170 State Horticultural Society. 



ing when it gets older. These lower limbs should be cut out, \Mien 

 the time comes we cut them out. From a 19 year-old orchard we cut 

 loads and loads of limbs, and that orchard is now fine and healthy. It 

 has produced one crop of $40.00 per acre; one of $140.00, and one of 

 $150.00 per acre. We cut the limbs off at their union with the tree. 

 I never leave a stub and cut it again. 



J. H. Hale. — I plant trees upon high land where they get fresh air. 

 I believe trees should be properly pruned and tilled. When trees have 

 been neglected they should not be too heavily pruned at one time. I 

 believe in a little annual pruning of the tree. Paint the cut with a heavy 

 coat of white lead paint. T do a certain amount of summer pruning, 

 cutting out the stronger branches of the peach in the growing season. 

 I am not as familiar with the apple. My apple orchards are of more 

 recent planting. I give my five-year-old orchard a good pruning each 

 winter. 



Mr. Stewart, Rushville. — I hesitate to say anything upon the sub- 

 ject. I am what will be called a crank upon pruning. I eliminate every 

 thing that should not be there. No man can successfully grow fruit 

 upon a sickly, weak tree, or upon weak branches. My rule is to elimi- 

 nate useless branches just as close to the body of the tree as they can 

 be cut. I want to show that this can be done with practical results. I 

 have cut off two thirds of the top of a fourteen-year-old Ben Davis tree 

 with good results. In the summer also I remove useless limbs. In a 

 badly infested tree-hopper orchard I cut away one-half of the wood, 

 and the trees are now healthy and doing well. If a tree is healthy I can 

 cut out one-half the wood and do it no harm. This could not be done 

 with a sick tree. To get the best results apple trees should be kept 

 open. My orchard treated in this way has borne five successive crops 

 and has the promise of another crop. 



ORCHARD EXPERIENCE. 



(L. J. Slaughter, Grain Valley, Mo.) 



Mr, President, Ladies and Gentlemen. — It seems, from the task your 

 honorable secretary has placed upon me, that he wishes you, gentlemen, 

 who have been in the fruit business for years and thoroughly understand 

 the spraying and caring for trees, to now take your first lesson from a 

 man who has had but little experience and knows comparatively nothing 

 about the fruit business. This being the case, it leaves your instructor 

 in a very embarrassing position, yet this being my task, I will give you 



