REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON FRUITS. 19& 



for the development of all hardy fruits, and, best of all, we are 

 within easy reach of nearly one-fifth of the population of the United 

 States, besides having excellent shipping facilities to all foreign ports. 

 But why, in the light of all these promising conditions, are not men 

 growing fruit ? Why are not capitalists investing money in Massa- 

 chusetts fruit lands, while they send thousands to be invested else- 

 where ? The reason is hard to discover. 



There was probably never a more auspicious time to plant fruit 

 trees in ^Massachusetts than the present. Someone has well said 

 that the man who does not care for his trees will soon have no 

 trees to care for; thus leaving the man who does care for his trees 

 in entire possession of the field. We know that the orcharding of 

 the future will be on a far different scale from that of the past. In 

 Massachusetts, at least, small areas will be highly cultivated and 

 large returns will be the result. Our conditions, where a great 

 many farmers are tilling small farms, lend themselves to the more 

 intensive form of agriculture, in contrast to the extensive form 

 practised in the West. In connection with this intensive form of 

 fruit growing trees will not be allowed to grow as large as formerly, 

 thus making spraying, pruning, and the picking of the fruit much 

 easier; and, until the orchard is producing, quick return crops 

 will be planted among the permanent trees so that the land will not 

 only yield an income at once, but, through the thorough cultiva- 

 tion which the small crop receives, will at the same time very much 

 benefit the })ermanent trees. 



The winter of 1907 and '08 was a very mild one and was followed 

 by good sj^ring weather which gave promise of excellent fruit con- 

 ditions. This promise however was not realized for a period of 

 unusual dryness and heat set in affecting all vegetation and many 

 newly-set trees died outright and older ones were badly hurt. 

 The rainfall was over nine inches below normal while the tempera- 

 ture was over 365 degrees warmer than normal. Largely on account 

 of these conditions, the fruit crop of the state for 1908 was far below 

 the average. 



The strawberry, however, was an exception to this general rule, 

 for there was a very good crop and of unusual quality. We are 

 learning to market this fruit more satisfactorily for where formerly 

 almost every grower shipped his berries to Boston many are now 



