88 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



that not over 60% of their trees were profitable trees paying for care 

 anrl space, mid that only 10% were of the most ])ro(lnetive type. Now 

 Mr. Shanimel and Mr. Powell discovered more than this. They fonnd 

 that some particnlar trees were good bearers year after year; others 

 were nniformly poor bearers year after year, the good and the poor 

 growing side by side snbject to the same conditions. Fnrthermore, they 

 discovered that a profitable tree conld be grown from one generation 

 to the next by Bud Selection, that is, by selecting buds from tlie good 

 tree and budding them on to the stocks to be used for the new trees. 



For the last two years the Bureau of Plant Industry in connection 

 with our experiment station, has been carrying on an exactly similar 

 investigation in this State to prove that these things are true of other 

 fruits as well as of oranges. Mr. L. B. Scott lias liad charge of this 

 work, and tlie ai)])les he has grown show that these differences do exist, 

 for tlie same ai»])arent conditions were present and the trees from which 

 the fruil Avas taken were side by side and were given the same care. 

 This exjieriment has so far determined that tliese differences in pro- 

 ductioii of kinds and amounts of fruit do exist, and by tracing back they 

 have found that they persist year after year by the life histories of 

 some, trees Ave know that these good points or characteristics may be 

 passed on to the next generation just as in the case of the citrus fruits 

 of California. The Bureau of Plant Industry feel sure that the outcome 

 of this test will be the same as with oranges. 



Now fruit-growers of California are cutting out thousands of their 

 unprofitable trees and top-working them to the profitable type. They 

 have a<loi)ted the result of these investigations absolutely, have found 

 that the productive type produces 00% first grade fruit against 10% 

 for the unproductive type, and feel sure that when they have i»ut this 

 new i<lea into general practice they will more than doulde their profits. 

 If the fruit-growers' organizations of this State wouhl adopt Bud 

 Selection I'ight now and insist that their nurserymen provide them 

 with stock of this desirable type, there would be an increased income 

 to the groAvei' ])roduced more easily than in any other way. They are 

 bound to recognize this point in the end. With all this evidence before 

 them why should they hesitate. They should adopt this principle at 

 once, get the jumj) on other states, and make this State the greatest 

 fruit producing center in the world. 



Chairman : We have a little time now and (jiuestion nundter six has 

 been called for: "Would the Fruit Industry he Advanced by Federal 

 ■Legislation, Making ;t Unlawful for any Package of Fruit to be Faced 

 Avith Better Fruit than is Contained in the Balance of the Package?" 



As this is a live question, and one that is more or less vital to our 

 success as shi])pers, and as it is one of the grievances that Ave have to 

 meet, I suggest that we thresh it out. 



Mr. Thomas: We have here with us a gentleman from Berrien county 

 Avho is familiar Avith this phase of the question. I suggest that time 

 be taken to hear from him, Mr. Hollo way, from SaAA^yer. 



Mr. HolloAvay: It seems to be a peculiar coincidence that we should 

 have listened to one of the students from the College in an interesting 



