STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 25 



shall control, or eliminate the multitude of insects and fungus 

 pests which we have, what, I ask, are the possibilities? 



Our old orchards are a serious blemish on our landscapes. 

 There is nothing artistic about them. A forest of fir, pine, 

 spruce or birch, is far more artistic on the landscape than 

 these old scraggy, decrepit apple trees. And so I ask you, if 

 you cannot make them over, or have not the interest to make 

 them over, and to make them more serviceable to you, and give 

 you more pleasure, to say nothing about the profit, to put them 

 into cord wood. By so doing you will eliminate a part of the 

 apple crop that doesn't bring you profit ; neither does it bring 

 credit or fame to your state. 



You should extend your period of pruning of those trees over 

 a period of three years or more. Do not try to do it all in one 

 year, but extend it over a period so that the tree may not be 

 too much disturbed, and as you cut ofif a limb here or there, 

 you may seal over the wounds and keep your tree in a good 

 healthy condition. And at the end of three or four years you 

 will have a tree, if you cultivate it and feed it and prune it 

 properly, that will be in condition to be a source of pleasure 

 and profit to you. Of course, if the trees are too closely plant- 

 ed, as is the rule in many cases, it is the wiser plan to cut out 

 every other tree. If you have too many varieties and desire to 

 grow apples on a commercial scale, of course the best plan is to 

 cut out those varieties which are not of known kind and ex- 

 cellence. The market today is calling for relatively few kmds 

 of apples, but it wants those apples of the highest grade, and 

 the higher the grade and the larger proportion of high grade 

 that you have the greater amount per basket or barrel you can 

 get for them. 



The spraying of the fruit is very important.. However favor- 

 ably located you are, I believe that the quality of the fruit may 

 be improved by putting on a coating of spraying mixture. The 

 apple tree should be sprayed when it is dormant. I believe 

 that such spraying mixtures as lime and sulphur or sulfocide 

 will work great benefit to trees. They are not only cleansing 

 but they are invigorating. If you have never tried it I beg of 

 you to do so. I am speaking from my own experience, and I 

 would no more neglect winter spraying of our trees than the 

 summer spraying with arsenate of lead or similar prepara- 

 tions. 



