nter Pearmain, and
Little Romanite; and for family orchard Red June, Ben Davis, Missouri
Pippin, Jonathan, Early Harvest, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried
and discarded Bellflower and Willow Twig on account of blight. I prefer
bottom land, with a black, sandy loam, clay subsoil, and northern
aspect. I prefer one-year-old trees--switches--planted with a lister. I
cultivate my orchard to corn eight years, then use a disc harrow,
running both ways, keeping a dust mulch; I cease cropping at bearing age
and plant nothing. Never put alfalfa in an orchard. Windbreaks are not
essential here. For rabbits I use lath and woven wire, and concentrated
lye for borers. I prune with a saw and shears, to increase the size and
color of the fruit; I think it beneficial, and that it pays. I never
thin the fruit while on the trees, but believe it would pay. My trees
are in mixed plantings; I have Gilpin or Little Romanite growing beside
Missouri Pippins; they blossom the same time. At picking time in the
fall I have noticed a very marked difference in the Gilpin, it having
the peculiarities of the Missouri Pippin: the increase in size, with the
white specks and oblong shape peculiar to the Missouri Pippin. I also
noticed a difference in the Romanite for two rows in; I tried keeping
some of them until spring; some were quite mellow, and the flavor was
much superior to that of the Romanites not near the Missouri Pippins. I
fertilize my orchard with stable litter, but would not advise its use on
heavy soils. Do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does
not pay. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, root
aphis, flathead borer, fall web-worm, and leaf-roller; and my apples
with codling-moth, curculio, and gouger. I spray successfully when the
fruit buds appear in the spring, with Paris green, London purple and
Bordeaux mixture for canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, and curculio. I
hand-pick my apples in sacks and baskets from step-ladders, and sort
into two classes--first and second--as we pick them; put them into two
different vessels, and let the culls drop. I pack my apples in
two-bushel packages, with blossom end down, mark with the grower's and
consignee's names, and haul to market on a heavy truck. I sell some
apples in the orchard to buyers from the territory. I make cider and
vinegar of the culls, but do not dry, store nor irrigate any. Prices
have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.