154 State Horticultural Society. 



small fruits, and much of it can be bought as cheaply as the much- 

 advertised lands in more thinly settled portions of the State. 



Taking the apple as the basis of commercial orcharding it re- 

 quires only enterprise, enthusiasm and modern methods of cultivat- 

 ing, spraying and storing to develop in this section one of the 

 most productive apple regions of the country. We already grow 

 fine apples, and a few men, with advanced ideas, have young or- 

 chards which are yearly becoming more valuable as object lessons 

 and encouraging doubters to do more in the way of fruit raising. 



While we have our doubts as to the advisability of any one 

 going into peach raising on a commercial scale so far to the north, 

 still we believe that there are some specially favored localities 

 where it could be made a success. In spite of a temperature of ten 

 degree below zero last winter, our peach trees are now bending 

 beneath loads of fruit which almost threaten their destruction. 



We raise pears, sometimes with big profit; but, as in other 

 sections, the blight we have always with us. This year it has ex- 

 tended to the apple blossoms and twigs, materially reducing this 

 crop. 



Plums, we have them of all kinds, both native and Japanese ; 

 and they hardly ever fail to bear, frost or no frost. Of the Japa- 

 nese, the Abundance seems to do best for us, although the Red June 

 and some others do well, and nearly all are bearing large crops this 

 year. 



Grapes, currants and gooseberries repay manyfold the labor 

 we devote to them. In blackberries, we have had invariable suc- 

 cess with Snyder and Early Harvest, and for raspberries, the 

 Gregg, Cumberland, Kansas, Red King and Golden Queen are pro- 

 lific and always fruitful. 



Strawberries are giving good results on a small scale, and 

 many growers are making good profits on local trade. We know of 

 no reason why they could not be grown profitably by the car load. 



Cherries usually do well, and this year there is a splendid 

 yield. One tree near my home town this year produced a crop worth 

 ten ($10.00) dollars, at 25 cents per gallon, and has several times 

 equaled and even exceeded this record. 



So many different kinds of fruit do so well in this favored 

 section that there is small excuse for any one owning the necesary 

 land not having an abundance of luscious fruit for family use and 

 some to sell. And we believe that the same amount of well-directed 

 energy which is applied to the cultivation of regular farm crops 

 would bring much better returns in commercial fruit growing. 



