366 State Horticultural Society. 



In producing the ideal tree it will be found necessary to draw largely 

 upon that very valuable trait in human nature that we call imagination, 

 and without which the march of human progress would soon cease. 



The ideal tree to my mind is a first-class, thrifty, healthy, low 

 headed tree with a symmetrical top, so pruned (annually) that it will be 

 free of forks, water sprouts, cross limbs, very crooked, weak or broken 

 branches, thinned to a reasonable extent, so as to admit the sunlight, and 

 permit the gathering of the fruit, and at the same time permitted to 

 grow true to the natural type of its own species and variety. 



THE IDEAL ORCHARD APPLE. 



To my mental vision is one made up of such trees loaded with good 

 fruit or normal size and high color. In other words, the orchard that 

 comes into bearing at an early age, and continues to bear fine crops 

 during its natural life, and pays the owner the largest profit on the 

 capital and labor invested. 



When we have succeeded in producing this beautiful panorama to 

 the satisfaction of our mental vision, if we then desire to produce it in 

 our garden, or field, we must go to work at it in earnest, cultivate, prune 

 and spray, and never let up till we behold our trees loaded with luscious 

 fruit, upon which the sunlight has put her finishing touch of red and 

 golden beauty. 



At five vears from planting this ideal orchard should bear from a 

 peck to a bushel to the tree ; if it does not it is not doing its duty, and 

 needs breaking in, just as much so as a colt needs breaking to work. 

 In other words, at this age the orchard should be inducted into the 

 Bearing habit, which may be done by pruning both root and top suf- 

 ficiently CO bring about a proper equilibrium between wood growth and 

 fruit buds. If this important matter be delayed from year to year 

 so much the harder to accomplish the desired result. We now have 

 many orchards all o\er the west that bid fair to die of old age without 

 producing enough fruit to pay for their planting, all for the want of 

 proper management. I an*, quite sure that many will take exceptions 

 to this sweeping statement, and assert the cause of so much barrenness 

 to be found in the unfavorable seasons that have prevailed for a number 

 of years. I grant you that if our seasons had been more favorable we 

 would have had more fruit, but may we not so prune and manage our 

 orchards that we may overcome the unfavorable conditions referred 

 to. I believe we can ; I have observed that during the unfavorable 

 seasons prevailing in the west for some years past, w^hen we had partial 

 to total failures of Ben Davis, Jonathan and Winesap, that the Duchess, 



