Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-11-16
may not be without fruit ct one time,
and flooded at another.

and flooded at another.
All these things require money, and a
thorough-going business organization Is
necessary. 1t is important that there
should be at the head Of the enterprise
men of integrity, experience, tact and
ability-men who are above the tempta-
ton of any form of graft.
A cooperative enterprise must have
capital. 1t must keep out Of debt, and
keep its financial standing good.
Stockholders must support their Or
ganization Loyalty. The speaker here re-
lated as warnings instances where CO.
operators in buying, in the early strug-
giles of the enterprise, had gone outside
of the organization, to save few cents
by getting the cut prices of the retail
competitors.
If you are willing to accept these es-
sential principles. You can cooperate in
Maine fruit growing just as well as any
where. Professor Hurd then cited the
history of some cooperative associations
in the western states and Canada, and
quoted some of their bylaws to show
their methods of conducting business,
and closed by advising his hearers not to
90 too fast-"Those who go slowly, 60
far"
Leon S. Merrill, the state dairy in
structor, was called upon by President
Craig, and spoke briefly in general terms
favoring cooperation in the fruit bust
ness as even more practical than in the
dairy business, where it is now being
we'll employed.
Professor V. R. Gardner of the Univer-
sity of Maine took up the rest OF the
forenoon with talk on "Orchard Til
lage." Tillage of orchards was advocat-
cd by Professor Gardner, both from
theory and practice. In theory we can
reason it out that tillage conserves the
moisture which would be carried out of
the soil by the grass and thrown out by
it's blades, and stirring of the soil makes
more plant food for the trees.
In actual practice too We find that til
lage pays. Here Professor Gardner ex-
hibited some charts, showing results
actually produced. In one orchard in
New York, one half was kept in sod, the
grass being cut and left for mulch, and
the other half was cultivated, for six
years. The average crop of the sod half
cultivated half 100 barrels to the acre.
The cost of cultivation was $3.50 per
acre. Figures were given in detail from
this, and also from an apple census taken
of three counties in New York, which
showed much larger average yield from
the titled orchards than from those in
grass.
The trees in the titled land also grow
larger apples, and the growth of the
trees is more rapid in cultivated land
than in grass. The apples grown in the
cultivated land are not colored quite so
highly as those in grass, and this is their
only disadvantage.
In the now famous apple districts of
Oregon and Washington, SO far as the
statistics.are available they show that the
apples are grown almost wholly in titled
orchards.
This has been generally termed an
"off year" for apples in this state, but
you will find that in those orchards
where tillage is practiced, nearly full
crop has been grown.
Wednesday afternoons session opened
with rafting good talk by DR.. G. M:
Twitchell on "The Cry of the Orchard"
DR.. Twitchell says there is no successful
future for the orchard Mess the or
chardist has love for it. The man who
undertakes it solely as commercial
venture will not make success Of it.
But an orchard is good safe investment
for man who is in sympathy with his
work.
We are facing new conditions to-day.
The individualism of effort and aim
on which our country was founded is
giving way to collective effort. DIR.
Twitchell said he was particularly inter-
ested in what Professor Hurd had to say
regarding cooperation. Conditions of
today are away from individuality, and
We must meet our problems with that
fact in mind. We must learn to meet
those conditions.
An interesting feature of this session
was the judging of fruit by Professor
Gardner, although it was comparatively
brief. For the. purpose of illustration,
the Baidwins exhibited had been ar
ranged at the front of the stage, twenty
six plates of twelve specimens each.
Professor Gardner said in beginning that
this was difficult work, and he might
feel before he got through like having a
stretcher brought in on which he might
be carried out. He then went over the
line OF plates with process of elimina-
ton, taking out first those which by
lack of uniformity or color were mani
testify not in the competition. As he did
so he explained his action by exhibiting
the specimens which were such as to
throw out the plate. In this manner he
reduced the list to less than half its
original numbers. At this point he sus-
pended for the regular programme to
90 on, and concluded the judging after
adjournment. In doing this he had
good audience, who watched him with
interest while he sifted the plates down
to five, then to four, and finally after
careful scrutiny of every apple, to the
three winners.
The rest of the afternoon was devoted
to lecture by Professor E. F. Hitchings,
who was so largely instrumental in Be-
curing the Maine exhibit at the New
England Fruit Show, on what we learn:
ed at the New England Fruit Show"
He reviewed the history of the show,
which had its inception with the con-
ference of governors a year ago, and told
of the efforts which had resulted in Sc
curing laws for better nursery stock and
better grading of apples in this state.
For one thing, said Professor Hitch
ings, we learned that we are planting too
MANY varieties, and he cited numerous
varieties exhibited at the show of which
no one had ever heard, and which OF
course had no market value.
He told of the offer Of j. j. II. Gregory,
the scotsman, of fund of $1,000 the in
come of which is to make prize for the
best cared for orchard, and said that in
making that offer Mr.. Gregory excepted
from it's operation only one variety, the
Ben Davis. Professor Hitchings paid
his respects further to the Ben Davis.
He admitted that it was through his
efforts that the Ben Davis was admitted
to the fruit show at all, and said that he
had to fight to get it in, and now he was
sorry that he did. 1t hurt Maine, he
said, and instanced some Of the cases OF
one of the premiums for collections,
where Maine lost simply because the
Ben Davis was included, and the judges
decided against it.
As to Names standing at the show,
Professor Hitchings said that he had had
L ofo m