146 State Horticultural Society. 



AN EIGHTY-ACRE ORCHARD, IS IT ENOUGH? 

 (Daniel Lowmiller, Parkville, INIo.) 



Our worthy secretary has assig-ned to me the reading of a 

 paper on this subject, but before I am through with it, he will feel 

 sorry for me and wish he had left me off the program. 



Is an eighty-acre orchard enough for one man? I would say 

 yes, and more than enough. Eighty acres properly taken care of 

 would yield much finer fruit than i6o acres neglected, not saying 

 anything about the quality of the apple; for any of us would much 

 rather have line, nice, large, smooth apples hanging on our trees, that 

 we might point to with pride — something to be proud of — than snarly, 

 knotty, scabby, disgusting little things — the kind that is sure to 

 STOW in a neglected orchard. 



In planting this orchard, be sure you know what you want to 

 do, for a mistake here would be a hard one to correct. If you do 

 not know anything about the fruit business, you want to make a 

 thorough study of it before you begin planting, especially as to 

 localtion, quality of soil, subsoil and air drainage, as I think many of 

 us make this first mistake in locating our orchards ; we do not stop 

 to think where is the best place, but just begin digging holes and 

 .netting trees at random in any old place wherever fancy suggests. 

 This is wrong, because a mistake made here, as I said before, can 

 never be rectified and will be a source of regret as well as a losing- 

 game hnancially for time to come. 



And I wish to repeat with emphasis, "That when one man has 

 looked after the pruning and trimming and spraying and cultivation 

 of an eighty-acre orchard, and done it faithfully and well, he has done 

 all that any mortal man ought to do or could do ; hence if my premise 

 is correct, which I maintain that it is, then if he has more than eighty 

 acres, he must have necessarily left it uncared for, and has not done 

 his work well. 



In earlier days when we were not bothered with the orchard 

 pests which we have to contend with now, then perhaps we could 

 have handled with profit a larger orchard ; but with what we have 

 to contend with now% the prudent man will cut his acres down. 



We have toda}^ in the State of Missouri some very large or-chards, 

 ranging from 500 to 2,000 acres, from which I venture to say, tlie 

 owners realize a very small profit for the reason as I said before, the 



