600 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



The question is often asked "Is orcliard planting being over- 

 done?" Jn answer to (his it must be said that it depends upon the 

 planter. If he be a man who knows his subject and has proven that 

 he is competent to produce flrsl-class fiuits and eliminate the culls 

 and low grade fi-nit, and to i>la(e these fine fruKs <m the market in 

 ])erleet condition, he can safely plant as much as he can care for, — 

 which, however, will not be nearly as much as most persons now ap- 

 pear to think. It is undoubtedly true that there is, and will continue 

 to be much more profit in a comparatively small orchard well kept 

 and producing fancy fruits, which can be sold at a higli price, than 

 in a large orchard, poorly kept, producing only ordinary fruits, 

 which must compete with many other fruits of the same kind and 

 must be sold at a low and often losing price. 



The great need of the orchardist of this country is to place 

 quality before quantity, and no man's success should be measured by 

 the number of trees he grows, nor by the number of bushels he pro- 

 duces, but by the quality of his fruit. Too many persons think that 

 it is easy to put a tree in the ground and go to it in a few years and 

 find it productive of fine fruit. This is the most serious mistake 

 being made by the planters in this region. To jii'oduce good fruits 

 at a profit demands proper care from the time the soil is selected 

 until the fruit is placed on the mai-ket. There may be questions oc- 

 casionally which the grower may need to ask of the expert, and in 

 this capacity the expert consultant can render valuable service, but 

 there is no man, however, expert, who can tell the inexperienced 

 grower what to do in ever'y detail to produce satisfactory results. 

 The person who thinks he can depend entirely upon the instructions 

 given him by some official or expert who may be willing to give all 

 aid within his power, will find that there are manv unexpected condi- 

 tions or problems arising which must be mastered only by the person 

 on the spot, who understands the situation and can handle it immedi- 

 ately. 



Many persons apparently believe it possible to plant an orchard, 

 hire a man to conduct it, and expect profits in the course of time. 

 This is also a mistake. If a man is able to grow an orchard for an- 

 other man he is able to do this for himself, and he will do so and 

 have the benefits of it. If the land owner is not able to direct the 

 details of his orchard management he will find that he was over- 

 planted, even though he has planted but a few trees. The conditions 

 for success are such that the owner must help Avith the work himself 

 or let his shadow fall on those Avho do it. Stories of disastrous 

 failure are already being told, and these will increase in the future 

 by those who, at present, have the planting fever developed to such 

 an extent. However, there is such a thing as "ague in horticulture." 

 While planters have the heated head during one season they may 

 get "cold feet" at another. This, of course, applies to the man who 

 lias not spent years in studying his subject and in practicing what 

 he has learned. The man who knows the subject and knows that 

 he can produce a good article, is justified in gradually planting as 

 much as he can give proper attention but no more. 



It would be far better for the quality of fruit ])roduced in Penn- 

 sylvania, and consequently for the reputation and fiual price of our 

 /j:'uits^ if the planting were done more slowdy and gradually, and if 



