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 altitude
or bottom, with a rich loam and a clay subsoil, and a northeast slope.
I prefer two-year-old trees with upright heads, set 30x40 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 classes from a
table as they come from the trees; pack in eleven-peck barrels for fall
use, and twelve-peck b