496 TwENTY-FiKST Biennial EfEPOKT 



ent soil and climate frequently claim to produce the same variety- 

 par excellence. This leads one to wonder if perhaps there might 

 not be some other factor besides the natural — I started to say advan- 

 tages, but will qualify that to resources — of the northwest. If the 

 methods of operation are a contributing factor, then cannot they 

 be adapted to the needs of Kentucky growers? I believe they can. 

 There is no denying the fact that parts of the northwest have soil 

 and climate that are especially adapted to apple culture. More 

 than that, the people are hustlers. They make the raising of fruit a 

 business, not a side issue. It is what many of them pin their entire 

 faith to and put all their energies and resources into. They simply 

 have to succeed. 



Most of the sections are settled with people from the middle 

 and eastern states. It is not the natives that are the hustlers and 

 boosters. Many of the most successful fruit growers of the Pacific 

 Northwest knew nothing whatever of the business when they entered 

 it. Some of them were professional and business men from the cities, 

 but they realized they did not know it all and were willing to take 

 the advice of growers who had already made a success of the busi- 

 ness, and follow their methods. And all were willing to get down 

 and hustle. 



Outside of the natural advantages that the northwest may en- 

 joy, it seems to me there are four or five factors that contribute 

 largely to the almost phenomenal success of this section. These are : 



Personality of the groAver ; 



Varieties grown; 



Care given in producing the fruit; 



Harvesting and marketing; 



Advertising. 



Personality of the Grower. 



I have put personality of the grower first of these factors, for 

 I am not sure but what it is the most important, for after all, the 

 other factors hinge on this. The northwestern fruit grower first, 

 last, and always, is an optimist, a booster, an egotist. He be- 

 lieves, and has no hesitancy in saying, that his particular section is 

 the only- place to grow fruit. He meets the newcomer with a glad 

 liaud and is always willing to show him around, pointing out the 

 superior advantages of his locality and particularly of his own 

 orchard. 



Business methods are applied from the start. Co-operation is 

 practiced from the buying of supplies to the marketing of the 

 finished product. Horticultural societies are organized in every 

 little hamlet, and they do not simply meet once every year, but hold 

 meetings every month or oftener. Their membership is not limited 



