604 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



A KAMi3LlNG OKCHAKD TALK 



By J. H. HALE 



I haven't received yonr program, Mr. President, but I do re- 

 member that in some coriespondence with your worthy secretary, 

 it was liinted T woiihl take that for cmo subject, because he knew 1 

 would ramble anyway, and mipjht as well start the subject right, as 

 well as for some others, and let me gel: away from it. I hardlv know 

 where to begin, and I am sure I shall hardly know where to leave 

 off. The orchard subject is such a broad one, and it is coming so 

 much mote to the front within the last two or Ihree years than at 

 any tiune in the previous history of this country, that it is worthy 

 pretty thoughtful consideration from a good many points of view. 



The early settlers in our country all planted a few trees, plants 

 and vines about their homes for the family supply, bringing seeds, 

 and in some instances trees, from the old country. The Massa- 

 chusetts colony and also the Jamestown colony in Virginia, offered 

 premiums, prizes and relief from taxation to the settlers who would 

 plant orchards and vineyards, but the whole purpose of those boun- 

 ties, and the main purpose of the tree planting of our New England 

 parents was for the purpose of growing fruit that they might make 

 something to drink. The early orcharding in this country was based 

 on a drink proposition, with a moderate home supply of food as in- 

 cidental; and as the march of civilization spread out over our coun- 

 try, from the Atlantic coast towards the west, tree planting went 

 along with the march of civilization and progress, but for the first 

 two centuries, almost, there was little thought of orcharding as a 

 commercial proposition. The growth of villages and cities in a smalT 

 way created a demand for a little fruit as food, and where there was 

 a surplus from the home planting, a certain portion was sold, but no 

 thought of it as a great commercial x>roposition. Within the last 

 seventy-five years there was some commercial planting of orchards 

 in New England, in Western New York, a little in Michigan, in your 

 own State and in New Jersey, but always as a side crop to the farm, 

 just a side issue. Trees were planted and taken care of, if there 

 was an opportunity, or not taken care of at all, but even the great 

 commercial apple orchards of Western New York and Michigan 

 were always, up to a few years ago, a side crop to the farmer, and it 

 has only really been since the planting of the orange groves in 

 Florida, which began forty years ago, and later, the deciduous fruits 

 in California, that there has been any specializing in orcharding and 

 any serious thought given to it as a business or a x>rofession. Later 

 the orange groves in California, and then the apple orchards of the 

 Middle West, and within twenty or twenty-five years, the large com. 

 mercial peach plantings in Georgia and Western ^Maryland, the lower 

 counties of your State and New England and Western New York, 

 and so on, have grown into a special business, and even then, when 

 we started in at that, there was very little commercial orchard knoTrl- 



