96 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



each of you know too well that "eternal vigilance" is the price of 

 good fruit. We do not wish to discourage beginners, for we believe 

 in the grand possibilities of the business, but in this short chapter 

 I will point out some of the obstacles that beset the path of the fruit 

 grower. 



Many have made the mistake of setting cheap or poor trees, picked 

 up in the woods or other places ; trees covered with bark lice or 

 stunted. All such trees are very unprofitable. 



One of the most common mistakes made by some of the best 

 orchardists is in having too many varieties, making more work in 

 harvesting and not so desirable. In some cases a number of varie- 

 ties have been placed in one tree. This is one of the worst mistakes. 

 Different locations require diflfercnt varieties to get the best results. 

 Big mistakes in the selection of varieties have been made. One of 

 the great questions with the orchardist is, What is the most profitable 

 variety to grow and meet the wants of the present and future mar- 

 ket? Mistakes are quite common in the distance of planting out 

 trees. This question is largel}^ one of circumstances. If one has 

 more land than money it ma}' be best not to set so near. AVhere 

 land is more costly, trees ma}' be set twice as thick as needed, and 

 when the trees cover the land one-half of them may be removed. 



One of the saddest of mistakes is where one puts trees in old worn- 

 out grass fields and wholly neglects them and expects to raise an 

 orchard. All such cases end in a miserable failure. Another mis- 

 take is in placing mulch so near the trunk of a tree and in such 

 quantity' that it will heat and kill the tree. The writer can testify to 

 the loss of fift}' valuable trees killed in this way. 



Losses may occur from mice and the borer. Some have had whole 

 orchards destroyed by one or both of these enemies. Careful prun- 

 ing is necessar}', but some have made bad mistakes in this direction ; 

 the leaves are to the tree what the lungs are to the body. Extreme 

 catting should be avoided. 



In grafting, orchards in some cases have been nearly ruined by 

 sawing too large limbs or hubs, setting poor scions, grafting limbs 

 in the center of the tree, using poor wax, neglecting to look after 

 the scions after the work has been performed. Tliese have been the 

 cause of much damage. Turning sheep and lambs into a 3'oung 

 orchard without taking the precaution to coat the trunks of the trees 

 with manure, has caused a big loss in some cases. Oxen and large 

 cattle have proved ver}' fatal to young trees, when turned into the 



