138 STATE HOETICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Some of the methods of protecting trees proposed involve too much labor, 

 and must be done too often. If a farmer has a few acres only, any plan is good 

 enough. If the labor is hired, as in a commercial orchard, the labor expense must 

 be considered along with the material expense. The two methods 1 propose, last- 

 ing as they do from two to five years, give an all-the-year-round wrapping which 

 permits an examination of the trees at the least possible outlay of labor. One 

 man will curl and set 500 wires in a day. One man and a boy will cut, tack and 



set 250 gunny-cloth guards in a day. 



Homer Reed. 

 Kansas City, Mo. 



OVER-PKODUCTIONOF FRUIT. 



In the general discussion at the winter meeting of the Missouri State Horti- 

 'cultural Society, one speaker took occasion to say : "Judging from the past, have 

 not the American people run everything into the ground that they ever undertook? 

 Look at poultry. At one time a new breed of chickens would make a man a for- 

 tune. Then hogs and hops turned the mind of the people. Then people went wild 

 in the cattle boom. Men came from England and Scotland and invested vast 

 amounts in cattle. I told them the thing would be overdone. They talked just as 

 we now talk about apples, and said it could not be overdone. I presume that 100,- 



000 acres have been planted to apples in the last three years in Southern Illinois, 

 Missouri and Arkansas. It seems to me that it must make them a drug on the 

 market. A few years ago Kansas came to Missouri for her supply. In a year or 

 two there will be no room for Missouri apples in Kansas. In Denver I saw the 

 most beautif ar fruit grown in Colorado without irrigation. They will supply 

 their own markets and those contiguous. We must look this business in the face. 



1 believe the business will fail and then become a success to some after many have 

 left it." 



Another gentleman facetiously remarked that there was one thing they had 

 not run into the ground far enough, and that was the plow. 



Secretary L. A. Goodman summed up the subject of over-production in the 

 following words : "The question of over-production may just as well be examined 

 carefully and honestly. There is no question but that so many millions of trees 

 have been planted that there will be portions of our country where it will not pay 

 to gather them. There is danger of over doing this matter unless we can get the 

 help of our transportation companies. If they will move our fruit as cheaply as 

 they do our wheat or corn or lumber, we can fill our market full of fruit at all times 

 at reasonable prices, even cheap prices ; and when we can do this we will see the 

 demand so increased that we cannot supply it. You may be sure that we can sell 

 100 barrels of apples to the consumers for $1.50 per barrel where we can only sell 

 one for $4.50 per barrel. If we can give them plenty of good fruit at low prices 

 they will use all we can grow." 



DISCUSSION. 



S. W. Gilbert finds no trouble with borers in his country. 



A. Kelson — Does not care about whole root. In fact, uses only 

 about one inch of root, so that the tree will send out roots above the 

 graft. 



Prof. (3. A. Keffer — The purpose of the root is to make the graft 

 :grow, and the sooner it gets on its own root, the better. 



