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 it, 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 S 1500, 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 di&erent 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 .\ears from the time it was planted. It averaged 840 

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

 more I cultivated it : 1 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 



