1402 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OP PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



orchard to be eaten up with canker 

 worms and to die from starvation. 



The Effect of Insects and Diseases 



Although the benefits of spraying have 

 been repeatedly demonstrated, and al- 

 though so much has been written on the 

 subject, there are comparatively few 

 sprayed orchards in New England. Even 

 the orchards that are said to be sprayed 

 are not thoroughly treated. The applica- 

 tions usually are not made at the proper 

 time and are not repeated often enough, 

 and moreover, the spraying machinery in 

 common use is entirely inadequate for 

 thorough work. The codling moth has be- 

 come so abundant that seldom more than 

 ten per cent of the apples on an un- 

 sprayed tree escapes its ravages. The 

 apple maggot is becoming a serious pest. 

 The curculio is very destructive in many 

 localities. The injury from the aphis 

 or louse is more serious every year. The 

 canker worm, from time to time, com- 

 pletely defoliates the trees. The San 

 Jose scale is spreading rapidly and is 

 now well established in most parts of 

 New England. The apple scab, the rust, 

 and sooty blotch diseases are usually 

 present to a greater or less extent. Many 

 other insects and fungous pests of minor 

 importance are usually in evidence every 

 year. 



The Disposal of Low-0rade Fruit 



The evaporating industry, which has 

 become such an important industry in the 

 apple sections of New York state, has 

 not developed in New England. Rela* 

 tively small quantities are used by the 

 canning trade and for the manufacture 

 of vinegar and beverages. The remaind- 

 er of the low-grade fruit, except some 

 of the very poorest, is sent to market 

 and enters into competition with the 

 higher grades and at the same time seri- 

 ously affects the reputation of local fruit. 

 Any industry that will utilize the fruit 

 which is unsuitable for packing into 

 boxes or barrels should be encouraged. 



Careless and Dishonest PacMng* 



The manner in which apples are pre- 

 pared for market is of utmost importance 

 and the success of the Western growers is 



largely due to their superior methods of 

 grading and packing. Their progress in 

 this direction has been greatly enhanced 

 by the careless and dishonest packing so 

 prevalent among the Eastern growers. 

 At the present time there is no recog- 

 nized system of grading among New 

 England growers; neither is there any 

 uniformity in the character of package. 

 The adoption of some form of voluntary 

 inspection and some uniform method of 

 packing, undoubtedly would be of value 

 in our efforts to regain the confidence 

 of the Eastern buyers and to develop a 

 reputation in foreign markets. 



Specialization and Co-operation 



Co-operation, also, in the hands of the 

 Western growers, has been a powerful fac- 

 tor in the way of securing suitable trans- 

 portation facilities and rational freight 

 rates. In the East co-operative methods 

 in fruit growing have received very little 

 attention, and their adoption there, under 

 present conditions, would be of doubtful 

 value. When apple growing becomes a 

 specialized industry in any particular lo- 

 cality, the existence of a local co-opera- 

 tive association would be of value in the 

 way of reducing the cost of packages, 

 fertilizers, spraying materials and the 

 like, and possibly may become useful 

 from a marketing standpoint. 



The Lack of Capital 



Probably the greatest need of New Eng- 

 land agriculture at the present time is 

 capital. Banking houses and men of cap- 

 ital have lost confidence in New England 

 soil and are eagerly investing their capi- 

 tal in agricultural enterprises of the 

 West. This lack of confidence may be 

 attributed partially to the great losses 

 sustained by the depreciation of land 

 values a few decades ago. But the most 

 potent reason for the investor's change 

 of attitude was, undoubtedly, the lack 

 of confidence displayed by the farmers 

 themselves. It is therefore the first duty 

 of the present-day fruit grower to prove 

 to the investor that there are still great 

 opportunities for investment in rural 

 Naw England. The use of demonstra- 

 tion orchards to show the possibilities of 



