The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1907-07-26
SUCCESSFUL HORTICULTURE.
Fruit Growing Requires intelligence
and Care.

The following article nom an ex-
changc contains some thoughts which
cannot fail to interest anyone who Is
engaged in fruit growing or who con
templates engaging In this work.
Some writer figured a year OF two
since that peach trees had been plant
ed SO numerously in the southwest
that It would be a physical impossi-
bility, when these trees reached the
bearing age, to transport the fruit to
the market. In expressing that opinion
the writer forgot the old adage:
There's many a slip 'twixt the cup
and the lip" The writer has in mind
an orchard not a thousand miles from
here and of a size that would be
called large even in this day of big
things, in which 75 per cent. of the
peach trees died the first year, and
this was not the fault Of the trees,
but of the men who planted without
sxperii nee and cared for them as IL
they were a hay field. Perhaps this Is
rather an exceptional case, but 1t Is
nevertheless surprising the number of
trees that are lost the first yea en-
tirely on account of lack of care. Here
Is the first slip"
But assuming that the trees grow
on all right there are other Slips
awaiting the unwary and the mex
perienced. Diseases and insects are
ever ready to get all that they need
out of an orchard. At first, indeed,
there is comparative freedom from
these troubles, but they multiply in
time and then eternal vigilance is the
price of liberty" and the price of sue
cess. The brown rot" for instance,
is one of the diseases that you scarce.
Iy notice at first, but which increases
with the age of the orchard and with
favorable seasons. Then there Is the
eve present borers and the San Jose
scale which has not troubled the
southwest much yet, but which has
played the everlasting mischief in
some sections Of the country. And
then come, occasionally, u%nfavorable
seasons, like the present one. Then
the new orchardist fails to plan prop
erly for picking. packing and shipping
and possibly gets skinned" by sorlc
commission merchant. This caps the
climax Of other troubles and many
who start out bravely get disguised
with the whole business and go back
to the old crops and the old ways.
This is not written in discourage
ment OF fruit growing, but rather to
emphasize the need of experience and
accurate knowledge all along the line.
We read, occasionally, of the immense
amount of money made out of fruit ON
a small area. The writer has in MUD
a man who, in one year, sold 5000
worth Of peaches from 40 acres. Such
successes are always heralded far and
wide, but the numerous failures are
not recorded. The fact is that the
fruit business has great possibilities
in it for tremendous gains and lament
able failures. There are chances In 1t
for 1000 per cent. profit; likewise
chances for losing everything. The
only way to succeed is to learn the
business from the ground up and keep
the brain as busy or buster than the
hands. Of the millions Of trees that
are planted only a small per cent.
produce salable fruit; the rest go by
the board. The fruit business is a
good business, but it requires intelli-
gence to run it.