SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLIOOTHE. 29 



MY TRIP TO CHILLICOTHE. 



After a month's hard work taking care of my strawberries, 1 dropped my 

 work and started June 2d to see my neighbors and friends — see what they were 

 doing and how they did it. At Olden T found cultivation had been delayed by wet 

 weather. Apples be a short crop, owing either to extreme cold weather, high 

 winds and electricity, or excessive rains, or a combination of all. Peaches, good 

 crop on all high ground. The Michel Early, a failure. Blackberries, full crop. 

 Raspberries, less than half a crop. 6eg pardon, Mr. President and Secretary, for 

 alluding to the style of berry package at Olden ; they were " wine quarts." 



At Springfield I saw the biggest clover of the season in one patch. No ber- 

 ries. Another Held that received good care produced a fine lot of Bubach. Cum- 

 berland and Crescent, Michel Early and Jessie a failure. Did not even pick a case 

 of them. I never have seen apple trees injured so badly by the winds. On the 

 west and northwest sides the leaves have appearance of having been scorched by a 

 fire. Poor show for apples. Kittatinny blackberry rusting badly, and will be 

 plowed up. Knox and Snyder looking fine. Raspberries less than half a crop. 



At Lamar found our esteemed friend, C. H. Fink, very sick ; says he has 10,000 

 peach-trees, and won't have ten peaches ; apple crop very light. 



At Carthage I found one field of strawberries ; raspberries and blackberries 

 had been rented last season ; berries very inferior, and few of them. If this is a 

 fair sample of work we are to expect from renters, I hope I will never be compelled 

 to rent mine. 



Another field received good care, and the result very satisfactory, getting 

 nice large Speece Perfection and Boyden. This grower assorts his berries as they 

 are picked, and gets $3 per case for best, while common stock goes at $1.25 to $1.75. 

 Raspberries half a crop ; blackberries looking fairly well ; few apples. 



At Nevada I found all strawberry beds with too many plants in the rows for 

 large berries, which has been the case with nearly every field I have seen. One 

 grower has about 100 acres in small fruits, vegetables and orchard, all in high 

 state of cultivation except the strawberries, and, of course, were shipping very 

 ordinary berries; raspberries short half crop; blackberries full crop; apples very 

 short. 



At Schell City I found an elegant crop of the Jessie. Berries very large and 

 fine. This grower allows no runners to form on his plants. 



At Clinton 1 could find no berries that were nice, although there might have 

 been some. 



At North Kansas City I found a small patch in a garden that had received 

 thorough cultivation. The plants four years old, and loaded with fruit. Among 

 other varieties were the Jessie and Cumberland, Warfield and Bubach. These 

 plants have not been allowed to make any runners since being planted, and they 

 show well the care they have received. From what I have seen, I have come to 

 the conclusion that the berry-growers of Missouri as a class have too many acres, 

 and that if they would reduce their acreage three-fourths and give the one-fourth 

 double or treble the amount of work they now give the whole, they would raise 

 more crates of berries and receive more money than they do for what they are 

 growing now. A berry-grower of Chillicothe told me to-day he could make more 

 money out of an acre of sugar cane than he could off of the same amount of straw- 

 berries. Surely there is something wrong here. 



The Flint Hill Fruit Farm is still in the race, and we yet hope to to make our 

 mark, especially if we follow up the spraying which was so profitable a year ago. 



