FRUIT CULTURE. 



FRUIT PROSPECTS IN THE EASTERN STATES.-FERTILIZATION AND HOW 

 TO COMPOUND FERTILIZERS. FLORIDA SOUR ORANGE STOCK.-INJU- 

 RIOUS INSECT PESTS. PARASITES AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. THEIR 

 INTRODUCTION INTO THE STATE. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMEN- 

 DATIONS. 



FRUIT PROSPECTS IN THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN 



STATES. 



I visited all the largest fruit districts of Maryland, Delaware, and 

 New Jersey, and found that the peach crop for this year will be almost 

 an entire failure, owing to the heavy March frosts, which destroyed the 

 crops. What fruit was not destroyed is much below the average in 

 quality. This has been a very heavy loss to the eastern peach growers, 

 and has driven many of them out of the business. The trees will have 

 to be cultivated for a year without any production or profit, and the 

 cultivation is very expensive, as commercial fertilizers have to be applied 

 even for the growth of wood. A crop cannot be grown without fertilizers, 

 nor can the trees produce fruit buds for the coming year without it. 

 There is practically no peach crop in the East anywhere, and it will be 

 difficult to supply the demand of the markets with California fruit this 

 year. 



The cherry orchards in many districts were full of fruit, but the cur- 

 culio had stung nearly every fruit, and, in fact, it was with great diffi- 

 culty that any cherries were found that did not contain from two to 

 eight holes in them. These holes are of a crescent shape, the work of 

 the curculio beetle. 



The plum crop is also damaged by the curculio, and, in fact, very 

 little effort is made, on this account, in their culture. The apricot is 

 not grown for the reason that the fruit is also destroyed by the curculio, 

 and the climate is not suitable for its growth. The pear and apple crops 

 will be large; still about 25 per cent will be lost by the ravages of the 

 codlin moth. 



This State is the only place from which anything like an adequate 

 supply of green and dried fruits can be obtained this year. 



The orange orchards throughout the State of Florida were damaged 

 to a great extent by the heavy frosts in March. They have also suffered 

 by droughts, having had a very dry winter. The rainy season does not 

 begin there until May, and continues through the summer. 



Although the trees have suffered considerably, the fruit crop of Florida 

 will be fair, as in many places the frost did little or no damage. These 

 places were mostly where the trees were irrigated. Water is pumped 

 from the lakes for this purpose. 



