PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING 87 



to be made this year for next year's crop. If they are not made you do 

 not ji-et any crop, and that condition is very apparent there with us. It 

 is good liealth that wins. It takes good care to bring good health to an 

 •orchard. 



Prof. Tracy: I have been a little misunderstood in speaking of good 

 •care. They seem to refer to the question of cultivation and the degree 

 to which they pay attention to their trees; I refer more especially to the 

 ■attention paid to the condition of their soil, as to its fertility, to sub- 

 serving the natural original fertility of the soil and seeing to it that the 

 soil is in such condition that it is most productive. That was the point 

 I raised, more than the question of cultivation. 



Mr. Morrill: Well, that is a point, with others, that I consider equally 

 Important. 



Mr. Graham: I would put this question, Mr. President, practically 

 •on the same basis that you would. Now, I would rather have a good 

 thoroughbred horse, for instance, for any ordinary times, than to have 

 «n Indian pony, but there are conditions under which the Indian pony 

 would do better than the thoroughbred, and it is pretty much the same 

 Avay with the orchard that gets no care and the orchard that gets good 

 care. There are certain lines of hardship that a good horse will not stand 

 that the Indian pony will stand; and the same conditions are true, and 

 The same theory is true, with the orchard, but it is no reason which 

 would warrant us in doing away with the good horse and going to using 

 Indian ponies again, or scrub cattle, or anything of that sort. 



Prof. Tracy: I say frankly that I have been lying by for my talk on 

 cover crops, that is what I have been doing in all my questions. 



The President: Well, that is one of the developments that we should 

 look into very carefully. 



STRAWBERRY-GROWING IN GRATIOT COUNTY. 

 BY MR. FRANK W. BROOK OF ITHACA. 



Briefly told, the growing of strawberries in Gratiot county is an infant 

 industry, and the same might be said of other fruit crops, as this county 

 is largely devoted to general farming. During the eighties, one could 

 scarcely buy a strawberry, or other berry or vegetable, in the local 

 market; but now you may find them in endless variety, and largely home- 

 grown. This tardiness in the culture of small fruits is much due to the 

 abundance in which our native berries were obtainable — blackberries, 

 red raspberries, black raspberries, strawberries, huckleberries, and cran- 

 berries. But with the onward march of civilization these have been 

 driven out, and he who would have berries now must grow or buy them. 

 Low prices of cereals have caused many farmers to turn their attention 

 to fruit culture, and there is now an interest awakening all along the 

 line of fruitgrowing, with the strawberry well to the front. We have 

 the conditions for successful growing of strawberries and other berries, 

 and we have the progressive and intelligent farmers who will learn the 

 better methods and overcome the difficulties. 



