FORTIETH ANNUAL REPORT. 55 



lows down in the Ozark Mountains grow, where they can not grow any 

 thing else. (Applause) . I can not call Ben Davis in my trade now. 

 When I consign the Ben Davis, I get them as far away from my friends 

 and neighbors as possible, and then they are usually sold as N. Y. Snows 

 and Winter Pippins. 



Mr. Edwards : They are sold in this country as American Beauties. 



Mr. Famsworth, (continuing). Well, they are American, and they are 

 very fine lookers^— but looks deceive. The San Jose scale has not been al- 

 together an unmitigated curse — there are features about it that make 

 it a sort of blessing in disguise. It has caused us to look about us and 

 as we have seen the fine looking specimens come in from the West we 

 have been led to strive for quality, and in so doing have demonstrated 

 that we can grow them much cheaper and of better quality, and the 

 I>ub]ic is fast beginning to find this out. And with a little more pub- 

 licity, this fact will be so well known that there will be a greater demand 

 for our first class products than we can supply. 



As to varieties that we have been growing, we have given quite a pref- 

 erence to Jonathans. I would advise growing this apple, as it is a very 

 safe apple to plant. It has a number of very strong points. It comes 

 into bearing early; it has a fineness of texture and a delicacy of flaA'or 

 that commend it to public, and it usually grows true to type. It is a 

 beautiful apple, and this is one point in its favor as a seller. The tree 

 is hardy, productive, and comparatively long-lived. It requires high 

 culture, however. 



Sutton Beauty is another variety that I should like to see generally 

 introduced. To my fancy they are a better eating apple than the Jon- 

 athans. 



Now a word about spraying materials. I think it was a year ago I 

 stated at our state meeting in Ohio that I thought I had used my last 

 gallon of bordeaux. My friends took exception to this, but since that 

 time they have acknowledged the coin. Now they are satisfied with 

 lime and sulphur. For a summer spray I use this 1 to 33 on apples ; 1 to 

 40 on cherry and ])ear and plum. It controls the scab, and does not rust 

 the fruit. Used in connection with the arsenate of lead it does the work 

 all right, and gave me the finest color I ever had on fruit. I also found 

 my plums were absolutely free from rot. I asked my son to count the 

 plums that had rot on them that he found during the day, and in packing 

 104 bushels, he found only three plums that were even specked with rot, 

 and that was from a variety that is notorious for the rot. 



Now just a word about pruning. My theory is this, that pruning is a 

 necessai'y evil. It is necessary because we cannot grow trees without it. 

 It is an evil, because every limb you cut off weakens the ti-ee, but we 

 must do it. But I believe we should never cut off a limb Avithout a 

 reason. We should try to start a head low down, and then avoid un- 

 necessary pruning after that. The last orchard that I started that is old 

 enough to bear now, after we got it pruned four years ago, I began to 

 practice this letting-alone method. Our foreman objected, and I sent 

 him away to another part of the farm, and I took some of my green 

 hands and we pruned that orchard in a hurry. We cut off the water 

 sprouts and crossing limbs, but the side limbs that fonned the fruit buds 

 we let alone. We had orchards this year, five years planted, that bore 

 fruit on a great many varieties, Rhode Island Greening, Rome Beauties, 



