326 State Horticultural Society. 



While admitting that our orchards are short lived, records have 

 not yet been presented to convince me that seventy Ben Davis apple 

 trees planted twenty-five by twenty-five feet apart on an acre of Mis- 

 souri land will not produce during their lifetime of thirty or thirty- 

 five years as much fruit as will twenty-seven trees of Baldwin or Spy 

 planted forty by forty feet apart on an acre of eastern land during 

 their longer lifetime of fifty years. 



If the fruit from a Missouri orchard during a single year will sell 

 for more than the whole farm is worth (as I have known to occur in 

 hundreds of cases) without seriously weakening the trees, I do not 

 know that long lived trees are essential to our prosperity. The 

 growers of fat live stock find it more profitable to force a very rapid 

 growth on their animals and market them at a younger age than 

 formerly. I believe we have gained a similar point of profit by grow- 

 ing our early bearing, heavy producing apple trees, that accomplish 

 their life work of productiveness in a shorter time and then give way 

 to another set of young, vigorous trees of manageable size. Compact,, 

 low headed, early bearing, prolific western trees, set thickly on the 

 ground certainly favor our getting the largest amount of fruit in the 

 shortest period of time, and they are also much more easily managed. 



The best treatment to give the individual tree in order to secure 

 productiveness and longe^dty is, in my opinion, of more importance 

 than a consideration of long lived varieties. If there is any one point 

 in this regard that should be especially mentioned it is the need of 

 continual, uniform care of the trees. Give the trees uniform treat- 

 ment every year, whether they are carrying a full crop of fruit or not. 

 The neglected orchard that is suddenly plowed in midsummer may be 

 injured as much as it is helped by the operation. To neglect to prune 

 until the trees are overgrown with sprouts, and then to thin these out 

 excessively may do more harm than no pruning. To neglect cultivation 

 because there is only a light crop, and allow the trees to struggle along 

 to recover from previous heavy bearing is unwise. 



If the Missouri orehardist mil plant on fairly well drained land, 

 cultivate his trees as he would his corn, occasionally plow in a crop of 

 cow peas (or other winter cover crop) between the rows, prune just 

 enough to keep his trees symmetrical, keep off rabbits and borers with 



