12 



into intimate contact with the work, handles the spray rods 

 and picks the fruit can do it better himself than can another 

 delegated by him. 



Possibly a word of caution may not be amiss to those who, 

 without any experience, would plunge headlong into fruit 

 growing as a vocation. It is not a get-rich-quick proposition ; 

 time and patience are required; methods which the more' 

 experienced consider a life study cannot be learned in a day. 

 Again, there are many who fear overproduction when the 

 orchards now being planted come into bearing. They do not 

 take into account the fact that only a small proportion of 

 trees planted ever come into profitable bearing; that insect 

 enemies and fungous diseases may raise havoc heretofore 

 unheard of; that our population is rapidly increasing, and 

 that there are many people on the face of the globe who do 

 not now have a chance to purchase an apple for a reasonable 

 price. Undoubtedly there will come a period of lower prices, 

 and this will render co-operation a necessity; co-operation 

 will bring better distribution of the product, all of which is as 

 it should be. 



I am not one of those who greatly fear this overproduction 

 of fruit. I have heard the same fear expressed ever since I 

 can remember, and it has not come yet. Granting this possi- 

 bility exists, what about the orchards three thousand miles 

 away, on the Pacific coast ? Are not they the ones to suffer, 

 not JSTew England ? 



Mr. H. J. Wilder. What cover crops would you recom- 

 mend for northern Massachusetts, at an altitude of from 

 1,000 to 1,500 feet? 



Mr. Drew. Personally I prefer rye and hairy vetch. Eye 

 will grow almost anywhere except where the soil is too wet, 

 and with a leguminous crop forms an ideal combination. I 

 would sow it generally in August, though there might be 

 some seasons when it could be sown earlier or later, owing to 

 drought or unusual rainfall. In the spring I should plow 

 only one way, and let some of the vetch mature. On a soil 

 where it was necessary to save all the moisture I should plow 

 earlier than on a soil where this was not so necessarv. Where 



