Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 543 



The board will be placed in personal touch with the fruit 

 growers of the State and will be better able to shape its policy of 

 service in the work of disseminating instructive literature, con- 

 ducting educational institutes, etc. 



The mailing list of the State Board of Horticulture at present 

 has less than one-fifth of the names of the fruit growers of the 

 State. And it is here to be noted that these growers must be in- 

 formed as to the work of the State Board by the State Board itself 

 before the fruit grower will take advantage of its service. As it 

 is necessary for the State board to take the initiative in extending 

 its services to the growers of the State, it will be seen that this 

 complete and thorough orchard census, which will place the name 

 of every fruit grower of the State on file in the State Board's ofl^ice, 

 is essential to the most efficient application of the board's service. 

 Such has been the difficulty in getting fruit growers in, touch with 

 the State Board that less than one-half of the people who have 

 asked that their names be placed on the mailing list are fruit 

 growers. 



Some of the advantages available to the growers on this list 

 follow: Advice as to crop condition, direct information as to 

 whether or not the apple buyer's price is too low, just what price 

 to expect for their fruit, quality of course considered, instruction 

 on spraying, cultivation, pruning, planting, frost prevention, har- 

 vesting, marketing — every phase of fruit culture — instruction in 

 bulletin form of the latest data, or personal advice from the men 

 engaged in the work of the Missouri fruit experimental station. 



Built, as it is, at great expense it may be readily seen that any 

 work that will increase the number of people to whom this service 

 is accessible is of greatest importance. Add to this the gain, in 

 efficiency of the service, and some idea may be had of the im- 

 portance of this orchard census. 



Circular letters were sent out in 1912 as follows: A monthly 

 report of the condition of the growers' fruit crop as obtained from 

 these orchard owners, whose names are on the mailing list; a 

 letter advertising the State Fair, and announcing the addition of 

 $400 to duplicate the premiums offered by the State Fair Board; 

 a letter announcing the fruit judging contest, in which scholarships 

 of $50, $25, $20, $15 and $10 in a short course of the University 

 of Missouri were offered to boys between the ages of 16 and 20 

 years, who had not been employed in fruit experimental stations 

 nor had attended agricultural colleges ; a letter showing the average 



