6 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
WESTERN NEW YORK HORTICULTURISTS. 
Tile fortieth annual meeting of the Western New York 
Horticultural Society was held in Rochester January 23- 
24. There was a large attendance. Among those present 
were: George Ellwanger, Irving Rouse, Thomas W. 
Bowman, Charles P. Barry, John G. Glen, C. M. Hooker, 
James Vick, A. L. Wood, Rochester; S. D. Willard, 
Geneva; M. B. Waite, assistant pathologist, department 
of agriculture, Washington; Nelson Bogue, Batavia; 
George G. Atwood, Geneva ; J. H. Dayton, Painesville, O.; 
T. S. Hubbard, Geneva; George H. Moody, Lockport; S. 
Wright McCollum, Lockport; Professor A. M. Prentiss, 
Ithaca; C. H. Perkins, Newark; E. A. Powell, Syracuse; 
Professor Roberts, Ithaca; W. P. Rupert, Seneca; Lewis 
Roesch, Fredonia; C. W. Stuart, Newark; W. Brown 
Smith, W. Judson Smith, Wing R. Smith, Syracuse; E. 
Smith & Sons, Geneva; H. S. Wiley, Cayuga; C. P. Whit¬ 
ney, Orleans; Professor Sanders, London, Ont.; C. L. 
Hoag, Lockport ; J. S. Woodward, Lockport; George S. 
Josselyn, Fredonia. 
President Barry in his annual address said ; 
The outlook for conunercial fruit growing is a topic which is always 
interesting and wliich can he considered with profit at every meeting. 
Early in the year the prospects for a large apple crop in this vicinity 
never were brighter; the trees blossomed full, but when tlie fruit had 
attained the size of hickory nuts it dropped ; this was probably due to 
a heavy frost in May ; then it was predicted that there would be no 
apples ; however, there has been a crop harvested much larger than 
was anticipated. Under good cultivation and with careful management 
many orchards have paid well. Much fruit is at present in cold storage 
in the.expectation that prices will advance later on. I see it stated that 
Mr. Wellhouse, of Kansas, has marketed 23,000 barrels from sixty-five 
acres, and that he has produced fourteen crops in fifteen years. We can 
hardly expect results equal to this, but still the outlook is not so dis¬ 
couraging when we consider how neglectful we have been in many 
respects. In plain English many of our orchards have been starved. If 
the proper nutriment be supplied a change will take place. Surface 
cultivation and application of potash will do more than anything else 
to make the orchards remunerative ; and as regards marketing, selected 
fruit should be [)acked with extra care in small packages, boxes or baskets. 
The time has come when it will not pay to send poor fruit to mar¬ 
ket in the hope of getting good returns. The large quantities of fruit 
from California, sent annually to the eastern markets, have made com¬ 
petition keen, and it will become necessary to do as the Californians do 
—pack .selected fruit in small attractive packages. It must be admitted 
that eastern growers are behind the times in the.se particulars. Apples 
and pears instead of being hurried to market can be held in cold stor¬ 
age till prices ri.se. Shippers in the vicinity of Boston have been 
making a careful test of packing in cases instead of barrels, and the 
results are highly satisfactory. To be successful in fruit growing these 
are the cardinal points; Thorough cultivation and fertilization, judici¬ 
ous prunning and thinning, careful selection and packing. Besides it 
will not answer to confine our elforts to one kind of fruit. The knowl¬ 
edge and skill whi(;h are recpiisite for success with one crop can be 
utilized to advantage in raising several, commencing with the straw- 
berry, which matures early, followed by the raspberry, blackberry, 
cherry, plum, and then the full fruits in their order from early to very 
late. Emit growing should be considered as a business and conducted 
on birsiness principles. The consumption of fruit in cities is increasing 
and will increa.se, and there is a demand which will have to be supplied. 
Insect pests, diseases, etc., mu.st be controlled and conquered, (dbstacles 
Avhich to many seem almost insurmountable will disappear, and the in¬ 
telligent, industrious cultivator will achieve results which seem impos¬ 
sible to the negligent, indiffsrent, uninformed worker. The fertility of 
our soils has been exhausted, a fact we have to look squarely in the 
face. The unsatisfactory condition of fruit growing in this and other 
localities is mainly due to this cause ; with fertility restored and good 
cultivation the prospects are favorable for profitable crops. The straw¬ 
berry, the currant the gooseberry, blackberry and raspberry can be 
produced advantageously. There has been no over supply of the goose¬ 
berry, and if we consider how large an amount of fruit is necessary for 
the making of jelly we can realize what a future there is for currant jelly. 
I suppose it is a well understood fact that a very large proportion of the 
currant jelly sold is not composed wholly of the currant as itshoidd be. 
jVIanufacturers maintain that sufficient quantity of fruit is not obtain¬ 
able Here is an opportunity. Another crop which has not received 
the attention it deserves is that of nuts. The chestnut, butternut and 
the English walnut, as well as some of the hickories can no doubt be 
raised successfully on many soils. Experience in their culture is net 
great as yet, but wherever they have been undertaken favorable re¬ 
ports have been made. In California there are several large orchards 
of varieties of European and Japanese chestnuts. Within the last two 
or three years orchards have been planted in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Delaware and Michigan. Much interest is being manifested in the 
Japanese chestnut and its crosses. The butternut is valuable also, and 
it could no doubt be grown with profit, if a demand were created for it. 
Land owners should investigate the merits and adaptability of nuts, for 
there is evidently a future for them Cherry culture is likewise one 
which is worthy of more attention than it has hitherto received, especially 
the acid varieties for canning purposes. The French have long had a 
reputation for preparing the fi iest canned cherries; we can excel them 
if we produce the right kinds. The quality of canned fruit has im¬ 
proved so much during the last few years that the consumption has 
very largely increased The ability to preserve the natural quality, 
fiavor, appearance, etc., has done much to make it popular. Large 
quantities of fruit are evaporated and dried and shipped abroad. In no 
direction is there any evidence of an intention to diminish the supply ; 
on the contrary, everything indicates a steady increase. Fruit growers 
should carefully consider all these channels through wdiicli their j^roduc- 
tions are likely to go. 
The discussion of the plum scale brought out interest¬ 
ing facts. Professor M. V. Slingerland, assistant entom¬ 
ologist of Cornell university, said that the scale has not 
been found upon any but fruit bearing trees. Mr. Wood¬ 
ward said he had found what appeared to be the scale on 
trees one year out of the nursery. This brought several 
nurserymen to their feet. Nelson C. Smith said that a 
careful examination of the trees in his nursery had failed 
to discover a trace of the scale. Linus Woolverton, sec¬ 
retary of the Ontario Fruit Growers’ Association, Grimsby, 
Ont., said the scale had been found on a few trees in 
Canada, but it was causing little or no alarm there. S. C. 
Schoon said that if any of the nurserymen had the least 
suspicion that there might be scale on their trees, they 
could well afford to spray the trees in trenches before they 
were allowed to leave the packing ground and thus be 
enabled to guarantee them free from scale. The trees on 
an ordinary packing ground could be sprayed in an hour 
or two. S. D. Willard said that in company with Pro¬ 
fessor Slingerland he went through his orchards looking 
for the plum scale, and while a few of the old trees were 
found to be affected, there was no trace of scale on the 
young trees. There was no evidence of the scale on 
Japanese plums. “ We should remember, as Mr. Hooker 
has said, that our climate is not conducive to the growth 
of this scale,” said Mr. Willard. “California is the home 
of all this scale tribe wh ch flourishes there because uf the 
long dry seasons. Fruit growers of the Pacific coast have 
imported the rhizobii or ladybirds which have destroyed 
