INDIANA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 437 



bearing:, but in a general way verj' little planting has been done. I 

 thought possibly the statistics might be interesting. I am well aware 

 that these are not absolutely accurate, but they will serve as comparisons. 

 In the year 1902 we lind there Avere four million seven hundred two 

 thousand and thirty-nine (4,702,039» bearing, and 2,205,849 nou-beiiring 

 trees in tiie State, and a total of over 0,907,888 apple trees in the State. 

 Counting 50 trees to the acre, we have 38,157% acres devoted to the 

 cultivation of the apple. ^^ e have in this State 13,314,455 acres in cul- 

 tivation, or in condition for cultivation. This gives 1 acre in orchards 

 to every 9tJV„, acres under cultivation, or in round numbers Vioo part 

 of the cultivated land in Indiana is planted in apples. The total number 

 of acres of farm land is 18,908,689 acres, making 1 acre in apples to 

 every 137V2 acres in farm land. Now you can see by this, although 

 it is not exactly accui-ate. enough can be gotten from this report to 

 give us an idea, and it is sufficiently acciy-ate to show you how we 

 are lacking in number of fruit trees. Only Vm part devoted to this, 

 when we have farms of 40 or 00 or SO acres, as most of the farms are, 

 that would not give an acre to orchard, and j'ou know that would be 

 a very small orchard. Providing the land is not fit for raising com- 

 mercial apples, that would be a small proportion devoted to fruit, and 

 we all know that there is not a farm in the State but what is capable 

 of growing apples, and every farmer can afford to devote this acre 

 to apples, and should do it. There are thousands of acres in certain 

 localities that are especially adapted to fruit growing. AVhy are they 

 not devoted to raising apples? It is as Mr. Swaim has said— we lack 

 the man to go ahead and do this. We lack the live, enthusiastic hor- 

 ticulturist who has faith in the apple and will go ahead and take chances, 

 and there will surely be results from the work. Now, I believe I am 

 sincere in my belief that in northern Indiana, as well as in southern 

 Indiana, we have thousands of acres that if someone will go in who 

 has- capital, and plant under modern methods, and do the work as it 

 should be done, we can compete with any other State in the Union 

 in the production of apples. As I have said in this meeting a number 

 of times before in the past years, in the lake region in northern Indiana 

 and especially in the northeastern part of Indiana, there are hundreds 

 of acres that are especially adapted in soil and climatic conditions to 

 produce the finest fruit in the United States, and all that is lacking 

 is someone with capital and energy enough, and enough love for the 

 work to go ahead and produce the fruit. I believe this Society and 

 its members can not do a lietter work than to urge this with all possible 

 persistency. We certainly ought to be able to produce all the fruit 

 we use in the State, and Itosides this we can produce thousands of car 

 loads for other places. We have the moisture, soil and climate to pro- 

 duce as fine apples as can lio produced anywhei*e in the world, and I 

 believe we should do this. 



