REPORT OF state; HORTICULTURIST. 53 



Associations are not handicapped to such an extent, but 

 even they have to dispose of the greater part of their crop be- 

 fore extremely cold weather sets in. 



The passage df this bill would have set in motion the wheels 

 of an investigation which undoubtedly would have proven of 

 greatest value to the growers. 



A committee on storage has been appointed by the Pomo- 

 logical Society to look into this question and find out as much 

 as possible concerning a solution of it. Their report at the 

 next annual meeting of the society should prove interesting. 



ORCHARD INSPECTION. 



Because of our lack of sufficient force, this phase of work 

 has necessarily been more or less neglected. As much time as 

 was possible, however, was devoted to this inspection, which 

 often was done in connection with other work. The number 

 of people who are spraying their trees has materially increased 

 and the growers are showing a keener appreciation of the ne- 

 cessity and value of this work. They are also realizing that in 

 order to successfully combat orchard pests of various kinds thay 

 must be more careful and thorough in their applications and 

 the work must be dbne within a relatively limited period. 



Great quantities of loose bark have been carefully removed 

 from old trees this year and the work of removing canker has 

 been more thoroughly and efficiently carried on. More pruning 

 has been done, especially in opening up the trees so that there 

 is better aeration, more sunlight and better shape to the trees. 



Our orchardists are paying more attention to orchard fertiliza- 

 tion and beginning to realize that in order to have our fruit well 

 colored and of a clear, healthy finish it must be fully matured. 

 The importance of proper fertilization cannot be overlooked in 

 this accomplishment. Too much nitrogen delays maturity; too 

 little nitrogen decreases size ; a happy medium, therefore, is 

 necessary and each man should do more or less experiment 

 work in order to understand just what is required under his 

 conditions. It is safe to say that the question of production is 

 of far greater value to us at the present time than is the ques- 

 tion of marketing and we must give our orchards better care 

 if we are to produce fruit that will successfully compete with 

 that of other sections in the future. 



