the children, and more and better literature in the house. If these
aims are realized, then the labor of the compiler shall not have been in
vain, but will prove to be a help in making Kansas and the Kansas apple
known throughout the whole world.

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES RELATING TO ORCHARDS.

APPLE CULTURE.

A paper read by JACOB GOOD, of Coffeyville, Kan., before the Kansas
State Horticultural Society, at a summer meeting in Coffeyville,
June 22, 1898.

Beginning in the early Roman period, the apple has been handed down
through the successive ages as the standard fruit. True, the hard,
bitter, uneatable crab or wild apple of former times was not much like
the tempting apple of to-day; yet it is the parent of all, or nearly
all, the varieties of apples so much prized at the present time. From
its great hardiness, easy cultivation, and long continuance through the
whole twelve months, it may be styled the "king" of all fruits. The
apple tree is now one of the most widely diffused of fruit-trees, and in
the estimation of many is the most valuable. But what has brought about
this great change in tree and fruit? The same cause which makes the man
of America or Europe superior to the tribes of northern Africa or India.
The same cause by which the most wonderful inventions of any age have
been placed before the public, viz., cultivation and constant attention.
Having made these questions a study for twenty-five years or more, and
having gathered all the points possible from the experience of the
fruit-growers with whom we have come in contact, we have become
thoroughly convinced that the growth of a perfect fruit is possible in
this climate. One of the main difficulties in a general fruit-growing
business is encountered in a hard subsoil--too hard when it is dry and
too soft and yielding when wet. Deep and thorough draining is therefore
a great requisite in tree culture.

The next step would be the means for securing plenty of moisture. We
would first open trenches each way not less than twenty-five feet apart.
They should be thrown out as deep as can be done with a plow, then
followed by subsoiler twelve to eighteen inches deep. Draw the surface
earth back into the crosses creating a mound. Plant the trees there and
fill up the ditches by back-furrowing, and bring the land to a perfect
level. It will not pay to plant trees on hard-pan soil without
preparation. It is better to avoid the hard-pan a