Vermont State Horticultural Society 19 



D. C. HICKS OF RUTLAND COUNTY. 



Conditions in this county for the year of 1905 have been 

 somewhat variable ; in some localities a fair fruit crop has been 

 harvested, and the same may be said of the garden and field 

 products, but as a whole, such crops are not up to a ten years' 

 average in quantity or quality. 



Apples — Apples, especially winter fruit, of good market- 

 able quality, are estimated at not over 40% of last season's crop. 

 Local markets have taken nearly all that have been offered for 

 sale ; only a few carload lots have been shipped to southern New 

 England markets. Prices ranged from $2.50 to $4.00 per bbl. 



Pears — Next to apples, pears are of the most importance of 

 the orchard fruits. The crop was up to a ten years' average in the 

 amount of fruit on the trees, but the quality was exceedingly 

 poor ; less than 50% being marketable. The fruit, in nearly 

 all cases, was under size, deficient in color and in some varieties 

 scabby and blotchy skin were very prevalent. Anjou and Eastern 

 Belle are two varieties that gave me some perfect fruit. Retail 

 prices were 25c to 40c per peck and $2 to $3.50 per bbl. 



Plums — The plum crop early in the season promised good 

 returns, but the destructive work of heavy wind storms at the 

 ripening period followed by the brown rot reduced the crop very 

 materially, so that the marketed crop was a small average one, 

 that brought good prices at retail, $1.25 to $1.75 per bushel. 



Cherry — This fruit is very sparingly grown in Rutland 

 county, yet it is as easily grown as any of the other tree fruits 

 and the demand in our local markets always exceeds the supply, 

 keeping the birds away from the orchard and the trouble of 

 securing good pickers are the greatest obstacles to be overcome ; 

 the last named may be greatly aided by the use of the recently 

 perfected cherry clipper, which gets the fruit from the tree 

 without handling and lessens the liability to injury of the ripened 

 fruit, and fruit stems and spurs. In my immediate locality the 

 crop of early cherries was light and was largely picked by the 

 birds. The later ones gave better returns; wholesale price $3.00 

 per bushel. 



Small Prtiits — Small fruits are not largely cultivated in any 

 one section of the county, but in recent years the best planta- 

 tions are found growing upon the slate and light loam soils of 

 the west part of the county. Strawberries, raspberries, black- 

 berries and currants were in short supply and were below an 

 average in quality, lack of sunshine and heavy rains at picking 



