104 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



WHAT MEANS CAN WE EMPLOY TO MAKE MORE PROFIT. 



CHARLES A. PRATT^ BENTON HARBOR. 



Fruit growing in early days in this country was largely incidental to 

 general farming. Orchards were planted by farmers whose main busi- 

 ness was the growing of grains and cereals, live stock, poultry, etc. In 

 recent years the business of fruit growing has gradually become a spe- 

 cialty. The work has been taken up by fruit men who are specialists in 

 this line and who devote their entire energy to the growing of fruits. 

 Among fruit growers are specialists who grow only one sort or one type 

 of fruit, as, for instance, peaches, pears, apples, grapes, small fruits, 

 etc. The reason for this is largely the demands of intensive methods. 

 Intensive fruit growing requires that everything shall be done for the 

 tree or vine that it will pay to do. The object of the intensive fruit 

 grower is to grow the greatest amount of salable commercial fruit per 

 acre, of the best quality which can be grown with profit. To accomplish 

 this result location, pruning, spraying and cultivation must be carefully 

 studied and practiced, and the fruit after it is grown must be properly 

 picked and packed and marketed to the best advantage. The successful 

 fruit grower must be ready to utilize, at all times, the results of scien- 

 tific investigations in agriculture. 



The successful fruit grower, in the first place, must be a good general 

 farmer; he must understand all about teams, the use of tools, plows and 

 harrows, and the methods of preparing land, seeding and cultivating. He 

 should have some know^ledge of chemistry so as to know how to buy and 

 mix his fertilizers and study the chemical needs of his crops. Knowl- 

 edge of plant pathology and physiology is essential, and he must keep 

 fully abreast with the latest methods of defending his plants against 

 disease. He must also be an entomologist to know every bug or insect 

 which commonly attacks his crops. He should know fruits and fruit 

 trees thoroughly, at least, all the species which he grows; he must be 

 familiar with the merits and defects of old varieties and be quick to dis- 

 cover the value of new ones. He must read everything published about 

 his favorite fruit or fruits, and be prepared to sift the useful informa- 

 tion from that which is not applicable to his local conditions. He must 

 also be a good business man in order to systematize his Avork, to buy 

 his supplies to the best advantage and market his crops with profit. 

 Many fruit growers have failed on account of weakness in this latter 

 point, being unable to successfully market their fruits after they have 

 grown them. 



The fruit grower on a small place has many advantages over the man 

 who attempts to work a large area. There are several reasons for this. 

 Most men are not able to give to more than a limited area the personal 

 attention which is one of the great factors in success with trees and 

 plants. Where large areas are planted much of the work must be dele- 

 gated to subordinates, who usually are not equal to the owner in their 

 attainments. With a small place under the immediate eye of the owner 

 the various operations of pruning, cultivating, spraying, etc., may be 



