Winter Meeting. 193 



of No. Is of the same variety, and it was quoted at $3,00 per box. 

 I do not know the source of the latter fruit, however, but it was no 

 better in appearance than what you are capable of producing in 

 this State. In the city of Washington, within the past month. 

 Grimes have sold at $4.00 per barrel, and the grade was far from a 

 straight No. 1 at that. So you see that somebody is paying for 

 apples, even if the buyers are not! 



During the past four seasons I have spent considerable time 

 in the orchards in the Ozark region of Missouri and Arkansas, and 

 certain contiguous territory, studying primarily the adaptability 

 of different varieties of fruits to different conditions, and con- 

 versely the influence of the conditions upon varieties ; but incident- 

 ally, also, I have studied other phases of the fruit growing industry 

 in those sections that I have visited. Some of the things I have 

 observed have impressed me greatly, hence the subject of my dis- 

 course, even though I have been a long time in reaching the point 

 of my story. But the foregoing generalities have been in antici- 

 pation of some of the things to which I wish to direct your atten- 

 tion. Will you be patient with me, while I speak very frankly, 

 and I believe very truthfully, for a few minutes? 



My first experience in the orchards of this State was during 

 the summer of 1903. I had, of course, read much about "the land 

 of the big red apple," and I had formed high ideals and high 

 standards in my mind for everything that I anticipated seeing in 

 connection with the fruit growing industry. I was impressed with 

 the bigness of things, with the large size of the orchards and the 

 number of them. I was impressed even more with the large size 

 of the trees in proportion to their age; orchard after orchard I 

 saw, only four or five years old, with trees as large, nearly, as many 

 were in the eastern states, perhaps twice as old. I was impressed 

 with the comparative newness of the orchard interests, for not a 

 commercial orchard was seen more than 12 or 14 years old, and 

 most of them considerably younger. I was impressed with the 

 fact that so few of the orchards of bearing age were given thor- 

 ough cultivation, with the fact that so little spraying was done 

 and that the bugs and fungi were allowed so much liberty. I was 

 impressed with the fact that in the older orchards on the richer 

 land thorough spraying would be very difficult, because the trees 

 were so close together; that in the tops of a large portion of the 

 trees there was a tremendous struggle for existence among the 

 branches, because there were so many of them. During my subse- 

 quent visits to these orchards in the years that have followed my 



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