3d(^ ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Oft. Doc. 



produce a crop in over 40 years." To derive the most good from 

 a cover crop it should be allowed to grow until May or June; but on 

 level ground some of our best orchardists plow late in the fall to 

 save time in the spring. Fall plowing should never be done in hilly 

 ground for "Erosion" is a bad man to have on the farm or in the 

 orchard. 



Spraying is the most disagreeable and costly job ever invented 

 and "Satan" never comes around the farm at that time for there 

 are no "idle bauds," everybody works, even father, he has to keep 

 the steam pump running water into the large supply tanl^ We use 

 gasoline rigs with tanks of oOO gallons capacity. One man on the 

 lank to drive and spray the tops, one umn on the ground with 

 a 50-foot lead of hose to spray the lower limbs. The orchards are 

 sprayed twice before blossoming and once after. The fiist spraying 

 1 to 9 or 10 lime-sulphur for scale and blister mites. The second 

 spraying 1 to 20 with arsenate of lead, 4 pound to G pound to 50 

 gallons. As soon as the blossoming is nearly done the spraying 

 begins on the Greenings as they are about the first to drop their 

 petals, using 1 to 85 or 40 commercial lime-sulphur and arsenate of 

 lead. We have not tried spraying in August, jet will this coming 

 summer. 



This past season has been so hot and dry fungous diseases have 

 not bothered after apples were set. Unsprayed orchards this year 

 were free as well as the sprayed ones, but unsprayed orchards did 

 not set much fruit. Already some are saying, "well spraying hardly 

 paid last year so 1 won't do much at it this coming year." The lack 

 of spraying on buds never showed better than for the past two sea- 

 sons. Last spring a young orchard adjoining my farm blossomed 

 full. I would have given |1,500 for his crop and sprayed it. I 

 offered $500 per acre for this orchard. The man did not spray or 

 work his orchard, he had a failure. A friend bought a power sprayer, 

 but he sprayed his neighbors orchard at the right time, leaving 

 his own orchard for a later job. It rained so he could not do his 

 own orchard when is should have been spraj^ed. But he won't do 

 so again, for his neighbor had a fine crop, while he did not have 

 any. 



Fruit growing is one perpetual picnic. It is "up guards and 

 at them" fifteen months out of twelve, although Ave do not have 

 to fight borers in apple, but it is worth it for it pays in dollars as 

 well as in the satisfaction there is in handling a crop of nice fruit. 



Apple packing is the most serious question we have in the fruit 

 business to-day and dealers are the worst sinners and are more to 

 blame for the poor apples packed than the farmer. We are pack- 

 ing No. 1 "Fancy" 2 1-3 in. up and No. 2 — 2^ to 2^, both grades 

 laced with good apples of grade in the barrels with the rest of the 

 apples, the same from face to the headed end, corrugated caps are 

 used in both ends, a padded head is used to press the apples down 

 first, then the head is put in. The best press we have seen is the 

 Davis platform press with a large heavy iron ring nearly the size of 

 the head to bring the pressure on the head where needed, instead 

 of the center. This ring is an idea we have worked out ourselves 

 and proves very satisfactory. 



