No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 561 



height about 1900. I say its height, for about that time or a little 

 earlier the San Jose" Scale struck us and while the planting has con- 

 tinued, the timid ones have dropped out and it has been less general. 



A census of the best known orchards of the district, taken nearly 

 two years ago, shows over 40,000 apple trees and nearly 20,000 peach. 

 This means to-day not less than 50,000 apple for the district and fully 

 30,000 peach. Of the apple fully 75 per cent, are York Imperial. 

 Other varieties are York Stripe, Ben Davis, Baldwin, Stark, Rome 

 Beauty, a few Grimes' Golden and many others. In the past year, 

 some growers have top-grafted and planted quite largely to Stayman 

 Winesap, but so far as I know, none have been fruited in this county. 



Before passing, I w 7 ant to say a word for the York Imperial. In 

 a meeting of this kind we hear our old friend abused almost from 

 start to finish. He is our first love, he is our money maker, and it 

 hurts our feelings to hear him slandered and abused. Moreover, I 

 want to say right here that the man who classes York Imperial with 

 Ben Davis never Las eaten a well-colored, fully ripened York Impe 

 rial from the hills of old Adams, nor has he tasted York Imperials 

 cooked as our Adams county wives can cook them; baked whole, the 

 core removed, the cavity filled with sugar and a good sized lump of 

 butter on the top, fit for the table of a king; stewed Yorks, the quar- 

 ters whole and firm, yet perfectly tender and with a richness peculiar 

 to the variety — better than canned peaches any day. 



For the past ten or twelve years, buyers have been coining after 

 our fruit and we now have a cash market for our apples right at 

 home. Heretofore the peach crops have not been large, but if the 

 trees that are now planted come into successful bearing, the peach 

 buyer will be with us also. Our apples are becoming known in 

 many markets and the past season buyers were sent here from Chi- 

 cago especially for our York Imperials, to fill a demand that has 

 grown up in that city. In this connection, the following figures for 

 the season of 1905 may be of interest: Apples shipped from Adams 

 county in barrels, 25,997 barrels; in bulk, 11,228 barrels; total ship- 

 ped, 37,225 barrels. Apples sold to evaporator, 10,670 barrels^ to 

 canning house, 2,400 barrels; together, 13,070 barrels, making a total 

 sold in 1905 of 50,295 barrels, not counting the thousand of bushels 

 made into cider. So much for the district and its products. 



For the first few years we struggled along, each grower for him- 

 self; each one, except for occasional neighbourly advice fighting his 

 own battles. But finally discouraged by the ravages of the San 

 Jose" Scale and by the heavy tolls levied from our crops by codling 

 moth and many fungus troubles, fully realizing our individual weak- 

 ness and the strength that united counsel and effort would bring to 

 us, a meeting of the growers was called and on December 18th, 1903, 

 was organized "The Fruit Growers' Association of Adams County." 

 This organization has for its object the encouragement of co-opera- 

 tion among fruit growers for the protection and advancement of 

 their common interests. 



Our work so far, has been for the most part along educational lines. 

 and we who have been privileged to attend the meetings each month 

 feel that much real good has come out of them. We are fully alive 

 to the danger accompanying the presence of San Jose Scale in our 

 orchards and few meetings pass without some discussion of ways 

 and means for holding this pest in check. A few members of our 



