148 State Horticultural Society. 



specially favored location figure such factors as slope of the land, 

 water and air drainage and natural protection. This point is 

 illustrated by the fact that there are small orchards all through 

 the country which seldom fail to produce at least an ordinary crop 

 of fair fruit. Further, not all of the land in any locality is suit- 

 able for orchard purposes. The possibility that some may have 

 been misled in their labors by the opinion that land which is not 

 suitable for general farming might profitably be planted to or- 

 chard, may account for at least some of the failures in the Ozarks. 

 Land that will not produce good crops of corn and wheat will not 

 grow thrifty trees, especially apples. In other words, the poorer 

 the soil, the poorer the orchard is likely to be ; but some poor soils 

 may be successfully built up by proper handling. In connection 

 with location and soils, comes the question of longevity of trees. 

 This point is, of course, largely governed by the conditions under 

 which the trees are grown. There is without doubt a gradual 

 improvement being made in this direction through the exercise 

 of greater care in the choice of land, selection and planting of 

 stock and in the general care of the orchard. That the soil on 

 which an orchard is planted has more influence on the life of a tree 

 than any other factor which enters into it, is not to be questioned, 

 but soil alone does not constitute the whole problem. To secure 

 greater permanency of orchards, there should be suitable culti- 

 vation and such additional care as is essential to the welfare of the 

 tree. In the older and more improved sections of the State or- 

 chards are equally as lasting and productive as in any of the ad- 

 jacent states, because, as a rule, they are smaller in size, receive 

 better care, and are in many instances more favorably situated. 



It is in the care of orchards that some of the most difficult 

 problems arise. Care includes the complete system of manage- 

 ment or treatment given for the entire year. It includes pruning, 

 spraying, cultivation and all other things that require attention 

 in a growing orchard. The kind and amount of care given the or- 

 chards in the Ozarks is very varying ; partly because of the varying 

 conditions under which the orchards are grown, and partly be- 

 cause of the various inclinations and opinions of the growers. 

 Many of the smaller orchards and some of the commercial ones are 

 very well cared for, but there is a type of care not unfrequently 

 met with which more clearly approaches sheer neglect than care. 

 In some instances there may be legitimate reasons for this neglect, 

 but such instances are usually exceptions. 



In the case of a small orchard on a general farm, the orchard 



