A SUCCESSFUL FRUIT GROWERS ASSOCIATION 49 



do with this enormous increase will be solved. 



This will be no small task as we must deal with the individual 

 and will have to combat established habits, ignorance and perjudice, 

 but by embracing the true principals of co-operation the grower and 

 distributor standing shoulder to shoulder can win this battle; the 

 Missouri River Valley, the New England States nor the Northwestern 

 growers alone can win the battle. 



Remember that in unity there is strength, so if we stand together 

 we must meet with success as we have yet to find the task so great that 

 it cannot be solved by the American people. 



If we, the producers and distributors of the fruits of Mother 

 Earth, which she gives forth in such abundance with the minimum of 

 labor, could but become a cog v/itbin a wheel to place the King of Fruits 

 upon the table as a daily diet of the rich and poor, the high and the 

 low, we will have contributed a boon to mankind whose luster will 

 shine out in future history second to none, and while we are acquiring 

 fame as benefactors of mankind we are placing the orchard of every 

 grower upon a commercial basis which in many cases will convert it 

 from a speculative to intrinsic value. 



The Chairman: Are there any questions? 



Mr. Nelson: I believe it was Mr. Marshall who just read the 

 committee report? 



The Chairman: Yes sir. 



Discussion, 



Mr. Nelson: The plan that he has in hand, is certainly a very 

 tiood one. One of the great crimes, you might almost call it, of the 

 day, is the great number of varieties that are planted, that are no 

 good commercially. The least number you can reduce that to, the 

 better it is. A great many varieties are planted because some agents 

 have them for sale, or from sentiment. They are absolutely worth- 

 less from a commercial standpoint. If your want an apple for your own 

 use, it is alright, to select the variety which appeals to your taste 

 and plant a tree or two. When you plant out an orchard, study the 

 r quirements of the time and study the market and put into that 

 orchard something that will put back into your pocket dollars ana 

 cents. As a distributor, I would strongly urge Mr. Marshall to reduce 

 the varieties planted in this district, to the smallest number he can. 

 Of course the very much abused Ben Davis, which is considered 

 almost unfit to eat, is one of the biggest money makers we have, 

 from the fact it is very prolific, and it will grow almost anywhere, 

 and will keep as good as any. The Wine Sap, and Delicious, — and 

 there are new varieties coming up that are recommended by nursery- 

 men, and are beyond the experimental period, that have been grown 

 all over the country, and if you adopt such varieties, you can not 

 go astray, but the average farmer cannot afford to be experimenting 

 with varieties that very little is known of. 



