SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 37 / 



practical men take liold of it. Contrast the work of our Experiment 

 Station and that of Illinois, where the horticultural work is done in 

 unison with the Horticultural Society, and they have ten Horticultural 

 Stations about the State, carrying on the experiments with the Experi- 

 ment Station, accomplishing a thousand-fold more for the State than 

 our Station has done or ever will do with the management now in 

 control. 



Mr. Murray thinks if we want to grow peaches, we should go to 

 the lands of South Missouri, where is the finest peach belt in the 

 world, and there is room for thousands of people and millions of trees. 



TROTECTION OR NO PROTECTION 



Should be for an intelligent orchardist or farmer no question at all. We ought to 

 protect our crops against the ravages of hail, storms, etc., as much as possible. 

 There is no doubt that the climatic conditions in our State underwent a very 

 great change since tlie last forty years, flail-storma, as well as cyclones or torna- 

 does, were then hardly known, or at least very seldom. Now they are getting 

 from year to year more frequent, and consequently its damages are representing 

 immense sums. Where forty years ago was one acre of clear land there are now 

 hundreds, and where you may easy find in our empire State for apples 1000 orchards 

 for commercial purposes, you wouldn't have found in those days a single one, even 

 if you had hunted for it in bright day-light and a lantern in each hand. Now, 

 every intelligent farmer or orchardist knows how we are protected . If I had to 

 give the figures I would say zero, and if it was not for Mr. McKinley it would, if 

 possible, be less than that. 1 think it a good plan not to wait for Mr. McKinley, 

 and try to help ourselves. 



In Europe they have in many countries insurance against hail, storms, etc. 

 Especially in Germany the mutual insurance in that regard is flourishing. You 

 will hardly find a farmer, even one who owns but a small tract, who is not insured. 

 That is in that country the general rule, as well as here the rule is not to be insured. 

 Now, as nothing is sure in this world, and as the poor, hard-working farmers are 

 the least protected, and as heaven plays very often havoc with those who should 

 be in everv respect the most protected, I think it very advisable to establish a 

 mutual insurance company against hail and storms. 



If we consider what a value at this day is in fruit-raising, in wheat and so on, 

 and how fast this value is increasing from year to year, and also the population, it 

 looks very strange to me that the thousands of intelligent farmers and orchardists 

 have not formed such an insurance company long ago. Let us therefore have one, 

 and for the whole State. It will be as great a benefit for the single man as for the 

 entire State. A single hail-storm may cause a loss of hundreds of thousands, and 

 therefore it is better to pay a few dollars every year than to lose thousands in a 

 few minutes. 



I remember they have it in Germany in mutual insurance companies that way : 

 in case of loss the company appDints one man, the damaged owner one, and those 

 two together one, and all three appraise then the percentage of loss. 



Finally, let me thank Prof. Clark of Columbia for his excellent article ' 'Spray- 

 ing Fruits." Very respectfully, 



Ferdixaxd Fleischer. 



