258 State Horticultural Society. 



for choice fruit by retail. The past year has been the Avorst from a 

 financial standpoint of view that we have yet experienced. Pork, 

 wool, horses and many other products have been low priced; the wheat 

 crop was very nearly a failure and owing to previous dullness cattle 

 and sheep had been neglected and become scarce; for these reasons the 

 farmer who made fruit one of his side issues can not fail to appreciate 

 its gi*eat value. I think I shall make an attempt to get the fruit growers 

 of our county together and form a society. I hear lu^en talk of plant- 

 ing trees who formerly ridiculed the business. I have an early apple 

 here that is about to become obsolete. I think it is worthy of some 

 attention. I have sent some scions of it to Messrs. Weber & Sons of 

 St. Louis county who have promised to propagate it; it ripens earlier 

 than the Early Harvest, is smaller but cooks well, and before the 

 southern fruit began coming to our market was very profitable. Mr. 

 M. Keuhne, a fruit dealer of South Broadway, St. Louis, has handled 

 all of ours for 35 years. He urges me to keep it. With best wishes, 

 I remain, Yours, Etc., 



Yours, Etc., 



JoHJv" GeATLEY. 



Brandsville, Howell county, Mo., August 3, 1899. 

 L. A. Goodman : 



Dear Sir. — We have a small orchard, about 250 bearing trees, 

 mostly Maiden's Blush and Ben Davis. Eighty per cent of the trees 

 of all kinds are heavily loaded and until last Friday bid fair to make 

 90 or 95 per cent of a crop. 



In the fore part of last week my neighbor, Dr. W. A. Pease, 

 (Christy P. O.) consulted me about filling out your blank report on 

 postal card. At that time I thought five per cent would cover dry knot 

 or scabby apples. To-day one-half of our apples are about the color of 

 ripe walnuts just fallen from the tree in the fall and I believe they will 

 all rot as they did the past two years, which I attributed to drouth and 

 heat. This year our drouth came early and lasted six weeks. Dur- 

 ing its existence the apples grew very little, but remained sound. The 

 drouth was broken July 20 and it rained for three or four days and 

 the apples started growing very fast and now seem to be one-half larger 

 than when the rain fell. Other orchards are in same condition. To 

 what to you attribute this condition ? T should have said that during 

 the drouth we had no excessive heat, but the temperature was pleasant, 

 now it is very hot. Verv trulv vours, 



R. W. QUADE. 



