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Accession No. VS'A'VS".

Bulletin 110

March, 1904

NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE

Agricultural Experiment Station

EXPERIMENTS IN

ORCHARD MANAGEMENT

IN

NEW ENGLAND

Peppers in Peach Orchard {College).

BY F. WM. RAISE

New Hampshire College

OF

AGRICULTURE AND THE MECHANIC ARTS

DURHAM

NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE

OF

AGRICULTURE AND THE MECHANIC ARTS

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

DURHAM, N. H.

BOARD OF CONTROL

Hon. JOHN G. TALLANT, Chairman, Pembroke.
Hon. GEORGE A. WASON, New Boston.
CHARLES W. STONE, A. M., Secretary, East Andover.
Hon. WARREN BROWN, Hampton Falls.
Pres. WILLIAM D. GIBBS, ex-officio, Durham.

STATION COUNCIL

WILLIAM D. GIBBS, M. S., Director.
FRED W. MORSE, M. S., Chemist and Vice- Director .
CLARENCE M. WEED, D. Sc, Entomologist.
FRANK WILLIAM RANE, B. Ac, M. S., Horticultur-
ist.
FREDERICK W. TAYLOR, B. S., Agriculturist.
EDWARD L. SHAW, B. S., Associate Agriculturist.
IVAN C. WELD, Dairy Manufactures.

ASSISTANTS

HAROLD H. SCUDDER, B. S., Assistant Chemist.
HARRY F. HALL, Assistant in Horticulture.
JOHN C. BRIDWELL, B. S., Assistant Entomologist.
EDITH M. DAVIS, Purchasing A<rent.
MABEL E. TOWNSHEND, A. B., Stenographer.

ORCHARD MANAGEMENT.

WM. RANE.

We must learn and realize that the plant has life and appre-
ciates good care and food for best results, like the animal.
When neglected it may not disturb us like the squealing of the
pig or the kicking and pawing of the hungry horse; neverthe-
less, its usefulness for best results is impaired and the condi-
tions that might bring success are impossible.

With comparatively few exceptions our fruit trees are very
indifferently cared for. Considering their commercial impor-
tance they are one of our great sources of income. If we can
get so large returns for so little effort what may be expected
when we exert ourselves to do more for plants? An equal
amount of capital invested, care, labor and attention given it,
the average orchard crop will be productive of greater returns
than the same expenditure devoted to live stock in New
England. This statement is not made to disparage the live
stock industry, but to emphasize what may be expected in
orcharding.

The varieties of fruits are discussed in Bulletin No. 105, NeAV
Hampshire College Experiment Station, and will not be con-
sidered at this time. With varieties selected, soil and location
determined, and the trees set in well-prepared soil we now are
ready to consider their care. This subject will be considered
under the following heads:

(1) Tillage. Page

(2) Plant Food (Fertilizers).

(3) Training the Trees.

(4) Pruning.

(5) Thinning.

(6) Spraying.

(a) For Insects.

(b) For Fungous Diseases.

(7) ]\ inter Protection.

(8) Picking the Fruit.
^ (9) How to Keep Up Interest.

(10) Partial Summary.

89

93

95

96

97

97

99

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103

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104

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TILLAGE 89

(1) Tillage.

The object of the orchard in the first place is to produce
fruit. If we are to expect tree growth wheu the tree is young
and a sustaining productive growth when mature, we must ren-
der the conditions favorable for such results. Just how much
and often cultivation is needed, and the best means of obtaining
it, kinds of implements to use, etc., are open questions.
Results are what we are after. If one person can demonstrate
that his orchard is more productive than others, we should look
into his method of tillage and satisfy ourselves how closely it
can be applied to our conditions. The nature of the soil is of
great importance in considering this question. Our soil may
require constant cultivation or tillage in order to get desirable
tree growth; while another with comparatively little attention
may be very responsive. As a rule, however, it is an excep-
tional orchard that gives satisfactory results without receiving
occasional tillage. Some lands, in fact many in New England,
are too roiling for continuous tillage. This would result in the
washing or gullying out of the land and the loss of our best
surface soils, which should be prevented. Where the land is
level this is another matter and can be practised. On lands
only moderately rolling and on others where only certain por-
tions are liable to wash, a crop of some kind could be sown,
known as a cover crop, which answers well in keeping the soil
from washing throughout the fall and winter. On rolling land
washing can largely be prevented by cultivating the soil cross-
wise, with the contour of the hill. Where the wash is liable to
be heavy even if this is done, if a plowed<furrow is run along
the contour several rods apart, the distance depending upon the
steepness of the slope, this will largely overcome the trouble.
The benefits from cultivation will usually be large. A promi-
nent pomologist has written: " If tillage and timely effort are
good for corn, and peach trees, and blackberries, they ought also
to be good for apple trees."

This whole subject of tillage, as I look at it, is to be settled
by one's good judgment. In order to have good judgment we
must first study the problems themselves. In the first place,
orchards need attention for results. The question of tillage can
be overdone as well as neglected. There is such a thing as rush-
ing tree growth. Too frequent tillage and carrying it too late
into the season are possible errors. There is little use of check*

90 OKCHAKD MANAGEMENT

ing the enthusiasm over more tillage here in New England, as
the land knows it will be years before we get enough of it; but
there are instances where people have in the past been so zeal-
ous over the subject that their results were mainly experiences
of what not to do. The tree should make its largest and best
growth during the early or fore part of the season. If we con-
tinue our cultivation until late in the season and at frequent
intervals, as in the spring, the trees will not have ripened their
wood or had time to prepare themselves for living through our
severe winters. It is as important that we check the results of
tillage, therefore, at this season of the year, as it was to utilize

Pig. 3. Bush beans ia a young orchard. Experiment Station Grounds.

it in the spring. At the last cultivation, therefore, which is
usually at the height of the maximum growth near midsummer,
we sow some crop in the orchard. This crop will prevent the
soil from washing, mulch the ground and hence protect the
roots in winter, check excessive growth, mature the wood and
when plowed under, give plant food and humus to the soil.

Cover crops are of two kinds, those which have the power of
taking nitrogen from the air, called leguminous crops, and
those that do not. To the first class belong the beans, peas,
clovers, and vetch. To the latter class belong cereals or grains,
among them being oats, rye, corn, buckwheat, etc. While the
cereals are not as valuable from the standpoint of plant food

THE HITCHINGS METHOD 91

they do, however, hold the snow in winter and by rotting on
the ground, or plowing under, they improve the physical condi-
tion of the soil. Too much nitrogen in an orchard is considered
detrimental, as it gives growth instead of fruitfulness. Young
orchards need plenty of growth, and leguminous crops are
valuable for growing in them.

Our method of renovating old orchards, resulting from exper-
iments, has been to break up the soil in the spring, and then
after preparing it well, plant dwarf peas or bush beans in rows.
This allows frequent cultivation, and the pods pay well for the
labor. When the crops are picked the vines are plowed under,
.and the land is sown to some cover crop. These come off early
so that the cover crop has time to get well established. This
same treatment can again be followed the next year, or until
the orchard is in good condition. Photographs shown in
figures 2 and 3 illustrate this method.

The Hitchings Method. (Mulching System.)

In discussing methods of tillage we desire to call attention to
the care of orchards, particularly the apple orchard, by the
.above-named method. The writer visited the estates of the late
Mr. W. H. White, at Pittsfield and Gilmanton, where about ten
thousand (10,000) apple trees have been set during the past two
seasons. Mr. White spent some time looking into the business
of apple growing, and not only visited the various fruit sections
of the country, especially western New York, but engaged
many noted growers to come to his farms to suggest methods of
handling his orchards. He became deeply interested in Mr.
Hitchings of western New York, whose system of orchard cul-
ture has of late years received much attention. After visiting
the Hitchings orchards and having Mr. Hitchings come to New
Hampshire to examine his soils personally, Mr. White became
.convinced that this was the system best adapted to New
England.

This system is carried out as follows: The land for orchards
is selected as usual, and the trees are mulched with the grass or
vegetation that is cut in the orchard. Beginning when the
trees are young by mulching only as far as the root growth
naturally extends, and increasing the radius as the tree grows
larger, in this way the soil has nothing taken from it other than
-tree growth, as the vegetation decays and remains above the

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PLANT FOOD 93

tree roots. The expense of cultivation, which is the heaviest
outlay under the clean culture method, is eliminated. One
person can cut the hay and mulch the trees at little expense,
while to cultivate the orchard at frequent intervals throughout
the growing season is quite an outlay.

The good effects from cover crops in preventing washing or
gullying out of the soils, etc., already discussed, apply with
equal force here. The young orchards set by Mr. White with-
stood the very severe dry season of last year as well as any
cultivated orchard. Trees set on land that had not been cul-
tivated for many years and simply fertilized with ashes and
mulched, made growths of from nine to twelve inches. I am
not prepared to say that the Hitchings method is the one to
follow, but it does seem to have many advantages that look
reasonable if judiciously handled. It is, at least, worthy of
further consideration. If it proves to be practical, it is likely
to revolutionize our whole idea of apple growing in New
England.

The writer in concluding this discussion of tillage, desires to
emphasize the remark made at the beginning: — the object of
the orchard is to produce fruit.

(2) Plant Food (Fertilizers}.

No prescription can be written for feeding all fruit trees, as
there are so many varying conditions. About all that can be
done is to review the subject, in order that the reader may com-
prehend the main principles and thereby mould them into their
practical application. The feeding of plants is not unlike the
feeding of animals. We do not feed horses and swine on the
same diet; each is known to do best under its own particular
treatment. We must first become acquainted with the plants
we are to feed, and when their habits and needs are understood,
any one with good judgment can husband them. A good florist
understands his plants and knows their wants; a good fruit
grower needs a similar knowledge of the plants he is to depend
upon for success.

To feed fruit trees intelligently we must ascertain what the
soil in which they are growing is capable of doing for them, and
if it needs assistance, supply it. The three elements liable to
be deficient are potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen. If the
trees are making rapid growth, have deep green foliage and

94 OKCHARD MANAGEMENT

mature their wood, we may reasonably infer that their needs-
are satisfied. If, however, they begin to show sluggish growth,
and the foliage turns yellowish, we may infer that they are re-
ceiving insufficient food. If the soil is not mellow and friable,
it should be made so. A coarse and lumpy soil can be improved
by growing some rank-growing cover crop, as cowpeas or rye,
or by the use of farm manures, plowing them under in spring.
When working about the trees in spring a few handfuls of
ground bone and wood ashes spread about the roots and worked
in with a hand implement will prove beneficial. It often hap-
pens that orchards upon reaching bearing age are growing too
rapidly, and show little inclination to fruit. This is largely
the case when too much nitrogen is present. This condition can
be checked by allowing the orchard a rest for a season without
cultivation, or if cultivated, use non-nitrogenous cover crops
and apply fertilizers containing potash and phosphoric acid
only. These latter ingredients are heavily drawn on when the
trees begin to bear. It is estimated that an average crop of
apples removes eleven pounds of nitrogen, nearly one pound of
phosphoric acid, and sixteen pounds of potash per acre.

Commercial fertilizers are commonly used for bearing or-
chards. When used in rich soil the results are quite marked,
but when applied to young trees in comparatively poor soil,
they are not as valuable of good barnyard manures. No rule
can be given for the proper application of fertilizers per acre
for successful orcharding. Every soil is necessarily different
from every other as regards physical, mechanical, and chemical
properties. From a study of the soil in question it is thought
that with the aid of the following tables one can judge from
previous experience as to what should be considered a liberal
application.1

Apple.

/ (1) 50 to 100 lbs. nitrate of soda; or
For Nitrogen. < (2) 40 to 80 lbs. sulphate of ammonia; or
v (3) 80 to 160 lbs. dried blood.

Available s (1) 300 to 600 lbs. bone-meal; or
Phosphoric < (2) 200 to 400 lbs. dissolved bone-meal or bone
Acid. C (3) 250 to 500 lbs. dissolved rock. [black; or

1 The New York Agr. Expt. Station. Bulletin No. 94. New Series.

TRAINING THE TREES 95

r (1) 100 to 200 lbs. muriate; or

, (2) 100 to 200 lbs. sulphate; or

(3) 400 to 800 lbs. kainit; or

^ (4) 1000 to 2000 lbs. wood ashes.

For pounds of different materials per tree, divide each by 50,
and sow it broadcast under each.

Practically the same amount of fertilizer is recommended for
the pear and quince as for the apple. The stone fruits, as cher-
ries, plums, peaches, etc., are given a little heavier dressing of
nitrogen and phosphoric acid, but: not quite so much potash.
Grapes require tbe same as apples; only about 20 lbs. less of
potash per acre. Small fruits, as currants, gooseberries, and
raspberries require about the same as grapes, but more nitro-
gen.

Too much nitrogen is to be avoided, as the tendency will be to
run to growth rather than fruit. The potash may be applied in
the fall, also one-half the phosporic acid; but the remainder
should be applied in spring. Potash is generally considered
the most important constituent, since fruits withdraw much
larger quantities of it than the nitrogen or phosphoric acid.

(3) Training the Trees.

Whether to start the limbs high or low on fruit trees depends
upon the kind of fruit under consideration, and even different
varieties of the same kinds. Some varieties have natural droop-
ing habits, and will require higher trunks than others which
grow more erect. The Burbank plum, for example, has a very
umbrella-like top, and when laden with fruit bends to the
ground, and hence needs a comparatively long trunk. Many
other varieties of plums have a naturally upright growth, and it
is an advantage to start the head rather low. With apple trees
four to five feet is considered about right, depending again upon
the character of the variety. Peaches are headed comparatively
low, — from twelve to eighteen inches at setting. It is more
difficult to work the soil about low-headed trees, and it is
thought that the circulation of air is checked, thus favoring
fungous diseases as well. High heading also has its faults, in
that the fruit is not so easily harvested; the trees are more
likely to break down; the damage from windfalls is greater,
and the expense in pruning and spraying is larger. It is advis-
able to visit orchards and get ideas of this question before pur-

ORCHARD MANAGEMENT

chasing one's trees. If we have in mind the form and shape
desired and start with the right kind of a tree, it is a simple
matter to form the head as desired.

(4) Pruning.

The only intelligent way to get at this subject is to begin
with the young tree the first year it is set, and then each sea-
son thereafter cut out the branches not needed. This work is
probably most easily done during the dormant season. Where
this is done each season no large limbs that are not needed will
get in, and only an occasional broken or dead limb of any size
will be taken out. Summer pruning, or the rubbing off or de-
stroying of buds that come out on the trunk or branches of vig-
orous trees, should be practised. The time to do this is before
their leaves are fully expanded. Before attempting this, how-
ever, one must familiarize himself as to which are superfluous
shoots and fruit spurs. Fruit spurs are rubbed off only when
one desires to thin the fruit. Shoots that are inclined to go
beyond the line of symmetry should be pinched. Summer
pruning is not practised as much as it might be to advantage.
It is limited to rubbing off and pinching in, but will greatly
eliminate the labor of annual pruning if done properly.

Pruning properly done will encourage the normal develop-
ment of the fruiting habit. It favors branching, and it is a
common observation that trees diverted by branching are the
ones most likely to form flower buds. The upright or vertical
shoots should, generally speaking, be discouraged. When suf-
ficiently thinned, leaving an open and at the same time well-
formed tree, we can expect results, other things being equal.

Pruning is a remedy to overbearing, and hence is expected to
approximate annual bearing. Spasmodic and overpruning will
unbalance the tree, and is likely to do more harm than good.
Going into an old orchard and cutting out fire wood is not
pruning as Ave should know it. The trees should never have
been allowed to have reached the stage Avhere this is made nec-
essary. Where these conditions do exist much good can be
accomplished in renovating a portion of the numerous limbs
each year. Where Umbs are not over an inch in diameter, as
should be the case in annual pruning, they will quickly heal
over or doctor themselves. The cut should be made close to
the base, so that no stub shall remain. On large limbs, of

SPRAYING ORCHARDS 97

course, it is quite another question, and cutting off at right

angles will leave far less exposure and give less chances for

decay.

(5) Thinning Fruit.

The practice of thinning fruit is continually growing in favor
with our best growers of orchard or tree fruits. By picking off
a portion of the fruit when immature, that remaining grows to
a larger size. The resulting crop may not necessarily be larger
iu bulk, but the product will be much superior. Thinned fruit
is usually all first grade. Where thinning is practised, the
exhaustive results coming from over-cropping are lessened, and
hence annual bearing is favored.

Some varieties have the tendency to overbear and thinning
regulates this. Always remove the inferior specimens leaving
the better ones. It is good practice to wait until the damages
from the most troublesome insect pests have appeared, as the
plum curculio, codling moth, etc. Then those affected are
taken first. Peaches and plums are always thinned for best
results, but the thinning of apples is not so commonly prac-
tised, and the results to come from it will depend upon varying
conditions. From experience I should defer thinning apples
until they are the size of a walnut (hickory nut), for the apple
has a tendency to thin itself up until about this size. It costs
to thin fruit, but the resulting fruit is of a superior grade, and
the expense of picking inferior fruit is eliminated at harvesting
time. Do not neglect this part of fruit growing.

(6) Spraying Orchards.

The spraying of fruit trees for both insects and fungous dis-
eases is being better understood and more commonly practised
each year. Every one should learn to distinguish the differ-
ence between spraying to destroy insects and spraying to pre-
vent fungous diseases. The Bordeaux mixture serves to check
fungous diseases, while the other sprays mentioned herewith
are used for destroying insects. They are applied together
when both insects and fungi are prevalent.

There are many good spray pumps on the market, and the
only precaution is, do not make the mistake of getting one too
small to do effective work. Generally speaking, get one of
the kinds that have force enough to throw a good strong stream
to the top of a large tree from a wagon. These are usually
mounted on a barrel. See photograph.

SPRAYING CALENDAR

99

The following calendar briefly states what mixtures to use and when to apply them:

Name of Plant

and Insects

or Fungi.

Various Applications of Spraying Solutions.

First Spraying.

Second Spraying. Tbird Spraving.

I

Fourth Spraying.

Apple.

Codling Moth, Can-
ker Worm, Bud
Moth, Apple
Scab.

When buds are
swelling apply
Bordeaux.

Before blossoms
open, Bordeaux.
Add Paris Green
or Arsenate of
Lead for Canker
Worm or Bud
Moth.

When blossomsJTwelve days lat-
have fallen, Bor- er, Bordeaux
deaux and Paris and Paris Green,.

Green, or Arsen-
ate of Lead.

or Arsenate of
Lead.

Pear.

Codling Moth, Leaf
Blight, Scab, and
Psylla.

Before b u d s Before blossoms
swell, Bordeaux, open, Bordeaux.

Kerosene if

Psylla
ent.

is pres-

After blossoms
fall, Bordeaux
and Paris Green
or Arsenate of
Lead.

Fourteen days
later, Bordeaux
and Paris Green
or Arsenate of
Lead.

Plum.

Curculio, Rot,
Aphis, and Scale.

Just before buds
open, Bordeaux
and Paris Gre^n
or Arsenate of
Lead.

After blossoms
fall, Bordeaux
and Paris Green
or Arsenate of
Lead.

Twelve days lat-
er, Bordeaux
and Paris Green
or Arsenate of
Lead.

Kerosene when
Aphis or Scale
is present.

Cherry.
Rot and Aphis.

Just before buds When fruit has'Twelve days lat- Kerosene if Aphis

open, Bordeaux.
Kerosene, when
Apbis is present.

set, Bordeaux.

er, Bordeaux if
signs of rot are
present.

is present.

Peach.

Rot, Mildew, and
Curculio.

As buds are swell-
ing, Bordeaux.

Before blossoms
open, Bordeaux
and Paris Green
or Arsenate of
Lead.

After blossoms Two weeks later,,
have fallen, Bor- Bordeaux and
deaux and Paris Paris Green.
Green or Arsen-
ate of Lead.

Grape.

Rot and other Fun-
gous Diseases,
Flea-Beetle, and
Thrips.

When buds begin
to swell, Bor-
deaux. Paris
Green or Arsen-
ate of Lead for
Flea-Beetles.

As buds are open-
ing, Bordeaux.

Two weeks later, Two weeks later,
Bordeaux. Bordeaux.

Currant.

Leaf Spot, Plant
Bug, Worm.

Bordeaux as buds Spot, two to three Spot, two weeks

are unfolding1.
Kerosene. White
Hellebore when
worms first ap-
pear.

weeks later Bor
deaux. Repeat
for worms three
to four days

later.

later. Same. Re-
peat for currant
worms.

Spot, two or three
weeks later.

Gooseberry.

Leaf Spot, Mildew,
Worm.

Same as for cur- Same as for cur-
rants. Mildew, rants,
use Bordeaux!
or Potassium

Sulfid Solution.

Same as for cur-
rants. Pot. Sul-
fid two weeks
later.

Same as for cur-
rants.

Raspberry and Before leaves

Blackberry. open, Bordeaux.

Saw Fly as for

Anthracnose, Saw Currant Worm

Fly.

Bordeaux, when
six inches high.
Same as for
currants.

Bordeaux
week later.

one

100 OECHAKD MANAGEMENT

More detailed information1 can be had for these and other
■depredations, not named, by sending to this station. By send-
ing specimen of injuries it helps to identify them.

Borers : All tree fruits are affected with borers. The best
remedy is to go over and examine the base of the trees in
spring and fall, and dig them out, if present. Do not let them
get established.

Apple Maggot (Railroad Worm): Keep pigs or other stock
in the orchard so as to eat the fallen fruit.

Fire Blight : Cut oft' and burn at once all affected limbs.

Black Aliot : Cut off and burn knots as soon as they appear.
Spray with Bordeaux.

Orange Bust : Dig out and burn affected raspberry and
blackberry bushes at once.

Directions for Making the Bordeaux Mixture, and Princi-
pal Insecticides.

The Bordeaux mixture is the principal fungicide. Its use
will prevent scab, rot, mildew, and other plant diseases. Its
regular application will insure a healthy, vigorous plant growth
and will produce more and better fruit. See Spraying Calendar
above for time of ajDplication.

Formula for Making: Copper sulphate, six pounds; fresh
lime, four pounds; water to make fifty gallons.

Fill a barrel about one-half full of water. Place the copper
sulphate in a coarse cheese-cloth bag, and suspend in the water
near the surface, where it will dissolve in a short time. In
another barrel place unslaked lime and add a small amount of
water. As the lime becomes slaked, add more water from time
to time and stir well. Then add the copper sulphate solution to
the lime water, and the mixture is ready for use. Do not pour
the lime water into the copper solution, but the latter into the
former. Strain the lime water before using. Never use the
lime water while hot. When spraying on a large scale, slake
a quantity of lime, as it will keep indefinitely under water.
Dissolve the copper sulphate as directed, and add sufficient
lime water for each barrel of mixture as prepared. To deter-
mine when enough lime water has been added, use a few drops
of Ferrocyanide Test. If it quickly changes color, add more

1 There are numerous bulletins already published by N. H. C. Experiment
Station on various insects and fungous depredations.

DIRECTIONS FOE BORDEAUX MIXTURE, ETC.

101

lime water. When enough lime water has been used the test
will not change color.

To prepare Ferrocyanide Test, dissolve one ounce of ferro-
cyanide of potassium (yellow prussiate of potash) in five ounces
of water. Bottle for use.

Paris Green is an excellent insecticide for the destruction of
insects that eat foliage. Its use for the destruction of the po-
tato beetle is familiar. It should be used in the proportion of
one pound of the green to two hundred gallons of water, or
a teaspoonful of the green to a bucket of water. The green
should be first made into a thick paste with a little water before

■■■\te.M:

Fig. 6. The Knapsack Sprayer. A practical sprayer for small
fruits, shrubs, vegetables, etc., on a limited area.

being added to the full amount of water. Lime water added to-
the solution will prevent damage to foliage and also make the
mixture adhere.

Arsenate of Lead as an insecticide has been proven a great
success.

Formula: Dissolve in one gallon of water eleven ounces ace-
tate of lead (sugar of lead); in another vessel dissolve four
ounces arsenate of soda in half a gallon of water; pour the arse-
nate solution into the lead solution, stir, and add to fifty gallons
of water. Hot water dissolves the chemicals more rapidly and
completely, and wooden pails should be used. The solutions-

102 ORCHARD MANAGEMENT

when united form a fine white precipitate, which remains for a
long time in solution.

Green Arsenoid and Paragreen are cheaper than Paris
Green. They do not settle so quickly, and are fully as destruc-
tive to insects.

Much time will be saved by combining the Bordeaux mixture
and the insecticides, in spraying fruit trees for insect pests and
fungous diseases in one application. Use same quantity of
each as though spraying separately.

Kerosene Emulsion. Dissolve one-half pound of hard soap
in one gallon boiling water, add one gallon kerosene, churn
with spray pump five to ten minutes. Dilute with five to
twenty parts of water before using. Kills by contact only.

Hellebore. Apply dry or in water at the rate of one ounce in
three gallons.

Potassium Sulfid Solution: Potassium sulfid (Liver of Sul-
phur) one ounce, water three to four gallons. This solution
will not remain unchanged. The potassium sulfid must be
kept in a well-stoppered bottle.

The Lime, Sulphur, and Salt Solution is the invariable
remedy for the San Jose scale in California and much of the
Pacific coast, and wherever the weather conditions happen to be
favorable, duplicating, in a measure, the conditions on the Pa-
cific coast, this wash is effective in the East also. It has the
advantage of leaving a limy coating on the trees, which acts as
a deterrent to the young scale lice, and where it is not washed
by rains, retains its value as an insecticide coating for some
time, remaining in evidence on the trees for several months.

f Unslaked Lime 30 pounds.

Flour of Sulphur 20 pounds.

Formula: \ ^. u 14. -in-n^^A*

Common bait 15 pounds.

Water to make 60 gallons.

Take ten pounds of lime and twenty pounds of sulphur and
boil thoroughly in twenty gallons of water for an hour and a
half. When the solution assumes an amber color it is an indi-
cation that the sulphur is all dissolved. The remainder of the
lime, twenty pounds, should be slaked thoroughly by pouring
hot water over it, adding fifteen pounds of salt while it is still
boiling. Stir until salt is all dissolved. The lime and salt ma-
terial should then be added to the lime and sulphur material,

PICKING THE FRUIT . 103

and thoroughly stirred together a half hour louger. Add
enough water to make sixty gallons.

(7) Winter Protection.

The best and first thing is to select hardy varieties for north-
ern conditions. Stop cultivation early so that the trees will
have sufficient time to fully mature before severe winter weather
sets in. A cover crop sown at last cultivation assists in matur-
ing the wood early by withdrawing moisture from the trees, and
it keeps the soil from washing. Trees planted on well-drained
soils are not as liable to heave out in winter. A slight round-
ing up of the soil about the tree will carry away the surface
water and obviate any danger from water standing about the
trunk. This is particularly true with young trees. A wire
screen of small mesh placed about young trees to the height of
eighteen inches will lessen the danger from mice in winter. A
common practice is to tramp the snow down about the trees
after each heavy storm. This renders the conditions unfavora-
ble for the mice to attack the trees from below. Trees need
protection in winter until they are of fairly good size. One
example was called to my attention where mice fairly destroyed
a young and thrifty apple orchard that had come well into bear-
ing. Kabbits are equally troublesome at times, and they should
be fed, destroyed, or have the trees protected against them.

(8) Picking the Fruit.

In order to work to advantage, picking conveniences should
be devised. Where trees are not over fifteen feet high, a step
ladder made of three legs, hinged at the top, and of light but
durable construction, and hence easily portable, is invaluable.
It is equally useful in thinning fruit. For taller trees light
ladders running to a point at the top are convenient, as they
can be easily placed against branches and in the exact places
desired. For very tall trees extension ladders are to be pre-
ferred. When a tree is well pruned, a picker can usually get
through it, and pick a large portion of the crop by standing
upon the branches. A light and nimble person is to be pre-
ferred for the outer limbs, and if he wears tennis or rubber-
soled shoes the injury will not be so great to the tree.

Each kind of fruit requires very careful and painstaking hand-

104 ORCHARD MANAGEMENT

ling to keep well. So important do cold-storage men regard
this that they prefer to purchase the fruit on the trees and im-
port their own help that they may feel sure the fruit is to be
handled right. This is true of apples. If it is true with them,
it is vastly more important that peaches, plums, and the other
more delicate fruits be given equal consideration. Many patent
picking devices have been placed upon the market, but other
than to pick the stray apjDle or fruit out of reach they are of
little value.

Fruit growers are following the practice more and more of
lessening the time between picking and getting the fruit on the
market. If apples are to go into cold storage,1 they are picked
and shipped at once, as in this way the decaying germs do not
have time to get established. Peaches that go direct to the
market and are sold in their fresh condition are what people
want. Grapes, well ripened and freshly picked from the vines,
are far superior to those shipped from long distances, and can
always be made to command the market, if well grown.

Methods of packing might be discussed, but hardly come
under the head of care of the orchard. Suffice it to say that
thoughtfulness and neatness in tastefully packing fruit meet
with success in proportion to the result attained.

(9) How to Keep up Interest.

There is little use in trying to do anything in orcharding
unless the person engaging in it has well matured and definite
ideas of what is necessary for success. Anyone can get enthu-
siastic over luscious fruits even from seeing them well illustrated
in the average trade catalogue, and especially so when success-
ful growers relate their experience and show what the possibili-
ties are. To succeed in fruitgrowing requires a sufficient study
of fruit problems to at least comprehend what the essentials for
success are for the crops to be grown. Bulletin No. 105 of this
Station, "Fruit Growing with a Selected List of Varieties for
New Hampshire," together with this bulletin, should give one a
comprehensive idea of what the requirements for success are.
If these ideas are supplemented by other reading of which there
is any quantity to be had, one's interest can be kept up, pro-
vided one has the instincts for success to begin with. We must
not look only at the commercial side either, for while this is-

1 See Bulletin, No. 93, " Cold Storage of Apples," N. H. Expt. Station.

PARTIAL, SUMMARY 105

commendable and essential, that person who takes genuine en-
joyment and pleasure in fruit growing will be the more likely
to succeed. One can often learn more in a day by visiting-
markets, other growers, or by attending fruit meetings, by mak-
ing a trip to the State Experiment Station, by attending a short
lecture course at the State Agricultural College, etc., than he
would get by years of studying out the problems by himself.
It is a similar example to that of the man whom it took thirty
years to make his standard of butter, and then it fell short of
the product taught to be made at a dairy school which took but
a few weeks.

Orchard management is a problem of its own, and if intelli-
gence, thought, and systematic work be given it, few industries
can surpass it for a successful occupation.

Partial. Summary.

(1) Fruit trees have life the same as animals, and they require
feeding, watering, and care, if we expect to derive profit from
them.

(2) The object of the orchard is to produce fruit. The amount
and kind of tillage will vary according to conditions, soil, plant
food, etc. Study out the individual needs of each orchard. See
page 89.

(3) The experiments carried on at this Station of using dwarf
peas and beans as a cultivated crop in orchards, and then turn-
ing under the vines after picking the pods, were successful. The
orchard has the benefit of continuous cultivation at the proper
season, the plants when plowed under enrich the soil, and the
picked product pays the bills. See page 91.

(4) The Hitchings Method of culture is worthy of our atten-
tion. While not sufficiently tested in New England it appears
to have merit.

(5) Fruit trees of different kinds, as apples, plums, grapes,
etc., need food according to their respective wants. We do not
feed horses and swine on the same diet ; why should we differ-
ent kinds of plants ? See page 93.

(6) Whether to train the tree high or low depends upon sev-
eral conditions. See page 95.

(7) To prune a tree properly means to begin when young and
prune annually. This done there is no occasion for cutting off
large limbs, which endanger the life of trees.

106 ORCHARD MANAGEMENT

(8) It costs to thin fruit, but the resulting fruit is of a supe-
rior grade, and the expense of picking inferior fruit is eliminated
at harvesting time. Peaches and plums are always thinned for
best results.

(9) Spraying for both insect enemies and fungous diseases is
a part of the fruit business. If one does not intend to post him-
self on how to combat these foes, he had better not attempt
fruit growing. See pages 97 to 102.

(10) Hardy varieties, well-drained soils, and slightly round-
ing up of the soil about the trees, together with a cover crop,
assist very much to protect the trees in winter. See page 103.

(11) Modern conveniences should be devised for picking the
fruit. Fruit growers realize more and more the importance of
lessening the time between picking and getting the fruit on the
market. Apples for cold storage are picked and shipped at
once. See page 103.

(12) To keep up" an interest in fruit growing requires a suffi-
cient study of fruit problems to at least comprehend what the
essentials for success are, for the crops to be grown. Supple-
ment one's work with reading from the best authorities, visiting
successful orchardists, attending horticultural meetings and
taking a short lecture course at the Agricultural College, etc.
Become a fruit grower both in theory and practice.

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