little. Do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted
in blocks. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it
beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my
orchard. I do not spray; am not troubled with insects. I hand-pick my
apples. I do not dry or store any for market. I do not irrigate.

* * * * *

GEO. T. ELLIOTT, Great Bend, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas
twenty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 800 trees from two to ten
years old, and three to seven inches in diameter. For market I prefer
Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Jonathan. I prefer a sandy bottom, with
a northeast aspect. I prefer three-year-old trees set twenty feet apart,
in land which has been plowed deeply and subsoiled. I cultivate my
orchard as long as I can get among the trees, with a disc that throws
dirt out first, and one that throws dirt in second. I cease cropping
after the first year; plant nothing in a bearing orchard. I have a
windbreak made of black locust and mulberries. I prune with
pruning-knife and shears to form the tops. I think it pays. I do not
thin my apples while on the trees. I believe all orchards should be set
in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think
it beneficial on sandy soil. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think
it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with flathead
borers and tent-caterpillars, and my apples with curculio. I do not
spray. I hand-pick my apples. I do not irrigate; but think a windmill
and a good pond would pay.

* * * * *

J. B. SCHLICHTER, Sterling, Rice county: I have lived in Kansas since
1871. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Willow Twig, and
Rawle's Janet, and for a family orchard Maiden's Blush and Early
Harvest. I have tried and discarded Ben Davis because they died when
eighteen or twenty years old; they are no good here. I prefer a
northeast slope, with a sandy loam and a clay subsoil. I prefer small
two-year-old trees, set 16x24 feet, rows running north and south. I
plant my orchard to corn up to bearing age, using the plow and harrow,
and plant nothing after they begin to bear, but keep up the cultivation.
Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of two or three rows of
Russian mulberries, on the south side of the orchard. I do not prune my
trees; it does not pay. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My