No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUL.TURE. 745 



miuded, industrious horticulturist. Scoffed at as theorists and 

 book-farmers, they have persevered to know the why and how, 

 fully believing it their duty and privilege to supply the great popu- 

 lation with fruit until by their works ^hall you know them, lie- 

 inforcing them has been the honest, conscientious Hurserymen, 

 compelled as they have been, to compete with the irresponsible 

 vender and meet the clamorous hobbyisms of senseless theorists, 

 still believed in the law of atavism and have put out the best trees 

 and vines that skill could produce until they have stamped their im- 

 press on the orchards of American fruit growers. 



Allow me here to digress long enough to mention one, properly 

 fitting this descrij)tion in every phase, formerly from this county 

 (Dauphin), but now of Denton, Md., Mr. J. W. Kerr. If you have any 

 more such we will gladly receive them. 



From these classes of yeoman horticulturists, to whom all should 

 doff the hat of courtesy and bend the knee of gratitude, have we 

 learned to scrutinize closely the conditions of soil on which we 

 set trees, and that the large over-grown tree, when cut back to 

 start the head will, the following year, if examined, show a black- 

 ened pith showing uuhealthfulness, not to be found where a 

 medium size is used. By this is not meant the dwarfed insect-cov- 

 ered tree simply because it is small, but a perfectly healthy one 

 from a reliable source where the volume of business and business 

 standing will not permit of any misrepresentation. When set they 

 should be started not more than two feet from the ground (18 inches 

 preferred by some) and kept well topped out so that the fruit will 

 grow down as near the source of food supply as possible to increase 

 its size and color and also to economize in the harvest. We can 

 no longer afford to use the ladder in the peach orchard, from both 

 an economical standpoint and point of protection to the fruit. 

 Thorough culture to preserve soil moisture and make available latent 

 plant food is imperative and should be assisted by the lavish use 

 of leguminous cover-crops. The variety should be selected to avoid 

 as far as possible the gluts of other fruit growing sections. 



I have refrained from the use of figures to show either the growth 

 or decline of this industry, assuming that the great questions with 

 you in Pennsylvania are those that will give the practical results 

 under the conditions surrounding you. This brings us to the point 

 where evolution becomes a prophecy. Prof. Powell said at our 

 meeting the other day that every section which he had visited 

 claimed to be the one and only peculiarly adapted place to grow 

 fruit. It reminds me of when at the World's Fair in '93 we took 

 on our train 1,000 baskets of fine peaches which were distributed 

 on Delaware Day in front of the Delaware building. We had 

 always realized the small area of our section and tried to make 

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