close our win-
ter meetings and we will have been the length of the state,
Boston, Marlboro, Worcester, Amherst and Colrain.

FIRST MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT SHOW. From
Nov. 7-10, 1912, Horticultural Hall, Boston, saw satisfied
crowds flocking to our first State Fruit Show. Though
held in conjunction with the Chrysanthemum Exhibition of
the Horticultural Society, the officers of the latter say the
attendance was many times larger than ever before for the
Chrysanthemum Show alone. While the quantity of the
fruit exhibited was not large the quality was of the finest
and the influence of former New England Fruit Shows was
seen to full advantage in the selection of specimens and the
box packing. In the ten box and five box classes as well
as the single, perfection seemed to be attained. The total
product of single trees was not so well patronized as de-
sired, but the new departure in attractive packages and the
practical packages for retail trade brought out many ideas
worth while and should aid greatly in helping the producer
to get more of the consumer's dollars. The cordial feeling
among the exhibitors showed that the judges had done their
work well. The aid of the State Board of Agriculture made
this Show possible.

THE BOSTON CONVENTION. Needs no reference
here as it is thoroughly covered in 1913 report. The
splendid attendance, the capable speakers, the instructive
trade exhibit, all the new members and the enthusiasm
everywhere in evidence will make this meeting go down in
our history as a red letter event.

Horticultural Hall, Boston, January 10-11, 1913.

A life membership in the Association was voted at the
Boston meeting to be $20.00 and the invitation to hold the
Convention of Jan. 1914 at Springfield was accepted.

EFFICIENCY. We find that a large number of mem-
bers in the past have been confused by our receipts reading
to March 15th or whatever the date of our annual meeting
was. Many have thought they paid for the year in advance
while in reality it was only for the year past. This has been

156

corrected by the new receipts reading to December 31st and
with the calendar year one can readily tell whether he is
entitled to the new report or not.

EECOMMENDATIONS. No. 1. That a committee of
three be appointed by the chair to draft a new Constitution
and By-laws to be presented at our next annual meeting for
adoption. Important changes should be brought to the at-
tention of the members that they may be familiar with them
before the meeting for adoption. We have deciededly out-
grown our old Constitution and Bylaws.

No. 2. That a vote be taken that it is the sense of this
meeting, that reports be sent only to paid up members (as
an inducement for prompt payment of dues) but all notices
of meetings, etc., be continued as usual.

No. 3. That an inexpensive watch fob with the Asso-
ciation emblem be presented to all sending in three new
members at any one time. We believe some recognition
should be made of the work of members in this direction.

No. 4. The thanks of this Association are tendered the
Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture ; The Massachu-
setts Horticultural Society; the Worcester County Horticul-
tural Society; the Massachusetts Agricultural College, and
^11 those who have so ably and heartily assisted in making
the year so successful for the Association.

As in the past let each member consider himself a
special committee, to bring in one new member during the
year for this is one way our numbers increase.

It is as much in the province of this Association to pre-
vent the uninitiated from plunging on apple or fruit raising
as it is to help the regularly established fruit grower to
light his insect enemies to the best advantage. Too highly
colored reports are usually the cause coupled with a natural
tendency to return to the soil. A moment's thought of the
great surgeon and the average practitioner will immediately
show one that the thousand dollar fee is the exception rather
than the rule and so it is in the fruit growing line.
Respectfully submitted,

F. HOWARD BROWN,

'■ ' , , Secretary.

157

Auditor's report was read and accepted.

Treasurer's report was read, accepted and ordered
placed on file.

TREASURER'S REPORT
Mr. President and Members: —

The report of the Treasurer is as follows:

Balance in National Bank March 12, 1912 $ 146.13

Membership dues at Worcester 1912 196.00

Membership dues at Boston Jan. 1913 395.00

Membership list 1911 3.00

Membership lists 1912 • 25.00

Membership dues through Sec'ys office to

Mar. 1, 1913 300.00

Total Receipts $1065.13

EXPENDITURES

Annual meeting, 1912 $ 136.31

Printing Report 1912 meeting • . . . 163.90

Postage 119.82

Institutes and field meetings 32.87/

Salary of Secretary-Treasurer 50.00

Miscellaneous 94.89

Annual meeting 1913 178.67

Printing Report 1913 250.00

Balance in National Bank, March 1, 1913 • . . 38.67

Regarding the First Massachusetts Fruit Show — Fruit
was sold for exhibitors amounting to $34.44 which was de-
posited on the Fruit Growers' account and cancelled by
Association checks.

The Trade Exhibition at Boston has brought in so far
$876.40 with bills paid amounting to $714.28 leaving a bal-
ance of $162.11 at present, with about $200 still due.

Respectfully submitted,

F. HOWARD BROWN,

Treasurer.
Report of Committee on Memorials,

Abel F. Stevens, Chairman : H. Ward Moore and
H. O. Mead.
Report accepted and ordered printed.
Voted to continue Committee.

158

Regarding the recommendations in the Secretary's re-
port. It was moved and so voted that a committee of three
draft a new Constitution and By-laws to be presented at the
next annual meeting for adoption. — (Committee consists of
Pres., Vice Pres., and Sec'y-)

It was moved and so voted that it was the sense of the
meeting that the annual reports be sent only to paid up
members as an inducement for prompt payment of dues but
all notices of meetings, etc., be continued as usual.

The recommendation that an inexpensive watch fob be
presented to all sending in three new members at any one
time was referred to the Secretary with power to act and
unanimously carried.

Recommendation No. 4 was adopted as recommended.

Sec'y Wheeler of the New England Fruit Show recom-
mended that a committee be appointed for the State Exhibit
fwhich would have the backing of the State Board of Agri-
'^eulture. It was moved and so voted that the Officers serve
.as an Exhibit Committee.

Sec'y Wheeler also introduced the section of the Bj^-
laws of which the necessary previous notice of a change was
given at the Boston meeting. The section now reads "The
Secretary and Treasurer may be the same person and shall
receive for the performance of the duties of both offices, the
sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100) per year." Formerly
this read "$50 per year."

It was moved, seconded and so voted that the amend-
ment as read be adopted.

It was the decided sentiment of the meeting that the
^Secretary should attend out-of-state conventions and it was
-m^ved and so voted that the question of defraying the
Secretary's expenses to out-of-state be referred to the
Executive Committee with power.

A letter read by Mr. Spalding of the New England
Apple was read and referred to the Executive Committee.

Mr. Spalding recommended that all packages of apples,
peaches, pears, quinces, grapes and other fruit grown in
Massachusetts if offered for sale by any other person than
the grower shall bear the name and address of the grower
and if not packed by him shall also bear the name and ad-
dress of the party responsible for the packing, and that a

159

committeed be appointed to recommend and defend this be-
fore the proper legislative committee.

OTHER MEETINGS
The section on Fruit Growing during Farmers' Week at
the Massachusetts Agricultural College had Thursday,
March 20, 1913, as Massachusetts Friiit Growers' Associa-
tion Day and the following program was given before an
interested audience with Pres. H. L. Frost in the chair.

8.30 A. M. Box Packing, Mr. R. W. Rees, of M. A. C.
9.45 A. M. Picking and Handling Fruit,

Mr. Fred A. Smith, Turner Hill, Ipswich.
11.00 A. M. Peach Growing for Local Markets,

Mr. F. Howard Brown, Marlboro.
1.30 P. M. Small Fruits,

Mr. Wilfrid Wheeler, Concord.
Co-operation Among Fruit Growers^

Dr. A. E. Cance, M. A. C.
3.30 P. M. Can We Sell Our Apples,

Prof. F. A. Waugh, M. A. C.
The occasion was one of interest and instruction to all
and might well become an established custom.

The institute at Colrain, Wednesday, April 16th, 1913
was the usual success which these meetings held here always
are. It was a joint affair with the Franklin County Agri-
cultural Society and the Women's Relief Corps of Colrain
who served a fine dinner at noon.

In the morning H. H. Wilder, Bureau of Soils, Washing-
ton, D. C. spoke on ''Apple Soils," and he was familiar with
the soils in the immediate vicinity as he owned neighboring
orchard land.

At the afternoon session Prof. F. C. Sears of M. A. G.
spoke on "A Trip Through the Apple Country of the West"
Many membership dues and new members were paid in
at each of these meetings.

FIELD MEETINGS

WILBRAHAM

Thursday, July 31, 1913 saw all roads leading to Wil-

braham where the big peach field meeting was held with

Director Lee W. Rice. This was a case of the third time

never fails as it was the third year we had tried for a meet-

160

ing with Mr. Eice and it certainly was worth waiting for as
every one attested.

The Hampden County Improvement League furnished
auto transportation from North Wilbraham and co-operated
in making the meeting a success. The speaker of the day
was Mr. A. T. Henry of Wallingford, Conn. who congrat-
ulated Mr. Rice on his orchards saying that his cultivation
was the best he had ever seen in this country. Mr. Henry
took up peach raising from the time of preparing the land
until the marketing of the fruit. Mr. Rice described his
method and although he expected at this time to have a crop
of only about 2500 baskets we were glad to learn later that
8000 baskets were harvested.

Mr. S. C. Sevey editor of the New England Homestead,
spoke of the importance of arousing western Massachusetts
to an appreciation of the importance of fruit growing.

General Secretary Scheuerle of the League emphasized
the importance of organizing and getting together for busi-
ness purposes.

Mr. Frank M. Kinney was the last speaker and told of
conditions in the state of Washington where the growers
had to organize and get together to meet eastern competi-
tion. He called attention to the fire blight which within a
few weeks destroyed orchards costing $1,000 or more an
acre. This is just making its appearance in New England
and should be nipped in the bud.

TURNER HILL

The field meeting at Turner Hill Farm, Ipswich on Sat-
urday, August 16, 1913 was everything which could be de-
sired at the largest and best developed orchards of apple,
pear and small fruits of any farm of Massachusetts. Autos
from New Hampshire were almost as plentiful as those of
Massachusetts, and the members coming by train from Bos-
ton were more than the trains could seat in addition to
regular traffic. Autos carried members between station and
the farm.

After lunch in the grove with plenty of iced "ginger
pop," Mr. Fred A. Smith of Hawthorne, formerly Superin-
tendent of Turner Hill Farm, described the methods used in
reclaiming the wild land and developing the fine young or-

161

charcis, the first planting of which was begun in 1903.
Much fall planting was used and very little winter kill re-
sulted. For this gravelly soil ideal distance was found to
be 20x20 with permanent trees to 'be 40x40. Seven and
eight year filler trees were bearing full crops and needed
thinning. Numerous varieties were planted. Desiring
early bearing, little pruning was practiced except at plant-
ing and trees were headed low. A peculiarity of the loca-
tion being so near the sea caused sooty fungus and allied
species and lack of color as a sea turn would come in at 3
or 4 P. ]M. and last till sunrise or 11 A. M.

Secretary Wilfred Wheeler of the State Board of Agri-
culture advocated these outdoor meetings right in the midst
of things which are being accomplished and said that what
we saw proved that the wild Massachusetts land can grow
fine fruit. Mr. Richard Tlittinger of Belmont, speaking on
the pear outlook, said that the California pears knocked out
the market for local groAvn Bartletts but that the Bosc has
a place.

The meml)ers were then divided into groups under a
competent guide and we saw Avhat Mr. Smith had been tell-
ing us about. We tramped up hill and down dale, over
rivers and through orchards galore and what we did not see
was not worth seeing. Everybody had a mighty fine time
and much praise was bestowed upon Mr. Rice and Supt.
Sprague for tlie cordial hospitality everywhere in evidence.

BELMONT
Early Saturday morning. August 23, 1913 the Secretary
was called up on the phone and asked if the weather would
postpone the pear field meeting set for that day with Direc-
tor Richard Hittinger. We all took a chance and when the
weather saw it could not keep us back it behaved itself and
Ave won out. ^Ir. Hittinger met us with his jovial smile and
showed us around. We had a practical demonstration of
intensive fruit culture for, besides range after range of
greenhouses the Tlittinger Fruit Co. has apples, pears,
peaches, currants, gooseberries and other fruit with every
foot of space utilized and all showing the expert's care.
]\rany of us made our first acquaintance with the leopard
moth as it is plonty in this section. A great many practical

162

points were brought out by Mr. Hittinger as we made the
rounds. The people ate their lunch in the packing house
and scatterd about the grounds and again the "ginger
pop" was popular. ('We believe we have discovered the
fruit growers' beverage and "cigar")

While Mr. Hittinger was conducting a party of late
arrivals the others gathered under the big apple trees and
Mr. John C. Orcutt, the new Secretary ofthe Committee on
Agriculture of the Boston Chamber of Commerce was intro-
duced and told of the plans of the committee in the study of
marketing conditions. Mr. Charles W. Mann of Methuen
spoke on the conditions of the peach market quoting 80 big
California peaches for 60 cents and retailing at 15 cents a
dozen. This was bound to affect the price of natives. His
market method was to get the customer's eye. He raised
40.000 baskets of strawberries a year. Mr. George W.
Smith of Wellesley gave his experience in home marketing
strawberries and spoke on the single tax. Mr. George W.
R. Harriman gave a talk on the marketing problem which
he divided into three parts ; the producing part, the trans-
portation part and the marketing part. He took up the
transportation end and explained the situation and the dif-
ficulties therein. When the time came for breaking up, all
felt that a very profitable and pleasurable day had been
spent.

GRANVILLE

The meeting with Mr, William C. Hansen on the Sodom
Mountain Road, Granville, Wednesday, September 3, 1913,
came earlier in the month than the Secretary had expected,
and owing to a peach rush in ripening just at this time he
missed the good time in Hampden County. The League
again furnished transportation from trolley to farm and the
visitors were shown through the splendid orchard with its
heavily laden crop. The trees have all been renovated
within the last three years, bearing a good crop last year
and a better one this year. Mr. Hansen had some especial-
ly fine Gravensteins and Twenty Ounce, the latter having
reached enormous size. The Baldwins bearing heavily two
succeeding years tended to upset the biennial bearing
theory. After the basket lunch, eaten under the trees Dr.

163

J. K. Shaw of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Am-
herst gave a very thorough talk on Orchard Management,
giving special attention to spraying.

Mr. William C. Hansen followed and gave his methods
of renovating, practicing clean cultivation with some varie-
ties and alternating this with sod with others. He gave his
experience in thinning Wealthy and hereafter he will
follow the practice. More spraying will also be done in
the future as he found it profitable. Mr. Hittinger of Bel-
mont spoke on the necessity of getting together for the pur-
pose of marketing the crop. Mr. G. Labouteley of Three
Rivers spoke on the Mcintosh Red and Mr. R. A. Ely of
Hol^'oke took up the renovation of old orchards. Mr. L. B.
Dickinson who has a demonstration orchard described his
Avork and told of Wealthy trees set as yearlings two years
ago producing specimen apples already. The bulk of his
trees are Baldwins different fillers. Rev. K. C. Pratt
spoke of the co-operative efforts of the League and the
newly formed Granville Fruit Growers' Association.

A hearty vote of thanks was tendered each host for the
cordial hospitality so evident on all sides and there is not
the slightest doubt but what each field meeting has helped
wonderfully in giving the members just what they want; a
practical demonstration of the successful methods of the
other fellow. Every one attending feels renewed impetus
in tackling his own problems at home.

THE NEW ENGLAND FRUIT SHOW

The Third Bi-ennial New England Fruit Show was held
at Horticultural Hall, Boston, Wednesday to Sunday inclu-
sive, November 12 to 16, 1913. The tremendous advance in
the box cla.sses is realized when one appreciates that nearly
one thousand boxes were on exhibition. The late spring
frosts had cut the apple crops in many places so the barrel
classes were not so largely entered as usual. In spite of the
large pear crop the late rains following the drouths made
for such poor keeping qualities that Massachusetts alone
entered in Class E.— the boxed pear class. Class I. — for
Massachusetts only — brought out some fine fruit and the
competition in some of the sections was keen.

164

The state exhibits were non-competitive this years and
only Connecticut and Massachusetts entered. The former
had a magnificient exhibit as might be expected with a
special appropriation of $2000 for this feature by the state.
All their fruit was packed by one expert and was from a
comparatively^ few growers.

The Massachusetts state exhibit consisted of some one
hundred and sixty-five boxes and occupied the whole end of
the hall banked five tier high. The idea was to have every
section of the state represented so far as possible and this
scattering necesitated over half a dozen different packers.
The scheme in placing on the racks was the deep colore^l
varieties in the centre and then shading^ off to the lighter
ones with enough dark color on the wings to emphasize the
contrast. The whole made a very fine showing and the
Secretary received many new memberships after the show
as well as during it — from folks who saw the exhibit and
took one of the membership applications, which were handy.

Among those contributing were:

Chas. W. Mann, Methuen H. A. Moses, Woronoco

Turner Hill Farm, Ipswich' M. M. Browne, Marlboro

T. C. Thurlow, W. Newbury Easterbroolc Bros., Dudley

Russell B. Hall^ Medway Edw. A. Lunt, Newburyport

Herbert A. Thayer, Harvard T. E. Proctor, Topsfield

Alden Derby, Leominster Edw. Burt, E. Longmeadow

.]. T. Geer, Three Rivers C. R. Green, Eelchertown

L. F. Priest, Gleasondale J. M. Handley, W. Acton

Goodwin Warner, Littleton Wm. Hansen, Granville

13. Warherbarth', Granville C. F. Libbie, W. Acton

E. R. Farrar, So. Lincoln F. Howard Brown, Marlboro

Among the varieties included in the exhibit were Bald-
win, R. 1. Greening, Roxbury Russet, Northern Spy. King.
Tolman Sweet, ^Iclntosh. Rome Beauty, St. Lawrence, On-
tario, Ilubbiirdston, Wagner, Stark, Jonathan, and Pennock.

INDEX

Page
OUR EXHIBITORS 4

PEACHES, Prof. M. A. Blake, New Brunswick, N. J... 8

Discussiou following 16

BEES, Dr. Burton N. Gates, Amherst, Mass 26

ORCHARDS and BEEKEEPERS, Wilbur M. Purrington 33

BEGINNING WITH BEES, E. M. Nichols, Lyonsville. . . 38

BEES IN CROSS POLLINATION 42

Prof. W. W. Chenoweth

Discussion following 56

WELCOMING ADDRESSES 65

THE DEER PROBLEM, Round Table 72

A FRUIT FARM, Mr. I. I. Margeson, Westwood, Mass.. . 76

Discussion following 83

SPRAYING, Dr. E. Porter Felt, Albany N. Y 89

Discussion following 101

APPLE ORCHARDS, Dr. John P. Stewart, 121

State College, Penn.

Discussion following 137

THE BANQUET 144

VISITING SPRINGFIELD 145

SELLING APPLES, Mr. John C. Orcutt, Boston 147

OFFICERS' REPORTS 153

FIELD MEETINGS 159

LIST OF MEMBERS— Following Index

LIST OF ANNUAL MEMBERS

of '

MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION

January 1, 1914.

Notify Secretary immediately of any change of address.

Abbot, Miss Mary P., Harvard
Abbott, Charles S., Antrim, N. H.
Adams, Chapman. Co., Boston

37 No. Market St.
Adams, Charles R., Medway
Adams, Edward E., Millis
Adams, Everett F., Leominster
Adams, Henry J., Fitchburg
Alderman, Edwin H., R. 2, Chester
Aldrich, Frank M., Mendon
Allen, Frederick W., Reading
Allen, G. Howard, Littleton
Allen, George L. L., Medfield
Allen, Harry F., Northboro
Allen, John W., Northboro
Allen, W. O., Box 150, Northiboro
Almy, Frederick S., W. Wrentham
Ame-s, .John S., No. Easton
Ames, Joseph W., Melrose

27.2 Grove St.
Angier, Neadon, Natiek

63 Rockland St.
Amidon, Otis W., Grove, Vt.
Amsden, Nelson W.,

Newton Highlands
Anderson, Herbert W., Worcester
Andrews, Henry J., R. 1, Fitchburg
Appleton, Francis R., Jr.,

32 Liberty St., New York City
Arel, D. A., No. Andover
Arthur, M. Charles, Ipswich

Turner Hill
Atkins, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin F.,

Belmont
Atkins, W. H., So. Amherst
Austin, Charles S., R. D., Ward Hill
Babcock, P. H., Harvard
Bacon, Wm. H., Lexington
Bagg, Edw. O., W. Springfield

1067 Riverdale St.

Bailey, Harold E., Byfield
Bailey, J. E. F., Lancaster
Bailey, Thomas W., Kingston
Bailie, Mrs. Helen T., Boston

305 Columbus Ave.
Baker, James E., So. Lincoln
Baker, John M., Swampscott
Baker, W. W., Westwood
Ball, W. G..Hopedale
Baldwin, John D., Worcester

19 Cedar St.
Ballou, H. A., Worcester

143 Main St.
Bamburg, Robert, Jr., Wrentham

Box 185
Bannan, John F., No. Andover

59 Court Ct.
Barber, Eldridge C, Framinghiam
Barclay, John H., Cranbury, N. J.
Bardwell, William H., Shattuckville
Barker, Bowen, Groton
Barker, F. D., Concord
Barker, Harry, Littleton
Barker, John, No. Andover
Barnes, Jacob P., Wenham
Barnes, Charles, Marlboro
Barnes, Charles W., Box 58, Stow
Barnes, Chester G., Bedford
Barnes, J. Norris, Yalesville, Conn.
Barnes, Ralph F., Marlboro

R. D. Stow Rd.
Barnes, John R., Yalesville, Conn.
Barnes, Robert D., Medway
Barnes, Walter E., Colrain
Barrett, Arthur W., Fitehburg

R. No. 2
Bartlett, Henry. Acushnet
Barton, Walter, Weston
Bass, Miss Lizzie E., Wilton, Me.
Bassett, Leon H., No. Andover

Batcheller, Fred E., Lawrence

552 Andover St.
Bates, Alvah O., Lynn

304 Boston St.
Bates, Ceylon M., Ashfield
Bates, Stacy C, Concord Junction
Bates, Urban S., Hingh^am
Battelle, W. W., Dover
Bauld, J. Gibson, Framingham
Bausch & Lomb Optical Co.,

Rochester, N. Y.
Beadlee, Thomas, Northampton

Smith Agricultural School
Beal, Mrs. Howard W., Shrewsbury
Bean, Minot A., Chelmsford
Beauchamp, Allen A., Winchester
Belches, Edward F., Framingham
Belknap, Comer A., Framingham
Bell, Ralph, R. No. 2, Chester
Benson, Miss Ethel, Dover
Bent, James R., Maynard
Benton, Elmer J., Griswoldville
Berger, Hjalmar, So. Lincoln
Berry, Charles H., Groton
Berry, M. W., Middleton
Berry, Samuel D., Andover
Best, Theodore H., Dorchester

2 Chamblet St.
Bicknell, Charles, So. Weymouth
Bigelow, Arthur G., E.Brookfield, Vt.
Bigelow, Charles, Brookline

27 Longwood Ave.
Bigelow, Charles A., Northboro
Bigelow, Daniel F., Westboro
Bigelow, Louis L., Holliston
Bigelow, Palmer W., Durham, N. H.
Bird, R. W., R. No. 2, Framingham
Bisbee, Ernest E., W. Somerville

7 Bowers Ave.
Blake, Charles S., Ashby
Blanchard, F. F., Boston

141 Milk St.
Blessing, David S., Harrisburg, Pa.

4 No. Court Ave.
Blevins, John, Arlington

6 Whittemore St.
Bliss, Ethelbert, R. D., Ludlow
Bliss, Walter M., R. No. 2, Ludlow
Blood, F. Lawrence, Groton
Bly, E. H., 191 High St., Springfield
Boardman, Frederick T.,

Concord, N. H.
Bogue, Nelson, Batavia, N. Y.
Bolan, George, Gleasondale
Borden, Clinton A., Worcester

2 Sagamore Rd.

Boston Produce Co., Boston

93 So. Market St.
Boutwell, Lewis T., Lowell

R. No. 1
Bowditch, John P., Framingham
Bowen, Everett A., Lakeville
Bowker Insecticide Co., Boston

43 Chatham St.
Bowker, W. H., Boston

43 Chatham St.
Boyer, Elmer E., Lynn

30 Endicott St.
Bradbury, John P., Worcester

120 White St.
Brennan, Timothy J., Marlboro
Bridges, Robert S., Wakefield

167 Prospect St.
Brierley, Benjamin, Stratham, N. H.
Briggs, Frank P., Ayer
Briggs, J. B., Great Barrington

R. No. 3
lirigham, Addington, Marlboro
Brigham, H. W., Concord
Brigham, Whitney G., Hudson
Brochu, Mrs. Clifford,

Great Barrington

via Monterey Stage,
Brooks Ethan W., Springfield
Brooks, George A., Bostoa

18 Dcvne St.
Brooks, I. H. & Sons, Ashby
Brown, Eben E., Lakewood. R. I.
Brown, Everett E.,

Pomfret Centre, Ct.
Brown, F. A., Salem

9 6 Washington St.
Brown, Mr. and Mrs. F. Howard,

Ferncroft Rd., Marlboro
Brown, Frank N., Manila, P. I.

Box 338
Brown, George H., Box 151, Medway
Brown, George, Harvard
Brown, Harold L., R. No. 1, Groton
Brown, J. F., So. Lancaster
Brown, Lyman C, Natick
Brown, Sydney F., Reading
Browne, Marcus M., Marlboro
Bruce, E-lgar M., Leominster
Bryant, Arthur W., Harvard

Lock Box 4
Buckley, Clarence E., Northboro
Buckley, Mrs. Louis H., Worcester

5 Nelson Place
Burdett, Curtis H., Northboro
Burgett, Leon H., Great Barrington

Box 6
Burnett, Harry, Southboro

Burt, Edward H., E. Longmeadow
Butler, Windsor T., Holliston
Butterfield, E. S., Brimfleld
Butterick, Clarence A.,

Sterling Junction
Butterick, George F., Sterling
Byard, John L., Amherst
Caldwell, Kirke W., Brighton

81 Chestnut Hill Ave
Calkins, Arthur N., No. Abbington
Callahan, James F., Peabody

Box 125
Callister, G., Montague
Campbell, C. A., Ipswich
Campbell, ]\Ialcolm D., Still River
Campbell, William H., Wayland
Cannon, B. B., Boston

11 Stillings St.
Carine, Batholomew,

So. Glastonbury, Conn.
Carkin, John, Boston

64 W. Newton St.
Carlson, Louis J., Wrentham
Carmichael, George A.,

Shannock, R.,. I.
Carpenter, A. M., Monson
Carpenter, Charles W., Monson
Carpenter, Gardner H., Marlboro
Carpenter, Jesse A.,

Valley Falls, R. I.
Carpenter, Jesse, Jr., Attleboro
Carroll, James T., Boston

51 N. Market St.
Carter, A. F., Sherborn
Carter, George H., Hyde Park

48 Westminster St.
Carter, Sylvester, No. Wilmington
Gary, Herbert F., Lyonsville
Cash, George H., Concord Junction
Castle, Edward H., Hudson
Caswell, Albert B., R. D.,Fitchburg
Chadwick, Cyrus W., Cochituate
Chadwick, J. Gilbert, Wardhill
Chamberlain, B. M., Holden
Chamberlain, Montague, Groton
Chandler, John, Sterling Junction
Chandler, Joseph E., Boston

31 Beacon St.
Channing, Walter Jr., Boston

50 Congress St.
Chapin, Charles H., New York City

29 W. 39th St.
Chapman, L. R., Boston

4 Allston St.
Chase, Harris E., Clifford
Chase, Homer N., Auburn, Me.
ChJase, O. P., Andover

Chenery, Charles H., Belmont

161 Washington St.
Chenery, David, Belmont
Chenery, W. B., Brookfield
Chenoweth, W. W., Amherst
Childs, William C, Woodstock, Conn.
Church, George B., Shelburne Falls
Church, Stephen B., Boston

66 High St.
Claflin, Frederick L., Marlboro
Clapp, Raymond K., Westhampton
Clapp, Albion B., Wellesley Hills
Clark, Charles M., Dorchester

60 Thetford Ave.
Clark, Clarence W., Boston

43 Chatham St.
Clark, Elton, Framingham
Clark, H. A., Belmont

519 Pleasant St.
Clark, Herbert L.^ Ashfield
Clark, J. Maxwell, No. Hadley
Clark, Richmond T., Medway
Clark, John W., No. Hadley
Clark, Tyler, Newton Centre

85 Homer St.
Clark, Winslow, Shoreham, Vt.
Clayton, Walter, Middleton
Clifford, J. E., Danvers
Clough, Thomas R., Groton
Cobb, Gardiner N., Boston

U. S. S. Ranger
Cobb, George R., Kingston, R. I.
Coughlan, Peter A., Worcester

Box 3 5
Colburn, Frank A., Cambridge

19 Ware St.
Colby, Charles C, Hubbardston
Cole, E. E., Boston

18 6 Commonwealth Ave.
Cole, Harold W., Greenbu'Sh
Cole, Walter, Berlin
Collier, Eugene O., Groton
Colling, Edward F., Southboro
Comfort, Edward W., Winchester
Conant, Wilson H., Buckfield, Me.
Condon, Albert O., Worcester

Greendale
Cook, Herbert A., Shrewsbury
Cook, H. H., Northboro
Cook, Howard G., Leicester
Cook, Lyman C, Millis
Cook, Walter F., W. Roxbury

2 Ruskin St.
Cooke, Dr. William P. Boston

330 Dartmouth St.
,CooIidge, George A., Hudson
Coombs, Edward W., Colrain

Coombs, Ernest W., Peabody

132 Andover St.
Coombs, Robert, Colrain
Cooper, Frank I., Boston

89 Franklin St.
Copeland, Edgar F., Colrain
Copeland, Harvey L., Colrain
Corey, Allan P., Dover
Cotter, Patrick, 25 Aborn St., Salem
Coughlin, Joseph P., W. Acton
Couper, Henry J., Concord, Junction
Cowper, J. E., All-ston

427 Cambridge St.
Crafts, Storer F., Boston

Commonwealth Hotel
Craig, David R., Boston

69 Mt. Vernon St.
Craig, William, Boston

95 F. H. Market
Crane, Henry L., Westwood
Crane, Samuel V., Blackstone
Craine, A. W., Boston

222 So. Station
Creswell, George N., Seymour, Conn.
Critchett, Edward R., Amherst
Croft, Dr. B. F., Bernardston
Cross, Robert F., Ostervile
Culver, Roy R., Groton
Cunningham, Fred H., Bolton
Cunningham, Paul, Box 49, Bolton
Curtis, Arnold S., Marlboro
Curtis, Ellicott D., Bantam Conn.
Curtis, Louville, Tyngsboro
Curtis & Co., Boston

10 4 F. H. Market
Cushman,, Miss Florence, Harvard
Cutler, Warren A., Bedford
Cutter, Charles B., Auburndale
Dadmun, Earl W., Watertown

194 Arsenal St.
Damon, Ralph C, Ashby
Darling, Robert, Simsbury, Conn.
Darling, S. W., Spencer
Daughterty, Allen E., Boston

218 Tremont St.
Davenport, Jonathan E., Colrain
Davenport, S. Lothrop, Danvers
Davenport, Rev. William H,

Griswoldville
Davis, E. Norton, Hampden
Davis, Harry P., R. D., Hudson
Davis, L. C, E. LongmeadOw
Davis, William M., Boston

93 Broad st.
Deane, John M., Assonet
Deering, Fred W., Topsfield

DeCoster, Harry W., Lynn

304 Balsam St.
DeForrest, Arthur U., Cyrus
Degen, Mrs. George F., S. Byfield
Dellea, John M., Great Barrington
Dennett, Dr. Charles A., Arlington
Dennison, Arthur L., Colrain
Derby, Alden, Leominster
Derby, Clifton, Leominster
Derby, E. Everett, Leominster
Derby, John, Stow
Diaz, Ralph M., Belmont

39 Centre Ave.
Dickinson, E. F., Billerica
Dickson, Walter A., Harvard
Dimick, Orlando W., Watertown

51 Russell Ave.
Doten, Scott T., Lincoln
Douglas, Edward S.,

Douglas Hill, Me.
Douglas, Norman B., Sherborn
Douglas, W. B., Arlington

9 Brantwood Rd.
Douglas, W. & B., Middletown, Ct.
Downs, Thomas, Georgetown
Drake, Nathaniel S., Pittsfield, N. H.
Dresser, Julius S., Southbridge

25 Everett St.
Drew, George A., Greenwich, Conn.
Drisko, William J., Winchester
Drowne, George P., Morrisville, Vt.
Drury, Frederick H., Rutland
Dummer, Joseph N., Rowley
DuBois, Goddard, New York City

105 Riverside Drive
DuBois, J. Frank, Lynn

20 Conomo Ave.
Ducy, David L., Framingham
Duplisse, Winn., Northboro
Dupuis, Bernard C, Southbridge

Box 151
Duren, W. C, Carlisle
Durgin, Fred L., Paxton
Durning, James A., Jamaica Plain

27 Holbrook St.
Dwight, Henry A., Adamsville
Earle, Thomas, Steelton, Pa.
Easterbrook, I. Harold, Dudley
Eaton, Horace, Box 1951, Boston
Eddy. Jeremiah P., Providence, R. L

Box 343
Edgett, Edwin F., Arlington

200 Pleasant St.
Elder, David, Harwich
Ellery, William, Boston

252 Summer St,
Ellsworth, J. Lewis, Worcester

Elson, A. W., Belmont

527 Concord Ave.
Ely, Ralph A., Holyoke
Emerson, Charles W., Haverhill

821 Broadway
Emerson, E. A., Haverhill

261 N. Broadway
Emerson, Edward D., Boston

4 9 Federal St.

Everett, Harold C, R. D., W. Acton
Everett, Richard L., Wellesley Farms
Fairbanks, A. N., Keene, N. H.
Farrar, Edward R., So. Lincoln
Farrar, Herbert C, So. Lincoln
Farrar, Samuel, So. Lincoln
Farwell, S. E., Boston

5 5 Congress St.
Fay, John S., Northboro

Feller, J. Foster, Linlithgo, N. Y.
Feeney, John Jr., Westford
Felton, Arthur S., Bolton
Felton, T. P., W. Berlin
Felton, Miss Louisa C, Cambridge

9 2 Brattle St.
Felton, N. Henry, Marlboro
Fenno, Stanley W., Revere

50 Pleasant St.
Ferguson, Miss Slleanor,

Cummington
Ferris, Miss A. Gertrude, Hopkinton
Field, Mrs. Ellen S., Milton

15 Brookside Pk.
Field, G. W. Sharon
Fish, Arthur, Adamsville
Fisk, Nathaniel B., Stoneham
Fiske David .L, Grafton
Fiske, O. H., Huntington
Fiske, Ralph T., Northboro

W. Main St
Fitch, George, A., Sterling Junction
Flagg, Charles V., Littleton
Flaherty, T. F., Portland, Me.

21 Arlington St.
Fletcher, E. S., Thompson, Conn.
Fletcher, George V., Belmont

483 Pleasant St.
Fletcher, J. Henry, Belmont
Flint, Albert E., Worcester

8 Moore Ave.
Flint, William T., Gardner
Flower, Dr. Alfred H., Boston

101 St. Botolph St.
Follensby, Lyman, Cordaville
Folsom, B. F., Gleasondale
Forbes, William, Box 47, Weston .
Foster, George H., Shrewsbury

Box 194

Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Harlow R.,

Ashby
Forbush, Gilbert N., Marlboro
Fowle, D. H., Newburyport
Fox, Frank B., Taynton

2 6 Crocker Bldg.
Fox, Jabez, 99 Irving St., Cambridge
Eraser, C. E. K., So. Natick
Eraser, William R., Northboro
Freehan, Charles W.,

Great Barrington
Freeman, Henry F., Warren
French, Samuel C, Westwood
Frost, Arthur H., Boston

18 Tremont St.
Frost, G. Howard, W. Newton
Frost, Harold L., Arlington
Frost, Sylvester C, Arlington

Lake St.
Fuller, Edward A., No. Andover
Fuller, Horace C, Leominster
Fuller, Howard, Shirley
Gale, W. F., Springfield

24 Crystal Ave.
Gallup, B. S., R. No. 2, Westboro
Gannon, William J., W. Medford

15 Madison St.
Geer, H. D., Three Rivers
Geer, Mr. and Mrs. J. T.,

Three Rivers
Geissler, J. J., Box 144, Sharon
German Keli Works, New York City
Gerrish, Miss Isabel F., Ashland
Gibson, John F., Southboro
Gifford, John E., Danvers
Gilbert, A. M., Boston

810 Barristers Hall
Gilbert, Orrin, Middeltown, Conn.
Gilligan, Sidney D., Warren
Gilmore, Abiel P. R., Acushnet

R. No. 1

Gilmore, Edwin M., Marlboro

Hosmer St.
Gilmore, Howard P., Westboro
Gilson, Dr. Earland, Groton
Ginty, Daniel, Framingham
Gleason, Walter D., Pratts Junction
Goldthwait, Addison B., Bardwells

R. D.
Goodell, Everett E., Westboro
Goodell, W. A., Station D. .Worcester
Goodrich, James H., W. Newbury
Goodrich, Walter H., Hudson

Chapin Road
Goss, B. J., Ayer
Gould's Mftg. Co., Boston

58 Pearl St.

Gould, Sydney C, No. Andover

Gould, Walter F., Ipswich

Gould, Mr. and Mrs. WinthTop W.,

Pratts Junction
Gourley, Joseph H., Durham, N. H.
Grady, John P., Lynn

344 Western Aye.
Gragg, Isaac P., 27 School St. Boston
Graham, Charles, Holden
Graham, G. S., Holden
Granger, Miss Helen, Griswoldville
Graves, Arthur E., Worcester

17 Somerset St.
Graves, G., Worcester

17 Somerset St.
Graves, Wilson A., Shelburne
Gray, Rev. Ora Samuel, Amherst
Greeley, Eugene O., Derry, N. H.
Green, Clayton R., Belchertown
Greene, William A., Saundersville
Greenough, J. J., Deerfield
Hackett, A. Edward, Bolton
Haight, Harry D., Boston

110 Gainsboro St.
Hale, George H., Hudson

34 Lincoln St.
Hale, Herbert A., Colrain
Hale, James O., Byfield
Hale, Thaddeus, Wellesley Hills
Hall, Fred P., Danvers
Hall, Rufus M., Shirley
Hall, Russell B., Medway
Hall, Stacy L., Boston

100 F. H. Market
Hallock, Francis R., Stow
Halloran, Edward J., Roxbury

52 Calumet St.
Hammond, Irving C, Onset
Hansen, William, North' Granby, Ct.
Hardy, John H., Jr., Littleton
Harlow, Harry J., Shrewsbury
Harper, Henry, Marlboro
Hartshorn, Dr. W. N., Boston

5 4 Fenway St.
Harris, Roland W., No. Andover

316 Johnston St.
Harvey, John T., Pitts3field, N. H.
Hastings, Frank W., Sudbury
Haskell, E. B., Southbridge
Haskell, Tarbell P., Northboro
Hathaway, Charlies E., Somerset
Hathaway, Howard W., Somerset
Hawkins, A. C, Lancaster
Haye, Marcus L., Westwood
Hayes, James, Ashby
Haynes, Daniel W., Framingham

Salem St.
Hay ward, Cecil F., Ashby

Haywood, Dr. Sumner, Covert, N. Y.
Heath, Elmer H., Neponset

72 Minot St.
Heggie, James, Somerville

102 Flint St.
Henry, Robert J., Sherborn
Hersey, Everell A., Westboro
Hessell, Robert, Framingham

R. No. 2
Heywood, Mr. and Mrs. Ezra K.,

Pratts Junction
Higbee, Harry, Hyde Park

13 Austin St.
Higbee, William E., Hyde Park

21 Webster St.
Higgins, Charles H., Arlington
Higgins, Robert H., Arlington
Hilton, Edwin M., Framingham
Hittinger, Richard, Belmont
Holden, Thomas M., Newton Centre
Holland, Charles P., Brockton

183 Main St.
Holway, T. E. & Co., Boston

17 No. Market St.
Hooper, W. L., Cambridge

2286 Mass. Ave.
Hopkins, ]\Irs. J. C, Boston

170 Marlboro St.
Hosmer, Wm. H., Leominster

104 Lindell Ave.
Houghton, Clement S., Boston

60 State St.
Howard, A. B. & Son, Belchertown
Howard, Mrs. Fred C, Wakefield

89 Gould St.
Howard, Hall J., Colrain
Howard, Henry M., W. Newton
Howe, D. A., Worcester

218 Summer St.
Howe, Elmer D., Marlboro
Howe, James S., Jr., So. Framingham
Howe, Sumner L., Marlboro

Bolton St.
Howes, Abbott L., Ashfield
Howes, Albert, So. Ashfield
Howes, 41vah W., Ashfield
Howes, John W., Ashfield
Howes, Raymond G., Ashfield
Howes, Wesley E., R. No. 1, Medway
Hoxsie, Allen N., E. Greenwich, R. I.

Lock Box 402
Hubbard, Charles J. G., Berlin
Hubbard, Edwin A., Ashby
Hubbard, Jesse B., Boston

. 95 Milk St.
Hubbard, Eliot, Boston

206 Beacon St.
Hulst, Alfred N., Amherst

Hungerford, Newman, Hartford, Ct.

45 Prospect St.
Hunting, A. I., W. Boylston
Hutchings, C. L., Concord
Hutchinson, R. H., New York City

51 Front St.
Hutchinson, Walter K., Arlington
Hyde, Wheeler Co., Boston

41 No. Market St.
Ilsley, Fred, Newbury
Jackson, Dr. Alton A., Everett

512 Broadway
Jackson, Dr. A. W., Worcester

136 Austin St.
Jacobs, Albert A., R. D., Clinton
Jacques, Otis A., Boston

Mercantile Row
James, Frank M., Haverhill

126 Monument St.
Jameson, George W., Lexington
Jarvis, Chester D., Storrs, Conn.
Jefts, George M., Stoneham
Jencks, Fred A., Woonsocket, R. I.
Jenkins, George E., Clifton

Clifton Ave.
Jenkins, Zebina H., W. Bolyston
Jenks,, Albert R., Springfield

Massasoit Bldg.
Jewett, Warren C, Worcester
Johnson, Everett M., Colrain
Johnson, J. Henry, Leominster

408 West St.
Johnson, John F., Northboro
Johnson, Richard W., Westboro
Jones, Fred W., Boston

50 Equitable Bldg.
Jones, John, Attleboro

707 Slater St.
Jones, Nath^aniel R., Billerica
Jones, Percival W., S. Sudbury
Jones, Warren H., S. Acton
Joslin, Dr. Perry E., Milford

177 Main St.
Jurek, Joseph, Colrain
Kandle, Herbert A., Natick

65 Rockland St,
Keller, Wililam F., Holliston
Kelly, Charles P., Newburyport
Kemp, Charles J., Ipswich
Kemp, Walter H., Colrain
Kendall, Charles E., Milford, N. H.
Kendall, E. Dana, Holden
Kendall, H. Prentice, Sterling
Keyes, Frederick S., Bolton
Keyes, Louis G., Nashua St., Woburn
Keyes, G. Harvey, W. Boylston
Keyes, John F., Lancaster

Kilburn, Joseph H., Pratts Junction
Kimball, Alfred, Haverhill
Kimball, H. L., Northboro
Kimball, Leonard H., E. Haverhill
Kinney, F. J., R. D., Worcester
Kinney, Herbert R., Worcester
Kinney, Robert F., Worcester
Kinsman, Ernest E., Heath
Kirby, Ralph J., Arlington
Kittredge, George D.,

Mt. Vernon, N. H.
Knapp, George S., Groton
Knight, T. M., Brooklyn, N. Y.

381 McDonald St.
Knight, Willis E., Gardner
Knights, Arthur A., Worcester

100 Beacon St.
Knights, Harry W., Boston

87 Commercial St.
Kyes, Arthur N., Hopkinton
Labouteley, Gaston E., Three Rivers
Lamb, H. J., Pittsfield
Lamphear, Arthur S., Hubbardston
Lamson, Arthur C, Marlboro
Lamson, E. M., Hudson
Lane, Gilbert E., W. Peabody
Lawrence, Edward, Brookline

34 Kilsythe Rd.
Leach, C. Arthur, So. ^Hamilton
Learned, Frederick H., Winchester

22 Lebanon St.
Learned, W. H., Florence
Leavens, Geo. D., New York City

51 Chambers St.
Leavitt, Albert J., Roslindale

37 Aldrich St.
Leitch, W. J., No. Andover
Leiand, P. F., Hollistflin
Leman, J. Howard, Box 2365, Boston
Leonard, F. M., Boston

52 Clinton St.
Lewis, Frank D., Groton
Ley, Harry A., Springfield

Care F. T. Ley Co., Main St.
Libbey, Chas. E., Worcester

158 Holden St.
Lincoln, Henry T., N. Scituate

Box 113
Lincoln, Wm. S., Boylston Centre
Linton, William, Weston
Locke, Geo. L., Winchester

17 Ridge St.
Locke, Jas. E., Belmont

575 Pleasant St.
Locke, Isaac H., Belmont

561 Pleasant St.
Lord, Carey S., Richmond

Lord, Walter E., Newfield, Me.
Lord & Spencer, Boston

21 N. S. F. Hall Market
Loud, Chas. E., Framingham
Lovell, Henrj-, Worcester

12 N. Ashland St.
Luke, T. A. E., Ashby
Lull, Robert D., Hamilton
Lumsden, James, Reading
Lunt, Daniel A., Boston

62 N. Wash. St.
Lunt, Geo. W., Newburyport

60 E. High St.
Lyford, W. C, Natick
Lyman, Chas. E., Middlefield, Ct.
Lyman, Henry H., Middlefield, Ct.
Lyons, M. E., Marlboro

12 Belmont St.
MacDonald, Allan, Yalesville, Ct.
Maclnnes, John C, Worcester

4 62 Main St.
Mack, Wallace P., Derry, N. H.
Mackay, W. J., Springfield
Macuen, A. T., Milford
Macurda, W. E., Boston

92 State St.
Madigan, Wm. J., R. D., Harvard
Mainland, John Y., Newton Centre

54 Grey Cliff Rd.
Makepeace, John C, Wareham
Mann, Chas. W., Methuen
Mann, Horace W., Stoughton

1057 Wash. St.
Mannion, Thos. J., Concord, Jet.
Margeson, Ingram I., Westwood
Marshall, A. A., Fitchburg
Marshall, Geo. A., Fitchburg
Marshall, Jas. A., Tewksbury
Martin, Geo. J., W. Newton
Mason, Daniel, Ayer
Mason, Joseph, Newton Upper Falls
Mason, Otis N., Box 1, Wrentham
Maxam, Chas. W., Adamsville
Maynard, C. & L. R., So. Berlin

Box 47

Maynard, E. W., Springfield

855 Belmont Ave.
Maynard, Samuel T., Northboro
McDonald, Chas. G., Medway
McDougall, Allister F., Amherst

M. A. C.
McGarry, Miss Virginia, Grafton
McKay, Wm. L., Geneva, N. Y.
McNeish, Dr. Alex., Leicester
Mead. A. & O. W. & Co., Boston
Mead, Harlow E., N. Andover
Mead, Herbert O., Lunenburg

Measures, Daniel E., Rowley
Mentzer, Cyrus H., Northboro
Mentzer, Thornton E., Northboro
Merrifleld, Fred L. Colrain
Merriam A. C, Leominster
Merriam, Herbert, Weston
Merrill, Amos A., Hampden
Merriman, Jos. L. Bolton
Merritt, C. L., So. Weymouth
Meserve, John M., Hudson
Messenger, Geo. E., Fitchburg

Pearl Hill Rd.
Midgeley, Leonard C, Westboro
Miles, H. C. C, Milford, Ct.
Millard, Alfred, Boston

Hotel Bellevue
Miller, Allan B., Worcester

32 Westland St.
Miller, Arthur, Boston

4 6 Clinton St.
Miller, Danforth D., Worcester

9 Pleasant St.
Miller, E. Cyrus, Haydenville
Mills, John K., Northboro
Minott, Chas. W., Hudson
Minn, Miss Susan, Boston

14 Louisburg Sq.
Monk, Rodney E., Pratts Junction
Moore, Clarence A., Arlington

81 Walnut St. ,
Moore, Elliott J., Worcester
Moore, H. Ward, Worcester
MoorC; J. L., Wayland
Moore, Thos. A., Boston

521 Wash. St.
Morey, Whipple F., Box 182, Milford
Morgan, Paul B., Worcester
Morrell, Melville P., Gleasondale
Morrison, John D., Manchester
Morse, Prof. A. D., Pelham
Morse, Edwin T., Worcester

Clark St.
Morse, Frank E., Boston

162 Boylston St.
Morse, Geo. F., So. Lancaster
Morse, Herbert L., W. Roxbury

9 Whitmore St.
Morse, Munroe, Medway
Mortimer, Edmund, Grafton
Morton, Prof. O. A., M. A. C.

Amherst
Moulton, Geo. D., Boston

141 Milk St.
Moses, H. A., Woronoco
Moxley, Chas. S., No. Andover
Moxon, J. R., New York City

6 Wall St.

Mudge, Everett P., Swampscott
Munroe, Howard M., Lexington
Munson, E. Malcolm, S. Dartmouth
Munson, WMttaker Co., Boston

623 Tremont Bldg.
Munson, Willard A., Littleton
Murch, Harry A., Sherborn
Murdock, Harry E., Danvers
Murray, Robt. B., Roxbury

28 Atherton St.
Myers, Weil & Co., Cleveland, Ohio

670 Broadway

Nelson, John Walter, Lexington

R. No. 1
N. E. Nurseries, Bedford
Nichols, Dr. Estes, Hebron, Me.
Nichols, Willard O., Elm Grove
Norman, Alvah J., Conway
Norris, J. Edward, W .Springfield

988 Riverdale
North, Wayne H., Boston

161 Devonshire St.
Noyes, Miss Mabel F., Methuen

416 Lowell St.
Noyes, Geo. W., Byfield
Noyes, W. W. & C. R., Boston

13 No. Market St.
Nugent, Jas. H., Fall River

332 Bedford St.
Nye, Theodore H., Worcester

19 Beverely Rd.
Oliver, Geo. T., Boston

30 Ipswich St.
Openshaw, John, M. A. C, Amherst
Orcutt, B. A., Buckland
Osborne, J. Warren, Middleton
Osborn, L. T., Great Barrington
Osgood, H. G., R. No. 1, Westford
Overend, Walter E., Spencer

Tafts Corner
Packard, A. A., Springfield

254 Union St.
Page, John F., N. Leominster
Page, J. Nathan, N. Leominster
Page, Ralph L., Arlington

21 Walnut St.
Paine, Everett L., Berlin
Palmer, Geo. L., Kents Hill, Me.
Parke, Everett B., Burlington
Parker, C. D., Worcester

47 Fales St.
Parker, Elmer B., Wilton, N. H.
Parker, Fredk. H., Billerica
Parker, F. R., Fitzwilliam, N. H,
Parker,, Horace B., Brookfield
Parker, Jas. F., Medway

Parker, Walter S., Reading

55 Walnut St.
Parker, Wm. E., W. Boylston
Parks, Wm. A., Needham Heights
Parmenter, C. I., Box 112, Fayville
Parmenter, Ralph E., Hudson, N. H.
Parsons, Chas. F., Framingham

R. D.
Parsons, Wilfred A., Southampton
Patch, A. Warren, Boston

17 N. Market St.
Patch, Frank A., Littleton
Patten, Jas. W., Sterling
Patten, Robt. G., R. No. 2, Amesbury
Patrick, Henry L., Hopedale
Paul, A. Russell, Belvidere, N. J.
Paul, Miss Eleanor P., Sherborn
Paul, Miss E. V., Belvidere, N. J.
Payne, Horace, No. Jay, Me.
Peabody, Geo., Williamstown
Pearson, Benjamin, Byfield
Pease, Arthur D., R. No. 2, Chester
Pease, Chas. P., Chester
Peck, Austin, Shelburne
Penney, Arthur S., Saugus

19 9 Essex St.
Fenney, Walter H., Saugus

220 Essex St.
Perkins, Frank, Newburyport

4 2 H'^gh St.
Perkins, Robt. F., Framingham
Perry, J. A., Newburyport
Perry, Leonard F., Millis
Perry, Rolland, Reading
Perry, W. I., Newburyport

Care Bliss & Perry
Peters, Austin, D. V. S., Harvard
Peters, Frederick C, Ardmore, Pa.

Box 546
Peterson, Myron, Colrain
Peterson, Ralph H., Adamsville
Peterson, Rudolph, Concord
Pickard, P. W., Hopedale
Pickard, Wm. L., Littleton
Pickens, J. M., R. No. 2, Ludlow
Pierce, A. F., IMarlboro
Pierce, Alfred, Lexington
Pierce, John W., W. Millbury
Pierce, Wm. D., Worcester

3 Rock Ave.
Piper, Henry N., Holliston
Piper, Louis M., Ashby
Plaisted, Richard, Gardner
Piatt, Norman S., New Haven, Ct.

395 Whalley Ave.
Poor, Jas. C, N. Andover
Pope, F. H., Auburndale

108 South Ave.

Porter, Jonathan L., So. Hamilton
Porter, Sylvester E., W. Berlin
Potter, Geo. A., Great Harrington
Pottle, Chas. L., Holliston
Powell, Edwin C, Springfield
Powers, Edwin U., Leominster
Powers, John G., No. Easton
Pratt, Benj. G„ New York City

50 Church St.
Pratt, Henry S., Worcester
Pratt, Orestes M., Plymouth, N. H.

R. No. 4.
Proctor, Albert E., Hopkinton
Prescott, Chas. W., Concord
Prichard, Asa B., Somerville

City Hall
Prichard, Reuben P.,

State Rangers School,

Wanakeena, N. J. ,

Priest, Edwin H., Littleton
Priest, Geo. L., Littleton
Priest, Lyman F., Gleasondale
Priest, Harold A., Gleasondale
Proctor, Albert E., Hopkinton
Purington, Geo., Colrain
Purington, Nelson, Colrain
Putnam, D. O., W. Sutton
Putnam, Earl F., Littleton
Putnam, Mrs. H. W., W. Sutton
Putnam, J. H., Litchfield, Ct.
Putnam, Oliver J., Leominster
Race, R. Henry, N. Egremont
Raddin, Sam. H., Groton
Ranney, Wm. H.,

Derry Village, N. H.
Rawson, Geo. A., Newton

41 Vernon St.
Rea, F. Orris, N. Andover

3 4 Rea St.
Read, G. P., New York City

199 Duane St.
Read, Henry B., Barre
Reed, Jas. O., R. D., Mason, N. H.
Rees, Prof. Ralph W., Amherst

M. A. C.
Reynolds, Daniel W., Haverhill

R. No. 2
Reynolds, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin O.,

N. Andover
Rice, Geo. Calvin,, Worcester

Station D.
Rice, H. L,. 20 High St.. Boston
Rice, J. L., R. D., Ludlow-
Rice, J. Wilbur, R. D., Ludlow
Rice, Lee W., R. D., Ludlow
Richards, Lysander S., Boston

Hotel Nottingham
Richardson, Evan P., Millis

Richiardson, Jas. H., Thornton, R. I.
Rider, C. W., Housatonic
Riley, Ernest E., Needham
Ripley, Edw. P., Weston
Robbins, Alfred N., Norwood

85 Walpole St.
Robbins, Hayes, Winchester
Roberts, Louis E., So. Lincoln
Robertson, Chas. H., Leyden
Robinson, Alfred E., Lexington
Robinson, Everett, Uxbridge
Robinson, E. D., Vineyard Haven
Rockwell, F. P.,

R. D., Rockfall, Ct.
Rogers, Dexter M., Allston

3 44 Cambridge St.
Rogers, Elijah, Southington, Ct.
Rogers, F. D., R. No. 1, Monson
Rothwell, Mrs. B. J., Needham
Root, Herman D., Colrain
Ross, Walter D., Worcester
Rowell, John, 33 Beaver St., Salem
Russell, Fred. A., Methuen
Sabin, Leroy C, Hadley
Sage, Chas. D., N. Brookfield
Sanborn, H. S.,

R. D. Box 34, Nashua, N. H.
Sanborn, Dr. Nathan W., Holden
Sanderson, Geo. W., Littleton Depot
Sanderson, J. Gardner, W. Medway
Sands, Furber, & Co., Boston

90 F. H. Market
Sargent, Fred W., Amesbury
Sawyer, Chas. F., Hebron, Me.

R. D.
Sawyer, Geo. E., Everett
Sawyer, John F., Arlington
Schworm, Chas. S., Boston

Back Bay
Scott, John H., Wrenthiam
Scott, Walter, Cranbury, N. J.

R. No. 1.
Sears, Arthur E., Mason, N. H.
Sears, Prof. & Mrs. Fred C,

M. A. C, Amherst
Sears, Horace G., Danvers .
Sears, Vinton A., Boston

53 State St.
Sebastian, L. A., W. Acton
Severance, Chas. F., Bernardston
Sevey, Glen G., Russell
Shattuck, Mrs. Bertha B., W. Acton
Shaw, Dr. J. K., M. A. C, Amherst
Shaw, John L., Natick
Shaw, Silas A., Auburn, Me.
Shea, Robt. O., Boston

623 Tremont Bldg.
Shearer, Jas., Colrain

Shedd, Warren F., Wakefield
Sherman, Ellsworth P., :\Iarlboro

10 Farm Rd.
Shinkwin, Wm. A., Hudson
Shumway, E. F., Belchertown
Sims, Rev. Thos., Melrose

119 Foster St.
Small, Chas. E., Berlin
Smith, Chas. A., Ashfield
Smith, Chas. S., Lincoln
Smith, Fred A., Danvers
Smith, Geo. N., Wellesley Hills
Smith, Geo. W., Melrose, Ct.
Smith, Harton A., Leicester
Smith, Hiram N., N. Andover
Smith, John L., Barre
Smitb, Phillip N., Worcester

63Pleasant St.
Smith, Robt. B., No. Andover

Box 3
Smith, Walter J., Ashby
Sowerby, Edmund, Marlboro
Spalding, Geo. F., Newton Centre
Spaulding, Percy F., Ashby
Sprague, Geo. H., Ipswich
Sprowl, Paul & Co., Boston

23 N. Market St.
Stacy, Albert B., Charlemont
Standard, F.W.,Tyringham
Staples, Geo. W., Hartford, Ct.
Stearns, Chas. M., Springfield

244 Main St.
Stearns, Wm. H., W. Boylston
Steele, Burpee C, W .Acton
Steele, Fred, Hersom St. Stoneham
Stene, A. Everett, Kingston, R. I.
Stetson, Archie B., Griswoldville
Stetson, Edgar C, Adamsville
Stevens, Abel F., Wellesley
Stevens, Geo. T., Groton
Stewart, Andrew, Quincy

177 Whitwell St.
Stewart, Chas. A., Colrain
Stewart, James L., Amesbury
Stimson, Rufus W., Boston

Ford Bldg.
Stockwell, John W., Worcester

65 6 Main St.
Stockwell, O., Fitchburg
Stone, Geo. E., Shrewsbury
Stone & Forsyth, Boston

67 Kingston St.
Stone, L. L., R. No. 2, Ludlow
Storer, John H., Groton
Stowe, A. Byron, Adamsville
Stowe, Geo. Burton, Millbury
Stowe, Geo. L, Box 5, W. Millbury

Stow, Harris C, Grafton
Stratton, Edward N., Marlboro
Stratton, Herbert, Hudson
Stuart, Louis A., Pratts Junction
Swain, Allen N., Boston

623 Tremont Bldg.
Swain, Donald N., W. Roxbury

95 Mt. Vernon St.
Swain, Dr. Mary L., W. Roxbury

73 Garfield Ave.
Sweet, L. C, Cummington
Symmes, Samuel S., Winchester
Taylor, Arthur G., Fitchburg

R. No. 1.
Taylor, Geo. B., Jr., Shelburne
Taylor, G. E., Wayland
Taylor, Wm. R., Westford
Teele, E. R., W. Acton
Temple, Ed. Seth, Shattuckville
Thayer, Herbert A., Harvard
Thayer, John E., Lancaster
Thompson, Alfred N., Framingh&m

R. D.
Thompson, Jared B., IMonterey
Thompson, L. H., Elm Grove
Thurlow, Geo. C, W. Newbury

Moulton St.
Tilley, Everett G., Northboro
Tilton, J. Dana, Wellesley
Tilton, J. O., Lexington
Titcomb, Walter H., Littleton
Titus, Edward, Glen Cove, L. I.
Tookey, Wm. J., No. Andover

3 04 Stevens St.
Tourtellotte, L. Holbrook, Marlboro
Tov/le, Dr. Geo. P., Carlisle
Towne, Abner, R. D., Williamstown
Town, W. N., Waltham

22 9 i\Ioody St.
Townsend, Henry E., W. Boylston
Townslev, Fred R., Ashfield

R. No. 1.
Trask, Fred R., Sterling
Tucker, Clarence, Readville

Care Thos. Leyland Co.
Tufts, William, Sudbury
Turner, N. B., Great Barrington
Tuttle, Archer N., Warren
Tuttle, Horace F., Acton
Tyler, Alonzo W., Peabody
Tyler, Nathaniel P., Sterling Junct.

R. No. 1.
Underwood, Herbert P., Gleasondale
Upham, F. A., Three Rivers
Van Deusen, N. S., Ashley Falls
Vincent, M. H., Conway
Vinton, G. N., Sturbridge

Wakefield, Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo C,

Orange
Walker, C. S., Boston

90 Commercial Whf.
Walker, Henry P., R. D., Hudson
Walker, Herbert F., Lynn

Washington St.
Walker, Wm. B., Pratts Junction
Wallace, Thomas C, W. Somerville

83 Irving St.
Wallace, Wm. N., R. No. 2, Ludlow
Walton, Perry, Belmont
Ward, A. W., Auburn
Wardwell, Edwin, Danvers

31 Elliott St.
Ware, Arthur L., Framingham
Ware, Henry, 82 High St., Brookline
Ware, Lyman E., Norfolk
Warner, Goodwin, Concord Junction
Warren, Edwin, Leicester
Warren, Henry H., Stow
Warriner, A. A., Warren
Washburn, Handel E., E. Freetown
Waters, Edw. A., W. Boylston
Watts, C. F., Holliston
Watts, Samuel, Natick
Waugh, Prof. Frank A, Amherst

M. A. C.
Webb, Chas. R., Shrewsbury

Box 21.
Webber, H. T., Harvard
Webber, R. M., Wilbraham
Webling, Walter, Boston

4 6 Clinton St.
Weeks, A. H., Somerville

.52 Boston St.
Wescott, Wilmarth A., Hopedale
Wetherbee, Mrs. A. E., Worcester

31 Brattle St.
Wharton, Wm. P., Groton
Wheeler, A. B., Berlin
Wheeler, Chas., Framingham
Wheeler, D. E., Leominster
Wheeler, F. A., Bolton
Wheeler, F. Sherman, Berlin

Highland St.
Wheeler, Geo. F., Concord
Wheeler, Gilbert H., Bolton
Wheeler, Dr. Homer J., Boston

92. State St.
Wheeler, Wilfrid, Concord
Wheeler, Wm. E., Berlin

R. D., No. 27
Wheeler, Wm. J., Worcester

21 Forest St.
Wheelwright, Wm. B., Boston

95 Milk St.

Whitcomb, Herbert A., Northboro
Whitcomb, Levi, Northboro
Whitcomb, Nabum H., Concord Jet.

R. No. 1.
Whitcomb, Ralph H., Amherst
White, Mrs. Catherine M. E.,

Westwood
White, F. L., So. Deerfield, N. H.
White, Henry K., Lowell

250 Nesmith St.
White, Dr. L. E., Wellesley
White, Walter E., W. Boylston
White, Warren, Holliston
Whitelock, Wm. M. E., Marlboro

10 Farm Road
Whitney, Chas. A., Upton
Whitney, Daniel L., Sherborn
Whitney, Harry F., Harvard
Wieren, Geo. Von, Framingham

R. D.
Wilbur, Emery S., Ii)swich

Turner Hill
Wilbur, Walter M., Marlboro
Wilcox, Howell G., Boston

18 Pearl St.
Wilder, Chas. L., Lancaster
Wilder, E. B., Dorchester

90 Colum'bia' Road
Wilder, Fred E., Sterling
Wilder, Henry J., Washington, D. C.

Bureau of Soils
Wilkins, Geo. G., Box 47, Carlisle
Williams, EIroy C, Marlboro
Williams, Geo. F., Fitchburg
Williams, Robert E., Ashfield
Wilson, Chas. A., Medway
Wing, Hugh B., Ashfield
Wingett, A. H., Lenox
Winn, Richer & Co., Boston

93 F. H. Market
Winn, Willard A., Worcester

11 Berkshire St.
Winn, Wm. N., Arlington

77 Summer St.
Winship, Fredk. H., Wakefield

Jordan Ave.
Winsor, Thos. K., Greenville, R. I.
Wister, John C, Germantown, Pa.

Wister St.
Witherell, Warren F., B.oston

91 Causeway St.
Wood, Benj. F., Newton

11 Waverly Ave.
Wood, Burt T., 128 Allen St., Athol
Wood, C. M., Upton
Wood, W. L., Westford
Yeaton, Geo. A., Augusta, Me.

York & Whitney, Boston
P. O. Box 3456.

Young, Edwin B.. Granville
P. O. Box 30.

Young, Alan J., Wlnthrop Highlands
The Cliff House

Additional Members since Jan. 1, 1914.

LIFE >IE]\IBERS

Nathaniel T. Kidder, Milton.
Burke, M., Marlboro
Framingham Rd.

ANNUAL MEMBERS

Allen, J. Harry, Princeton
Ankar, B., Haydenville

Care of E. C. Miller
Atwood, Chas. W., Watertown, Conn.
Barker, Frederick L., Worcester

22 Crystal St.
Bent, Orrin, Walcefield

241 Lowell St: ,
Brickett, John C, W. Springfield

169 Park Ave.
Brooks, Mr. & Mrs. J. L., Springfield

42 Monmouth St.
Brown, IMyron L., Chicopee
Canlett, T. S., Bedford
Castle, F. A., Springfield

168 Bridge St.
Clark, Saxon D., Springfield

403 Maple St.
Cobb, J. B., Chicopee Falls
Crafts, Royal L., Ludlow

R. D. 2
Forbes, D. A., East Hampden
Geer, A. S., Three Rivers
dibson, Fred J., Hillsboro, N. H.
Gleason, Chas. A., Springfield
Hazen, M. S., New York City

51 Chambers

Hiestand, T. B., Holyoke

115 Suffolk St.
Hodgkins, Clarence E., Northampton
Hurlburt, C. S., E. Longmeadow
Ives, E. M., Meriden, Conn.
Learle, O. C. & Son, Southampton
Lee, W. H., Springfield

Box 1243
Ludwig, Frank P., Springfield

70 Amherst St.
MacRae, Donald, State Farm
^JcGuire, W. H. Jr., Wilbraham
]Mc?iIillan, Geo., jNIt. Hermon
Nash, Franklin W. Ludlow
Nichols, Earl M., Lyon'sville
Orcutt, John C, Boston

Chamber of Commerce
Parmelee, H. A., Holyoke

22 Taylor St.
Perkins, Henry J., Springfield
Pratt, M. C, Ipswich
Priest, Frank, Littleton
Purrington, Wilbur U., Haydenville
Schenerle, John A., Springfield

470 Belmont Ave.
Smith, O. M., Florence
Tucker, A. S., Warren
Tucker, Wm. A., Sterling Junct.
Vose, C. H., E. Templeton
Wait, E. H., Amherst

142 INIain St.
Wait, Minor S., Hampden ic'

Weeks, S. C, Falmouth
Willcutt, Walter G., Plainfield
Winsor, Jas., Greenville, R. I.

If your name is incorrectly listed please notify Secre-
tary. If you have a summer and winter address have post-
man forward mail as we can list only one.