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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral t^liiiwu 



Prunln« operations in a plum orchard In the Niagara District. 



less degree on almost any kind of soil, 

 it has been planted by the million in 

 almost every state in the United States 

 as well as in Canada, Avith the result 

 that with a full crop over the country, 

 the markets are glutted continuously 

 from July to November. 



It is more than a question of dis- 

 tribution now; it is equally a question 

 of high grade, standardized sorting and 

 packing — of the Qjost efficient coopera- 

 tion among the growers — central pack- 

 ing houses economically operated — 

 precoolitig and first class refrigeration 

 and transportation — in other words, 

 the application of the very best up-to- 

 date business methods to our business 

 from start to finish. 



I would hesitate to advise anyone to 

 plant peach trees. The day of big 

 profits is past and gone. Occasionally, 

 if from 50% to 75% of the crop hap- 

 pens to be destroyed throughout the 

 sections of greatest production, we may 

 get good prices, but it is a gamble, 

 pure and simple, from now on, and to 

 many of us it is but a part of life's 

 great lesson ; we prospered year after 

 year, until we got the idea that we 

 were pretty smart — taking to our- 

 selves ail the credit, when, as a matter 

 of fact, our good fortune was being 

 handed to us on ii platter, so to speak, 

 by a kind Providence. 



From now on it looks like "the sur- 

 vival of the fittest." 



The situation is going to be helped 

 more or less by the expected decided 

 diminution in fresh plantings, which I 

 hope will really amount to a complete 

 stoppage, and by the fact that many 

 orchards are going out from age, while 

 many others will be either badly neg- 

 lected or cut down. 



Thousands of peach trees were cut 

 down in New York last fall, and I un- 



derstand That the same was true in sev- 

 eral other states, and the old express- 

 ion, "the more the merrier," applies 

 very nicely here. 



It is a strange paradox that while 

 hundreds ct cars of fine peaches last 

 season failed to return freight charges 

 to the grower, and hundreds of thou- 

 sands of half-bushel baskets of fine 

 fruit were sold in the large markets 

 for from 15c. to 25c. per basket, and 

 in some cases the fruit actually got 

 into the five and ten cent stores, some 

 of my friends in Boston, New York and 

 other cities were unable to secure any 

 first-class peaches from their grocers 

 for less than $1.00 to $1.25 a basket 

 When sucn a thing is possible in such 

 a season as the la.-(t, there is an Ethio- 

 pian in the wood pile. 



I expect to see these conditions con- 

 front the apple and sour cherry grow- 

 ers, as these fruits have been planted 

 everywhere, and far more extensively 

 than the peach. 



You will probably see an apple crop 

 produced in the United States within 

 the next teu years, so large that it will 

 be difficult to give the fruit away, to 

 say nothing of selling it at prices th.at 

 will permit the grower to break even 

 on his expense of production and hai- 

 vest. I am hopiag that this will be 

 within the next ten years, but it is 

 mighty likely to oectir within the next 

 five. 



Look at the apple situation. All the 

 information obtainable last August and 

 September indicated that the apple 

 crop of the United States would not 

 exceed one-half the crop of the previ- 

 ous year, which was a very large one, 

 and growers and speculators acted ac- 

 cordingly, Avith the result that high 

 prices were paid and consumption 

 thereby checked instead of being en- 



couraged. On December first everyone 

 was astonished to find that there were 

 one million more barrels of apples in 

 cold storage in the United States than 

 there were the year before, and thai 

 instead of our having half a crop wt 

 actually lir.d a bumper crop as coin 

 pared with former years. 



This situation is explained, at least 

 in part, by the production of the young 

 orchards, lunning from a peck to a 

 barrel to the tree, which were not given 

 serious consideration, if they were con- 

 sidered at all, in making up the esti 

 mates. There are millions of thesei 

 young trees, and they are going toi 

 "have a lot to say" about the volum( 

 of the crop every year from now on 



The fact that we are cut off from any 

 export business this year has been 

 serious handicap, as had that outlel! 

 been open as formerly, a large volu 

 of the supply could have been disposi 

 of through that channel. Also, had th^ 

 true state of affairs with relation to thi 

 size of the crop been known last fall 

 the movement would have been start 

 ed at a much lower price with the re- 

 sult that the crop would have moved 

 lapidly into consumption at reasonabk 

 prices, and we would not now be cou; 

 fronted with the calamitous situatioE 

 of the cold storage plants being frono 

 fifty per cent, to seventy-five per cent 

 full of apples at !his late date. 



You may think that I am a pessim- 

 ist, pure and simple, but I do not wisl 

 to be so regarded. I cannot conscienti 

 ously refrain from speaking the plaii 

 truth and warning innocent people wh< 

 are being misled and victimized by th« 

 hundreds by attractive pictures in th« 

 newspapers and magazines portraying 

 the easy life and overflowing purse o: 

 the average fruit-grower. 



The only inference to be drawn fron 

 these gloAving accounts of farm life u 

 general, and fruit-growing in particu 

 lar, is that the whole business is ; 

 "cinch" — that all that is needed is ; 

 few acres of land somewhere, sufiicien 

 money to purchase and plant the trees 

 and patience to wait two or three year 

 before they can begin drawing cheque 

 The "cheque drawing" time alwa; 

 comes sure enougi\, but to the majorit 

 it will be a long road to "big profits 



Cut out dead wood in fruit and for 

 est trees now. 



Go over the plum trees and cut ou 

 all black knot. 



Some pruning may be done on war 

 days late this month. 



Either cut off any cedar apples oi 

 trees near the orchard or cut out th 

 trees. 



Piece grafting of apples and som 

 ornamental stock may be done late i 

 March. 



