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C. D. MARTINDALE, Scranton, Osage county: I have been on this place
thirteen years, and since coming here have set every tree now on it.
Trees that I set out in the spring of 1885 measure six to ten inches in
diameter. In 1895 I put out 350 apple trees; in 1896 I planted 250 more,
part of them were three- and four-year-old, when set. I lost only
thirteen out of the 600. A few of the Missouri Pippins bore fruit last
year. I consider the following varieties, in the order named, best for
commercial orchard: Ben Davis, Jonathan, Winesap, Grimes's Golden
Pippin; and for family use I would add Maiden's Blush, Cooper's Early
White, Missouri Pippin, and Rawle's Janet. I have tried and discarded
Smith's Cider and Lowell, as they blight too much. I prefer bottom land
if it is properly drained, as it is apt to be richer and the trees will
not suffer as much in a dry season--black loam, with a porous subsoil,
to let the surplus water soak away. I think a northern slope best, as
the trees do not suffer as much from the sun on hot summer days. Apple
trees have done best for me on a black loam underlaid with a porous
subsoil that will take the surplus water and still hold moisture in
summer.

I plant by plowing light furrows (thirty-four feet apart) across the lay
of the ground, then plowing two or four furrows together up and down the
slope thirty-four feet apart, and run a lister in this big furrow,
breaking up the ground as deeply as possible. I dip the roots of my
trees in lye water, using one pound carbonate of lye to eight gallons of
water. Then fill in with a spade around the roots, being careful not to
leave any holes for mice to nest in. Two- or three-year-old trees, with
roots and top well balanced, no forks to split down when the tree gets
older, bark smooth and good color, I consider best. I prefer piece-root
to whole-root grafts. My experience is that we get better trees on piece
roots, as the union is lower down in the ground and the scion throws out
roots, which makes the trees healthy and not wholly dependent on
seedling roots. I cultivate my orchard till ten or twelve years old, and
keep all weeds and grass away, using an eight-inch plow with one horse
next to the trees and backfurrow to every other row; then use two horses
and fourteen-inch plow for the middles. The next year I backfurrow to
the rows left the year before; in this way we have no large back or dead
furrows, but keep the ground level. In culti