INTRODUCTION. 11 



such conditions only the most careful discrimination in the selection 

 of varieties can give reasonable assurance of success, and in many 

 instances the necessary information essential to the making of such 

 discrimination is not yet obtainable. While a variety may be well 

 adapted or not to the more or less broadly defined fruit districts into 

 which any region, or even the whole country, may be divided, local 

 factors often cause wide differences in its behavior in different localities 

 within such a district. Where the soil lacks uniformity, where differ- 

 ences exist in slope or elevation, or where there is some special local 

 condition, a variety may reach a high degree of perfection in one 

 locality while it is practically worthless in another portion of the same 

 orchard. 



In the earlier days, when fruit growing was merely an incidental 

 factor of farm life, it mattered little whether the orchard or fruit 

 plantation bore an abundant crop or not. But little was expected, 

 and if that little was received it was satisfactory. Within compara- 

 tively recent years the point of view has entirely changed, and with 

 this change fruit growing has developed into a business quite distinct 

 from general agriculture. It has become of increasingly great im- 

 portance to the commercial interests as new regions have been de- 

 veloped, fruit growing in all its branches extended, and competition 

 increased that every tree, shrub, bush, and vine should produce its 

 maximum crop, maturing just at the right time and being of such 

 quality and appearance that when offered for sale it will bring a maxi- 

 mum price. The more complete one's knowledge is of the different 

 varieties of fruit and their requirements for the highest degree of 

 development, the more nearly can these ideals in fruit growing be 

 realized. 



Another important factor to be considered is the " personal equa- 

 tion." The characteristics and ideals of the grower are potent influ- 

 ences in the behavior of the varieties under his care, and consequently 

 upon their apparent adaptability to the local conditions under which 

 they are grown. While soil, climate, and other features which in any 

 way influence varieties are important and largely beyond the control 

 of the planter except as he can meet these conditions by selecting 

 properly adapted varieties, it frequently happens that the one deter- 

 mining factor in the success or failure of a variety is the way in which 

 it is handled and cared for; in other words, the man himself. The 

 grower in many ways controls the conditions under which his fruit 

 develops, and no two men are likely to produce just the same condi- 

 tions, even though the natural possibilities are the same. Hence it is 

 that a variety under certain treatment will produce certain results, 

 while in an adjoining orchard under other treatment the results may 

 be very different. A single example will illustrate the point in question. 



135 



