SUMMER MEETING AT BUTLER. 61' 



fully pruned my orchard, taking off the dead limbs and a few of the 

 weak limbs. We ought, in my opinion, to prune our orchards rather 

 lightly each year, and be careful that the trunk of the tree is shaded 

 with leaves on the southwest side of the trees. When my orchard was 

 young I often shaded the southwest side of the trees either by fasten- 

 ing a board or corn stalks or long prairie hay to the 

 southwest side of the trees to ward off the rays of 

 the sun, as the continual freeze and thaw process going on during our 

 long cold winters, about ruined the sap vessels on the southwest side 

 of the trees, and then with the hot summer sun continually striking 

 against the diseased and sickly side of the trees, their ruin would about 

 be complete, esj)ecially if the llatheaded borer was at work in the dis- 

 eased part of the trees and the round headed borer was at work near- 

 the crown of the roots of the trees. And we will further suppose that 

 the man who is the owner of a sick orchard as I have described, is a 

 careless man. His orchard is about gone or will be all dead in a short 

 time ; and when the first fruit tree peddler comes along with his flam- 

 ing catalogue of pictured large apples that look so tempting to the eye 

 and palate of our good careless friend, he is charmed with the thought 

 of fine apples again and orders .$50 worth of trees to plant another or- 

 chard which will share the same fate as the first orchard. Therefore,, 

 all careful people who are planting orchards, especially men who 

 read and try to learn something about the chemical elements compos- 

 ing apple trees and what these elements are and in what proportion do 

 these elements or chemical substances exist in apple trees, and how 

 much lime ought we to sow in the orchard annually, and how much 

 potash, and how much of other substances is the trees compelled tO' 

 lose each year by its bearing process — all these subjects the would-be 

 successful fruit grower ought to try to learn, more or less. It is said 

 by our wise and learned men that the soil of Missouri is composed of 

 elements well suited to the production of apples of excellent flavor.. 

 My oldest Janneton tree is thirty-one years old, or was planted in the- 

 orchard in the year 1854. They are bearing apples this year. If I was 

 to plant an orchard now for profit, after thirty years' experience in 

 Northwest Missouri, I would plant largely of Jannetons and Willow 

 Twigs. It will afford me much pleasure to give you any information in 

 regard to our fruit prospect in this part of Caldwell county, Missouri. 

 Hoping that your meeting at Butler, Missouri, may result in much, 

 good for the horticultural interests of our State, I remain 



Yours, etc., 



WILLIAM McCRAY. 



