238 ANNUAL REPOFiT OF THE Off. Doc. 



(riant is OIK' (»f (lie ]R'w importations and is reported to do well 

 on American cliestnnt trees. Some walnnt groves have been set 

 out in Pennsylvania, the idea being to raise the trees, not alone for 

 the nuts, but for wood for commercial purposes. Several Japan 

 varieties are being tiied. The English walnut (or Dutch nut) does 

 well in ])rotected situations and is ])rofitable. 



GENEKAL OBSERVATIONS. 



There is cause for congratulation that greater attention is being 

 devoted in Pennsylvania to fruit culture. The i)romulgation of in- 

 formation by the Department of Agriculture and State Horticul- 

 tural Association in regard to the best modes of combatting insect 

 enemies and fungi has done much to dispel the clouds of discour- 

 agement. It is now possible to raise perfect fruit in favorable 

 seasons. And yet, with all the pains taken to disseminate facts 

 concerning insecticides and fungicides, it is surprising that there 

 should be so much defective fruit in our markets. There is no 

 excuse for it. Farmers permit their orchards to go unsprayed be- 

 cause of other pressing work. The fruit grower, however, who 

 is in the business for the money that is in it, realizes that without 

 spraying it is impossible to produce good fruit and, therefore, he 

 gives the matter his earnest consideration. It has been well said 

 that the discovery of the various formulas for fungicides and insecti- 

 cides has been worth millions of dollars to the fruit growers of the 

 United States. The formulas originally used have undergone some 

 changes, it having been found that weaker solutions are just as 

 efficacious as those first promulgated. 



NURSERY INSPECTION. 



The system of nursery inspection inaugurated by the Department 

 of Agriculture has also been a great boon to the fruit growers of 

 the State. It has prevented the sending out of trees affected with 

 crown gall, the San Jos6 Scale or other diseases and destructive 

 pests. The fact that last ^-ear ten nurseries w^ere discovered in 

 Pennsylvania in such bad condition with diseased and infected trees 

 that licenses to sell could not be issued to them by the Department 

 was positive proof of the importance of careful investigation. 

 About one-tenth of the acreage devoted to nursery culture came 

 under condeninalion. The most formidable of all enemies of agri- 

 culture and horticulture are insect pests and fungus diseases, which 

 result in an annual loss in this country of .f:^00.000.0()(). Therefore, 

 there cannot be too great vigilance in fighting these d(^structive 

 agents. 



