SAMUEL H. BERT, Moonlight, d.i.c.kinson county: Have been in Kansas nineteen years; have 500 apple trees from four to twenty-two years planted; the oldest are twelve inches in diameter. For commercial purposes use Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Janet, and for family use would add Red June and Maiden"s Blush. Have tried and discarded Red Streak, Romanite, Rambo, and Bellflower. I prefer bottom in this locality with a northeast slope. I plant twenty-eight or thirty feet apart. I plant two-year-old trees; rather plant a yearling than three-year-olds. Have never tried root grafts or seedlings. I cultivate even my oldest trees, using a plow and harrow; it pays. I grow corn in young orchard until too large; then nothing, just cultivate. Windbreaks are essential, and should be made of Osage orange or mulberries; but not too close to the orchard. I tie corn-stalks around the trees to protect from rabbits, and keep the trees low, to shade the trunks to protect against borers. I prune to prevent forks, to keep from splitting. I thin apples when necessary; this should be done when they are about half grown. I prefer to plant my trees in blocks. An orchard should be fertilized with fine stable litter. I would advise the use of it, especially on upland soil. Never pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with flathead borers. Never sprayed much, but think it would be beneficial. I pick in sack hung over shoulder. We make three cla.s.ses of our apples--large, small, and specked. Have no particular way to market; sell any way I can, but never in the orchard. We make cider, boiled cider and apple-b.u.t.ter of the culls. Never have tried distant markets.
Never dry any. Store some for winter in bulk and in barrels in cellar; am successful; find that the Winesaps keep best. Have never tried artificial cold storage. We have to repack stored apples before marketing; lost very few this winter, as I kept them out of the cellar until December; then they kept well. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 60 cents to $1.50 per barrel.
G. E. SPOHR, Manhattan, Riley county: Have resided in Kansas twenty-six years. Have an orchard of 3000 trees, nineteen years planted. Originator of the Spohr apple (described elsewhere). Plants for commerce Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis; for family orchard, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Maiden"s Blush, and Early Harvest. Have tried fifty varieties, but think none of them paid better than those named. I live on bottom land, eight feet to water. Any slope is good. Prefer sandy loam. Plant two-year-old, well-pruned trees, in large holes. Cultivate thoroughly, planting to corn until seven years old; then seed to alfalfa. I favor windbreaks of Scotch or Austrian pines, planted in three rows ten feet apart. I believe in pruning, and always have my knife open when in the orchard, and trim at all times; like to have trees, not brush piles.
The deity governing Kansas winds thins the fruit sufficiently. Apple trees are more fruitful if varieties are mixed in planting. Use all the two- and three-year-old stable litter I can get. Do not pasture my orchard. Spray with London purple one week before and two weeks after blooming, for canker-worm, leaf-roller, and codling-moth, and have reduced the latter by it. I hunt the borers and go after them with a hot (?) iron. Pick by hand, and sort to suit customers. Pack in eleven-peck barrels, and mark with stencil. Sell my best apples to shippers, and make vinegar and hog and cattle feed of culls. My best market is Colorado, but I sell in orchard. I store successfully for winter in a cave in bulk, and find Winesap and Missouri Pippin the best keepers, losing about ten per cent. Prices average fifty cents per bushel. Pay help from $12.50 per month to 75 cents per day and board.
R. D. OSBORNE, Soldier, Jackson county: Have lived in the state thirty-one years; have 500 apple trees, from three to sixteen years planted. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, York Imperial, Gano, and Winesap; for family orchard, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and, for summer, Early Harvest, Maiden"s Blush, and Cooper"s Early White.
Have tried and discarded Vandevere, as it does not bear, and Willow Twig on account of blight; Rawle"s Janet no good on market. I prefer hilltop if well cultivated; otherwise bottom, with a loam soil and a sandy subsoil, and a southeast slope to protect from southwest winds. I plant two-year-old trees, three feet to head, not less than three limbs to form head, thirty feet each way. I cultivate with plow, harrow and spade the square immediately surrounding the tree. I plant corn in the young orchard and seed the bearing orchard to clover; cease cropping at five or six years. I think windbreaks essential on southwest, and would plant Osage orange or Russian mulberry. I wrap with gra.s.s or tarred paper to protect from rabbits. I prune in May to spread the top and thin the fruit. I seldom thin the fruit, but it will pay to thin the last of May.
I fertilize with stable litter, but would advise it only on hill orchards. I pasture the orchard with hogs and horses, and think it advisable, and that it pays. My apples are troubled with codling-moth. I spray during May, after the blossom has fallen, with kerosene emulsion, sulphate of copper, and London purple, for codling-moth, blight, and insects generally. I think I have reduced the codling-moth. I treat borers with crude carbolic acid diluted with water. I dig around tree down to the roots, dam outside, fill around tree with water and acid strong enough to tingle your tongue. I hand-pick from ladders by the ordinary method. Never sell in orchard; make cider of second- and third-grade apples; feed culls to stock. My best markets are Holton and Topeka; never have tried distant markets. Never dry any. Store but few apples in an orchard cave, nine feet deep, eight feet wide by twenty-four feet long. The apples are put on shelves about ten inches deep.
H. L. JONES, Salina, Saline county: Have lived in Kansas forty-four years; have an apple orchard of 6000 trees, planted from five to twenty-five years. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Jonathan, Lowell, Cooper"s Early White, Grimes"s Golden Pippin, and Wealthy. For family orchard would plant Early Harvest, Maiden"s Blush, Jonathan, Winesap, Missouri Pippin. Have tried and discarded Alexander as a shy bearer which rots on the tree. Prefer bottom land here, sandy soil, free from clay or hard-pan. Preferable with northeast slope. Plant well-branched two-year-old trees; turn deep cross-furrows the distance the trees are wanted apart; cultivate in corn until the trees are five or six years old; after that use the plow and disc harrow and plant nothing. I emphatically believe that windbreaks are essential. They may be made of anything hardy and suitable, as Osage orange, box-elder, walnut, etc. To protect from rabbits, wrap with gra.s.s or corn-stalks. I only prune with shears and saw, to clear the limbs off the ground a little. I believe stable litter is good for an orchard. I pasture very little, and do not think it good for an orchard. I spray as soon as the leaves start, with Paris green or London purple, mostly for canker-worm, and doubt its effect upon codling-moth. Thrifty trees are not usually bothered with borers, and unthrifty trees should be made into firewood.
Our pickers use sacks with strap over the shoulder. We sort into four cla.s.ses: First, large, sound fruit; second, small sound fruit; third, slightly damaged fruit; fourth, culls. Very little packing is done here; apples are usually sold to shippers in bulk. I sell my culls to hundreds of farmers in this and adjoining counties for canning, apple-b.u.t.ter, etc. My best market is here in Salina. I have tried distant markets, but it did not pay very well. Have never dried any; stored but few for winter in baskets and barrels. I find the Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Rawle"s Janet and Romanite are the best keepers. Our loss in keeping varies with the season and the condition of the apples at picking time.
Have never irrigated any. Prices during the past six years have varied from twenty-five to fifty cents per bushel. I use men and boys to help pick and at spraying time in the spring, usually paying one dollar per day.
N. CHRISTENSEN, Mariadahl, Pottawatomie county: I have lived in Kansas forty years. Have an apple orchard of four acres, from five to twenty-five years planted. For all purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. I prefer second-bottom land with a black loam, a clay subsoil, and a northeast slope. I prefer good two-year-old trees planted thirty feet apart, alternated with peaches. I have cultivated my orchard to corn, but do not think it advisable. I used a plow, cultivator and disc for eight years. I have cultivated the young orchard both ways twelve times, and shall keep on with the disc and harrow. I cease cropping after six or eight years, and then grow alfalfa.
Windbreaks are not essential. I use wire-cloth as a protection against rabbits; I would not risk an apple or pear tree without it. I prune with a knife, saw and shears when the trees are young; I think it beneficial, as it makes the trees healthier. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; I spread it all over the ground and then harrow it in. I pasture my orchard with calves after it is six or eight years old and has been seeded to gra.s.s; I think it pays in an old orchard. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillars and borers. I have not sprayed yet, but think I shall this spring with Bordeaux mixture. I pick my apples by hand; sort into two cla.s.ses. I feed my second and third grades and culls to the calves and hogs; have made cider of them, but could not find market for it. I have tried shipping apples to distant markets, but it did not pay. I dry some apples for home use, using stove and sun; neither way is satisfactory. I store my best apples in bulk in a cellar under the house; am not very successful; I find Ben Davis and Winesap keep the best. Prices have been from twenty-five to fifty cents per bushel. I do not hire any help; the family does the work.
H. R. ROBERTS, Perry, Jefferson county: I have lived in Kansas since 1859; have an apple orchard from four to twenty-eight years old. For a commercial orchard I prefer Jonathan, Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Maiden"s Blush; and for a family orchard Red June, Maiden"s Blush, Jonathan, Winesap, and Rawle"s Janet. I prefer midland alt.i.tude or bottom, with a rich loam and a clay subsoil, and a northeast slope.
I prefer two-year-old trees with upright heads, set 3040 feet in squares. I cultivate my trees with a plow and cultivator until they occupy most of the ground. I plant corn and potatoes in a young orchard, and cease cropping when the size of the trees renders it impossible. I seed the bearing orchard to red clover. Windbreaks are not essential; a hedge fence is all that is necessary, and this ought not to be nearer than forty feet of the trees. For rabbits I wrap the trees; and dig the borers out with a knife. I prune sparingly with a knife or sharp ax to remove all dead or injured limbs; I think it pays. I thin the fruit when the trees are overloaded, by taking off one-half after they are the size of marbles. My trees are planted in blocks for convenience in picking. I fertilize my orchard with all the barn-yard litter I can get, scattered broadcast; would advise its use on all soils unless already very rich. I am sorry to confess I have pastured my orchard with hogs; it is not advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, root aphis, roundhead borers, and buffalo tree-hopper; and my apples with codling-moth, curculio, and gouger. I have sprayed just as the buds open for canker-worm; have also sprayed for codling-moth. I pick all the apples I can reach from the ground in baskets, and the rest from ladders into sacks; I handle very carefully. I sort into two cla.s.ses from a table as they come from the trees; pack in eleven-peck barrels for fall use, and twelve-peck barrels for winter use, carefully shaken and pressed; mark with the grade and name of variety and haul to market on wagon. I always sell in the orchard by car lots, when I can. I retail the scattered ones; send the third grade to the cider-mills. My best markets are sometimes both east and west of here. I never ship to commission men; it don"t pay. I don"t dry nor store any. I do not irrigate. I employ men and boys (men preferred). Pay one dollar per day and dinner.
W. D. KERN, Baldwin, Douglas county: I have resided in Kansas thirty-nine years. Have an apple orchard of 775 trees four years old.
For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Willow Twig, and for family orchard Yellow Transparent, Maiden"s Blush, and Jonathan. I prefer a loose, porous subsoil on a north slope. I prefer one- or two-year-old trees, set twenty-two feet apart north and south and thirty-three feet east and west. I plant my orchard to corn, potatoes, and clover, and keep up the cultivation until they are bearing well, using a diamond plow and one-horse cultivator. I never cease cropping.
Windbreaks are not essential, but if they were I should make them of four or five rows of maple or some quick-growing trees, on the south and west sides of the orchard. For rabbits I use wooden tree wrappers, and dig the borers out. I prune to give the tree shape and let in the sun; I think it pays, as it keeps the tree from overbearing. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees, but think it would pay. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter, and would advise it on all soils when it needs it. I pasture my orchard with hogs; I think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled with canker-worms, tent-caterpillars, borers, tree-hoppers, and leaf-rollers, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples into buckets and sacks from step-ladders. I sell my apples in the orchard at wholesale. I sell the best to shippers, and the second and third grades the best way I can. I sell or feed the culls to the stock. Never tried distant markets. I do not dry any. Some years I am successful in storing apples in barrels and boxes in a cellar. Winesap and Missouri Pippin keep best.
I never tried artificial cold storage. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about one-fourth of them. I do not irrigate.
Prices have been from sixty cents to one dollar per eleven-peck barrel.
I employ men at ten cents per hour.
JAMES SHARP, Morris county: Have been in Kansas twenty-eight years. Have an orchard in Morris county of 8000 trees, planted from two to thirteen years. I grow for market Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, and York Imperial; would add for family Early Harvest, Maiden"s Blush, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded Yellow Bellflower, Lawver, Willow Twig, and Smith"s Cider; the former is barren, the others blight. I prefer second bottom with northeast slope; soil loose, black loam, with red clay subsoil. I plant in furrows each way, 1630 feet, running a subsoiler in the furrows, and use straight, smooth, two-year-old trees.
Have tried root grafts, but they need nursery care at first. I cultivate at all ages, while young with plow, and old orchard with reversible disc. I grow corn in young orchard, and after five or six years keep the ground bare with the disc. I think windbreaks essential, and use Osage orange, elm, ash, Austrian pine, and cedars. Catch the rabbits; and cultivate well as a protection from borers. Do not prune much; take out a little brush if necessary to more readily reach the fruit. Never have thinned apples. Have never fertilized, and am decidedly opposed to pasturing orchards with any kind of stock. Am troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, flathead borer, woolly aphis, twig-borer, fall web-worm, leaf-roller, leaf-crumbler, and codling-moth. Spray regularly with London purple; cannot say it has reduced the codling-moth any; for borers I keep my trees thrifty by constant cultivation. We pick in candy pails, but find it bruises the fruit too much. I sort by hand in three cla.s.ses, commercial size Nos. 1 and 2, and culls. I pack in three-bushel barrels, stenciled with name of variety and grower, and ship by freight.
Sell any way I can; have never sold in the orchard; sell culls for apple-b.u.t.ter, and make some cider; have marketed at good prices at Pueblo, Colo.; have never dried any for market. I store some for winter in boxes, barrels and in bulk in a cellar, and find that Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin keep best. I usually have to sort over those kept through, and lose perhaps one-fifth. Have never irrigated. My average returns are about fifty cents per bushel. For help I use men at one dollar per day.
JAMES WILSON, a.s.saria, Saline county: Lived in Kansas twenty years; has an orchard of five acres, twenty-three years planted. For commerce he uses Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Jonathan, and for family use would add Maiden"s Blush, Grimes"s Golden Pippin, and Rawle"s Janet. Has discarded Rambo as too shy a bearer. Prefers light soil, with a heavy subsoil in the bottom, with a southern slope. Plants thirty feet apart each way. Grows no crop in orchard, and cultivates with stirring plow and cultivator until the trees completely shade the ground. Believes windbreaks necessary, and would plant box-elder, three feet apart, in rows three feet apart, so as to shut out all wind. Binds with corn-stalks to protect against rabbits. Prunes by cutting off lower limbs and thinning center; says it is beneficial, and makes fruit larger and of better color. Thins apples on trees when the size of marbles, and believes it pays. On pollination he says: "I had one tree that stood alone, and never bore fruit until I got honey-bees; then it bore all right." Uses no fertilizers. Allows no live stock in the orchard. Has sprayed just after the blossom fell, with London purple and Bordeaux mixture, for the last five years, and it has reduced codling-moth. Uses knife and soap-suds for borers. Picks and sorts into three cla.s.ses--sound and big, medium and affected, and culls. Sells in orchard and in Salina; makes vinegar and hog feed of culls. Never shipped any apples. Stores for winter by burying in bulk, and is successful. The Missouri Pippin and Rawle"s Janet keep best. Prices from fifty to seventy-five cents per bushel. Uses boys from fourteen to twenty years of age for help, and pays fifty cents to one dollar per day with board.
J. W. WILLIAMS, Holton, Jackson county: I have lived in the state forty years; have an apple orchard of 225 trees of various ages, the oldest being thirty-nine years. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Jonathan; and for a family orchard Red Astrachan, Early Harvest, Dominie, Lowell, and Winesap. Have tried thirty varieties and discarded all excepting the above mentioned. I prefer a rich soil with a porous subsoil and a north slope; can see little difference between hilltop and bottom orchards. I prefer two-year-old trees, with symmetrical form, for setting; when planting I trim all affected roots and prune lightly; set them inclined to the southwest. I cultivate my orchard as long as it lives with a plow and harrow--plow shallow; plant the young orchard to potatoes, beans, vines, and sometimes corn, using a one-horse diamond plow, and am careful to harrow afterward. I cease cropping six or seven years after setting, and plant a bearing orchard to red clover. I think windbreaks are essential; would make them of most any kind of rapid-growing trees planted in groves on the east and south sides of the orchard. For rabbits I wrap the trees, and dig the borers out. I prune with a penknife to keep the trees in good shape. It pays if properly done, and is not too severe. I have thinned my fruit by hand when of the size of hickory-nuts. Think trees do best in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter and ashes; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs part of a day at a time when the apples fall badly.
Don"t let them in at will. I think it pays and is advisable, for they destroy the moth. My trees are troubled with both round- and flathead borers, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray, using a hand sprayer, with Bordeaux mixture and London purple, when the blossom falls, for codling-moth and curculio. It has not been beneficial. I burn the [tent]
caterpillars. I pick my apples by hand in a sack over the shoulder, and sort into three cla.s.ses--first, finest; second, fair; third, culls. I sort from the ground or a table. I sell apples in the orchard, wholesale and retail, and have no trouble in selling my first-grade apples. I sell and make cider of the second and third grades, and also dry some of them. Feed the culls to hogs or other stock. My best market is at home.
We dry some in a common dry-house which is very satisfactory; after they are dry we put them into sacks to keep from millers; we find a market for them, but it does not pay well. I am fairly successful in storing apples on shallow shelves in the cellar; Winesap and Rawle"s Janet keep best. I do not irrigate. Apples have been about fifty cents per bushel, and dried apples three to five cents per pound.
ANDREW SWANSON, Dwight, Morris county: I have resided in Kansas seventeen years, and have an apple orchard of 1800 trees eight years old, eight to ten feet tall. For market I prefer Winesap, Ben Davis, and Missouri Pippin; and for family orchard would add Jonathan and Maiden"s Blush. I have tried and discarded Rome Beauty, Huntsman"s Favorite, and Minkler. I do not like them. I have upland, with a poor soil and a gumbo subsoil, with a north and east aspect. I prefer two-year-old trees, set thirty feet apart each way. I cultivate my orchard with a stirring plow, and intend to keep it up as long as I live; plant corn or any cultivated crop in the young orchard, and cease when there is no room; plant nothing in the bearing orchard. I think a hedge fence all around the orchard as a windbreak would be beneficial. For rabbits, I wrap the trees with wire screening, and leave it on. I prune my trees every winter, or when I have time, to thin the top and to give shape; I think it pays, and is very beneficial. I do not thin my fruit--the wind does that for me. I fertilize my orchard, and think it beneficial, and would advise it on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable and does not pay. My trees are troubled with leaf-rollers and other insects. I give the culls to hogs. I am successful in storing apples in bulk in an arched cellar; Winesap, Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin keep best. I never tried artificial cold storage. I do not irrigate. Price has been seventy-five cents per bushel; dried apples eight to ten cents per pound.
F. B. HARRIS, White City, Morris county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five-years, and have an orchard of 800 trees, planted from ten to fifteen years ago. For commercial purposes I prefer Maiden"s Blush, Cooper"s Early White, Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin. For a family orchard I would put out the same, adding Red June, Jonathan, and Smith"s Cider. I have discarded the Willow Twig, as it rots too easily.
I prefer hilltop, north slope, soil as deep as possible, and a gumbo subsoil. Would plant two-year-old trees with perfect crown growth, twenty feet north and south, thirty feet east and west. My last planting, ten years ago, was of root grafts, and I like it first rate. I grow corn in the orchard for about ten years, then nothing. I cultivate thoroughly, plowing until the soil is doubled, and then use the disc pulverizer. I believe windbreaks to be very, very, very essential, and would make of Osage orange on the outside, and any quick-growing forest-tree next to the orchard. For protection against rabbits, I tie with weeds and twine. I prune with a jackknife, a two-inch thin-bladed chisel, and mallet. It does pay, and is beneficial until the trees are ten years old. I tried thinning, but it proved more injury than profit.
I use all the fertilizer from stables and stock-yards that I can get, spread all over the ground, and believe it would pay on any soil. I would allow no live stock in the orchard but poultry, and would not allow them to roost in the trees.
I have some trouble with tent-caterpillars, roundheaded borers, fall web-worm, and curculio. I spray with London purple, first when the bloom falls, then every ten days until three times, with a spray pump, using London purple. I do not know whether I have reduced the codling-moth any or not. I treat the borers with penknife and probe, others with rough handling--eternal, vigilant destruction. I pick from step-ladders into pails; place in sack to haul to the barn or shed. We sort into two cla.s.ses--first, all sound and marketable, second for cider. I sort by hand from the pile, three or four bushels at a time. We pack in bushel-and-a-half sacks, filled from the half-bushel measure, mark with the name of variety, and haul to market in spring wagon. I retail and peddle them, making the culls into cider and vinegar. My best market is our nearest town; tried distant market last fall and it paid. We dry some, pack into tight boxes as soon as dried and store in dark place, and find a ready market at the stores at six cents per pound. It does not pay very well, but saves waste. I only store for family use, in headless barrels; generally keep well. Ben Davis keeps the best. We lose from one-fourth to one-half. I believe irrigation would be a good thing.
Prices have been from thirty-five cents to seventy-five cents per bushel. Use only home help.
M. D. WELTNER, Westmoreland, Pottawatomie county: Have been in Kansas eighteen years. Planted 800 apple trees ten years ago. I do not own this orchard at present. I planted Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Jonathan, and Maiden"s Blush. I prefer sandy or black loam, with clay subsoil, bottom land or gentle slope to the north. I set good, thrifty, clean, two-year-old trees. I thoroughly plow my ground, then run a lister for the row, and throw out with spade or shovel where the trees are to go. I cultivate with potatoes and corn, using the plow, harrow, and five-tooth cultivator, until ten or twelve years old, then sow to clover. I use no windbreaks. For rabbits I wrap with building paper or wire screen. I believe it pays to prune with the knife and saw a little each year, to train the tree to grace, beauty, and profit. I never tried thinning fruit. Would fertilize with a little stable litter spread over the ground. Never would pasture an orchard. Had some canker-worm and curculio, but never tried spraying. I pick from a step-ladder into a shoulder sack.
V. E. HATHAWAY, Council Grove, Morris county: Have lived in Kansas thirty years; have an orchard of 1000 trees two to twelve inches in diameter. Have tried and discarded Willow Twig and Smith"s Cider on account of blight. I prefer a gravel or clay bottom with northern slope.
I prefer healthy trees set forty by twenty feet. I cultivate my orchard to corn until too large, plowing very shallow. Windbreaks are beneficial; would make them of cedar. I prune by cutting out the inner limbs that rub; I think it pays. I do not thin the fruit on the trees. I sometimes fertilize with stable litter; would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, and my fruit by codling-moth. I spray just after the blooms fall with London purple, and think I have reduced the codling-moth. I dig out insects not affected by spraying. I pick my fruit from inside of tree from a ladder. Sort into three cla.s.ses. Pack in apple barrels, pressed down, and marked with the quality; then transport to market on a wagon. I wholesale, retail, and peddle; sometimes sell in the orchard. Feed the culls to hogs. My best market is at home; never tried distant markets. Do not dry any. I store apples in boxes or barrels, and am successful. I find Missouri Pippin, Winesap and Ben Davis keep best. We have to repack stored apples before marketing, and lose about one-eighth or one-tenth. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.
S. MARTY, Longford, Clay county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees from seven to fifteen years old, eight to ten inches in diameter. Have tried and discarded Grimes"s Golden Pippin and Willow Twig. I prefer sandy bottom, loam soil, with a north or northeast aspect. I prefer two-year-old, low, stocky trees, set in rows thirty-six feet each way. Have tried root grafts with very good success. I cultivate my trees eight years; first four to potatoes, using a disc harrow; plow shallow among young trees; plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Osage orange and box-elder on both south and west sides of the orchard. I trap and shoot the rabbits. I prune very little; only cut out the branches that interfere. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter; I think it beneficial. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. Do not spray. Sort into two cla.s.ses: good and bad.
J. L. STEELE, Minneapolis, Ottawa county: Have lived in Kansas fourteen years. Have 200 apple trees from six to twelve years old. I prefer bottom land with sandy loam and similar subsoil, north slope. I plant two-year-old trees branched near the ground, in deep furrows made by plow. Have tried root grafts with good success. I cultivate with corn and potatoes, using disc and harrow all the time; plant nothing in bearing orchard; cease cropping when about eight or ten years old.
Windbreaks are essential, on the south; would make them of honey-locust, two or three feet apart in the row. I wrap the tree with corn-stalks to protect from rabbits. Have not been troubled with borers. I only prune out the limbs that interfere with others. Never thin apples. I fertilize with stable litter, and think it beneficial; would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with canker-worm. I spray with London purple when the worms first begin their work, to kill leaf-eating insects; do not think I have reduced the codling-moth. I irrigate with a 4-1/2-inch-cylinder pump and well.
J. C. CAMPBELL, Campbell, Washington county: Have lived in Kansas fifteen years; have 250 trees from three to fourteen years old, eight to twelve inches in diameter. I prefer for family orchard Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Rawle"s Janet. I prefer hilltop with deep soil and red subsoil, and an eastern slope. I prefer three-year-old trees, set 2430 feet, as deep as they were in the nursery. I cultivate in buckwheat for eight years with the plow; after that plant nothing.
Windbreaks are essential on the southwest or north and south; would make them of Osage orange; plant them forty feet distant and do not trim. For rabbits I wrap with corn-stalks and leave them on summer and winter. I prune with a saw; then cover the wound with wax; I think it beneficial.
Have never thinned fruit. Never use fertilizer; do not think it advisable. Do not pasture my orchard; would not advise it. My trees are affected with twig-borer and leaf-roller. The codling-moth troubles my apples. I do not spray. I pick my apples early and leave them in piles in the orchard until cold weather.
WILLIAM YOUNG, Brantford, Washington county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-one years. Have 200 apple trees, five to twenty-five years planted, four to twelve inches in diameter. I prefer for commercial orchard Winesap, Ben Davis, and Rawle"s Janet. I prefer bottom land, with black loam and clay subsoil. I prefer three-year-old trees, good, smooth bark, and three or four branches. Have tried root grafts and seedlings with good success. I cultivate in corn, using plow for thirteen years; plow toward the trees one year, then away the next.
Windbreaks are essential, and I would make them of cottonwood, box-elder or catalpa planted in rows on the north side. Am not troubled with rabbits or borers. I prune with a saw and knife, to produce better fruit; I think it beneficial. I fertilize with stable litter and wood ashes; I would advise its use on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs; think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled some with insects; codling-moth troubles my apples. I pick my apples by hand into a basket, then sort and put in the cellar. I sort into two cla.s.ses, good and bad; we sort as we pick them. I sell my apples at home and in town, sometimes in orchard; retail, wholesale, or peddle. Make cider for vinegar of culls. My best market is Clifton; never tried distant markets. Never dry any. I store some for winter market in thin layers on shelves, in cellar seven feet deep, and find the Winesap keeps best.
Prevailing price has been eighty cents.