PREFACE 



During the past ten or fifteen years great progress 

 has been made in the cultivation and care of our hardy 

 fruits and especially in the varieties grown, the methods 

 of packing, shipping and marketing, and during this 

 time few books have been written which have kept up 

 with this progress. This progress and the knowledge 

 of insect and fungous pests and their destruction has 

 been largely recorded in scientific books and papers 

 from the numerous experiment stations, with little 

 from the practical and practicing fruit growers, and 

 there is a growing need of a condensed work giving, in 

 plain language, a summary of the scientific progress 

 made, together with the practice of the most successful 

 fruit growers in various sections of the country. Espe- 

 cially is this information needed that those just starting 

 out in the business of fruit growing, or the village home 

 owner who wishes to grow a small quantity of fruit for 

 family consumption, may find in a condensed form the 

 information necessary for success. It is, therefore, the 

 aim of the author to make a book that is up to date in 

 every particular and to cover the entire practice of fruit 

 growing from the starting of the seed or cutting to the 

 marketing of the fruit, though in many cases works 

 devoted to special fruits may be more complete. It is 

 written from the standpoint of the practical fruit grower 

 who is striving to make his business profitable by 

 growing the best fruit possible and at the least cost. 



No attempt is made to describe a large number of 

 varieties, nor many of the numerous methods of train- 

 ing, pruning, cultivating, etc., but to give in plain. 



