ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 127 



it would be unwise for me to take a single example like that 

 and attempt to draw a general conclusion for you fruit growers 

 and farmers. There is a great deal to be learned in this. Some 

 of the storage men feel if they get fruit from young trees that 

 it is very doubtful whether that will keep very well, or whether 

 it will keep as well, and also whether it will keep as well when 

 the fruit come from high land as from low land. There is 

 also the question of the keeping quality of the fruit from tilled 

 land versus land under sod culture, and from sprayed trees 

 as against unsprayed trees, that is, of course, where the condi- 

 tion of the fruit is the same. It is the intention of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture to make a comprehensive study of all these 

 various problems, and especially with reference to their effect 

 upon fruit for storage, and to see what can be ascertained for 

 the guidance of the growers and storage men. 



Our ability to carry on our studies in these lines depends 

 upon the liberality of Congress in appropriations of money, 

 but we feel and hope that Congress will be kind to us, and 

 give us the necessary money so that we wuU be able to follow 

 out this line of work, so that in time the apple and storage 

 business may be put on a more certain basis with regard to 

 some of these questions than it is at the present time. Our 

 storage men feel that we are doing them some good, and the 

 growers feel that we are doing them a great deal of good by 

 taking up this work from this standpoint. 



I am very glad to make a report of progress, and to give a 

 little inside view into the lines of work that the Department 

 has taken up in this connection. If I had more time I would 

 be glad to tell you more about the special lines the Department 

 wall develop, and especially with reference to what we are 

 doing with a view to developing the export trade. 



The shipping of fruit abroad is an important matter, as afford- 

 ing an outlet for our surplus stock in foreign markets, and 

 of course, as has been well known, the great difficulty has been 

 to lay the fruit down in foreign markets in a good salable con- 

 dition. I am hopeful that very much can be done to improve 

 conditions in this direction. 



The Kieffer pear has been sent across this year for the first 

 time, and very successfully. Some peaches were got across this 

 year and we hope that the time is not far distant when we shall 



