114 



A number of you may be planting trees in the near future. 

 You have no co-operation. 



Each man is selecting his own orchard site and his own trees. 

 AMiat mistakes is he likely to make? First the mistake of location. 

 \Miat way could co-operation help the orchardist in selecting a 

 location for his orchard? I take it that perhaps you may have 150 

 acres of land and that you probably wish to plant part of that land 

 in fruit trees. AMiose advice are you going to take? It seems 

 to me the question of location is such a ver}- serious matter that it 

 IS going to involve your whole career as a fruit grower. If you 

 have expert advice here in your county, well and good. The 

 chances are. however, that you do not have. Perhaps some of you 

 do not agree with me in what I am about to say. but in view of the 

 grave mistakes that I have made. I am very slow in taking any 

 serious steps in advance without the advice of the Department of 

 Agriculture, or the Experiment Station. Are you able as individ- 

 uals to secure the services of an expert in soil conditions to come 

 here and locate your orchard for you? You z^'ould be in position to 

 secure such advice if ten. twenty or fifty of you need his services 

 at the same time. You could not secure such help without an or- 

 ganization. 



Suppose, again, after selecting the site of your orchard, you 

 are troubled about where to buy the trees. AMiat you are most 

 interested m is getting a sound, healthy tree. You are pestered to 

 death by people who want to sell trees. You do not know whether 

 to buy from a local nurseryman or from a nurseryman outside of 

 the county or state. AVhat are you to do? Send for an expert 

 again. Have this gentleman go to the nursery and select the trees. 

 The large fruit grower can alford to do this. The small fruit 

 grower cannot. 



I have been extremely fortunate in this regard, having spent 

 the last twenty 3^ears in AA'ashington. I have been able- to secure 

 the help of these men in my own individual work as I could not 

 have secured it otherwise. The Government has a small experi- 

 mental orchard plot on my place, where they have been experi- 

 menting three or four years. They tell me what fertilizer is to be 

 applied, the cover crops to be put on the land and tell me how to 

 treat the trees. 



The result of that experiment on mv place has been an eye- 

 opener to me. A year ago the fruit growers in the immediate 

 neighborhood around Winchester held a field meeting in my orchard 

 along in September. It was a most satisfactory meeting, and we 

 were very much gratified indeed, that a great number of ladies 

 came out from the city of AVinchester. 



When Dr. Waite wanted the experimental block in my orchard 

 I told him I w^ould rather he would take some other man's orchard, 

 because I did not want to be bothered. But, owing to certain con- 

 ditions he thought he found there, he wanted to secure my place. 

 The benefits have been so far in excess of any trouble that it would 

 not do to mention it. After that meeting our fruit growers began 

 to see things. 



