W. B. STOCKARD, Beloit, Mitchell county:_The Apple The Kansas Apple, the Big Red Apple; the Luscious, Red-Cheeked First Love of the Farmer's Boy; the Healthful, Hearty Heart of the Darling Dumpling. What It Is; How to Grow It; Its Commercial and Economic Importance; How to Utilize It.

1871. Have an apple orchard of 800 trees. For all purposes I prefer

Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Jonathan, and Jefferis. Have tried and

discarded Ben Davis and Limber Twig. I prefer bottom land with a clay

subsoil; southeast slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, planted

twenty-four feet apart, then thin them out when they crowd. I cultivate

my orchard to corn and potatoes, using a cultivator and drop harrow, and

cease cropping when about six years old; plant nothing in a bearing

orchard. Windbreaks are not essential. To protect the trees from rabbits

I rub with rabbits' blood, and whitewash for borers. I prune very

little; remove dead limbs, and clip the others; think it beneficial if

not too severe. I do not thin my fruit while on the trees; it does not

pay. It is not necessary to set trees in mixed plantings when you keep

bees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think corn-stalks best,

it has proven beneficial; would advise its use on all soils. Do not

pasture my orchard; is not advisable; does not pay. My trees are

troubled with tent-caterpillar, bud moth, root aphis, bag-worm,

roundhead borer, woolly aphis, twig-borer, oyster-shell bark-louse, and

my apples with curculio. I spray just before the bud swells, and after

they bloom, with white arsenic; sal soda and lime for canker-worms and

moths; think I have reduced the codling-moth. I hand-pick my apples;

sort into two classes. Sell in the orchard, wholesale, retail, and

peddle; keep the best apples at home; make vinegar of the second and

third grades, and culls. Never tried distant markets. Find a ready

market for dried apples; but it does not pay. I store apples for winter

use in a circular arched cave, in barrels; find Winesap and Missouri

Pippin keep best. I do not irrigate. Price has been fifty cents per

bushel.

* * * * *

P. WAGNER, Dresden, Decatur county: I have lived in the state twelve

years. Have an apple orchard of fifty trees, planted last spring. I

prefer hilltop, with an east or north aspect. I cultivate my orchard

with a cultivator and harrow, growing no crop. Would make windbreaks of

locust trees. For rabbits I use barrel staves. I do not prune, or thin

the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I

fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think it beneficial, and

would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; do not

think it advisable; it does not pay. I do not spray. I water my orchard.

Apples have been one dollar per bushel; dried apples, five cents per

pound.

* * * * *

JOHN ELDER, Glen Elder, Mitchell county: I have lived in Kansas

twenty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 280 trees, from twelve to

twenty-six years planted. For family orchard I prefer Cooper's Early

White, Early Harvest, Chenango Strawberry, Maiden's Blush, Missouri

Pippin, and Ben Davis. Have tried and discarded Willow Twig, Lowell, and

White Winter Pearmain, on account of blight and sun-scald. I prefer hill

land, with black loam soil and clay subsoil; a northeast slope. I prefer

two-year-old trees, planted in dead furrows. I cultivate my orchard to

corn for a number of years, using a lister, while the trees are young,

and a disc when they get older. I cease cropping after six or eight

years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. When windbreaks are close

enough to do good they sap the ground too much. I wrap the trees to

protect them from rabbits, and keep them growing and healthy, for

borers. I prune my trees, and think it beneficial. I do not thin the

fruit on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think

it keeps a tree healthy and growing, which will protect it from borers

and other insects. Do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable.

My apples are troubled with curculio and gouger. I have sprayed after

the blossom fell, with Paris green, London purple, and blue vitriol;

don't know that I reduced the codling-moth any. For insects not affected

by spraying I bored a one-half inch hole in the trees this spring and

filled it with sulphur; then plugged it up. [?????] I sell apples in the

orchard; also retail. I do not dry any. Prices have been from

twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.

* * * * *

C. A. PERDUE, Beloit, Mitchell county: Have lived in Kansas eighteen

years. Have an apple orchard of about 250 trees. I prefer the Missouri

Pippin for commercial purposes. I prefer a black loam soil with a clay

subsoil; north slope. In planting trees, I would set them thirty feet

apart; mine are twenty feet and are too close. I have cultivated my

orchard, but think I did not do it right. A light culture to keep the

soil loose on top, to act as a mulch, would, I think, be beneficial.

Think it best to grow no crop in the orchard. I think windbreaks would

be beneficial. For rabbits I use woven wire. I prune to lessen the tops;

I think it ought to be done every year, so as never to cut any large

limbs; I think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees, but

think it would be an advantage. I have put stable litter in my orchard

two or three times during the last fifteen years, but do not think it

necessary; the land is rich enough without; would not advise its use on

all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable; it does not

pay. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, bud moth,

and flathead borer. I do not spray. Always sell in the local market. I

do not dry any. I store some for winter use, in a cellar in boxes,

barrels, and bins. We have to repack stored apples before marketing.

Prices for winter apples have been from fifty to seventy-five cents.

* * * * *

CHAS. VAIL, Colby, Thomas county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years;

have an apple orchard of 150 trees seven years old, from seven to eleven

feet. I plant my orchard to corn and potatoes for two or three years,

then nothing; use a common cultivator. Windbreaks are not essential. For

rabbits I use tar paper. I prune very little, and rub off young sprouts.

Can see no difference whether trees are in blocks of a kind or mixed

plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard; it is very injurious here. I

do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tobacco worms [?]

and grasshoppers. I do not spray. Do not irrigate.

* * * * *

HUDSON BROS., Kanopolis, Ellsworth county: Have lived in Kansas

thirty-four years; have an apple orchard of fifty trees, six to thirty

years old, from four to eighteen inches in diameter. For commercial

purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap, and for

family use would add Duchess of Oldenburg. I prefer sandy bottom land. I

plant three-year-old trees thirty feet apart each way, in well-plowed

land. I cultivate my orchard to corn or potatoes till the trees are ten

years old; sow rye in bearing orchard; mow in June, and then plow; never

have ceased cropping. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of

forest-trees planted in a belt around the orchard. I fertilize my

orchard with barn-yard litter; think it beneficial; would advise its

use to a certain extent on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs,

and think it advisable. My trees are troubled with flathead borers. I do

not spray.

* * * * *

E. W. O'TOOLE, Collyer, Trego county: I have resided in Kansas nineteen

years. Have an apple orchard of sixty-four trees, twenty-two of which

are fourteen years old, and thirty-seven inches in circumference. For

commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, and for family Early Harvest and

Winesap. I prefer black loam with sandy bottom, south slope. I plant

two-year-old trees, in rows eighteen feet apart. I do not cultivate my

orchard, but mulch it with hay for four years. Windbreaks are essential

here; would make them of cottonwood trees, planted in rows around the

orchard. For protection against rabbits I use whitewash and tar paper. I

prune to thin the tops; think it beneficial. The wind thins my apples

for me. I fertilize my orchard with hay; think it beneficial, and would

advise its use on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard. I shall spray

this year after the bloom falls with London purple and lime water. I

peddle my apples. This is the best market, because they are scarce. I am

successful in keeping a few bushels in a pit; the Missouri Pippin keeps

best. I do not irrigate. I am located on bottom land. Price has been one

dollar per bushel.

* * * * *

M. A. WILSON, Atwood, Rawlins county: I have resided in the state

nineteen years; have an apple orchard of fifty trees ten years old, six

inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Winesap and Ben Davis. I

prefer bottom land with a dark loam and a clay subsoil, with a northern

slope. I prefer two-year-old trees with good tops and stocky bodies, set

in early spring, sixteen to twenty feet apart. I plant my orchard to

corn, potatoes, and garden-truck, using a hoe and cultivator; have never

ceased cropping. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Russian

mulberries planted twelve feet apart each way; trim and cultivate them.

For rabbits I wrap the trees with rags or burlap cut in strips three or

four inches wide; begin at the bottom and wind up; if the limbs are near

the ground, wrap them, too. I prune with a small keyhole saw and shears

to keep the tree hardy, and think it pays. I thin my apples when they

are about half grown; it pays. I fertilize my orchard with stable

litter; it has been beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils.

Do not pasture my orchard. Trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and

flathead borer. I do not spray. I stand on a step-ladder and pick my

apples, laying them in the baskets as carefully as though they were

eggs. I sort into two classes--best, and second grade. I sell apples in

the orchard; retail the best, second and third grades; use and sell the

culls. Home is my best market. I do not dry or store any for winter

market. I irrigate, lifting the water twenty feet by an elevator and

horse power from creek. Prices have been from $1 to $1.60 per bushel.

Dried apples, sixteen pounds for one dollar. I employ hands at from

fifteen dollars to eighteen dollars per month.

* * * * *

F. T. M. DUTCHER, Phillipsburg, Phillips county: I have lived in Kansas

twenty-six years; have an apple orchard of 100 trees from eight to ten

years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap,

and for family orchard Ben Davis and Winesap. I prefer a bottom which

has a sandy soil and a clay subsoil, with a northeast slope. I set

two-year-old trees in listed ditches. I plant my orchard to potatoes as

long as possible; use a five-tooth cultivator; cease cropping when the

trees shade the ground, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard.

Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I tie corn-stalks around the

tree, leaving them on the year round. I prune my trees with a knife;

think it beneficial, and that it pays. I thin apples, if necessary, as

soon as established. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and

would advise its use on all soils. I never pasture my orchard; do not

think it advisable. My trees are troubled with borers, and my apples

with curculio. I do not spray. I dig borers out. I make only one grade

of my apples, and feed the culls to pigs, and use all the rest at home.

I do not dry any. I irrigate a little; have a pond around the trees.

* * * * *

D. E. STEVENS, Norton, Norton county: I have resided in the State

eighteen years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees from ten to fifteen

years old, three to six inches in diameter. My orchard should be

composed of Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Pewaukee, Jonathan, Willow Twig,

Maiden's Blush, Snow and two kinds of Russets (and I haven't a Russet in

the orchard!!), Early Harvest, one or two sweets (and I haven't a sweet

in the orchard!), which proves to me that an agent will sell you any

variety you want, and ship what they happen to have. I prefer bottom

land with a loamy soil and a clay subsoil, with a northern slope. I

prefer three-year-old, low-top trees, cut back, set in a furrow made

with a lister and dug out with a spade. I plant my orchard to corn,

using a stirring plow and harrow, and am still cultivating; would plant

corn or clover in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would

make them of Russian mulberries. For rabbits I wrap with fine meshed

wire. I prune my trees with a saw and knife to give sunlight, and make

larger fruit; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees.

My trees are in mixed plantings. I mulch my orchard late in the fall

with coarse manure; would advise it on all soils, unless very rich. Feed

your soil if you would have thrifty trees. I pasture my orchard with

hogs; I think it advisable, and that it pays because they keep the soil

loose. Trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, and

borers; and my apples with worms. I do not spray, but ought to. I

hand-pick my apples. I dry some for family use. I do not irrigate, but

am confident we need more water.

* * * * *

JESSE ROYER, Gove, Gove county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years. I

have four apple trees seven years old. I prefer upland with an eastern

or northeast slope. For planting, I prefer good two-year-old trees. I

cultivate my orchard all the time; would plant corn, and cultivate with

any tool that would do good work and kill the weeds; would not plant any

crop in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of

any kind of forest-trees excepting walnut; plant two or three rows of

them all around the orchard. I prune some to give shape to trees and

take out all dead branches, and think it pays. I think a good rich [?]

mulching would be beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. Do

not pasture my orchard. I would spray if it was necessary; insects are

not very bad here. I do not dry any.

FRUIT DISTRICT No. 3.

Following is the third fruit district, comprised of thirty-one counties

in the southwest quarter of the state. Reports, or rather experiences,

from each of these counties will be found immediately following. We give

below the number of apple trees in the third district, compiled from the

statistics of 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.

_Bearing._ _Not bearing._ _Total._

Barber 12,901 16,384 29,285

Barton 25,146 24,196 49,342

Clark 735 1,942 2,677

Comanche 1,010 1,512 2,522

Edwards 3,378 6,672 10,050

Finney 6,139 10,559 16,698

Ford 2,281 4,178 6,459

Grant 852 300 1,152

Gray 410 2,715 3,125

Greeley 10 402 412

Hamilton 741 2,242 2,983

Harper 36,296 20,508 56,804

Haskell 328 141 469

Hodgeman 415 675 1,090

Kearny 4,405 7,312 11,717

Kingman 39,249 23,416 62,765

Kiowa 1,683 2,212 3,895

Lane 1,647 2,524 4,171

Meade 1,340 2,200 3,540

Ness 1,188 1,630 2,818

Pawnee 11,137 7,800 18,937

Pratt 12,894 12,963 25,857

Reno 141,460 280,713 422,173

Rice 65,069 45,133 110,202

Rush 2,118 2,629 4,747

Scott 229 1,936 2,165

Seward 432 602 1,034

Stafford 22,914 27,377 50,291

Stanton 10 150 160

Stevens 897 1,651 2,548

Wichita 90 959 1,049

------- ------- -------

Total in district 397,304 513,633 910,937

Estimated acreage 60,000 100,000 160,000

* * * * *

D. J. McNEAL, Scott, Scott county: I have lived in Kansas ten years;

have an apple orchard of sixty-five trees five years old, seven feet

high. I prefer a clay soil with a north aspect. I plant two-year-old

trees in ground that has been plowed for two years before planting. I

cultivate my orchard with a disc harrow and cultivator, and plant

nothing. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of cottonwoods. I rub

rabbits' blood on the trees to protect them from other rabbits. I prune

my trees with a knife and a fine saw; I think it beneficial. I have

fertilized my orchard with stable litter, but it causes a too rapid

growth; I would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my

orchard; it is not advisable; it does not pay. I am not troubled with

insects, and do not spray. I do not irrigate, but think it would pay.

* * * * *

G. O. VICK, Fowler, Meade county: Have lived in Kansas fourteen years. I

planted an apple orchard twelve years ago; have about fifty Missouri

Pippins, that have not failed to give us a crop for seven or eight

years; last fall we got three bushels from a single tree--the most ever

taken from one tree by us. They are fine keepers, and are said to be

much better, both in color and flavor, than those grown farther east. We

have kept them in fine condition until July following, and then the

supply gave out. Have no trees where they can be irrigated, but hope to

put out an orchard next spring that can be irrigated. I have the finest

location [for irrigation] in the West, and will do my best. I prefer

valley land, with a southeast slope. Prices have been two dollars per

bushel.

* * * * *

C. A. BLACKMORE, Sharon, Barber county: I have lived in the state about

five years; have an orchard of 1100 apple trees, three years old, two

inches in diameter, seven feet high. For market I prefer Ben Davis,

Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Early Harvest, Benoni, and Maiden's Blush.

When planting a family orchard select varieties from the earliest to the

latest, that they may be well supplied. In planting a commercial orchard

I would study the wants and demands of the people, also the varieties

best adapted to our soil and climate. Do not be like an experiment

station and plant all varieties catalogued. A mongrel orchard, like

mongrel stock, is not good property. The man who has a hundred bushels

of some one good variety of apples can always get the best price for

them; but if the hundred bushels consisted of ten or a dozen varieties

there would not be enough of any one variety to attract a buyer, and

consequently he must take what he can get for them. Select such

varieties as the market demands, and then confine your planting to as

few varieties as possible, and your commercial orchard will attract

buyers. I prefer a bottom, with a dark, sandy or red land, with a

reddish clay subsoil, north or northeast slope. I plant thrifty

two-year-old trees, in ground plowed deeply and marked off with a lister

sixteen by thirty feet; then set the trees four to six inches deeper

than they stood in the nursery, in holes dug at the crossings. I haul my

trees to the field in a barrel two-thirds full of water, take them out

one at a time and trim all the broken and long roots, arranging them in

natural positions and turning the ends down in the hole, leaning the

tree toward the two P. M. sun; then I fill the hole, using a rammer

while a boy shovels the dirt in. If the soil is dry pour two or three

gallons of water on the roots. When the water has soaked away finish

filling the hole, and tramp the soil lightly around the tree. When they

are all set, cut them well back.

I cultivate my orchard from early spring to the 1st of September, using

a plow, cultivator, and disc; I plant corn in a young orchard, and cease

cropping after eight years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard.

Windbreaks are essential on the south and west, and I would make them of

Russian mulberries. For rabbits I rub rabbits' blood on the trees twice

during the winter. Borers I cut out the first year; after that I drown

them out by cultivation. I prune my trees while they are small, to give

shape. I think it pays, as you do not have to cut off large branches

when grown. Do not have to thin fruit here in Kansas. I do not plant a

solid block of any one kind of trees; I intermingle the varieties in

alternate rows, and insure more perfect pollination. I fertilize my

orchard with stable litter; it pays especially well on sandy soil, and I

would advise its use on all soils. Don't expect your trees to produce

something for nothing; feed them. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not

advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with canker-worm,

tent-caterpillar, bud moth, root aphis, bag-worm, flathead borer,

roundhead borer, woolly aphis, twig-borer, and oyster-shell bark-louse,

and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. Hunt the insect eggs

and nests in your trees, and destroy the source of much loss to your

fruit this season. In picking, I use a ladder to reach the apples in the

top of the trees; put them in a grain sack over my shoulder with a stick

in the mouth; have gathered sixty bushels per day for weeks at a time in

this way. Prices have been from one dollar to two dollars per bushel,

and dried apples five to eight cents per pound.

* * * * *

A. D. EINSEL, Greensburg, Kiowa county: I have lived in the state twelve

years. I plant thrifty one-year-old trees, in holes large enough to

receive the roots, cover the roots with earth, and then pour in a pail

of water. When this is soaked away fill the hole nearly full of earth. I

cultivated my orchard to corn, using a spring-tooth harrow, to keep the

soil loose and kill the weeds. Am going to plant another apple orchard.

I think western Kansas will yet grow apples.

* * * * *

A. N. PATTERSON, Ford, Ford county: I have lived in Kansas seventeen

years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees five years old. I fertilize my

orchard with stable litter. Do not pasture my orchard; do not think it

advisable. I do not irrigate.

* * * * *

JOHN HINDS, Olcott, Reno county: I have resided in the state thirteen

years. Have an apple orchard of 500 trees; 375 of them are three years

old, and the balance eight years old. For commercial orchard I prefer

Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Rawle's Janet, and Grimes's Golden

Pippin; and for family orchard Early Harvest and Maiden's Blush. I have

tried and discarded Greening, Baldwin, and Missouri Keeper. I prefer a

sandy bottom with a clay subsoil, and eastern aspect. I prefer

three-year-old trees, set in the spring. I prune the roots and tops when

setting. I plant my orchard to corn or potatoes for six or eight years;

plow shallow; cease cropping after eight years, and plant nothing but

clover and orchard-grass in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential;

would make them of mulberries planted one or two feet apart all around

the orchard. For rabbits I make a varnish and apply to the trees in the

fall. I prune my trees in June when they are large, so as to let in

light and sun; I use a tree pruner; think it pays. I do not thin the

fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize

my orchard with stable litter, but do not put it close to the trees; I

think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I pasture my

orchard with hogs; I think it pays. My trees are troubled with fall

web-worm and leaf-roller. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand; sort

into three classes from piles. Pack them in barrels and haul to market

on wagon. I sell apples in the orchard at retail. Make vinegar of the

culls. I store some apples for home use. Price has been one dollar per

bushel.

* * * * *

HENRY MILLER, Ulysses, Grant county: Have lived in Kansas fifteen years.

I have 256 apple trees, nine and ten years planted, from three to five

inches in diameter. I grow for market Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Ben

Davis, adding for family use Maiden's Blush and Grimes's Golden Pippin.

I prefer bottom land, northeast slope, sandy soil, and gypsum subsoil. I

plant in squares twenty-four by twenty-four feet. I have cultivated up

to date with stirring plow and cultivator. I grow garden-truck among my

trees until seven years old; after that nothing. I believe windbreaks

essential in this county, and would make them of Russian mulberry,

cottonwood, and locust. I would plant on the outside a row of mulberry

four feet apart; next, a row of cottonwood or locust eight feet apart.

To prevent destruction by rabbits I rub with fresh blood. I prune with

a knife to prevent watersprouts from getting too thick; I am sure it

pays, and lets sunshine into the center of the trees. I use stable

litter, straw or rotted hay for fertilizer. I do not pasture my orchard,

and have no insects but grasshoppers. Our crop has been light, owing to

dry weather. I sell largely in the orchard. Our best market is at home.

We dry a few for home use. I keep some for winter use, in a cave dug out

and covered with earth. I do not irrigate. The prevailing price for

apples is one dollar per bushel, and of dried apples, six cents per

pound.

* * * * *

E. T. DANIELS, Kiowa, Barber county: I have lived in the state

twenty-five years. Have an apple orchard of 150 trees, from ten to

sixteen years old, four to eight inches in diameter. For market I prefer

Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Jonathan, Twenty-ounce Pippin, Maiden's Blush,

and Rawle's Janet. Would plant the same varieties for a family orchard.

Have tried and discarded Ben Davis, Early Harvest, Smith's Cider,

Lawver, Fink, Walbridge, and McAfee; they will not stand the heat and

drought. I prefer bottom land, with heavy loam and red subsoil,

southeast slope, sheltered from north and south winds. I prefer a good

yearling tree, planted in a dead furrow; after planting, plow two

furrows to the tree, and then harrow. I plant my orchard to corn for two

years only, using a twelve-inch plow, cultivator, and harrow. I

cultivate my orchard as long as it lives, and plant nothing in a bearing

orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south and north; would make

them of a belt of deciduous trees, six rods wide on the north, and

one-half as wide on the south; would make this of native trees--elm,

ash, or mulberry. For rabbits I wrap the trees with hay. I prune my

young trees with the thumb and finger mostly, forming low heads; bearing

trees I prune very little, except to take out the blighted limbs. I thin

my apples when too full, when about the size of marbles; believe it

pays. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with

stable litter and ashes, but cannot see any benefit; think it would do

no harm, unless heavy coats of coarse manure are plowed under. Never

have pastured my orchard, but am going to very soon; am fencing now, so

I can turn in hogs. My trees are troubled with twig-borer, and my apples

with codling-moth. I do not spray. I sell apples in the orchard, and

peddle the best second and third grades; give the culls to the hogs. My

best market is in Oklahoma; never have tried distant markets. I am

successful in keeping apples for family use in bulk in a cyclone cellar

dug in the red rock. Missouri Pippin keep the best for me. Prices have

been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

* * * * *

D. D. WHITE, Enon, Harper county: Have lived in Kansas twenty years;

have 500 apple trees planted from three to eighteen years. For

commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap.

For family orchard I would add Maiden's Blush and Grimes's Golden

Pippin. I prefer sandy bottom with an eastern slope. I would plant

yearling trees, with every limb cut off, in rows twenty feet north and

south, and forty feet east and west. Cultivate with double-shovel plow

until they get too big to get among them, and grow nothing near them. I

believe in a windbreak of mulberry, or any trees planted thickly, on the

south. I prune only so that I can get under the trees. I use plenty of

barn-yard litter, for it pays in the orchard. I pasture my orchard with

hogs, and think it advisable, as it pays. I have sprayed, but never saw

any good in it. I dig the borers out with a wire, unless they are in the

heart of the tree, and then there is no help for the tree. I pick from a

step-ladder, and sort into three classes: windfalls, wormy, and perfect.

In picking we drop the decayed and gnarly to the ground, carry the rest

in baskets to the barrel, put the perfect ones in one barrel, and the

others in another. Do not disturb the best ones until you sell; the

others should be sorted again before you sell. I sell some in the

orchard, but peddle mostly; my best I sell to the stores in the spring;

of the culls I make cider. My best market is the towns in the "Strip." I

dry some satisfactorily on a cook-stove evaporator, pack in flour sacks,

and find a ready and profitable market for them in the spring. I store

successfully for winter in bulk and in barrels in a cave with

eighteen-inch wall arched over from the bottom. I find that Ben Davis,

Missouri Pippin and Winesap keep the best. We lose, perhaps,

one-sixteenth. I do not irrigate. Prices range from 50 cents to $1.50

per bushel, and dried apples from five to twelve cents per pound. I use

only farm hands at fifteen dollars per month and board.

* * * * *

AMOS JOHNSON, Ellinwood, Barton county: Have been in Kansas twenty-three

years; have an orchard of 2000 apple trees, planted from three to twelve

years. Varieties for market: Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Smith's Cider,

and Northern Spy; for family use, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Smith's

Cider, Maiden's Blush, and Red June. Have no use whatever for Ben Davis.

Prefer bottom land, with black, sandy soil and a southern aspect. Plant

good, thrifty two-year-old trees 25x25 feet. I plant corn or potatoes

for three or four years, and after that nothing; thoroughly cultivate

with the plow, disc, and harrow. I think a windbreak on the south side

very essential, and would make it of cottonwood and Russian mulberry, in

five rows, alternating, six feet apart. I use soap and turpentine for

the borers, and hounds for the rabbits. I believe pruning pays, and

makes the fruit much nicer. I use common pruning shears, and prune so

that the sun can get in. Never have thinned apples on the trees, but

believe it would be a good thing. I believe in fertilizing with stable

litter; think it keeps the orchard thrifty and more fruitful. I have

never kept any stock in the orchard, but believe it would be advisable

and no detriment to pasture with hogs in June and July. Have never

sprayed any. I pick from step-ladders into baskets, and sort into three

classes: No. 1 are sold in barrels, No. 2 in bulk, and No. 3 go for

cider. I have sold a few wagon-loads in the orchard, but I sell my best

apples by the bushel late in winter; I usually sell the second-grade

apples first, and make the culls into cider. My best market is in the

counties north and west of us; have never tried a distant market. Never

dried any. For winter we store in barrels, and are successful. The

Missouri Pippin and Willow Twig keep best. I irrigate on a small scale.

Prices average about one dollar per bushel.

* * * * *

S. S. DICKINSON, Larned, Pawnee county: Has lived in Kansas thirty-three

years, and has an apple orchard of 1800 trees, planted from seven to

fifteen years. For commercial purposes he prefers Missouri Pippin,

Winesap, Willow Twig, Ben Davis, and Rome Beauty, and for family use

adds early apples. Has tried and discarded Red Winter Pearmain, because

of blight. He is located in river bottom, with sandy soil, and a blue

clay subsoil. Prefers a north and east slope. Plants two-year-old trees,

with heads two feet from the ground, in deep dead furrows. Cultivates

until the middle of July with a disc harrow, plow, and weeder. Never

ceases cultivation. In the young orchard he plants corn, potatoes, and

garden-truck, and would plant the same in a bearing orchard, and cease

cropping when the trees got too large. Windbreaks are essential; would

make them of any fast growing timber, by planting two rows, six to eight

feet apart, and three feet in the row. For borers and rabbits he uses

paint, whitewash, and poison. He prunes his trees with a knife and

shears, and thins out the tops to let the sun in, and thinks it pays,

and is beneficial. He thins the fruit as soon as he sees that it is too

thick. His trees are in mixed plantings, and fertilized with all the

stable litter he can get. He finds it beneficial, and would advise its

use on all soils. Does not pasture his orchard, excepting in late fall

and early winter, when he lets the calves run in to tramp the ground,

and thinks it advisable. His trees are troubled with canker-worm,

bark-louse, and some other insects; and his fruit with codling-moth. He

sprays his trees twice before the buds open, with Bordeaux mixture and

arsenical solution, for blight; thinks he has reduced the codling-moth.

Picks his apples from the trees into sacks, and hauls in a padded wagon

box. Sorts them from tables into three classes--extra, good, and medium.

Never sells apples in the orchard; wholesales, retails and peddles them.

His best market is at home, but he has not enough to fill it. Does not

dry any. Is successful in keeping a few apples for winter market in

barrels and boxes in a cellar, as near air-tight as possible. They keep

well until May 25, and he does not find it necessary to repack stored

apples before marketing. He does not irrigate. Prices have been:

Wholesale, 60 cents to $1.20 per bushel; retail, 80 cents, $1.40 to

$1.60 per bushel. He employs good help at one dollar per day and board.

* * * * *

F. F. HANSBERRY, Larned, Pawnee county: Have resided in Kansas

twenty-three years. Have 1400 apple trees nine years planted. For

market, Ben Davis, Winesap, Red Edgar (?), Haas, and for family orchard

Ben Davis, Winesap, Maiden's Blush, and Whitney (crab) No. 20. I have

discarded the Missouri Pippin, as the tree is too short-lived. I prefer

second bottom, with sandy soil and clay subsoil; always choose north or

northeast aspect. I always plant good one-year-old trees, twenty by

thirty feet apart, putting Missouri Pippins between the wide way, to be

cut out later on. I grow and graft all my trees. Cultivate with a disc

cultivator until the trees come into full bearing; after that every

second year. I grow no crop in the orchard. I believe windbreaks are

essential on south side; I think mulberry trees best, and would plant a

double row two feet apart, in rows four feet apart, the nearest row

forty feet away from apple trees. I shoot and trap the rabbits. I only

prune enough to keep the tree well balanced. I often thin Winesaps on

the tree because I think they need it, and it pays. I believe in mixed

plantings, and therefore plant Ben Davis among all the others. I spread

stable litter among my trees after they come into bearing; sandy soil, I

think, requires the most fertilizer. I pasture in a small way, putting

my little calves in, in the spring. Am only bothered with a few

codling-moth and flat-headed borers. I do not spray, but I make way with

all the fallen fruit. I hunt borers and kill with a wire. Pick by hand

as soon as well colored; sort into two classes; the best is first, and

all sound smaller fruit second. We pack in barrels by hand, marking with

the variety and class. We sell ours all at home; usually they are

engaged before they are picked. Our second grade we keep at home; culls

are made into cider. Our apples are sold in Dodge City and Larned. Have

never shipped any; have never dried any. I store some second grade in

barrels and bulk in the cellar, and find that Missouri Pippins, Ben

Davis, and Winesaps keep the best, and I do not lose over three per

cent. Some seasons I irrigate, with windmills. Prices vary from 75 cents

to $1.25 per bushel.

* * * * *

L. G. MORGAN, Richfield, Morton county: I have lived in Kansas

forty-three years; have an apple orchard of 125 trees, medium size, ten

years old. For all purposes I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and

Maiden's Blush. I prefer black loam bottom, with clay subsoil, northern

slope. I plant two-year-old trees with small tops, well rooted, in

large holes, and filled in with well-worked soil. I cultivate my orchard

to vines, using a stirring plow and hoe, and cease cropping after six

years, but keep cultivating, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard.

Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees planted in

hit-and-miss rows around the orchard. Am not troubled with rabbits and

borers. I prune with a saw and knife to give shape; think it beneficial.

I thin apples on the trees as soon as large enough. My trees are in

mixed plantings; Maiden's Blush are surrounded by Pippins and Rambos. I

think they are more fruitful. I do not fertilize. I pasture my orchard

with chickens and turkeys; I think it advisable, to keep out bugs. Trees

are troubled with tent-caterpillar. I pick my apples by hand into

baskets from step-ladders, and sort into three classes, choice, common,

and culls, while gathering. I pack in barrels, placing a layer in the

bottom, mark with paint, and haul to market on a wagon. I sell apples in

the orchard, also retail to merchants; make cider of culls. Richfield is

my best market. Do not dry any. Am successful in storing apples for

winter in boxes and barrels in cellar; find Missouri Pippin and Winesap

keep best. Lose about two per cent. of the stored apples. I irrigate my

trees direct from a well, in ditches running close to the trees. Price

has been one dollar per bushel.

* * * * *

E. MORGAN, Hutchinson, Reno county: I have lived in Kansas seventeen

years; have sixty acres of apples, from four to sixteen years old. For

commercial orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap; and

for family orchard Early Harvest, Cooper's Early White, Maiden's Blush,

Jonathan, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and discarded Snow and

Early Pennock on account of blight. I prefer river bottom with a clay

subsoil. I plant two-year-old, large, thrifty trees, at the crossings of

furrows made with a lister, twenty by thirty feet. I cultivate for the

first four years to corn and garden-truck, using a Planet jr.

cultivator, then use a one-horse plow for two years, and cease cropping

when bearing begins heavily, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are

essential; would make them of one row of Osage orange, on the west side

of orchard. For rabbits I use tree paint and wood veneers. I prune my

trees in the winter, to produce health and give good form; think it

beneficial, and that it pays. I do not thin my fruit while on the trees,

but think it would pay. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think

it beneficial; would advise its use on sandy land. My trees are troubled

with flathead borer, and my fruit with codling-moth and curculio. I do

not spray. I pick my apples from ladders; pile those taken from eight

trees together and cover with hay. Sort into three classes: First, sound

and large; second, sound and small; third, spotted. I sell apples in the

orchard, also wholesale and retail; pack my best in bushel boxes and

sell to grocers. Sell my second and third grades to peddlers and farmers

from the west. My best market is at home. Have tried distant markets and

found they paid. Am successful in storing apples in bulk in a bank

cellar, Winesap and Missouri Pippin keeping the best. Do not irrigate.

Good apples sold here this winter for one dollar per bushel. I employ

farm hands at farm wages.

* * * * *

C. H. LONGSTRETH, Lakin, Kearny county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-nine

years. I have 3400 apple trees--500 eleven years old, 1200 eight years

old, 700 six years old, and 1000 set this spring. For market I prefer

Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. For family use I would advise

Early Harvest, Red June, Maiden's Blush, Chenango Strawberry, Smith's

Cider, Huntsman's Favorite, Rome Beauty, Jonathan, Ben Davis, Winesap,

and Missouri Pippin. Have discarded the Red Astrachan, Willow Twig, and

Cooper's Early White, as they will not bear. I prefer second bottom,

not too high or too low; sandy loam, with loose clay subsoil; any slope

is good, north preferred. I prefer small-sized, well rooted,

two-year-old trees, planted with a spade, in deeply plowed, thoroughly

prepared ground, and would cultivate until they die of old age. I use a

sixteen-inch disc, Acme harrow, Thomas's smoothing harrow, and Barnes's

weeder. I grow small fruit and vegetables among the trees until of

bearing age. Would plant windbreaks of six or eight rows of North

Carolina poplars, honey and black locust, Russian mulberry, white ash,

and box-elder, one-year seedlings, two feet apart, in rows four feet

apart, on the north and south side of orchard. For rabbits, I wrap my

trees as soon as possible after planting. I prune with a knife to admit

sun and air, and to keep down suckers and limbs that rub each other. I

thin all through the season, taking out imperfect fruit as far as

possible, and it pays. I don't think it necessary to mix varieties to

insure fruitfulness, yet this spring I planted 1000 Missouri Pippins,

filling every sixth row with Winesaps for a test. The varieties I have

discarded as not bearing were thoroughly mixed in with other kinds. I

would use no fertilizers unless on very thin soil, and then would prefer

to use before planting. I use fertilizers after the trees come into

bearing, but up to bearing age good, thorough cultivation in the early

part of the season is all that I would give. I do not pasture orchards;

it might be advisable to turn hogs in to eat up windfalls affected with

codling-moth, but never any other stock.

Am troubled only with root aphis, codling-moth, and curculio. I spray

right after the blossoms fall with London purple, for codling-moth, and

have reduced them to a great extent. Have prevented borers by wrapping.

I contemplate using kerosene emulsion on curculio and insects that I

cannot reach with poison. I pick in canvas lined half-bushel baskets,

and sort into firsts, seconds, and culls, carefully, by hand. I pack in

boxes, if I can get them; have used barrels well shaken and pressed

down, marked with stencil, and shipped by rail. Denver has been our best

market thus far; sometimes I have sold most of my apples in the orchard;

never have to peddle any. I feed the culls to my hogs. Never dry any,

but think I will try it in the near future, as there is a good home

market for a large part of them. Have stored a good many in cellar in

barrels and in bulk; some I have buried. I don't like either plan, and

am figuring to put up some kind of cold-storage building for future use.

Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis, in the order named, have kept

best for me, my losses being about one-fifth. I irrigate by flooding the

ground all over thoroughly when necessary. Prices have ranged from 75

cents to $1.25 per bushel; from $2.50 to $3 per barrel. I use the best

men I can get, and pay $1 a day and board, or $1.50 per day without

board.

* * * * *

A. W. SWITZER, Hutchinson, Reno county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-six

years; have 2000 apple trees twelve, fifteen and eighteen years old.

Winesap, Missouri Pippin and Ben Davis for market purposes; Maiden's

Blush, Rambo and Roman Stem added for family use. Have discarded Limber

Twig and Willow Twig, both subject to blight. I prefer bottom land,

sandy loam soil, and sandy subsoil; north slope is best. Plant

two-year-old, low-headed trees, in holes large enough to receive all the

roots without crowding, one inch deeper than in the nursery. Plant to

corn until five or six years of age; then nothing. Plow and cultivate

both ways to kill the weeds. I believe windbreaks are a necessity, and

should be made of trees planted two or three rods wide, four feet apart,

on the south side. Wrap the trees with straw or hay to protect from

rabbits and borers. I prune with a saw to thin out where too thick, and

to keep down the watersprouts; it certainly pays. I use stable litter

and old hay in the orchard for fertilizer. Do not think it pays or is

advisable to pasture orchard. I spray when the bloom begins to fall,

three times for codling-moth, with London purple and Paris green, and I

am satisfied I have reduced them. For the borer I use a knife and a

wire. I pick in baskets, and pile in long rows in the orchard. I sort

into two classes, and sell the best in the orchard to men who haul them

west. The culls go for cider. I do not irrigate, and I do not dry or

store any apples. Prices have varied from twenty-five cents to one

dollar per bushel. I use common farm labor at fifteen to eighteen

dollars per month.

* * * * *

J. C. CURRAN, Curran, Harper county. I have lived in Kansas fifteen

years. Have fifty apple trees eleven years old. For commercial orchard I

prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and York Imperial, and for

family orchard add some summer and fall varieties. Have tried and

discarded Rawle's Janet, on account of slow growth. Bellflower is a fall

apple here; and Jonathan is too small. I prefer bottom land, sandy loam,

subirrigated, water at six feet. I prefer good two-year-old trees, head

twenty-eight inches from the ground, planted in spring, after March

winds. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a disc drawn by four

horses. I plant no crop. Have some weeds and rabbits. Windbreaks are

essential; would make them of mulberries planted not closer than forty

feet to the first row of trees; would buy the mulberry sprouts from the

nursery. I keep the rabbits down with dogs and shot-guns; dig borers

out. I never thin my apples; the wind does it for me. I fertilize my

orchard with barn-yard litter, but think it injurious to the trees. Do

not pasture my orchard. Trees are troubled with canker-worm and

tent-caterpillar, and fruit with curculio. I do not spray. Pick apples

by hand. Never dry apples; it does not pay. Do not irrigate. Prices have

been fifty cents per bushel in the fall, and one dollar per bushel in

the winter.

* * * * *

JOHN H. GOSCH, Norwich, Kingman county: I have lived in Kansas twenty

years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees eighteen years old. I prefer a

bottom having dark soil. I plant two-year-old trees in large holes, well

watered. I cultivate my orchard shallow, and mulch, using a disc. Never

plant anything among the trees. Windbreaks are essential; would make

them of two or three rows of mulberries, on the north and south sides of

the orchard. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, but do not put

it near the trees; think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all

southwestern Kansas soil. Am not bothered with insects. Do not spray.

Apples have been one dollar per bushel.

* * * * *

L. W. LEACH, Kingman, Kingman county: I have lived in Kansas twenty

years. Have an apple orchard of about 300 trees, from fourteen to

eighteen years old. Those that do the best here are Red June, Maiden's

Blush, and Cooper's Early White.

* * * * *

H. E. JESSEPH, Danville, Harper county: I have lived in Kansas

twenty-five years; have an apple orchard of 800 trees, 100 of them but

one year old and the other 700 are fourteen years old. For market I

prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for a family orchard

Grimes's Golden Pippin, Stark, and Cooper's Early White. Have tried and

discarded the Nonesuch. I prefer bottom land with a deep loam that goes

to water, with a north aspect. I prefer two-year-old trees set sixteen

feet apart. I plant my orchard to corn for about eight years, using a

disc harrow; and cease cropping at the end of that time. Windbreaks are

essential; I would make them of Osage orange, Russian mulberries, or

cottonwood, by planting all around the orchard, making it the heaviest

on the south side. For rabbits I wrap the young trees with corn-stalks,

and borers I dig out. I prune with pruning-shears and a chisel to

increase the fruit; I think it pays. I thin my fruit while on the trees

in June and July, and find it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings. I

do not fertilize my orchard, but would advise it on all soils. I do not

pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees

are troubled with flathead borer, and my fruit with codling-moth. I do

not spray. I hand-pick my apples in a sack, one corner of which is tied

up to the top, it has a strap eighteen inches long to put over the

shoulder; spread the top of the sack and pick with both hands. Sort my

apples into two classes: first and second. I pick the best first,

letting the inferior ones stay on the trees; I afterwards shake these

off and send to the cider mill. I sell apples in the orchard. Make cider

and vinegar of the second and third grades and culls. My best market is

at home in the orchard. Never tried distant markets. Do not dry any;

cannot find a ready market for them and it does not pay. Am successful

in storing apples for winter use in bulk, in an outside cave; find the

Little Red Romanite and Missouri Pippin keep best. I do not irrigate.

Prices have been from sixty to seventy-five cents per bushel. I employ

careful young men at one dollar per day or twenty-five dollars per

month.

* * * * *

SAM JONES, Springfield, Seward county: I have lived in Kansas thirteen

years. Have an apple orchard of fifty trees. I am not keeping them for

the fruit, but for the pleasure of the birds--to build nests and sing

their sweet songs in. I cultivate my orchard all the time to keep the

weeds down; plant it to vines, such as squashes, pumpkins, melons, etc.

Do not pasture my orchard. I do not know of anybody that ever irrigated.

In regard to "the Kansas Apple," in this part of the state, they are no

good. I will say there never was ten bushels of apples grown in Seward

county. I planted out two acres of apple trees ten years ago; they grew,

and looked very well. I took good care of them, but they never would

bear; and that is the experience of every one else. I cannot tell the

cause, unless it gets too dry and hot, with hot winds. [Such things were

said of the whole state of Kansas by many intelligent men thirty years

ago. Mr. Jones does not tell what varieties he tried, and his remarks

need not discourage any whose lot is cast in Seward county. While there

are only 1034 apple trees reported in the whole county, yet the low

price of trees should encourage every farmer to plant a few of the

hardier varieties, if only as an experiment.--Secretary.]

* * * * *

JOSEPH BAINUM, Langdon, Reno county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five

years. Have an apple orchard of twenty trees, most of them ten years

old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Winesap, and for family

would add Early Pennock and Maiden's Blush. Ben Davis would not do any

good for me. I prefer bottom or table land with a heavy subsoil and a

northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees with low heads, set in a

ditch. I cultivate my orchard to corn as long as I can get in with a

plow; I also use a disc and harrow. I cease cropping when the trees need

all the moisture; do not plant anything in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks

are essential; would make them of mulberry trees, set thirty or forty

feet away from the orchard. For rabbits I use axle grease and sulphur

mixed. I prune, leaving the tops low, and thin out the branches so as to

give air and produce larger fruit; it has paid me. I fertilize my

orchard with stable litter but do not put it close to the trees; I think

it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I have pastured my

orchard with cattle and hogs; do not think it advisable; it does not

pay. Trees are troubled with flathead borer and leaf-roller, and my

apples with codling-moth. I have sprayed, but not lately, with London

purple for codling-moth, just after the blossoms fell; it did not

pay--did not reduce the codling-moth any. I go after insects not

affected by spraying with a small wire. I pick my apples by hand in

half-bushel baskets; sort into three classes--largest and sound, second

best, and cider. I wholesale, retail, and peddle, and make the culls

into cider and vinegar. Never have tried distant markets. I dry some

with a Stutzman dryer; it is satisfactory. I pack them in cracker boxes

and find a ready market for them at times; it does not pay. Am

successful in storing apples two feet deep in bins, one above another,

in a cellar walled up with rock; never tried any excepting Missouri

Pippin and Winesap. I have to repack stored apples before marketing,

losing about five per cent. I irrigate my orchard with water pumped into

a reservoir 80x120 feet, and three feet deep. Prices have been from 50

cents to $1.25 per bushel; dried apples, ten cents per pound. I employ

women at fifty cents per day.

* * * * *

A. S. DRAKE, Bucklin, Ford county: Have lived in Kansas twenty years,

and have 330 apple trees from three to eleven years old, part of them

ten inches in diameter. I prefer good keeping apples for family use. I

prefer bottom land, subirrigated, with a north and east slope. I prefer

two-year-old trees, set the same depth as they grow in the nursery. I

cultivate my orchard from three to eight years, in potatoes, with a plow

and harrow; I plant nothing in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping

when they shade the ground. Windbreaks are essential where orchards are

exposed. I would make them of forest-trees. I protect from rabbits by

wrapping with poultry wire. I dig borers out. I prune very little, just

enough to stop top growth; I think it has been beneficial. I thin my

apples when the limbs are unable to support them. I mulch only to hold

back the bloom. I do not pasture my orchard. Borers trouble my trees. My

apples are not troubled with insects. I pick my apples by hand, and put

them carefully into a basket. I sort into two classes: first, sound and

smooth; second, unsound. I do this work by hand. I pack in barrels,

pressed full. My best market is at home; we eat and cook the best, and

the culls I donate to the children. I never dry any. I store some in

barrels, and am successful. I find those I keep from the family keep

best. [?] The prevailing price has been one dollar per bushel. I employ

men by the month.

* * * * *

FRED MOORE, Great Bend, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twelve

years. Have 200 apple trees from one to sixteen years old. For family

orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer

bottom land, with north slope. I cultivate every year with stirring plow

and harrow; plant nothing; think windbreaks essential, made of

forest-trees. I wrap my trees with rags to protect from rabbits. I prune

with a saw to thin the branches. I never thin apples. I fertilize with

stable litter. My trees are troubled with flathead borers. Worms trouble

my apples. I do not spray. I dig borers out with a knife, in August and

September. Price has been fifty cents per bushel.

* * * * *

W. G. OSBORNE, Medicine Lodge, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas since

1865. Have 150 apple trees, from two to fourteen years planted. I prefer

root grafts, and plant in rows twenty to twenty-five feet each way. I

cultivate in corn, using a plow. Keep rabbits down with hounds. I prune

with a knife. I fertilize with barn-yard litter. Do not spray or

irrigate.

* * * * *

JOSEPH LEWIS, Bluff City, Harper county: I have been in Kansas

twenty-two years; have an orchard of 1000 trees; the first were set in

1881. The varieties are Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Winesap for

market, and Duchess of Oldenburg, Maiden's Blush and English Rambo for

family use. I prefer bottom land, of level, sandy loam. I plant

two-year-old thrifty trees in rows two rods apart. I grow nothing in the

orchard, and never cease cultivating with a stirring plow, disc, and

harrow. I believe windbreaks are essential in this county, and would

make them of any thrifty forest-tree; Russian mulberry is good. I would

put double rows around the orchard. I prune with shears and saw to thin

the tops. I never use any fertilizer, and never allow stock in the

orchard. Am troubled some with the flat-headed borer, which I remove

with a knife. I spray with London purple just as the bloom begins to

fall. I pick by hand, and sell in the orchard and otherwise; never dried

any. I store for winter market in a cave in bulk, and am successful. The

best keepers I find are Limber Twig, Striped Vandevere, and Ben Davis.

Prices prevailing have been fifty cents per bushel; dried apples, from

five to seven cents per pound.

* * * * *

JOHN PIMM, Enon, Barber county: I have lived in Kansas sixteen years.

Have an apple orchard of 2250 trees from four to twelve years old. For

commercial purposes I prefer York Imperial, Ben Davis, Mammoth Black

Twig, and Nero, also Shackleford; and for family orchard Jonathan, Early

Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. Have tried and

discarded White Winter Pearmain, Red Astrachan, and Mann. I prefer

bottom land with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees planted

in a deep dead furrow. I cultivate my orchard to corn and garden-truck;

cultivate four or five times during a season, the more the better; I use

a disc; believe an orchard should always be cultivated. I cease cropping

after six or seven years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard.

Windbreaks are essential; would make them of two rows of mulberries. For

rabbits I use wrappers of wood veneer. I prune to shape the tree and to

get rid of all surplus wood, and think it beneficial. I do not thin my

fruit on the trees; the insects and wind do it for me. I do not pasture

my orchard. My trees are troubled with flathead borer and twig-borer,

and my apples with codling-moth. I have sprayed with London purple.

* * * * *

L. L. LOVETTE, Toronto, Woodson county: I have lived in Kansas

thirty-two years; have an apple orchard of thirty trees twelve to twenty

years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Winesap, and for

family use would add Early Harvest and Smith's Cider. Have tried and

discarded Fall Pippin, Northern Spy, and Rambo. I prefer level prairie

land well enriched, with black limestone soil and a sandy subsoil,

northern aspect, to hold the trees back in the spring. I prefer large,

smooth trees with good roots, planted in large holes with rotten chip

manure. I cultivate my orchard to hoed crops, using a diamond plow. I

plant bearing orchard to white beans, peanuts, etc., and cease cropping

when well in bearing. Windbreaks are essential; I use soft maple four

feet apart, in four rows around the orchard. For rabbits I wrap my trees

with slough grass. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it

advisable. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and borers, and

my apples with curculio. I sprayed once with Bordeaux mixture; have no

faith in it; I may possibly have reduced the codling-moth a little. I

now watch and burn the insects. [?] I pick my apples in a sack over the

left shoulder, from a step-ladder wide at the bottom and narrow at the

top. Sort into three classes: first take out all inferior for cider,

then put the sound ones in the barn until late in the fall, when I

sort, keeping No. 1's for spring, No. 2's for winter, and use all the

rest for cider. I sell some apples in the orchard to neighbors, and some

to grocerymen. I haul my best apples to market in a spring wagon with

hay under them. We use many culls and give some away. My best market is

at home. I dry some for market, then put them in sacks and keep in a

cool place; find a ready market for them, but it does not pay. I store

apples for winter market in a pit; am successful; find Winesap, Rawle's

Janet and Missouri Pippin keep best. We have to repack stored apples

before marketing, losing about ten per cent. of them. I water my trees

artificially. Prices have been from $1 to $1.50 per bushel. I employ

young men at one dollar per day and board.

* * * * *

B. F. COX, Fowler, Meade county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one

years; have an apple orchard of 125 trees ten years old, six to ten

inches in diameter. For family orchard I prefer Early Harvest, Maiden's

Blush, Ben Davis, Gennetting, and Rawle's Janet. I prefer hill land,

with a northeast slope, having a clay subsoil. I prefer two-year-old

trees, set at crossing of furrows run both ways. I cultivate my orchard

all the time with a plow and harrow; it is too dry in this climate to

let weeds grow. Do not plant any crop. Windbreaks are essential; would

make them of African tamarix, set in three or four rows around the

orchard. For rabbits I grease lightly in the fall and wash off in the

spring. I prune my young orchard with a knife, to balance the tree

properly. I think it pays. Never have thinned the fruit while on the

trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with

barn-yard litter. I think it has been beneficial, and would advise its

use on all clay soils. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are

troubled with tent-caterpillar and roundhead borer, and my apples with

worms. I spray when in bloom, and again after blooming, with London

purple. Do not think I have reduced the codling-moth any. I pick my

apples by hand, and sort into two classes--family apples and hog apples.

Am successful in storing apples for winter use in boxes in a cellar. I

find Ben Davis and Rawle's Janet keep best. I irrigate my orchard, using

a windmill and pump with a four-inch cylinder. Prices have been from

fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

* * * * *

Dr. JAMES MYERS, Hutchinson, Reno county: Have lived in Kansas

thirty-nine years. Have about 3000 apple trees eight years old, six to

eight inches in diameter; fine, large trees. For market I prefer

Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis; for home use, Early Harvest,

Northern Spy, and Maiden's Blush. Most other varieties that are a

success in the East are a failure here. I am satisfied with a few of the

best varieties. In this county lowland is the best. I prefer a sandy

land, on a clay subsoil, and a north slope, every time. I plant two- and

three-year-old, clean, thrifty trees. I mark the ground in squares of

one rod and plant in every other crossing, mismatching to make the trees

zigzag. I will cultivate the orchard for forty years in this county if

they live so long. I would grow corn amongst them for the first three or

four years; after that, nothing; the less crop the better. I believe

windbreaks are essential in small orchards, but in large orchards the

trees will protect each other. For windbreaks I would plant maple or

mulberry, at least two rods away from the apple trees. For protection

against rabbits and borers, take lime and Portland cement, equal parts,

mix with sweet milk to the consistency of paint; add one tablespoonful

of Paris green, and apply with a brush; it will never fail. I prune

while the tree is young; then the wound does not affect them so much; it

pays, and is very necessary. I have never thinned, but think it

necessary, just before the apples are half grown. I use no fertilizer

whatever. I do not pasture my orchard much, but when I do it is with

hogs, and I think it advisable when the fruit is wormy and falling off.

I have some insects, but have never sprayed. For borers I use a knife. I

pick in baskets, just as late as possible.

* * * * *

J. O. EMERY, Cimarron, Gray county: Have lived in Kansas twelve years;

have 400 apple trees four years planted, of the following varieties: Ben

Davis, Missouri Pippin, Arkansas Black, Mammoth Black Twig, Rawle's

Janet, and a few Yellow Transparent. Prefer bottom land in this county;

plant only fifteen feet apart each way on account of the wind. Grow no

crop in the orchard, and cultivate every two weeks until the 1st of

August with a five-tooth cultivator. Have a double row of locusts and

Osage-orange hedge all around the orchard, and consider windbreaks a

necessity. I prune out the inside branches, leaving only four or five

limbs, so they will not grow scrubby, and think it beneficial. I plowed

under forty loads of stable litter to the acre before planting. I would

not pasture an orchard. Am troubled some with web-worm and twig-borer,

and have used a spray in June and August of concentrated lye and cold

water; also, some Paris green and London purple for worms. I irrigate my

orchard once every two weeks, from a reservoir 70x140 feet, and have

apple trees that made 4-1/2 feet of growth last year. My reservoir is

supplied by two windmills running four- and six-inch pumps.

* * * * *

BEN. McCULLOGH, Ellinwood, Barton county: Have been in Kansas twenty-two

years; have the biggest grove in Comanche township, Barton county,

covering twenty acres, most of it in fruit of all kinds. Have 300 apple

trees, planted from five to fourteen years, from eight to sixteen inches

in diameter; varieties, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Rawle's

Janet. Have discarded the Nonesuch. My orchard is second bottom, black,

sandy soil, and perfectly level. I planted two-year-old trees in rows

both ways. I grow corn and potatoes in the orchard until the trees shade

the ground pretty well, and then I grow nothing, but cultivate the

ground until they get big and old enough to go without it. I believe

windbreaks are essential in this country; mine is composed of three rows

around the orchard, of box-elder and cottonwood. I wrap my trees while

small to protect from the rabbits. Wash with lye for borers. While small

I prune out the middle of the tree with knife and saw, but let the lower

limbs grow to protect the trunk. I believe stable litter beneficial in

an orchard, and use plenty of it. I do not believe in pasturing an

orchard. I never spray. I always sell my fruit in the orchard; some

wagons come forty miles for it, and pay me from fifty to seventy-five

cents per bushel.

* * * * *

B. LEONHART, Kiowa, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years.

Have 300 apple trees, planted from nine to ten years. Am uncertain as to

best varieties. Plant in low ground or a "draw"; advise any loose soil,

but no clay subsoil (?); like east or northern slope. Plant fresh

one-year-old trees, in "deep subsoil trenched." Have planted root grafts

eighteen inches long, where they are now growing, and are the pride of

my orchard. Hot sun and wind make the fruit woody and sapless. Plant no

crop in orchard, but plow yearly and harrow all summer. Believe in

windbreaks made of locust or anything that will grow, planted in deep

subsoiled furrows on south and west of orchard. For rabbits I use, in

summer, lime, grass, and cow-dung, mixed. In winter I use clay with dead

rabbit pounded into it. Prune to keep limbs from rubbing, and shorten in

for bearing; not sure that either pays. Plant permanent orchard, and

fill between with early-bearing varieties like Missouri Pippin,

Jonathan, etc. [presumably to cut out afterward]. Use no fertilizers.

Never let stock run in orchard. Encourage the birds, and spray some

years with London purple and Bordeaux mixture before and after leafing

out. Think I have reduced codling-moth. Thrifty trees never contain

borers.

* * * * *

J. L. LIGGITT, Belpre, Edwards county: Has resided in Kansas thirty

years; has a family orchard of 125 trees, planted from three to thirteen

years, and advises Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, and Jefferis. For

commerce he recommends Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin. Prefers valley

land sloping east or west, with sandy soil and clay subsoil. Plants

sixteen feet east and west, and thirty-two feet north and south, after a

lister. Plants to corn and beans for fifteen years, lessening the number

of rows as the trees grow; uses a one-horse cultivator. Thinks a

windbreak a necessity, and would make of evergreens, if possible; next,

of box-elder, planted four feet each way after deep listing. Uses axle

grease against rabbits. Prunes sparingly for shape, and says it

certainly pays. Thinks thinning should frequently be done when trees

appear to be overloaded. Believes trees should be in mixed plantings to

produce best. Uses barn-yard litter to fertilize, and says it will pay,

if scattered over the entire surface. Believes that pasturing with hogs

is advisable, and makes the trees more productive. Has never sprayed,

and is seldom troubled with leaf-eating insects. Removes borers with a

wire or some pointed instrument twice a year. Picks from step-ladder by

hand into baskets or buckets. Makes three classes--first, perfect in

form and color; second, sound but not so regular in size; third, culls.

Packs in three-bushel barrels carefully by hand, marked with name of

variety and quality or class. Sells any way possible. Has shipped

successfully to Missouri river cities.

* * * * *

H. CLAY HODGSON, Little River, Rice county: Has been in the state

twenty-six years. Has an orchard of 5000 trees, planted from five to

twenty years. Uses Winesap, Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin for both

commercial and family orchard. Has tried and discarded Willow Twig,

Lawver and Smith's Cider on account of blight. Says bottom land of black

loam, with clay subsoil, is preferable in this section. Plants

two-year-old trees, in trenches made with plow and subsoiler. Cultivates

with disc and harrow, from one to twelve years, growing corn for first

five to eight years, afterward nothing. Thinks windbreaks made of

several rows of Osage orange or box-elder on south side a great help.

Prunes while young to make a more open head. Advises the use of manure

on all orchards. Does not allow stock in the orchard. As soon as the

leaves appear he sprays with London purple for canker-worms, and

believes he has reduced codling-moth by it. Picks in sacks, with corners

tied together and hung over the shoulder. Makes two classes, market and

culls. Piles his apples as picked in the orchard, and sorts out for

market from the piles, leaving the culls for cider. Sells mostly in

orchard. Best market is home towns; never shipped any. Stores some in a

cave, in bulk, for winter, and makes a success of it. Winesaps keep

best. Sold last fall (1897) at 75 cents per bushel; during winter, at $1

to $1.25. Uses ordinary farm help at twenty dollars per month and board.

* * * * *

A. S. HUFF, Sharon, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight

years; have an apple orchard of 130 trees ten years old. For commercial

purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Large Romanite, and Missouri Pippin, and

for family orchard Missouri Pippin, Little Romanite, Limber Twig, and

Winesap. I prefer level land with sand as deep as I can get it, with

[natural] subirrigation. I use strong, thrifty trees, set in furrows

plowed as deeply as possible, and then dug out. I cultivate my young

orchard to corn with one-horse, five-tooth cultivator, as long as I can

get in the orchard, and cease cropping only when they commence bearing,

and plant nothing after that. Windbreaks are essential, and I would make

them of Russian mulberry or box-elder, set six feet apart in rows

running east and west, on the north and south sides. I protect from

rabbits by wrapping with corn-stalks, and use lye for borers. I prune

very little with a saw to keep out watersprouts, hardly enough to pay

here in Kansas. Do not thin the fruit on my trees; it thins itself. I do

not need to fertilize; would advise it on clay soil. I never pasture my

orchard; do not think it advisable, unless you wish to destroy your

trees. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my apples with

curculio. Never have sprayed; insects not affected by spraying I gouge

out with a wire, and apply concentrated lye in April and August. I pick

my apples from ladders set up around the trees, one with four legs made

solid, with steps on one side and a broad board on top to set baskets

on. I sort into four classes, keeping those of a uniform size separate

from the small ones. I keep my apples in an apple house. I generally

sell in the orchard; always get $1.50 for my best, packed in boxes and

sold at the nearest towns, at retail. I make cider for vinegar of the

culls. My best market is at home; never tried distant markets. Never dry

any; it does not pay. I store all I do not sell in orchard, in a cellar

12x16 feet, six feet in the ground, with earth on top; they do not

freeze. I find the Winesap, Limber Twig and Little Romanite keep best.

We do not have to repack stored apples before marketing; only lose about

one per cent. I do not irrigate. Prices have been $1.25 per bushel. I

hire no help; my own family does the work.

* * * * *

E. F. REEVE, Greensburg, Kiowa county: I have lived in Kansas twenty

years; I prefer Missouri Pippins for a commercial orchard. I like a

sandy bottom with a north slope. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees

having bright bark; plant them by throwing out a deep furrow, and then

making large holes in the furrow. I cultivate my orchard with a

one-horse cultivator, planting no crop, and keep the orchard clean,

never stopping cultivation. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them

of Russian mulberry or Osage orange, on the north, west and south sides

of the orchard, especially on the south. I do not prune my trees, nor

thin my apples. I do not fertilize my orchard, and would not advise it

in this section. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with

tent-caterpillar. Have not sprayed. Sort my apples into one class, cut

out the rot, and make into apple dumplings [?]. Never sell apples in the

orchard; keep them all for home use; my best market is at home. I do not

dry any for market; they sometimes dry on the trees, the effect of hot

winds. This is not very satisfactory, and does not pay. I do not store

any for market. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from seventy-five

cents to one dollar per bushel; dried apples, eight and one-third cents

per pound.

* * * * *

G. W. HOLLENBACK, Coldwater, Comanche county: I have resided in the

state thirty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees from six to

nine years old, four to eight inches in diameter. For market I prefer

Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for family orchard Maiden's

Blush, Smith's Cider, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and

discarded Rawle's Janet on account of poor quality, and Willow Twig on

account of shy bearing. I prefer a northeast slope, with sandy loam and

clay subsoil; bottom causes the trees to grow too rank. I prefer two-

or three-year-old trees with low, well-balanced tops, set thirty feet

each way. I give my orchard thorough cultivation, on account of lack of

moisture; I will continue indefinitely using a plow and corn cultivator,

and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of double

row of peach trees on south side, to keep the trees in shape. I prune to

give form; I think it pays, as they would become too dense if not

pruned. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees, but think some

varieties would be better if they were. My trees are planted with each

variety in a separate row. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter;

think it beneficial, but would not advise its use on all soils. I do not

pasture my orchard. Flathead borers are in my trees, but if they are

kept thrifty the borers will give little trouble. My apples are troubled

with codling-moths. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand and sell in

bulk in the local market. I do not dry any. I am quite successful in

storing apples in pits for winter use; the Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis

and Winesap keep the best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from $1

to $1.25 per bushel.

* * * * *

J. J. ABLARD, Lawndale, Pratt county: I have lived in Kansas twelve

years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees from three to six years old.

For family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Nickajack, Winesap, and

Maiden's Blush. I prefer second bottom, sandy loam, with clay subsoil,

and an eastern or northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, four feet

high, branched low, planted 24x24 feet, in a furrow plowed very deeply,

north and south. I plant my orchard to corn, using a cultivator, plow,

and cutaway harrow, and cease cropping when the trees need all the

support. Windbreaks are a benefit; I would make them of white or green

ash and mulberry, by planting and cultivating three or four rows on the

south and west. For rabbits I wrap the trees with rags, long straw, or

grass. I prune just enough to balance the head; I think it pays and that

it is beneficial. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize,

and would not advise its use. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are

troubled with flathead borer and grasshoppers, and my apples with

codling-moth. I do not spray, and I dig the borers out. I do not dry

any.

* * * * *

D. E. BRADSTREET, Dighton, Lane county: I have lived in Kansas nineteen

years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees; my oldest are nine years. I

think Jonathan a good family apple; I have not discarded any. I prefer

bottom with a loam, porous subsoil, and a southern slope. I prefer

two-year-old whole-root trees, set twenty feet east and west and thirty

feet north and south. I cultivate my orchard to garden vegetables, such

as cabbage, tomatoes, etc., using a one-horse cultivator; have not

ceased cropping yet. Windbreaks are essential, and I would make them of

two rows of locusts, close together, all around, excepting on the east

side of the orchard. I prune with a saw to thin the top; I think it has

paid. I never thin fruit on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings,

and think it best. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it is

beneficial in keeping the weeds down, but would not advise its use on

all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. I do not spray. I never dry any

apples. Never store any. Do not irrigate. Prices have been one dollar

per bushel. Do not hire any help; myself and boys do the work.

* * * * *

C. L. GUNN, Heizer, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one

years. Have an apple orchard of 110 trees, from ten to twenty-five years

old; the largest ones are fifteen inches in diameter. For market I

prefer Missouri Pippin, Maiden's Blush, and Duchess of Oldenburg, and

for family orchard Early Harvest and White Winter Pearmain. I prefer

creek bottom with a loose and porous soil and subsoil. Young trees

should not be headed too low, as the lower limbs will lay on the ground

when the tree gets older and begins to bear. I cultivate my trees until

too large, using a disc harrow. I do not plant any crop; do not think it

advisable in this dry climate. Windbreaks are essential; would make them

of forest-trees, on the north and south. I prune my trees, but have not

had enough experience to tell whether it is beneficial or not. I thin my

fruit while on the trees to prevent the limbs from breaking. I do not

fertilize; it is not needed here. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not

advisable. My apples are troubled with codling-moth and curculio. I

spray with London purple about the time the blossoms fall. I do not dry

any apples nor irrigate. Price has been seventy-five cents per bushel.

* * * * *

JOHN SIMON, Garden City, Finney county: I have lived in the state

eighteen years; have an apple orchard of 150 trees, from two to fifteen

years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap;

and for family orchard Early Harvest, Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, and

Winesap. Have tried and discarded Russet and Willow Twig. I prefer

second bottom, sandy soil, with clay subsoil. I prefer one- or

two-year-old trees, set twenty-five to forty feet apart. I plant my

orchard to garden-truck, using a disc harrow, and cease cropping when

they begin to bear. I plant nothing in a bearing orchard, but keep up

the cultivation to keep the ground clean and loose. Windbreaks are

essential; would make them of cottonwood, box-elder, and Osage orange,

putting a belt of timber around the orchard. For rabbits I wrap with

corn-stalks in the fall. I prune with knife and shears to keep the tree

in shape; I think it pays. I never have thinned the fruit while on the

tree, but think it would pay on some varieties. I fertilize my orchard

with stable litter while I am cropping the ground; but would not advise

its use unless you have plenty of water. I do not pasture my orchard; it

is not advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with

twig-borer, canker-worm, and leaf-roller, and my fruit with

codling-moth. I spray when the bloom falls, and ten days later, with

London purple, for codling-moth; and I think I have reduced them. Borers

do not trouble my trees when they have plenty of water. I hand-pick my

apples; sort into three classes--first, second, and refuse. I sell some

apples in the orchard, but retail most of them to the stores; make cider

of the third grade and culls. My best market is at home. I do not dry

any. I am successful in storing apples in bulk in a cellar; find the

Missouri Pippin, Winesap and Arkansas Black keep best. I irrigate

thoroughly in the winter, early spring, and again before the fruit

begins to ripen. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per

bushel.

* * * * *

Dr. G. BOHRER, Chase, Rice county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five

years. Have an apple orchard of 700 trees from nineteen to twenty-two

years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, and for family use

I add Smith's Cider, Wagener, and White Pippin. Have tried and discarded

Missouri Pippin and Winesap; they require more moisture than the others

mentioned above. I prefer a bottom, with black loam and a porous

subsoil; an eastern slope. I prefer well-grown one-year-old trees, set

thirty-four feet east and west, and twenty feet north and south. I plant

my orchard to corn for ten years, using a plow and harrow; think a disc

would be as good. I cease cropping after ten years, and plant nothing in

a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south and west sides

of the orchard, and I would make them of Osage orange or box-elder,

planted ten feet apart. For rabbits I wrap the trees with slough grass

until six years old. I prune lightly, taking out the limbs which rub

each other and balancing the trees. I think it pays. I do not thin the

apples while on the tree. I do not fertilize my orchard; it is not

needed in this locality. I pasture my orchard with horses and pigs, and

think it advisable. I find it does not injure the trees. My apples are

troubled with codling-moth. I do not spray. I pick by hand for storing,

and sort into two classes, the good and the bad ones; the bad I make

cider of and feed to hogs. I generally sell my best apples in the

orchard on the trees, or any way I can. We sun-dry some apples, and find

a ready market for them. It pays. I am fairly successful in keeping

apples in bulk in a cave, and find Ben Davis and Rawle's Janet keep

best. I irrigate a few trees. Prices have been from twenty cents to one

dollar per bushel, and dried apples six to seven cents per pound.

* * * * *

J. T. EVERHART, Pratt, Pratt county: I have lived in the state twenty

years. For a family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, on sandy bottom

land, with a north slope. I plant two-year-old trees, deeply. I plant my

orchard to potatoes for five years, using a plow. Plant nothing in a

bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of rows of

Russian mulberries planted every six feet. I prune only to keep the tree

in shape. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. Cannot see any

difference whether the trees are in blocks of a kind or in mixed

plantings. I do not fertilize; would not advise its use on the soil

here. I pasture my orchard with hogs; think it advisable, and that it

pays. My trees are troubled with borers and sun-scald. I spray my trees

when in bloom, and after it has fallen, with London purple only. My best

market is at home; never have tried distant markets. I irrigate my trees

on the upland four or five months. Prices have been from 75 cents to

$1.50 per bushel.

* * * * *

JAMES CRAIG, Garden City, Finney county: Have been in Kansas nineteen

years. Have an orchard of 1300 trees, planted twelve years, trees

running from twelve to eighteen feet high. Cultivate up to this time

with twenty-inch disc harrow, and grow no crop. Windbreaks are essential

in this county. I would not allow stock in my orchard. I dig out the

borers, and intend to try spraying this year. I pick by hand, and sell

largely in the orchard. My best market is Garden City. I make cider and

vinegar of the culls. I have never dried any. I store in bulk for

winter, and am successful in keeping the Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and

Ben Davis. I irrigate by flooding. The average price has been about

sixty cents per bushel.

* * * * *

JOHN BAILEY, Harper, Harper county: I have resided in Kansas twenty

years. Have an apple orchard of 400 trees, set sixteen years, eight to

twelve inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Missouri Pippin,

Winesap, and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet, because

the fruit cracks open, Snow, because they are poor, and White Winter

Pearmain, because the tree is subject to disease. I prefer good, sandy

soil, with a northeast slope. I prefer healthy two-year-old trees, with

good roots, planted twenty-eight feet apart each way. I cultivate my

orchard every year with a cultivator and harrow, to keep the ground

loose and mellow, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are not essential. For

rabbits I wash the tree with weak lye and sulphur; have found no remedy

for borers, excepting to keep the trees healthy and growing. I prune, to

let in sun and keep the limbs from rubbing; I think it pays, and that it

has been beneficial. I thin my fruit by pulling it off when small; I

think it pays; it keeps the trees from breaking. I fertilize my orchard

with stable litter; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on

all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; I do not think it advisable. My

trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, woolly aphis, and

twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I spray after

the blossoms fall, and once a week for three or four weeks after that,

with London purple, for all insects. I dig borers out with a fine wire.

I sort my apples into three classes--first, second, and cider. I sell my

apples in the orchard, wholesale, retail, and peddle. Sell the best ones

in barrels. Make cider and vinegar of the culls. My best markets are at

home and Oklahoma territory. I do not dry any. I am successful in

storing apples in bulk; find the Missouri Pippin keeps best. I do not

irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per

bushel.

* * * * *

JACOB REDIGER, Maherville, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twelve

years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees eighteen years old. I prefer

sandy bottom land near the river, with a north slope. I cultivate my

orchard all the time with a disc and harrow, planting no crop.

Windbreaks are not essential. I prune with a saw and knife, and think it

pays. Never have thinned my apples, but if it were necessary would do it

before they begin to hang down. My trees are in mixed plantings. I mulch

my orchard with stable litter and straw; would not advise its use on all

soils. I do not pasture my orchard, but think it would be advisable, as

they would eat insects. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and

my apples with curculio. The first of June I dig the borers out with a

penknife and cut their heads off. I pick my apples by hand. I sell

apples in the orchard at retail; feed the culls to hogs. My best market

is among the neighbors. I store apples for my own use by burying, and

find the Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Romanite keep best. I do not

irrigate, but ought to. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar

per bushel at picking time.

* * * * *

N. MAYRATH, Dodge, Ford county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years.

Have 250 apple trees eight to twelve years old, six to ten inches in

diameter. I prefer upland for fruit, a sandy loam, with a northern

aspect. I prefer two-year-old grafts, planted thirty by thirty feet east

and west. Have tried root grafts with success. I cultivate my orchard to

garden-truck and hoed crops, using plow in spring, then the disc or Acme

harrow. I keep the ground clear of weeds and mellow up to the middle of

July. I cease cropping after four or five years, planting nothing in a

bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential here in western Kansas, and I

would make them of Russian mulberry, in one or more rows, north and

south of the orchard.

* * * * *

M. M. WILSON, Zionville, Grant county: I have resided in Kansas fourteen

years; have an apple orchard of 300 trees ten years old, four to six

inches in diameter. I prefer sandy bottom land.

* * * * *

THOMAS E. HOCKETT, Hugoton, Stevens county: I have lived in the state

thirteen years; have an apple orchard of sixty trees eight years old,

eight to twelve feet high. I prefer dark, sandy loam. I dig large holes,

set one-year-old trees, putting top soil around the roots. I cultivate

my orchard with a stirring plow and hoe, and plant nothing; am still

cultivating. Windbreaks are essential. I would make them of two or three

rows of mulberry trees. For protection from rabbits I rub dead rabbit on

the tree, and repeat if necessary when we have much rain. I prune very

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

trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard. I do not

pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. I do not spray. I pick my

apples by hand, the old way; sort into two classes. I dry some.

FRUIT DISTRICT No. 4.

Following is the fourth district, composed of twenty-four counties in

southeast quarter of the state. Reports, or rather experiences, from

each of these counties will be found immediately following. We give

below the number of apple trees in the fourth district, as compiled from

the statistics of 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.

_Bearing._ _Not bearing._ _Total._

Allen 122,015 64,449 186,464

Anderson 111,372 46,719 158,091

Bourbon 175,961 40,570 216,531

Butler 182,827 53,966 236,793

Chase 46,762 25,191 69,953

Chautauqua 96,865 22,853 119,718

Cherokee 238,331 92,067 330,398

Coffey 167,255 68,247 235,502

Cowley 172,648 50,767 223,415

Crawford 143,089 34,798 177,887

Elk 101,601 34,343 135,944

Greenwood 117,840 70,224 188,064

Harvey 85,471 30,613 116,084

Labette 257,915 83,345 341,260

Linn 108,654 45,285 153,939

Lyon 161,295 116,176 277,471

Marion 86,838 64,359 151,197

McPherson 122,538 38,498 161,036

Montgomery 121,282 35,572 156,854

Neosho 159,443 61,754 221,197

Sedgwick 182,363 74,742 257,105

Sumner 140,613 36,961 177,574

Wilson 139,869 47,876 187,745

Woodson 72,815 24,485 97,300

--------- --------- ---------

Total in district No. 4 3,315,862 1,163,660 4,479,522

Estimated acreage 650,000 220,000 870,000

* * * * *

WM. SNYDER, Towanda, Butler county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven

years; have an orchard of 1200 trees--200 twenty-six years old, diameter

twelve to fifteen inches, thirty feet high; 700 twelve years old, eight

to ten inches in diameter at base, twelve to fifteen feet high; 300

eight years old, five to six inches in diameter at the ground, eight to

ten feet high. For all purposes I prefer Summer Rose, Early Harvest,

Duchess of Oldenburg, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Jonathan, Missouri Pippin,

Winesap, and Ben Davis. Bottom land is best for Ben Davis and Winesap;

other varieties named will do better on high ground. Northeast slope is

preferable; black loam with clay subsoil. I plant healthy three-year-old

trees, branching three feet from ground, in deep furrows, crossmarked

with plow; stand trees erect, and tramp earth firmly about the roots. I

cultivate my orchard five years with plow and cultivator, and grow corn

in young orchard. I cease after five years, and grow nothing in bearing

orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of peach, Russian

mulberry, or cedar, by planting several rows on south of orchard. For

rabbits, fence with two-foot poultry netting; for borers, whitewash and

cultivate. I prune just a little with saw or shears to remove

interlocking branches only; it pays. Never have thinned my fruit;

believe it does not pay. Can distinguish no difference whether trees are

in blocks of one kind or mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard.

Stable litter would, I think, benefit thin soil. I do not pasture my

orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay.

My apple trees are troubled with canker-worm, root aphis, and fall

web-worm. Have sprayed for fifteen years, for canker-worm and

codling-moth. Have used London purple and arsenate of lime. I spray for

canker-worm as soon as they hatch and the buds begin to open, and again

before bloom opens; for codling-moth, at time the bloom drops. I have

reduced the codling-moth very much. I pick my apples by hand, from a

ladder, into baskets, and sort into two classes usually; first class,

for market, picked by hand; second class, for cider, shaken off. Have

never used packages of any kind. Usually deliver in wagon. I sell apples

in the orchard, wholesale and retail. Sell best to my neighbors, in

orchard. Second and third grades I sell cheap and convert into cider and

vinegar. The culls I feed to cattle and hogs. My best market is in the

orchard and at Wichita; never have tried distant markets. Never dry any.

Sometimes I store apples for winter market in a cellar, but prefer a

cave; store in boxes and bulk. Am fairly successful; have apples in

cellar at this time (May 1), Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Ben Davis, and

Grimes's Golden Pippin, in the order named. Never have tried artificial

cold storage; have to repack stored apples, if late, losing from ten to

fifteen per cent. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 50 cents to

$1.50 per bushel. I employ the best help I can get, and pay seventy-five

cents per day and board.

* * * * *

R. O. GRAHAM, Altoona, Wilson county: I have lived in Kansas

twenty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of forty trees from five to

eight years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Willow

Twig, Rawle's Janet, and Grimes's Golden Pippin; and for family orchard

I would add Maiden's Blush, Red Astrachan, and Red June. I have tried

and discarded Belleflower, Limber Twig, and King of Tompkins County;

they are no good. I prefer a clay bottom, with a north or northeast

slope. I prefer two-year-old, round-top trees, with whole roots, set in

dug holes, in the fall or spring, as deeply as they stood in the

nursery. I cultivate my orchard five to eight years, with a hoed crop,

or just keep the ground clean, and sow oats and sometimes red clover in

a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of Osage

orange. I prune to give shape, and to keep limbs from crossing; I think

it beneficial, and that it pays. I seldom thin my fruit while on the

trees; I pick them off when the size of walnuts. My trees are in mixed

plantings. I fertilize my orchard with well-rotted stable litter; put it

between the rows; it has proven very beneficial; I would advise it on

all soils, but less of it on bottom land. I never pasture my orchard,

excepting with pigs, to eat the oats or clover, which I think advisable,

and that it pays.

My trees are troubled with bark-louse, twig-borer, web-worm,

tent-caterpillar, and canker-worm, and my apples with codling-moth and

curculio. I spray my trees while in bloom, and two or three times

afterward, with London purple and some Paris green; have greatly reduced

the codling-moth. For rabbits I wrap the trees with corn-stalks and tie

with a string. Borers I dig out, and then with a goose-quill or a spray

nozzle I blow insecticides into the hole. I pick my apples by hand into

sacks or pails from a step-ladder; sort into three classes; pack very

closely into two and one-half bushel barrels, and mark with variety and

grade; haul to market on wagon. I have sold apples in the orchard; I

dispose of them any way I can; I feed culls to the hogs. My best markets

are Kansas City, Denver, and Western points; have tried distant

markets, and found it paid; but better sell at home. I do not dry many

apples; it does not pay for good apples. I am fairly successful in

storing apples in boxes, barrels and bulk in a cellar. I find Ben Davis,

Jonathan and Rawle's Janet keep best. Never tried artificial cold

storage. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about

ten per cent. of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 75 cents

to $1.25 per bushel for winter apples. I employ men at one dollar per

day.

* * * * *

FRED. WAHLENMAIER, Arkansas City, Cowley county: I have resided in the

state thirty-five years. Have an apple orchard of five acres,

twenty-four years old. I prefer Maiden's Blush for a family orchard. I

prefer a sandy loam, hilltop, with a north slope. I prefer two-year-old

trees, planted thirty feet apart. I plant my young orchard to corn, and

plant nothing in a bearing orchard. I prune my trees, to produce better

and more fruit. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize

my orchard with stable litter. I pasture my orchard with calves. My

trees are troubled with canker-worms and roundhead borers. I sprayed

last year for canker-worms, with coal-oil and water, when the leaves

were coming out. I wholesale my apples. Make cider of the culls. My best

market is Arkansas City. We sun-dry some apples for our own use. I have

stored some apples in the cellar; never have tried artificial cold

storage. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five to sixty

cents per bushel.

* * * * *

C. R. DAVIDSON, Yates Center, Woodson county: I have lived in Kansas

fifteen years; have an apple orchard with trees from five to twenty

years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Jonathan,

Winesap, and Maiden's Blush, and for family orchard add Early Harvest.

Have tried and discarded Yellow Bellflower; it will not bear. I prefer

bottom land with a northern slope which has a black loam. I prefer two-

or three-year-old trees, set in rows thirty feet east and west, and

sixteen feet north and south. I plant my orchard with corn four or five

years, using a cultivator, and cease cropping after six or eight years;

Kafir-corn does well in a bearing orchard. For rabbits I think wire

screening is best. I prune my trees to let in air; think it beneficial,

and that it pays. Do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize

my orchard with stable litter; it strengthens and invigorates the trees;

would advise its use on all soils unless very rich. I pasture my orchard

with calves, because they do not hurt the trees; I think it advisable,

and that it pays. My trees are troubled with web-worm, and my apples

with curculio. I spray with London purple, one tablespoonful to two

gallons of water, to destroy the curculio. I think I have reduced the

codling-moth. For borers I use ashes; throw them around the tree, or

make a lye of them, and wash the tree and throw some around the roots. I

pick my apples from a ladder into baskets.

* * * * *

G. K. AYERS, Furley, Sedgwick county: I have lived in the state

twenty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of 300 trees, twenty-one years

planted, eight to fourteen inches in diameter. For commercial orchard I

prefer Ben Davis, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, and Winesap, and for family

orchard Sweet June, Duchess of Oldenburg, Maiden's Blush, Baldwin,

Grimes's Golden Pippin, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, and Winesap. Have tried

and discarded Red Astrachan and Rambo for unproductiveness; White Winter

Pearmain as unproductive, short-lived, and a poor seller. I prefer for

an apple orchard the best corn land, in a bottom. I prefer two-year-old

trees, with good roots not mangled, set in squares thirty feet each way.

I cultivate my orchard to corn or vines, using a plow, harrow and

cultivator eight or ten years in the orchard, and cease cropping after

ten years. I plant a bearing orchard to orchard-grass and timothy

(blue-grass is injurious). Windbreaks would be an advantage on the south

and west; would make them of live trees; plant Osage orange next to

orchard and forest-trees outside of it. For rabbits I wrap the young

trees; also shoot and trap them, especially the jacks.

I prune very cautiously, and mostly on the north side, using a saw and

knife, to give symmetry and keep limbs from crowding; I think it

beneficial. I fertilize portions of my orchard with stable litter; would

not advise it on all soils, as I think an orchard can be overstimulated.

I have pastured the orchard with calves and hogs, but do not now; it

does not pay; do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with

canker-worm, flathead borer, and fall web-worm, and my apples with

codling-moth and curculio. I spray April 15 and May 10, on later date,

with London purple, for insects. Think I have reduced the codling-moth.

For insects not affected by spraying, I keep the tree in a healthy

condition. Pick my apples by hand; sort into three classes--market,

cooking, and cider. I sell apples in the orchard, wholesale, retail, or

peddle; sell the best apples in the orchard or to dealers; peddle the

second and third grades; make cider of the culls. I find the nearest

markets to be the best; never have tried distant markets. Do not dry

any. Do not store any, but think I shall. Do not irrigate, but would if

I had the water. Prices have been fifty cents to one dollar per bushel

for best winter apples.

* * * * *

H. A. CONDRA, Longton, Elk county: I have resided in Kansas twenty-one

years; have an apple orchard of seventy-five trees, twenty years old,

ten to sixteen inches in diameter, twenty to twenty-five feet high. I

have thirty more which are but two years old. For market I prefer Ben

Davis, Winesap, Jonathan, and Missouri Pippin; and for family orchard

Red Astrachan, Maiden's Blush, Rawle's Janet, Missouri Pippin, and

Winesap. I prefer a bottom which has a rich loam, with a gravel subsoil

and a north or east slope. I prefer two-year-old trees having but two

limbs, both starting from the same place, set in holes four to six feet

in diameter, two feet deep, filled in with good dirt. I cultivate my

orchard to corn--so as to keep weeds down and hold moisture--use a disc

harrow and cultivator so as to keep the soil loose and fine two or three

inches down. I cease cropping after eight or ten years, and plant

nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits

I use tin from the roofs of burned buildings or building paper. I prune

with a saw and an ax to thin the tops and keep the limbs above my head;

think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are

planted in blocks [of same kind]. I fertilize my orchard with any

well-rotted manure; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on

all soils, especially on old orchards. I do not pasture my orchard; do

not think it advisable; it does not pay.

My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, leaf-roller,

and leaf-crumpler, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray when the

leaves first come out, when in blossom, and once or twice afterwards,

ten days apart, with London purple and Bordeaux mixture for codling-moth

and leaf-eating worms. Think I have reduced the codling-moth some. I

stand on a step ladder and pick my apples by hand in a small basket,

then pour them into a wagon. I sort into three classes--sound,

blemished, and rotten. Sound ones are put in crates, blemished are made

into cider, and the rotten ones go to the hogs. I pack in crates, for

convenience, and then store in the cellar. They are made of lath and

1x12 boxing lumber. The lath are sawed across in the middle, the lumber

into lengths of fourteen inches. The bottom and sides are lath one-half

inch apart. This makes an airy crate, easy to handle, two feet long,

fourteen inches wide and twelve inches deep, which when rounded up will

hold one and one-half bushels of apples. I sell apples in the orchard;

also retail and peddle. My best apples are usually sold in the orchard.

Of the second and third grades we make cider, apple-butter, and vinegar.

The hogs get the culls. My best market is at home. I do not dry; cannot

find a ready market, and it does not pay.

I am successful in storing apples in crates in a cellar which has a

wareroom overhead; the walls are of sandstone two feet thick, with six

inches of dry sand between the ceiling of the cellar and the floor of

the wareroom. A door is in the south end, and a window in the north,

with screens so the outside shutter is open all the time except at

noonday sun, and when raining or freezing. There is an air-shaft through

ceiling to roof. The racks or shelves are made of 1x4 lumber, and there

is one inch of space between the crates when slipped in, thus allowing

the air to circulate around them. I have apples in the cellar now (April

25) while my neighbors who stored in bulk have none fit to eat; all are

rotten. I find Rawle's Janet and Winesap keep best. I have to repack

stored apples before marketing, losing about one-tenth of them. I do not

irrigate. Prices have averaged thirty-five cents per bushel. Dried

apples have been four cents for sun-dried and eight cents for

evaporated.

The Apple The Kansas Apple, the Big Red Apple; the Luscious, Red-Cheeked First Love of the Farmer's Boy; the Healthful, Hearty Heart of the Darling Dumpling. What It Is; How to Grow It; Its Commercial and Economic Importance; How to Utilize It. · 第 120 / 188 题

W. B. STOCKARD, Beloit, Mitchell county: I have lived in the state since