I grow corn in a young orchard, and clover in a bearing orchard; cease cropping when six or seven years old. Windbreaks are beneficial on the south and west; they should be made of quick-growing trees. I wrap the trees with paper to protect against rabbits. I prune but little to thin top; am doubtful if it pays. Never thin apples on trees. I fertilize the land with well-rotted manure, but not close the trees; I would advise its use on all soils; I think it beneficial; I sometimes pasture my orchard with hogs; do not think it advisable; pays only in getting rid of wormy fruit. My trees are troubled with leaf-roller, and my apples with codling-moth. Do not spray. Gather my apples by hand, and sort into two cla.s.ses, first, second and culls.
ISAAC E. WOLF, Longford, Clay county: Have been in Kansas twenty-one years; have 200 apple trees nineteen years old, and 100 apple trees six years old. Prefer Ben Davis, Winesap and Missouri Pippin for market, and Maiden"s Blush, d.u.c.h.ess of Oldenburg and Smith Cider for family orchard.
The Red Astrachan and Early Harvest are shy bearers. My orchard is on sandy soil with clay subsoil; the trees look healthy. I prefer two-year-old trees, and lay the ground off in squares, making large holes. In young orchard I plant corn for ten years, cultivating both ways; after that I grow nothing, but cultivate with the disc as long as I can get through it. Am cultivating my old orchard. I think windbreaks are a necessity on the south, west, and north, and would make them of walnut and box-elder. For rabbits I rub on strong grease. I prune with shears such limbs as rub one another, and am sure it pays. I don"t think it pays to thin fruit on the trees. I believe in fertilizing the ground, but not too close to the trees; it won"t hurt any soil. Allow no stock in the orchard. The twig-borer is the worst insect in my orchard. I tried spraying on some trees, and some I did not, and my apples were all alike. I watch for borers closely, and cut them out. I pick in a grain sack, and make three cla.s.ses. The best I keep for spring, the second cla.s.s for winter, and the culls I turn into cider. I peddle my apples out at home. We dry some apples and have a good market at home. We store for winter in the cellar in bulk, and find that Winesap, Rawle"s Janet and Missouri Pippin are the best keepers.
FRUIT DISTRICT No. 2.
Following is the second fruit district, comprising twenty-three counties, in the northwest quarter of state. Reports, or rather experiences, from each of these counties will be found immediately following. We give first the number of apple trees in this district, compiled from statistics for 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.
_Bearing._ _Not bearing._ _Total._ Cheyenne 211 1,708 1,919 Decatur 3,925 4,990 8,915 Ellis 3,846 1,321 5,167 Ellsworth 17,491 12,474 29,965 Gove 214 1,202 1,416 Graham 508 3,636 4,144 Jewell 120,509 56,550 177,059 Lincoln 19,619 18,846 38,465 Logan 468 1,465 1,933 Mitch.e.l.l 55,806 20,624 76,430 Morton 264 171 435 Norton 7,220 6,803 14,023 Osborne 21,647 15,043 36,690 Phillips 16,765 9,486 26,251 Rawlins 806 2,065 2,871 Rooks 8,127 6,815 14,942 Russell 6,788 5,045 11,833 Sheridan 218 1,148 1,366 Sherman 169 1,477 1,646 Smith 41,919 22,988 64,907 Thomas 509 470 979 Trego 745 1,409 2,154 Wallace 223 1,343 1,566 ------- ------- ------- Total in district 327,997 197,079 525,076 Estimate in acreage 60,000 35,000 105,000
WILLIAM BAIRD, Vesper, Lincoln county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 300 trees, from one to fifteen years old; the old ones measuring twelve inches in diameter. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Huntsman"s Favorite; and for family orchard Maiden"s Blush, Ben Davis, and Missouri Pippin. Think I shall discard Red Astrachan and Red Betigheimer on account of shy bearing. I prefer bottom, sandy soil, clay subsoil, and a northwest slope. I prefer good, stocky, low-headed, yearling trees set from twenty-five to thirty feet in the row; have tried root grafts; that is the only successful way to grow trees here. I cultivate my orchard to potatoes for the first two or three years, after that to any kind of vines. I use a stirring plow, plowing very shallow near the trees and deeper near the center. I grow nothing in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping after five years. I think windbreaks are essential, and would make them of seedling peach, Russian mulberry or any quick-growing trees, in three or four rows on the south side of the orchard. I trap the rabbits, and use my knife on the borers; am not troubled with them very much. I prune trees while young to give the proper shape to the top, and later to remove the crossed limbs and cause them to spread out and shade the trunk and as much s.p.a.ce as possible. I have thinned the fruit on trees to a limited extent; it should be done when about the size of quail eggs. Think it makes little difference whether trees are planted in block or mixed up.
I do not fertilize my orchard; the soil is rich enough; water is what it needs. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable, as they eat all the wormy fruit and destroy many insects by rooting; I find it pays. My trees are troubled with root aphis; my apples are bothered by codling-moth, gouger, and blue jays. I spray with London purple and lime, about 100 gallons of water to one pound of purple and six pounds of lime. I think Paris green would be better. I spray for canker-worm as soon as I see them, and am of the opinion that one application is enough, but do not think spraying of any use for codling-moth, as the moth itself does not eat anything but the honey from the base of the bloom, and not enough of the poison reaches them to amount to anything.
My method of fighting them is, as soon as the moth appears in the spring, to put old fruit cans in the trees filled with sweet water. This attracts the moths and they drown in it. I also burn torches in the orchard at night. Another way is to hang a lantern over a tub of water that has a little coal-oil in it; this will kill a great many insects.
I hand-pick my fruit into sacks slung over the shoulder; I use a step-ladder for those I cannot reach. I sell apples in orchard; also retail; sell best ones to best customers; I dry second and third grades; of culls I make cider and vinegar and feed to pigs. My best market is at home. I dry some apples; use a Victor evaporator, and one that I made; after drying we heat in an oven, and put in double paper bags, and find a ready market; but it does not pay. I store apples in five-bushel boxes, in a tunnel-like cellar, dug in solid sand-rock; it is fifty feet long, five feet wide, and six and one-half feet deep, with rooms on each side; it is perfectly dry and the temperature even, but it is too warm for winter; I find it is excellent for summer and fall apples. Those that keep best are Rawle"s Janet and Missouri Pippin. We have to repack stored apples before marketing; I do not lose many. I use or sell as soon as fit. I irrigate my orchard from a small creek fed by springs. I have two large dams, with ditches running along the hillside, with gates to let the water into the ditches; from the main ditch I have laterals, also provided with gates; the surplus and seepage goes back into the creek below the main dam; the creek below the dam has small dams in it to hold the seepage water at the desired height--which serves for subirrigation, the best irrigation in the world. The water should not stand nearer than five feet of the surface for apples. I run the water between the rows in wide, shallow ditches, any time from March to September. It is not necessary to have a creek to irrigate an orchard. A good, big ditch along the hillside above the orchard will catch enough melted snow and rain to pay for its construction; this should run into a reservoir. Prices have been from seventy-five cents to one dollar, and dried apples from five to twelve and one-half cents per pound.
PETER NOON, Vesper, Lincoln county: I have lived in Kansas thirty years.
Have forty apple trees eleven years old, eight to ten inches in diameter, twelve to fifteen feet high. I prefer for all purposes Winesap and Ben Davis. I prefer bottom land with a black soil and sandy subsoil.
I plant young trees in rows twenty-five feet each way. I cultivate my orchard for seven years with plow and harrow, raising no crop.
Windbreaks are essential; I use cottonwood trees, planted in three rows, around my orchard. I prune with a saw to make the trees bear better and keep them from getting top-heavy; I think it beneficial. I thin my fruit on the trees by hand in July. I never pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with bud moth. I do not spray. I pick by hand. Never dry any.
Do not store any. Do not irrigate. Prices have been from seventy-five to eighty cents per bushel, and dried apples eight cents per pound.
JACOB WEIDMAN, Lincoln, Lincoln county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years. Have an apple orchard of about 1000 trees, nineteen years old. For commercial purposes I prefer Winesap, Ben Davis, Rawle"s Janet, Huntsman"s Favorite, Jonathan, Maiden"s Blush, Early Harvest, Grimes"s Golden Pippin, d.u.c.h.ess of Oldenburg, Autumn Strawberry, Rambo, and Gano. For family orchard would prefer Winesap, Huntsman"s Favorite, Gilpin, Milam, Early Harvest, Maiden"s Blush, Red June, and Limber Twig, the last one being a very good keeper. Have tried and discarded Red Astrachan, Lawver, Golden Russet, Yellow Bellflower, Willow Twig and Smith"s Cider on account of blight. I prefer bottom land with rich soil and loose subsoil, with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old stocky trees planted in a furrow. I have tried root grafts with the best success; the best trees in this county were grown by me. I cultivate my orchard to corn, using a stirring plow; I cease cropping after six years, but keep cultivating until the trees smother the weeds.
Windbreaks are essential. I have native timber on three sides, the south, west, and north; and a hill on the east. For rabbits I wrap the trees with corn-stalks, which also protects them from sun-scald. Am never troubled with borers. I prune moderately to give shape to young trees, and to let the sun and air to the fruit on old trees; many trees are injured by heavy pruning. I never thin.
Mixed plantings of trees are best; my Jonathan do well; all do well that bloom at the same time. I do not fertilize. I never pasture my orchard; would not advise it. My trees are troubled with woolly aphis and root-louse. I have sprayed with London purple; last year I sprayed with Paris green and my apples were free from worms; if London purple is used without lime it burns the leaves; Paris green does not mix well, and has to be stirred all the time. I am going to use carbonate of soda and white a.r.s.enic this year; four parts carbonate of soda to two parts of white a.r.s.enic, and one gallon of water; boil for fifteen minutes, then add another gallon of water and use two quarts of this to fifty gallons of water. I pick my apples in a sack from a ladder. I sell apples in the orchard; have regular customers for the winter apples. I supply some stores with early and fall apples; never peddle any. I put my second-grade apples in piles of about thirty bushels each, and cover lightly with dirt until cold weather comes. A little freezing will not hurt them. In March or April I market them, and get as much for them as I get for the first-cla.s.s ones in the fall. Those that keep best are: Ben Davis, Winesap, Rawle"s Janet, Gilpin, and Milam. We dry some apples for home use. We put them on frames in a spent hotbed under gla.s.s, to keep flies off. I have a large cellar in which I store apples; have never packed them in barrels. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 35 cents to $1.50 per bushel. Have help of my own.
L. P. ASHCROFT, Shibboleth, Decatur county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-two years. Have 100 apple trees, eight to twelve years old, four to ten inches in diameter. I prefer for commercial purposes Ben Davis, Winesap, and Willow Twig. I prefer upland with a south slope. I plant two-year-old, low, bushy, stout-top trees. To set, I plow deep and dig deep holes, in the fall. I cultivate my orchard every year from May 1 to July 1, and late in the fall. I use the harrow in the spring, disc and harrow later on, and lister in the fall. I think windbreaks would be beneficial on the south, and would make them of buildings and sheds of all kinds. I am troubled with small borers in the limbs. I prune out the inside of trees to let sun and air through. I think it beneficial, and that it pays. I never thin apples; the wind does the thinning. My trees are in mixed plantings, and I believe would bear every year if they did not freeze. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter on top of heavy snows. I think it beneficial, if not too close to the trees. I would advise its use on all soils if applied at the right time and in the right manner. I do not pasture my orchard; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with small borers, and my fruit with some insects. I do not spray. I have used coal-oil for borers, but do nothing now. We pick our own fruit.
W. D. STREET, Oberlin, Decatur county: I have resided in the state thirty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of fifty trees seven or eight years old, about six inches in diameter. My orchard is situated on low, bottom land. I prefer two-year-old trees, set in plowed land and dug holes. I plant my orchard to garden crops, corn, and potatoes. I plow shallow, and use a harrow and weed-cutter. I plant the same crops in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; mine are natural timber along the creek. I prune a little with knife and saw, to preserve shape; cannot say that it has been beneficial, or that it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees; it would probably benefit. I fertilize my orchard some with stable litter. I think it beneficial, as the land is heavily cropped with truck. I would not advise it on all soils. I pasture my orchard with cattle, horses, and hogs, but do not think it advisable. I have not sprayed yet, but intend to when my orchard is older. I pick my apples by hand. I store apples for home use. With a dam across a creek, I raise water into a pond, and irrigate. Seepage, percolation and capillary attraction do the rest.
JAMES L. WILLIAMS, McDonald, Rawlins county: I have resided in Kansas nineteen years. Have an apple orchard of sixty trees, planted eight years; planted ten acres in 1895. I prefer for family orchard Jonathan, Rambo, Senator, Rawle"s Janet, and Gano. I planted my orchard on a hillside; the small orchard is in the bottom; they have a clay subsoil, and slope in every direction, but would prefer a northern slope. I prefer three-year-old trees, set in holes dug four feet deep, five feet wide, filled in the bottom with soil hauled from the creek. [?] I cultivate my trees with a cultivator and harrow; I think the life of the tree depends on the cultivation, and that we will have to keep it up as long as the tree lives. I plant potatoes and turnips in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks would be a benefit, and should be made of Russian mulberry or red cedar, set in four or five rows around the orchard. For rabbits I rub axle grease on the trees. I commence pruning when I set the trees out, using a knife and saw, to keep the tops from getting too heavy and to give shape; I think it pays. Never have thinned the fruit while on the trees, but would if my trees should ever be overloaded; I think it would pay. I fertilize my orchard from the sheep corral; it keeps the ground moist and is food for the trees. Would not advise its use on bottom land, as the growth would be too rapid. I pasture my orchard with hogs, but do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with gra.s.shoppers and flathead borers. I dig borers out in the spring, then wash the tree with strong soap-suds, which I think eradicates all lice and insects that may be in the bark of the tree; it gives the tree a hearty, vigorous growth. I do not irrigate, but cultivate instead.
J. R. CALDWELL, Oberlin, Decatur county: I have lived in Kansas thirteen years. Have an apple orchard of 110 trees, thirteen years old, six inches in diameter. For fall or winter market I prefer Winesap, Ben Davis, and Jonathan, and for summer, Cooper"s Early White, Maiden"s Blush, Red June, Winesap, Ben Davis, and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Rawle"s Janet; it is not a good bearer in this locality. I prefer upland, with a deep, rich loam, and an eastern slope. I prefer three-year-old trees, with lengthy bodies and not much top, set in holes dug three by three, one and one-half to two feet deep; fill the bottom with some of the same dirt. I cultivate my orchard to corn and potatoes ten or twelve years, using a cultivator and stirring plow; cease cropping after ten or twelve years. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees, by planting or transplanting them. For rabbits I wrap the trees with corn-stalks. I prune to keep the limbs from rubbing; for any other reason it does not pay. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted in rows. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter; think it beneficial, and that it would be good for all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with flathead borer and tent-caterpillar, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples and sell them in our home market. I do not dry or store any. Do not irrigate. Price has been one dollar per bushel. Dried apples have been from five to six cents per pound.
B. F. CAMPBELL, St. Francis, Cheyenne county: I have lived in Kansas since 1885. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees, from two to seven years planted. I prefer bottom land, subirrigated, that is sandy, with a northern aspect. I prefer one-year-old trees planted in rows twenty feet apart. I cultivate my orchard to vegetables as long and as often as I can, using a harrow; cultivate after every rain if possible, and the drier the ground, the oftener the better. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of cottonwood, as they make the finest growth with us.
For rabbits I wrap the trees with cloth; have not been able to catch or poison the gophers yet. I prune to maintain low heads and to make shapely trees without forks, and think it beneficial. I never thin my fruit. Do not think it makes any difference whether trees are planted in blocks of one variety, or mixed up. I mulch my orchard to retain moisture; would not advise it on all soils, as the moles make their home in it and soon kill the trees. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. The gophers have done more damage by cutting off the roots than all the other pests. Am also troubled with gra.s.shoppers. Never have sprayed, but am going to this spring; will use the same chemicals as are used at the experiment station. I irrigate [sub]; can flood the ground, but don"t need to; it is wet enough without.
J. W. SOMER, Wilson, Ellsworth county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-two years; have an apple orchard of seventy-five trees. For all purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, and Smith"s Cider. Have tried and discarded Arkansas Black, Lawver, Jonathan, and Rawle"s Janet. I prefer limestone bottom land with southeast slope. I prefer two-year-old trees three to five feet tall. I cultivate my orchard two or three years with a common stirring plow and cultivator, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees, walls, or Osage hedge. They ought to be planted before starting the orchard. For rabbits I wrap my trees with corn-stalks. I prune only to make trees symmetrical. Do not thin my apples. I mulch my trees; think it beneficial, but would not advise it on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard. Trees are troubled with twig-borer.
J. D. GRIFFITHS, Kanopolis, Ellsworth county: Have lived in Kansas eighteen years; have an apple orchard of thirty trees. Have some trees planted on bottom land. I cultivate my orchard to sweet corn as long as the trees will admit, using a plow and a one-horse, five-tooth cultivator. I prune to give trees good shape. I fertilize my orchard with well-rotted stable litter. Do not pasture my orchard. Am troubled with no insect but borers. I spray the trees when leafing out, and once a week for five or six weeks after that time, to ward off the insects. I probe for insects not affected by spraying. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel. Dried apples have been about eight cents per pound.
M. E. WELLS, Athol, Smith county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-six years; have an orchard of twelve acres, from five to fourteen years. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin; and for family orchard Early Harvest and Winesap. I prefer hilltop of thin clay, resting on yellow silt, with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old, stocky trees planted in dead furrows. I cultivate my orchard to corn as long as there is s.p.a.ce enough between the rows; use two five-tooth cultivators lashed together, and cease cropping after twelve years.
Windbreaks are not essential. I protect against rabbits and borers by eternal vigilance in hunting them. I prune by cutting out limbs, so they will not crowd each other; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard; I think shallow cultivation is better. I do not pasture my orchard with anything excepting chickens. Trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar; some worm affects my apples. I sometimes spray with lime and copperas, and have not been very successful. Insects not affected by spraying I dig out with penknife and wire. I pick my apples by hand from a common ladder; sort into three cla.s.ses--first, smooth and free from worms; second, free from worms; the balance in the third grade. I sell apples in the orchard; also retail them. I handle the best apples very carefully, one at a time, and place in crates. Keep the second and third-grade apples at home; feed the culls to hogs. My best market is in the orchard; never tried distant markets. Never dry any. I store apples for winter in a cellar on shelves, one layer of fruit on each shelf--am successful; Ben Davis keeps best. Never tried artificial cold storage. Do not irrigate. Price has been fifty cents per bushel. I employ women, because they handle the fruit with more care than men do; I pay one dollar per day.
ISAAC CLARK, Oberlin, Decatur county: I have lived in Kansas ten years.
I have 1250 apple trees, eight years planted, as fine as they can be. My market varieties are: Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Rawle"s Janet, and Ben Davis, and for family I added Maiden"s Blush, Red Astrachan, and Sweet June. I prefer clay soil, on hilltop; any slope is good. Plant trees in good condition and fine appearance, on ground plowed deep and disced just as deeply. I cultivate very often with five-tooth cultivator, and never quit. Every third year I plow with a one-horse diamond plow. I raised melons for the first three years; after that nothing. I have no use for windbreaks. I tie with corn-stalks, to protect against rabbits.
I prune very little, to form the top, with knife and saw; keep straggling branches out. I use very little fertilizer; only on thin soil. I never pasture the orchard. Have some twig-borers and leaf-crumplers. I have never sprayed yet; it may soon be necessary. I have kept my trees tied up with corn-stalks for six years; the bodies are healthy; no sun-scald and no borers. My best market is at home. I have stored some for winter, in barrels in a cave, and find that the Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Rawle"s Janet keep best, the latter keeping until July. I have been able to sell in the spring at fifty cents per peck.
JOHN M. C. KROENLIN, Lincoln, Lincoln county: I have resided in Kansas twenty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 178 trees, from four to fourteen years old, three to twelve inches in diameter. For market I prefer Winesap and Missouri Pippin, and for family use Missouri Pippin, Cooper"s Early White, and Winesap. I prefer bottom land, with a black loam soil and sandy subsoil; I believe a level location best. For planting I prefer two-year-old trees, set in holes dug three feet square and one and one-half feet deep; throw out all soil and use good surface soil; never apply water to the roots. I cultivate my orchard until the trees are seven years old, using a disc, and then a harrow to level the ground, and plant no crop. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Russian mulberries, on south and west sides. I have cottonwood windbreaks on the east and north of my orchard; those on the east protect the trees from the morning sun, thereby lessening the danger when there is frost on the buds, and those on the north I keep trimmed high, so as to admit of a free circulation of air, which is a protection against frost. For rabbits I wrap my trees with corn-stalks, which I think the best way. I prune with an ax, knife, and saw, and think it beneficial and that it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees.
My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with well-rotted cow-stable litter, which I think has been beneficial. I do not pasture my orchard; I do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, but not bad, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray after the blossoms fall, with London purple (which will kill every time), for canker-worm. I stand on step-ladder and pick my apples by hand. I sell them in the orchard, at retail, and feed the culls to the chickens.
Lincoln is my best market. Have never tried distant markets. Don"t dry any; it does not pay. I am successful in storing apples in bulk in a cellar, and find Winesap and Missouri Pippin keep best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from ten cents to two dollars per bushel, the same season; dried apples four cents per pound.
J. H. SAYLES & SON, Norcatur, Decatur county: Have been in Kansas fifteen years; have 300 apple trees, eight years planted, six inches in diameter. For market I planted Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Winter d.u.c.h.ess (?), and I added for family use Jonathan, d.u.c.h.ess of Oldenburg, and Red June. I have tried and discarded the Mann, Walbridge, Baldwin, Northern Spy, and Red Astrachan. I have black, northwest Kansas prairie soil, with northeast slope. Our well is seventeen feet deep, and fruit never fails. Plant low, healthy, two-year-old trees, in deep furrows, plowed parallel with the slope, putting the trees twenty by thirty feet. I have raised some splendid seedlings. I draw on large quant.i.ties of stable litter. I grow nothing in the orchard; cultivate with double shovel, drag, and hoe, keeping the ground flat. I believe windbreaks are essential, and would make them of Russian mulberry and white elm, set one row of elm one year old, twelve to twenty-four inches, then two rows of Russian mulberry six feet apart, alternating.
For rabbits I fence with wire. I prune with knife and saw, thinning out the tops, and think it pays. I believe in thinning the fruit as soon as it is large enough, and would plant mixed varieties. Our Jonathan never bore until the Ben Davis near by bloomed. I scatter stable litter as for grain, and it is beneficial, as trees not fertilized die out here; it is good on all kinds of soil. Never pasture the orchard. We have some leaf-roller, fall web-worm, and codling-moth, but have never sprayed any. We dig borers out with a wire. We pick by hand, and sort into three grades: numbers 1 and 2, and cider stock. We never sell in the orchard, but retail our best in one-bushel crates. Our culls we feed out to farm stock early. Our best market is at home and west; never tried distant markets. Have never tried drying or storing for winter. Do not irrigate, but cultivate often. Prices range from 60 cents to $1.25 per bushel. We use some farm help at fifteen to eighteen dollars per month.
W. J. BRUMAGE, Beloit, Mitch.e.l.l county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-four years; have an orchard of 1000 very large apple trees, from twelve to twenty years old. For commercial purposes would prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, d.u.c.h.ess of Oldenburg, Early Harvest, Red June, Willow Twig, Maiden"s Blush, Cooper"s Early White, and Pewaukee, and for family orchard Ben Davis, Winesap, Early Harvest, Maiden"s Blush, and d.u.c.h.ess of Oldenburg. I prefer hilltop, clay loam, with northeast slope.
I plow a ditch and set two-year-old trees a little deeper than they were in the nursery. Have tried root-grafts and seedlings; were no good. I cultivate with garden-truck until twelve or fourteen years old, using a plow to stir the ground, and seed bearing orchard to gra.s.s. I use no windbreaks. I prune to keep the tree from getting bushy; I think it beneficial. I never thin my fruit. Cannot see any difference in trees whether planted in blocks or mixed up. Use no fertilizer, and would not advise its use. Do not pasture orchard; do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, flathead borers, twig-borer, and leaf roller. Codling-moth and curculio trouble my fruit. I spray with London purple, using a pump, just after the blossom falls, for the codling-moth, and think I have reduced them. I pick my fruit by hand, and pack in barrels. I sort into two cla.s.ses, good and bad. Have sold them in the orchard; sometimes retail; my best market is home; have never tried distant markets. I make vinegar of the culls. Never dry any.
Store some for winter market in bulk in a cave; am successful; Winesap, Willow Twig and Ben Davis keep the best. Have never tried artificial cold storage. Have to repack stored apples before marketing; we lose about one-fourth. Do not irrigate. Prices average about fifty cents per bushel.
JOHN E. DAVID, Winona, Logan county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years; have an apple orchard of ninety trees from seven to ten years old. I prefer level land, black loam with a clay subsoil, and an eastern slope. I prefer thrifty, healthy trees, set in holes three feet deep. I cultivate my orchard to beans and melons, using a cultivator and plow for six years; then cease cropping. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of honey-locust, planted in rows on north [?] and south. For protection from rabbits I use wire screening, and dig the borers out. I prune my trees with a knife to give big growth, and think it beneficial.
I never thin my apples while on the trees. My trees are planted in blocks. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial and would advise it out here. I never pasture my orchard. Am not troubled with insects. Do not spray. Do not irrigate.