86 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



ORCHARDING ON THE HILL FARMS OF 

 NEW ENGLAND 



By JOHN W. CLARK, North riadley, Mass. 



WHAT to do with the hill farms of New England, 

 is a question worthy the consideration of every one 

 of her loyal sons, to see if, in some way, a part 

 of these farms cannot again be cultivated with profit. 



I say a part of these hill farms, for every one must 

 admit that no small per cent of our New England hills 

 cannot, under the present condition of things, be cultivated, 

 except it be at a loss, on account of the rugged nature of 

 the surface, barrenness of the soil, distance from market 

 and lines of transportation. 



Leaving this class of land out of our consideration, we 

 still have, in every one of the New England states, thou- 

 sands of acres, the surface of which is comparatively level 

 and free from stones, of easy cultivation, naturally strong 

 and fertile, capable of growing any crop suited to our 

 climate, and within a reasonable distance of market or ship- 

 ping point, which, I am thoroughly convinced from experi- 

 ence and observation, can be made to pay a profitable 

 return on the investment. 



This may be done in other ways than by the growing 

 of fruit, but as I have been asked to speak on orcharding 

 for our hill farms, I will confine my remarks to the growing 

 of fruit. 



The first thing to be considered before investing money 

 in planting our hills to orchards is : Can we, here in 

 New England, grow fruits suited to our climate that will 

 stand cartage and shipment and compete in the markets 

 with the same fruits grown and shipped from other sec- 

 tions ? 



It was only a few years ago that our markets were sup- 

 plied with nearly all their fruits by the surrounding country, 

 little being received from outside the state; but, with 

 increased railroad facilities and cheaper rates of transpor- 

 tation, today we must compete with grapes, peaches, pears 



