92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



tion of new varieties and the restoration of those said to 

 have been worn out ; men who, by rigidly abstaining from 

 the use of arsenic in any form as an insecticide, are bringing 

 back in a fe\v 3'^ears the old-time power and vigor of the 

 })otato plant, and multipljdng the potato bolls in rich pro- 

 fusion. 



The bulletins may cling to the long-established theorj- and 

 practice regarding arsenic as the base of insecticides ; but 

 the practical, every-day former, who thinks and studies, has 

 found it a positive injury to his crop, — a promoter of decay 

 and a destroyer of the reproductive powers of the tuber. 

 The aoriculture of the future maintains itself when it con- 

 forms to the l)est experiences of to-day, and stands with 

 open vision awaiting a larger development to-morrow. The 

 orchards of New Eno^land are feelino- a new thrill of life as 

 faith in this industry is quickened through the consciousness 

 that disease pests can be controlled in larger measure, and 

 that the sprayer will save the fruit and stinudate the growth 

 of twig and leaf. 



Out of this there is coming a better appreciation of the 

 value of the tree, and this will insure that care and treat- 

 ment which alone can promote its life and growth. Never 

 has there been a day when our orchards have not yielded a 

 large return for the investment, and never a day when there 

 was such promise for the future as at the present moment. 



The orange groves of California or Florida or the peach 

 orchards of Delaware or Georgia may claim their followers 

 and l)ring them satisfactor}^ returns ; but the strong, rugged 

 soil of New England, — these rocky hills are yet to ^neld a 

 harvest of fruit which in quantity and quality cannot be 

 equalled in all the world, and to supply an ever-increasing 

 demand from an ever-widening market. 



Machinery opens the way for that continued cultivation of 

 the ground, so essential, as it does for the protection of fruit 

 and trees, so necessary in the production of the quantity and 

 high quality demanded in the markets to-day. 



You cannot rob your orchard of its grass and gather a 

 harvest from its branches. Cultivation here is as much 

 demanded as in the corn field. Growth, liberal growth of 



