76 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



off the rough bark, then while in dormant condition spraying 

 the tree thoroughly with lime and sulphur to be followed during 

 the growing season with two other sprayings of self-boiled lime 

 and sulphur to which four pounds of arsenate of lead is added to 

 each 100 gallons of spray mixture. 



Very old trees so treated put on a wondrous new growth, and by 

 thinning out the suckers and shaping the tree a little each year 

 thereafter, broad, low-headed, vigorous, productive trees are being 

 made in two or three years out of these old fellows, so that thirty 

 to forty bushels of high-class apples per tree are being produced 

 where none grew before. Ten thousand young trees in one orchard 

 in Xew Hampshire and 14,000 in my own Connecticut orchards, and 

 many orchards of two or three hundred trees each all over New 

 England are being cared for on best modern lines, and while I 

 am not able to speak for the others, the fact is that one of my or- 

 chards of twelve-year old Baldwins produced three to five barrels 

 per tree this last season. Owing to their being modern, low-headed 

 trees, 90 per cent of the fruit was harvested without the use of 

 ladders of any kind, and because of three perfect sprayings, 98 per 

 cent of the fruit was marketable. Six per cent of the lowest grade 

 was good enough to sell at $3 to S3.50 per barrel, 26 per cent No. 2 

 selling at $5 to $6.50, while 66 per cent of the entire crop of 8000 

 bushels graded Al, selling early in the winter at S2.50 per fifty-pound 

 box and 86.50 and $7 per barrel, and now at $8 per barrel and boxes 

 at 83, retailing in fancy fruit stores at 75 cents to SI per dozen, as 

 against 30 cents per dozen for Florida and California oranges 

 and 50 to 60 cents for Western apples. In shipping these Connecti- 

 cut apples to consumers in twenty-two different states, each and 

 every one has reported in substance, "Best apples we ever had." 



A recent letter from a wholesale fruit firm in New York which 

 handles Oregon and Washington apples by the tens of thousand 

 boxes, says ' 'As far as we are concerned can truthfully say that we 

 have not had any good eating apples until this lot arrived, for the 

 flavor is simply immense." That's not bad for New England 

 quality, when for five months past these people have daily had the 

 choicest of Oregon and Washington Jonathan and Spitzenburg to 

 pick from. This is only mentioned to show ' 'What fools we mortals 

 be," when New England people and New England capital have 



