44 State Horticultural Society. 



A motion was made and carried to accept this invitation for Friday 

 afternoon, and that the Society make the visit in a body. 



The general subject of orchards was the order of the morning. 



ORCHARDS. 



(Mr. T H.Todd, New Franklin, Howard Co., Mo.) 



Location — The fruit growers should understand that, without proper 

 location, they have failure to start with. To my mind one of the greatest 

 questions is the location. If you have the right one you are sure of 

 success. In viewing the country over I find there are thousands of acres 

 in the State which are not considered good for growing trees and fruit 

 for money. I find plenty where the trees grow large, but they are not 

 fruitful. I hoped to have nice looking trees and orchard by careful 

 attention, and thought there was no question as to results, but after 

 trying twelve or fourteen years I .find other things are necessary, and 

 many problems confront the fruit grower. 



I would recommend, when you are setting out a commercial orchard, 

 to select high, dry, rolling land with a deep subsoil, as original timber 

 land, and the river hills of the Missouri, Mississippi or any stream. In 

 my orchard I have had reasonable success. One year I have had an 

 abundant crop on the east side, or another on the west, with perhaps 

 an entire failure on the north, and so am sure of a crop each year, but 

 not on all of the orchard at once. I have never seen all points of the 

 compass in the orchard have fruit in one year. I could make great sug- 

 gestions to myself, as to planting something else than apple trees on the 

 low rich land. It is necessary to start well by having a good location 

 and then we may expect reasonable results. Let us not plant on the hills 

 with no soil, nor on poor land where only scrub trees grow, but get good 

 land even if it does cost some more. Don't start on unprepared land. 

 Prepare your land beforehand. 



Planting. — We all differ .a little in our plans for planting. Some 

 think it is best to plant in the fall. Have the ground prepared and plant 

 freshly dug trees as early as possible, and set that way and standing until 

 spring they are apt to start better than those set in the spring. But I 

 think it better to plant in the spring when the sap is starting, the trees 

 are full of vigor and all is ready to grow and they will not be injured by 

 the winter weather. 



Varieties. — I believe in planting different varieties, as when we divide 

 up we will have success with one if not the other. Some prefer one kind. 



