178 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



spray three acres of trees, set forty trees to the acre, and twenty years 

 old; while two men with two leads of hose and a CuShman gasoline 

 power outfit, ought to spray ten acres a day if the machinery is in good 

 running order. 



Before concluding these remarks the writer wishes to say just a 

 little about cultivation of the orchard. In growing a crop of apples there 

 Is a continual warfare against insect enemies, and diseases, cold weather 

 and weeds. If the orchard is allowed to grow up to grass and weeds 

 there is no question but that the danger from diseases and insects is 

 greatly increased. Many young orchards are materially injured by the 

 Buffalo Tree Hopper, and various other biting and sucking insects, which 

 would not bother the trees if they were kept under an ordinary state 

 of cultivation. Almost any orchard needs cultivation of some sort 

 occasionally. Many orchards are benefitted by a liberal application 

 of barnyard manure. Some advantages of early cultivation, perhaps 

 just as the frost is coming out of the ground, are that the soil can be torn 

 to pieces, and the blue grass sod such as is ordinarily found in orchards 

 is not so tenacious, and lends itself much better to cultivation. The 

 object of early cultivation is not usually a question of conserving 

 moisture, especially in the eastern portion of the state, but rather a 

 question of putting the soil in such condition as will allow for later 

 cultivations during the latter part of June, July and August, when there 

 is a dearth of moisture, and when the tree is making its heaviest drains 

 upon the water supply in the soil. Whatever cultivation is given to an 

 old orchard should be shallow. There certainly can be no advantage 

 in deep plowing and cutting off old roots. A light plowing is not 

 objectionable, but more of the cultivation should be done with a disc and 

 harrow. 



The unusual interest in the subject of orchard management is awaken- 

 ing an ideal which is now in its embryonic stage of development. The 

 time is near at hand when southeastern Nebraska will be put on the map 

 as one of the leading apple producing sections in the United States. 



Chairman: I see it is ten minutes to 12 and most everybody eats about 

 that time. I was on the last part of the program, but I will not keep any 

 of you from dinner, but I will say I had a very fine paper prepared, con- 

 sists of eight or ten pages of carefully prepared statistics. The paper 

 is in the hands of the Secretary and it would probably take half an 

 hour to deliver it, but I am glad I can't; it was rambling and told how to 

 raise fruit and boys and lots of things; it went from the ridiculous to 

 the serious and I will not burden you with it, but as temporary chair- 

 man I will thank you for your kind attendance. 



Meeting adjourned sine die. 



