m is a question that confronts every great
apple grower. For the last fourteen years we have been working this
grade into vinegar. We found there was considerable to learn and care
exercised to avoid losses. I will mention a few important things that
are necessary to produce a good article of cider vinegar. First obtain
good, iron-bound oak barrels--vinegar or whisky barrels preferred. Never
use soft wood barrels of any kind. Paint them well with ocher before
using; they will last longer. After filling with cider, keep in a shed
until cool weather; then draw off and run into barrels in the cellar for
winter, although, if well protected and not too full, they could remain
out in the shed over winter. In the spring draw off again and run into
other barrels; you will, in this, hasten the fermentation of vinegar and
obtain an article free from sediment. It requires from one to two years
for vinegar to cease working. Sell it then, and not before. Though it
may be very strong, it will not keep pickles unless the process is
complete. Much of the vinegar sold on the markets as apple vinegar is
made from corn, and now that corn has risen in price it is possible that
the price of this kind of vinegar may rise also. It has not the quality
or flavor of cider vinegar, but it can be manufactured so cheaply that
it has hurt the market for a better article.

* * * * *

Maj. FRANK HOLSINGER, Rosedale, Wyandotte county: Has resided in Kansas
since March 7, 1867--thirty years; has 1500 apple trees from one to
twenty-nine years planted, "big as a barn." Prefers Gano, Ben Davis,
Missouri Pippin and York Imperial for commercial purposes, and Early
Harvest, Cooper's Early White, Maiden's Blush and Jonathan added for
family use. Says life is too short to tell how many varieties he has
tried and discarded. Prefers a loose soil, and used to think hilltop
best, but says there is no choice between bottom and hilltop, and that
any particular slope is a delusion, as all are equal. Plants medium
two-year-old trees, "usually roots downward--tops up." Cultivates with
double-shovel plow and hoe up to seven years, planting with corn or
potatoes. Then grows clover and weeds, "weeds mostly," ceasing to
cultivate when it becomes inconvenient. Says windbreaks are unnecessary,
and should only be made of the sun--"let her shine"--and does not
understand how a rabbit can do a _mechanical_ job of gnawing. Does not
prune; he "train