133 



large quantities will be in demand to replace that which will 

 be lost, and the man who prepares now to meet this demand 

 will reap the benefit. 



From what has been stated, however, it does not follow that 

 fruit growing is a simple occupation. The successful grower 

 must thoroughly understand what conditions of soil and ele- 

 vation are best adapted to the varieties he attempts to raise ; 

 which varieties bring the best prices in the markets he 

 proposes to use; what kinds of plant food and the proper 

 amounts of these his trees need in order to enable them to 

 do their best work; how to prune, fight his insect enemies 

 and fungous foes ; and, last but not least, how to gather, 

 assort, pack and ship the fruit in such ways as will help 

 it to look best, keep best and sell best. Such a man can make 

 a success of fruit growing in Massachusetts ; and a man who 

 fails to measure up to an equivalent standard, in whatever 

 occupation he may be, is a failure to just that degree. If 

 it be in business, he is likely to assign ; if in a profession, he 

 soon drops out of sight ; but if a poor farmer in any line he 

 generally earns a living, scanty though it may be, for nature 

 will sustain inefficient workmen where in any other occupa- 

 tion this would be impossible. 



Let us now consider some of the foes the fruit grower will 

 meet in Massachusetts, and how he must combat them if he 

 is to produce crops which will bring the highest prices. 



Codling Moth. 

 One of the most important pests of the apple in Massachu- 

 setts is the codling moth (Carpocapsa pomonella L.), a native 

 of Europe, but which has taken kindly to new world condi- 

 tions. The caterpillar, when through feeding in the apple in 

 the fall, leaves the fruit and crawls down the tree till it finds 

 some piece of loose bark beneath which it can make its way. 

 Here it gnaws an oval cavity, which it lines with silk, and 

 in this space it coils up to spend the winter. During this 

 time woodpeckers are of great value to man by seeking for 

 these caterpillars as they lie under the loose bark and feeding 

 upon them. When spring comes, the caterpillar changes to a 



