Part 19

W. D. CELLAR, Edwardsville, Wyandotte county: Been in Kansas twelve years; have 2000 apple trees from two to eight years of age, comprising Ben Davis, Jonathan, Gano and Missouri Pippin for commercial purposes, and Maiden's Blush, Early Harvest, Bailey Sweet, Huntsman's Favorite, Grimes' Golden Pippin and Winesap for family orchard. I have discarded the McAfee and Lawver as unproductive. I prefer loose soil, and hill land with an east and north slope. Plant thrifty two-year-old trees, in rows 25x30 feet. I cultivate to corn, berries, etc., until seven or eight years old, with the Planet jr. horse hoe, and then sow to clover. Windbreaks are not needed in our locality. I prune conservatively, cutting out broken or interlacing branches, and suckers at the base; I believe it pays. Have never thinned on the tree, and fertilize with barn-yard litter and clover. I do not pasture my apple orchard. Am troubled some with insects, but have not sprayed. I dig out borers, which I think may be largely prevented by the use of wooden tree wrappers. I pick in the ordinary way and divide into two classes: select, sound, smooth apples above two inches in diameter; number two, sound apples too small for select. I do this on a sorting table, and pack in twelve-peck barrels, pressed down, and marked with a stencil. I sell at wholesale, sometimes in the orchard; culls I sell in the orchard or the Kansas City market. Our best market is Kansas City. I have shipped to distant markets and made it pay. Have never dried any. Have stored for winter in barrels in cold store; they have not kept satisfactorily, I cannot say why; Jonathan and Missouri Pippin kept best this past winter. I had to repack this spring and lost twenty per cent. Prices have ranged from 10 cents to $1.50 per bushel. For help I use men, and pay one dollar per day.

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C. D. GAISER, Lansing, Leavenworth county: Have lived in Kansas forty years. Have 5000 trees eight years old, of Gano, Ben Davis, Jonathan, and Huntsman's Favorite; I grow no others. My location is hilltop, with good, rich soil, and a clay subsoil; slope makes no difference. I plant two- and three-year-old trees, 15x30 feet, and cultivate to corn for seven or eight years, and then sow to clover and timothy. I never prune, thin, or fertilize; and allow no stock in the orchard. I do not spray, but dig the flat-headed borer out with a knife. I use ladders, and gather in baskets and pour into a wagon, and sort in unloading; I make only two classes, culls and good apples. I ship my best apples to different points in barrels, and it pays; my culls I make into cider. Have never tried drying apples. I store some for winter in bulk, and keep them successfully. I use men and boys for help. I sell for $1.25 to $1.50 per barrel.

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W. H. ROBINSON, Dunlap, Morris county: Has lived in Kansas thirty years; has 1000 apple trees, planted from two to nineteen years. Prefers Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Grimes's Golden Pippin and Jonathan for commercial purposes, and Early Harvest, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Duchess of Oldenburg and Cooper's Early White for family use. Has turned down Rawle's Janet, as they rot on the trees. All on best bottom land, clay subsoil. Plants two-year-old trees thirty-five feet apart each way, with nothing [?] between. Plants to corn, and cultivates well up to twelve years. Is protected on the southwest by a belt of timber. Keeps rabbits off by wrapping with corn-stalks. Prunes to make the tree healthier and apples finer; says it pays. Plants varieties in alternate rows, but does not say why. Uses all the stable litter he can get. Pastures with cows after gathering; says they eat the culls and wormy fruit, and it pays. He advises others to try it. Sprays with London purple before blooming, after blooming, and ten days later for tent-caterpillar and codling-moth, and believes he has reduced both of them. Has no borers--thinks "a stitch in time saves nine." Picks and sorts into two classes, first and second. Always sells in the orchard to western apple haulers. Lets the cows have all culls he does not use for cider. Price in orchard for picked apples, forty to fifty cents per bushel.

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J. H. TAYLOR, Rhinehart, Dickinson county: Lived in Kansas twenty-two years. Have 700 apple trees, out from one to nineteen years. Prefer, for commercial purposes, Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Rawle's Janet; and for family orchard add Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, and Rambo. Have discarded all the specially recommended eastern [?] varieties as shy bearers, and too warm for Grimes's Golden Pippin. Prefers to plant on good black loam, in ravines facing north. Plants two-year-old thrifty trees, some 33x33, others 33x16-1/2 feet. Have tried to grow root grafts, with poor success. Cultivate all the time with disc and plow; grow corn for five or six years, afterward nothing. Does not need windbreak, but would use if required--about fifteen rows of ash and catalpa, planted four by four feet. Wraps trees from rabbits. Mice ate bark off and completely girdled roots six inches in diameter under the ground last winter (1897-'98). Prunes some to keep the top balanced and low, to prevent sun-scald and effects of wind. Uses fresh stable litter as a mulch, and believes it pays. Does not pasture at any time. Has few insects, and does not spray much, says rains wash it off too readily. Picks in baskets, and finds the family the best market; stores for winter in boxes and barrels, and is successful with Rawle's Janet, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin. Prices have run from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel. Uses farm help at fifteen to eighteen dollars and board per month.

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JAMES LAWRY, Hollis, Cloud county: I have lived in the state sixteen years; have an apple orchard of 140 trees from six to fourteen years old. For all uses I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin. I have discarded the Willow Twig because they die out. I prefer a clay soil. I prefer three-year-old trees set in big holes. I cultivate my orchard about five years with a one-horse shovel plow. I plant potatoes or sweet corn in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping when the trees cover the ground, and sow red clover in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of mulberries. I prune with a saw, to make them more productive; I think it pays. I never thin my fruit while on the trees. Can see no difference whether trees are in block of one kind or mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard, or spray. I pick my apples by hand from a ladder. I do not sell in the orchard. I do not pasture my orchard. Don't dry any.

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LEVI KIMMAL, Concordia, Cloud county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five years; have an apple orchard of 120 trees eighteen years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap; and for a family orchard Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Limber Twig, and Maiden's Blush. I have tried and discarded Golden Russet on account of shy bearing. I prefer a sandy loam with a clay subsoil, having a north or northwest aspect. I prefer two-year-old trees for planting. I plant my orchard up to bearing with potatoes and corn; then seed down to red clover. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of several rows of Osage orange on the south side of the orchard. I prune my trees; thin out the top to let the sun in for coloring. My trees are more fruitful when planted in blocks. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; I think it beneficial because it mulches, enriches, and holds the moisture, and would advise its use on all soils; no land is so good but what stable litter will make it better. I do not pasture my orchard; I do not think it advisable; but I mow all the weeds or whatever grows in the orchard and leave it on the ground for a mulching. My trees are troubled with twig-borers and leaf-rollers, and my apples with codling-moth. I have sprayed my trees when in blossom with Paris green; did not succeed last year. I dig borers out and pick the bad fruit (if there is any) off. I hand-pick my apples for winter use into baskets from step-ladders. I sell apples in the orchard; would rather sell that way than to hold them. I feed the culls to pigs. My best market is at home; I never tried a distant market. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing apples for home use in a cellar. I do not irrigate, but use stable litter for moisture. Winter apples brought fifty cents per bushel; dried apples three or four cents per pound.

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SENECA HEATH, Muscotah, Atchison county: I have lived in the state thirty-one years; have an apple orchard of 2080 trees from three to thirty-six years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, York Imperial, Jonathan, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Stark, and on rich, moist soil, Winesap; and for a family orchard Early Margaret, Early June, Early Harvest, Cooper's Early White, Sweet Bough, Keswick Codlin, Maiden's Blush, Red Astrachan, Autumn and Summer Pearmain, Rambo, Fulton, Smith's Cider, and Newtown Pippin (if given extra care). Have tried and discarded Tompkins County King--the borers kill it on all soils--and Willow Twig on account of blight. I prefer upland with a black sandy or gravelly loam and a good limestone soil, with a porous subsoil as a necessity, and a northeast slope. I prefer thrifty one-year-old trees, set in plowed furrows and covered with a spade; "hill up" rather than "dig down." I cultivate my orchard to corn or any cultivated crop for eight years, using a plow and harrow, and cease cropping at the end of this time, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard; it does not pay. Windbreaks are essential, especially on upland. I would make them of red cedar, soft maple, or Osage orange, by planting in rows and cultivating four to six years. For rabbits I use tarred paper, and wood ashes for borers. I prune my trees with a saw and shears to produce fruit and shape; I think it pays, but the Ben Davis and Jonathan grow into handsomer shapes if left alone. If a tree is growing too rapidly to set fruit, prune in June. I thin the fruit while on the trees by picking off the wormy and defective ones. I keep this up until nearly grown; it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings, and believe they are more fruitful.

I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter, ashes, salt, and lime, and would advise it on all excepting rich soils, where it ought not to be used until after the trees have fruited five to eight years. Probably the cheapest and best fertilizer on upland is clover mowed and left to decay where it fell. Weeds are also good if mowed when two feet high and left on the ground. I pasture my orchard with pigs, calves, and horses, but it does not pay. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillars and round-headed borers, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray with a two-horse wagon sprayer, also a hand sprayer, when the blossom falls, with Paris green, and think I have reduced the codling-moth. I burn tent-caterpillars with a coal-oil lamp or torch. I pick my apples by hand into half-bushel baskets, from ladders. I sell my apples in the orchard. I sell, feed to the stock, and make cider of the culls. I do not dry any, but think it would pay. I have stored apples in barrels, and found the Winesap, Rawle's Janet, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Stark and Baldwin keep best. I am not always successful; will not store any more until I build a fruit house. I do not irrigate, but intend to. Prices have been from 75 cents to $1.75 per barrel. I employ men and boys, and pay two cents per bushel for picking.

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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.

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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.

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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, losing about one-third of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been about fifty cents per bushel.

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D. J. FRASER, Peabody, Marion county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-three years; have 380 apple trees ten inches in diameter, twenty-two years planted. I prefer for commercial purposes Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Grimes's Golden Pippin, and Maiden's Blush; and for family use would add Early Harvest, Sweet June, and Winesap; have tried and discarded about thirty other varieties, because they did not yield or were subject to disease. I prefer bottom land, with north slope, made land. I plow out deep, dead furrow; set trees and plow the earth back to the trees. I prefer two- or three-year-old strong trees. Have tried root grafts and seedlings with good success. I cultivate the trees the first ten years with the plow and harrow. I grow nothing in a young orchard, and seed the old orchard to clover. I think windbreaks are essential on the south, and would make them of Osage orange or mulberry, planted in double rows, a few feet apart. Wrap trees for rabbits, and for borers keep trees thrifty. I prune some to keep the top balanced, and think it beneficial. I have thinned fruit some, but do not think it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings, and I keep bees. I have used fertilizer, but could not see much benefit; would advise it only on thin soils. I have pastured my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable; it pays. My trees are bothered with canker-worm, root aphis, flathead borer, and twig-borer; the codling-moth troubles my apples. I have sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, London purple, and Paris green; could not see much good; have reduced the codling-moth some. I pick my apples the old-fashioned way--with a sack. Practically, the crop has been so light that very few have been sold, and they were fall apples. Have never dried any; have never stored any. Do not irrigate. Prices have been unsatisfactory.

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J. B. MOSHER, Lawrenceburg, Cloud county: I have lived in Kansas seventeen years. Have an orchard of 150 trees, planted from one to seventeen years. For family orchard would plant Early Harvest, Cooper's Early, Duchess of Oldenburg, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Winesap, Rawle's Janet, and Ben Davis. Medium elevation, with northern or northeastern slope, and clay-loam soil with clay subsoil, is preferable. When planting, I dig a hole large enough to receive the roots, and plant healthy two-year-old trees, trained to a switch, so that I can train the top to suit. Have tried root grafts and seedlings; both have done well. I cultivate while the trees are young, and use only harrow and mowing-machine after they begin to bear. I plant any hoed crop among the trees while young, and cease when the trees begin to bear. I think windbreaks essential, and use maple, box-elder, and Scotch pine. For rabbits I use traps and shot-gun. I use a knife for the borers. I prune when the tree needs it; use the saw on large trees and the knife on small trees. I thin the fruit sometimes when it sets too thickly, as soon as it shows, and it pays most emphatically. I cannot see any difference in trees whether set in blocks or mixed up. I use some barn-yard fertilizer, and think it beneficial; would advise its use as the trees begin to bear. I pasture my orchard with pigs and poultry; think it advisable, and think it pays.

My trees are troubled with bud moth, flathead borer, and twig-borer; some seasons I also have leaf-roller and leaf-crumpler. The codling-moth troubles my apples. I spray some to destroy these insects, with indigo and London purple, using a pump. I do not know that I have reduced the codling-moth any. For borer I form a basin around the tree and fill with water, repeating several times; I sometimes pick them. I use an ordinary fruit ladder, and sack with ends tied together and swung over the shoulder. I make but one class, viz., market all the perfect apples. I carefully put in a fruit-house and let stay a week or so, then carefully sort over by removing all unsound or faulty ones. I do not ship. I have a good market at home. I never sell in the orchard; usually market in bushel boxes. I usually feed second- or third-class fruit to hogs. My best market is Concordia. Have never tried distant markets. I have never dried any apples. I store some for winter use in an ordinary cellar; am successful, and find Winesap, Rawle's Janet and Missouri Pippin keep the best. We have to repack after storing, and lose about one-third. I do not irrigate. Winesap, Missouri Pippin and Rawle's Janet usually sell at one dollar per bushel; Ben Davis, at seventy-five cents per bushel.

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C. C. GARDINER, Bradford, Wabaunsee county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-nine years, in this county fourteen years; have 750 apple trees ten years planted. For commercial orchard I would plant Ben Davis, Winesap and Missouri Pippin; for family use, add Jonathan and Maiden's Blush. Have tried and discarded Keswick Codlin; tree is tender. I prefer hilltop, north and west or northeast slope, black loam with a yellowish clay subsoil. I plant thirty feet apart, using one- and two-year-old, low-headed trees. Have tried root grafts; had good success. I cultivate until the trees are six or seven years old with the plow and cultivator. I grow corn in a young orchard, and clover in a bearing orchard; cease cropping when six or seven years old. Windbreaks are beneficial on the south and west; they should be made of quick-growing trees. I wrap the trees with paper to protect against rabbits. I prune but little to thin top; am doubtful if it pays. Never thin apples on trees. I fertilize the land with well-rotted manure, but not close the trees; I would advise its use on all soils; I think it beneficial; I sometimes pasture my orchard with hogs; do not think it advisable; pays only in getting rid of wormy fruit. My trees are troubled with leaf-roller, and my apples with codling-moth. Do not spray. Gather my apples by hand, and sort into two classes, first, second and culls.

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ISAAC E. WOLF, Longford, Clay county: Have been in Kansas twenty-one years; have 200 apple trees nineteen years old, and 100 apple trees six years old. Prefer Ben Davis, Winesap and Missouri Pippin for market, and Maiden's Blush, Duchess of Oldenburg and Smith Cider for family orchard. The Red Astrachan and Early Harvest are shy bearers. My orchard is on sandy soil with clay subsoil; the trees look healthy. I prefer two-year-old trees, and lay the ground off in squares, making large holes. In young orchard I plant corn for ten years, cultivating both ways; after that I grow nothing, but cultivate with the disc as long as I can get through it. Am cultivating my old orchard. I think windbreaks are a necessity on the south, west, and north, and would make them of walnut and box-elder. For rabbits I rub on strong grease. I prune with shears such limbs as rub one another, and am sure it pays. I don't think it pays to thin fruit on the trees. I believe in fertilizing the ground, but not too close to the trees; it won't hurt any soil. Allow no stock in the orchard. The twig-borer is the worst insect in my orchard. I tried spraying on some trees, and some I did not, and my apples were all alike. I watch for borers closely, and cut them out. I pick in a grain sack, and make three classes. The best I keep for spring, the second class for winter, and the culls I turn into cider. I peddle my apples out at home. We dry some apples and have a good market at home. We store for winter in the cellar in bulk, and find that Winesap, Rawle's Janet and Missouri Pippin are the best keepers.

FRUIT DISTRICT No. 2.

Following is the second fruit district, comprising twenty-three counties, in the northwest quarter of state. Reports, or rather experiences, from each of these counties will be found immediately following. We give first the number of apple trees in this district, compiled from statistics for 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.

_Bearing._ _Not bearing._ _Total._ Cheyenne 211 1,708 1,919 Decatur 3,925 4,990 8,915 Ellis 3,846 1,321 5,167 Ellsworth 17,491 12,474 29,965 Gove 214 1,202 1,416 Graham 508 3,636 4,144 Jewell 120,509 56,550 177,059 Lincoln 19,619 18,846 38,465 Logan 468 1,465 1,933 Mitchell 55,806 20,624 76,430 Morton 264 171 435 Norton 7,220 6,803 14,023 Osborne 21,647 15,043 36,690 Phillips 16,765 9,486 26,251 Rawlins 806 2,065 2,871 Rooks 8,127 6,815 14,942 Russell 6,788 5,045 11,833 Sheridan 218 1,148 1,366 Sherman 169 1,477 1,646 Smith 41,919 22,988 64,907 Thomas 509 470 979 Trego 745 1,409 2,154 Wallace 223 1,343 1,566 ------- ------- ------- Total in district 327,997 197,079 525,076 Estimate in acreage 60,000 35,000 105,000

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