726 ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



fruits named above. The apple has well been called "the king of 

 all the fruits.'' It is the most popular fruit with both the rich and 

 the poor. It may be prepared for the table in a greater variety of 

 ways than any other fruit. It is used the year round. It is not so 

 particular about soil or climatic conditions as other tree fruits. It 

 may be placed in cold storage after harvesting and held for months, 

 if necessary, until the market price is favorable. 



PROCURING THE TREES. 



In starting a young orchard the greatest care should be exercised 

 in procuring the trees. An orchard is expected to live and produce 

 fruit for fifty or more years and too much thought and attention 

 cannot be given to this initiative step. The following methods may 

 be employed: 



1. Buying from unreliable nurseries. This is a most common prac- 

 tice. The statement may be disputed by some, but it would be an 

 easy matter to find hundreds of witnesses who would testify to the 

 truthfulness of the assertion. First grade trees are ordered and 

 second and third grade trees are shipped. Varieties highly valued 

 for one reason and another are ordered and the nurseryman substi- 

 tutes to suit himself or pays very little attention to the varieties 

 wanted. This kind of treatment has brought bitter disappointment 

 to hundreds of farmers in our own State. It is a very poor and un- 

 safe policy to order trees from any nursery unless you are positive 

 that the firm is absolutely reliable and trustworthy. 



2. Buying from reliable nurseries. There are many in the country. 

 Their names and addresses may be easily obtained by Vvriting to the 

 State Experiment Station, Department of Agriculture, or inquiring 

 of experienced orchardists. 



3. Propagating from trees of known value. There is a marked 

 individuality among fruit trees. Every observing fruit grower has 

 noticed this. Trees growing under like conditions and receiving 

 like treatment vary in vigor, habit of growth and fruiting charac- 

 teristics. Some bear more regularly and uniformly than others, and 

 there are decided differences in the color, form, size and quality of 

 the fruits produced. In brief, some trees are much more valuable 

 than others of the same variety. These are the trees from which 

 the young trees should be propagated. It will take longer to get 

 the trees by this method than to order directly from the niu'sery, but 

 the results will more than pay for the additional time required. 

 The trees may be root-grafted at home, and grown on the home farm. 

 Root-grafting is a very simple art and may be learned from litera- 

 ture which is profuse on the subject. If this plan is too much trou- 

 ble send the scions from chosen trees to your nurserymen and let 

 him do the grafting and return the grafts to you from which the 



