Additional Papers. 145 



it will be to our greatest benefit to see that it not only holds the 

 banner as to numbers, but as to quality of fruit, care in handling and 

 packing and marketing, as well as to the care and cultivation, spray- 

 ing and management of the orchards themselves. The best apple 

 lands in the world without any exception are the "loess" hills along 

 the Missouri river and why more of these lands have not been utilized, 

 improved and developed has been a wonder to all our fruit men. Mis- 

 souri contains more of these lands than any other state in the Union. 

 The next best land are the Ozark hills when underlaid with the red 

 cla)'- shale mixed with iron and lime and potash. Here we have seen 

 the greatest development that was ever known, more than 500 per 

 cent during the last ten years. 



This improvement has been due to the assistance and energy and 

 push of the railroads seeking to develop the resources of that land 

 as rapidly as possible, for the returns come to them first and last and 

 best of all. 



The grower gets his results in the shape of dollars after the rail- 

 roads first take their toll. The railroads can easily and quickly make 

 or break a community of fruit growers by their fostering care in the 

 one case or by their overcharges in the other case. The greatest lesson 

 of success in the history of the State has been shown by the railroads in 

 the case of the Ozark fruits, and their acts show plainly for themselves 

 more strongly than words. 



The virgin soils, with its scrubby oak growth, or the grand 

 forests of the river hills which only need to be removed when the apple 

 orchard is ready and willing and anxious to take its place and bring 

 dollars to its owner. It is right in the one instance to remove the large 

 forests when they are ripe and ready for gathering, and there plant 

 the apple orchards, or to exchange the scrubby black jack oaks for the 

 beautiful and profitable apple trees. Lands thus taken and planted 

 and cultivated and pruned and sprayed will be just as sure to return 

 crops to its owners as will the planting of a field of corn or sowing a 

 crop of wheat. No more risk in the one case than in the other, not 

 absolutely sure, but at least reasonably sure. We have no certainty 

 of any matters here below and must be satisfied if we do have failures 

 once in a while. Accidents and discouragements have occurred and 

 always will occur. 



The planting of varieties must be considered as the next essential 

 requisite to successful commercial orcharding. These varieties must 

 be what the markets demand at that particular location or failure will 

 result. If markets demand the early apples then plant some of them. 



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