No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 726 



AS A BUSINESS VENTURE. 



As a business venture apple culture in Pennsylvania is especially 

 promising. Thousands of acres in the fcitate are admirably adapted 

 to the cultivation of this fruit. It is grown to the highest standard 

 of perfection in many counties, and by the proper selection of varie- 

 ties splendid apples may be grown in every count}'. Certainly there 

 is little room for complaint regarding the natural coudi lions most 

 favorable for the development of both tree and fruit. 



It is surprising how tenaciou"tely the great majority of farmers 

 cling to the raising of grain, particularly wheat, when no profit can 

 be derived from this line of farming. It works well into a system 

 of rotation, and the writer, along with a host of other farmers, is 

 guiltj' of devoting a small acreage, annually, to rye and wheat. But 

 there is absolutely no profit in wheat farming in this part of the 

 country, and profitable substitutes must be chosen to make the 

 greatest advancement along all lines in rural districts. It is a most 

 common occurrence for one or two apple trees to give larger re- 

 turns than an entire acre of wheat on land of the same degree of fer- 

 tility. Numerous instances of this kind show the great folly of giving 

 so much attention to the production of cereals. The properly cared 

 for commercial orchards of the State are yielding the owners hand- 

 some profits. There is no danger of ever over-stocking our markets 

 with first-class fruits, and the most extensive apple growers claim 

 that there need be no fear in this direction. 



Again, there is a very large acreage of hilly and mountainous lands 

 in the State which are poorly adai)ted to general farming and have 

 the very qualifications essential to the production of first-class 

 apples. If the owners of such farms could be induced to plant large 

 areas of well-chosen Vvinter apples, and then give them the proper 

 attention, it would bring the cultivators an era of prosperity vastly 

 superior to that occasioned by the selling of coal fields and timber 

 lands. 



THE APPLE VERSUS OTHER TREE FRUITS FOR PROFIT. 



It is not our purpose to say anything which would tend to dis- 

 courage the cultivation of the other tree fruits. It is a fact, how- 

 ever, that comparatively few^ in the State have derived satisfactory 

 profits in the production of peaches and plums, when a series of 

 years is taken into account. I'ears and possiblj^ cherries have made 

 a better showing on the right side of the ledger; but none of these 

 fruits are to be compared with the a])])le as a money-maker. Every 

 farmer has his family orchard which usually affoi-ds a surplus of 

 fruit for the market and our commercial apple growers are mncli bet 

 ter satisfied with their results, as a rule, than the growers of other 



