
          3. [III]

In the first place, my own personal relation to the orchard;
It was an unwanted stepchild!  The conception of the orchard antidated
my connection with the pomological work in 1901.  As nearly
as I know it was an Arlington Farm project but was cooperated in
by the Division of Pomology, and Pomological Collections - after
the Bureau of Plant Industry began to function in 1901.  As indicated
above the Pomology Office furnished or assembled most of
the scions from which the trees were propagated, but the propagation
of the trees, growing through the nursery period, planting
in the orchard, and care of the orchard during its earlier years
were the responsibility of the Farm.

Later, when the care of the orchard required more attention
and especially after it came into bearing the Office of Pomology
had a representative at Arlington Farm for some years who assumed
general supervision of the orchard.  Probably the one who paid the
most attention to it was W. F. Fletcher who was there for a time.
This was during the "long arm pruning craze" in California.  Imbued
with this idea, Fletcher converted the trees to this method of
pruning as far as possible - which no doubt was still reflected
in many of them in the tree notes which I made and which are
attached to the fruit notes so far as they exist.  Tree notes
were not recorded for every variety.  It may be said here that
because of the effect of this type of pruning the habit of growth
as recorded in many cases probably does not fully reflect the
natural growth characteristics of the variety.

For a time Prof. E. R. Lake was in charge of the orchard for 
Pomology but without any marked influence on its responses.  Then
Prof. C. P. Close assumed the responsibility but his supervision was
not very intimate.  He made some observation on varieties but left
few or no records of his studies.

After Close transferred to the Office of Extension Work, there
was no one else in the Office of Horticulture - as the office had
by that time, I think, been designated to pay any attention whatever
to the Arlington Farm Orchard, so that was when I voluntarily
assumed some responsibility for it - and it became tghe stepchild
to which I have referred.  This was not wholly because I had no
interest in it but I already had more demands on my time than I
could meet so that this added work was somewhat of a burden.
I could give it only fragments of attention, and by this time many
of the trees and some parts of the orchard were in such shape that
it furnished little inspiration for anyone.  Besides,  the place
of such a variety orchard in the work of the Bureau appeared
very differently from what it probably did when the orchard was
conceived and its worthwhile usefulness seemed very doubtful.

The spraying, pruning, harvesting, etc., in the orchard
were done under my remote direction but I gave little or no direct
supervision to these activities, the work being done by Mr. Brunk
who had developed into a pretty fair orchard man.
        