PREFACE 



In collecting material for this work, the authors have 

 visited practically every important apple-growing county 

 in the United States; first in connection with a special 

 investigation of the cost of producing apples in important 

 regions, conducted by the Office of Farm Management, 

 United States Department of Agriculture ; and later as 

 Fruit Crop Specialists engaged in organizing a system 

 for estimating important fruit crops and particularly 

 the commercial apple crop of the United States. The au- 

 thors were impressed with a need of this kind of book, as the 

 many published works on the apple have not dealt system- 

 atically with the commercial phase of apple-growing which 

 only recently has become a well defined industry entirely 

 separate from the home orchard. The whole subject of 

 propagation has been omitted, as this is now well treated 

 in separate books. The apple is approached in this book 

 from the point of view of commerce. 



In the preparation of this work, credit is due to Roy E. 

 Marshall and Fred R. Motz of the Virginia Station for 

 aid in the chapter on pruning ; to Prof. W. H. Chandler 

 of Ithaca, New York, for his advice and suggestions; to 

 E. H. Siegler and W. V. Cruess, and to many others 

 both in the Federal Department of Agriculture and the va- 

 rious state schools of agriculture and experiment stations. 



