Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-03-07
AnPhE.GR0WING CHANCES
%rsf. CumminGs TELLS First Church
Brotherhood Of Possibilities
OF Vermont.

Before the First Church brotherhood
Sunday, Prof. NJ. B. Cummings Oh the
university delivered an especially valuable
ts Tx on apple-culture in Vermont
Professor Cummings said that the real
purpose OF the agricultural department
Of tho State university was to train lead
crs for country life. lie said that one
way of accomplishing this was to show
young men the opportunities which the
country districts Of the State offered.
One Of these opportunities Is apple-cul-
.ure.
The speaker showed = chart giving the
apple tree population OF this country dur
ing recent years. This chart showed
decrease In the number Of barrels mar
keted from No. 49,, 900 in 1896 and 20. 070. go in
1893 to only 2s,736,Uo in 1863. This falling
of wa in part accounted for by the fact
that mon have ceased in a good many
Eases 20 plent orchards. because they
take 10 long before the returns begin to
come IN. To counteract this arc urged
the results OF demonstrations which show
that the lard may be used for other crops
almost until tho trees attain bearing age
Professor Cummings said that at the
present time the dominant note in agri-
culture is the need OF adaptive farming.
He said that Vermont Is natural
apple state. Here even Wild. uncsrsd for
trees attain great age. In the apple
growing States Of the northwest the
best cultivated trees live only about 20
yearA Here good apple land may be
bought cheap. In Colorado and Oregon
he COS. Of suitable land Is three or four
times as much. Here the ,sost OF maintain
ing the orchards is less than in the
western States where irrigation and at
times heating must he paid for
A great advantage which New Eng
land apple-Rrowers have over their west
orn rivals is their proximity to markets.
The great cities are the great apple
markets. Vermont growers can market
their fruit at one-fourth or one-fifth the
cost for transportation that western
growers have to pay. Furthermore the
apples grown in New England are super
Tor to those grown in the West, in tex
;ure and general quality Vermont APP
pies keep longer and are better for
canning than the western fruit.
The city man can do his part toward
encouraging apple culture In Vermont.
Tho cultivation Of better varieties should
lie ENCOURAGED. The number and varieties
cultivated among us now is too great.
Three or four standard varieties such az
the Northern Spy. the Macintosh Red.
the Rhode Island Red, would be more
profitable than the hundred or more
varieties one finds in the State now.
The city man can help create n market
for seconds and thirds. In the western
apple-growing States the apples less than
first-class are consumed in one way or
other on the ground where they are
grown, so that apples from such localities
are known in the large markets only by
The best they produce. The matter of
distribution is important and should be
,tudied so that Vermont apples can reach
MARKETS where they will be in demand.
Another matter in which city men may
help the apple industry Is in the examples
Of cooperation they can give their coun-
try cousins. The advantages OF cO-opera-
'don are much better known In the city
man in the country, and must be intro
duced into the country by example. Co.
operative methods are particularly needed
in spraying and grading. Cooperative
standards in the end build up a market
for the product Of the locality in which
the cooperating is done. Closely related
20 special cooperative schemes, is COM
munity effort toward general ends. The
advantage of working together toward
common ends needs to be taught.
And lastly We ought TO advertise and
buy and sell home grown apples.
We must put the opportunities OF Yer
mont before the young men of the State
and inspire them to seek a livelihood here
instead Of departing in quest Of some dis
tant Ell Dorado. One OF these opportuni-
ties is the apple growing industry.