FORTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 29 



the good, but if they sprayed about once in ten days they were almost 

 sure to control the blight if they sjirayed well; often they have a spray 

 outfit that doesn't throw it over the potato well. 



A Member. A neighbor said he sprayed when his potatoes were 

 small and controlled that blight. 



HARVESTING AND PACKING OF FRUITS. 



W. G. FARNSWORTH^ WATERVILLB_, OHIO. 



I have been fortunate enough to visit Mr. Case's place and go all over 

 his grounds, and witness some of the results that he obtained from thin- 

 ning apples, and I want to say here this afternoon that they are re- 

 markable. I don't know what he has told you, but I doubt if he has 

 made it strong enough. I was also in his packing house, and pretty 

 well over his premises, and it would do the eyes and hearts of any fruit 

 grower good to see the sights I saw there. I am very much pleased 

 to have the opportunity of meeting with this representative body of 

 fruit growers. Knowing your Secretary as I do, I know he is a live 

 wire among a bunch of others, and we expect to get something here be- 

 fore we go away. 



Now, what I have to say this afternoon has been hastily prepared, be- 

 ing very busy at home, but I want to speak largely of our own practices 

 and I hope you will pardon the personalities. I want each person 

 present to be perfectly free to put in a question if they wish. The sub- 

 ject that I am to discuss this afternoon and one or two other subjects 

 are very closely allied; for instance, the growing of fruit, the harvesting 

 and packing and the marketing are three subjects so closely allied to 

 one another that it is difficult to talk on any one without saying a little 

 something about the other. In taking up this subject I might ask this 

 question. When do we begin to prepare for the harvesting of our fruit 

 crop? I am something like the party who said "if you want to know 

 how a boy is going to do in life, you want to go back to his grandfather 

 and grandmother," and to get something to harvest you want to go 

 back to the planting of the orchard. In growing fruit commercially 

 or for local market we plant several varieties that will not mature at 

 the same time, thus giving us a longer season to harvest. If we were 

 to plant one variety we would be limiting the time of harvesting. Then 

 the pruning and training of the orchards by heading low. Our practice 

 is to head our trees very low, perhaps from II/2 to two feet, and in 

 older orchards that have been planted from twenty to thirty years, 

 where the trees have not been properly trained we have gone into these 

 orchards with permission of the owners and cut them back quite severely 

 in some instances, taking out several feet. The object is to grow the 

 fruit where we can get it with the least expense, and prevent it from 

 being injured by the storms and winds blowing it off. Following this 

 preparation is the thinning. Now I don't know how extensively you 

 are practicing thinning here. I hope very extensively from the results 

 we have obtained in our own orchard, and Brother Case in his orchard. 

 We know it not only increases the quality of the fruit, but it cuts out 

 a large expense in harvesting. This includes pears, peaches, plums and 



