432 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



The many apple growing stories now going the rounds of the 

 newspapers, showing how "John Smith grew so many barrels of 

 apples per acre and had he sold them for so much, he would have 

 made a fortune," make good reading for our city cousins who look 

 enviously back at the farm, forgetting that it often includes getting 

 up at 4 A. M. It makes very good copy for the young rei)orter 

 Mho gets paid by the inch, but it cannot help in the end to do any- 

 thing but injury to the apple industry. After reading these stories,, 

 the city consumer, on whom we must in the end depend, believes; 

 that all the producer does is to plant a few trees on some worthless 

 piece of ground, and after a little, pick a fine lot of big red apples 

 and send them down. He growls at the grower when he pays for 

 the fruit, forgetting that the latter gets less than half of the money. 



PLANTING 



A very great increase in planting has taken place. Without 

 figures, it is safe to estimate that the number of trees has doubled 

 during the last three years. We are not the onh^ state showing 

 such increase. It is true all over the country from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. This great increase of planting has been largely 

 in apples everywhere, although there has also been an extraordinary 

 increase in the planting of peach and other fruits. However, it is 

 clear that the apple will remain as always, "King of Fruits." In 

 our neighboring states of Mrginia and V^'est Mrginia, this immense 

 rate of increase is even greater than here in Pennsylvania, while in 

 New York and New England it is probably almost as great. 



Through the kindness of Prof. J. P. Stewart, I am able to give his 

 experience in orchard work, and he is regarded as one of the men 

 who has left nothing undone to obtain the best results. 



(1). His experience has shown that in some orchards, lack of 

 plant food is the crop limiter. In such cases the gains from certain 

 fertilization have run from 4-17 times the amount of fruit produced 

 on the checks, and net profits have ranged from |120 to |420 per 

 acre. Tillage and cover crops have not been the equivalent of fer- 

 tilization in such orchards. 



(2). That in general, the common advice to apply phosphates 

 and potash for apples is incorrect, in the absence of nitrogen such 

 applications, as a rule, have not paid. In its presence, however, 

 moderate amounts of these minerals are often profitable. 



Neither phosphates nor potash have had any material influence 

 on color or size, their influence has been favorable, especially pot- 

 ash. 



(3). Nitrogen has had greater influence in increasing yield than 

 any other element. It also has materially decreased color. This 

 is due primarily to delay in maturity, and may be overcome by later 

 picking which is advantageous with such varieties as the Baldwin. 

 The delay on it in one locality the past season was three weeks. 



(4). Contrary to a prevalent notion, growth and fruiting are 

 not antagonistic, unless either occurs in abnormal amounts. Our 

 best growing plots,' as a rule, have been our best fruiting plots. 



(5). ilanure has usually proved profitable, doubtless assentially 

 because of its nitrogen contents. Whenever it has been beneficial, 

 however, its net profits have been approached or surpassed by cer- 

 tain combinations of artificial fertilizers. 



