Summer Meeting, 153 



or even more of the trees die from the so-called root rot, then the 

 direct cause becomes secondary to improper physiological condi- 

 tions. In conclusion, then, the chief problems with which we are 

 confronted may be summed up as being, first, the location or sit- 

 uation of the orchard, with reference to soil and immediately re- 

 lated conditions, dependent upon which is the longevity of the 

 trees, crop yield and, possibly, the root rot question. Second, the 

 general care, into which cultivation, spraying, pruning, labor, etc, 

 enter as factors. There is but one solution of these problems to be 

 offered, and that is a plea for better management. Light soils 

 may be build up by proper cultivation and judicious use of ferti- 

 lizers. If commercial fertilizers are used, it will be especially nec- 

 essary to grow cover crops in connection to improve the texture 

 of the soil. The matter of care and cultivation is usually governed 

 by the size and condition of the orchard, and is a question which 

 each man must work out in accordance with his own inclination 

 and convictions regarding the matter. The man who adheres to 

 the opinion that the uncertainty of crops makes it impracticable 

 to cultivate must follow the dictates of his own conscience; the 

 one who believes that thorough cultivation is the proper prac- 

 tice, must do likewise, and the results of the one who is success- 

 ful must serve as a practical demonstration and a guide to the one 

 who is unsuccessful. The orchard soils of the Ozark region are 

 about as good as those of Western New York and Southern Illi- 

 nois, and in these two states the orchardists have come to the 

 conclusion only the best of care pays. It is the small orchard well 

 cared for that nets the highest per cent income, and it is the grow- 

 ers that follow systematic niethods who meet with the highest de- 

 gree of success. 



NORTHEAST MISSOURI FOR FRUIT GROWING. 



(By Geo. S. Townsend, Tioy, Mo ) 



This subject is a large one, and the writer feels that his eight 

 or ten j^ears' experience in growing fruit in a small way hardly 

 qualifies him for spokesman of this section of our commonwealth 

 as to its possibilities in fruit production. Both observation and ex- 

 perience have convinced him, however, that Missouri is about the 

 best all-around fruit State in the Union, and that the northeast 

 quarter thereof has about as many of the good qualities as the 

 others . 



There is hardly a county in this section that has not thousands 

 of acres splendidly adapted to the production of orchard and 



