198 State Horticultural Society. 



am a far better luiiul Avith the lioe and cultivator that the pen. But 

 upon further thought I concluded to try, for I always desire to do my 

 part. Friends, if I fail to show that trees are injured by drouth I 

 beg you not to criticise too harshl}' but to remember I have only had 

 five years' experience in orcharding, except to set out a few trees occa- 

 sionally and then generally leaving theni to take care of themselves, as 

 far too many are doing. I have learned many valuable lessons in my 

 orchard and by observation in the past five years, among them being* 

 the one that trees are often injured by drouth, but in almost every case 

 it was by the owners neglecting them. I don't suppose there is a person 

 within the sound of my voice but what will agree with me that a great 

 many trees are injured by drouth, and if I may say something to make 

 the carelees open their eyes to their own interests and encourage them 

 to take better care of their young and old orchards, then I shall feel that 

 this paper has not been an entire failure. Many times we see fine 

 young trees set out in the spring (and far too often set in the fall, which 

 should never be done in northeast Missouri), sometimes in ground 

 well prepared, butoftener not prepared at all; for I have seen trees set 

 in a meadow sod and the man might just as well put his money in the 

 fire and saved the labor of setting them out. One man just a short 

 distance from Adair county set forty acres in just such ground two 

 years ago and of course lost the most of his trees, besides a good deal of 

 labor. A great many times the man that prepares his ground well 

 and vows he will take good care of his trees, forgets all about them when 

 the rush of farm work comes on and don't think of them again until 

 after the crop is gathered, when, perhaps by chance, he remembers he 

 set an orchard in the spring and goes to see how well it has grown, when 

 lo ! and behold, a large per cent are dead, and the balance a poor, sickly 

 lot which it will take years of careful nursing to make good trees 

 of. What was the trouble ? Injury by drouth, caused by neglect. I 

 will venture to say he declares orcharding a failure and were the man 

 near, that sold him the trees he would not hear anything complimentary 

 of himself. 



To my mind the orcharding is not a failure, but the man is, so far as 

 growing an orchard is concerned. You can come just as near growing 

 a crop of corn by planting it and trusting to providence to do the rest 



