.118 AJNNUAI. KEl'ORT OF THK Off. Doc. 



State should be known as Pennsylvania fruit, and as such, if prop- 

 erly handled, it will command the highest price. We need also to 

 impress upon our people the fact that the highest grades of fruit 

 never go begging. We ought, as a society, to send to our farmers 

 and fruit growers information showing them how to grade their 

 products to best advantage. Much that is offered for sale should 

 never get into our markets at all, and no fruit should be considered 

 strictly first class unless entirely free from scab, knot, worm-holes 

 or blemishes of any kind. 



Now, a few words as to what the Department of Agriculture of 

 Pennsylvania has done and wants to do for horticulture in this 

 State. You know, there are a number of Divisions in the Depart- 

 ment, but no Horticultural Division. There is no place where the 

 interests of horticulture have special attention, except in the State 

 Horticultural Association. Lately, the Department of Agriculture 

 has taken up the matter of horticulture and market gardening, 

 through the Division of Economic Zoology. For the present, and 

 until the interests of horticulture have further aid and recognition 

 from the State, that Division must look after this work. Some pre- 

 liminary work has already been done. Postmasters in Pennsylvania 

 have been written to, and over 30,000 names of persons interested 

 or engaged in horticulture and fruit growing in this State have been 

 secured. Many of these are amateurs and are not engaged in fruit 

 growing for commercial purposes, but from this list there have been 

 selected about 1,000 names of the best fruit growers in the State, 

 and with their aid we hope to collect and publish information that 

 will be of great value to the horticultural interests of the Common- 

 wealth. We have no approi^riation, but will do the best we can until 

 we are able to get together and see what we can get from the Legis- 

 lature to foster this industry. 



We need a law to regulate the sale of nursery trees and prevent 

 unscrupulous nurserymen from selling infested or diseased nursery 

 stock in the State, and that will protect other States from receiving 

 diseased nursery stock from us. We need a law, also, that will 

 regulate and determine the size and capacity of fruit packages. 

 When we buy a box, a basket or a barrel of fruit, we want definite 

 information as to how much we are receiving. New York now has 

 sucli a law and has a fixed standard for fruit packages. 



There is one thing more of which I wish to speak and in which we 

 are interested. We want to encourage the canning industry in this 

 State. I never fully realized the magnitude or possibilities of this 

 industry until I visited some canning establishments in Geneva, 

 New York, last year. I want to read you some figures showing 

 what it means to that vicinity. For one factory farmers raised in 

 one season 575 acres sweet corn. '?75 acres peas. 125 acres string 



