230 
AMERICAN POMOLOGICAE SOCIETY. 
4. The common practice in this State is to crop the orchards to corn and 
potatoes and, I regret to say, often with small grains. A few of our more 
scientific, growers are gradually coming to the practice of cultivating the 
orchard for itself and growing cover crops to improve the land. 
5. The best cover crops here are crimson clover for the winter and if this 
fails to set, sow rye later. Then for summer, sow cow peas. This latter crop 
should not be sown until after thorough spring cultivation has been given the 
orchard. It does not appear best here to cultivate our orchards late in the 
season. 
6. Very few people have ever resorted to using chemical fertilizers in the 
orchards in this State. The practice on the part of some growers is to mulch 
the young trees during the first or second year with coarse manure. How- 
ever, even this is a rare practice. I do not know of a single instance where 
fertilizers have been systematically used in such a manner as to note the 
profits. 
7. I cannot undertake a discussion of this subject at this time. 
8. The most troublesome insects on apple trees are the root louse, Schi- 
zoneura lanigercr, the flat head and round head borers, principally the former; 
the tent caterpillars and in occasional years, the web worm, Hyphantrid 
cunea, which is here two brooded, making it a very serious pest. San Jose 
scale has incidentally been a serious pest but we hope that we have it about 
suppressed. Of these insects, root louse and borers are now threatening our 
orchards seriously. This is from lack of skill and attention. 
9. I have never known irrigation to be practiced in this State. 
10. We have orchards in the State as large as fifty-four thousand trees 
in a body. The industry is spreading rapidly and within the last four years 
tree planting has increased at least one hundred per cent. A ; pple growing 
at twenty-five cents a bushel in the orchard is profitable. However, we often 
realize two to four dollars a barrel for them. I know of instances where 
eleven hundred apple trees have brought fifteen thousand dollars in a single 
year. 
11. Evaporated fruits are hardly made in this State. Sun dried fruits have 
been quite common. In fact enormous quantities have been produced and 
the fruit yields in this way about six and eight cents per bushel, gross price; 
hence you will see it is wholly unprofitable. It is not unusual for two 
hundred tons of this stuff to be shipped from a small country depot. Only 
the poorer classes of fruit are used for this work, such as cannot bear expert. 
12. Fruits were injured here the past winter to some extent and especially 
in some portions of the Valley peaches were killed to the ground. It is the 
first instance of the kind I have known. I have not known apple trees to be 
injured; but of course the fruit is often injured. 
WASHINGTON. 
BY E. F. BABCOCK, WAITSBURG, CHAIRMAN. 
Apples are the principal fruit cultivated, and are grown quite successfully, 
the soil and climate being peculiarly adapted to their production. 
Among the new fruits are a seedling pear and quince originated by Samuel 
Erwin, of Prescott, and named for him. The Erwin pear is of medium size; 
conical oblate; yellow’, wfith a red cheek; quality, good; season late; dessert 
