. OM ANS WOO » \ OFFICIAL DONATION. THE APPLE. THE KANSAS APPLE. THE BIG RED APPLE. THe Luscious, Rep-CHEEKED First Love oF THE FARMER’s Boy. Tor HEALTHFUL, HEARTY HEART OF THE DARLING DUMPLING. WHAT IT IS. HOW TO GROW IT. ITS COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE. HOW TO UTILIZE IT. COMPILED AND REVISED BY THE KANSAS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, WILLIAM H. BARNES, SecRETARY, State Capitol, Topeka, Kan. 1898. HDOCUME DIVISIGN OF DOCUMEN NT? IN be £555 ql tS OBR THE APPLE! WHAT IT IS. DEFINITION. The fleshy pome or fruit of a rosaceous tree (Pyrus malus), the origin of which is probably the wild crab-apple of Europe, cultivated in innumerable varieties in the temperate zones. It is scarcely known in the wild state, but as an escape from cultivation its fruit becomes small, acid, and harsh, and is known as the crab; the cultivated crab-apple is the fruit of other species of Pyrus. Of the cultivated crabs there are the Siberian (Pyrus prunifolia), the Chinese (Pyrus spectabillis), and the Cherry-crab (Pyrus baccata), all natives of northern Asia, ad The apple was first introduced into America from England, in 1629, by the governor of Massachusetts Bay. LAWS PERTAINING TO APPLE ORCHARDISTS. Extracts from General Statutes of Kansas, 1897. CUTTING OR DESTROYING FRUIT- OR SHADE-TREES, (Vol. 2, p. 374.) § 423. If any person shall cut down, injure or destroy or carry away any tree placed or growing for use, shade or ornament, or any timber, rails or wood standing, being or growing on the land of any other person, or shall dig up, quarry or carry away stones, ore or mineral, gravel, clay or mold, roots, fruits, or plants, or cut down or carry away grass, grain, corn, flax or hemp in which he has no interest or right, standing, lying or being on land not his own, or shall knowingly break the glass or any part of it in any building not his own, the party so offending shall pay to the party injured treble the value of the thing so injured, broken, destroyed or carried away, with costs, and shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $500. DESTRUCTION BY FIRE. (Vol. 2, p. 372.) § 415. If any person shall wantonly and wilfully set on fire any woods, marshes or prairies so as thereby to occasion any damage to any other person he shall upon conviction be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars and not less than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not more than six months and not less than ten days, or by both such fine and im- prisonment. DECEPTION IN SALE OF TREES, PLANTS, ETC. (Vol. 2, p. 318.) § 126. Any person or persons who shall misrepresent, deceive or defraud any person or persons in the sale of any fruit, shade or ornamental tree or trees, or any vine, shrub, plant, bulb, or root, by substituting inferior or different varieties, or who shall falsely represent the name, age or class of any fruit, shade or ornamental tree or trees, or any vine, shrub, plant, bulb, or root, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be fined not less than $10 nor more than $200, or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, and shall be liable to the party or parties injured thereby in treble the amount of all dam- ages sustained, to be recovered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. TO PRESERVE ORDER AT HORTICULTURAL FAIRS. (Vol. 2. p. 955.) § 4. All county agricultural and horticulural societies, duly incorporated under the laws of this state, shall have power during the time of holding their fairs to appoint such police force and make such laws and regula- tions as shall be deemed necessary for the well ordering and government of the society. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. (Vol. 2. p. 944.) § 11. Green apples shall weigh forty-eight pounds per bushel. Dried apples shall weigh twenty-four pounds per bushel. AN ACT FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. (Vol. 2, p. 934.) § 1. The owner of an orchard may at any time shoot blue- jays, orioles, or yellowhammers. (ee Ase? EB. THE CHEMISTRY OF THE APPLE TREE. Written specially for ‘‘The Kansas Apple,’’ By Prof. E. H. 8. BAtLEy, Chemist at the Kansas : State University. In the cultivation of the apple tree, which, like most plants, gets its nourish- ment from two sources, the soil and the atmosphere, these must be first consid- ered. From the soil come the mineral ingredients, those that are given back to the soil when the plant is burned, and from the atmosphere come the ingredients of no less importance in the growth of the tree, but which mostly disappear as invisible gases upon combustion. Upon the character of this soil and upon the climate, a general term that may be said to cover the conditions of the atmos- phere, depend the success of the horticulturist. In addition to this, insect pests are liable to constantly menace the crop. In the making of soils, a process that is constantly going on, the most impor- tant agents are water, air, frost, sunshine, and the action of living organisms. By this combined action, the mountain, with its rich store of mineral matter, is dis- integrated, its constituents are partly dissolved in the water and partly carried mechanically to the plains below; the air is distributed through the soil; seeds are dropped; the living animal forms begin to multiply; the soil is enriched, and gradually it begins to be in a condition suitable to bear the simpler forms of vege- table life, which in turn decaying, add to the richness of the soil. Furthermore, the mechanical condition of the soil has much to do with the successful growth of the plant. If the soil is extremely fine, itis liable to become so compact that the rootlets cannot easily penetrate it, when it is of such a com- position as to bake readily in the sun; if very coarse, like gravel, there is not a suffi- cient capacity to retain moisture. It should, however, be porous enough to allow the air to penetrate it, for upon the aeration of the soil depends much of its fertil ity. We loosen the soil about the roots of plants to allow the air to penetrate and give an opportunity for the chemical changes constantly undergoing in the soil. Then, too, the work of the earthworms in loosening the soil, and thus adding to its porosity, should not be overlooked. In this soil workshop, too, live and labor certain minute organisms that make it their business to enrich the soil by help- - ing the rootlets to assimilate the nitrogen of the air. Since the soil is composed mostly of ingredients that come from the decompo- sition of rocks, it follows that is must be of very complex composition. Fortu- nately, however, there are only a few of the ingredients of the soil that are of interest to the agriculturist, as only a few of the elements, as they are called, go to make up the plant structure, or at least only a few are essential ingredients of the plant. Nitrogen, though very abundant in the air, is not abundant in the soil. In fact, the soil has to depend largely on the nitrogen compounds that are washed out of the atmosphere in small quantities by the rain. Another source of nitro- gen is the action of certain bacteria, that make little sacs on the rootlets and, living on the juices of the plants, fix the nitrogen of the air, and thus fertilize the soil; especially on plants of the leguminous family, as peas, beans, and clover. Silicon, which with oxygen makes ordinary sand, is essential to the growth of (5) a \ 6 THE KANSAS APPLE. plants and is everywhere found in abundance. Sulphur, united with oxygen and the metals to form sulphates, is generally abundant enough. The same may be. said of chlorine, which, united with sodium or potassium, is always present in our prairie soils. Phosphorus, as it occurs in the phosphates, is one of the most es- sential ingredients of a fertile soil. Calcium and magnesium are found in com- bination as carbonates and sulphates, and, though essential, are usually abundant, especially where limestone rocks underlie the soil and outcrop in so many places: Potassium is found united with chlorine or sulphuric acid. It is one of the ele- ments that is most liable to be exhausted from the soil by a succession of crops. Sodium exists almost everywhere. It is one of the elements of common salt, and, though much like potassium, cannot take the place of the latter in plant nurture. Iron is abundant and at the same time necessary in small quantities. The ele- ments above mentioned, together with oxygen, are to be found in the ashes of plants. Besides, there are two elements that come largely from the atmosphere, namely carbon and hydrogen, which, united with oxygen, make up the bulk of the plant. Thus, wood is a substance containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with small quantities of nitrogen and mineral salts. The mineral salts represent about one per cent. of air-dried wood. Having considered in a general way the constituents of the plant, and having noticed the source of each of these constituents, it may be of interest to look at the composition of the soil as revealed by chemical analysis. ‘‘A’’ is the analy- sis of a soil from Finney county, as made in the laboratory of the Kansas State Uni- versity, by the author. ‘‘B’’ is a soil from Wyandotte county, as reported in the report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture for 1874. ‘C”’ is a prairie soil from Dakota, as reported by Prof. E. Richards, of the department of agriculture. coA)? “BRB” Te @ iz Silica and insoluble....... LANTUS Nght! eeyeb le ce Sy 71.66 82.16 69.82 TrontaAnd ALUMINUM: OXI OS c-.,- Sen-corecteta ele ee 6.55 6.70 12.05 CALCIUM ENO Ssh nt eee icias ie St e e 4.41 .68 .85 PESO MEMEMLE RICE os Pecks od kde Clue ed beck G 1.02 .06 .87 IPDORDHOTIC GBH YVGTIGGs : 36 6o'ss).)2). seen | boosh ee les 18 .08 wala OTOP ING eee ae peters ica zi Vici cee ie dhe .O1 .03 -03 FE OLASBHITIECRIGO Ue esd Sic eracae tae nln pcholant eee 75 05 72 POMUIMORIC eG ene eer tes One alte eet ee 2b ll 94 DMIPU MME MMAVATICG. 2.5 5 oc). ee ar vik ena eee .06 “Oo 12 Volatile and organic matter......... mi Vogts arse Zee she 3.98 5.44 8.90 Misthunees Ra eee los ae! te tens coh Cee nad Sea Ae 9.67 3.80 6.27 Undetermined, carbonic acid, etc.................. 1.48 .30 .22 100.00 100.00 100.00 In some cases it happens that there is a sufficient quantity of an ingredient in the soil, but it is not in a sufficiently soluble form to be available. It will be noticed that in the analyses quoted above the amount of the necessary constit- uents of the soi] to plant growth is not in any case large. The nitrogen may be present in the volatile and organic matter, and upon the proportion of this com- plex organic matter very often depends to a great extent the fertility of the soil. Some experiments made at one of the agricultural experiment stations upon the effect of ‘‘apple stock,’’ that is, young trees raised for nursery purposes, on the soil, showed that in eleven tons of such stock the following quantities of in-. gredients were removed from the soil: ByliCa 20>... as... Soe ee BO. 6 Ibsi, + ime * ohe/apa sue ce eee ee 138.6 lbs. Phosphoric acid ........... malate Magnesia faxes ache. pee 23.7. * Sulphuric acid ............ FL Seta ee SOG Agt4 ieee eR eb eit ieee PAR ys? SIeEING. es... ee espns Potash’ ieee eas Se ef fl Ny Carbonic-acid gas.......... 1 ee nad) Bie Tron Bede: tel oy aa “ Total.che: lees. eee 399.3 Ibs. THE KANSAS APPLE. fi This is no inconsiderable quantity of material to be removed by a single crop. Professor Goessmann, in discussing the ash of fruits, gives the following an- alysis of the ash of the Baldwin apple; this would represent the mineral matter taken from the soil by the fruit: Potash, 63.54 per cent.; soda, 1.71; lime, 7.28; magnesia, 5.52, and phosphoric acid, 20.87. Comparing this with the ash of other fruits, it is seen that the amount of potash required is larger than in the case of other fruits except plums and peaches, and the amount of phosphoric acid is high, but not as high as in the case of some berries. The application is obvious; in order to successfully raise apples there must be an abundance of potash and of phosphoric acid in the soil, and these ingredients must be in an available form. If we compare the apple and the pear by an analysis for fertilizing constituents, or such constituents as are usually introduced into deficient soil by means of fer- tilizers, we have the following table: 1000 parts of the fruit contain, in the case of each, H:0 N Ash K:sO NasO CoO MgO P20; SOs SiOs ae STE eet: A ee Iie Bal ONES 252! O80 Osa Ord” Oc2rae Sy, Olona SAE Giaaiejc's's asd sve 8 bis Sal O:Gyeeea! WST Og i OVS: sO), eh Wo kOe ae ee When we study the composition of the apple, to determine the ‘‘ proximate principles,’’ as they are called, it is noticed that we have the constituents men- tioned in the discussion of the elements contained in the fruit combined to form various substances; thus: Apples. Pears. Cherries. Peaches. NNSA Te pence antes ty neald Ahk Sha espe ise ea) a ak de 82.04 83.95 (783 84.99 SLT rk chet Aare Aas ats FA) ch ok aha 6.83 7.00 ibs ‘pala 1.58 PENH S)3) VET ES bi, SR eo Oe as i eR .85 .07 say .61 Albumirous substances................... .45 .26 .90 .46 HECTOUS SUDSTANEES. «Len ck slurs se oho eeed. AT 3.28 2.29 6.31 “Sel hivll oy Ve et Reet aR aaa a A a 14.96 10.90 ieee 9.39 Free acid in fruits is not neutralized by sugar, but it is well known that an abundance of sugar will cover up the sour taste of a fruit. The constituents above noted are mostly found in the expressed juice of the fruit, and give it its characteristic flavor. Without the sugar in these juices it would not be possible to make any alcoholic beverages from them. In the process of fermentation, in the case of apple juice, we have first the change of the sugar to alcohol and carbonic- acid gas, which imparts to cider its characteristic taste and tang. Afterwards, the alcoholic solution, in the presence of the organic matter, is subjected to what is called acetic fermentation; that is, the vinegar plant grows at the expense of the organic matter in the cider, and this beverage is converted into vinegar, con- taining acetic acid. It is a familiar fact that the change does not readily take place except when cider is exposed to the air, and this is shown to be true from a chemical standpoint, as the cider really is oxidized to make the vinegar; that is, it takes up oxygen from the air. _The greater the proportion of sugar, the greater the quantity of alcohol, the stronger the vinegar will be. Grapes contain more than twice as much sugar as apples; hence, a wine that is made from them is stronger in alcohol than a cider made from apples. Cherries, as will be seen by reference to the table above, con- tain a large amount of sugar; hence their use in making cherry brandy, which contains a large per cent. of alcohol. It should be said, however, that in order to make brandy the cherry juice must be distilled. Im this respect the process is similar to that employed in making apple brandy. After the juice has been extracted from the apples the pomace that remains is sometimes used as a fertilizer. This is valuable chiefly on account of the min- eral salts contained in it. An analysis of the pomace shows that it contains: Water, 69.90 per cent.; ash, .71; albuminous substances, 1.58; fiber, 4.87; nitro- gen, free extract, 21.24; fat, 1.71. 8 THE KANSAS APPLE, The acid of the apple is usually considered to be malic acid, but really there are several acids mixed together. It is a mild and agreeable vegetable acid, and its presence adds much to the flavor of the fruit. The pectous and albuminous substances are those that assist in the formation of fruit jellies. Some of these substances are liquid when hot, and gelatinize on cooling; by too long boiling they lose this property of gelatinizing; hence the precaution that is taken in the making of fruit jellies not to boil the juice too long. The subject of the ripening of fruits like the apple has been extensively studied, as has also that of the subsequent decay. According to recent re- searches, early varieties of apples contain little starch when picked, and do not keep well. The season, soil, and age of the tree affect the composition of the fruit. It has been shown that sugar is sure to be formed from the starch in the process of ripening, after the fruit is taken from the tree, and during the winter the cane sugar is gradually, and finally almost entirely, changed to directly- reducing sugar. The maximum sugar content is reached earlier the earlier in the season the apple ripens. Late winter varieties reach this point as late as November. There is much starch in the latter when picked, which gradually changes to sugar on keeping. This process is analogous to the ripening of the banana. This fruit is picked while green, and from it is made by the natives of South America a flour which is a good farinaceous food, and readily answers the place of the starchy grains. We are familiar with the fact that as the fruit ripens it contains large quantities of sugar, and is edible uncooked, which fact is usually not true of starchy foods. The subject of the decay of the apple has been diseussed in a very interesting way in the Popular Science Monthly for May, 1893, by Byron D. Halsted. Though chemical changes take place here, also, and the apple is finally resolved mostly into carbonic-acid gas, water, and mineral salts, yet these changes are brought about by the action of various fungi which find a soil favorable to their growth in the apple pulp. Though apples are considered digestible and wholesome, their digestibility is much increased by cooking. This is especially true if some of the starch is not converted to sugar, for, as noted above, starch, to be readily assimilated in the system, should be cooked. There is probably no fruit that is so uniformly wholesome and so deservedly popular with all classes asthe apple. Theappleand pear were known in England before the conquest, and, indeed, probably before the Saxon invasion. They have been gradually ‘‘improved”’ from the wild crab- apple of Europe. It is stated on good authority that there is no country on the globe so well adapted to the growth of this fruit as the temperate regions of North America, and this seems to be demonstrated by the fact that the apples of the United States are superseding the native fruit in most of the civilized countries. ANALYSES OF THE ASH OF THE APPLE. Sap-wood. Heart-wood. 16.19 6.620 Patashic =o a tera ap Bk asa Ose oP Sah CIN ae org ae ain ct: RU RD Ns A Dae te mBaN ERMAN SU |. 3.11 7.935 @hiorid’ of Bodiam oo ae ss Oe i ea .42 .210 Sulphate of lime Sok 0 Foe ch eae sp ol Sra eae acetate .05 .526 PHosphate of peroxide ironies. 3 '4 fal S55 kta oe eee .80 .500 Phosphate of mes cds oi cir a. ¥ mo cies ots He a hate aa 17.50 5.210 Phosphate Of magmesia sy Ne iis oss e's unc Cena a oe ae eae .20 .190 Carbonic. aeid, 2%. iso. Ai Reka son 2) ccna 29.10 34.275 RAMOS 15 2) RES AC ae as nS he ee 18.63 35.019 Mapriesia.. (i) bad te} ate ice sess cop Ok ahaa soca ane 8.40 6.900 ite. so ais ha Cases Nin clade oahu b= Ru vhara ebaginca eiatie ie 1.65 .700 Organic: matter. <(9.0 cine Ge 48) pasty nes eo ee a aren IRS 4.60 2.450 Motels. 6 ii Sine eae, Sea al pe ake ls ahaa aan 100.65 100.535 THE KANSAS APPLE. 9 ANALYSES OF APPLES. One hundred pounds of average apples contain the following: No. 1. No. 3. TEM) 9) Ey Pai ieoe aa es Arama ana toto Pa 3o2) lbs WEE LOI rae eee been 85.0 Ibs Gluten, fat, and wax....... OT Sugars | oss Ae So AT RY MEE Tse agents fers. s 3 aes SW AICTE USe i: ese ty kee eiateis TAM OnveRs PAU IMEN 5. eae ee He Albuminous substances..... Dane MDORULING ss cicc eee ee evske Shs Insoluble matter ........... Ab is 3, 308 SS HOPE AL Ue 1 eR SEOUL Pectous substances......... aiptete tc IMaliGiacidiieretss onl). od wus f=) 1 RD Mes A. SNe Uta Ma SA Withers wane eka: sakcere 82.66 ‘ Biron peer eC. eels AOS ise 100 Ibs 100 lbs No. 2. Nitrates soa s ss seh ore 5 lbs. Carbonates: ol eaceaea ee: Ones Phosphatest 2. sect. Sees bats Water ig cs ts Seen ae Lumera 84 * 100 lbs. WEIGHT OF APPLES. Thirty-three hundred three-bushel barrels were weighed. The average net weight, barrel not included, was: Ben. Davis, 134 pounds, or 4424 pounds per bushel; Missouri Pippin, 13624 pounds, or 453 pounds per bushel; Winesap, 14434 pounds, or 4814 pounds per bushel. Apples vary in weight in different seasons. Jonathans weighed in quantity three seasons give 134, 136 and 140 pounds per barrel, averaging 493 pounds per barrel. These weights are all net; they do not include the weight of the barrel. TIME OF BLOOMING IN LEAVENWORTH COUNTY. Observations taken through a period of eight years—1890 to 1897—-show the Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, Winesap and Ben Davis in full bloom on April 25, 29, 30, 20, 22, 20, 22, 26. SOME APPLE-PRODUCING STATES. Quantity of apples grown in 1889 in states having more than Kansas, taken from the United States census of 1890: PAO. Eee 5504, SeamaC aT RRR Ne Mr essa ty ot AC g. Molt ita dal hay CRM NS han 13,789,278 bus. ee RESELL CAEN Us). <1: yy APO ce Vann aCe tee) et TPO et ay Dede 13,154,626 ‘ 33 MRSS A VCE e Re el Si aN a NURS GR os SR GAN PY ee 10,679,389 °° 25°.) LUAU VA TO} Sie ly MRE os hy SN IRN kroner UM BU Pe A 9,600,785 ‘* Phaee MITCUEATE et te 2 foes, Ace UML eo PN rent OM Reatard Re YW met 8,784,038 ‘* IRENA SOUT SARS OK, 20 ee HPA eet eh A hee teal ae eR AY APE So 8,698,170 ** IRE DS GE, eS SE ere ipa eS car a aad el Ae San RE 8,493,846 * ‘Si, ATTRA WRG BR hE Sy te Ti ea I tal ERO AR oa ort 8,391,425 ** SN OLE O@arolinaees 1. a cya re emee mean a het he th Ye Weog nov lines