No. 6. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 381 



towered to the skies. But the bauble has burst, their walls have 

 crumbled to dust, failure has followed failure for a series of years, 

 until hope deferred has made the heart sick, and the once enthusias- 

 tic planters have come to realize that unless fortune favors them 

 they must put their land to other uses for which it is better adapted. 



The past season will be recorded as one of very small crops, of 

 inferior quality of fruit throughout the fruit-producing states, New- 

 York and many other states averaging less than twenty-five per cent, 

 of a full crop. Pennsylvania alone, especially that portion lying 

 between latitude 40 and 41, producing a good crop of every variety 

 of fruit, commencing with the strawberry and ending with the apple. 



When the farmers and fruit growers become educated and make 

 the proper selection of varieties such as are adapted to their locality; 

 ceasing to plant varieties of northern origin; planting only such 

 varieties as originated in their own latitude or southward; knowing 

 that the keeping qualities or life of the apple is shortened by being 

 brought southward and proportionately lengthened by being moved 

 northward; selecting and planting only such varieties as are of 

 strong, robust habits; hardy in wood and bud, early, abundant, an- 

 nual bearers of good sized fruit of bright red color and possessed of 

 high quality; knowing that we cannot adapt the people to our pro- 

 duct, but must produce such fruit as the educated tastes of our 

 citizens demand, using as much care and intelligence in the selection 

 as does the breeder of pure bred cattle; when they understand the 

 nature and habits of the different varieties, their requirements as to 

 soil location, elements of fertility, pruning, spraying, etc., an 

 orchard can then be planted with far more assurance of success than 

 with any of the cereals and with many times the reward. When 

 orchards are thus planted and controlled by intelligent labor, muscle 

 subservient to brain power, instead of trusting in signs and luck, 

 then we will find Pennsylvania, and especially the central portion 

 and southward, will be excelled by no like area on this green earth. 



The average annual yield of apples in the United States is 176,- 

 000,000 bushels; annual yield in New York State, 24.111,000 bushels; 

 annual yield in Pennsylvania, 24,060,000 bushels. Thus w T e see Penn- 

 sylvania lacks but 51,000 bushels of being the greatest fruit-pro- 

 ducing state in the United States. If this branch was encouraged 

 and fostered it would double the production in a few years. 



The northern tier of counties, Susquehanna, Wayne, Lackawanna, 

 Bradford, Tioga and others are especially favorable for apple pro- 

 duction. With their thousand of acres of hillsides, which are bring- 

 ing in comparatively little income, being often a taxable burden to 

 the owner, could in a short time be made to blossom as the rose 

 and bring prosperity and happiness to hundreds of discontented 

 farmers. Hundreds of acres of land can be bought through any of 

 these counties for $10.00 to $25.00 per acre. 



Farmers are anxious to sell and try their fortunes elsewhere. 

 Some farms are being abandoned, and unless the tide of prosperity 

 changes and sheds her bright rays upon the community, it will be 

 in the same deplorable condition as some of the farming districts 

 of New England. Why is this? Because the present system of 

 farming is unprofitable; the owners barely existing. Their children, 

 to avoid the same continual grind, are anxious to rush to the towns 

 and cities. 



