Winter Meetmg. 403 



the increased crop may have persuaded the grower that this is the most 

 profitable treatment. 



"No care can be good that does not take heed of the future of 

 the orchard. 



"In some cases the orchard may need such treatment as will act- 

 ually decrease the yield for several years, in order that new wood may 

 be formed and new vitality given the trees. On the other hand, it fre- 

 quently occurs that the orchard is growing too fast, producing too 

 much wood, and is not as fruitful as it should be, and will need such 

 treatment as will retard growth and increase fruitfulness." 



It is claimed by some that apples from uncultivated orchards are 

 more highly colored, have a higher flavor, are firmer and keep better. 



On the other hand, these apples are usually smaller, and statistics 

 recently compiled by the Cornell University* show that the apples from 

 cultivated orchards sold for a slightly higher price per bushel during 

 the past five years than did those from the orchards that were not cul- 

 tivated. That is to say, the extra size of the apples from the cultivated 

 orchards more than compensated for whatever difference in color, 

 flavor or firmness there may have been. 



It may be said, in passing, that the apples of the Ozark region and 

 of the river bluffs of Missouri are likely to be sufficiently well colored 

 for all practical purposes, without adopting the apparently unprofitable 

 practice of growing the trees in sod, 



BENEFICIAL RESULTS FROM CULTIVATION IN MISSOURI. 



Unfortunately, the commercial orchard industry in Missouri is 

 too young to permit the gathering of such data from our own experi- 

 ences as have been presented for the two leading apple counties of New 

 York. 



Professor Whitten of the Missouri Experiment Station gathered 

 a number of years ago** some very important data on the difference in 



*An Apple Orchard .Survey of Orleans County. Bulletin 229. 

 **Bulletin 49 Missouri E<perimeat Station, "The Apple Orch;ird.' 



