O. W. HECKETHORN, McPherson, McPherson county: I have resided in Kansas twenty-four years; have an apple orchard of 350 trees; 180 of them are twelve years old; the balance are younger. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Maiden"s Blush; for family use, Maiden"s Blush. I prefer a sandy loam with an east or northeast aspect. I prefer two-year-old, low-headed trees, planted in rows thirty feet apart. I cultivate my orchard as long as the weeds grow, and plant a young orchard to corn, using a small cultivator and disc. Cease cropping after eight or nine years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of peach trees planted close together. I have pruned to shape trees, but do not prune at all now. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar, and my apples with curculio.
A. B. MANN, Toronto, Woodson county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years. Have an apple orchard of fifty trees, twenty years old, twelve inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Jonathan, and Missouri Pippin. My trees are planted on a hilltop, with north slope, having a black limestone soil. I prefer two-year-old trees, set in rows twenty feet apart. I cultivate my orchard to sweet corn until four years old, using a plow and harrow, then cease cropping; put clover in a bearing orchard. We make windbreaks of Osage orange on the north side of the orchard. For rabbits I use lath, and dig borers out. I prune with a chisel and mallet; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I do not mix my trees when planting. I fertilize my orchard between the rows with stable litter; would not advise its use on all soils. I have pastured my orchard with hogs, but do not think it advisable, as it does not pay. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and flathead borer, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray; my neighbors do, without success. I hand-pick my apples.
D. W. COZAD, La Cygne, Linn county: I have resided in the state twenty-five years. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Jonathan, Willow Twig, and Missouri Pippin, and for family orchard, Early Harvest, Maiden"s Blush, Winesap, Rawle"s Janet, and Huntsman"s Favorite. Have tried and discarded Lawver, Yellow Bellflower, Gilpin, and Cooper"s Early White, on account of shy bearing, poor quality, and small size. I would choose hill for some and valley land for others, according to variety planted; would prefer southeast aspect with limestone soil and porous subsoil. I prefer one-year-old trees. I cultivate my orchard to corn and potatoes, using a surface cultivator and harrow; cease cropping at bearing age and sow to clover. Windbreaks are essential. I would make them of double rows of evergreens on the north and west. Protect from rabbits and borers by "eternal vigilance." I prune with a saw and knife for symmetry, air, and light, and think it pays. I thin the fruit while on the trees, at different times; it pays. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter and clover; would advise its use on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs; think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, root aphis, flathead borer, and woolly aphis; my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I pick my apples by hand; sort into three cla.s.ses, sound and large, sound and small, and culls. I sell apples in the orchard, wholesale, retail, and peddle. Sell my best apples from the cellar, also second grade. Of the culls we make cider and feed to the hogs. My best market is at home. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing apples in barrels in a cellar and a cave; I find the Gilpin, McAfee, Rawle"s Janet and Willow Twig keep best. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about one-twentieth of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been: Summer, twenty-five to thirty cents; fall, forty to fifty cents; winter sixty to eighty cents per bushel. I employ men at ten cents an hour.
W. M. BARNGROVER, Hamilton, Greenwood county: I have been in Kansas seventeen years, and have an orchard of 100 apple trees fifteen years old, twenty-four inches in circ.u.mference. For market I prefer Ben Davis, and for family use Winesap. I prefer bottom land, with a black loam soil and a red clay subsoil. I prefer two-year-old, low-headed trees, set in big holes. I cultivate my orchard about every four years with a disc and harrow, and sow English blue-gra.s.s in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential to orchards on the hills; I would make them of a row of maples between every row of apple trees. For rabbits and borers I paint the body of the tree with a solution of coal-tar and carbolic acid. I prune my trees to protect them from the hard winds; always trim the highest limbs--never the low ones. I fertilize my orchard with about twelve inches of old hay for four years, and think it should be used on all soils, as the tree growth will be one-third larger. I pasture my orchard with calves, and think it advisable and that it pays. My trees are troubled with leaf-rollers. I spray with Paris green. In picking, I use a step-ladder and a pole with a hook on the end. On the under side of the pole I sew a long sack [a canvas tube]; the apples fall in this sack and roll down to me. I pack in barrels; sell in orchard; use the waste apples at home. Have tried distant markets; it did not pay. Do not dry any. I store apples for winter in barrels, and find White Winter Pearmain keeps best. I have to repack stored apples before marketing; the loss depends a great deal on the season. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from thirty cents to one dollar per bushel. Home-dried apples, four and one-half cents per pound.
DAVID LEHMAN, Halstead, Harvey county: I have resided in Kansas nineteen years; have an orchard of 180 apple trees sixteen years old, eight to twelve inches in diameter. For market I prefer Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Jonathan, and for family orchard would add Maiden"s Blush. I prefer hilltop with a black loam and an east slope. I prefer one- or two-year-old trees, two feet tall, with good roots, set thirty feet apart in rows. I cultivate my orchard to corn for ten years, using a harrow and five-tooth cultivator very shallow. Cease cropping after ten years, and plant turnips in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of red cedar, ash, or catalpa, by planting eight by eight feet in rows. I prune my trees when young with a pruning-knife to get rid of all unnecessary limbs; I think it pays. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter that will not heat, and would advise its use on all soils, but lightly on rich soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs, but do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with borers, and my apples with curculio. For insects not affected by spraying, I use one box of concentrated lye and four ounces of tincture of tobacco to four gallons of water; wash well with a swab three times a year--the 15th of June, July, and August.
W. W. GARDNER, Chanute, Neosho county: Has lived in Kansas thirteen years. Has 1000 well-grown trees, set seven years. Prefers for commerce Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Huntsman"s Favorite, and for family orchard adds Maiden"s Blush and Rome Beauty. Prefers north slope, upland. Plants two-year-olds, with straight centers, at sixteen to eighteen feet apart, in rows twenty-two to twenty-four feet apart.
Cultivates with two-horse cultivator, often enough to keep the weeds down; then harrows, aiming to keep the ground mellow. Grows corn from nine to ten years, then clover; says small grain hurts trees. Thinks evergreens best for windbreaks, but does not think such protection essential. Keeps dogs for the rabbits. Prunes with hedge shears, and says it certainly pays. Believes barn-yard litter beneficial in any orchard, on any soil. While he thinks pasturing not advisable, and that it will not pay, he says he will probably pasture in fore part of seasons with calves, after he has seeded to clover. Sprays with London purple and lime as soon as canker-worm appears. Is not troubled with borers. Would irrigate if he could. Has yet had too little fruit to market.
HENRY NEIL, Weir, Cherokee county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years; have 148 apple trees, from three years old to very large. For market I use Ben Davis; for family, Early Harvest, Winesap, and Romanite. I prefer hilltop, with an eastern slope, black loam soil, with gravelly subsoil. I plant two-year-old thrifty trees, thirty-three feet apart each way, in the spring. I cultivate until they bear, growing corn and potatoes, after that gra.s.s. I prefer a disc cultivator. I think windbreaks are a great help; and Osage orange is the best I know of. For rabbits I tie stalks or wire cloth around the tree. Have never had any borers. I trim with a saw and knife to take out superfluous wood and give light, and I think it pays. I never have thinned any. I think barn-yard fertilizer will pay in the orchard. I pasture my orchard very little, and think it does not pay. I have never sprayed any, and believe tent-caterpillar is the worst insect that troubles me. I pick in a sack tied over my shoulder, and sort into three cla.s.ses--number one, the very best; number two, those that are specked; number three, culls. I generally sell to retailers, at our home market, and make cider of the culls; never tried a distant market. Have never dried any. I store sometimes in bulk in a cellar under the house, and find that Winesap and Romanite keep the best. Prices run from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel, and dried fruit from two and a half to six cents per pound.
I use regular monthly farm help.
JOHN A. MAGILL, Roper, Wilson county: I have resided in Kansas thirty-one years. Have an orchard of 7000 trees, sixteen acres of it twenty-five years old, and sixty acres six years old. I think Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin are the best varieties for all purposes. Discarded the Bellflower because it would not bear. I prefer bottom land with a north aspect, black soil, and clay subsoil. Plant good one-year-old trees, 3320 feet. Cultivate with plow and "gopher." I grow corn and castor-beans in the orchard as long as it will pay. Believe windbreaks are necessary, made of anything that will check the wind; would plant trees on the south and west. Keep rabbits off by wrapping. I prune enough to keep in shape. I believe it pays to pasture the orchard with hogs in the winter, and think they get away with canker-worms. I spray for canker-worm and codling-moth with London purple, and think I have checked the codling-moth to some extent. I pick and sort by hand in two cla.s.ses only--marketable and culls. I wholesale in bulk, make cider of the culls, and find my best market in Texas. I never dry any; never store any for winter; have never irrigated. Average price about forty cents per bushel.
J. T. COCHRAN, Ottumwa, Lyon county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years; my orchard is in Coffey county, and contains 800 trees; 100 have been planted thirty-five years, and 700 twelve years. I market Winesap, Ben Davis, and Missouri Pippin, and add to this for family use Jonathan and some early apples. I prefer ashy bottom land. I would plant trees in good condition thirty by thirty-five feet. Cultivate in corn about eight years, then sow to clover. I believe that a windbreak of hedge or forest-trees should be planted on the southwest, in rows four feet apart. I prune in fall and winter with a saw, and my experience is that it makes better fruit. I have never thinned on the tree. Barn-yard litter scattered through the orchard improves the land. I pasture with hogs early in spring and late in fall; they eat the refuse apples. Am troubled with canker-worm, web-worm, and codling-moth. I spray with London purple and air-slaked lime just as soon as I see the insect, or as soon as the trees are in bloom. I think I have reduced the codling-moth. I pick in a sack tied and hung on the shoulder, using a ladder against the tree. I sort into two cla.s.ses: No. 1, clear of rot; No. 2, clear of bruises. Pack in eleven-peck barrels, full and pressed.
I wholesale mostly; suits me best to sell in orchard. The culls and seconds I sell at home. My best market is Fort Worth, Texas. Freight is too high to send farther. Never dry any; store in a cellar in barrels for home use only. Am not always successful. Winesap keeps best. I lose one-fourth sometimes. Prices range from 70 cents to $1.37 per barrel. I use good trusty men, at one dollar per day.
W. M. FLEEHARTY, La Cygne, Linn county: Have lived in Kansas thirty years. Have an orchard of 325 trees, mostly thirty years old, twelve to twenty-four inches in diameter. I prefer for commercial purposes Winesap, Ben Davis, and Willow Twig, and for family use Winesap, Willow Twig, Rawle"s Janet, and Milam. Have tried and discarded Esopus Spitzenburg, on account of sun-scald. Prefer hilltop with square-jointed [?] subsoil, and northeast slope, deep, rich soil. I plant in check plats. Have tried root grafts. I cultivate until the trees interfere with working. I plant young orchard to corn and potatoes; bearing orchard to nothing, and cease cropping when it injures the limbs of the trees. Windbreaks are essential sometimes, and should be made of Osage orange, because of its quick growth. I prune when limbs interfere. I thin apples a little. Do not mix my trees; bees do the work. Fertilizers are beneficial on all soils. Pasture my orchard with hogs and calves. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, root aphis, bag-worm, flathead borer, roundhead borer, woolly aphis, twig borer, fall web-worm, leaf-roller, leaf-crumpler, and others. My apples are troubled with codling-moth, curculio, and gouger. Spray when the blossoms are open, with Bordeaux mixture; have not reduced the codling-moth. I use the knife on borers and insects that are not affected by spraying. Sort into two cla.s.ses; have both perfect. Sell in the orchard sometimes. Store some apples for winter market; have not tried artificial cold storage.
We have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing one to ten per cent. The prevailing price has been sixty cents per bushel. I employ men at from fifteen to eighteen dollars per month.
F. L. KENOYER, Independence, Montgomery county: I have lived in the state ten years, and have an apple orchard of 240 trees from three to nine years old. For market I prefer Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis, and for family use add Maiden"s Blush. I prefer hilltop with a sandy loam and a porous subsoil. I prefer two-year-old, low-headed trees, with plenty of roots. I plant them one rod north and south, and two rods east and west. I will cultivate my orchard as long as the trees live with a Planet jr. twelve-tooth cultivator. I plant strawberries in a bearing orchard; they are as good as clover. Windbreaks would be beneficial; I would make them of Osage orange. For rabbits I rub blood on the trees. I dig the borers out with a knife and wire. I prune very little, with the pruning shears, to remove watersprouts and interlocking limbs. It preserves their symmetry, but does not make them more fruitful. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees; the wind does it for me. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter between the trees. It is very beneficial, and I would advise its use on all soils excepting very rich bottoms, where it would cause too much wood growth at the expense of the fruit. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, root aphis, roundhead borer, and leaf-crumpler, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I am successful in spraying, using London purple with a pump when the canker-worms appear, and a few days afterward. For root-lice I remove the earth from around the trees and pour in tobacco water. I do not dry any. I do not irrigate. Prices have been forty cents for apples in the fall, one dollar per bushel during the winter, while home-grown lasted, and two dollars per bushel now (April). Dried apples sold for five to ten cents per pound, according to quality.
J. H. BILSING, Udall, Cowley county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years. Have an orchard of sixty apple trees from sixteen to twenty-six years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Limber Twig, Jonathan, and Grimes"s Golden Pippin, and for family use Jonathan, Grimes"s Golden Pippin, Red June, and Maiden"s Blush. Have tried and discarded Big Romanite; it is a good grower but a poor bearer. I prefer bottom land with sandy loam and clay subsoil, and a north slope. Prefer thrifty two-year-old trees, set in land which has been plowed as deeply as possible, and the soil loosened fifteen to eighteen inches by digging.
My trees are set 3030 feet; this is a little too wide north and south.
I am still cultivating my first planting of trees, use a plow, harrow, and cultivator. Plant corn in a young orchard, and cease cropping after eight or ten years. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of peach groves for quick growth, or for slower and surer growth would make them of several rows of Osage orange or ash, set fifteen to sixteen feet east and west by breaking rows. I prune my trees from the beginning with a pocket-knife; think it pays. Do not thin the fruit on the trees.
Fertilize my orchard with ashes and stable litter; think it beneficial, as it keeps the ground from packing, and also keeps the trees vigorous; would not advise its use on very sandy soils. Do not pasture my orchard; am going to try it with young pigs and calves. My trees are troubled with root aphis and borers, and my apples with codling-moth, curculio, and gouger. Have sprayed three seasons, soon after the blossom fell and until the apples were the size of marbles, using London purple; think I killed the first brood of codling-moth, but a later brood came which hurt the fruit.
F. H. BURNETT, Benedict, Wilson county: I have lived in the state fifteen years. Have 2200 apple trees six years old, of fair size.
Planted for market Gano, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Jonathan, and for family use Jonathan, Winesap, Gano, Early Harvest, and Maiden"s Blush. Bottom land is best in this locality. I prefer soil somewhat clayish, underlaid with limestone, with a north or east slope. Prefer good one- and two-year-old, stocky, low-headed trees. Would plant on upland twenty by thirty-two feet, and on rich bottom twenty-four by thirty-six feet. I believe in thorough cultivation, and during the first two years I use the hoe. I cultivate until five or six years old, usually growing corn, as it protects the trees from the strong south winds. I then sow to clover, changing every two or three years to castor-beans or corn. Trees planted close north and south form their own windbreaks. For rabbits, wrap the trees. I prune a little to keep the trees from getting too heavy on the north side. I should thin Missouri Pippins to keep from overbearing. I should use sawdust and barn-yard fertilizer on hard-pan spots. I allow no live stock in the orchard but poultry. Am troubled some with leaf-rollers and canker-worm. I spray as soon as the leaves start, for canker-worm and leaf-roller, using one pound of London purple to 120 gallons of water. For borers, keep the trees thrifty; borers cannot thrive, as the sap will kill them. I believe it would be well during the first two years to wash the trees with a solution of soft soap, coal-oil, and water, in May and June. I sort in first, second, and cider or culls; pack in three-bushel barrels so full they cannot bruise. I expect to put in an evaporator and use natural gas for fuel, and think it will pay. I recommend subsoiling to retain moisture. Prices have ranged here from thirty to fifty cents per bushel.
F. S. HALL, Fulton, Bourbon county: Has lived in Kansas fourteen years.
Have 10,000 apple trees from two to eight years old. For commercial purposes the Ben Davis and Arkansas Black are doing best. Will not plant any more Missouri Pippins. My orchard is on a hill, with northeast slope, black soil, set thirty-three feet east and west and sixteen feet north and south. Set one- and two-year-old well-branched trees.
Cultivate entirely with a disc, and allow nothing to grow within six feet of the trees. Grow only clover, and expect to grow only clover in my orchard. Think an Osage hedge a good windbreak. Use tar paper and traps against rabbits. Prune nothing above twenty inches from the ground. Never thinned apples on trees. Fertilize with ashes and all the manure I can get, and turn under clover. Think such fertilizers beneficial for apples on all soils. Opposed to pasturing an orchard. Not much troubled with insects. Spray before and after blooming, first with Bordeaux mixture, then sulphate of copper and either Paris green or London purple. Think I have reduced the codling-moth by this method.
Keep down borers by cultivation and a wash of lime, concentrated lye, and carbolic acid.
R. N. MARK, Strawn, Coffey county: Have lived in Kansas thirty years.
Have an orchard of twelve acres; trees twelve years old. For commercial purposes I prefer Winesap and Ben Davis. Timber bottom is best. I cultivate my orchard to corn and potatoes, and cease cropping when ten or twelve years old; plant potatoes in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south; would make them of forest-trees. To protect from rabbits I wrap young trees, or kill rabbits, cut open, and rub thoroughly on the tree. I prune my trees to give proper shape, and think it beneficial, especially on poor land, as it makes the trees more productive. Do not thin fruit on the trees. I pasture my orchard carefully with hogs and calves at any time when it is not wet. Trees are troubled with canker-worm. I spray early and often with London purple. I pick my apples in sacks from ladders. The shipper [buyer] sorts from barrels in orchard. I sell my first grade in the orchard; also second- and third-grade apples in the orchard. We sell the culls. Do not dry any; does not pay. I store very few. Average price of apples is fifty cents per bushel.
W. M. FRENCH, Chicopee, Crawford county: I have resided in the state eighteen years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees twelve years old, averaging six inches in diameter. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Willow Twig, and Jonathan; and for family orchard would add Early Harvest, Maiden"s Blush, and Rambo. Have tried and discarded Limber Twig; it does not mature. I prefer bottom with an eastern or northern slope, having a good deep soil with a clay subsoil.
I prefer three-year-old, stocky trees, set in holes dug 33 feet and 2-1/2 feet deep, filled with surface soil. I cultivate my orchard to corn as long as I can without injuring the trees, and use a plow; avoid ridging too much. I cease cropping after nine to twelve years. I sow the bearing orchard to millet or something to be mowed. Windbreaks are not essential, but think they would be beneficial; would make them of catalpa or maples, set in two or three rows on north, south and west sides. I prune my trees with a saw to keep the top from getting too heavy; I think it beneficial, and that it pays. Shall not thin my fruit this year. I can see no difference whether trees are in blocks of one kind or mixed. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, putting it in trenches between the trees; I avoid putting it around them. I think it has proven beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils, unless very rich and the tree growth very strong. I pasture my orchard a little with calves, but do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar. I do not spray. I hand-pick in a basket from a step-ladder. I sort into two cla.s.ses, and wholesale, retail, and peddle.
The home market takes all my best apples; the culls are fed to hogs and made into cider. Never have tried distant markets. Do not dry any. Am successful at storing apples in bulk in a cellar; find Ben Davis, Winesap, Willow Twig and Rawle"s Janet keep best. I do not irrigate.
Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.
J. C. ROSS, Havana, Montgomery county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years; have an orchard of 100 apple trees twenty-three years old. I prefer for all purposes Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded Rawle"s Janet and Romanite. I prefer low land at foot of hills, with deep loam subsoil and a medium slope. I set my trees twenty feet apart. I cultivate in oats and corn up to bearing with common twelve-inch stirring plow. Windbreaks are essential on north; would make them of Osage orange planted in rows. Rabbits are hard to contend with; for borers I use a solution of slaked lime. I prune with a saw; do not think it very beneficial, as the rain gets in, and the wood decays. I never thin apples. My trees are in mixed varieties. I mulch my trees with straw, and think it beneficial. I pasture with calves and hogs; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. Am somewhat troubled with insects; I spray with a solution of coal-oil, using a small pump; think I have reduced the codling-moth. For borers I dissolve lime to a paste in water, and apply to the roots with a scrub broom. I pick my fruit from ladders. I sort into three cla.s.ses: first, second, and third.
I use common barrels to pack the fruit in; mark, and send by freight to near-by markets. I wholesale sometimes, and sometimes sell in orchard; market my best apples at near-by towns; I make cider and vinegar of culls. I dry some fruit; use a large pan filled with hot water; then put in sacks and boxes. I find a ready market; think it pays. I store some apples in a cellar in large, open boxes, and in bulk. Some rot; those that keep best are Winesap, Rawle"s Janet, and Romanite. We have to sort stored apples before marketing them; we lose from one-fourth to one-third of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel. I use any kind of help I can get, and pay seventy-five cents per day.
J. K. P. HOUSE, Cloverdale, Chautauqua county. I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years, and have 250 large trees, planted twenty-six years.
I prefer for commercial orchard Ben Davis, and for family orchard Dominie, Early Harvest, Rhode Island Greening, and Grimes"s Golden Pippin. I prefer bottom land, with a black loam and clay subsoil, with north slope. I plant two-year-old, medium-top trees, in well-cultivated ground, and mix the top soil with the roots. I have tried root grafts, but not satisfactory. I cultivate shallow every year, using the cultivator after the tree is grown. I grow oats in a young orchard, but nothing in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping when about eight years old. Windbreaks are essential on high ground. I would make them of walnut trees planted in rows. I never thinned the fruit. My trees are in mixed plantings, and prove satisfactory. I do not fertilize, and would only advise it on high land. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar, bagworm and roundhead borer. I pick in a sack swung around the neck. I sell fruit in the orchard, and make cider of the culls. My best market is at home; but I have shipped to distant markets. It paid in an early day. I have dried some apples in the sun, then heat and pack in barrels, and find a ready market for them, but it does not pay. I store some fruit for home use, and find that Winesap and White Winter Pearmain keep best. I have never tried artificial cold storage. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from $1 to $1.50 per bushel, and for dried fruit six to eight and one-third cents per pound.
WILLIAM BURDEN, Leeds, Chautauqua county: Have been in Kansas twenty-one years. Have 400 apple trees from eight to twenty years old. I prefer for commercial orchards Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap, and for family orchard Early Harvest, Maiden"s Blush, and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Willow Twig, Rawle"s Janet, and Russet. I prefer limestone bottom land, with north slope. I plant twenty-eight by thirty feet, using two-year-old trees. I cultivate eight years with plow and cultivator. I grow corn among young trees, clover in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping after eight years. Need no windbreaks. Wrap trees with corn-stalks to keep off rabbits. I prune to keep down watersprouts and limbs from rubbing; I think it beneficial. Never thin the fruit on the trees. Have not tried mixed plantings of trees. I do not fertilize.
I pasture my orchard with horses, but do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with root aphis, roundhead borer and leaf-roller. Do not spray. I pick fruit by hand. I sell mostly to farmers living farther west; sometimes sell in the orchard and sometimes retail. Make vinegar of culls. Never tried distant markets; never dry any. Store some apples in cave in boxes; am successful; find that Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin and Winesap keep best. Do not irrigate. Prevailing price, thirty cents per bushel; five cents per pound for dried apples.
EBERT SIMON, Welda, Anderson county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-one years; have 300 apple trees, fifteen inches in diameter, twenty years old. I prefer for commercial orchard Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Gano; and for family orchard Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Jonathan. I prefer hilltop, with black loam and porous subsoil, with north slope. I plant three-year-old whole-root grafts. I cultivate in corn for five years with one-horse cultivator; seed a bearing orchard to clover. Windbreaks are essential on the south. I prune with the saw to let the sun in, and think it beneficial. Never have thinned apples. I sometimes use stable litter as a fertilizer, but would not advise its use on all soils. Sometimes I pasture my orchard with hogs and horses, and think it advisable. I hand-pick my apples. I sell in the orchard, peddle the second and third grades, make vinegar of culls, and feed some to hogs; never tried distant markets. Never dry any. Prices have been from $1 to $1.50 per barrel.