l. I employ men and
boys, and pay two cents per bushel for picking.

* * * * *

ED. SANDY, Linn, Washington county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-eight
years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees, fifteen years old. I prefer a
north slope. I plant my orchard to corn, using a cultivator; and
continue cultivating bearing orchard. I prune my trees. Do not thin the
fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter,
and think it beneficial; I would advise its use only on upland. I do not
pasture my orchard. My apples are troubled with codling-moth and
curculio. I have sprayed with Paris green for worms, and am not very
successful.

* * * * *

J. A. COURTER, Barnes, Washington county: Have lived in Kansas since
1869; have an apple orchard of 150 trees, set from nine to twenty-five
years. I prefer bottom land with a northeast slope. I cultivate my
orchard to corn all the time. Windbreaks are not essential. I fertilize
my orchard with stable litter; my trees grew fine, but for the last
three or four years they have blighted badly. I do not spray. I store
some apples for winter use in boxes in a cave.

* * * * *

THOMAS BROWN, Palmer, Washington county: I have resided in the state
twenty-eight years. Have an apple orchard of 500 trees from three to
twenty years old. For a commercial orchard I prefer Winesap, Missouri
Pippin, and Ben Davis, and for family orchard Cooper's Early White,
Maiden's Blush, and Jonathan. I prefer sandy land on an east slope. I
plant trees in rows sixteen by twenty-one feet. I mulch my orchard with
straw, and plow every three or four years. Windbreaks are essential; I
would make them of maple or box-elders, planted around the orchard. I
prune some, but it does not pay. 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 pasture my orchard some with
swine, but it is not advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled
with fall web-worms. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand. I
sometimes sell the apples in the orchard at retail. My best market is at
home; I never tried distant markets. I do not dry any. Am successful in
storing apples in boxes and barrels in a cellar. Winesap and Missouri
Pippin keep best. I never tried cold storage. I have to repack stored
apples before marketing, losi