the trait of the Irishman's flea: When you put your thumb on him he was not there. A bug about the size of a fly with bunches of cotton near its head, weaving web of same material about stems of raspberry cluster. I sent specimens to state entomologist but never heard from them. The canker and apple blotch or "Goose-eye" have been on the increase I believe. The fight against insect pests and fungus diseases seem to be the greater part of growing good fruit in this age. The outlook for another year is only fair.

REPORT OF DIRECTOR, SECOND DISTRICT.

BY JOHN FORSTER, ALBIA.

The fruit prospect in my district early in the season was very promising. The different vines, bushes and trees were full of bloom. The fruit apparently set on and promised a bumper crop, but the continuous drouth and heat with the hot wind from the southwest caused the apples to drop.

Monroe County was struck with a terrible wind storm the fifth of August, blowing down many trees and nearly all of the apples. However, we had a few apples left on some protected orchards.

To say what the fruit crop for the year 1914 will be is only suggestive for the past two weeks the climatic condition has been unfavorable for fruit: the atmosphere heavy, with almost rain, and temperature at 60 degrees caused the buds to swell, and this the fifth of December and raining with a temperature down to 40 and gradually going lower, is not very favorable for the fruit crop.

REPORT OF DIRECTOR, THIRD DISTRICT.

BY G. H. VAN HOUTEN, LENOX.

On account of mild winter of 1912-13, trees and plants gave promise of an abundant crop. Early fruits, like strawberries, raspberries, currents and gooseberries, did well, where properly cared for. Cherries were a fair crop, as were grapes. In spite of the very heavy crop of plums of the year 1912, many trees produced a fair yield and of good quality.

Pears bore unusually well in spite of the protracted drouth, or, possibly, on account of it, thus making two crops in succession better than common for the pear.

The favorable spring weather, with the heavy bloom and fine condition of trees and plants, gave a very hopeful outlook, but the later strawberries began to fail for the lack of moisture; early apples matured fairly well but later ones began to fall; in some orchards little merchantable fruit was harvested; and while there was an abundance of windfalls and immature fruit there was little to store for winter.

Blackberries set well, dried on the bushes and were so nearly a failure as not to be considered.

Among the newer varieties of apples, the Yellow Transparent seemed to do well and has been growing in favor. The hot, dry weather, however, prevented shipping to distant markets and so there was great loss of this and other varieties during the summer and fall.

Here and there over the district some orchards and varieties did fairly well, but on the whole it may be set down as a lean fruit year. The same may be said in regard to vegetables, for in many places little garden truck was grown, and yet gardens planted early and well cared for did fairly well. For some unaccountable reason, few farmers will give the garden the care necessary to produce good results, even in a favorable season, and when such seasons as the last come, failure is the result.

The best fruit crops in the third district were in the southwestern part of the state. Hamburg probably was the largest shipper of apples. About one hundred cars were shipped from there, and most of the 60,000 bushels grown and sold were the product of four orchards owned by Messrs. Bechtel, Mincer, Simons and Farley. Mr. Spencer, also of Fremont County, had good returns, as usual, and contemplates planting another large orchard next spring. The optimism of the gentlemen named is justified by their continued and splendid success in fruit growing. Mr. Goy of Tabor, Mr. Keeline and Miss Avery of Council Bluffs, Mr. Deur of Missouri Valley, the Worth's of Mondamin and, possibly others, contributed to our fruit show at Council Bluffs at our Southwestern meeting last week, where we had a very interesting meeting with excellent interest manifested. As the fruit entry book was not returned, the names above are made from memory, and it may be that additions should be made, for there are many successful fruit growers in our district, which was well represented at the meeting of the above named society last week.

While many farmers have ceased to plant orchards, and while probably more orchards are going down than are being planted, yet experienced planters never have had more confidence than now; and it is safe to say that there will be more really good commercial orchards in our district in a few years. While every farm home should have an orchard, it seems that farmers are less inclined to plant, and as no persuasion seems to influence them to change their minds, it will enable the commercial grower to have a better home market in the future than he has had in the past.

The success of our best orchardists the past year, demonstrates the necessity of better work than is generally done in the orchard. More

frequent cultivation for conservation of moisture, elimination of weeds and the better growth of the fruit trees and plants, better pruning, better care generally, spraying, etc., and more economical and systematic methods of picking, packing and marketing, are essentials of success. Many mistakes of the past can be easily avoided in the future. A few years ago, for example, spraying was an experiment, with doubtful results. Now spraying is a necessity and has passed the experimental stage, not that we need not look for improvement and advancement, but now favorable results can be depended on if best knowledge and methods are adopted.

The writer believes that the third district has the best soil and as good a climate for the production of fruits of the central west, and especially is this true of apples, grapes and many varieties of small fruits. So far as quality is concerned Iowa apples are in a class by themselves, and large buyers are beginning to appreciate the fact that they have keeping qualities far superior to those grown further south, while the varieties we so successfully grow, such as Jonathan and Grimes Golden, do not succeed so well much north of our district.

It is believed that our best orchardists have got down to the "know-how" so far as to varieties and methods of production, but when it comes to the selling, handling and transportation side of the question, it is hoped that by co-operation and cheaper and better methods of distribution, that much is yet to be attained. As your director is to speak on this subject later, the matter is merely referred to here as being a subject worthy of discussion later on in our meeting, and as the necessity of brevity in our numerous reports is apparent to all, many topics of interest are omitted.

REPORT OF DIRECTOR, FOURTH DISTRICT.

BY A. B. DENNIS, CEDAR RAPIDS.

The great promise of an abundant fruit crop last spring, after a rather mild winter, got a set back in the great drouth in the early summer, and intense heat in midsummer; some trees in the apple orchard, and on varieties badly affected with apple scab especially was this the case where spraying had been neglected. Such summer and fall varieties as Wealthy and Isherwood, were full of fine fruit. The Jonathan and Gano made a fairly heavy crop of winter apples. Where there were trees of Delicious, they bore very well, extra large apples, and the quality not equaled by any other variety I know of; but the keeping quality was like so many other apples this season, not extra good.

Iowa can certainly feel elated over the fact, she has the finest seedling apple yet produced. Such a prize springing up from a modest sprout,

that grew from the live roots of a dead and frozen tree top, should inspire every horticulturist in Iowa to give more attention to planting. seeds, for doubtless nature has many similiar prizes for the thoughtful and industrious man, woman, or child that will sow the seeds of all our best fruits, plant and tenderly nurse and cultivate the small trees till they come into bearing; for it was just this kindly and thoughtful spirit that saved this apple, more precious to our nation than gold.

Cherries were small in size, as well as in crop. Pears were fine, especially those that had Chinese blood in them, like Garber and Kieffer, these bore a full crop. I can not recall a season that these two varieties ever bore better or larger fruit, because the Chinese blood in them is used to dry and hot climate in their native land. Plums in some localities bore fairly well, especially such a variety as Beaty, but as a whole the plum crop during the hot summer, dropped from the trees, hence the crop of this fruit throughout the district was very poor. Small fruits also suffered, except the grape, this was full or more than full crop, from 100 to 115 per cent.

Perhaps a fair bases in per cent of all the fruits in the entire district are as follows: Apples, 50 per cent; pears, 90 per cent; cherries, 40 per cent; plums, 25 per cent.

Small fruits-grapes, 100 per cent; Black-cap raspberries, 90 per cent; Red raspberries, 70 per cent; blackberries, 70 per cent; currants, 70 per cent; strawberries, 85 per cent.

Nuts Crop very poor. Hickory nuts, 50 per cent; black walnuts, 40 per cent; chestnuts, 5 per cent; hazelnuts, 5 per cent. In fact the Hazel has been almost exterminated throughout the district; the valuable land has been cleared for corn, and in pastures it has been destroyed by the stock. Iowa has lost a valuable nut, by the vicious destruction of this nut bearing bush. I found a paper shell nut, hickory of fair size, and that equals the pecan as to cracking and whole meats. In the sixty or more years I have collected nuts in three states I have resided in, and many samples sent me from other states, this and Fairbanks exceeds all my specimens in thinness of shell, cracking and whole meat quality.

REPORT OF DIRECTOR, FIFTH DISTRICT.

BY MILLARD HARRINGTON, WILLIAMSBURG.

This spring the prospect for an apple crop was fair, most of the trees that were injured by the severe winter the year before had recovered their vitality and showed only fair supply of bloom, (some trees but little or no bloom) and set the usual proportion of fruit. Then insects got in their work; this followed by the extreme dry weather caused most of the winter apples to drop before the time for picking, leaving a very light crop of inferior apples. A few orchards in the district that have

been well pruned and sprayed had a good crop of fine apples, showing the importance, we might say the absolute necessity of spraying.

The pear crop this year was the best that we have ever had, some of the trees were loaded to breaking down. Peaches, the trees that were left after the hard winter, produced a fair crop. Grapes, blackberries and strawberries were good. Cherries and raspberries produced only a light

crop.

REPORT OF DIRECTOR, SEVENTH DISTRICT.

BY W. B. CHAPMAN, CORRECTIONVILLE.

To the fruit grower as to those engaged in all other branches of agriculture, the past year has been a lean one. The season opened with excessive rainfall, followed by extreme drouth and heat. Fruit, especially fruit trees, set fairly well but all fruit and vegetables were much under sized and of poor keeping qualities. The usual garden supply was lacking and all farmers were dependent upon our more fortunate brothers of the north for their supply of potatoes.

Strawberries blossomed well, but for the lack of moisture the fruit was undersized and inferior in quality. Cherries in the extensive orchards about Sioux City were two-thirds of a crop with a ready sale. Plums were quite scarce. Summer and fall apples were very plentiful with no market..

The pleasing side of the year's record is the behavior of the Jonathan apple. We people of Woodbury County are now well convinced of two things, namely, that we can grow upon our hills, with their marvellous loess soil alfalfa and Jonathans; and these two spell prosperity with a big P regardless of the tariff.

The past season has taught us two things: The folly of setting so many early apples and the necessity of planting such varieties as the Jonathan, York Imperial, Gano, Malinda and Delicious. Second: the necessity of some means of sold storage either for the individual farm or in the neighborhood. Third: the absolute necessity of thorough spraying. Fourth: Better and more united marketing facilities. Fifth: The need of some method of irrigation for small fruits. All of which show the necessity of putting the fruit industry into the hands of those who will make it their business and not a side line.