condition last fall, with a reasonable amount of moisture, fruits, both
trees and plants, well ripened up, and now with a fairly good blanket of
snow and no long continued severe weather, we have to this point in the
winter a very certain assurance of a good yield of fruit the coming
spring. To be sure the thermometer was down in the neighborhood of
thirty degrees one night, but it was there so short a time that it
scarcely seems possible that any harm could have been done by it. The
horticulturist should be a natural optimist and always anticipate
something good ahead, which is one pretty sure way of getting it.
MINNESOTA NURSERYMEN GIVE MEMBERSHIPS.--A considerable number
of the nurserymen of Minnesota are again giving memberships this year as
premiums to purchasers of nursery stock in quantity of $20.00 or
upwards. This is a commendable enterprise, not only on account of its
material assistance in building up the membership roll of the society
but more especially because it brings in the kind of members who have,
or should have, a large practical interest in the workings of the
association, and we believe also that it is like "casting bread upon the
waters;" those receiving these memberships will have a warm feeling for
the nurserymen which present them. If you who read this are Minnesota
nurserymen and are not in the list of those who are doing this service
for the society, don't you want to take advantage of an immediate
opportunity to align yourself with those who are showing so large an
interest in the welfare of the association?
[Illustration: GATHERING THE APPLE CROP IN HAROLD SIMMONS'
ORCHARD--AT HOWARD LAKE.]
While it is not the intention to publish anything in this
magazine that is misleading or unreliable, yet it must be
remembered that the articles published herein recite the
experience and opinions of their writers, and this fact must
always be noted in estimating their practical value.
THE MINNESOTA HORTICULTURIST
Vol. 44 MARCH, 1916 No. 3
My Orchard Crop of 1915 from Start to Finish.
HAROLD SIMMONS, ORCHARDIST, HOWARD LAKE.
In anticipation of a crop of apples for 1915 we commenced the season
with the regular annual pruning in March. We begin pruning as soon after
the 25th day of February as the weather is mild enough for us to work
comfortably, as the pruning of fifteen hundred trees requires
considerable time when one is obsessed with the idea that nothing short
of a first class job will do, and that to be accomplished mainly by the
efforts of one individual.
We have endeavored to grow our trees so that they should all have from
three to five or six main limbs, and any tendency of a limb to assume
the leadership is suppressed. A tree grown upon this principle has the
faculty of growing a great many laterals, necessitating an annual
pruning. As far as possible we prune to prevent laterals from becoming
too numerous, from growing so as to overtop or shade lower limbs, to let
in light and sunshine, so as to get the maximum amount of color on the
fruit and in a measure to help in thinning the fruit. Having in view the
idea of an annual crop instead of a biennial one, one essential point
always in mind is that we want an open headed tree, and we also wish to
insure our trees against blight, and so we eliminate all water sprouts.
Apparently, no Minnesota orchard is immune against blight.
Some objections are raised to this type of tree, one criticism being
that the tree is structurally weak from the fact that if one limb breaks
off at the trunk the tree is about ruined. We offset the possibility of
such a break by careful training and by wiring the trees, a plan I
gathered some years ago from a Mr. Mason, at that time president of the
Flood River Apple Growers Association.
[Illustration: Young trees in full bloom in Mr. Simmons' orchard.]
We use No. 14 galvanized wire, a half inch galvanized harness ring, and
screw-eyes with stout shanks and small eyes. Locating up the main limbs
what might be called the center of effort, or where the main pull would
be when loaded with fruit, put in a good stout screw-eye in every main
limb, eyes all pointing to the center of the tree, and then wire them
all to the harness ring in the middle of the tree. When finished the
ring and the wires are like the hub in a wheel with the spokes all
around. We tried this first on our N.W. Greening trees, and results were
so satisfactory that we have applied it to a great number of other
varieties with equal satisfaction. Once put in a tree, it is good for
the life of the tree.
Our objection to a tree with a central leader is that it is very
difficult to create an open head, and if the blight strikes the leader
it generally means the loss of the tree. Low headed trees we have found
by experience, are easiest cared for; they are the most economical for
thinning, harvesting, spraying and pruning; they also shade the trunk
and main limbs.
After pruning all brush is removed from the orchard and burned.
The next operation is spraying, and our first spraying was done when
most of the petals were down, using a Cushman power sprayer, running at
two hundred pounds pressure, with two leads of hose and extension rods
with two nozzles on each. Spraying solution, six gallons of lime and
sulphur, twelve pounds of arsenate of lead paste to each tank of water
containing two hundred gallons. We aim to cover the tree thoroughly from
top to bottom and spray twice each season. However, the past season half
the orchard only was sprayed twice, the other half only once, the second
spraying being applied about two weeks after the first, when we use lime
and sulphur only, and then five gallons instead of six, in each tank of
water. We use angle nozzles, the better to direct the spray into the
calyxes.
The orchard was mowed twice during the summer, early in June and the
middle of July. A heavy growth of clover covers most of the orchard, and
none is ever removed, all is left to decay just as it is left by the
mowers.
The next thing in line to take our attention is thinning the fruit. The
past season we thinned the Wealthy and top-worked varieties only;
another season, we expect to carry this work to every tree in the
orchard. The trees were gone over twice in the season, although the bulk
of the work is done at the first operation. We use thinning shears made
expressly for the purpose.
By the end of July the trees in many instances were carrying maximum
loads, and unless rendered assistance by propping in some way, the
limbs, great numbers of them, must soon break. To get props to prop
hundreds of trees, needing from five to six up to a dozen per tree, and
apply them, looked like a big job. To purchase lumber for props the
price was prohibitive; to get them from the woods was impossible. We
finally solved the problem by purchasing bamboo fish poles, sixteen and
twenty feet long, and by using No. 12 wire, making one turn around the
pole at the required height, turning up the end of the wire to hold it
and making a hook out of the other end of the wire, using about seven or
eight inches of wire for each. These made excellent props at small
expense, the ringlike excresences on the pole preventing the wire from
slipping. We propped as many as four and five limbs at different heights
on one pole. This method carried the heavily loaded trees through the
season in good shape. Anyone afflicted with too many apples on their
trees should try it.
Next in line came the harvesting of the crop. We use the "Ideal
Bottomless Bag" for a picking utensil, and almost all the fruit is
picked from six foot step-ladders. We pack the apples in the orchard.
Fortunately we have had the same people pick our apples year after year,
from the first crop until the last one of the past season.
[Illustration: Apples by the carload at Howard Lake.]
In packing we aim to use the kind of package the market demands. The
crop this season was all barreled. The pickers have been on the job long
enough so that they are as able to discriminate as to what should go
into a barrel and what should not as I am myself. However, our system is
to always have about twice as many barrels open ready for the apples as
there are pickers. The barrels are all faced one layer at least, and two
layers if we have the time, and as the pickers come in with
approximately half a bushel of apples in the picking sack, they swing
the sack over the barrel, lower it, release the catch and the apples are
deposited without bruising in any way.
The next picker puts his in the next barrel, and so on, so that each
succeeding picker deposits his apples in the next succeeding barrel. In
that way I personally have the opportunity to inspect every half bushel
of apples, or, I might say, every apple, as a half bushel of apples in a
barrel is shallow, making inspection a very simple matter. When the
barrels are filled they are headed up, put in the packing shed until
sufficient have accumulated, and when that point is reached they are
loaded out, billed to Minneapolis, where practically all our apples have
been sold for years. All fruit up to date has been sold on a commission
basis, the crop for the past season aggregating five carloads, or
approximately 800 barrels.
We feel that we have worked out a fairly good method to handle both our
trees and our apples, but we have not reached the conclusion that our
methods in any way guarantee us a crop of apples, although in ten years,
or since the orchard came into bearing, we have never had a season that
we did not have a fair crop of apples. In 1913 we sold seven carloads,
in 1914 four carloads, in 1915 five carloads, and the trees as far as
they are concerned promise us a fair crop for 1916. We are working as
though this is assured, but in the final analysis it is up to the
weather man.
A Member: I would like to ask Mr. Simmons in regard to his wiring. We
are raising our trees in the same manner, the open-headed trees, and I
wanted to ask him where the central ring is placed, in the crotch of the
tree or where?
Mr. Simmons: The ring is suspended by the wires in the center of the
tree. It makes an excellent arrangement. You can stand on that wire and
gather the apples from the topmost limbs of the trees. The screw-eyes
should be put in at what might be termed the center of effort or pull,
when the limb is heavily loaded. If not put in high enough, it causes a
rather too acute angle where the screw-eye is inserted and the limb is
likely to break.
A Member: We had considerable difficulty with broken branches.
Mr. Ludlow: Are the rings put on the outside or the inside of the trees?
Mr. Simmons: On the inside, so that the screw eyes all point towards the
center of the tree. After three or four years you can't see the screw
eye, it grows right into the tree.
Mr. Ludlow: I want to ask if you recommend the bamboo poles for general
propping of trees?
Mr. Simmons: Yes, sir; most emphatically I would. It is the best and
most economical prop you can use. Of course, it is the general opinion
among expert fruit growers that the crop should never be too heavy for
the tree. The bamboo prop is the best we found. With reasonable care,
bamboo poles will outlast common lumber.
It is the general opinion among expert fruit growers that the tree
should carry all fruit possible, but should not be permitted to be
loaded so heavy as to need propping.
Mr. Dyer: I have an orchard of 70 acres and it would take a great many
bamboo poles to prop that orchard. I use pieces of board, various
lengths, 4 inches wide and 1 inch thick, of various lengths. I get them
14 to 16 feet long and sometimes I cut them in two. My trees are large,
twenty-five and thirty and thirty-five years old, and that has been my
most successful material to prop with.
Mr. Simmons: What is the cost?
Mr. Dyer: Well, you know what the lumber is, I paid about $24.00 a
thousand.
Mr. Simmons: When I tried to buy the props from the lumber yard they
would have cost me twenty cents each. I bought the twenty foot bamboo
poles for $7.00 a hundred and the sixteen foot poles for $4.50 a
hundred.
A Member: I didn't get where his orchard is located, and I would like to
ask about the variety of apples he had the best success with.
Mr. Simmons: The orchard is located at Howard Lake, forty-three miles
west of Minneapolis. We grow Duchess, Patten's Greenings, Hibernals and
Wealthys.
Mr. Ludlow: What is your average cost per tree for thinning?
Mr. Simmons: We have for years thinned the Wealthy trees and our
top-worked varieties, but I never kept any accurate account of the cost
of thinning.
Mr. Ludlow: How old are your Wealthys?
Mr. Simmons: Fourteen years old.
Mr. Huestis: Mr. Simmons stated that he used the wire and the ring and
the screw-eyes. If he used that, why does he need props? I used the same
thing this summer on some Wealthys and thinned them besides, and I
didn't need any props because I used the wire from the center ring to
the branches.
Mr. Simmons: Well, the wire supports support the main limbs but there
are a great many laterals. For instance, you have the main limb going up
here at an angle of 90 degrees and the limbs that come out of that are
not supported. The props I use are supporting the laterals.
Mr. Anderson: Are your returns satisfactory shipping to the Minneapolis
market?
Mr. Simmons: Always have been very satisfactory; that has been my only
market.
* * * * *
FIGHTING MOTHS WITH PARASITES.--Over 12,000,000 specimens of
two parasites which prey on the gipsy moth and brown-tail moth were
released in 201 towns in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode
Island during the fall of 1914 and spring of 1915, according to the
annual report of the Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of
Agriculture.
As a result of the successful establishment of colonies of these and
other parasites which feed on the gipsy and brown-tail moths, marked
progress is being made in reducing these pests. Effective co-operation
is being afforded by the States, which carry on as much work as possible
within the infested areas, thus allowing the Federal authorities to
carry on field work along the outer border of infestation, so as to
retard the gipsy moth's spread.--U.S. Dept. of Agri.
Annual Meeting. 1915, S.D. State Horticultural Society.
WM. PFAENDER, JR., NEW ULM, MINN., DELEGATE.
Arrived at Huron, S.D., Monday night, January 17, 1916. The officers as
well as the members gave me a very fine reception and, although I am a
life member, I was made an honorary member of the society, and during my
stay was entertained very agreeably.
I attended all meetings. The society had three meetings each day, except
Thursday, the 20th, when there was no meeting held in the evening. On
account of the very cold weather the attendance from outside was not as
large as it should have been.
Some very interesting papers were read. Mr. E. D. Cowles, of Vermillion,
in his paper on "What to do when your grape vines freeze back,"
advocated to break off the shoots (do not cut them off) near the old
wood, so that new shoots would start from the same bud or eye and would
produce a crop.
The papers by the president, Rev. F. A. Hassold, "Relation of
Horticulture to Home-Making" at the meeting, and "Community Effort in
Rural Life" at the banquet, were very fine and much appreciated by the
audience.
Professor N. E. Hansen in his paper, "New Fruits," stated, among other
things, that he had made a large number of crosses with Chinese sand
pears and other pears, and that he expects to get from the crosses
varieties that will be blight proof, and that he intends to continue
experiments along this line.
Two very able and much appreciated papers at the banquet were:
"Landscape Gardening," by Miss Hazel J. Kent, and "Transforming a Place
Into a Home," by Mrs. Geo. H. Whiting, both of Yankton, S.D.
Governor Byrney was present at the banquet and in his address
congratulated the horticulturists of South Dakota on what they have
attained and encouraged them in their difficult undertakings.
Your delegate was asked to give notes on "Minnesota Fruit Culture,"
which he did to the best of his ability. The discussions after each
paper were interesting and instructive.
The meeting was a very successful one and all present appreciated the
fact that these gatherings assist in developing this great Northwest in
horticulture, forestry and many other ways.
Annual Report, 1915, Sauk Rapids Trial Station.
MRS. JENNIE STAGER, SUPT.
Warm weather this last spring came quite early, and with bated breath we
waited for the usual frost, but still it came not. The plum orchard
became a wilderness of bloom; the buds of the apple trees began coyly to
unfold their dainty loveliness; pussy willows flaunted their sweetness
on the air--while the birds sang their love notes from trees and bushes.
Then frost came--not once, but night after night. Thus our hopes, which
had risen with every promise of a bountiful harvest, fell with the
thermometer far below zero. When fall came both plum and apple orchards
made so poor a showing, not only here but all around this part of the
country, that we had hardly enough fruit for our own uses.
[Illustration: Mrs. Stager's grandchildren among the roses of one year's
growth.]
We had a great deal of rain, all through the spring and into the summer.
Strawberries, that generally do well in wet weather, did not bless us
with their usual abundance. Currants and gooseberries also left us in
the lurch--but the Snyder blackberries were loaded with luscious fruit,
while raspberries--why the berries of the Golden Queen bent the stalks
down with their weight. Prof. Hansen's Sunbeams were covered with
berries, as were all of the seedling raspberries sent from the Breeding
Farm three years ago, Nos. six and seven, of the red ones, bore the
largest and firmest berries. I had quite a time keeping the blossoms off
the everbearing strawberries sent here in the spring from the State
Breeding Farm. Although I had bought and planted three named--and very
much extolled--other kinds of everbearers, none of them were as prolific
in plants, and extra large berries, as those unnamed ones from the State
Breeding Farm. We had our first berries from them in August.
When we had our fair here, the last of September, I made quite a showing
of them, from the size of a bean (green) to a crab apple (ripe),
surrounded by leaves and blossoms. They were still covered with bloom
when the hard frosts came.
The two small hybrid plums sent did not make much growth. Most
vegetables that have always grown so well in other summers did very
poorly this year. Out of four hundred and seventy-five tomato plants,
taken the best of care of by Inez, my granddaughter, for the state
tomato contest, we did not get one bushel of good ripe ones. Lima and
other table beans were planted three times (on account of rotting in the
ground) and then did not ripen. No ripe corn. In fact, about all the
vegetables that came to fruition were peas, cauliflower and cabbage.
Of flowers, sweet peas, pansies and early lilies were fine, although
growing things were late. Paeonies had very few flowers. However, roses
were masses of bloom. Moss roses did the best ever, also large bushes of
Rosa Rugosa (you see this year, we had neither the ubiquitous potato
bug, rose bug, caterpillar or any other varmint to war against); quite a
number gave us blooms all summer. Then most of them threw out strong new
plants, as do the raspberries, from the roots. On the whole, with our
bounteous harvest of grain and so forth in this blessed country, we can
be thankful we are alive.
* * * * *
KEEP YOUTH ON THE FARM.--"What can we do to keep our young
people free from the deceiving lure of the city and contented to remain
on the farm?".
The following was prepared by C. W. Kneale, of Niwot, Colo., a student in
civics in the Colorado School of Agriculture, as a part of his regular
class work. Young Kneale, although a student, has some excellent ideas
which "Father" and "Mother" might do well to ponder carefully:
"Get good books, magazines and farm papers for them to read.
"Have some kind of lodges for them to go to, such as the Grange.
"Arrange it so they can have a party or entertainment once in a while.
"Go with them to church every Sunday.
"Arrange it so they can have one or more picnics every year.
"Teach them how to do all kinds of farm work, by giving them a small
tract of land to farm for themselves and showing them how to raise their
crops, and have them help you with your work.
"Give them a horse which they can ride or drive when they haven't
anything to do, or when they want to go anywhere.
"Teach them to love and be kind to animals."
Ravages of the Buffalo Tree Hopper.
"Mr. Latham recently sent me some twigs of apple tree very badly injured
with what we call the buffalo tree hopper. These scars are made entirely
by the female in the act of egg-laying. This process of egg-laying takes
place from the last part of July until the leaves drop in the fall. The
eggs hatch the following spring. The young forms do not feed at all upon
the apple but get their nourishment by sucking the juices from the weeds
and grasses in the immediate neighborhood of the orchard.
[Illustration: The Buffalo Tree Hopper and its work]
"The injury of this particular tree hopper is bad because the insect in
egg-laying makes two slits, side by side, afterwards poking the eggs
beneath the bark. As the tree continues to grow, the area between the
slits dies, making a very rough appearance of the bark and an area into
which spores of disease and bacteria may enter. The twig that is badly
scarred very often dies, and sometimes young trees just set out are
marked so badly that they succumb.
"The only practical remedy against such a pest is clean cultivation of
the orchard, as one can readily work out from knowing the life history.
It is possible that some of the sprays like Bordeaux mixture, or
self-boiled lime-sulphur, sprayed and kept active on the trees during
the month of August would deter these hoppers from laying eggs. However,
we have had no practical experience along this line, although we do know
that trees under clean cultivation are not affected."--A. G. Ruggles,
Head of Section of Spraying and Tree Insects, University Farm, St. Paul.
* * * * *
MINNESOTA NO. 3 STRAWBERRY.--A communication from Peter
Jackson, Cloquet, says: "I had my first trial of the Minnesota No. 3
strawberry last year and they did finely. I had one hundred twenty-five
quarts from sixty plants." Who can do better than that?
Growing Tomatoes in Northern Minnesota.
REV. GEO. MICHAEL, WALKER, MINN.
Sow seed in hotbed about April first, in rows five inches apart and five
inches apart in each row. Transplant in garden one week after danger of
frost is past. The day before transplanting soak the hotbed thoroughly
with warm water. In taking them up to transplant use a sharp butcher
knife; the ground thus cut out will form a cube five inches in diameter.
This block, should be set in a hole ten to twelve inches deep. The
ground around the block must be made very firm. This block will be four
to six inches below the surface. _Fill the hole with warm rainwater_ and
three or four hours later rake in loose dirt to fill the hole, being
careful not to pack it in the least.
_How to prepare the ground._ Manure heavily; plow very deep; harrow
thoroughly. Then in forming the hills place two shovelfuls of fine
manure and one-half shovelful of hen manure for each hill. Spade this in
from twelve to eighteen inches deep and eighteen to twenty inches wide.
Cultivate often.
The plants should be staked at first to keep the wind storms from
injuring them. When one and one-half feet high they should be trained
over poles placed on each side of the row one and one-half feet from the
ground. Plant hills four feet apart, and _train each plant to four or
five vines_, cutting off all side shoots and a few of the leaves. _Never
cut off_ the top of a vine to hasten the ripening.
Make the ground _as rich as possible, plough deep, plant deep, set deep
and prune carefully_. If you do not use poles or a trellis the vines
thus managed should spread over the ground as pumpkin vines grow, and
instead of "going all to vines" the tendency will be to go all to
tomatoes.