540 ANNUAL REPORT OF THH Off. Doc. 



Four out of every five reports claim that the old orchards are dying 

 rapidly aud the same proportionate number of correspondents claim 

 that very few new apple orchards were established the past year. 

 These are most encouraging facts to those who have planted largely 

 in recent years and also to those contemplating entering the busi- 

 ness on a commercial scale. There never was such a favorable time 

 from a financial standpoint to start new apple orchards, and there 

 need be no fear that the orchard will be too large, if proper varieties 

 are selected and intelligent care given the trees. The San Jos6 Scale 

 is the one great enemy that stands off the would-be planter, and the 

 average tiller of the soil hesitates about planting on account of this 

 pernicious pest, so that now is the opportunity for the skillful, con- 

 fident fighters to plant trees by the thousand. Trees are dying and 

 population is increasing, so that in all probability the markets of 

 the future will require more fruit and pay better prices than in the 

 past. 



Several varieties of apples of comparatively recent introduction 

 are mentioned as promising. Stay man's Winesap is evidently in 

 the lead among the newer sorts. It has a number of enthusiastic 

 advocates and judging from the data collected it is destined to be a 

 great commercial apple. It is a winter apple, possessing many de- 

 sirable points. It is a thrifty grower, coming into bearing early and 

 yielding heavy crops of fruit of excellent flavor, highly colored when 

 properly grown and of splendid keeping qualities. It has the repu- 

 tation of being a more regular bearer than the Baldwin. Other va- 

 rieties named as promising are Gano, Nero, Lankford, Stark, Wal- 

 ker's Beauty and Mammoth Black Twig. 



As to the prevalent height of heading trees, there is a very wide 

 range. In counties where apple culture is an important industry, 

 as in Adams, York and Franklin counties, the trees are generally 

 headed fairly low, say from three to four feet. But farmers and til- 

 lers of the soil who do not make a specialty of orcharding, head from 

 five to ten feet from the ground so that teams can pass readily under 

 the limbs without knocking off the San Jose" Scale. The Lycoming 

 county correspondent declares that the usual distance from the 

 ground to the first limb is from ten to twelve feet. He is outdone 

 by the correspondent from Montgomery county, who claims that 

 fifteen feet is the prevalent height in his county. If the scale's fav- 

 orite method of migration is walking it would have a long journey 

 up the trunks of Montgomery county trees before finding good pas- 

 ture. 



PEARS. 



The 1905 pear crop in this State was much below the average. The 

 great majority of correspondents report a very small yield and no 

 one a full crop except that the Kieffer in various localities, produced 

 large yields. The President of our Association, Mr. Gabriel Hiester, 

 reports that Lawrence gave a 10 per cent, yield, Bartlett 60 per cent., 

 Seckel 75 per cent., and Kieffer 100 per cent. Nearly all corres- 

 pondents state that the quality was poor or fair, while a number 

 claim that the quality was good. In reply to the question, "What 

 varieties are most profitable," Bartlett is decidedly in the lead, be- 

 ing favorably mentioned twice as often as Kieffer. This is en- 

 couraging to those endeavoring to produce quality instead of quan- 



