154 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Station two or three years later to see the results for themselves. Mr. 

 H. D. Hootman, superintendent of the station, was praised for the 

 excellent manner in which the orchards and grounds had been super- 

 vised. 



After enjoying a cafeteria lunch, provided by the State Horticultural 

 Society, the fruit growers drove to Treasurer Munson's famous Vine- 

 croft Fruit Farm where they inspected some 35 acres of vineyards, some 

 of them past 30 years old, and plantings of other tree and small fruits. 



Some 25 automobiles, every one loaded to capacity, made the SO-mile 

 drive from Mr. Munson's to Shelby, arriving there just as the sun was 

 dropping behind the Western Oceana orchards. The hotels were crowded 

 to capacity but the people of Shelby showed their generous hospitality 

 by taking the visitors into their homes. 



Early Wednesday morning fully 80 automobiles parked on the streets 

 adjacent to the Oceana Canning Company's plant while the visitors 

 inspected the plant from cellar to garret and upon leaving were presented 

 with cans of beans and peaches and cigars. Because the number of 

 fruit growers and automobiles greatly exceeded expectations, thus 

 lengthening the time required for parking and getting the caravan 

 under way, it was necessary to pass up several interesting orchards. 



The first orchard visited Wednesday was that of Thomas Smith, near 

 the Lake Shore. Under most conditions, results from fertilizers on 

 intensively cultivated orchards are not contrasting, but not so in Mr. 

 Smith's orchard for several carloads of hog manure had produced won- 

 derful results in tree vigor and size and set of fruit of the several varie- 

 ties. Mr. Smith prefers Bordeaux to lime-sulphur as a summer spray 

 because he thinks it results in less burning and cleaner fruit. He had 

 sprayed six times, using the old spray rods rather than guns, and the 

 job was so thoroughly done that the visitors could find only two or three 

 fruits showing scab in a 40-acre block of old trees. 



The Session's orchard, recently purchased by Thos. Smith, presented 

 an object lesson in pruning peach trees. Mr. Sessions explained his 

 method of training and pruning, and showed orchards 14, 25 and 32 

 years of age from which all fruit is picked from the ground and four-foot 

 stepladders. He emphasized the advisability of lowering or renewing 

 the tops of peach trees about once in three or four years. The Sessions 

 trees are open centered ones with three to five main framework branches 

 and, after pruning the tops of the trees, are practically straight across 

 or form a plane. Mr. Sessions has been a noted peach grower for many 

 years and the inspection of his orchards was indeed educational. 



Brief stops were made at Mr. Averill and Dr. Munger orchards where 

 cultivation and fertilization were of chief interest. Unfortunately check 

 plots were not left for comparison. At Juniper Beach a cafeteria lunch- 

 eon was served after several parties had taken advantage of the excel- 

 lent bathing. 



The fruit growers drove through several well laden orchards west of 

 Hart during the early portion of the afternoon where they studied the 

 orchard practices followed. In President George Hawley's orchards 

 results of fertilizer tests on peaches in cultivation Avere noted, following 

 which Prof. Dutton explained a spraying vs. dusting experiment with 

 Monarch plums. Little fungus had developed but the foliage of the 

 untreated trees was sparse and yellowish, contrasted to the large amount 



