120 ANNUAL Ri!:PORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



proven the earliest in cultivation; bunches of fairly good size, a light 

 purplish red and of fairly good quality. San Jos6 Scale makes its 

 appearance and unless vigorous measures' be adopted many trees 

 must succumb. Owing to extreme drouth all the various crops of 

 fi'uits were below the average in productiveness, size, quality and 

 condition to keep well. An increased interest is manifested in orna- 

 mental gardening. Japanese plums did best. Best varieties of 

 cherries, Early Richmond, Hoke, Mercer and Black Tartarian. 



L. W. Lighty, of Adams county, says the peach crop would have 

 been extra large, but the extreme drouth cut it in half and that half 

 rather poor. Plums frozen in bud. Late berries dried up. Fruit 

 growers are slowly learning to value of spraying. 



J. E. Haudenshield, of Allegheny county, reports light crop of 

 apples, average yield of pears, but of inferior quality and size. 

 Peaches almost a complete failure. Damson succeeds in plums, 

 drapes and small fruits, average crops. A growing interest in orna- 

 mental planting. By spraying, grape rot almost eradicated and held 

 in check. 



J. Donaldson, of Armstrong county, reports short crops or failures 

 of all kinds of fruit® except berries. Good progress in home adorn- 

 ment. Spraying must be done or no good fruit. Successfully cul- 

 tivated plums are German Prune, Lombard, Abundance, Shipper's 

 Pride, and Damsons. Best cherries, Luelling, May Duke, Early 

 Richmond, Napoleon, Bigareau and Louis Phillippe. 



Howard G. McGowan, of Berks county, reports small yield of 

 pears, and apples not large. Peaches, fair. Plums rotted badly; 

 Abundance and Red June, best. Cherries, good yield; Yellow Span- 

 ish liable to rot. Grapes, a good crop. Only one farmer in fifty 

 sprays, but the results are so convincing that more will practice it. 



Frederick Jaekel, of Blair county, reports fair to fine crops of fruit, 

 except apples, which were only one-fourth crop. Best plums for his 

 section of the State, German Prune, Damson, Yellow Gage, Trans- 

 parent, Lombard, Czar and some of the Japanese. Best varieties 

 of cherries. Napoleon Bigareau, Black Tartarian, Early Richmond, 

 Montmorency and Ostheim. Spraying beneficial for fungi and in- 

 sects. More interest manifested in flowering plants and shrubbery. 



H. W. Comfort, of Bucks county, reports a half crop of apples. 

 Peaches a poor crop. Richland and Japan plums do best. 



J. N. Pyle, of Chester county, reports insect depredations worse 

 than he ever knew, but few apples left on trees at ])icking time. 

 Kieffer the most profitable pear. Peach trees overloaded and where 

 not thinned remained small and inferior. Japan plum trees retain 

 a good setting after the drop caused by the curculio. Fine crop of 

 grapes, were sprayed. Best results with Nich Ohmer. Wm. Belt. 

 Marshall and Gladstone, of newer varieties o:f strawberries. 



