FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 65 



liue roots to start this orchard into active growth. Hence root pruning 

 is to be done with reference to obtaining vigorous and quick growth of 

 these trees. Not only should all broken roots be pruned, but all roots 

 upon trees; and while I do not believe that for the northern states the 

 theory, as is advocated by some, of very close shortening of the roots upon 

 the Stringfellow plan, I believe we can profitably prune roots closer than 

 we have thought heretofore. We have got to depend upon the main 

 roots of the tree for its real establishment again in the soil, and there is 

 stored up in these main roots the material w'hich is going to furnish us 

 in the quickest possible period of time new feeding rootlets with which 

 to nourish and sustain the tree. If we could examine our trees pruned 

 in this manner Ave should find within ninety days of the time of setting, 

 according to the degrees of heat and moisture, that an entirely new sys- 

 if^m of roots had been devoJoped at the ends of all of the main roots 

 which we have pruned. If this development takes place early in the 

 'seiason we shall see the tree very largely re-established as it stood in 

 the nurserj', with a very fine root system at the end of the season, and 

 also having made a very satisfactory growth in its top. 



At the time of planting, the top should be pruned in proportion to its 

 roots. The question of pruning will be largely solved during the first 

 few years of the growth of our trees. With the pruning knife the future 

 of that tree can be largely determined for many years to come. We need 

 to understand the form which we wish to establish in the tree, then for 

 the first five years work to that definite form which we desire. The pres- 

 ent demands upon us in orchard management are vastly different from 

 vvhat 'they were a quarter of a century ago; we have got to grow our 

 trees lower headed and pruned with reference to form such .as will make 

 it practicable for us to successfully use spraying materials upon them. 

 We cannot longer deal successfully with old and overgrown trees. 



We have to keep in mind that in the great competition of the present 

 times 



IT IS QUALITY THAT IS GOING TO TELL 



in the end; and, as our system of farming has been extensive, and we 

 must now, for better results, turn to the intensive plan, so in fruit culture. 

 We have been working upon the very extensive plan with the result that 

 we have been producing too large a proportion of fruit of inferior quality, 

 and now in fruit culture we must turn more to the intensive system. It 

 will be for those who have capital to grow fruit upon the extensive plan. 

 The small fruit grower, who contributes so largely to the supplies in our 

 market today, will be far more successful if he will abandon the idea of 

 extensive fruit culture and confine himself to small orchards intensively 

 managed, aiming entirely to produce the finest quality in his production. 

 I have been observing the quality of the fruits since being in your 

 State, and I find in your markets th-e same condition as in New York — a 

 very limited quantity of strictly fine fruit, but an abundance of very 

 common, and even inferior, fruit. This is one of the curses of our fruit 

 culture today — there are too many people in the business who are grow- 

 ing fruit as a secondary matter entirely, with no interest in its whatever, 

 who make no effort to produce fine fruit — take what escapes all the 

 ravages of insects and disease and, infected as badly as it is, they will 



9 



