The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-12-27
Thirty eighth Meeting of HOrti-
cultural Society.
Fred WellhOuse, Apple King of
Kansas, Presides.
POOR APPLE PROSPECT
Producers OF This Staple Fruit
Appear Discouraged.
Trustees Report on Conditions
Throughout the State.

Today, in spite of the raging blizzard,
the Kansas State Horticulture society
held the fist sessions of it's thirty-eighth
annual meeting at the rooms of the So
ciety in the state house. There were
about thirty horticulturists present at
the morning session, coming here from
all parts of the state. and 1t is expected
that this attendance will be largely in
creased.
Fred Wellhouse, the apple king, pre-
sided at the meeting. At the morning
session he appointed the following con-
vention committees:
Credentials-Geo. A. Blair, I. w.
Curry. John Brazelton-
Membership L. Williams, S. NJ.
Exhibits-wm. Cutler, E. Snyder. I.
G. Breckley.
Auditing-F w. Dixon. B. F. Pam
coast, w. d. Calhoun
Obituary and resolutions-L. A Good
man, Z. o. Popenoe, Edwin Snyder.
The convention will be in session all
day Wednesday and Thursday. The
programme for Wednesday includes the
election of officers; Thursday night
there is to be an address by ]. H. Hale,
president of the American Pathological
society.
This afternoon a conference is in prog
Fess, led by S. P. Bailey of Versailles.
Mo, on apple orcharding.
This evening the programme is to be
as follows:
The Mission of Our State Agricultural
College-Prof. j. T. Willard. of the
faculty.
Fruit Express. by leading represen-
tative of the WeIls-Fargo company,
from Chicago, Illinois.
Fruit F'reight-Capt. James NJ. Steele,
of A T. & s. F. railway, Chicago, Ill.
Land-Hon. Edwin Taylor, Edwards
Vile.
Commercial Peach Growing-Pres. j.
II. Hale. South Glastonbury, Conn.
Largest peach grower in the world.
Apple Raisers Blue.
There was q decided tone of discour-
agement noticeable in the convention
about the apple situation. For several
years the crop has been bad in Kan
sas. and nearly all the reports for this
year do not brighten things up much
A man named Booth, an apple raiser
in Jefferson county, tald rather a pit
tful story of his experience in the apple
business. He said;
81 am so unfortunate as to own land
in Jefferson county I use that word
unfortunate with due consideration.
The land is not suited to my needs. I
have set out about 10000 apple trees,
and have tended them as a mother
would a child. They have all come to
the place where they ought to bear.
But we have not had any apples. Last
spring I went down in the orchard
and found the trees full of bloom 1
came home feeling good. Mother 1
said. L guess we're going to have same
apples at last Then came the cold
and frost and rain, and the apples
which grew on those trees were not
worth picking We managed to get
a few and put them in the cellar, but
we might as well have let them rot on
the trees, for they had to be pitched
out of the cellar for the hogs to eat.
Wen have to struggle along with pow
erty another year see now where
made my mistake. started in to raise
apples when 1 was an old man;
should have started in when 1 was
young"
This morning the annual reports of
the trustees of the society, one from
each congressional district, were re-
ceived. These reports were all con-
corning horticultural conditions. and
some of them were not Hattering-
They were nearly unanimous, however,
in the expression that the "signs" are
good for a big yield of fruit next year.
Following are the reports or the
trustees. in part:
b. F. Van Orsdel, First district
This year has been full of surprises,
Climatic freaks, bright prospects,
cess and failure In the early spring
everything bright and CHEEKY, but later
a cold wave blasted the prospect The
apple, after an abundant blooming,
was overtaken by the cold wave, stop
ping the growth and preventing the
fertilization for eight or ten days, and
as a result, the young apples fell off
by the million. and the crop was
failure. The early kinds produced
enough fruit to supply the nearby
markets. The fall and winter apples
were not worth the picking, except
Ben Davis, Gano and York Imperials,
and these made not more than a tenth
of a crop
Strawberries were a good crop, and
the producers made good money.
In the last few years many new
orchards have started and many trees
have been sold A few more failures
like the last few years will stop the
planting and orchards will be
neglected. Many will be discouraged
and Will go out of the business. There
is not much wonder that some get dis
couraged when they plant an orchard
and wait seven or eight years without
results. Then add two or three years
on top of that because of bad condi-
lions and the continual fight against
weeds, sandburs, rabbits. mice
gophers, borers, cooling moths, Gu
culio, tent caterpillars, canker worm
web worms, tree crickets, scale, blight
and host of other things.
In the First district, we must have
more care in choosing a location suit
able for an orchard. more care in Sc
lecting the varieties, and more careful
planting and culture.
John Cousins, Fourth district-This
has been a very peculiar year for the
apple and small fruit crop in Kansas.
I think the apple and smaller fruit
crop did better on sandy soil this year.
The winter was mild but the spring
was wet and cold. We had a killing
frost April 16. Then a light frost May
I. then cold rains The bloom of most
all kinds of winter apples were blasted,
and fell Off A great many of the
apples were damaged by fungus
growth.
]. ]. Alexander, Sixth district-An
trees bore fairly well that were old
enough. and have examined the dor
mant buds of all kinds of fruit and
find them in good condition. none hav-
ing been killed. Taking all things into
consideration. we have had bountiful
crop of fruit. and for that matter