No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 633 



Recording Secretary — Enos B. Eugle, Waynesboro. 

 Corresponding Secretary — Wm. P. Brinton, Christiana. 

 Treasurer — Edwin W. Thomas, King of Prussia. 



The aforesaid were duly elected by ballot. 



THE PROBLEM OF THE SMALL ORCHARDIST. 



By J. D. HERR, Millersville, Pa. 



Classified in respect to the object in view fruit growers are of two 

 kinds. He who grows his product primarily for the general market 

 and is spoken of as the large grower or commercial orchardist, 

 and he who desires his product primarily for home use, disposing 

 of any surplus he may ha^e in the local markets, and who can with 

 equal propriety be designated the domestic or small orchardist. 



As Pennsylvania has fewer very large commercial orchards than 

 many other states, ranking below her in fruit growing, so she 

 has a large number of small orchards, the premises without fruit 

 trees being exceedingly rare, and in the aggregate the small or^ 

 chardist is an important factor in ranking the State third in fruit 

 growing with an annual product worth $10,000,000. 



As the object of the small grower is peculiar, so are his condi- 

 tions and methods. He is, as a rule, the diversified farmer or the 

 suburban resident, and his time and energy are mainly occupied 

 with other crops and interests. He feels he can not afford to give 

 his best thoughts and most careful attention to fruit trees. In- 

 deed his usual method is to set out an indifferent variety of trees 

 in a lot chosen because of its proximity to the farm buildings or 

 because it is too poor to grow any other crop. No attention is 

 given the orchard until it has reached bearing age, when once a 

 3'ear at the ripening of the fruit the crop is harvested or rather such 

 remnant as insects and fungi have not destroyed. Allow me to say 

 in defense of this svstem, that it enables the small orchardist to 

 grow a liberal supply of an indifferent grade of fruit for family 

 use at the minimum of expense and was good enough in its day, but 

 like the proverbial dog it has "had its day," and it is but truth to 

 say and I say it with some regret that the time when fruit worthy 

 the name can be grown by such methods has passed by forever. 



This condition of things is brought about by the recent invasion 

 of injurious insects and fungous diseases, the most important of 

 which is of course the San Jos^ scale insect which is destroying 

 orchards by the thousands and threatening to put the small grower 

 out of business. Some are bravely and intelligently fighting the 

 pests, but many are discouraged with the outlook and have sur- 

 rendered unconditionally to the enemy, allowing their trees to dir 

 or cutting them down without expectation of replacing them, and it 

 will be only a matter of a few years time when, unless householders 



