PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING. 267 



eradication of the indifferent or worthless varieties occupying space the 

 lesson teaches us should be filled wi1;h something better. The growers 

 who marketed the crop with the least expense of handing were the only 

 ones able to show a profit. If one is claimed for a crop of 1896, the eco- 

 nomical method is the practical method, as well employed in seasons of 

 better prices. 



The demand for the wormy apple and the apple marked by fungi has 

 been conspicuous by its absence, suggesting the desirability of including 

 the spraying for codlin moth and fungi in the enactment against the 

 canker worm, which should be as diligently applied as the yellows law; 

 for, while the life of the tree is not threatened, the business of apple-grow- 

 ing is. Every over-loaded tree appeals to the reason of the grower, di- 

 rectly through the channel that moves the quickest — the pocket. It takes 

 time, labor, and money to grow a tree, which means that the tree is an 

 investment and should be as carefully guarded, for what it is worth, as 

 any other investment. It should not be over-worked. If a portion of the 

 fruit is removed, either by pruning or thinning, the vitality of the tree is 

 retained, the quality of the matured fruit improved, and the chances less 

 of the tree asking for a "lav-off'' four vears out of five. The successful 

 apple-grower of the future will be the specialist, the man with the 

 hobby, who believes in the future of apple-growing; he will have the 

 courage of his convictions. The lesson of the late apple crop teaches us 

 that he will have faith in the use of fertilizers, in spray for the fungi and 

 the worm; that he will relieve the tree of unnecessary burden by thinning 

 or proper pruning; he will have the necessary intelligence to apply the 

 fertilizer judiciously, to be timely in spraying, and to thin thoroughly. 

 The fruit will then speak for and sell itself. 



The apple is mostly grown in this latitude of the temperate zone, and 

 here attains the best quality, by reason of the different seasons of ripen- 

 ing of the different varieties. It is in use in its natural state a longer 

 season than any other fruit grown in this climate, and if denied us would 

 be missed the most. We will assume the apple to be the oldest known of 

 all the fruits, for no doubt if the variety of the fruit offered by the first 

 man to the first woman had been chronicled, we would find the apple to 

 have had precedence over the vine and fig. Being of such ancient origin, 

 it may be properly recognized as an institution antedating all others de- 

 signed for the use of mankind — a blessing in the past, a present necessity; 

 and, as the wish is father to the thought, may it always be with us. The 

 veteran samples the first green apple of the season with caution and sat- 

 isfaction; the small boy in quantities, without caution, but with results. 

 Maiden's Blush is an inspiration; Snow, Red Canada, and Northern Spy, 

 in their season, are beyond description, and the last bitter Ben Davis and 

 corky Russet like wine of old vintage — the best of all. 



