This season I sprayed my trees three times, the first time early in April, using what is known as a dormant spray, using commercial lime-sulphur solution 32 degrees Baume, 20 gallons to a tank of 200 gallons of water, or four times as strong as the two subsequent sprayings, after the blossoms fall, at which later time I use in addition arsenate of lead, 10 pounds to a 200 gallon tank of water, and work under 200 pound pressure—­and by doing thorough work can produce apples almost entirely free from any disease or worms.  My last shipment of apples this year was October 2nd and consisted of 196 barrels, one-third each of Hibernals, Patten Greenings and Wealthys, which brought top prices.

[Illustration:  Mr. A. W. Richardson, Howard Lake.]

I am a firm believer in co-operative marketing and think it is the only logical way to market any crop, but to conduct a successful marketing organization there should be stringent rules compelling all who join an association for marketing to spray thoroughly if nothing else, as I am firmly convinced that you cannot grow apples and compete with other localities without doing so, and doing so every year, whether a prospect for a good crop exists or not.  I can prove this, as I only partly covered my entire orchard in 1913 with spraying.  You could easily see which had been sprayed and which not.  Excessive rain at the vital time prevented my completion of the work.  I am convinced by experience, too, that the dormant spray, usually neglected by most growers, is very necessary and am sure better and healthier foliage is obtained by this practice, and by it the scale can be controlled in a large degree.

I had eight to ten Patten’s Greening trees that had been attacked by a disease called by some “oyster scale.”  The trees abnormally lost their foliage early in the season, and I had about decided they were dead when, after a dormant spray the following spring, they entirely revived and are now as healthy as any trees on my place.

I have practiced top-working to some extent and for the past three or four years have been able to put down in my cellar, several bushels of Jonathan, Grimes Golden, Delicious and other varieties.  Have now about 125 Jonathan trees top-worked on Hibernals, and except for some blight they have done splendidly.

There is no room for discussion, no room for argument in any way, why fruit-growing in Minnesota is not a very successful business to be engaged in.  I have demonstrated, I am sure, that if I can bring an orchard into bearing and hold down a good, fairly lucrative position at the same time and do so with very little expense, and others can do the some thing.