PLANTING FRUIT TREES. 81 



This applies with double emphasis to planting and caring for trees. I 

 think I am safely within reason in saying that more than twice as many 

 trees are lost through neglect as from all other causes combined. I think 

 all will agree with me as to the desirability of a generous supply of fresh 

 fruit in the home. 



It is the mission of this society to educate tlie people of Nebraska to 

 the fact that the home garden and orchard can, by a small outlay of time 

 and money, be made to furnish our tables with a constant supply of fresh 

 fruit; beginning with strawberries in June and ending with the last of the 

 winter apples in April or May. We are now holding our thirty-eighth 

 annual meeting and in the thirty-seven years of earnest work just past, 

 we have proven some things beyond a question; among them the fact 

 that nearly all varieties of sour cherries do well in all parts of the state, 

 in fact we can say without hesitancy that they succeed better on the great 

 plains west of the Missouri river than in any other part of the country. 



Apples, crab apples and plums are successfully grown in all parts of 

 the state. It is now only a question of what variety to plant in your par- 

 ticular locality. Peaches bear abundantly in nearly every corner of the 

 south Platte country, and in many localities north of the river. While 

 we never can expect to compete with many sections of the country in a 

 commercial way, yet there is no reason why every one who has a small 

 piece of ground should not raise enough peaches of splendid quality, for 

 home use. It is true, we are limited somewhat in variety, but by a 

 proper selection we may have good ripe peaches constantly from the twen- 

 tieth of July until the first of October. 



Some varieties of pears succeed well over a large part of the state 

 and there is an increasing number of them shown each year at our 

 Autumn fruit shows, and more attention should be paid to this fruit. I 

 have known Flemish Beauty, in Fillmore county, to give ten consecutive 

 crops, and some years as many as six bushels from a single tree. Blight 

 is the only serious difficulty in the cultivation of pears and this can be 

 overcome in a large measure by proper care. 



The whole matter of growing standard fruit in Nebraska is a question 

 of variety, and the great work before this society for the immediate future 

 is to place itself in position to give more definite information on this 

 subject. Our recommended list (see page 165, Report of 1906) which was 

 adopted at the summer meeting of 1905, is a safe guide to any one plant- 

 ing. This list is also published in pamphlet form and can be obtained 

 from the secretary free. 



In planting for home use a much longer list of varieties is desirable 

 than for commercial planting, and I wish to be understood as speaking 

 from the home orchard standpoint all the while. I am a firm believer 

 in the adage, "Variety is the spice of life," and I believe it to be desirable 

 in almost every way to have a larger list of varieties than is commonly 

 advised, always avoiding too many summer and fall apples. I would 



