1G7 



Auy one of the various operations like pruning', thinning, 

 cultivation, fertilization, spraying, etc., I believe that spray- 

 ing is the most important as it stands alone. 



Today, or any other time, if we go down through the 

 markets and look over the fruit that is offered there, J 

 think in many eases you will agree witli me tliat fruit that 

 is perhaps wortli about .+2 or ^•i a barrel, if it had more 

 spraying or other spraying at the [(r()|)er tunc, it would 

 have, been worth more today, even though you had not ever 

 changed the other operations at all. Thinning of the fruit 

 brings us increase in the value of that fruit, but 1 thiidv you 

 will find that there is no other one o[)eration that would in- 

 crease the value of tlie fruit so nuu-h as the nuitter of spray- 

 ing. Now, this morning we want [o take up and discuss 

 for a" short time our spraying campaign for 1917, and in 

 planning our spraying for 1917 let us keej) in mind our 

 spraying for 1916 and the result of the same. 



Now is a good time to discuss spraying while we still 

 have in our possession some of the fruit of the past season 

 and we still have fresh in our minds the large number of 

 barrels of B's and ungraded that we i)acked this last season. 

 and the few A's and Fancy's. ]\[any places packed their 

 entire crop as ungraded and others put np about 25% of 

 A's and 75% of B's and ungraded. Why so nuuiy poor ap- 

 ples we ask? Was it not due princii)al]y to the lack of suf- 

 ficient and pi-o|)er spraying? Are we satisfied with these 

 results, are we willing to charge the |)oor results against the 

 weather, or are we Avilling to place the l)lame where it be- 

 longs on ourselves, and pass a Ncav Year's i-esolution that 

 this season we will study thc^ situation more thoroughly. 

 plan a better campaign, and carry it into faithfid execution 

 to the last letter and by so doing, have some fi'uit next Fall 

 that we may be proud of. i-Jemend)er that by studying 

 and {)rofiting by the faijui'cs. as Avell as the successes of the 

 past, we are able to reach oui- goal in the future. 



Now, how and when did we start our spraying campaign 

 this past season "! Did we start by spraying after the buds had 



