26 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Goodman — There seem to be some varieties of Wild Goose 

 plum that don't fertilize themselves ; and there are other kinds which 

 do fertilize themselves. 



Mr. President — I want to make an impression in regard to my 

 remark about a man cultivating his orchard until it is large enough to 

 bear and then letting it alone. I want that fact well understood. He 

 must not, if he wishes to make a success of his orchard, bring it up to 

 bearing age and then quit taking care of it. But he must keep on 

 cultivating i-t as long as he expects to make anything out of it. There 

 are too many persons who are trying to raise an orchard who treat it 

 that way. But that is a great mistake. 



Mr. Tippin — On this point I think perhaps another point will be 

 well to advance. I believe we have as great an evil in the practice of 

 cultivating the orchards for a number of years and then not cultivat- 

 ing them for a long time, and then turning in and cultivating them too 

 much. Mr. Haseltine has used a plan referred to by Mr. Lamm. In 

 1880 be planted an orchard and did not cultivate it except by mulching^ 

 for five years after he planted it. It was in grass. When the trees 

 got big enough he had crops. I think he got S1500, or 3000 bushels 

 two years ago. The next year he had a tine crop, and last year only 

 half a crop. Last year he gave it fine tillage, repeating it week after 

 week, and the result is he has produced an overgrowth of foliage and 

 has no fruit at all. I agree with you, Mr. President, in regard to keep- 

 ing up the cultivation. I believe it should be commenced with the 

 beginning of the orchard and kept up as long as the orchard is con- 

 tinued. It is like feeding a child and expecting it to become a man — 

 you must begin feeding it at first and keep it up. 



Mr. Murray— I thank the gentlemen for their compliments to my 

 paper. I am willing to concede a little to the other side. I will say I 

 was describing an orchard of different formation from his. It is on 

 bluffs and hills. I will say for the orchard I was describing that it is 

 the orchard I have on my home place in North Missouri, and it is at 

 the end of 20 years from the time it was planted. It averaged |40 

 net per acre per year. I cultivated it and the more the trees grew the 

 more I cultivated it ; I mulched it and gave it barn-yard manure, wood 

 ashes, which latter I hauled for several miles distant. The people all 

 laughed at me and said I was foolish. Finally I came to the same con- 

 clusion that my friends did. The trees were so thrifty and doing so 

 well I thought I would quit cultivating them. They did still do well, 

 and the first year after that they bore a good crop ; came near bearing 

 themselves to death. I went to cultivating them and got a tine crop 

 for two years, amounting to $200 per acre. Those trees at five years 



