202 State Horticultural Society. 



packed, that warrants such an attitude on the part of the grower; 

 and this reverts back to my plea for better orchard management. 



A closer union and co-operation among the fruit growers also 

 suggests another "avenue of escape." I have been studying re- 

 cently the workings of some of the fruit growers' unions and as- 

 sociations in Oregon and Washington, in which states, as you per- 

 haps know, the growers have accomplished a great deal by the unity 

 of their efforts. True it is that the conditions in those states are 

 quite different from what they are in the Mississippi Valley. Many 

 of the orchards are on irrigated land, which is held at a high val- 

 uation. Such conditions induce — almost compel — intensive rather 

 than extensive methods and operations. Nevertheless, the princi- 

 ples underlying their success are applicable in any section, though 

 they may need some adaptation to make them meet other require- 

 ments. 



In the Central Mississippi Valley land has been comparatively 

 cheap, and the system of orcharding has been one of expansion 

 rather than one of intensification. In sections where the price of 

 land is high, concentration of effort is a natural outgrowth of condi- 

 tions. You know the enviable fame of the Hood River Valley in 

 Oregon as an apple producing section. In that valley the largest 

 bearing orchard consists of only 30 acres. The manager of the 

 Apple Growers' Union stated in a recent letter to me that "A great 

 measure of Hood river's success is due to the fact that the grow- 

 ers here, on account of having smaller acreages, are enabled to 

 give intensified culture and personal care, which produces finer, 

 cleaner and better fruit." For their high class varieties, such as 

 Yellow Newtown and Esopus, a net profit of $700 and $800 per 

 acre is no unusual thing. And the New York buyers go out into 

 that country and pay such a price for Jonathans as to net the 

 growers $1.50 and $2.00 a box. 



A very large proportion of the fruit grown in the fruit pro- 

 ducing centers of Washington and Oregon is handled through 

 the various local growers' associations and unions. The secret of 

 their strength is the loyalty of the members, the very high stand- 

 ards established for their grades and the absolute rigidity with 

 which they adhere to those standards in grading and packing. The 

 grading, however, is made comparatively easy by the care exercised 

 in growing the fruit. It is thoroughly sprayed and thinned, if 

 need be, so that the trees do not overbear. In thinning, the de- 

 fective fruit is picked off as far as possible, so that at harvest time 

 the pick frequently runs as high as 95 per cent of strictly No. 1 



