The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-04


to the board of county commissioners.
1t is a good document and will be read
with great interest by horticulturalists
all over the state. The following is a
full text:
To the Honorable Board of County
Commissioners:
Gentlemen-In compliance with the
law. l herewith submit my annual re-
port. The new horticultural bill
passed by the last legislature and APP
proved by the governor. April 3. 1896.
has not been an unqualified success.
The bill completely ignores one of the
most important interests of the hOrti-
culturalist, namely, the importation
and expectation of trees and fruit. I
would strongly recommend that the
incoming legislature take some action
10 prevent INSCRIPTIONS persons i'm
porting trees and fruit from any
where and everywhere-treeS known to
be infested with disease and pests or
coming from localities known to be
thus infested. The San Jose scale. one
or the most perniciOus insects known
TO the entomologist. has obtained a
footing in some portions of our fair
state. and if some steps are not taken
TO eradicate it and also prevent the
importation of trees from localities
known TO be infested with said scale,
1t is only a matter of a short time
when IT Will be a menace to our entire
fruit industry. The plum curculiO, the
most destructive foe the plum has got.
has also made its appearance here
during the last two years, and if eff
fective measures are not taken, WILL
in a very little while, make the grow
ing of the plum here, as ii has in many
portions of the east, very much of an
uncertainty. Many other new pests and
diseases have made their appearance
in our midst recently. owing chiefly to
the dealers. nurserymen and growers
importing trees and fruit without as
certaining the condition of the same
A small white sapsucking insect ap-
peared year ago on a few ears of
corn; this year it devastated the en-
tire crop on that particular farm.
took steps to eradicate ii entirely.
Whether it has been effectually de-
stroyed the future alone can tell. I
shipped some of the affected parts to
two entomOlogists of note-One in
Washington, d. c.. and one in Cali
fornia-but the stock was in such a
condition when it arrived at its destin-
alton that they were unable TO deter
mine the family to which it belonged.
In regard to the summer spraying it
has not been a great success in this
county during the past season, though
no fault of the spraying. The storm
which struck here on the 31st day of
last May completely ruined in some
localities all the stone fruits, such as
peaches, prunes. etc, and noWlhere
could | find more than a third of a
crop; Apples and pears nowhere more
than half a crop. One orchard which
last year Produced $500 bushels of APP
Pies, this year produced $50 bushels.
Another cause was the importation. of
large quantities of very inferior Lon
don purple, on account of its being
cheaper than the other ingredient
Paris green. 1 would recommend that
hencefOrth London purple as one of the
for leaf-eating insects be
entirely dispensed with and frOwned
down upon by every fruit tree inspector
in the state of Utah During the past
year 1 made a census of the number
Of standard fruit trees in this county.
There are in round numbers 165. 522
fruit trees over years old. or in full
bearing, divided as follows: Apples,
50. 351; pears, %, 161; peaches, 2g,11S;
Drune. 5.196; cherry, 12,379; plum, 49,
966; apricot, 1916; ounce, 102 Trees
not in full bearing. or under years
Of age, in round numbers 1.462 di-
Vided as follows: Apples. 16.O61: pears,
y
peach, IA. 723; apricot. 2.677: prunes,
J, 461; making a grand total of stand
ard fruit trees in Salt Lake county Of
,36, 1854. In my last report to the county
court of this county l gave them a
table of results obtained
n two of the staple fruits, viz: apples
and pears. 1t will be remembered that
he yield of 1895 was more than double
han that of 1894. This year the yield
IN fol Of
sons which 1 have explained above
t may seem a little surprising TO some
hat so large an array of trees should
1ear SO little fruit, but it must be re-
rendered that thousands of those
rees, orchard after orchard, have
)een Systematically rejected from the
late of planting, so that now they
more nearly resemble a forest than an
richard. Thousands of those trees
AVE never seen an axe or a saw, have
lever known what it is to be culti-
-ated, until now they are prematurely
Id. being full of canker, their roots
,notted and gnarled- with the ravages
# the woody aphis; branches inter-
wined until no ray of sunshine can
penetrate to the ground. The real
urprise to me is that they bear any
hing at all. There is no better field
n the world for the progressive orch
rdist than right here in Utah. provid-
ng we can get the legislation neceS-
airy to protect our interests. | would
urther recommend that the prospective
go more into the planting
f apples and pears, as our soil-except
n the benches-is better adapted for
he growing of the solid fruits than
t is for the stone fruits. such as
caches, prunes, etc, and they are not
early so liable TO injury by frosts as
re the stone fruits. 1t seems to be
ne desire of the majority of our fruit
rowers to get a large number of va
ieties of the same class of fruit upon
heir ground This is a great mistake,
5 some have already found out: but
till the work goes on. Two varieties
the same class is as much as any
mall grower should attempt. planted
4 alternate rows for fertilizing pur-
Oses. Then in the event of a glut
pom the local market they could easily
II car and ship ii east, where there
; always a demand for good. whole
ONE fruit at a much better price than
an be obtained locally The total
ost of maintaining and operating this
apartment during the past two years
as been $5,400.75, distributed as fol-
)ws:
alaries for 1895. ,SS5 %
alaries for 1896. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 3,136 %
uSgy nlfe-- OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. "a 70
upplies (abouD .......-..-...-.. los 90
$500 rs
am, yours very respectfully.
FRED w. PRICE.
The GIendOver SignaIIed.
Queenstown. Dec. S.-The White Star