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PRODUCTIVE
ORCHARDING

FRED aSEARS,M,S,

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' The first farmer was the first man. and all historic
nobility rests on possession and use of land."

— Emerson.

LIPPINCOTT'S

FARM MANUALS

EDITED BY
KARY C. DAVIS, Ph.D. (Cornell)

PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURE, SCHOOL OF COUNTRY LIFE
3EORGE PEABODY COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

PRODUCTIVE ORCHARDING

MODERN METHODS OF GROWING
AND MARKETING FRUIT

By FRED C. SEARS, M.S.

PROFESSOR OF POMOLOGY, MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

LIPPINCOTT'S
FARM MANUALS

Edited by
K. C. DAVIS. Ph.D.

KNAPP SCHOOL OF COUNTRY LIFE, NASHVILLE, TENN.

PRODUCTIVE SWINE HUSBANDRY 1915
By GEORGE E. DAY, B.S.A.

PRODUCTIVE POULTRY HUSBANDRY 1919
By harry R. lewis, B.S.

PRODUCTIVE HORSE HUSBANDRY 1916

By carl W. gay, U.V.XL, B.S.A.

PRODUCTIVE ORCHARDING 1917

By FRED C. SEARS, M.S.

PRODUCTIVE VEGETABLE GROWING 1918
By JOHN W. LLOYD, M.S.A.

PRODUCTIVE FEEDING of FARM ANIMALS 1916
By F. W. WOLL, Ph.D.

COMMON DISEASES OF FARM ANIMALS 1919
By R. a. CRAIG, D.V.M.

PRODUCTIVE FARM CROPS 1918
By E. G. MONTGOMERY, M.A.

PRODUCTIVE BEE KEEPING 1918
By frank C. PELLETT

PRODUCTIVE DAIRYING 1919
By R. M. WASHBURN, M.S.A.

INJURIOUS INSECTS AND USEFUL BIRDS 1918

By F. L. WASHBURN, M.A.

PRODUCTIVE SHEEP HUSBANDRY 1918
By WALTER C. COFFEY, M.S.

SOIL PHYSICS AND MANAGEMENT 1919

By J. G. MOSIER, B.S., A. F. GUSTAFSON, M.S.

APPLIED ECONOMIC BOTANY 1919

By MELVILLE T. COOK, Ph.D.

LABORATORY MANUAL AND NOTEBOOK

ON THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS

SOILS, By J. F. EASTMAN and K. C. DAVIS i9is

POULTRY, By H. R. LEWIS I9i8

DAIRYING, By E. L. ANTHONY i9i7

FEEDING, By F. W. WOLL i^w

FARM CROPS, By F. W. LATHROP

LiPPiNCOTT's Farm Manuals

EDITED BY K. C. DAVIS, Ph.D. (Cornell)

PRODUCTIVE
ORCHARDING

MODERN METHODS OF GROWING
AND MARKETING FRUIT

FRED C. SEARS, M.S.

(Kansas State Agricultural College)

PROFESSOR OF POMOLOGY, MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGK

157 ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT

"If vain our toil,
We ought to blame the culture, not the soil."

Pope — Essay on Man

SECOND EDITION, REVISED

PHILADELPHIA & LONDON
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY

PUBLISHED JUNE 2, 1914
REPRINTED OCTOBER 31, 1914

REPRINTED MARCH 29, 1915
REPRINTED JANUARY 15, 1916
REPRINTED SEPTEMBER 5, 1918
REPltlNTED JANUARY 30, 1919

REPRINTED MARCH 4. 1919
REPRINTED JANUARY 25, 1920

Electrotyped and printed by J. B. Lippincott Company
The Washington Square Press, Philadelphia, U. S. A.

To
ROBERT W. STARR

POMOLOGIST, ADVISER AND FRIENDp
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED BY

THE AUTHOR

17757

PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION

Productive Orcharding was first printed early in January,
1914, less than four years ago, but since each year sees changes
in the science and art of growing fruit, some of them slight and
others of great importance, it has seemed well to revise it.
Some of the revisions have been suggested by others, and some
have grown out of the continued experience of the author.

For the many helpful suggestions that have been received,
as well as for the many kindly expressions of good will toward
the book, I wish to express my very sincere thanks.

Fred C. Sears
Amherst, Massachusetts,

September 25, 1917.

PREFACE

Probably every teacher who studies along any one line for a
series of years becomes convinced that he has learned things that
would be of value to men in this line of work.

The writer offers this excuse for writing the present book, and
perhaps the further justification might be added that for a
number of years he has had charge of a relatively large orchard
where he believes that he has sifted out his theories and discarded
those that " won't work." He hopes that this belief will be
shared by any who may attempt to follow his directions, and
that the book may prove a real help in solving some of the
problems which every orchard owner, whether experienced or in-
experienced, is certain to encounter.

The writer also ventures to hope that the book may be helpful
to instructors as a text for class use. He has attempted to cut
out the non-essentials and to present the essentials in a reason-
ably brief manner and yet with sufficient detail to be followed
easily when one attempts to put them into practice.

Fred C. Sears
Massachusetts Agricultural College,
Amherst, January 1, 1914.

Editor's Note.

This book is suited to tlie needs of College and Short Course Classes.
Its practical nature as well as its philosophical treatment makes it a book to
be desired by both fruit grower and student. High schools and special
agricultural schools devoting some time to the particular study of horti-
culture will find in this book the themes for their most profitable con-
sideration.

The reader will be favorably impressed with the spirit of the writer
throughout, particularly on questions where authorities may differ; the
vigor and novelty of treatment are refreshing to those who are familiar
with older works on the subject.

CONTENTS

CHAPTEB PAGB

I. The Outlook for Orcharding 1

II. Orchard Lands 8

III. Selecting Varieties and Buying Nursery Stock 24

IV. Establishing the Orchard 44

V. Cropping the Orchard 66

VI. Orchard Culture 77

VII. Orchard Implements 91

VIII. Fertilizers 100

IX. Cover Crops 108

X. Pruning 119

XI. Orchard Insects 142

XII. Diseases op Fruit Trees 163

XIII. Spraying Apparatus 175

XIV. Spraying Materials 189

XV. The Spraying Campaign 201

XVI. Renovating Old Orchards 212

XVII. Picking and Handling Fruit 229

XVIII. Storing Fruit 245

XIX. Grading and Packing 258

XX. Marketing 277

XXI. Advertising 287

XXII. Laws Affecting OBCHABDma 298

Index 311

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIG. PAGE

A Profitable Baldwin Apple Tree Frontispiece

1. One Reason Why Orcharding Will Not be Overdone! 3

2. Another Reason Why Orcharding Will Not be Overdone 5

3. Still Another Reason Why Orcharding Will Not be Overdone 6

4. A Good Orchard Country 11

5. An Ideal Country for Orchard 13

6. Northern Spy Apple 26

7. A Baldwin Apple 28

8. Yellow Bellflower Apple 39

9. Niu-sery Tree with a Poor Fork 41

10. A Nursery Tree That Is too Heavy 41

11. Finishing the Land with a Blanker Before Beginning to Lay off the

Orchard 46

12. Diagram Showing Method of Laying off a Field for Planting an

Orchard 48

13. Diagram for Measuring Boards. Drawn to Scale 49

14. Staking off Orchard by Means of Two Measuring Boards 50

15. Planting Board for Locating Tree in Setting 50

16. Heeling in Nursery Stock 51

17. A Load of Nursery Trees Ready for the Setting Gang 52

18. Gang of Men Setting Trees 52

19. Ready to Set a Two Year Apple Tree 54

20. Same Tree as Shown in Figiu-e 19, Set 54

21. Same Tree as Shown in Figures 19 and 20 After Pruning 56

22. Pruning a One-year-old "Whip " 56

23. An Extreme Case of High Heading 57

24. A Low Headed Five-year-old Peach Tree 59

25. An Apple Tree with a Medium Head, about Thirty Inches 60

26. A Poor Fork on a Ben Davis Apple Tree 60

27. Gravenstein Apple Trees as Permanents with Cherries as " Fillers" . . 62

28. Late Potatoes in a Young Peach Orchard 66

29. Soybeans as a Companion Crop 67

30. Pea-beans as an Orchard Crop 69

31. Squashes as an Orchard Crop 71

32. Potatoes in a Bearing Apple Orchard 72

33. Strawberries in a Young Peach Orchard 74

34. Clean Cultivation in an Old Renovated Orchard 78

35. Mowing the Grass in a Sod Orchard 79

Xll ILLUSTRATIONS

36. A Tree Girdled by Mice and Saved by Bridge Grafting 82

37. A Compromise Method of Handling the Land in the Orchard, Sod

Along the Tree Rows and Cultivation Between 89

38. A Gang of Three Eight-inch Plows 93

39. A Disc Plow for Orchard Work 94

40. The Acme Harrow 96

41. Orchard Cultivator with Heavy, Rigid Teeth 96

42. Light Draft Orchard Cultivator 97

43. Grape-hoe at Work in Young Orchard 98

44. Crimson Clover as a Cover Crop 110

45. Buckwheat as a Cover Crop. 114

46. Young Apple Tree Started on Wrong Road by Bad Pruning 119

47. An Apple Fruit Spur 120

48. Pear Branch Well SuppHed with Fruit Spurs 121

49. Young Peaches Just Set 122

50. Spurs of the European Plum 123

51. Cherry Spurs 123

52. Blossoms of Japanese Plum 124

53. Blossoms of European Plum 125

54. Cherries Just Set • 125

55. Sutton Apple Tree 127

56. Bradshaw Plum Tree 127

57. Burbank Plum Tree 129

58. Well-shaped Baldwin Apple Tree 130

59. Two-edged Saw 131

60. Good Saw for Small Trees 132

61. Excellent Saw for Heavy Pruning 132

62. Good Saw for Ordinary Pruning 132

63. Excellent Type of Pruning Shears 133

64. Good Type of Pruning Knife 134

65. Good Combination Knife 134

66. Long Stub Left in Pruning 138

67. Old Stub Beginning to Decay ." 138

68. A Well-made Wound 139

69. A Well-made Wound Beginning to Heal 139

70. A Well-made Wound That Has Entirely Healed Over 139

71. Scab, or Black-spot of the Apple 166

72. Apple Canker 168

73. Black-knot of the Plum 172

74. Plum Tree Badly Affected with Black-knot 173

75. Same Plum Tree, after Knots Have Been Cut Out 173

76. Using Bucket Pump on a Bearing Apple Tree 175

77. Knapsack Sprayer 176

78. Barrel Outfit with Collapsible Ladder 177

ILLUSTRATIONS xiii

79. Barrel Spray Outfit with Two Extra Barrels of Water 178

80. Large, Double-action, Hand Pump with 200-gallon Tank 180

81. Gas Power Sprayer 181

82. Gasolene Power Outfit 182

83. Small Gasolene Power Sprayer 183

84a. Old Style of Vermorel Nozzle 184

846. Angle Vermorel Nozzle 184

85a. Bordeaux Nozzle 185

856. Disc Nozzle 185

86. Long- and Short-tailed Hose Couplings 186

87. Spray Injury on Apples 191

88. Proper Condition of Apple Blossoms for Sprajnng Before They Open 205

89. Gravenstein Apples Sprayed for Scab 207

90. Gravenstein Apples Not Sprayed 207

91. Good Type of Tree for Renovating 213

92. Rather Difficult Tree to Renovate, One Which Will Require Several

Years to Work Over 214

93. Difficult Type of Tree to Renovate, but One Which Has Little

Value as it Stands 214

94. Poor Type of Orcharding for Renovating 215

95. Old Orchard Before Work of Renovating Began 218

96. Same Orchard, after Three Years' Treatment 218

97. Beginning Work of Renovating an Old Apple Tree 220

98. Same Tree, After Three Years' Treatment 220

99. Old Apple Tree Before Beginning Renovation 221

100. Same Tree, De-horned After One Year's Treatment 221

101. Same Tree, After One Season's Growth 222

102. Same Tree, After Three Years' Treatment 222

103. Trunk of a Tree Damaged by Too Much Nitrogen 223

104. An Orchard Damaged by Too Much Nitrogen 224

105. An Old, Neglected Orchard WTien Renovation Was Begun 226

106. Same Orchard, After Five Years' Treatment 227

107. A Pair of Thinning Shears 229

108. Boys Thinning Japanese Plums 230

109. Branch of Apple Tree That Was Thinned Twice 231

110. Boys Thinning Apples 232

111. Picking Cherries 234

112. A Good Picking Basket 235

113. Poor Type of Picking Basket for Frui^., Yet One Often Used 235

114. Picking Apples Into Bags 236

115. Picking Apples from Well-loaded Trees 238

116. Peaches Picked into Oak Picking Baskets 240

117. Attacking an Old-timer 241

118. A Load of Apples on the Way to Market 242

xiv ILLUSTRATIONS

119. Distributing Barrels in the Apple Orchard 243

120. A Good Type of Farm Storage House 249

121. Storage Building at the Massachusetts Agricultural College 252

122. Type of Apple Storage House Found in the Annapolis Valley,

Nova Scotia 253

123. Diagram of Cross-section of Walls of Storage House in Figure 122. . 254

124. An Attractive Face to a Barrel of Apples 261

125. Stemmers 262

126. Ordinary Barrel Press with a Bar Follower 263

127. Barrel Pres.s with Circle Follower 263

128. Swing-bail Basket Used in Packing Apples in Barrels 264

129. Face of a Barrel of Apples Using 19 Apples 33^ Inches in Diameter 266

130. Face of a Barrel of Apples Using 27 Apples 3 Inches in Diameter. . 266

131. Face of a Barrel of Apples Using 40 Apples 23^ Inches in Diameter 266

132. Good Type of Packing Table for Boxing Apples 267

133. Diagram Showing Method of Starting the 2-2 Pack 268

134. Diagram Showing Method of Starting the 3-2 Pack 268

135. Diagram Showing the Arrangement of Apples in the First and

Third Layers of a 2-2 Box of Apples with 96 Apples in the Box 269

136. Diagram Showing the Arrangement of Apples in the Second and

Fourth Layers of a 2-2 Box of Apples with 96 Apples in the Box 269

137. Diagram Showing the Arrangement of Apples in the First, Third

and Fifth Layers of a 3-2 Box of Apples with 188 Apples in the
Box 271

138. Diagram Showing the Arrangement of Apples in the Second and

Fourth Layers of a 3-2 Box of Apples with 188 Apples in the Box 271

139. Diagram Showing the "Straight " Pack 272

140. A Western Type of Box Press 273

141. Excellent Type of Box Press which Can be Made at Home 274

142. The Greatest Single Problem in Marketing Fruit is to Have Good

Fruit 277

143. Boxes of Western Apples 278

144. Pasteboard Carton for Fancy Apples 280

145. Climax Peach Basket Used as a Retail Package for Apples 281

146. Climax Peach Basket with Cover on 282

147. Splint Basket Used for Apples 283

148. Attractive Package for the Retail Trade 283

149. Probably the Most Famous Fruit Label in Use 288

150. Good Type of Advertising Wrapper 289

151. Good T^-pe of Advertising for Apple Barrels 290

152. Excellent "Guarantee" Label from the Pacific Coast 291

153. Another Guarantee Label from an Eastern Orchardist 291

154. Outside Cover of an Advertising Leaflet 292

155. A Magazine Advertisement that is Sure to Attract Attention 296

PRODUCTIVE ORCHARDING

CHAPTER I
THE OUTLOOK FOR ORCHARDING

If the agricultural history of the twentieth century is ever
written, the writer believes that one of the most significant
features of such a history will be the account of the great
interest in orcharding which developed during the latter part
of the first decade of the century. " That interest is still at its
height. Men from all walks of life are turning toward orchard-
ing as the one branch of farming in which they would like to
engage. Wealthy men are setting out orchards (and commercial
orchards) on their estates, farmers in orchard sections are en-
larging their fruit plantations, while bank clerks, insurance men,
and retired ministers are either investing their savings in small
farms which are to be set out to f]:uit trees, or have bought an
interest in some development scheme in the West. No wonder
that there is a shaking of heads among the conservative element
of our fruit growers and a wondering as to what the outcome
will be. No wonder that even the most enthusiastic advocates of
orcharding are speculating as to whether it may not be overdone.

A Good Occupation. — But while there has undoubtedly been
a wonderful interest in the fruit business in recent years, and
while many who have gone into it, without sufficient thought and
preparation, undoubtedly will be disappointed, and while we
may even have to admit that the price of fruit is likely to de-
cline, yet it still seems to the writer that for the right man, in
the right place and with the right methods, the growing of fruit
offers a healthful and delightful occupation with at least a
reasonable assurance of satisfactory financial returns. Let us
examine the situation briefly and see what ground there may be
for such a belief and what conditions one must fulfil if he ex-
pects to bo successful.

ntOPERTY LIBRARY
N. C Stati Colkge

2 THE OUTLOOK FOR ORCHARDING

The Question of Over-production. — To begin with, are we
in such immediate and pressing- danger from over-production?
It is true that the papers are full of accounts of men who
have started orchards; it is also true that any one who is sup-
posed to know about such matters is besieged, either pereonally
or by letter, by those who want to grow fruit, and it is probably
true that where there is so much smoke there must be more or less
fire. But the writer is very strongly of the opinion that the
percentage of smoke is very large.

Census Figures. — There are various methods by which we
may judge of the imminence of this over-production danger,
none of them perhaps verj^ accurate but all of them suggestive.
The first consists of the United States figures, Uncle Sam's esti-
mate on the subject. If we take the question of apples alone,
which of course is the big end of the subject, we find first that the
production has steadily declined since 1896. Here are the esti-
mates from 1895 to 1911.

1895 — 60,500,000 barrels

1896—69,000,000 barrels

1897—41,000,000 barrels

1898—28,500,000 barrels

1899—58,500,000 barrels

1900—57,000,000 barrels

1901 — 26,970,000 barrels

1902—46,025,000 barrels

1903 — 42,626,000 barrels

1904—45,360,000 barrels
1905—24,300,000 barrels
1906—38,280,000 barrels
1907—29,540,000 barrels
1908—25,850,000 barrels
1909—25,415,000 barrels
1910—23,825,000 barrels
1911—28,600,000 barrels

Are not these figures tremendously significant and do they
not seem to indicate that it will be several years before we get
back even to our former high-water mark? And we must not
forget that at the same time that the production of apples has
been declining the population has been increasing, so that it
will require many more apples than 69,000,000 barrels to pro-
vide as many per capita as we had in 1896.

Another significant fact along the same line, which is brought
out by the census figures, is in relation to the apple trees of the
country. There were in 1910 in round numbers fifty million less
bearing apple trees than in 1900 and only sixty-five million trees

SOME ORCHARDS ABANDONED 3

not yet in bearing. So that when all the trees in the country
in 1910 had come into bearing, there woukl be only fifteen million
more than in 1900, provided no trees died in the meantime. But
every one knows that they are dying by the thousand every year.
Even in relatively good orchard sections one may see many and
many an orchard like that shown in Figure 1 which is already
practically a negligible quantity so far as production is eon-

FiG. 1. — One reason why orcharding will not be overdone! An orchard killed by scale and
neglect. There are thousands like it.

cerned. And in the really poor sections, particularly if the San
Jose scale is there, such orchards are the rule and not the
exception.

Some Orchards Abandoned. — Passing now from Uncle Sam's
estimates to the opinions of less important persons, we find it a
very general opinion among people who have given the matter
some thought, that a great many young orchards which were set
out with high hopes a few years ago are already abandoned as
hopeless. The waiter himself can think of dozens. This was
inevitable, considering the people who set them out, men and

4; THE OUTLOOK FOR ORCHARDING

women who knew absolutely nothing of orcharding except what
they read in the magazines or daily papers. Go into any section
except our very best orchard regions and you will find plenty of
examples like the orchard shown in Figure 1. One need have
little fear of the competition of such an orchard as this.

Insects and Diseases. — Another thing which will help to
delay this dreaded time of over-production is the constantly
increasing list of orchard pests. Men have attempted to compute
the loss from this source and have placed it among the millions
of bushels. But whether we accept this estimate or not, no one
who has seen such things at work as the bitter rot of the apple
and the brown rot of the peach and plum or the codling moth of
the apple and the cureulio of the peach and plum can fail to
reahze that the loss is tremendous.

Slow Returns. — Still another factor which is always going to
act as a brake on orchard setting is the length of time required
to bring trees to profitable. bearing. If a man starts in the dairy
business he can buy a cow and sit right do\\Ti and milk her
(always provided of course that she is giving milk), so that his
income begins at once ; or if he starts in the trucking business it
requires only a season to get returns. But an orchard is a long-
time investment, and relatively few people are going to have the
patience and the pocketbook to wait for returns (Fig. 2).

No Advertising. — If one is cataloging the hopeful factors in
the orchard situation, he certainly should not omit the fact that
up to date there has been almost nothing done in the way of
advertising. If red apples were as persistently advertised as
some patent medicines, the supply never would overtake the
demand. This is one of the improvements which ought to be
undertaken next, and the writer believes so emphatically in its
value that he has devoted an entire chapter to the subject.

Bad Marketing. — If one wants further hope for the future of
the orchard business, think of the way in which most of our
fruit is marketed at the present time ! If any one can think of
methods better calculated to decrease consumption than those
frequently in use he is a genius. Poor fruit, poorly handled and
worse packed, is shipped into the market without the shghtest

THE RIGHT MAN 5

regard for the demand at that particular time and place. What
would happen to any other manufacturer if he followed the
methods of many of our apple manufacturers? Bankruptcy
sure and speedy ! It simply shows what a good business orchard-
ing is, that it has kept up under the methods too often in vogue.
The Right Man. — AVe have said that for the right people
carrying on an orchard by right methods and in the right place
the future is anything but dark. Let us close this brief review
of the orchard situation with a word on this desirable combina-
tion. Who are the right people? Anybody wdth a love for the

Fig. 2. — Anothcrrcason why orcharding will not be over-done. Thia young orchard has been
set five years aud some of the trees are little if any larger than when they were set.

business and who has the knowledge, or who can hire somebody
with the knowledge, to do the work. To begin with, the man
brought up on the farm has an immense advantage over the man
who is city bom and bred. He knows already the practical de-
tails of farming. The writer is always doubtful about the
success of one who knows nothing of farm life. It takes a
tremendous amount of enthusiasm and hard work to overcome
the handicap. Here is an example of the kind of man who ought
not to go into orcharding. He wrote to our Agricultural College,
saying that he expected to set a large orchard, would use fifty
thousand trees, and since the nurserymen must make a lot of

6 THE OUTLOOK FOR ORCHARDING

money out of their business did we not think it would be well for
him to propagate his own trees. And in the event that we
agreed with him as to tlie advisability of this, would it not
be well for him to " start the apple seeds in the house during
the winter so as to have the little trees well under way by
spring." While the writer does not want to discourage unduly
the city man who wants an orchard, it does seem to him that
few of them can qualify as " the right man."

Fig. 3. — Still another reason why orcharding will not be over-done. The owner of this
orchard was a liveryman and wanted hay! He had the good sense not to try to raise both
hay and apples on the same land.

Now while there are, of course, many exceptions, it would
seem that two classes of orchard ventures are especially likely to
be successful. One of these is that of the farmer in an orchard
section who already has his living assured and who decides to
add to his orchard plantings. And the other is that of the man
who has money enough to go into orcharding on a reasonably
large scale so that he can devote his time to it if he has
the knowledge himself or if not can hire an expert foreman.
As a rule the thing for the inexperienced man to do, if he
is sure that he wants an orchard, is to work with some practical
orchard man until he acquires a reasonable knowledge of the
business.

Right Methods are only less important than right men. The
writer has tried, in the following pages, to suggest some of the

RIGHT METHODS 7

things which he thinks are of importance. And even the best of
men with the best of methods cannot succeed if they ignore too
much the question of the right place. An uncongenial soil, a
frost}^ location, undue exposure to fierce winds, add just so much
to the unavoidable handicap of the man who grows fruit.

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the interest in orcliarding during the first decade of the twentieth

century.

2. How did the production of apples vary from 1895 to 1911?

.3. What are the principal factors whicli keep down the production of
apples?

4. What type of man is most likely to be successful as an orchardist?

5. Give some examples of successful orcharding that you have seen.

6. Tell of unsuccessful orchard ventures that you have seen or read about

and give the reasons for failure.

CHAPTER II
ORCHARD LANDS

While there is considerable variation in the type of soil re-
quired by different classes of orchard fruits, and while in a few
cases we have even worked out, with considerable accuracy, the
soil preferences of individual varieties, yet it is surprising how
nearly the ideal orchard conditions for most fruits agree. For
example, they all agree in being subject to damage by winds,
none of them thrive well on wet lands, and all of them are safer
on lands which are not liable to frosts. We may therefore feel
fairly safe in generalizing on orchard lands, and the follov.'ing
score card has been worked out for use in classes. In this is a
list of the points which ought to be included in an examination of
an orchard site, and an effort is made to estimate the relative
importance of these different points. The score card is, of course,
by no means ideal, but it does include the most important items
and it ought to be suggestive to a prospective orchard planter.

Score Card for Orchard Site

Counts.

A. Soil 30

a. Surface soil 15

1. Fertility; chemical character; too fertile or not

fertile enough.

2. Adaptation to fruit grown.

3. Ease of working.

4. Sour?

5. Humus content.

b. Subsoil 15

1. Ease of penetration by roots.

2'. Fertility; pure sand vs. gravelly clay.

B. Water drainage 30

o. Surface drainage 10

1. Good? Does water stand?

2. Too much ?

(a) Washing, loss of soil and fertility.
(6) Loss of water,
8

SOIL 9

b. Sub-drainage 20

1. Enough? Is soil soggy?

2. Too much? Is soil too dry?

C. Atmospheric drainage 15

a. Will cold air drain oil? Is there slope enough?

b. Does cold air come down from slopes above; is

orchard at foot of a long slope?

c. Is there any obstruction at the bottom of orchard

to hold cold air?

D. Aspect or slope 15

a. With reference to sun 5

1. Ripening and coloring of fruit.

2. Frost injury on eastern slope.
.3. Sun-scald.

6. With reference to winds 10

1. Does land slope towards prevailing winds?

E. Windbreaks 10

a. Nearby and distant.
6. Kinds of trees.

c. Distance away tliat is best.

d. Is it open at bottom?

e. Is it owned by proprietor of orciiard?

Total 100 100

Many of the points given are self-explanatory, yet a short dis-
cussion may help with most of them.

A. Soil. — a. Surface Soil. — 1. The fertility of the soil,
while not as important as the general character of the soil, is still
well worth considering. If the land is " run out " it is by no
means worth as much for an orchard as though it were in ' ' good
heart." Of course it can be brought up again in fertility, but
this takes time and money and the writer has started enough
orchards to leam that poor, run-out soil is a big handicap in
developing growthy and shapely trees. To overcome it, one ought
to have some bam manure available and one has to study much
more carefully what kinds of commercial fertilizers to use and
when to use them.

2. The adaptation of the soil to the fruit to be grown. If one
is growing peaches, he prefers a light or medium loam, and if he
must depart from this he would rather have a sandy soil than a

10 ORCHARD LANDS

heavy clay. If he is growing pears he wants, as a class, much
heavier soils than for peaches ; usually a fairly heavy clay loam.
This question of the adaptability of certain soils to certain classes
or varieties of fruits is one which has only, within the last few-
years, been studied at all seriously. More and better work has
been done on apple soils than any others. Near the close of this
chapter the matter is discussed more in detail.

3. Ease of working the soil. One would discount a soil that
was stony or rocky, or that was full of stumps or was a very
heavy clay. Personally the writer thinks there is a great deal to
be said in favor of rather light lands. They will not hold fer-
tilizers as well as heavier soils, and some people tliink they do not
hold moisture as well, though the writer doubts it. But they
work so much more easily and there is so much less danger of
injuring the soil or of damaging the trees if the soil isn 't handled
just right. With a heavy clay, one frequently has to wait days
after a heavy rain before he can get on the land to work it ; and
there is so much more likely to be winter injury to the trees if
the soil happens to have been cultivated a little too late, or if too
much nitrogen has been used, or even when everything has been
handled right, when the winter happens to be especially severe.

4. Is the soil sour? If it is, in most cases lime has to be
applied to secure the best results. There is quite a common
(and the writer believes a well-founded) prejudice in favor of
soil of a limestone formation. And when one can not get this the
next best plan seems to be to apply lime in some form.

5. Is there plenty of humus in the soil or has it been worked
out till the physical condition has been injured ? If the soil lacks
humus it must be supplied. It might seem like a simple proposi-
tion to get humus back into the soil, but unless one has bam
manure available he will find it an up-hill matter with either
very heavy or very light soils. The catch crop intended to plow
in simply will not grow. And one has a chance to exercise a lot
of ingenuity and patience to get things started right. And the
soil which requires all this is not as good an orchard soil by
just so much as the one which is already in shape. The impor-
tance of plenty of humus in an orchard soil is only beginning
to be realized.

WATER DRAINAGE

6. Subsoil. — Under this head there are two main points to be
considered : First, the ease of penetration by the roots of the
trees, and, second, the fertility of the soil. Lands with impervious
subsoils are not satisfactory for any fruits, and a good, medium,
gravelly subsoil is more fertile than a pure sand. A good subsoil
is a very important part of the orchard equipment. In the first
place a large part of the root system is in the subsoil, and in the
second place it is very difficult to improve a subsoil. Drainage
is about the only thing to which one can resort.

Fig. 4. — A good orchard country. Rolling land that gives good water drainage and
atmospheric drainage.

B. Water Drainage. — The score card divides this into surface
and sub-drainage. In reference to the surface we have to con
sider whether there is enough, so that the water will not stand on
the land. Even in winter standing water is objectionable (Fig.
4). Second, is there too much surface drainage so that the land
is subject to washing? By washing, both soluble plant food and
actual soil are lost. In times of drouth, the water from a chance
.^shower will run off before it can soak in. A sharp slope on light
lands is almost sure to suffer more from drouth than the more

12 ORCHARD LANDS

level lands near by, simply because the water does not have time
to soak in.

Sub-drainage. — Here again it is a question of amount. Is
there too little, just enough, or too much? Trees will seldom do
well in a wet subsoil. The growth is poor and they are in danger
of winter-killing and various other troubles. On the other hand
if there is too much sub-drainage* we have an exceptionally dry
subsoil and consequently lack of thrift in the trees. And more-
over,' the first-grown on such trees is certain to lack in quality.

C. Atmospheric Drainage. — This, of course, is of importance
only in sections subject to frosts, but as most of our best orchard
lands are in sections where frosts may occur, it ought to be con-
sidered in choosing the orchard site. Frost is one of those inter-
mittent troubles which one may escape for years and which then
swoop down on the orchard in a night and wipe out the profits of
the whole year. It is particularly comforting to know that the
orchard is on lands which are not subject to this danger. And
of course if one gets a crop when most of the neighbors have
lost theirs, the profit is correspondingly greater. It is surprising
how little elevation and how little slope are required to prevent
frost. The writer has seen an elevation of not over ten feet
make a difference of from 75 to 100 per cent in frost injury.
The points to be considered are: (1) Is there slope enough. to
the field under investigation to carry off the cold air? (2) Does
cold air drain down from slopes above to the orchard, i.e., is the
orchard at the foot of a long slope ? If it is, then it receives not
only its own share of the cold air but a large amount from fields
higher up the slope, and frosts are consequently more likely to
occur and more serious when they do occur. (3) Is there any
obstruction at the bottom of the orchard to hold cold air and bank
it up in the orchard?

D. Aspect or Slope. — Personally the writer believes that
this matter of aspect has frequently been over-worked and yet
there are circumstances under which it is well worth careful
consideration. If a man is an orchardist pure and simple, and
wants to set out every available acre, no slope would be dis-
carded on account of its direction. On the other hand, if one is a

WINDBREAKS 13

general farmer and wants to set one orchard on the best orchard
site of the farm, then the question of slope is worthy of careful
consideration. With reference to the sun, we have the ripening
and coloring effects of a southern exposure which are surely
•y\^orth having if they can be had without danger from frosts.
But in sections and locations where frosts are a serious menace,
southern and southeastern slopes ought to be avoided for all
fruits like Japanese plums, which blossom very early and are
frequently damaged by frosts. Lastly there is the matter of
sun-scald. Where this is serious one ought certainly to avoid a
southwestern slope. On the question of aspect with reference

Fio. 5. — An ideal country for orchard. Slope enough to provide pood drninngc, yet smooth
enough to admit of cultivation.

to wind it need only be said that in those sections where there
are very strong winds from one or two directions, as frequently
happens, it is very desirable to avoid those slopes. Many sec-
tions, for example, are subject to very strong northwest gales and
only slightly less to southwest winds. The orchardist therefore
prefers to avoid these slopes, other things being equal. Fre-
quently other things are not equal and we choose one of these
slopes in spite of its direction. But such lands are not as desir-
able as those which do not have this handicap (Fig. 5).

E, Windbreaks. — A great deal has been said and written
about windbreaks. They seem to the Avriter to be another factor

14 ORCHARD LANDS

in the orchard site question which has sometimes been over-
worked and yet they are important. The one advantage of the
windbreak which is likely to appeal to any man who has to get
out in the orchard and do the actual work, is that it frequently
enables one to work with more comfort and consequently witli
greater etficiency. The two operations in which this advantage
wll be noticed most are in pruning and spraying. Most of our
pruning is done at a season of the year when the temperature is
likely to be too low for real comfort. If a man is pruning some
day in March in the northwest corner of an orchard on a western
or northwestern slope, when there is a gale from that direction,
he will very soon appreciate the value of anything that will get
him out of that wind. Perhaps he resorts to the barn, but that
does not get the orchard pruned. If he is lucky enough to have,
as a part of his orchard, a comer which slopes to the southeast
and which is, perhaps, also protected by a windbreak, he will see
the practical value of shelter from Avinds. The case is even
stronger when spraying is considered. In this operation one not
only has the physical discomfort to contend wath (and physical
comfort or discomfort counts for a lot in getting any work done
properly), but he frequently finds it a practical impossibility to
get the spray where he wants it. It so happens that each of the
two orchards with which the writer has most to do, has many
different blocks on various slopes and with varying protections
from the winds. And times without number in both orchards
it has been possible to continue the work of spraying or pruning
because it was possible to get away from the wind which happened
to be blowing. A windbreak certainly pays in comfort and
efficiency.

Kinds of Windbreaks.- — If one is* to have a windbreak it is very-
desirable to choose a kind of tree for it which will harbor neither
fungous diseases nor insects which might attack the trees of the
orchard. For example, one would not want to have red cedar
trees in a windbreak for an apple orchard, because of the cedar
rust, a fungus which at one stage attacks the apple and at an«
other the red cedar. This is much more important in the south
than in the north. Oaks are generally to be avoided because
they harbor the tent caterpillar, and if one is unfortunate enough

SPECIAL SOILS 15

to live in a district infested by the brown-tail and gypsy moths
both of these insects are also partial to oaks. On the other hand,
it seems to be the common opinion that pines and spruces among
evergreens, and maples among deciduous trees, are particularly
suitable for this purpose.

Distance Aivaij. — No windbreak, either natural timber or trees
planted especially for the purpose, ought to be very close to the
orchard. Fifty feet is near enough, and even a greater distance
is better. Where the trees for the break are planted at about the
same time as the orchard and come along with it there is less
danger from their encroachment than where a new orchard is set
out beside an old established row of trees, because in the latter
case, as will be readily seen, the tree roots are already established
and the fruit trees do not get a fair chance. If it is on the
lower side of the orchard, the windbreak ought to be open at the
bottom to allow for atmospheric drainage, otherwise there will
be a frosty area next to the windbreak. Lastly, it is decidedly
unwise to plant an orchard and rely for a windbreak on a block
of timber owned by a neighbor. One never knows when the
neighbor will decide to cut off the timber.

SPECIAL SOILS FOR DIFFERENT V^VRIETIES OF APPLES

Allusion has been made to the fact that the sodl requirements
of apple varieties have been more fully worked out than those of
any other fruits. The writer wishes to close this discussion of
orchard lands by quoting from a special article prepared by his
friend, Mr. H. J. Wilder, of the United States Bureau of Soils,
for the Tribune Farmer. Mr. Wilder probably knows more than
any other man in the United States about apple soils, which makes
his conclusions of special value.

" From agricultural experience already established, it is apparent that
many of the leading special crop areas have a very definite relation to the
character of the soils, and that all crops do not give equally good results
on the same kind of soil. Carrying this principle further, it is purposed
to point out that even the diflerent varieties of the same crop may differ
greatly in soil requirements. This is illustrated by a considerable number
of varieties of apples, which have been under study for several years.

" The opinion has been frequently expressed in the past, not only in
the agricultural press, but also in many horticultural books, that almost

16 ORCHARD LANDS

any deep, well-drained soil, on liill or slope, is adapted to apple growing.
Data from a large number of orchards in many of the States east of the
Mississippi show this definition of a good apple soil to be fraught with
danger. Dcptli and good drainage of soil are, without doubt, fundamental
essentials, but a very considerable percentage of soils in the Appalachian
Mountain region and associated foothills is so excessively ' deep and well
drained,' on account of its sandy character, that it can not compete with
better soils in orchard production.

" Unfavorable Soil Conditions. — A still greater danger lies in the
fact that so many men assume every hillside to be well drained. Shales and
sandstones nialce up 'a large part of tlie Appalachian system. On level areas
these rocks are flat, or nearly so, but on hillsides they range from gently
to very steeply inclined. On such slopes erosion has prevented tlie accumu-
lation of a soil covering of great depth. Much of the water from heavy
rains rushes down the slopes, while that which soalcs into the soil percolates
down to the underlying shale, and if in excess flows along laterally and
seeps out to the surface, giving rise to many spots of ill-drained soil. The
same unfavorable condition is caused by a subsoil too clayey, or for some
other reason too compact to allow ready downward percolation of moisture.

•' Notwithstanding all that has been said, too, about selecting a deep
soil, many orchards are still being planted on soils of so little depth above
the underlying unbroken rock that little profit can ever come from them.

" The loss from choosing a soil for orchard planting that is not
adapted to the purpose is so much more serious than a similar mistal^e with
an annual crop that too much care can scarcely be taken in selecting the
most suitable soils located on sites otherwise favorable. Because of the
importance of such selection, investigations have been carried on to
determine in so far as possible the types of soil most favorable to the
different varieties of apples. .

" It is recognized that these data are far from complete, and that
the beliavior of the dift'erent varieties under a range of soil conditions
must be observed carefully for a long term of years before statements of
adaptedness may be made positively, but enough facts have already been
secured to make the indications of value to tlie planter; and it is hoped,
in addition, so to arouse interest in the subject that growers and others
will observe and collect data as occasion presents itself.

" Baldwin Soils. — If soils are thought of as grading from heavy to
light, corresponding to the range from clay to sand, then soils grading
from medium to semi-light fulfil best the requirements of the Baldwin.
Following definitely the classification standards of the Bureau of Soils
with reference to the proportions of clay, silt and sands, this grouping
would include the medium to light loams, the heavy, sandy loams, and
also tlie medium, sandy loams, provided tliey were underlain l)y soil
material not lighter than mediimi loam nor heavier than a light or medium
clay loam of friable structure.

BALDWIN SOILS 17

" From this broad generalization it will be seen that the surface soil
should contain an appreciable amount of sand. The sand, moreover, should
not be all of one grade — that is, a high percentage of coarse sand would
give a poor soil, whereas a moderate admixture of it witli the liner grades
of sand, together with sufficient clay and silt, would work no harm. In
general, the sand content should be of the finer grades, but soils also occur,
though comparatively rare, which would be too heavy for this variety
were it not for a marked content of the coarse sands, the effect of which
is to make the soil mass much more friable and open than would be ex-
pected with the presence of so much clay. Such soil dries quickly after a
rain, and is not to be classed as a moist soil. It will never clod if worked
under conditions at all reasonable.

" If the svibsoil be so clayey or heavy that moisture does not percolate
down through it readily, a Baldwin of poor color, with a skin more or less
greasy, is the usual result.

" The ideal to be sought is a heavy, fine, sandy loam, or light, mellow
loam, underlaid by plastic clay loam or heavy, silty loam. It is fully
realized that the individual may not possess or easily acquire just this
ideal, but the soil that most closely resembles it should be chosen. If
corn be grown on such soil the lower leaves will cure down before cutting
time, giving evidence of moderately early maturity. This is one of the
safe criteria by which to be guided in choosing soil for this variety.

" Mention was not made in the above description of the color of the
soil. The desirability of a surface soil of dark brown, the color being
due to the presence of decaying organic matter, is unquestionable, and
is generally recognized; and if the soil be not that color the successful
orchardist will so make it by the incorporation of organic matter by
means of leguminous crops or otherwise. It is often cheaper to buy soil
with a good organic content, or humus supply, than it is to be compelled
to put it there after purchase before good crops can be secured. Hence,
this is purely an economic feature. The warning should be given, how-
ever, that soil should not be purchased or planted to apples of any variety
merely because it is dark colored and rich in humus. The soil should
be selected because of its textural and structural adaptation, regardless of
the organic content; then if such soils happen to be well supplied with
organic matter, so much the better; if not, it may be supplied.

■■' To modify, however, by the addition of humus, the physical con-
dition of a sand until it resembles a sandy loam as far down as tree
roots ordinarily extend is unquestionably an expensive process, and as
orchards are grown for profit, the soils on which they are to be planted
should be so selected for the different varieties as to furnish the most
favorable condition possible before going to the additional expense of
trying to change their character artificially.

" While soils so deficient in humus as to be leachy in the case of
2

18 ORCHARD LANDS

sands, but stiff, intractable and clayey in the ease of clays, clay loams and
loams, should have tlieir humus content increased until these unfavorable
conditions for crop growth of any kind be overcome so far as possible,
it is not possible by the addition of humus so to change the physical
characteristics of a given soil that its inherent physical character be
negligible, so far as its adaptation to crops or to different varieties of the
same crop is concerned. The agricultural practice of the eastern part ot
the United States is replete with instances of special soil-crop-variety
adaptation.

" Soils for the Greening. — As the best prices for Rhode Island Green-
ings are usually obtained in New York City, the general aim of the
commercial grower will be to meet the preferences of that market. The
demand there for a ' green ' Greening has usually been stronger than for
one carrying a high blush, and while individual buyers may be found, it
is said, who do not discriminate against the latter, most of them do so to
the extent of 25 cents a barrel in favor of the ' green ' Greening. Of even
more importance sometimes is the fact that a ' green ' Greening will move
on a slow market when a blush Greening fails to do so. There is also, in
some markets, objection to the blush Greening, from the fact that the con-
sumer is rarely able to distinguish it from Monmouth Pippin — a red-
cheeked green apple, which is inferior to the Rhode Island Greening and
does not serve at all well the purpose for which the latter is bought.

" To grow a ' green ' Rhode Island Greening to conform to the trade
preferring it, a surface soil of heavy, silty loam or light, silty clay loam,
underlain by silty clay loam, should be selected. Such soil will retain
sufficient moisture to be classed sls a moist soil, yet it is not so heavy
as to be ill drained, if surface drainage is adequate. The soil should be
moderately rich in organic matter, markedly more so than for the Baldwin.
In contrast to the Baldwin soil in the growth of corn, it should keep the
lower leaves of the plant green until harvesting time, or at least until late
in the season. Such soil conditions maintain a long seasonal growth under
uniform conditions of moisture. It is thus seen that the soils adapted to
producing this type of Rhode Island Greening are distinct from the Bald-
win standard. In fact, these two varieties, considered as standards,
differ so markedly in soil reqviirements that the soil adaptations of other
varieties may well be compared with them.

" If ' a Greening with high blush is desired, however, to meet other
market conditions, a soil somewhat warmer than that described should be
selected, a deep, light, mellow loam or productive fine sandy loam being
favorable. To secure a ' finish ' of this character soils approaching more
nearly to the Baldwin standard are best adapted.

"The Rhode Island Greening is more restricted in area than the
Baldwin, not adapting itself to climatic conditions as far south as the
Baldwin, even thougii suitable soils occur tliere. In fact, its southern

SOILS FOR NORTHERN SPY 19

boundary may be roughly estimated as one-fourth degree north of the
forty-first parallel. South of that it becomes a fall apple and keeps very
poorly.

" Hubbardston Soils. — For the Hubbardston a rich, fine, sandy loam
to a depth of at least a foot is preferable, and the subsoil may well be of
the same texture. This variety does remarkably well on a soil of this kind
in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts, which has been fertilized
highly enough for tobacco, onions, or garden crops. The fruit is good size,
well colored, and has good keeping qualities. Baldwin grown alongside is
poorly colored and inferior in both flavor and keeping quality. This is
undoubtedly due to the high humus content and richness of the soil, as the
same soil in much poorer condition brings a better Baldwin. A subsoil
containing enough clay to make the fine sandy material somewhat coherent,
or sticky, is not objectionable, but there should never be enough clay present
to render the subsoil heavy. If the soil is too heavy or too clayey, the fruit
is liable to be deficient in both color and fiavor. Compared with the Baldwin
soil requirements, the heaviest soils desirable fv^r the Hubbardston iap over
a little upon the highest soils desirable for the Baldwin, while at the other
extreme the Hubbardston will utilize to advantage a more sandy soil than
most other varieties of the New England-New York region. This does not
mean that the variety will succeed on poor, light sands, for on such soils
the apple will not attain suHicient size to be of value, nor is the tree
vigorous; but the soil sliouid always be very mellow.

" Soils for Northern Spy. — The Northern Spy is one of the most
exacting varieties in regard to soil requirements. To obtain good quality
of fruit, i.e., fine texture, juiciness, and high flavor, the soil must be
moderately heavy; and for the first two qualities alone the lighter of the
'green' Ehode Island. Greening soils will be desirable. The fact that the
Northern Spy is a red apple, however, makes it imperative that the color
be well developed and the skin free from the greasy tendency. This
necessitates a fine adjustment of soil conditions, for the heaviest of the
soils adapted to the ' green ' Rhode Island Greening produce Northerii
Spies with greasy skins and usually of inferior color. The habit of tree
growth of this variety, moreover, requires careful attention. Its tendency
to grow upright seems to be accentuated by too clayey soils, if well en-
riched, and such soils tend to promote growth faster than the tree is able
to mature well. On the other hand, sandy soils, where producing good color
and clear skins, fail to bring fruit satisfactory in quality with respect to
texture and flavor, especially if the fruit be held for very long. The
commercial keeping quality, too, is inferior to that of the Spy growTi on
heavier soils in the same district. Hence the soil requirements of this
variety are decidedly exacting, and are best supplied apparently by a
medium loam underlain by a heavy loam or light clay loam — that is, a soil
as heavy as can be selected without incurring the danger of inferior

20 ORCHARD LANDS

drainage, for a poorly drained soil should in no case be used. It is
surely best not to plant Northern Spy on a soil lighter than a very heavy,
fine, sandy loam, underlain by a light clay loam, or possibly a heavy loam.
Good air drainage is also very essential with this variety.

" Soils for Wagener. — The Wagener is weak in growth, and hence a
soil that is deep, strong, mellow, and loamy should be selected. Stiff sub-
soils are especially objectionable with this variety, and thin soils, also
light sandy soils, should be avoided. The Wagener thus fits in nicely with
Northern Spy in soil requirements, and its habit of early bearing makes an
effective offset in this respect to the tardiness of the Northern Spy. In
Massachusetts, in parts of Connecticut and New York, and in north-
eastern Pennsylvania, Wagener is one of the most profitable sorts for filler
purposes.

" Mcintosh Soils. — The Mcintosh is a variety of high quality that is
now very popular in the northeastern States. Trees of sufficient age for
safe comparisons are rarely available, however, over any considerable rarige
of soil conditions, hence no positive statement is made concerning the soil
preferences of this variety. The indications are, nevertheless, that the
heavier of the Baldwin soils as described are desirable for the Mcintosh.

" Tompkins King Soils. — The Tompkins King is fully as exacting in
soil adaptation as Northern Spy. The tree with straggling tendency of
growth does not develop satisfactorily on sandy soils, but succeeds best
on a moist, yet well drained soil, i.e., the lightest of the ' green ' Rhode
Island Greening soils — a soil capable of maintaining such a supply of
moisture that the tree receives no check at the approach of drouth. But
the fruit grown on soils so heavy lacks clearness of skin, and the appear-
ance is marred by the greenish look extending far up the sides from the
blossom end and by the lack of well-developed color which makes this fruit,
at its best, very attractive. Hence the problem is to balance these two
opposite tendencies as well as possible, and soil of the following description
seems best adapted to this: Light, mellow loam, the sand content thereof
being medium rather than fine, thus constituting an open-textured loam
rather than a fine loam. The subsoil should be of the same texture or only
slightly heavier, in no case being heavier than a very light, plastic clay
loam. The soil must be brought to a productive condition. Subsoils in-
clining toward stiffness in texture should be carefully avoided.

" Fall Pippin. — Soils adapted to the Fall Pippin are somewhat wider
in range than those described for Northern Spy and Tompkins King. In
fact, this variety may be very successfully grown on the soils described
for the Tompkins King and Northern Spy. It is preferable, however, that
the surface soil be a fine loam rather than the open-textured loam de-
scribed for the Tompkins King.

" Grimes Golden Soils. — The Grimes Golden is not well adapted, it
Is beKeved, to New England and most of New York, and it is only men-

GRAVENSTEIN SOILS 21

tioned here to show its soil relationship to other varieties. It is so
similar in soil adaptation to the ' green ' Rhode Island Greening that a
separate description of the soils best for this variety is not given. The
Grimes has been so profitable in some districts of western Maryland,
Virginia, southeastern Pennsylvania, and Ohio under certain conditions
of soil and climate, however, that its desirability for general planting has
been widely heralded; and as a result this variety is now being planted
in some sections with too little discrimination with reference to both soil
and climate. Tlie best general guide is to plant Grimes in the eastern
States, where the Rhode Island Greening tends to become a fall apple,
The Rhode Island Greening soil located far enough south for that variety
to be undesirable for extensive planting is well adapted to, and may well
be utilized for the Grimes. It should never be planted on a light or thin
soil, neither on a stiff soil. The tree maintains its best growth on a well-
drained, jiroductive, moist soil, and under such conditions is a very
desirable variety in its region.

" Rome Beauty Soils. — The Rome Beauty bears the same relation to
the Grimes Golden in soil requirements as Baldwin does to the ' green '
Rhode Island Greening in their respective regions. There is, however,
something of an overlapping of regions. That is, the Baldwin succeeds
further south than the Rhode Island Greening, and the Rome Beauty
extends as far north as the Grimes; but this intraregional overlapping
of the Rome Beauty and the BaldAvin is largely a matter of dove-tailing,
due to variations in elevation. Thus, in southern Pennsylvania, as the
Baldwin in its southerly extension seeks higher elevations to offset the
climatic change, so does the Rome Beauty in its northern extension seek the
same soil at a lower elevation for the same reason. The Baldwin tends to
become a fall variety with increasing distance south, and where this
tendency is sufficiently pronounced to lessen materially its desirability it
may well be replaced by the Rome Beauty, which is adapted to the same
kind of soil. The Rome Beauty is grown with fairly good success in the
lower Hudson Valley and at low elevations in Western New York, but
there is some question whether it will become a leading commercial sort
in either region.

" Gravenstein Soils. — The Gravenstein has given growers much
trouble, but its general excellence, the high price the fruit brings, and the
strong demand for it in some markets make it a tempting sort to plant. Its
susceptibility to winter injury, however, is often a serious matter. There is
good evidence to show that the Gravenstein should not be forced in growth,
at least until it is fifteen years old or older. On rich, moist gi-ound or with
heavy fertilization with nitrogenous manures, its growth is rarely matured
early enough in the season to avoid more or less winter injury. It con-
tinues to grow until freezing weather, and thus is very susceptible to
injury. On a medium soil, neither too rich nor too moist, its growth

22 ORCHARD LANDS

may better be held in conti'ol, early annual maturity may be forced, and the
color of the fruit is satisfactory. The subsoil should never be so clayey
as to prevent ready downward percolation of any excess of free soil water.
Annual applications of the mineral fertilizers, such as basic slag and
potash, seem desirable on such soils, and a moderate amount of humus
should be furnished, but nitrogenous fertilizers should be used sparingly.
Fruit of good color is especially desirable with this variety, the color
adding materially to the selling price. This has led to its being planted
on thin or light, sandy soils in some cases, but on such land the Graven-
stein is, on the whole, unsatisfactory. This is a variety for the specialist,
and for such it is a very profitable sort when grown near a market — espe-
cially if within driving distance.

" Roxbury Russet Soils. — The Roxbury Russet is now seldom planted,
but there are some commercial orchards of it in New England and New
York, and many old orchards contain a few trees. The Roxbury Russet
is a gross feeder, utilizing to advantage heavier applications of stable
manure than almost any other variety. A deep, rich, loamy soil, with the
upper subsoil of at least medium porosity, such as a fine, sandy loam or a
gravelly, sandy loam, seems to be essential, though a heavier subsoil at a
depth of four to six feet is not objectionable. It thrives on a much richer
soil than the Baldwin, which does not color well on the best Russet soils.
The ' green ' Rhode Island Greening soil, on the other hand, is somewhat
too clayey for the Roxbury Russet. Grown on the soil conditions described,
the Roxbury tree is prolific, the fruit attains large size and good quality,
its keeping characteristics are excellent and it brings a good price, espe-
cially for export trade.

" A study of the cropping systems practised in this country indicates
that many of our important crops liave reached their liighest development
on certain kinds of soil, and in the light of this experience it seems
inevitable to conclude that soils may be selected for different crops in
accordance with their relative adaptedness to the growth of such crops.
In fact, there is nothing new or startling in this statement. It is simply
summing up a long line of experience in the best farm practice of the
country. It is only the best farm practice, the most perfect soil adaptation
and the most effective soil crop management that can long survive, because
no other kinds pay as well. We have been forced by competition to
recognize soil adaptedness to different crops. It is a matter of economic
efficiency.

" Attention has been called to the further fact that within the
climatic zone favorable to certain varieties of some crops the best results
have been obtained on certain definite soil conditions, and this is espe-
cially well illustrated by different varieties of apples. Little more than
a beginning has been made in this line of work, and it will take time
to solve the various problems relating to it, but it is already one of the
promising fields for further investigation."

QUESTIONS 23

QUESTIONS

1. Give the main points to be considered in choosing an orchard site.

2. Give five characteristics of the surface soil.

3. What are the best subsoils for orchards?

4. Why is surface drainage needed?

5. Discuss the danger in having too much slope.

6. What are the advantages of having atmospheric drainage?

7. \\hat are considered the best aspects or slopes?

8. What are the advantages of windbreaks for orchards?
'.) What kinds of windbreaks are best for orchards?

10. Discuss the location of windbreaks.

11. What are some soil conditions that are unfavorable for apples?

12. What soils are best for Baldwin apples?

13. Discuss soils for Greenings.

14. Discuss Hubbardston soils.

15. What soils are best for Northern Spy apples?

16. What are the best soils for Tompkins King?

17. On what soils does Grimes Golden do best?

IS. What are the special soil requirements of Rome Beauty?

19. On what soils does the Gravenstein succeed best?

20. Discuss soils best suited to the Roxbury Russet,

CHAPTEE in

SELECTING VARIETIES AND BUYING NURSERY

STOCK

Having selected the orchard site with due regard (so far as
circumstances will allow) for the principles laid down in the
preceding chapter, the next matter for consideration is what
varieties shall be selected and where the stock shall be purchased.
In fact, the orchardist has probably considered both of these
questions, but especially the former, long before he decided on
the site for his orchard, perhaps even before he bought the farm.

Let us first attack the difficult question of varieties. A
common and a very convenient way of eluding this question
when asked for advice is to say that " it is a personal matter."
To a certain extent it is, but to a much greater extent there are
certain fairly definite considerations that apply to every case.
The writer favors the use of score cards, one of which has already
been submitted. He has therefore attempted to reduce the
principal desirable qualities of a market apple to this basis and
to attach certain definite values to each quality. There are two
scores, in fact ; one for the general or wholesale market and the
other for the special or retail market. In the latter it is sup-
posed that the grower comes in direct or nearly direct contact
with the consumer, while in the former he sells to a buyer at the
orchard or to a commission man.

Score Card for a Commericial Variety of Apple

Ge?ieral Market Special Market

Tkee 40 35

1. Heavy bearer 20 15

2. Early bearer 10 10

3. Health and vigor 10 10

Feuit 60 65

4. Fair size 10 10

5. Good color 20 15

6. Good quality 12 25

7. Keeps well 10 10

8. Ships well 8 5

Totals 100 100 100 100

fItOFERTY LIBRARY
N C fstntp Cttlham

EARLY BEARER 25

1. Heavy Bearer. — This might seem to need no discussion.
If one does not get the fruit there is little point in having the
orchard. And yet there is no question that it is a point fre-
quently overlooked by men who plant orchards. The estimate
of the variety is too often made from the fruit alone. If the
fruit is handsome and of good quality (or frequently if it is
merely handsome), it is assumed to be a good variety to grow.
Usually this type of mistake is an individual matter but it fre-
quently becomes almost a community matter. For example,
about 1897 the Golden Russet apple had been bringing very high
prices in the English markets and many orchard owners in the
Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia (where apples are grown princi-
pally for the English markets), hearing of the fine prices re-
ceived per barrel by their neighbors, grafted over a large number
of trees to this variety. It was only when the grafts came into
bearing that they realized there was an important difference
between the income per barrel and per tree. The emphasis on
prolific bearing is made slightly more emphatic irx the case of
apples grown for the general markets than for those grown for
the special markets, because the margin of profit is greater where
one has a special market and his customers will pay a larger
premium for good quality, so that he can afford to grow slightly
less prolific varieties provided they are exceptionally good. A
man might, for example, grow the Mother apple, which is rather
a shy bearer, for a special market, but would never think of
doing so for the general market.

2, Early Bearer. — This has been given equal importance in
both score cards because it seemed probable that early returns
would be as desirable to one type of grower as the other. And
yet there may be varieties which one would be justified in wait-
ing for in the special orchard because of their extra quality,
when he would not be in the general orchard. The Spy, for
example, is proverbially slow in coming into bearing, but if one
has a special market that will pay him $10 a barrel for them he
would be justified in setting them out, but he would not be if
he had to sell them in a general market for $2 or $3 a barrel.
In any case early bearing is a very desirable quality and de-
serves emphasis. Orcharding is a sufficiently long-time invest-

VARIETIES AND NURSExiY STOCK

ment at best to be rather discouraging, and should not be made
more so by deferred crops. It is certainly a point worth con-
sidering, whether one is to get a crop in five or six years as may
happen with Oldenburg or Wagener, or must wait ten or even
fifteen years, as frequently happens with the Northern Spy
(Fig. 6).

3. Health and Vigor. — Diseases are among the most serious
handicaps of the orchard. And there is frequently a very

Fig 6. — Northern Spy apple. One of the finest varieties and, where it will grow well,
a profitable sort. Its principal failing is that it is exceptionally slow coming into bearing.

marked difference in the susceptibility of different varieties to
different diseases. If one is in a section where apple scab is espe-
cially troublesome, then it might be better to rule out Rhode
Island Greening and Mcintosh altogether, because they are
notoriously affected by that disease. But if fire blight is the
special enemy, then Mcintosh would be one of the best sorts to
set, since it seems to be particularly resistant to the blight. In
any case, whether one decides to set the variety under discussion

GOOD COLOR , 27

dv not, it is very desirable that he should know its weaknesses
and give them due consideration. And a variety is certainly
distinctly more valuable the more free it is from all of these
troubles. One would discount for susceptibility to all diseases
such as scab, blight, and canker; and for being a poor grower,
like the Wagener apple; or for being specially liable to over-
growing, and consequent winter-killing, as is the case with the
Tompkins King and the G-ravenstein apples.

4. Fair Size of Fruit. — It was quite a question whether this
should not receive more weight in the general market than in the
special, for one certainly might grow the Pomme Grise or the
Lady Apple for a special market, while he would not as a rule
think of growing either for the general market. But on the
other hand one usually sees apples in the fruit stores (and high
class stores at that) selling at prices which range directly as the
size of the fruit.

If any one disagrees with the values given this point in the
score card he has the writer's jjermission to change them, pro-
vided he can decide where the extra value taken from " size "
in the special market shall be placed.

5. Good Color is practically synomTuous with " red color."
Whatever we may say about it, however strongly we may con-
demn people for " eating with their eyes," there is not the
slightest question that they do prefer a bright red apple, and
they probably always will ; that is, the general public will. And
since the man who grows fruit is bound sooner or later, and to a
greater or less degree, to be dependent on the general public
for his market, on people whose tastes have never been educated
up to the high standard that they should be, it is worth while to
give color due weight. Even for the special market it is easier
to sell a beautiful red apple. But where one is coming into
direct, personal contact with his customers, as he does in the
special market, he can push an apple of fine quality, like a
Palmer Greening, even though it is not red. And the more con-
fidence his customers have in his opinion, and the finer the
quality of his variety is, the more he can afford to disregard red
color. But in the general market it is far different. Only the

VARIETIES AND NURSERY STOCK

oldest standbys, like Rhode Island Greening, have any place in
that market, unless they are red, and even these standbys are at
a certain disadvantage on account of their color. Of course there
is also a difference in the attractiveness of yellow varieties, and
this ought to be given due weight. One is a fine, waxy color, such
as a Grimes Golden or an Ortley, while another is dull and un-
interesting, as a Mann.

<■ 6. Good Quality. — This is a point which the writer likes to
give special emphasis. It is astonishing what an influence quality
has in the demand for apples, or any other fruit, for that matter.

Give a man a really fine
apple and he wants some
more at once, and inciden-
tally he is not so particular
just what he pays for it.
But give him one that is in-
different or poor in quality,
and he does not care just
how long he has to wait for
the next.

One winter the writer
began on some Baldwin
apples, some particularly
fine Baldwin apples grown
in western Massachusetts.
It was the custom each evening to bring up a plate of them for the
family circle. It usually required two apples in his own particu-
lar case to satisfy the ' ' demand. ' ' Later in the season, after these
Baldwins were used up some rather indifferent apples of various
varieties were brought forward. They were good sound apples,
and well preserved, of such sorts as Rome Beauty and locally
grown Stayman Winesap, but they were not of particularly high
quality. It was certainly astonishing to see what a change took
place in the attitude of the family toward the evening apple
feast. The custom was still kept up and with fair regularity, but
nobody felt very badly if it happened to be omitted, and it was
nothing uncommon to have a part of an apple (and a good big

k '""" - ^ - J

Fig. 7. — A Baldwin apple. Probably more
people know and like the Baldwin than any other
variety.

FRUIT THAT KEEPS WELL 29

part sometimes) left on a plate — something which never
happened with the Baldwins (Fig. 7). Now this is exactly what
will take place in practically any household nnder similar cir-
cimistances. Multiply this case by twenty million to learn the
influence of quality on the consumption of apples in the United
States. Probably not all households would be quite as particular
about quality, but some would be more so. Given choice fruit,
and a family will easily use ten barrels in a year. Furnish them
with Ben Davis and they can get along with one barrel and not
feel the loss, at least not the reduction. There are various and
diverse reasons given for growing the varieties of low quality,
such as the Ben Davis apple. " It is a good tree," " it bears
large crops," " it has fine color and most people go by the eye
anyhow," and lastly and worst of all, " it really isn't so bad in
quality and a slight lowering of the quality doesn't make much
difference in consumption." Now the writer wants to hasten to
say that he appreciates fully the importance of good tree char-
acteristics. But we must have quality also if we are going to
increase the consumption of fruit. Nothing, in the writer's
opinion, would so safeguard us against that day, so freely
prophesied, when fruit is to become a drug in the market, as
to grow nothing but varieties of reasonably liigh quality.

7. Fruit that Keeps Well. — This point is of far less im-
portance since methods of storage have been so much improved.
One can afford to grow the poorer keeping varieties because they
can be forced to keep in the refrigerated storage. There is cer-
t9,inly not the importance to very late keeping that used to
attach to such varieties as Roxbury Russet and Northern Spy,
which would hold on till other varieties were out of the way and
would then command fine prices. On the other hand, good keep-
ing is still a very important characteristic, because it assists the
storage plant in preserving the fruit in good condition. "When
the fruit is removed from storage the good keeper will " stand
up " long after the poor keeper has gone to pieces. Moreover,
one variety may hold its color and attractiveness much longer
than another. The Gravenstein apple, for example, will fade

30 VARIETIES AND NURSERY STOCK

and change to a dull, unattractive red rather quickly, while the
]\IcIntosh will hold its bright, handsome color almost indefinitely.

8. Ships Well. — This is imperative in the general market at
present, but is less important in the special market because we
often wrap apples for that market and put them in smaller pack-
ages and do various other things to make them carry better. The
relative importance of this point is also likely to decline in both
general and special markets as we still further improve on our
methods of handling and transporting our fruit. When ex-
pressmen are no longer allowed to handle boxes of apples as
they would pig iron it will not be so important that the fruit
should '* stand up well."

So much for the qualities of varieties as shown in the score
card.

Number of Varieties. — Another question of great impor-
tance is how many varieties to set. The usual recommendation
on this point is not to set many, to keep the number down to
two or three, or four at the outside. In general, this is prob-
ably good advice. There is no question but that most men who
set out orchards of any kind find, when the trees come into
bearing, that they have some varieties that they wish they
had not planted. That is almost inevitable if one branches out
at all. Usually the more enthusiastic and inexperienced a man
is the more varieties he will set. Enthusiasm plays a very
important part in this choice of varieties. A cold and calculat-
ing attitude is probably the proper one to take. Then it is usually
possible to keep the number down where it belongs. But as soon
as most men begin to get really interested, they find one variety
after another that they think they must try, until the list soon
reaches undue proportions. One grower confessed to the writer
privately that his first order of apple trees contained ninety-
three varieties; and that he would have bought more but that
was all the nurseryman carried! A fatal mistake so far as
profit is concerned and yet one for which the writer confesses
a great deal of lenience.

The proper way to do is to separate absolutely the commercial
and the experimental ventures: In the former put only those

SELF-STERILE VARIETIES 31

varieties which have proved their right to be considered money-
makers, and set in the latter a tree, or a graft even, of everj^thing
that seems interesting and promising. Even this latter would
be sternly repressed by some authorities. But if one is to get the
fun out of the fruit business that he ought, it is certainly
allowable to have an experimental corner.

Type of Market Influences Number. — In the commercial
orchard the question of number of varieties hinges very largely
on the type of market to which the owner wishes to cater. If he
is growing fruit, especiallj^ apples, for the general or wholesale
market then he wants relatively few sorts. With apples he might
even restrict his plantings to two or three varieties. Such a
grower expects to sell either through a commission man or to a
buyer in the orchard, and in either case he is much more likely
to make a satisfactory sale if he has one hundred barrels of
one variety than if he has only ten barrels each of ten sorts.

If he has a good special or retail market then it seems
entirely legitimate to set as many as ten or a dozen varieties.
In the case of apples, for example, he wants a succession of
varieties from the very earliest to the very latest. He does not
want to work up a trade on his Yellow Transparents and "Wil-
liams but lose it when Gravenstein and INIcIntosh are in season
and have to work it up again for his Baldwins. More than that,
it is a good plan to have two or even three varieties available
at any one time so as to give customers a choice of several sorts.
One person may prefer Wageners while another one wants Kings
and a third is satisfied only with Palmer Greenings. This is a
doctrine which it is easy to carry too far, but, if kept within
bounds, it is a rational business policy.

Self-sterile Varieties. — A point which should not be over-
looked in any orchard is the fact that many varieties are more or
less self-sterile, as it is called. That is, they will not bear fruit
unless the blossoms are " fertilized " wuth pollen from some
other variety. There are various reasons for this failure to
produce fruit when planted alone. Sometimes it is due to de-
fective stamens which do not produce normal pollen; in other
cases the stamens do not mature their pollen when the pistils in

32 VARIETIES AND NURSERY STOCK

the same blossoms are in receptive condition ; wMe in still others,
though everything appears to be normal, the pollen is impotent
and will not fertilize its own pistils. A great many different
factors may influence this matter of self -sterility, such as locality,
weather, vigor of the tree and other influences; so no one can
make hard and fast lists of self-sterile and self- fertile varieties.

Whatever the cause of self -sterility, it necessitates the mixing
of varieties in the orchard. Even those varieties which are not
strictly self-sterile, which may even bear good crops when planted
alone, will frequently bear much better crops if there are several
other sorts planted with them. This is why the family orchard
usually bears abundantly while solid blocks of one sort, even a
self-fertile sort, may not do so well. Even the man who is grow-
ing for the general market will do well to set at least two and
preferably three varieties.

Varieties Suited to the Section. — Another point of the
utmost importance is to stick to those varieties which are known
to do well in the section, at least for the commercial plantings.
Important as this is, it is constantly overlooked by orchardists,
particularly by those who are new at the business. Just at the
present time the apple business of the East gives an exceptionally
good illustration of this point. There is much interest in grow-
ing apples all through the northeastern United States. Men have
heard of the money that the western apple growers are making
and they want to do likewise. They can not go into any city or
town without seeing quantities of the fine western apples on sale.
Being interested in varieties they naturally study those on sale
and they say at once — " Here, these are the varieties I want to
grow ! I do not want to plant Baldwins and Rhode Island Green-
ings as my neighbors do, but I want to grow Ortleys and Staymen
Winesaps and King David and Delicious. ' ' Especially Delicious !
There is something in the very name that infatuates the novice.
He thinks it must be as good as it sounds and he wants to grow
some at once, without reflecting that it is a new variety at best,
and has never been tested in the East at all, and we can not
tell for ten years to come whether or not it is a legitimate com-
mercial variety for the section. These new sorts may have

VARIETIES SUITED TO THE SECTION 33

a place in the experimental end of the orchard just alluded to,
but they certainly do not have a place in the coimnercial orchard
and many of them probably never will. And the western and
southern varieties ought not to be grown in the North, neither
ought the northern varieties to be grown in the South.

This question of what varieties of apples are adapted to each
section has been carefully studied by Dr. J, K. Shaw, of the
Massachusetts Experiment Station, who has reached very in-
teresting conclusions on the subject that are quoted here. After
discussing the influence of soil, culture and climate on the apples,
Dr. Shaw says:

" It is evident from the foregoing discussion that the development of
the highest perfection in any given variety is closely related to most favor-
able mean summer temperatures. In Table I is given a list of varieties, with
an estimate of the optimum temperature for each sort, and in some cases
of their possible range and hardiness with respect to the cold of winter.
The list of varieties includes all those that are given the double star, in-
dicating highly successful varieties, in the list of the American Pomological
Society, with a number of additions of varieties that, for various reasons,
seemed worthy of consideration. Inasmuch as we consider keeping quality
of considerable account with most sorts, the policy has been to prescribe
about as low a temperature as will suffice to thoroughly mature a variety,
leaving a margin of about 2° for seasonal fluctuations; that is, we believe
that any variety may be matured when the summer mean is 2° lower than
the one given. This applies more particularly to the fall and winter
varieties.

" We believe, on the other hand, that any increase in the summer mean
for any variety, unless it be the earliest ones, will be a disadvantage, though
a very slight one, if the rise is not more than 1° or 2°. Up to a certain
degree the over-maturity of tlie fruit in a too warm climate may be over-
come if the grower will pick at the time of full maturity and put the fruit
at once in cold storage. If the heat is too great, however, even with this
method the fruit will be inferior in flavor and color, and, in very extreme
cases, in size. We believe that a departure of more than 2° in either direc-
tion from the temperatures given will be a noticeable disadvantage with any
of the winter varieties. This remark will apply less to the fall sorts and
still less to the summer varieties; or, to put it in other words, the earlier
the variety the greater may be its range of temperature without marked
deterioration of the fruit.

" There are doubtless errors in the case of some varieties, concerning
which we have limited information. It is hoped that these may, in time.

VARIETIES AND NURSERY STOCK

bf corrected, as we are able to learn more concerning the behavior of these
varieties under different conditions.

" In Table II these same varieties are grouped under their optimum
temperatures for convenience in reference.

" In Table I there is also given for some varieties the range of tempera-
ture which they can stand without serious deterioration. This is, as
already stated, closely connected with the season of the variety, being wide
with early sorts and relatively narrow with most winter sorts. Just how
much difference there is between the ranges of varieties of the same season
is difficult to say. It is complicated with a variety of related questions.

" In the case of a few of the varieties given in Table I an attempt is
made to give their hardiness with respect to the winter cold. Inasmuch
as the ability of the tree to withstand cold depends on a variety of factors
other than the temperature it is of no use to attempt to state this in
degrees. The designation Ex. H. is used for the varieties equal in hardiness
to those classified as of the first degree of hardiness; the designation V. H.
for those of the second degree of hardiness (by the Minnesota Horticultural
Society) ; and the designation H., M., and T. (Hardy, Medium and Tender)
for various degrees of hardiness below these two classes. ^lany of the more
southern sorts are not grown far enough north on account oi a lack of
summer heat to test their winter hardiness in a satisfactory manner.
Therefore it is impossible to make any statements regarding them, nor
would there be any practical value in such statements were they possible."

Tablet.

-Mean Summer Temperatures.
(Dr. J. K. Shaw)

Akin

Alexander . . .

Arctic

Arkansas . . . .
Arkansas

Black

Babbit

Bailey Sweet

Baldwin

Baxter

Beach

Ben Davis. . .

Benoni

Bethel . .

Bietigheimer .

■3

o"^Q

6 = «

SsS

o^Na

Bismarck. . . .

Black Gilli-

flower

Blenheim. . . .

Blue Pear-

main

Boiken

Bonum

Borovinka. . .

Bough

Buckingham .

Buncombe. . .

Cabashea. . . .

Cannon Pear-

mam

*The average of the mean monthly temperatures for March to September inclusive.

Under " Ranpe"— V. N. =Very Narrow, N=Narrow, M = Medium, W = Wide, V. W.
Very Wide.

Under "Hardiness"— Ex. H.=Extra Hardy, V. H.=Very Hardy. H.=Hardy, M.
Medium, T.= Tender.

VARIETIES SUITED TO THE SECTION 35

Table I. — Mean Summer Temperatures — Continued.

^«

So,

a«

Charlamoff . .

Ex. H.

Horse

Chenango . . .

Hubbards-

Collins

ton

Cooper Mar-

Huntsman . .

ket

Hyde King . .

Cox Orange. .

Ingraham . . .

Delicious

Jefferis

Dominie

Jewett

Dudley

Jonathan . . .

Early Har-

July

vest

V. w.

Kent Beauty

Early Joe. . . .

Keswick ....

Early Pen-

King David .

nock

Kinnaird ....

Early Straw-

Lady

berry

Lady Sweet .

English Rus-

Lankford . . .

set

Lawver

Esopus

Limbertwig .

Ewalt

Longfield . . .

Fallawater. . .

Lowell

Fall Harvey. .

Lowland

Fall Orange. .

Raspberry.

Fall Pippin . .

Maiden

Fameuse ....

Blush

V. H.

Fanny

Malinda ....

54 1 N.

Flushing

Mann

Spitzenburg

McAfee

Foundling . . .

Mcintosh . . .

Gano

McMahon . .

Gideon

Melon

Golden Rus-

Milden

set

Milwaukee . .

Golden Sweet

Minkler ....

Gravenstein

Missouri

Green Sweet

Pippin ....

Grimes

Monmouth ..

Haas

Mother

Hagloe

Newell

Hibernal ....

Ex. H.

Newtown

Holland Pip-

Spitzen-

burg

Holland

Northern

Winter

Spy

56 1 M.

VARIETIES AND NURSERY STOCK

Table I. — Mean Summer Temperatures — Continued.

Northwest-
em Green-
ing

Okabena ....

Oldenburg . .

Oliver

Ontario

Ortley

Paragon

Patten

Payne

Peck Pleasant

Peerless

Pewaukee . . .

Plumb Cider

Pomme Grise

Porter

Primate

Pumpkin
Sweet

Ralls

Rambo

Red Astra-
chan

Red Canada .

Red June. . . .

Rhode Island
Greening . .

Ribston

Rolf e

Roman Stem.

Rome Beauty

R o xb u r y
Russet ....

Salome

Scott Winter.

Shiawasse . . .

Shockley ....

Smith Cider.

Smokehouse .

Stark

S t a y m a n
Winesap. . .

St. Lawrence

V. W.

V. H.
Ex. H.
Ex. H.

Ex. H.

V. H.
V. H.

H.
H.

V. H.
H.

Sutton . . .

Swarr. ...

Swazie . . ,

Switzer . .

Terry ...

Tetofski. . .

Titovka . .

Tolman . .

T om p kins
King

Twenty
Ounce

Twenty
Ounce Pip-
pin

Wagener ...

Walbridge . . .

Washington
Royal. ....

Wealthy

Westfield . . .

White Astra-
chan

White Pear-
main

White Pip-
pin

Williams

Willow

Windsor ....

Winesap ....

Winter Ba-
nana

Wolf River . .

Yates

Yellow Bell-
flower

Yellow New-
town

Yellow
Trans-
parent ....

York Impe-
rial

N.
V. W.

M.
M.

V. N.

V. H.

H.
V. H.

V. H.

VARIETIES SUITED TO THE SECTION

Table II. — Optimum Temperatures by Groups.

(Dr. J.

K. Shaw)

Fifty-two Degrees.

Fifty-three Degrees

. Fifty-four Degrees.

Fifty-five Degrees.

Hibernal

Arctic

Alexander

Black Gilliflower

Okabena

Baxter

Blue Pearmain

Blenheim

Oldenburg

Bethel

Fameuse

Cox Orange

Bietigheimer

FoundUng

Gravenstein

Bismarck

Gideon

Mann

Borovinka

Jewett

McMahon

Charlamoff

Mahnda

Newell

Dudley

Milwaukee

Northwestern
Greening

Pewaukee

Red Astrachan

Patten

Tetofski

St. Lawrence

Pomme Grise

Yellow Transpar-
ent

■ Walbridge

Ribston

White Astrachan

Salome

Wolf River

Scott Winter
Shiawasse
Swazie
Windsor

Fifty-six Degrees.

Fifty-seven Degrees Fifty-eight Degrees Fifty-nine Degrees.

Baldwin

Babbit

Bailey Sweet

Benoni

Early Harvest

Boiken

Cabashea

DeUcious

Early Pennock

Bough

Early Joe

Esopus

English Russet

Chenango

Early Strawberry

Haas

Golden Russet

Fall Harvey

Ewalt

Jonathan

Lowland Rasp-
berry
Mcintosh

Fall Orange

Fall Pippin

July

Holland Pippin

Flushing Spitzen-

burg
Golden Sweet

- King David

Milden

Holland Winter

Kinnaird

Northern Spy

Hubbardston

Green Sweet

Red Canada

Ontario

Jefferis

Kent Beauty

Wagener

Peerless

Lady Sweet

Keswick

Rhode Islam

i Longfield

Lady

Greening

Rolfe

Melon

Lowell

Sutton

Monmouth

Mother

Titovka

Plumb Cider

Peck Pleasant

Tolman

Porter

Red June

Tompkins King

Primate

Swarr

Washington Royal Roxbury Russet

Sv/itzer

Wealthy

Williams

Twenty Ounce

Westfield

Twenty Ounce

Pippin
Winter Banana

Sixty Degrees.

Sixty-one Degrees.

Sixty-two Degrees.

Sixty-three Degrees.

Cooper Market

Lankford

Akin

Arkansas Black

Dominie

Maiden Blush

Grimes

Fanny

Fallawater

Ortley

Huntsman

Stayman Winesap

Hagloe

Roman Stem

Ingram

Hyde King

Smith Cider

Payne

VARIETIES AND NITRSERY STOCK

Sixty Degrees.

McAffee
Minkler
Newton Spitzen

burg
Rambo
Rome Beauty
Smokehouse
Yellow Newtown

Table II. — Optimum Tcm-peratures by Groups — Continued.

Sixty-one Degrees. Sixty-two Degrees. Sixty-three Degree

White Pippin Ralls

Yellow Bellflower Stark

White Pearmain

York Imperial

Sixty-four Degrees, Sixty-five

Ben Davis
Gano

Lawyer

Missouri Pippin

Oliver

Paragon

Willowtwig

Winesap

Arkansas

Beach

Bonum

Cannon Pearmain

Collins

Sixty-six Degrees.

Buckingham

Buncombe

Horse

Limbertwig

Shockley

Sixty-seven Degrees.

Terry
Yates

Choose Popular Varieties. — The grower slionld also choose
popular varieties and in particular select sorts that are suited
to the market or markets to which he expects to ship his fruit.
Probably more people are partial to the Baldwin than to any
other one variety. Wismer's Dessert may be a better apple, but
so few people know it that the orchard man can sell a thousand
barrels of Baldwins to one of Wismer's Dessert. And some
markets are especially partial to certain varieties while other
markets will not handle them at all. Chicago, for example, wants
the Yellow Bellflower and will pay fine prices for it, while Boston
and New York do not want it at all (Fig. 8). There are growers
in Maine who make a specialty of growing the Bellflower for
Chicago and secure high prices, but if they disregarded this
point and shipped to their nearest large market, Boston, they
might make little or nothing.

Buying the Stock. — Having settled on the varieties, the next
thing is to buy the stock. Here are some of the points to be
considered under this head: (1) Southern-grown vs. northern-
grown stock: (2) age of trees that is best; (3) size or grade that
is best ; (4) price to pay.

SOUTHERN-GROWN VS. NORTHERN-GROWN STOCK 39

Southern-grown vs. Northern-grown Stock. — On the first
point it is a veiy common notion, among our northern orchard
men at least, that northern-grown, and especially locally grown
stock is best. This seems like a very reasonable proposition,
theoretically. If a nursery tree has been grown in the same or a
similar climate to that of the orchard it ought to develop into a
better orchard tree than a nursery tree grown elsewhere, and
particularly than a tree grown in the milder climate of a more

apple. An old favorite with many people, especially popular on
the Chicago market.

southern section. If that is not sound reasoning there never was
any. And yet in actual practice it does not work out that way.
The writer has seen nursery trees which had been grown in New
York, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Maryland set out side by side in
Nova Scotia orchards and whatever difference there was in their
growth was in favor of the more southern trees. He has also seen
trees from New York and Maryland nurseries growing side by
side in IMassachusetts orchards and the southern trees giving
fullv as good an account of themselves as the northern trees.

40 VARIETIES AND NURSERY STOCK

There are certain advantages for really local trees, such as
less freight to pay, less drying out of trees in transit, and per-
haps the nurser^onan feeling his responsibility more if the
customer can call him up by 'phone or drop in and see him per-
sonally. But the argument of " acclimated nursery stock " has
certainly been overworked. Apparently the tree has the ability
during the first growing season to entirely adapt itself to the
new surroundings. It has not grown long enough in the milder
cMmate to make any permanent change in its life processes. But
whatever the scientific explanation may be, the writer is
thoroughly convinced of the fact that it makes little or no differ-
ence where the tree was grown so far as climatic conditions are
concerned. What does make a difference is having good, thrifty
stock in good, fresh condition when set.

Age of Trees. — On the second point, age of trees that is best,
there seems to be quite a difference of opinion, the ideal of differ-
ent men ranging from one to three or even more years. Very
few men, however, want a tree over two years old. It is chiefly
a question of one year or two year trees. Personally the writer
is rather strongly in favor of the one year tree, when soil con-
ditions are good, for the following reasons:

, (a) It costs less. Out of a long list of nurserymen whose
prices were compared, the difference in favor of one year trees
was from nothing to $15 per hundred with an average of $6.50.

(&) The freight is less. This is not an important matter but
is worth considering, particularly when the stock comes a long
distance.

(c) Only thrifty trees are salable at one year; that is, a tree
must be a good, growthy plant to reach a salable size in one year.
This is certainly important. It is doubtful if a stunted tree
ever becomes as vigorous and thrifty as one which has never had
a set-back.

(d) The tree can be headed at any desired height while the
two year tree has had its head formed by the nurseryman and it
is difficult to change this height. This argument is especially
important where one wants very low heads, as the writer does.
If one attempts to form a veiy low head, say 18 inches, on a two

AGE OF TREES

year tree that was headed at 30 inches by the nurseryman, he does
so by cutting off all the branches and leaving only 18 inches of
the old trunk. He has therefore taken off all the vigorous,

■ ■■ '"I

i ■■

\ '

r ■ " / !

/' l^'-'!

• V\l 1 .

— rr/ ..' : V

— — ■ •■

^jiiii(JMii^L«id

'^^^^Hl

Fio. 9. — Nursery tree with a poor fork.
The best way to treat such a tree is to cut
out all but one branch.

Pig. 10. — A nursery tree that ia too
heavy. Over-grown trees like this are not
as good as those of medium size.

one-year-old buds and left nothing but dormant buds. The re-
sult will be that when the tree starts, instead of making a well-
shaped head as a one year tree would, it throws out branches
irregularly all the way up the trunk wherever there happens to
be a bud that is reasonably vigorous, and consequently one has
a poor, misshapen tree.

(e) The younger tree will stand transplanting better than
the older one. This is probably not an important point, but age

42 VARIETIES AND NURSERY STOCK

seems as important with apple trees or pear trees as with cabbage
plants or celeiy plants, where it is recognized as being of practi-
cal importance.

Older Trees. — On the other side of the question the writer
has never seen but two arguments. The first and most important
one is that the older trees will come into bearing more quickly.
Personally we should want considerably more evidence than is at
present available before accepting this. And, second, there seems
to be a feeling among the advocates of the two year tree that
they are getting more for their money. When they get an
orchard of two year trees set out it makes some showing, while
these little, one year whips, particularly when headed at eighteen
inches, certainly do not look imposing. There is, however, one
type of conditions under which the two year tree will usually give
better results than the one year, and that is where the soil con-
ditions (fertility, humus content, moisture, etc.) are poor.
Under these conditions the tree will grow but little, yet since
the head of the two year tree is already formed the result is not
serious. With the one year tree, however, the poor growth is
likely to result in poorly distributed branches which can never
be made to form a satisfactory head.

The Best Size or Grade of Trees, — On this point the writer
is quite decidedly in favor of the medium grade or size, say a
four foot, one year tree or a five to six foot two year tree. The
big, overgrown tree is apt to have poorer buds on it, particularly
if it is to be headed low, and it costs much more (Fig. 10), On
the other hand, the trees of very small size are not thrifty and
are frequently not as well shaped.

What Price Shall We Pay? — Enough to insure well-grown
and well-packed stock. There is no economy in stock which is
cheap in both price and quality. On the other hand, there is
no use in paying the prices that are frequently asked. Of
course, it is assumed that any man who has ambition and
sense enough to want to plant out a large orchard will have
too mucli sense to buy his stock from a tree agent. Where one is
setting only a half dozen trees he can perhaps stand the prices
of these agents, but even then he can probably do better to buy
direct from the firm.

ORDER TREES EARLY 43

The price of nursery stock, in common with the price of
beefsteak, has advanced rapidly of late years, and what
constitutes a reasonable price to-day may be cheap a year from
now, but at the present writing apple trees, and good ones, can be
had at from $10 to $25 a hundred, pears $15 to $25, and peaches
$8 to $15. It is very desirable, when placing an order of any
considerable size, to get quotations from several different firms
and to ask for sample trees. In this way one secures a definite
standard of the quality or grade of stock, and from the several
quotations can often save money, since one firm may be low on
one part of the order while another firm is low on another part.

Order Trees Early. — Having decided on our varieties and
where to buy the trees, get the order in early. This is advice
often given and seldom taken, but it is good advice nevertheless.
One may be sure of disappointments all along the line if he delays
too long ; varieties sold out, only two year trees to be had when he
wants one year trees, nothing but three foot and six foot sizes
left when he wants four to five foot, and so on. Get the order in
by January, if it is possible to do so. Of course, it is possible.
It is merely a question of doing it.

QUESTIONS

1. Compare general and special markets.

2. Discuss the importance of " heavy bearing " in a variety.

3. How important is early bearing?

4. Give some idea of the importance of health and vigor.

5. How does size influence the choice of varieties for market?
G. What colors are most in demand?

7. How important do you consider "quality" in fruit?

8. Discuss the importance of good keeping quality in a variety.

9. About how many varieties should be set in a commercial apple orchard?

10. What is self-sterility? How does it influence the planting of orchards?

11. Discuss the influence of temperature on the development of the first of

apple trees.

12. What is the objection to setting new varieties?

13. What are the advantages of one- and two-year-old nursery trees?

14. What is the most desirable size of nursery tree?

CHAPTER IV
ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

With the nursery stock ordered and the orchard site chosen,
we are free to consider the question of preparing the land and
setting the trees. The preparation ought to be as thorough as the
circumstances will permit. In actual practice, among good
growers, it will vary all the way from the man who wants to
know at least a year in advance where he is going to set his
trees in order that he may grow a crop on the land that will
leave the soil in the best possible condition for the young orchard,
to the man who plow^s up old pasture for his orchard, or the man
who does not even insist that the land shall be fully cleared of
stumps. The results will vary just as widely though not in
exactly the same way. That is, the man who uses stump land
may develop a fine lot of trees, provided the soil is naturally
good and provided also that he takes good care of the trees. The
objection to the method is the diificulty he experiences in taking
good care of them, and the danger that this difficulty will dis-
courage him. The writer very much prefers to have the land
under cultivation the year before the orchard is set out, and if
the crop grown on the land can be one which leaves the soil in
specially good condition, such a crop as beans, or buckwheat,
or even corn or potatoes, so much the better.

One Year's Preparation. — In one orchard which the writer
had a hand m setting, there was a block of sixteen acres which
was mostly old pasture but in one corner of which a field of
about four acres had been fenced off the year previous and
planted to corn. When the orchard was set this fence was re-
moved and the whole block treated alike in preparation and set
out to trees. It ought to be said also that the soil of the entire
block was quite uniform, and yet when the trees began to
grow those on the corn field were noticeably more thrifty than
those on the old pasture and this difference was noticeable for
44

STEPS IN PREPARATION- 45

three or four years thereafter. Other similar eases might be
cited, all tending to show the value of this previous treatment.
Yet the writer is not prepared to say that he would defer plant-
ing for a year in order to give this preliminary treatment. In
fact he knows from experience that he probably would set out the
trees and attempt, by better care and more fertilizer, to bring
them along satisfactorily. By using good care all along the line
the trees can be made to grow very satisfactorily in most cases.

The final summing up of the case would therefore be: Gel
one year's previous preparation if you can, but life is too short
and orchard growing too long an investment, to warrant one
in delaying a whole year, except in rare cases.

Fall Plowing. — If we cannot have a year's preparatory treat-
ment we usually can have the land plowed in the autumn, and
unless the soil is in the best possible condition this is very de-
sirable. It is particularly good on land which is a trifle heavy
or in sod. But when the land has been fall plowed do not make
the mistake of replowing it in the spring. It is not necessary-
in the first place, and if there was ajiy trash on the land, or if it
had a tough sod, there will be no end of vexatious experiences
when it comes to setting the trees and cultivating the land. Let
the sods and trash stay underneath where they belong and where
they will decay. Of course where the field to be set has too much
slope, fall plowing is out of the question on account of the wash-
ing from winter rains, but. in every other case it ought to be
done. And this plowing may be done at any time before the
ground freezes up solid. The fact that the soil is too wet for
good plowing does not matter so much in the autumn as it would
in the spring, because the freezing during the winter will pre-
vent any damage which might otherwise occur from working the
soil when too wet. Heavy soil, so wet that it would be absolutely
ruined for several years if plowed in that condition in the spring,
may be fall plowed without injury.

Steps in Preparation. — The actual preparation of the land
for setting would consist then, first, of this plowing, done either
spring or fall as the circumstances will admit. This should be
followed by a thorough working with the disc harrow and this

ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

probably by the spring-tooth or the smoothing harrow, whichever
is available. And lastly the land should be gone over with a
planker to smooth it off for laying out (Fig. 11). This can be
omitted of course but it is worth the cost to secure the extra
comfort in walking over the field and the greater accuracy in
laying off the orchard.

There are three general methods or plans of arranging the
trees in the orchard. There is first the square method in which
each tree stands at the corner of a square. This is by all means

Fig. 11. — Finishing the land with a planker before beginning to lay off the orchard. This
leaves the surface smooth, making it possible to stake out more easily and accurately.

the most connnon metiiod and has the practical advantage that
it is an easy method to lay off. Then there is the triangular
or quincunx method, which is like the square with the addition
that a tree is placed in the centre of each of the squares. This
tree is usually a temporary one or " filler " and there are just
as many of these as of the permanents. And lastly we have
what is known as the hexagonal method, where each tree stands
in the centre of a hexagon formed by six trees and is equally
distant from each one of them. This last method has the great

DETAILS OF A GOOD METHOD 47

advantage that it best utilizes the space iu the orchard. It has
the practical disadvantage that it is more difficult to lay out.

Of course there are all sorts of minor variations. We may
have the trees in rectangles instead of squares ; and we may have
the triangular method carried further by putting in fillers be-
tween the permanent trees in both directions. This last is an
excellent method and the tree in the centre of the square is some-
times made a somewhat longer-lived tree than the other fillers
and is then called a semi-permanent. The following diagram
illustrates the method. P represents the permanents, S the
semi-permanents, and F the fillers.

For example in using the plan we might set Baldwin for per-
manents, IMcIntosh for semi-permanents and Wealthy for fillers.

Laying off the Land. — The operation of laying off the land
preparatory to setting the trees is another in which we find the
greatest variation among orchard men. Some are very particular
to get their rows straight and each tree in its proper place, while
others are satisfied with any method that will get the trees into
the ground, using a plow to lay off' the rows and doing no sighting
whatever. It is always surprising to see how many men are
satisfied with the latter type of orchard setting. They will put
more care into laying out a dog-kennel or a chicken coop that
would last possibly ten years, than into laying off an orchard
that will outlast their children and their children 's children. The
writer believes emphatically in using sufficient care to get the
rows straight. It does not take a great amount of care either.

Details of a Good Method. — Various methods may be used,
but the following is one which has been used with the greatest
satisfaction. It is reasonably cheap, expeditious, and very
accurate. The details are as follows: First, select a base line

48 ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

along one side of the field to be set. This will usually be either
along the highway or a line fence (Fig. 12), Next set a stake on
this line in one corner of the field where the corner tree is to
stand. It ought to be far enough from the highway and the line
fence to allow plenty of room for turning. Twenty or twenty-
five feet is none too much. Next set a range stake at the other
side of the field and the same dip'^'^nce from the highway. These
two stakes establish the base line. Now begin at stake No. 1 and
set stakes along the base line and towards stake No. 2 the proper

^ I— 1 I <3 h— I \A/y^^^>^ ]

Fig. 12. — Diagram showing method of laying off a field for planting an orchard.

distance apart for the trees, say twenty feet if fillers are to be
used. Having run the line across the field, begin about the centre
of this line of stakes and lay off another line of stakes at right
angles to the first. In establishing this second line use the
carpenter's method for laying off a right angle, taking 6, 8 and
10 feet for the three sides of the right triangle. This is all the
sighting that is required by the method under discussion. The
rest of the stakes are set with two " measuring boards " which
are made as long as the desired distance between the trees. Inch
boards three inches wide will be found satisfactory for the pur-

ANOTHER METHOD 49

pose. There is a notch at either end of each board. Figures 12
and 13 will serve to explain the method. The measuring boards
can be handled more easily if they are fastened together with a
small bolt.

It will surprise any one who has never seen this method used
to find how quickly and accurately the stakes can be set (Fig.
14), and it does not require high-priced labor, either. Any good
man with a little interest in his work will do it admirably. On
a farm in which the writer is interested one hundred and twenty-
five acres of orchard have been laid out by this
method and most of it was done by Polanders, many
of whom could speak no English. They were simply
"shown," and the proprietors of the orchard would be
glad to have any one who doubts the efficiency of the method
visit the place.

Planting Board. — By this method a stake is set at
every point to be occupied by a tree, and the next point
is to be sure that the tree is established in the identical
spot where the stake stood. To do this a device known as a
** planting board " is used (Fig. 15). This is simply a
board, perhaps five feet long and six inches wide, with a
notch cut in either end and one at the exact centre. This
board is placed on the ground so that the tree stake comes
in the central
notch. Then a
stake is driven

- . ■, <. Fig. 13. — Diagram of measuring boards. Drawn to scale.

down m each of

the end notches and the board is removed and a hole dug for
the tree where the central stake stood. "When it comes time to
set the tree, whether that be the same day or a week later, the
board is put back into place, the tree slipped into the central
notch, the earth shovelled in, and there the tree stands just where
it is wanted. In setting an orchard of any size it is necessary to
have several of these planting boards, and care should be taken
to see that they are all exactly alike.

Another method which the writer has used with great satis-
faction and which is particularly good when the trees are a
4

ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

considerable distance apart, is to begin at one corner of the field,
as suggested above, and run a row of stakes along each of the four
sides. This establishes the end tree in each row. Then take a
gang of three men to set the rest of the stakes. One man sights in
one direction, another in the other direction and the third man

Fig. 14.— Staking off

id by means of two measuring boards.

sets the stakes. He is " waved " into position by the two
sighters as each stake is set and very soon gets it in the proper
spot.

(or---

Fig. 15. — Planting board for locating tree in setting. See also Figure 19.

Heeling In. — When the trees arrive they should be heeled in
at some spot convenient to the orchard site, usually on the site
itself (Fig. 16). This heeling in should be done with a good
deal of care, the bundles of trees being opened and the earth
worked carefully in among the roots and tramped down solid.

HEELING IN

In some cases it is worth while even to water them, especially
if they are to stand here long before setting. The writer em-
phasizes this matter because he has so often seen trees heeled in
carelessly without opening the bundles and without tramping
the soil down carefully, with the result that the air passing
down through the centre of the bundles would circulate freely
among the roots and dry them out so as to weaken seriously, or
even kill outright, a good many trees.

nursery stock. This should be done very carefully to prevent the
roots drying out.

Where trees arrive in bad condition from drying in transit,
they should be taken to a brook or to a pond and soaked for a
day or two, if possible having the whole tree under water. It is
surprising what this will do for even the worst cases.

Another thing to guard against at the time of heeling in is
damage from mice. They will frequently gain entrance to a
bundle of trees, particularly if the trees are stored near the
house, and girdle eveiy tree in the bundle. Where mice are
plentiful enough to be troublesome in this way, they should be
guarded against by putting a pen about the spot where the trees

52 ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

are heeled in. A board ten or twelve inches wide will answer
the purpose.

Working Out the Plan. — In actual orchard operations the
entire field is usually not staked off before the digging of the

Fig. 17. — A load of nursery trees ready for the setting gang. The barrels are half full
of water, which insures the trees arriving at the hole in good condition.

Fig. 18. — Gang of men setting trees. The men work in pairs and the foreman distributes

holes and setting of the trees is begun. A method which the
writer has used on a fairly large orchard with entire satisfaction
is the following: The setting gang consists of from six to ten

WHEN TO PLANT 53

men and a foreman. After the first two lines of stakes have
been set (the base line and the one at right angles to it), and
after some start has been made in locating the stakes with the
measuring boards, which preliminary work can be done most
economically by about three men, this gang goes into the field
and is divided as follows : Two men continue setting stakes, the
foreman and one man go after trees, and the balance of the gang
begin digging holes.

The foreman and his assistant go to the spot where the trees
are heeled in. They have a stone boat on which are mounted two
barrels, which are half full of water, and the stone boat drawn
by a single horse (Fig. 17). The trees are pulled out and the
roots trimmed by taking off any broken roots and cutting back
any long, straggling ones. Then the tree is put into one of the
barrels. This insures the tree arriving at the hole in the best
possible condition with its roots thoroughly wet. When both
barrels are full, the horse is driven out to the spot where setting
is to begin, and the men who are staking off and those who are
digging holes, all '' knock off " and go to setting (Fig. 18). The
foreman distributes the trees and the men divide into pairs, one
man doing the shovelling and the other setting the tree. If the
subsoil is poor, it is best when the hole is dug, to put the surface
soil in one pile and the subsoil in another. Then when the tree
is set the surface soil may be used about the roots and thus give
the. tree a better soil in which to start growth. The tree should
be set perhaps an inch or two deeper than it stood in the nurserj',
and the soil should be worked in among the roots and then very
firmly tramped down (Figs. 19 and 20). This last is extremely
important, as it not only keeps the soil from drying out but it
brings the soil in intimate contact with the roots so that they
can start growth better.

When to Plant. — The question of fall vs. spring planting
ought to be mentioned here. There are three distinct advantages
of fall planting; first, the planter is almost certain to get the
varieties that he wants because he is compelled to order so early ;
second, the trees are ready to start gTOwth early in the spring;
and third, it gets just so much work out of the way of the
" spring rush." This last is of varjdng importance according

ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

Fio. 19. — Ready to set a two year apple tree. The tree is set a little deeper than it stood
in the nursery.

Fig. 20. — Same tree as shown in Figure 19, set.

to the man and the farm. On many farms the autumn " rush "
is fully as virulent as the spring one.

The chief objection to autumn planting is that the trees have

HIGH HEADING 55

to be dug so early, in order to insure their getting to the orchard
man on time, that the nurseryman may be tempted into digging
them before they are mature enough for the leaves to di'op
naturally. The leaves must therefore be stripped, and the
stripped tree is not so good as one which loses its leaves
naturally, because it is robbed of much plant food which the
leaves would have supplied had they been allowed to remain on
the trees. Stripping the leaves too early exposes the immature
buds and uncalloused leaf scars to the weather. There is the
additional objection to autumn planting that, since the roots are
not well established in the soil, the tree can not witlistand un-
favorable winter conditions so well. Alternate freezing and
thawing during variable weather is likely to make trouble,
particularly if the soil is at all heavy.

The chief advantages of spring planting are that the grower
gets his trees in better condition and that the danger from winter
injury is avoided. The main objection to spring planting is that
it is likely to be delayed until too late in the season. In the
writer's experience the ideal time to set trees is just as early in
the spring as the soil is in good condition to work.

Pruning after Setting. — After the tree is set it must be
pruned (Fig. 21). If it is a one year whip this pruning con-
sists merely in cutting it off or heading it at the height desired.
Just what this height shall be will vary greatly with different
men. The writer is very strongly in favor of a decidedly low
head. The trees which he, himself, has set have been headed all
the way from two feet to six inches but principally at eighteen
inches. The height ought undoubtedly to vary with the variety
(Fig. 22). Such very drooping varieties as the Rhode Island
Greening apple, for example, ought certainly to be headed as
high as two feet and might perhaps be headed considerably higher,
while with such very upright varieties as the Sutton apple and
the Wickson plum there is no particular excuse for having any
trunk at all.

High Heading. — As the writer has heard the matter pre-
sented, the principal arguments for a high head are as follows :

ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

1. That it makes it easier to cultivate about tlie trees. There
is probably something in this argument but it has never seemed
very strong. To begin with, the advocates of a high head
exaggerate the difficulty of cultivating about a low headed tree.
The branches of a high headed tree tend to come out more nearly
at right angles so that they droop easily as they become heavy
with the weight of a crop, while the branches of a low headed

-Same tree as shown in figures 19
and 20 after pruning.

Fig. 22. — Pruning a one-year "whip." The
tree is cut off at whatever height it is desired
to form the head..

tree tend to take an upward slant so that they are not so much
in the way as might be expected, and they do not bend so easily
with their load of fruit. Then, too, the situation is very different
with the modern extension implements from what it was when it
was necessary for the team to get close up to the trunk of the
tree. Moreover it does not make very much difference to the tree
whether every weed is taken out from about the trunk or not. The

HIGH HEADING

feeding roots of large trees are not there to any extent, but are
out some little distance from the trunk.

2. The second argument for a high head is that there is less
breakage from snow. This is a sound argimient and in those
sections where deep snows are liable to occur and drift over the
trees the heads ought to be higher.

3. The third argument for the high head is that there are
less culls than ^dth the low head, because in the latter, the lower
branches are so close to the
ground that they do not get
enough light and air to pro-
duce fine fruit. There may
be some truth in this, but it
has never seemed to the writer
that it was a very serious mat-
ter. The fruit on the lower
branches of any tree is not so
good as that from the higher
branches, and there has not
seemed to be a very great
difference between that from
low headed and that from
high headed trees.

4. An argument which has
been advanced in New Eng-
land, and perhaps it may be
used elsewhere, is that trees
ought to be headed high in
order to escape the deer. It
seems singular that such an argument should even be suggested
seriously but it has been quite frequently offered where States are
cursed with laws which protect the deer at the expense of the
farmers. Damage from deer is a very live question with the
writer, for he has seen over two thousand fruit trees, principally
apple, either killed outright or so badly damaged that they had
to be replaced. But deer damage is an argument for changing
representatives in the Legislature and not for heading the fruit
trees higher.

Fig. 23. — An extreme rase of high heading.
Most work in the orchard costs more with
8uch trees than with low headed trees.

58 ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

Low Heading. — Turning now to the arguments for the low
headed tree we have the following:

1. There is less damage from winds. This would apply to
mature trees where in summer the number of windfalls and in
winter danger of damage from ice-storm would be reduced. It
would also apply to the young trees. A tree such as is shown in
Figure 23 will be much more liable to damage from winds than
such a tree as is shown in Figure 24.

2. There is less danger from sun-scald. In some sections this
trouble is very serious, in others it seldom occurs. In the former
sections low heads ought always to be used.

3. Spraying can be done more cheaply and much more
thoroughly. This latter is especially important in sections where
the San Jose scale is abundant, but it counts with any spraying.

4. Pruning can be done more cheaply and easily.

5. It is easier and cheaper to harvest the fruit. As soon as
a man has to use a ladder to do liis work he adds to the expense
of the operation, whatever it may be. The longer the ladder the
greater the expense. AVith low headed peach trees all the pick-
ing can be done from the ground, and with apples, a great part
of it (Fig. 24).

6. In extreme eases, like the tree shown in Figure 23, and to
a less extent in less extreme cases, the fruiting of the tree is
delayed when the head is raised because the oldest branches are
the lowest ones and these are removed to raise the head.

Several other minor arguments are used by the enthusiastic
advocates of low heads, but the foregoing are the most important
and seem to justify fully the practice. The one argument of
ease and cheapness of doing the work on the trees is in itself
enough to settle the question. Of course, it does not necessarily
follow that a tree headed high will be allowed to continue its
growth high, but this is usually the ease. The man who wants
his trees headed low usually sees to it that the leaders are kept
reasonably low.

Planting Distances. — There are several general questions
which will perhaps come here as well as elsewhere. The first
of these is the matter of the proper distance apart for the trees.

PLANTING DISTANCES 59

Of course there are almost innumerable factors which influence
this, the most important being the kind of trees, the individual
taste of the owner, the soil and the method of pruning to be
adopted.

Some varieties of apples make large trees and some never
attain much size. The Spy or the Baldwin, for example, want
more room than the Palmer Greening and the Wagener.

Some soils will grow large trees of a certain variety while on
other soils the same variety is relatively small. The orchard
shown in Figure 108, for example, is a block of Baldwins prob-
ably not far from thirty years old. They are planted at 33
feet apart and yet there is plenty of rcom for them. They
will never make large trees.

Fig. 24. — A low headed, five-year-nld, i.i 1 r( i I t i-- rn r « ,.s lir ,,!,>! ii six inches.

The kind of pruning also makes a great difference. If the
owner plans to give the trees free range they will need far more
room than if he practises more or less repressive pruning.

When all these points are considered the following are about
the average distances recommended :

Apples 30 to 40 feet

Pears 20 to 30 feet

Peaches 13 to 20 feet

Plums 15 to 20 feet

Cherries 15 to 25 feet

Quinces 8 to 12 feet

ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

Number per Acre. — The following table gives the number of
trees per acre that can be set at the distances given. If one
wishes to ascertain how many trees can be planted on an acre

Fig. 25. Fxq. 26.

^^g^

Q^P

p^^

■fl^ '™

ra 4iy

.„

■HI

■

■k

1 ^1

||H

■

^^hl^

•i^s- ._.

■

HBAw.

__J

Fig. 25. — An apple tree with a medium head, about thirty inches. This ia a good height
for many varieties, though the writer prefers a somewhat lower head.
Fig. 26. — A poor fork on a Ben Davis apple tree. Such a fork is almost certain to
split down as soon as the tree begins to bear heavy crops. The two side branches should
have been cut off earlier.

at other distances than those given, multiply the number of feet
that the rows are apart by the distance apart of the trees in the
row and then divide 43,560 by the product obtained.

8X8 feet— 680
8 X 10 feet— 544

8 X 12 feet — 453
10 X 10 feet— 435
10 X 12 feet— 363
10 X 20 feet— 217

16 X 32 feet— 85
20 X 20 feet— 108
20 X 30 feet— 72
20 X 40 feet— 54
25 X 25 feet— 69

12 feet— 302

20 feet— 181

15 feet— 193

1",

20 feet— 145

30 feet— 96

16 feet— 170

20 feet— 136

feet-

■ 58

feet-

feet— 48

feet-

feet— 36

feet-

feet—

KINDS TO USE AS FILLERS 61

Orchard Fillers. — The question of the use of " fillers " in the
orchard is a vexed one, A filler is a temporary tree, usually a
small and early bearing one, which is planted between the per-
manent trees and removed (sometimes) when it begins to crowd
them. Most men have very definite opinions on the filler, either
condemning it altogether or favoring it with equal decision.
The matter simply narrows down to this, or it ought to : If a ni8,n
can make more money out of growing fillers in the orchard than
he can out of any other crop, then they are the best crop to grow.
If beans or potatoes or cabbages will bring him more money, then
he should grow these crops and not fillers.

The chief objection urged against the use of fillers in the
orchard is that they are not cut out as soon as they should be.
The owner holds onto them from year to year in order to get a
revenue from them. If they have not borne much fruit he feels
that he must hold onto them until they come into bearing and he
" gets his money out of them." If they are bearing well then
he feels that he simply cannot destroy the source of so much
income. Now while the writer is strongly in favor of the filler
system for his own use and believes that it ought to be possible
for a man to cut the fillers out in season, yet there is no question
that the method does often fail.

This filler question is in exactly the same class as the sod-
mulch question. Where either one is well carried out it gives
good results, but both of them tempt the owoier to do what is not
for the best interest of the orchard, in the one case by hauling off
the hay and in the other by holding onto the fillers. As most of us
yield to temptations, it is best not to put any extra ones in our
own. paths unless we are pretty sure that we can resist them. The
man who keeps stock ought not to have a sod orchard, and the
man who can not bring himself to prune a tree severely enough
or to thin fruit " because it is such a waste " had better not try
the filler system.

Kinds to Use as Fillers. — But for the man who can and will
handle it rightly, it is a good system. If a man is going to use
fillers he is most likely to be successful ii' he uses for the purpose

ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

COST OF THE YOUNG ORCHARD 63

a tree which very closely resembles his permanent tree in its
needs, which comes into bearing early, and which makes a small
tree (Fig. 27). This means that peaches make the best fillers
for peach orchards and apples for apple orchards. Many people
make light of this point but others consider it a decidedly practi-
cal one. Here is an illustration of the evil effects of mixing
species in setting an orchard: An apple orchard was set and
peaches were used for fillers. All went well until the peaches
were damaged severely one winter. Then it became desirable to
help the peaches to recover and the orchard was therefore given
an application of nitrate of soda, which brought them out in
good condition. But the apple trees did not need this extra
nitrogen. They were just coming nicely into bearing, but they at
once stopped producing fruit and began to produce wood. It
was years before they recovered from the extra stimulus and
went to bearing again.

Now we may say that the owner was foolish; that he should
have done what was best for his permanent trees and let his
peach trees go. But it is human nature to try to take care of
what is producing a revenue and it is certainly a weak spot in
any system, whether it be orcharding or municipal politics,
which requires a man to do otherwise.

Cost of the Young Orchard. — It may be well to say a word
here in reference to the cost of establishing an orchard. Of
course this can be only suggestive, as expenses vary greatly with
different men and different sections and different years. The
following figures are from the writer's actual experience in
starting an orchard. They are by no means complete and leave
out many factors, such as interest and taxes, which ought to be
included. They may be helpful, however, and are introduced
merely with that hope and with the distinct realization by the
writer that they can be only suggestive.

64 ESTABLISHING THE ORCHARD

Cost per acre of establishing and maintaining an orchard for five years.

FIRST TEAB

1. Trees— 108 @ 15 cents $16.20

2. Fitting land, setting and pruning trees 6.48

3. Fertilizing 1-60

4. Cultivating 4.50

5. Cover crop — buckwheat seed and sowing 1.00

6. Clearing away trash from trees in autumn to prevent

mice damage -50

$30.28

SECOND YEAR

1. Pruning $2.50

2. Fertilizing (same as lirst year except double the

nitrogen ) 1.75

3. Fitting the land with disc 3.G0

4. Cultivation 4.50

5. Hoeing 1.00

6. Cover crop — cow horn turnips .75

7. Clearing away trash in autumn .50

$14.60

THIRD YEAR

1. Pruning $3.00

2. Fertilizing — double second year 3.50

3. Fitting the land 3.60

4. Cultivating 4.50

5. Hoeing 1-00

G. Spraying for San Jose scale 4.10

7. Cover crop 1-00

8. Clearing away trash ••''0

$21.20

FOURTH TEAB

Total cost only slightly more than third year.

FIFTH YEAR

1. Pruning $4.50

2. Fertilizing 5.25

3. Fitting the land 3.60

4. Cultivating 4.50

5. Hoeing 1.00

C. Spraying 5-25

7. Cover crop — crimson clover 1.20

$25.30

QUESTIONS 65

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the preparation of the land for an orchard.

2. Describe three general methods of arranging the trees in an orchard.

3. Give the details of a good method of laying off an orchard.

4. What is a "planting board," and how is it helpful?

5. Describe the operation of heeling in trees.

(5. Give the argiunents on "fall vs. spring" planting.

7. Give the main arguments in favor of high heading of orchard trees.

8. What are the arguments in favor of low heading?

9. What orchards in your section would you classify as high headed?

What low headed ?

10. Give some idea of the best planting distances for different orchard trees.

11. Discuss the use of "fillers" in an orchard.

12. Give some idea of cost of starting a young orchard in your own section.

CHAPTER V

CROPPING THE ORCHARD

One of the questions which comes home very forcibly to the
man who attempts to develop an orchard of any size is that of
growing companion crops in the orchard while it is young. Shall
this be done and if so what crops shall be used? The idea of
such a crop is to help defray the cost of the orchard, and con-
sequently it must either be a crop, such as mangels or turnips,

Fig. 28. — Late potatoes in a young pc;

which can be used profitably by the owner on the farm, or else
it must be a crop such as beans or soybeans, which can be dis-
posed of for cash. The general farmer who keeps stock has,
therefore, a distinct advantage over the orchard specialist in the
choice of these companion crops, because a number of the best
of them are such as "wall work in very nicely with the plans for
feeding stock or keeping dairy cows.

For several years, say four or five as a rule, it is greatly to
the advantage of the young trees if the orchard i,^ cropped, pro-

THE IDEAL COMPANION CROP

vided, of course, that the proper crops are chosen. This is espe-
cially true on general farms where there are other crops than
the orchard to compete for the time of men and teams. If the
potato field is in the orchard, both are cultivated together, and
the trees are not only well cultivated, but receive the benefit of
the fertilizer left over from the potato crop (Fig. 28). On the
other hand, if the potato field is in one place and the orchard is in
another, the potatoes frequently get the cultivation when labor
is scarce, while the cultivation of the orchard is either deferred

Fig. 29. — Soybeans as a companion crop. This is one of the best cropaf or a young orchard,
enriching the land and usually giving profitable returns.

to a more convenient time or omitted altogether, because the
farmer knows that he will get no crop if his potatoes are not
cultivated while his trees will do something even with verj^ in-
different culture.

The ideal companion crop would have the following char-
acteristics, and though the ideal does not exist Ave can frequently
come fairly close to it:

1. The crop must be profitable, either because it can be sold
for cash or because it can be fed with profit to the stock on the
farm (Pig. 29). This point, of course, is imperative. The list

68 CROPPING THE ORCHARD

of crops which are admissible will vary greatly with the owner's
circumstances. As already suggested the farm on which stock
is kept can profitably use a number of crops which can not be
grown on the special fruit farm. And these crops happen to be
among the most satisfactory in their relation to the orchard.
The man who is in the trucking business, or w^ho is so situated
that he can handle truck crops, has another large selection of
crops wliich are almost ideal so far as the orchard is concerned,
but these crops can not usually be growTi in sections far from
markets. It follows then that the orchard specialist has the
smallest number of companion crops from which to choose.

2. The crop should be one wliich requires cultivation. There
is absolutely no question about this unless it be in the case of
crops sown late in the season which are really cover crops rather
than companion crops. This matter of cultivation is a point
frequently overlooked by men who grow crops in their orchards,
but we are speaking of the ideal crops now. And the more
thorough the cultivation which is required by the crop the better
for the orchard.

3. It ought to be a crop which does not require late stirring
of the soil, say in August or September. September work is
particularly objectionable. The philosophy of this point will be
seen on a moment's reflection, and the importance of it has been
demonstrated to the writer over and over again, though always,
he is glad to say, by other people. The young trees make their
growth early in the season and by August, and still more by
September, they are " sobering down " and thickening their
cells and beginning to get ready for winter. Now suppose one is
growing such a crop as early potatoes for example. Just at the
point where the trees want quiet the owner comes in with his
gang of men or his potato digger and gives the soil the most
thorough working it has had since the spring plowing. The re-
sult is that the trees are urged into new growth, new food is
made available for them and they go merrily forward till cold
weather comes on and checks them short. There is no time
then to prepare for the more severe weather which follows and
consequently the cambium or growing layer, between the bark

THE IDEAL COMPANION CROP 69

and wood, is soft and tender and no more able to resist freezing
than a potato or a turnip. It is therefore killed outright or
severely damaged and the next year the trees, though they may
leaf out, will be found in a very bad condition. Many of them
will probably die, and others might as well do so, for they will
be so badly crippled as to be of little value.

4. The companion crop should be one which does not take
from the soil exactly the same food elements as the trees them-
selves require. This is aimed especially at nursery stock, wliich
for several reasons is a peculiarly objectionable crop, but it

I'iG. 30. — Pea-beans as an orchard crop. This is another excellent crop from the stand-
point of the orchard.

probably applies with more or less force to all fruit crops. Of
course this is a difficulty which can be obviated to a certain
extent by applying extra fertilizer, but it is far better to choose
some other crop.

5. It should be an annual crop. Anj'one who has ever
attempted to crop an orchard with even a biennial crop like
strawberries, or still worse with a perennial one like raspberries,
will appreciate the importance of tliis point. Cross-cultivation
is usually entirely prevented after the first year, the block grows
more and more weedy and the trees in the block show more and
more distinctly the handicap under which they are working, till

70 CROPPING THE ORCHARD

very soon one may easily pick out, at a considerable distance, the
section of the orchard where the perennial crop is located by the
small size of the trees and the light color of their leaves. Of
course it is possible by extra effort in the way of hand labor, and
by extra fertilizing with good barn manure, to overcome to a
certain extent the bad effects of the crop, but these are expensive
methods to use and to a very large extent they take away any
profit which might accrue from the crop. Usually they are not
even attempted. It is much better to use an annual crop which
is cleared off the land each year and which thus allows of
thorough preparation of the soil each spring.

6. Lastly, and least important, though still well worth con-
sidering, the crop should be one which makes its growth at some
other time than that in which the orchard makes its most vigorous
growth. This is one reason why beans, for example, are to be
preferred to currants. The beans are not planted until the trees
are at the height of their growth, and they do not begin to draw at
all heavily on the soil moisture and plant food until the trees
have come to a point where they can easily and even advan-
tageously spare a part of both moisture and plant food. The
currants, on the other hand, come along at precisely the same
time as the trees and compete with them step by step for both
fertility and water.

Area Reserved for Trees. — It ought to be said, before going
farther, that in any scheme of cropping the orchard a certain
portion of land must be reserved for the exclusive use of the
trees. This will vary with different crops and with the age of
the trees, but as a rule a strip six or eight feet wide along each
row of trees should be reserved the first year and this should be
enlarged year by year as the trees grow.

Lists of Companion Crops. — With the above requirements in
mind the writer has chosen the following list of companion crops
and has attempted to arrange them under three classes— good,
bad and indifferent. They are also arranged in the different
sections roughly in the order of their value from the standpoint
of the orchard, the most objectionable ones coming last.

GOOD COMPANION CROPS

Good Companion Crops. — 1. Beans. — Any variety will be
satisfactofv to the orchard, but especially the white pea-bean.
The soybean is also admirable. There is "almost no objec-
tion to these crops. They are usually profitable, are sown late,
add nitrogen to the soil, and no damage arises from their use.
"When removed from the orchard the root s^^stems are usually
left in the soil, which adds both humus and nitrogen.

2. Squash is another excellent crop, coming along Avith a
rush late in the season when the orchard ought to "sober
down," never competing with the trees, and frequently iTiving

FiG.31.— Rqui 1 1 111

of the orchard and uhtrc

rd crop. They arc an cxiclknt t rop from the standpoiht
he o-nner can handle thtm rightlj are usually profitable. i

good financial returns. It can be marketed in a wholesale way,
which is not true of all crops and which is frequently a decided
advantage to the orchard owner (Fig. 31).

3. Cahhage. — This is another decidedly satisfactory com-
panion crop. It usually commands a fair price and can be
Ihandled in car-load lots if the orchard is of some size. It is
nearly ideal so far as its effect on the trees is concerned. The
only objection to it is that it requires cultivation later than the
trees do, but if the strip already spoken of is reserved there is
usually no trouble.

CROPPING THE ORCHARD

4. Turnips and Mangels. — These are both excellent crops
from the standpoint of the orchard, but of course are not
" cash " crops as a rule and must usually be restricted to the
man who keeps stock. It might be possible in some cases to
grow them for a neighbor who keeps stock, but generally they
must be fed on the place.

5. Late Potatoes. — The writer would bar out early potatoes,
unless a very wide strip is reserved along the tree rows, which is

-Potatoes in a bearing apple orchard. They make a Rood orchard crop, but in this
case are planted too close to the trees.

an unnecessary waste of land. But late potatoes are dug so late
in the season that they do not tend to prolong the growth of the
trees and they are generally a profitable and satisfactory crop.
They require good cultivation and high fertilizing and it is
rare that they do not show a reasonable profit (Fig. 32).

6. Truck Crops, such as spinach, beets, peas, and carrots,
are all good crops and if handled carefully will generally give

FAIRLY SATISFACTORY CROPS 73

fine results. They need good land and good cultivation, which
help out the orchard trees. One difficulty mth them which
ought to be guarded against by the orchard owner is the fact
that they usually require a good deal of barn manure and other
forms of nitrogen, and it is a very easy matter to get the land too
rich for the best interest of the young trees. It would probably
be better not to use them year after year in the same block of
orchard but to practise rotation of crops, following truck crops
with squash and this with beans.

7. Corn. — There is some prejudice against corn, and perhaps
rightly, because it is a rank feeder and is likely to get more than
its share of food and moisture ; also because its great height tends
to shade the young trees. But if it is not grown too close to the
trees and if the rows are run north and south so that the sun can
get at the trees when its power is greatest, the objections will
usually be overcome, and the writer knows from experience that
it may work out satisfactorily. It is a crop that is usually profit-
able. If the farm is an orchard proposition pure and simple, the
grain from corn can be fed to teams on the place and even the fod-
der may be used in this way in winter, if there is no winter work
for the teams. Probably it would be better to restrict this crop
to popcorn or to flint varieties which do not make tall stalks, and
it is perhaps better not to grow corn after the third year of the
orchard, though there are many exceptions to these suggestions.

8. Buckwheat. — This is really a combination cover crop and
companion crop, but is included here because it is a reasonably
satisfactory money crop to be grown in the orchard. Of course,
in order to get the money out of it one has to cut the crop and
remove it from the orchard, which is strictly against the rules
for a cover crop. But that is something the grower has to learn
to do *' when necessary," if he is going to run an orchard. The
difficult thing to learn is when it is necessary.

Fairly Satisfactory Crops.^9. Currants and Gooseberries,
if the bushes are set in rows both w^ays to allow for cultivation,
are often quite satisfactory. The fact that they are perennial
and that they make their growth each season at exactly the same
time as the orchard is the chief objection to them. But they re-

CROPPING THE ORCHARD

quire good culture and fertilizing if they are to be profitable,
which makes them acceptable to the young trees. They do not
spread, which makes them at least less objectionable than some
other crops.

10. Strmvherrics. — For young orchards, where there is still
plenty of room, these are not bad (Fig. 33). But they tie up the
land for tAVO years at least, and with many growers much longer
than that. They can not be cross-cultivated, so that the tree

^^jKife«iss&?5»tii:^ai^aeffiiEA.'r

1 r< ; ; — ^Tr i« 1)( rrirs in a voiinK peach orchard. They make a fairly good crop for
verj juuiiy urchards, but iuterlere with crosa-cultivation, as they occupy the land at least
two J ears.

rows are apt to become foul with weeds and the trees to show
the lack of thorough cultivation by the second year. If the
beds are held for more than one crop of berries, the damage to
the trees is very markedly increased. Personally the writer
would not use strawberries except during the first and second
years of the orchard and even then there are many other crops
to be preferred. A great point in favor of strawberries is the
fact that they generally pay well. This is something that will be
appreciated by the man who tries to develop a good sized orchard.

POOR COMPANION CROPS 75

The question of the advisability of growing strawberries in an
orchard practically narrows down to whether the orchard is
to be intensively cultivated or not. If it is, then with a little
extra work the tree rows can be kept clean. On the other hand,
if the owner wants to manage the orchard with as little labor as
possible he will almost certainly fail to keep it even reasonably
clean with strawberries growing in it.

11. Asparagus is not often used and has the serious objection
that it must stand in the orchard for a number of years, yet
cases are occasionally seen where it is used with very good
success.

Poor Companion Crops. — 12. Raspberries and blackberries
ought practically to be debarred as orchard crops. The long
period that they have to stand, the difficulty or impossibility of
cross-cultivation, and the fact that they sucker so freely are the
chief objections. These can be overcome by hand labor, by barn
manure, and by the free use of other fertilizers. Ordinarily,
however, it is the young trees that are overcome and not the
difficulties.

13. Nursery Stock. — The growing of this crop in the orchard
is seldom practised and almost always with regret so far as its
effect on the orchard trees is concerned. It grows at exactly the
same time as the young orchard trees, takes out the same fertilizer
elements, and uses moisture at the same time. And it usually
stands two or three years. On the whole it is much better to put
the nursery somewhere else.

14. Grains of all kinds should be strictly i*uled out. They
have only one redeeming feature and that is that they are annual
crops. But they are not cultivated, they prevent cross-cultivation
of the trees, they rob the trees of moisture, and the part of the
orchard where they are grown will always show the injurious
effects, at the time and frequently for several years after.

15. Hay. — Never use it. It is the last crop in our list and is
placed there because it is regarded as " the limit." There are
a few sod enthusiasts who claim to be, and proba])ly are, success-
ful in starting young trees in sod. But most growers, even
though they resort to sod later oix, start their trees under culti-

76 CROPPING THE ORCHARD

vation. Hay competes at every step with the yo.ung trees, robbing
them of moisture and plant food when they most need them, and
providing excellent conditions for injurious insects of various
kinds, and when the hay is harvested the trees are liable to all
sorts of accidents from the mowing machine, the rake, and the
hay wagons. If you are tempted to use hay, by all means resist
the temptation !

QUESTIONS

1. What are the characteristics of an ideal companion crop for the

orchard ?

2. How many years should such crops be used in the orchard?

3. How should the land along the tree rows be treated?

Discuss each of the following as companion crops for orchards:

4. Beans. 12. Currants and gooseberries.

5. Squash. 13. Strawberries.

6. Cabbage. 14. Asparagus.

7. Turnips and mangels. 15. Raspberries and blackberries.
' 8. Potatoes. 16. Nursery stock.

9. Truck crops. 17. Grains.

10. Corn. 18. Hay.

11. Buckwheat.

CHAPTER VI

ORCHARD CULTURE

Three Methods. — Having set out the orchard the next ques-
tion to be decided is what type of culture it is to receive. On
this point orchard men are divided into three camps : First, there
are a few men like Mr. Grant Hitchings, of New York, and Mr.
A. A, Marshall, of Fitchburg, IMassachusetts, who practise what
may be called ' ' sod culture, ' ' that is all the grass grown in the
orchard is simply cut and allowed to lie on the land as a mulch.
Of coui-se this mulch becomes thicker year by year, forming a
better and better protection against the loss of moisture by
evaporation and as it decays adding humus to the soil.

Second, there are the men who practise clean cultivation of
the soil. By far the greatest number of really successful orchard-
ists belong to this class. There are endless variations in the
method as practised by different men, but the main features
would be plowing the orchard in the spring, clean cultivation
up to mid-summer, and then seeding down to a cover crop.

Lastly, there is a very large class who have their orchards
in sod but who can not, by any stretch of the imagination, be said
to practise sod culture. They simply have their orchards in
hayfields. Perhaps it is only fair to add that there are a few
men who have their orchards on relatively heavy land and who
practise generous fertilizing who are quite successful in raising
both hay and apples on the same land. But their conditions and
their characters are so exceptional that it is dangerous to even
mention them.

Methods Vary with Conditions. — There is no question what-
ever that the type of culture Avhich it is best to adopt varies
with conditions. Under most conditions cultivation will most
emphatically give the best results (Fig. 34). And yet there are
enough orchards where sod culture is practised to show that it
can be made successful. And there are many cases where cultiva-

ORCHARD CULTURE

tion is out of the question and where sod culture must be adopted
because it is the only rational method that will fit the circum-
stances. The great difficulty is that this method, to be most
successful, requires not only peculiar soil conditions but still
more a peculiar type of man, and it is rare that one finds both
the man and the conditions on the same farm.

However, the question is not by any means settled, and
therefore it is important to sum up the points in favor of each
of these methods as advanced by their advocates.

Fig. 34. — Clean cultivation in an old renovator! orchard . With most men and under most
conditions cultivation will gh e the best results.

Sod Culture. — For sod culture the principal arguments
advanced are :

1. It is not so expensive a method of caring for the soil. This
is certainly correct, as the only expense is the cutting of the
grass in the orchard once or twice a year (Fig. 35). But unless
it can be shown that with this less expense the grower gets the
same or nearly the same net returns this is not a very strong
argument.

2. The fruit will keep longer. This would apply to apples
and pears in particular, and is probably also true. The fruit

SOD CULTURE"

is usually smaller than that grown under cultivation, which
means a more solid Hesh that naturally does not break down so
soon. While keeping quality is not so important as it was when
storage facilities were poorer, still it is certainly worth
considering.

3. The fruit is more highly colored. Probably this will hold
good as a general rule because the tree under sod culture is
likely to ripen up more quickly and the fruit is therefore given

Fia. 35. — Mowing the grass in a sod orchard. The difficulty comes in resisting the temp-
tation to rake it and put it in the barn.

earlier in the season the maturity which favors coloring in the
autumn. Cultivated orchards sometimes are given too late culti-
vation or otherwise supplied with too much nitrogen, which
favors late growth and consequently poor color. Also the foliage
on trees that are cultivated is usually more dense, which in itself
will retard coloring by keeping off the sun.

4. Trees can be headed lower when grown in sod. This may
or may not be true. If the reasons for low heading already
given are accepted, it probably makes little difference whether

80 ORCHARD CULTURE

the trees are in sod or are cultivated. But with the commonly
accepted notions about cultivation and height of heading, the
contention is probably correct. Few people who have done the
work in an orchard fail to realize the value of the low tree.

5. There is less washing on side hills. This is an argument
that appeals to the writer more strongly than almost any other.
There are thousands of acres all through the best apple growing
sections of the United States on land which is too steep to admit
of cultivation on account of the washing of the soil. If these
lands are to be used for orchards, and they are frequently better
adapted to orcharding than to any other purpose, they must
be kept in sod.

6. The land is in better condition for the spring spraying
and pruning. In sections where a spring spraying is necessary,
as with San Jose scale, and where the weather of spring is
variable, as it is in most orchard countries, this is really an im-
portant advantage and will appeal to the man who has slopped
about in the mud in either spraying or pruning. It would not in
itself justify one in adopting the sod method, but it certainly
deserves some weight. It is sufficiently difficult to get really
satisfactoiy work in either pruning or spraying, and anything
that will assist will be welcomed by the man who has had
experience along these lines.

7. The windfalls are kept in better condition. This is not of
much importance with winter apples, but with early varieties and
with pears it is frequently of decided importance. ]\Ien who
have sod-mulch orchards claim that their windfalls are practically
as valuable as the hand picked fruit and while the writer does
not accept this view entirely he does believe that a good soft
mulch is a great help.

Some other claims are made, but those mentioned are really
the most important ones. Those which seem to have the most
weight are the prevention of washing on hillsides, the fact that
the fruit is likely to have better color and to keep longer, and
that the expense of caring for the orchard is less. Of course
the advocates of cultivation attempt to demolish tliis last argu-
ment by calling the sod method a cheap affair anyway and by

CULTIVATION 81

claiming' that their nietliod gives so luueli more fruit that the\-
can afford to have the extra expense.

Cultivation. — Now let us look at the ai'auiiients which are
advanced in favor of cultivation :

1. It conserves soil moisture better. It is difficult to see
how any reasonable man can doubt this. The sod advocates
attempt to offset it by saying that the sod will so much more
effectively prevent the rains from running- off that they can
afford to lose some moisture, but this argument does not quite
" hold water " when put to a test. As a matter of fact several
of the arguments in favor of sod, such as better color and better
keeping quality, are based directly on the fact that the sod
orchard does not have as much moisture. When one remembers
how all-important moisture is to the orchard and how frequently
fruit and trees are damaged from the lack of it, he can appreciate
the importance of the moisture argument as advanced by the
cultivation men. It seems to be the very backbone of the cultiva-
tion side of the controversy. Witli light soils of poor water-
holding capacity, this one argument seems about all that it is
necessary to produce. The soils and locations are relatively few
where lack of moisture does not, at some time during the year,
interfere with the best development of a crop of fruit.

2. It renders soil fertility more available ; or perhaps we
should reverse that and say it renders more soil fertility avail-
able. It does this by letting in the air and moisture and
generally by keeping the soil conditions favorable for chemical
and bacterial action. This is a point not always conceded, but
the arguments for cultivation seem very conclusive. With the
high cost of fertility it is certainly a strong argument.

3. Cultivation permits the use of legiiminous cover crops to
furnish nitrogen for the orchard. This is also a strong argument
and one not easily disproved. It is quite possible through such
crops as clovers and soybeans to add all the nitrogen necessary
to an orchard soil. Since nitrogen is by far the highest priced
element in fertilizers, a method that " works while you sleep "
is certainly welcome to the man who pays the bills. The only
chance for the sod-culture orchardist in this direction is the

ORCHARD CULTURE

use of clovers in seeding down and these do not as a rule persist
very long in the orchard sod.

4. There is less trouble in cultivated orchards from insects,
notably borers and curciilio. Take the example of a young
orchard in which many trees were found to be attacked by borers.
It was a cultivated orchard, but several sections of various sizes
had been allowed to grow up to grass and weeds; that is, had
become sod sections through poor cultivation. Without exception

the trees attacked by borers
were in these weedy patches.
With the large number of in-
sects which winter either in
the soil or in trash upon the
ground it could hardly be
otherwise than that they
should flourish best under a
management which never dis-
turbs the soil and which
keeps a constant supply of
litter to hide in. The curculio
is especially happy in a sod
orchard and the "red-bug"
seems equally so.

5. There is less danger
from mice. This is another
argument which it is difficult
for the sod-culture advocate
to disprove ; in fact he usually
frankly admits it and puts
some sort of guard about his trees to protect them. An orchard
in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, may be cited as an illustra-
tion. The owner left some grass in one corner of his orchard
one winter and the next spring every tree in the acre and a
quarter was completely girdled by mice. They were all bridge
grafted and not a tree was lost. When visited ten years after,
each tree stood on stilts, as shown in Figure 36. But one might
not be so fortunate as this in every case and even with protectors

Fig. 36. — A tree girdled by mice and saved
by bridge grafting. This ia entirely practical
and any good grafter can do the work.

METHOD OF CULTIVATION 83

there is always danger of accidents. There are sections where
mice are never troublesome, and in these localities the argument
would not hold.

6. The cultivated orchard yields more fruit. This is a diffi-
cult point to prove and probably never will be proved to the
satisfaction of the best sod-culture advocates. General observa-
tion and still more orchard surveys have shown that, with the
rank and file, cultivation gives far better yields. After all it is
the average that counts. A system may be ever so good with the
exceptional man and if it falls down with the average man it is
better not to attempt it, for most of us are " average."

7. Cultivated orchards yield larger and better apples. This
is another point w^hich will never be admitted by the sod culturist
and doubtless is not always true. But as in No. 6 it certainly is
true with the rank and file of orchard men.

Removal of Hay Crop. — There is another argument on this
question of " cultivation vs. sod culture," which seems very im-
portant and yet which is used by both sides to support their
contentions. This is the fact that most men will not leave the
hay in the orchard. The sod men say: " We are not talking
about the man who mows the grass and puts it in his bam but
about the man who cuts the grass and lets it lie in the orchard."
The advocates of cultivation say: " We admit that sod culture
gives good results when properly carried out, but what is the use
of discussing a method which only a very few men will carry out,
but in which the vast majority are doomed to failure." This
argument is the strongest one in the whole list and it is the one
which makes many good orchardists very strong believers in
cultivation. It must be admitted without argument that some
of the men who use sod in their orchards are among the most
successful growers. But for the rank and file of orchard men,
and particularly for that great section of the fruit growing
fraternity who also keep some stock, it seems much better to
" remove temptation " and not to grow any hay in the orchard.

Method of Cultivation. — If, then, we are to practise cultiva-
tion in the orchard, what methods shall we use? Stated briefly
the method most generally satisfactory is to plow the land, or

84 ORCHARD CULTURE

otherwise stir it, as early in the spring as the soil is in good
condition ; then to cultivate it frequently up to about July 1,
when the orchard is sown to some cover crop which is allowed to
remain on the land until the following spring. This seems to be
a simple program and if the proper implements are available to
work with, and attention is given to the details, there is usually
little difficulty in carrying it out. Yet there are several things,
that it is very desirable to look after carefully. To begin with,
the land ought to be plowed, and cultivation ought to be gotten
under way, just as early as possible in the spring. In fact, there
are some men who advocate and practise very late fall plowing
of the orchard.

Fall Plov/ing. — -There are several good arguments in support
of this practice. Here are some which have considerable weight.

1. Where land has been plowed in the autumn it can be
worked earlier in the spring, not only because the operation of
plowing is out of the way but because plow^ed land will dry out
more quickly. It is always desirable to get the soil in good
condition and to push the trees as early in the season as possible.
Fall plowing is particularly desirable on rather heavy soils, be-
cause it is so late in the spring before they are in proper condition
to be plowed.

2. It frequently, in fact usually, happens that there is less
w^ork for the teams in the autumn tlian in the spring. Often
it is even somewhat difficult on an orchard farm to find enough
team work in the autumn, and if even a part of the orchards can
be plowed it keeps the teams busy and gives the comfortable
assurance that at least this much work will be out of the way when
the spring rush comes on. To the man who has done his orchard
work in an office, this may not seem to be a strong argument, but
any one who really gets out and does the work, or who even
"bosses the job," will find that he frequently has to modify
his plans and theories to suit the case in hand. In particular he
will find that the problem of keeping his teams constantly at work
is by no means an easy one to solve. Too often it is solved
by allowung the teams to stand in the barn, which usually means
that the owner has not realized that there is any problem.

Disc HARROWING S5

3. Fall plowing disturbs a inimber of insects that pass the
winter in the ground. Tlie apple maggot or railroad wonn and
the spring canker worm, in particular, pass the winter in the
soil in the pupa stage, and relatively few of them will survive
if the land is fall plowed. In any case where a bad attack of
either of these insects is likely to occur it would seem that fall
plowing might be justified for this reason alone.

4. It gets the old and diseased leaves under the ground where
they will not be a source of infection for the new leaves when
they come out in the spring. In apple scab, in particular, it has
been shown that the disease passes the winter on the old leaves
and if these can be disposed of it will aid materially in the fight
for clean fruit. Where the plowing is delayed until spring most
of the leaves will be blown off the land into the adjoining grass
or hedge-rows where they will produce an abundance of spores.
If the plowing is done in the autumn the bulk of them will be
still in the orchard and will be turned under, thereby securing
just so much extra humus as well as getting rid of a prolifie
source of infection.

The two principal arguments used ag'ainst fall plowing are
that the soil is more likely to wash and that there is more danger
of injury to the roots of the trees by freezing. The first of
these is undoubtedly correct and is a sufficient reason for not
practising fall plowing in a great many cases on hillsides.
Still on many farms there are one or more blocks which do not
have slope enough to be damaged in this way and on most
farms " every little helps," especially in the spring.

On the freezing argument there is need of more light. It
"would be relatively easy, with soil thermometers, to determine
whether the ground will freeze more deeply in a plowed orchard
than in one under sod or a cover crop. If the land were har-
rowed down at all it is very doubtful if the plowed land would
allow the frost to enter any more deeply.

Disc Harrowing. — Of course it is not always necessary that
the land should be plowed. On lightish lands in particular it is
often possible to fit them in the spring with some type of disc
harrow. One of these disc harrows, if set so as to reach its
greatest depth, will stir the soil enough. Where soils can be so

86 ORCHARD CULTURE

handled it is nsiially a more expeditions method. l£ the disc
harrow is nm through the orchard in one direction and then the
land is allowed to stand a few days, to be followed by a discing
in the other direction, twice over the land will usually put it
in good condition for the spring-tooth or some other harrow.

Early Tillage Affects Moisture. — The desirability of fitting
the land as early in the spring as possible is very frequently
overlooked by the orchard man, who has on the land a crop of
clover or some other crop which lives through the winter. He
thinks that he ought to let it grow for a time in order to get
additional humus to plow under, and the temptation to get all
he can in the humus line frequently gets him into serious difiS-
culties. Of course it is expected that when the land is plowed
in the spring a certain number of roots will be destroyed by
the plows, but if the land is plowed each year the roots so cut
will never have attained any great size and they will be replaced
at once by new feeding roots which will come up into the soil
which was turned over. Moreover when this is done in the early
spring the tree will not feel the temporary loss of moisture, be-
cause at this time of year the loss of moisture by transpiration
from the tree is relatively very small.

It ought also to be emphasized, in this connection, that the
little root hairs which do most of the actual absorbing of soil
moisture do not persist over winter but a new set is developed
each spring. Now suppose that the orchard man, in his zeal to
get extra humus, allows his cover crop to grow until June
before plowing. In the first place this will seriously exhaust the
soil moisture by the extra drafts made upon it to grow the cover
crop ; then an immense number of feeding roots and root hairs
will have been developed in this surface layer of the soil which
is turned over by plow. The loss of these roots, or rather of the
soil moisture which they are taking in, while it would not have
been felt by the tree in the least had it occurred in the early
spring, is now very seriously felt, since the tree is in full leaf
and giving off to the air an immense amount of moisture daily.
If we add to this the further fact that this heavy layer of cover
crop, both the autumn growth and the spring growth, interferes

THE TIME TO STOP CULTIVATION 87

with the transference of water from the subsoil into the furrow
slice which was turned over, and that therefore a considerable
time must elapse before new feeding roots can be established
in this surface layer, we may see at least some of the objections
to deferring plowing until summer in order to grow a cover crop.

After-tillage. — Following this first " fitting " of the land
there is a period of cultivating. This period varies in length
with different men, all the way from not over a month to three or
even four months. The principal objects of this cultivation are
to keep down the weeds and to conserve the soil moisture, and
individual conditions are going to very decidedly modify not only
its length but its thoroughness and the implements necessary to
do it. As a rule the land ought to be gone over every ten days
or two weeks, but if one is so unfortunate as to have a bad case
of witch grass to contend with, or if the season is especially dry,
or the land, either from lack of humus or from any other
cause, is not in condition to hold moisture, then it may be de-
sirable to cultivate oftener. In particular it is well to get over
all the orchard just as soon as possible after a rain, unless of
course it is a rainy spell. Even then it is important to start the
cultivator just as soon as the rainy spell is over. For most of this
cultivation very shallow stirring of the soil is all that is neces-
sary. It is often the practice after the land is once gotten into
shape in the spring to use some harrow of the spring-tooth type
for most of the work. The one shown in Figure 42 is admirably
suited to this part of the work and will cover more land in a day
than anything that was ever turned loose in an orchard. The
acme harrow is also excellent.

The time to stop cultivation, as has been suggested, varies
greatly with different men. A rather short, sharp campaign is
usually best. Get the orchard under cultivation as early as
possible, make the cultivation thorough, and then stop it early
and sow in the cover crop. It is rare that it needs to be con-
tinued after the first of July. Several of the disadvantages of
cultivation may be largely overcome by seeding down early. On
land which does not hold moisture well and with a heavy crop of
fruit on the trees and a dry season, late culture may be desirable

88 ORCHARD CULTURE

and even necessary. It must be remembered that the longer the
sowing of the cover crop is delayed the less growth there will
be of that crop, and consequently the less humus there will be to
plow under the following year, which in turn will make the land
suffer more from drouth. In other w^ords, by prolonging cultiva-
tion we save moisture for that year at the expense of future
years.

Hand Work. — While thorough cultivation in the orchard as
a whole is desirable, it is doubtful how important it is, in older
orchards at least, that the soil close about the trees should be
stirred. And certainly it adds very greatly to the expense if one
tries to remove all the weeds and grass from close around every
tree. It means hand labor and a good deal of it, and as soon
as we resort to hand work we raise very decidedly the cost of
caring for the orchard. If, for any reason, it is thought to be
absolutely necessary to do this work, however, then as much as
possible should be done with the grape-hoe shown in Figure 43.
It is surprising how much this implement will do. The balance
may be cleared out by using a lieavj" hoe or a light mattock or
grub hoe.

Damage During Cultivation. — One of the annoying things
about cultivating an orchard is the amount of injury that is
pretty certain to be done to the trees by the harness and the
whiffletrees and the cultivators. Even with the best of men and
teams a certain amount of this damage is sure to occur. With
poorer men and less steady teams there is enough of it to
drive the most ardent believer in cultivation to sod culture.
Patches of bark will be scraped off the trunk by the cultivator,
the tips of branches chewed off by the horses, or the bark raked
off the branches by the hames of the harness. While one is always
more or less at the mercy of the teamster, a good many things
may be done to help him to avoid injuring the trees. The horses
may be muzzled, and harnesses with low hames ought always to
be used. We may even resort Avith great satisfaction to the
tugless harness shown in Figure 40. Then short whiffletrees and
doubletrees ought always to be used. It will avoid many a scar
if the outside ends of the whiffletrees are padded with burlap

DAMAGE DURING CULTIVATION

90 ORCHARD CULTURE

or an old sack. If extension types of implements are used, the
team, at least, will be kept well away from the trees. These
extension implements may be either those like the light draft
harrow shown in Figure 42, which cover a wide space and con-
sequently avoid the necessity of the team getting near the trees ;
or, if these are not available, the two sections of an ordinary
disc or spring-tooth harrow may be separated by using a long
bar or evener. In the latter case there is, of course, a strip of
land in the centre each time which is not worked, but if the
space between the sections is not wider than one of them the
strip is cultivated on the return trip.

Sowing the Cover Crop. — When the time finally arrives for
sowing the cover crop it may be sown just previous to the last
cultivation which will cover the seed, except in the case of clover
and turnips which are sown just after the last cultivation and
either left for the next rain to cover or else lightly brushed in
with a brush harrow.

It is always a satisfaction to see block after block of the
orchard seeded down to the cover crop. One feels that another
good job is finished and trouble (at least that particular trouble)
is over for the season.

QUESTIONS

1. Outline briefly three plans of orchard management as regards culture.

2. What are the principal points in favor of sod culture?

3. Give the arguments in favor of the cultivation of orchards.

4. Outline a year's treatment of the soil in a cultivated orcliard.

5. Give several reasons for and against plowing orchards in late fall.

6. Discuss the use of the disc harrow in orchards.

7. Describe the efl'ects of early spring tillage.

8. At what time during the growing season should the cultivation cease?

Why?

9. What hand work, if any, is to be recommended in tiie cultivation of

orchards ?

10. How is the cover crop started?

11. Is sod-mulch, clean culture or a modified method used in your section?

CHAPTER VII

ORCHARD IMPLEMENTS

It is a great convenience in cultivating an orchard if a man
can have just the right implement for each particular part in the
work and for every special combination of conditions. That is
one advantage which the large orchard has over the small one.
With only a few acres of orchard to care for the owner feels as
though he ought to get along with the smallest equipment possi-
ble unless he has use for the implements in liis other farm work.
It is possible to care for an orchard with only a plow and a
harrow, in fact he might even cut out the plow if his harrow were
of the disc variety. But wdth a large orchard, the owner feels
more free to add to his equipment, and if the orchard is suffi-
ciently large he can justify quite an extensive array of imple-
ments. This is a doctrine which, like the doctrine of a fairly
large list of varieties, it is easy to carry too far, and any man
should keep the list down low enough so that he at least has room
for every implement in the tool shed.

But since there are a great many orchard implements on the
market and since slightly varying conditions may make a differ-
ent one more effective than any other, it seems worth while to
discuss a few of the principal types.

Plows. — As already suggested it is not always necessary to
plow the orchard, but it frequently is, and when one has to plow
he wants a good implement. There are about four things to be
considered in selecting an orchard plow : First, the draft ; second,
how close it can be run to the trees ; third, how much danger there
is that it wdll damage the trees; and, fourth, its effect on the
furrow slice, that is, how thoroughly it will pulverize the land as
it turns it over. Any orchard plow should have a fairly abrupt
mold board in order to pulverize as well as to invert the furrow
slice. The type of plow which merely inverts the furrow slice
without breaking it up at all will make a pretty looking field,

92 ORCHARD IMPLEMENTS

that may win in a plowing match where beauty is the main
thing, but it certainly does not leave the soil in anything like
as good condition as the mold board with an abrupt turn. The
latter is as good as the former plus one or two harrowings.

Types of Plows. — There are four or five types of plows
usually available to select from, any one of which is fairly satis-
factory. First, there is the ordinary ivalking plow. This will
do good work, and if the orchard is small it may be the best plow
to choose. The chief disadvantages of this plow are that it is
necessary to make a back-furrow and a dead furrow to each
row of trees and that it is not possible to get quite as close to the
trees as with some other plows, but neither one of these is a
serious objection.

The former difficulty may be obviated by selecting a hillside
walking plow. This is reversible, so that all the furrows are
thrown in one direction. The plowman simply begins at one
side of the orchard find goes back and forth, making neither
dead nor back-furrows, until the entire orchard is plowed. The
usual custom in using such a plow is to throw the land down
the hill, but it is much better, unless the slope is very steep, to
throw it up the hill. Hillside land which is cidtivated will work
down the hill fast enough without any deliberate assistance from
the owner.

The principal objection to this plow is that it does not do as
good work as the ordinary type of walking plow just mentioned.
This is not a very serious difference, but it may be avoided by
using the third type of plow, the douhle-sulky plow. This is a
wheeled implement with two plows side by side, one a right-
hand and the other a left-hand plow. It works exactly the same
as the hillside plow but does a little better work on the soil.
One can not, however, get quite so close to the trees with it.
For preparing a field to set an orchard on it is the finest thing
yet invented.

Orchard Gang Plow. — We have next the small orchard gang
plow shown in Figure 38. This consists of three eight-inch plows
and will therefore move twenty-four inches in width at one time,
which means getting over the orchard in a hurrj'. It is built so

ORCHARD DISC PLOW

as to get very close to the trees whether one is plowing: towards
them or away from them, and the draft is surprisingly small
considering the surface covered. The writer has never seen an
accurate draft test of this i>low, but, in trying it out in orchard
practice as compared with the two types of walking plows just
mentioned, it did not seem that the team pulled any harder
with this gang throwing twenty-four inches than with a fourteen-
inch plow of the other sorts. Of course these small plows will

Fig. 38. — A gang of three eight-inch plows. One of the best implements for orchard nse.
The draft is light and it covers a lot of land in a day.

not throw a very deej) furrow, but this is seldom wanted in an
orchard. Three or four inches is usually ample. At the present
writing, with onl}^ one season's experience to base the opinion
on, this little plow seems to stand at the head for straight
orchard work.

Orchard Disc Plow. — Lastly we have what is known as the
California orchard plow, shown in Figure 39. As will be seen it
consists of four large discs at one end of a long beam. The
great advantage of this implement is that it does very thorough
work and one can get very close to the trees with it and still

ORCHARD IMPLEMENTS

have the team far enough away to avoid all danger of injury
from that source. For working out the weeds and grass close
about the trees it is certainly admirable.

Harrows. — Starting with the most deeply cutting types of
harrows we have the disc and the cutaway. These are much
alike, the only diflPerence being that the former has a smooth
edge to the discs while in the latter the edges are notched. It

39 —A <liso pi.
trees

for orchard work. An excellent implement for workinK rlosr to the
thout getting the team near enough to do any damage.

is claimed that these latter will cut into the soil more deeply,
which is probably true. Either one is excellent for working in
the orchard, and as already suggested may frequently be sub-
stituted for the plow in getting the land in shape in the spring.
Even in the later cultivation it is well to have one of these
harrows available for use in case the weeds get a bad start in
any comer of the orchard.

Next to the disc type of harrow comes the spring-tooth, and
it ought to follow the disc in the season's work. It will pull the
furrows to pieces and pulverize the soil well, following either

CULTIVATORS 95

the plow or the disc, and some type of spring-tooth harrow ought
to be in any collection of orchard implements that is supposed to
be at all complete. There is one objection to the ordinary spring-
tooth harrow for young orchards and that is that it is so likely
to catch on a stone or some other obstacle and jump against the
trees. Careful driving will help to prevent this difficulty, and
of course it does not apply in land free from stones and other
obstacles. Another objection which has been made to the spring-
tooth and which may be worth mentioning here, is that where
an orchard has patches of witch (quack) grass in it this harrow
will drag small pieces to other parts of the orchard and drop
them, thus helping to spread this noxious weed. This is prob-
ably a legitimate objection but can not offset the many advantages
of this type of tooth either on harrows or cultivators.

We have next the acme harrow shown in Figure 40. The
action of this machine is to cut into the soil behind and to crush
the clods in front. Where the soil conditions are right it will do
as much work as anything in an orchard. But it will not work
on land which is either very stony or which has much trash on it.
Barring these limitations it is an excellent implement and will
leave the soil in as good condition as anything on the list.

Lastly among harrows we have the spike-tooth or smoothing
type. This is not considered a very important implement in the
orchard. It is especially designed to leave the surface fine and
smooth and occasionally such a tool may be needed, particularly
for covering some kinds of cover crops, but this would be the
first thing to strike out if one were trying to cut down the list
of implements.

Cultivators. — It is difficult to draw the line between cultiva-
tors and haiTows because many implements are used for both
purposes. In the classification here given the cultivators are
used primarily for cultivating and are more under the control
of the operator than the harrows.

We have first the implement shown in Figure 41, and known
technically on the market as the orchard cultivator. The teeth
are entirely rigid and it is designed especially for use in
getting the land in sliape and levelling it, after it has been

ORCHARD IMPLEMENTS

plowed or disced. The chief ol)jecti()n to it is that the frame is
very rigid, so that it does not always adapt itself to irre^larities

Fig. 40. — The acme harrow. An excellent orchard cultivator when soil conditions are

good, but stones and trash interfere with it seriously.

Fig. 41. — .\n orchard cultivator with heavy, rigid teeth. An excellent implement for heavy

work, either where the land is rough or the weeds are large.

in the surface, one end perhaps working too deeply and the other
not deep enough. On the other hand this very rigidity makes it
effective in pulling the land into shape, taking down the high

CULTIVATORS

ORCHARD IMPLEMENTS

places and scraping them into the h)w ones. And it will dig into
a patch of witch grass or other troublesome weed in a way to dis-
courage the intruder.

Next is the light-draft orchard harrow shown in Figure 42.
It is certainly well named, as the draft is very light considering
the land it covers and there are few if any implements that will
get over as many acres of orchard in a day as this one. It will
cheer the heart of any man with a lot of work to do. You can send
a man out into a ten acre block of orchard in the morning and he
is back at noon with the job done. And it does good work, too.

Fig. 43. — A grape-hoe at work in a young orchard. An excellent implement for clearing
out the weeds along the tree row. It will do the work of a dozen men.

Its shortcoming is that the land has to be in pretty good condition
for it to do good work. The teeth are rather light and will not
work well on rough land, but once the land has been put in good
condition in the spring it will certainly take care of it well and
cheaply. There are two wings which enable it to work close
to the trees without bringing the horses near them. A light
lever attached to each of the four sections enables the operator
to dump any trash that may have caught on the teeth.

QUESTIONS 99

A combination implement known as a gmpc-Jwe is shown in
Figure 43. It can be used either in the capacity of a plow or a
cultivator, by changing the attachment, and is designed to save
hand labor by working close to the trees. With the right man to
run it, it will certainly do what it was designed to do. There
is a disc for steering it, and a good husky man who has had a
little practice in running it will come as near cleaning out all the
weeds from about the trees as it is possible to do with anything
short of a hand hoe. No orchard of any size can aflPord to be
without one.

Then there is the common V-sliaped cultivator. This is not
strictly necessary to care for the orchard, but as soon as any of
the companion crops are planted it becomes the main dependence.
It is usually best to have two of them with teeth of different sizes.
The large are needed for heavy work when one is unfortunate
enough to get behindhand, and the small for land in better shape.
In fact some orchardists have three of them in the equipment,
ranging from the small, spike-toothed variety up to one with
five good-sized shovels.

QUESTION8

1. Wliat advantages have large orchards over small ones in the matter

of implements?

2. Why should the plow have an abrupt mold-board?

;i. What may be said for and against the ordinary walking plow fur
orchard work?

4. What advantage has the hillside plow?

5. Describe a double-sulky plow and tell when you would prefer it.
(r. Cxive the advantages of the orchard gang plow.

7. What is a "California orchard plow"? Give several points in its

favor.

8. Compare the various types of harrows for use in orchards,
i). What types of cultivators are suitable for use in orchards?

10. What orchard implements are most common in your section?

CHAPTER VIII
FERTILIZERS

The proper fertilizing of a fruit plantation is an especially
difficult point to determine experimentally, because it is so
difficult to determine and to control the conditions surrounding
the roots of trees. When it has been determined by experiment
what the best treatment for a particular orchard is, this informa-
tion is of relatively little value to the owners of other orchards
because the many different factors of ' ' soil condition ' ' are likely
to vary widely. In this respect the fertilizer problem stands
ahead of any other. For example, if it is a qviestion of what to
spray with, the conditions surrounding the leaves of the trees
are so similar that what is best for Brown's trees will probably
also be best for Smith's trees, though he may live five or ten
or even one hundred miles away. But the fertilizer question is
so complex, and conditions change so decidedly in going even
a short distance, that v/hat is good in the way of fertilizers for
Bro\\Ti's trees may not be good for Smith's though his orchard
may be just across the road.

Doubtless further experiment will throw more light on the
subject, and we may hope that the time will come when we shall
have a generally accepted scheme of orchard fertilization. In
the meantime we must use what evidence we have and do our
best to gain further light for ourselves by a little personal
experimenting.

The best orchardists believe in fertilizing and practise it in
private orchards. But the evidence on the subject is meagre
and conflicting. Three lines of reasoning should lead to the
adoption of this attitude until such time as more authoritative
evidence on the subject is available.

Trees Exhaust Soil. — It has been very definitely shown that

apple orchards take out of the soil far more fertilizer material

year by year than ordinary farm crops do. Professor I, P.

Roberts has calculated that the twenty-year record of fertilizer

100

EXPERIMENTAL PROOF 101

value of an acre of wheat and an acre of apples would be as

follows :

Wheat, grain and straw, 20 years $128.23

Apples, fruit and leaves, 20 years 207.45

This makes no account of the large amount of fertilizer
material which is each year locked up in the roots, trunk, and
branches of the tree. Now we must admit at once that the tree
forages much more widely than the annual crop in search of
food, but even when this is considered it seems reasonably cer-
tain that an orchard exhausts the soil faster than the wheat
crop. It must be remembered further that there is no chance
for rotation of crops with the orchard, but the same elements in
the same ratio are taken out year after year. When we remem-
ber still further that no man who makes any pretense to being a
farmer would think of trying to grow a wheat crop many years
without fertilizers, it seems very reasonable that the orchard
man should follow the practice of the general farmer.

Best Orchardists Fertilize. — This brings us to the second
reason for thinking that orchards ought to be fertilized, and that
is that the best fruit men practise fertilizing. Go into any
orchard section and you will find that the most progressive and
successful growers, as a rule, are the men who fertilize highly.
Usually the man succeeds in proportion as he fertilizes. The
man who fertilizes year after year, whetlier he has a crop of fruit
on his trees or not, is the man who usually has a crop. The man
who is noted in a section as applying fertilizers in large quantity
is usually also noted as a man who harvests bumper crops. This
is not conclusive proof, because these men also care well for their
orchards in other ways. But it is very suggestive, particularly
the fact that the generous feeder usually succeeds better than
the moderate feeder.

Experimental Proof. — The third point which has con' erted
many to fertilizing their orchards is the fact that numerous
experiments have shown such marked benefits from fertilizing.
Of course there have been experiments that have not shown any
benefit, but when, in a series of experiments, a fertilized block
gives several times as much fruit as an unfertilized block, the

102 FERTILIZERS

two having been treated in exactly the same way except in the
matter of fertilizers, it is difficult to avoid drawing the conclu-
sion that the fertilizer is responsible for the difference. In the
orchard fertilizer experiments at the Massachusetts Agricultural
Experiment Station (with which experiments the writer has had
no connection) the thing which most impresses any one who
studies the results and examines the trees, is the extremely poor
showing made by the trees which had no fertilizer. We may
disagree decidedly as to the relative merits of muriate and sul-
fate of potash, or as to whether bone meal is best as a source of
phosphoric acid, but none can escape the conclusion that under
the conditions of this experiment any fertilizer combination used
was greatly to he preferred to no fertilizer at all.

Influence of Nitrogen. — With so much dift'erence in opinion
as to what forms of fertilizer, if any, are required, it is hardly
to be expected that there should be very general agreement as to
the particular effect of the different fertilizer elements, yet all
are agreed that nitrogen, in any form, is likely to produce rapid
wood growth with large, dark green leaves and long terminal
shoots. If the application of nitrogen is carried to excess, the
wood growth is often made at the expense of fruit, though up to
a certain point nitrogen is apt to increase the yield. It almost
always decreases color, principally because the fruit, like the
leaves, is large in size and does not reach maturity until late in
the season. The heavy foliage also reduces the color by shutting
off' the sunlight.

Influence of Potash. — It is known that potash enters into
the fruit acids and is a very large part (more than 50 per cent)
of the ash of fruits. Potash has also been credited, and rightly
so, with increasing the color in fruits. This effect is probably
produced by the influence which potash has on the general
growth of the tree and does not come as a direct influence ; that
is, potash will not change the green color of apples to a red color
as nitrogen will often change the yellow color of leaves to a
green color. In any event fairly liberal applications of some
form of potash are generally made to bearing orchards if the
owner believes in fertilizing.

FORMS TO USE 103

Influence of Phosphoric Acid. — The exact part which phos-
phoric acid plays iu orchard development seems uot to have been
so well worked out, at least there is less agreement on the sub-
ject. It is certainly important in seed development and prob-
ably in the ripening of the fruit, and some men have even
given it credit for improvements in the color of fruit, though this
is not very generally accepted. If it occurs it is probably as a
result of the control which this element exerts on the growth of
the tree. Maturity and sunlight are certainly the two most
important influences in producing color in fruits.

Forms to Use. — If we are to use fertilizers we have the choice
of several forms of each one.

For niirogcn we have nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia,
tankage, cyanamid and nitrate of potash. Nitrate of soda is prob-
ably used more than any other form and has the advantage that it
is very quickly available. It is also a reasonably cheap form.

Sulfate of ammonia acts more slowly than the nitrate because
it has to be changed in the soil into the nitrate form before it can
be used b}^ the plant. It also has a tendency to make the soil
sour because it leaves behind the sulfuric acid. Still, it is fairly
popular, and if lime is used to take care of the acid, it is good
to use in a combination where a long season of growth is w^anted.

Tankage is still more slowly available and is usually reason-
able in the price per unit. It is used with particular satisfaction
on young trees or in any situation where a relatively long period
of growth is desired. AVith young trees tankage in combination
with nitrate of soda has given very much better results than the
nitrate alone, even when two applications of the latter were given.

The nitrate of potash is hardly worth discussing because it is
so seldom that one can get it. It carries about the same percent-
age of nitrogen as the nitrate of soda and in addition about
as much potash as the muriate. It is thus a very high grade
fertilizer, the highest that we have. It has the disadvantage
that it requires the application of both nitrogen and potash at one
time, but usually this is desirable.

We ought to add to the forms of nitrogen "cyanamid," the
newly developed combination of lime with atmospheric nitrogen.

104 FERTILIZERS

It has not yet been in use long enough for its qualities to be

tested, but it has this to recommend it, that it is relatively cheap.

Among phosphoric acid feriilizers are bone meal, rock phos-
phate, and basic slag. Bone meal is an old favorite among
fertilizer users. Within recent years basic slag, or Thomas phos-
phate powder, a by-product produced in the manufacture of
steel, has been used a great deal by orchard men. It has the
advantage of carrying a considerable percentage of lime, but this
has been reduced recently by changes in the manufacturing
process. Acid phosphates or superphosphates are made from
both bone and rock phosphates by treating them with sulfuric
acid. This takes up a part of the lime, rendering the phosphoric
acid more available. The superphosphates are specially useful
with young trees where the roots are extending rapidly. They
are the only form in which phosphoric acid should be applied
to orchards in sod, since in such orchards one must depend on
the fertilizer dissolving and being washed into the soil.

Two forms of potash are in common use, the muriate and the
sulfate, the latter coming in both high and low grade. Probably
the muriate is more generally used than any other form at the
present time. It has the great advantage of being cheaper than
sulfate, but it also has a tendency to render the soil acid by
taking out the lime. This latter tendency can be overcome of
course by adding lime, but that means one more thing to look
after. The low grade sulfate carries about half the amount of
actual potash that the high grade does, but it also has a large
amount of magnesia, which many consider an advantage. There
is the same objection to it that there is to any low grade fer-
tilizer, viz., that it costs more per unit of plant food to transport
it and to handle it in the orchard. It is perhaps best to use the
high grade sulfate altogether until such time as it may be shown
that some other form is better.

There is no very definite experimental data to show that lime
is beneficial to orchard trees, but there is a very general impres-
sion among orchard men that it is an excellent plan to apply lime
to orchards. So far as this idea has any real backing, it prob-
ably rests on the fact that limestone districts in fruit regions

FERTILIZER FORMULAS 105

are usually noted for their fine fruit. But quite aside from its
effect on the trees, the use of lime in orchards is probably war-
ranted on account of its effect as the cover crop which is grown.
Most of these crops are benefited by lime, and for some of them,
notably the beginners, on some soils lime is absolutely essential
for a good growth. On the lighter types of soils the ground
limestone is to be preferred, while for the heavier soils the burned
lime is better. On many soils an application of a half ton to a
ton per acre will be found to give excellent returns in improved
growth of cover crops. On one orchard block, the soil of which
the writer had tested, it was shown that it would require five
tons per acre to neutralize the upper foot of soil. Of course this
amount was not put on in any one season but a yearly application
of a ton was used with markedly beneficial results.

In ordering lime of either type it will be found best to pay
the extra cost of having it come in bags rather than in bulk, as it
is impossible to handle the latter type with any degree of com-
fort when there is any wind.

Fertilizer Formulas. — It may perhaps be helpful to include
in this chapter a few fertilizer formulas which are actually in use
by some of our leading orchard men.

Mr. George A. Drew, of Greenwich, Connecticut, has the fol-
lowing formula, which is used at the rate of 400 pounds to 800
pounds per acre according to the condition of the soil. His trees
are cultivated.

12.5 pounds blood 16 per cent

200 pounds tankage 10 per cent Am. 20 per cent B. P. Lime

450 pounds lK>ne 4% per cent Am. 50 per cent B. P. Lime

650 pounds basic slag 16 per cent

420 pounds sulphate potash 48 per cent

155 pounds filler
2000

Mr. L. F. Priest, of Gleasondale, Massachusetts, grows his
orchard in sod. He says: "Our best trees have a good dressing
of stable manure in the fall and the following spring 600 pounds
of slag and 200 pounds of sulfate of potash per acre for the
largest trees, the smaller ones receiving less. All the hay we
can spare is used for mulch. ' '

106

FERTILIZERS

Munson and Frost, of Littleton, Massachusetts, use the fol-
lowing formula on their bearing- apple orchard: 500 pounds
basic slag, and 225 pounds high grade sulfate of potash.

Mr. A. C. Starr, of Starrs Point, Nova Scotia, writes: "We
use all the barn manure we have to spare, and we usuall.y get over
them once in about four years, giving a fair application. In
addition we apply each year 400 to 500 pounds of ground bone
per acre and 200 to 300 pounds of muriate of potash."

Professor J. P. Stewart, of the Pennsylvania Experiment
Station, who has given a great deal of study to this question
of fertilizing orchards, gives the following table of fertilizers
to be used wiiile determining by experiment what the orchard
actually needs :

Table III. — A General Fertilizer for Apple Orchards.

(Amounts per Acre for Bearing Trees)

Nitrogen 30 lbs. (N)

Phosphoric Acid 50 lbs
(P2O6)

Potash 25 to 50 lbs.
(K2O)

Carried in^

Carried in—

100 Ib^. nitrate soda and
150 lbs. dried blood

350 lbs. acid phosphate

or in
200 lbs. bone meal

50 to 100 lbs. muriate
or in

or in
150 lbs. sulfate of am-
monia

or m
300 lbs. basic slag

100 to 200 lbs. low
grade sulfate

Application. — In applying fertilizers it is much better to use
a fertilizer spreader when possible. Of course where the trees
are young, and the fertilizer is therefore spread over only a
part of the surface, it is usually necessary to put it on by hand.

Insoluble materials, or those slowly soluble, like bono meal
and basic slag, should be applied before the land is plowed or
should be otherwise thoroughly incorporated with the soil. Those
which dissolve readily, like muriate and sulfate of potash or
nitrate of soda, may be spread upon the surface and will wash
in with the first rain.

The potash and phosphoric acid salts are not readily washed
out of the soil and may therefore be applied at almost any season
of the year, though the orchardist should avoid a time when
there are likely to be dashing rains which will carry them off

APPLICATION 107

in the surface water. But nitrogen is very likely to escape and
should be applied after growth has started so that it may be
taken up quickly.

The fertilizing of the various kinds of fruit trees will vary
somewhat, but there will probably not be any greater variation
than might occur between two different varieties of the same kind
of fruit or between two blocks of the same fruit on different
soils. For example, the Wagener and Gravenstein apples will
probably vary nearly as much in their fertilizer requirements
as will the general classes of apples and peaches. And two
blocks of Baldwin apple trees on very different soils may need
quite as different fertilizers as a block of peaches and a block
of apples.

QUESTIONS

1. Compare orchards with wheat in their exhaustion of soil fertility.

2. Wiiat have experiments proved in regard to orchard fertilizers?

3. Wiiat are the effects of nitrogenous fertilizers?

4. Give the effects of fertilizers ricli in potash.

5. What is the influence of phosphoric acid on fruit trees?

6. Discuss the forms of fertilizer to be used in supplying nitrogen.

7. From what sources may the phosphoric acid be derived? Which are

best for young trees ?

8. What two forms of potash are in common use? Give an advantage

of each.

9. Is orchard fertilizing practised in your section?

CHAPTER IX

COVER CROPS

While most people have a fairly clear idea of what a cover
crop is, it may be worth while to begin by attempting to define
it so that we may have a definite idea of just what is meant by
the term. In orchard parlance, then, a "cover crop" is any
crop grown in the orchard solely for the benefit of the trees. It
is usually an annual crop and is sown in the orchard during the
summer and plowed under the following spring. In actual
practice we find all gradations, from the orthodox, typical cover
crop, such as measures up to the definitions given above, on
through such plants as turnips, which are primarily cover crops
but where a part of the crop may be harvested, to buckwheat,
which may be grown primarily as a companion crop and sold,
but which serves some of the purposes of a cover crop.

The most important purposes served by the cover crop are
the following, arranged roughly in the order of their importance,
though the order would vary under varying conditions :

Prevent Washing. — The cover crop serves to prevent washing
during fall and spring rains and to make the orchard comfortable
to go about in during muddy weather in the spring, that is, it
serves as a cover. A crop which will really accomplish all this
is difficult to find, but it ought to come as near it as possible.
There is no question that the loss of soluble plant food, and of
actual soil, by washing is one of the great drawbacks to cultiva-
tion on lands which are even slightly rolling, and anything which
we can do to lessen this loss ought to be done. Of course the
cover crop helps to prevent washing both by its roots and its
tops. It is therefore important, on lands which are subject to
washing, to select a plant as a cover crop that will develop a
large top which will mat down on the surface of the soil and
thus prevent the water from moving, and one which also has a
large and fibrous root system that will hold the soil particles to-
gether. Sometimes these two characteristics go together, but fre-
quently they do not and then one has to choose between them. It
is difficult to say which is the more important, but a thick mat
108

THE MOST IMPORTANT PURPOSE 109

over the surface will certainly accomplish wonders in preventing
washing of the soil.

Check Fall Growth. — The cover crop serves to check the
growth of the trees in the autumn and thus force them to ripen
up their wood for winter. This is often the most important func-
tion of the cover crop and is accomplished by its appropriating
water and plant food that would otherwise go to the trees. When
this purpose is of importance, as in sections with rather trying
winter climates, one should select a crop that will develop a rank
growth about the time that the trees ought to "sober down,"
which is at least as early as the first of September. The date of
sowing the crop must of course be varied to suit its rapidity of
growth and the needs of the trees. If the owner is using buck-
wheat, which comes on with a rush, he can afford to delay sow-
ing much later than if he is using soybeans, which require a
considerable time to develop. Another very important point in
this connection is the question of whether the cover crop is hardy
or is killed by frost. If it is hardy, the date of seeding may
be considerably delayed, which is sometimes very desirable where
the trees are carrying a large crop of fruit.

The cover crop adds humus to the soil, and where bam manure
is not to be had for the orchard, which is frequently the case
on special orchard farms, this purpose becomes an all-important
one. With both light and heavy soils it is particularly important
to keep up the supply of humus because they are both damaged
much more than intermediate types when the humus content runs
low. For these soils therefore one ought to select some large
growing crop and be careful to secure a good growth of it.
This latter is by no means as simple a matter as it might seem.
Weather conditions, soil conditions, the shade of the trees, and
various other factors come in to influence the result, and unless
the owner looks out for all the details he is likely to find his
orchard going into the winter with very little material to either
prevent wash or make humus. A plan which has been tried with
considerable satisfaction, on lands where it was difficult to get a
good growth of cover crop, is to reserve a part or even all of the
fertilizer that is intended for that block and apply it just previous
to sowing the cover crop. A little nitrogen in particular applied

110 COVER CROPS

at this time is likely to be a great help in starting the crop.

The cover crop takes up and holds plant food at a time when
the trees are not active. The importance of this may have been
over-emphasized, but it is certainly worth considering, and it is
one argument in favor of those crops which are not killed by
frost. With buckwheat, for example, one gets little of this
effect because it is killed before the trees have stopped growing.
With any plant which lives over winter we get this benefit, but
the amount of it varies with the amount of root growth of the
cover plant. If the soil is occupied fully by the roots of this plant
there is little chance of loss.

Add Nitrogen. — A leguminous cover crop such as clover, or
beans, or vetch will add nitrogen to the soil (Fig. 44). This is
generally understood by all who are familiar with farm matters
but is frequently overlooked in orchard practice as well as else-
where. These plants are able, through the bacteria which live
in the little nodules on their roots, to take up and "fix" the
free nitrogen of the air. They thus offer to the orchard man an
abundant supply of nitrogen for his orchard in return for the
effort and expense of sowing the seed. In fact the writer recalls
one orchard in which crimson clover was used as a cover crop
for a series of years, where the soil actually became too rich
in nitrogen for the best condition of the trees. They made
too much growth and the fruit was under-colored. The owner
suspected what the trouble was, had the soil analyzed by his
experiment station, which told him that his soil was too rich in
nitrogen and advised him to change cover^ crops. He did so,
using buckw^heat for a few years, and the trouble was entirely
corrected. This is not a common difficulty, but is mentioned to
show the possibilities of the leguminous crop. As nitrogen
is by far the most expensive fertilizer to buy and as the cover
crop offers a convenient method of getting it almost without
cost, it is certainly a short-sighted policy of soil management
which does not include leguminous plants often enough to fur-
nish at least a large part of the nitrogen needed.

A cover crop may hold the snow and leaves in the orchard
during the winter. To do this to the best advantage it must be
rather a stiff, upright crop, which is not the type of crop that

PLOWING UNDER COVER CROPS 111

gives the best results on soil washing and some other things.
One has to choose therefore between this character and the others.
In climates where the winters are severe, and where snow is likely
to blow oil' from the orchard, this point of holding it as a pro-
tection may be the all-important one and the orchardists may
have to select an upright crop like soybeans or buckwheat or
even use a mixture with corn or some other heavy plant in it,
regardless of all other considerations.

Protects Fallen Fruit. — The cover crop serves to protect the
fruit which drops. This is not usually considered very important
and can often be disregarded, but with fruit such as Yellow
Transparent and Red Astrachan apples, which ripen irregularly
and have to be disposed of quickly in any case, the drops are
sometimes worth about as much as the hand picked fruit.

Prevents Winter Injury of Roots. — It prevents the freezing
and thawing of the soil and consequent injury to the roots during
some winters. Any one who is not familiar wdth this effect will
be surprised at the difference between a block of tlie orchard
with a good cover crop on it, such as clover or vetch, and one with
no crop or with a poor one. The well covered block v/ill stay
frozen through a long rain or spell of mild weather while tlie
bare land freezes and thaws with every change in the temperature.

In a few cases there may be other purposes served by the
cover crop, but the above constitute the most important ones.

Plowing Under Cover Crops. — A point which is frequently
misunderstood and which should be considered, is the importance
of the crop living over winter. There is often a prejudice, for
example, against crimson clover and in favor of common red
clover because the former does not always live over winter, while
the latter does. It is said that while there may be a fine growth
of the crimson clover when winter comes on, yet by spring
(in cold climates) it has been killed, and has so dried up and
dwindled away that there is little left to plow under. As a
matter of fact, this does not in the least affect its value as a
humus producer. There will be just as much humus added to
the soil in the dried remains of the crop as there would have been
in succulent tissues before they were killed. The only loss has
been the water which has dried out of the stalks.

112 COVER CROPS

A slightly different phase of the same prejudice is seen in
some orchardists' opinions of crops which do live over winter.
Many men will insist on delaying plowing in the spring until
a new growth can be produced, no matter how rank the growth
may have been in the autumn, because they say that unless they
do "there is so little to plow under." It sometimes does look
small in the spring, but it will make just as much humus as it
would have in the autumn.

While under certain conditions there may be no objection to
allowing some growth in the spring; while, in fact, it may be a
distinct advantage by producing extra humus and sometimes by
drying out the soil ; yet there is always great danger that it will
be allowed to stand too long. On heavy soils this objection is
particularly strong, for a big growth of the crop will dry out the
soil very rapidly and, if the weather happens to turn dry at just
the right time, the soil may easily become too dry and plow up in
big lumps that are very difficult to break up. On the whole a
crop which makes a big growth in the autumn but does not live
over winter is to be preferred because it avoids this danger.

Plants to Use. — A great many different plants are used as
cover crops in the orchard, depending on the locality, the type of
soil, the number of acres to be covered, the owner's pocketbook
and a number of other considerations. Table IV, however, in-
cludes the most common ones. It gives also the usual rate per acre,
the average price (though this varies greatly in different localities
and in different years) and the cost of seeding an acre.

The last column is very suggestive and is well worth careful
study by the orchardist. Where one has but an acre or two of
orchard the cost for seed is not an important matter, but when
it runs up to even ten acres the relative cost at $6.00 per acre
or 16 cents per acre is certainly worth consideration.

With some crops it is possible to allow a strip along each
tree row to mature seed and then, by cross-cultivation when the
time arrives for sowing the cover crop, to scatter this seed over
the entire surface of the orchard. There seems to be no serious
objection to this practice and it will reduce materially the
running expenses of the orchard.

Let us now run over the catalogue of crops given and suggest

COW-HORN AND PURPLE-TOP TURNIPS
Tablb rV. — Amount and Cost of Cover Crop Seed.

113

Crop

Buckwheat

Cow peas

Cow-horn and purple top tur-
nips

Dwarf Essex rape

Barley

Rye

Crimson clover

Mammoth red clover and com-
mon red clover

Summer vetch

Winter vetch

Soybeans — broadcast

Soybeans — in drills

Canada field peas

Kate per Acre

1 bu.
iKbu.

2 1b.
2 1b.
IH bu.
1 3^2 bu.
15 lbs.

12 lbs.
1}4 bu.
1 bu.
VAhn.
Yi bu.
IKbu.

Sl.SObu.
3.00 bu.

.35 lb.

.08 lb.
1.25 bu.
1.G5 bu.

.10 1b.

.25 lb.
3.00 bu.
6.00 bu.
3.50 bu.
3.50 bu.
3.00 bu.

Cost per Acre

$1.50
4.50

.70
.16

1.88
2.47
1.50

3.00
4.50
6.00
5.25
1.75
4.50

very briefly some of their good and bad characteristics, taking
them in the order mentioned in the table.

Buckwheat. — This is desirable because it will grow on almost
any soil, leaves the land in better physical condition than perhaps
any other crop, furnishes a large amount of humus, is reasonably
clieap, and starts so quickly after sowing that it will smother
out many annual weeds. This last point is particularly im-
portant where one has witch grass to contend with. On the other
liand buckwheat furnishes no nitrogen, makes rather a poor
cover, and is killed by the first frost. All things considered the
orchardist should class buckwheat as among the best three or four
cover crops and one which it is difficult to do without (Fig. 45).

Cow Peas. — These are rather a southern crop and are not as
good as several other crops when one gets north of Connecticut.
In their own section, however, they are famous as soil improvers.
They are sown in July and are killed by fall frost.

Cow-horn and Purple-top Turnips, — The great advantage of
these plants is cheapness, which certainly appeals to a man when
he has fifty acres or more of orchard to cover. They also fur-
nish an immense amount of humus, make a fairly good cover,
and with the purple tops at least one may pull out and sell
enough of tlie best turnips to far more than pay all the expense
of the crop and still leave plenty on the ground for a cover.
8

114

COVER CROPS

The objections to turnips are that they furnish no nitrogen, but
they do have a large amount of sulfur and other ill-smelling
constituents which are likely to be very offensive in the spring
when the crop is rotting down and before it can be plowed under.
There is a further objection that they are likely to live over
winter and go to seed, making rather an unsightly appearance
to people who are easily worried by such things. They have not

Fig. 45. — Buckwheat as a cover crop. One of the most satisfactory crops for this purpose,
especially where soil conditions are not of the best.

proved a really serious weed but are merely a little .too con-
spicuous with their gorgeous yellow flowers.

Dwarf Essex Rape. — So far as the writer's experience and
observation go this is the cheapest of all covers, excepts weeds,
and it is by no means a bad crop to use. It will grow anywhere,
grows late in the autumn, and usually survives the winter, so
that it catches and holds the elusive nitrates, furnishes a fine lot
of humus, and makes a surprisingly good cover, as it has a very

CRIMSON CLOVER 115

fibrous, though not a very large, root system. "Where a good stand
lives over winter it is sometimes rather difficult to get rid of it
and it is always unsightly. These are not serious matters, how-
ever, for a cover crop is not grown for its beauty, and by using a
cultivator with broad teeth it is quite possible to kill out the
worst case of this. On some cultivators there is a broad, V-
shaped affair in the centre called a "sweep," and two outside
wings, and the combination will pretty nearly clean out anything
in the weed line. The rape crop gathers no nitrogen from the air.
Barley. — This is an excellent crop to use when one does not
care to have a nitrogenous crop and also does not want to use
buckwheat. It generally makes a good cover, particularly late
in the season, is not seriously expensive, makes an unusually fine
lot of humus, and leaves the land in very fair condition. Oats
are sometimes used in this way, but they do not leave the soil in as
good condition as barley and they are not included in the list.

Rye. — This is one of the greatest covers on the list when
sown at the right time, but the great difficulty with it from the
orchard cover crop standpoint is that it makes very little growth
during the hot weather of July, August and early September,
so that it is of practically no value in assisting to stop the growth
of the trees. It will grow almost anywhere. Sown about Sep-
tember first it makes a fine covering for the land over winter.
When spring comes it has another shortcoming from the point of
view of the orchard and that is that it stalks up very quickly and
may get too tall and coarse to plow under well. It will also, on
heavy land, dry out the soil very quickly and make trouble with
lumps when the land is plowed. But it is fine to prevent washing
of the soil, is reasonably cheap, furnishes a good supply of humus,
and takes care of all soluble plant food, so that it can not be
spared from the list.

Crimson Clover. — "When this plant will make a good growth
in the autumn it comes the nearest to the ideal of a cover crop
of any plant in the list. It is reasonably cheap, and fulfils
nearly all of the offices detailed at the beginning of this chapter
as belonging to the ideal cover crop. It does not succeed in all
climates and it very^ frequently makes a poor growth for the
first year or two that it is tried on a particular block of land.

116 COVER CROPS

But if the owner will persist in his efforts to grow it, it will
often improve year by year until it makes a splendid growth.
Another difficulty with it is that it will not grow on poor soil.
The orchard must be in "good heart" before it is worth while
to try any of the clovers (Fig. 44).

Mammoth Red and Common Red Clover. — Many good
orchardists do not have much use for these plants as cover crops
where the land is being cultivated every year, as is usually the
case in orchards conducted on the cultivation plan. They seldom
make any growth worth while the first autumn and therefore to
get enough humus they must be allowed to grow in the spring,
which, as already explained, is very objectionable. Occasionally,
however, when an orchard gets to growing too much wood and the
owner wants to sober it down by seeding down the land and
letting it stand for two or three years, the clovers are particu-
larly good to mix with the grass seed that is used. This is where
these clovers shine, in "semi-permanent seeding."

The Vetches. — Both summer and winter vetches are splendid
crops for covers and if the seed did not cost so much they would
be just about perfect. But the seed does cost; and until some
method is devised to bring down the cost to about one-quarter
what it is at present they are going to be rather too costly for
the man who has ten acres of orchard or over. It is unfortunate
that this is so, as vetches are certainly about all that could be
asked for the purpose in view. On small blocks of orchard, or
under special conditions, they may be admissible, but as a general,
commercial proposition they do not appeal to the man who pays
the bills. It is to be hoped that a plan may be devised whereby
the man who owns an orchard can grow his own vetch seed, but
at present that method has not been developed.

Soybeans. — This is a cover crop which orchardists have used
with a good deal of satisfaction for a number of years, but it has
to be handled quite differently from most cover crops to be
entirely successful. Sown broadcast, or even in drill, at the
ordinary date, it fails to make growth enough to furnish much
humus or to perform any of the offices of a cover crop with con-
spicuous success. But if it can be drilled in about the middle
of June with the rows far enough apart to admit of cultivation.

CANADA FIELD PEAS 117

and then if it is cultivated two or perhaps three times before the
orchard is laid by, it will do splendidly. For sowing soybeans
in this way the grower may use a small five-hole drill which is
used largely in the Middle West for drilling wheat in the autumn
into land where corn has been grown the summer previous. Stop
up all but the two outside holes and then spread the drill as
wide as possible. Thus two rows at a time are drilled far enough
apart to cultivate. After the plants are up they are given two
or three cultivations and then the land is. seeded down to rape
or turnips or buckwheat or rye. This makes a fine combination
cover. If the beans come along nicely and ripen a good crop of
seed, it may be harvested and threshed and will usually bring two
and a half to three dollars per bushel wholesale. This leaves
whatever else was sown on the land as a cover and the soil gets the
benefit of the root-systems of the soybeans after they are mown
off. On the other hand if the crop is not good enough to warrant
hai-vesting, if the stand is poor or the frost comes before the
beans are mature enough, then there is a fine crop to plow
under. The common white pea-bean may be grown in much the
same way, and with equal satisfaction.

Care Should be taken, when this method is used on land that
is subject to wash, to have the rows run crosswise of the slope.
If this is overlooked they help rather than hinder washing by
keeping the water in certain channels.

Canada field peas are sometimes used and will make the
most humus to the square inch of anything that ever grew in an
orchard. It is the only crop that really gives serious trouble in
plowing it under. The vines are so rank and the stalks are so
heavy that it is like tiying to plow under a field of bean poles.
With a good crop, the only way to get them under is to use a
rolling coulter on the plow, and even then they will sometimes
clog up under the plow-beam. But they do furnish humus and
nitrogen in abundance. When they mat down on the surface
they will stop any "wash" but a cloud-burst.

Mixtures. — Since verv^ few or perhaps no crops serve all, or
even a large part of the "functions" for Avhich cover crops are
sown, it is often desirable to use mixtures which may be made to
do practically everything which is required.

118 COVER CROPS

Here are some mixtures that have proved satisfactory:

1. Barley, one-half bushel ; crimson clover, six pounds.

2. Barley, one-half bushel ; winter vetch, one peck.

3. The above combinations with buckwheat instead of barley.
This general type of mixture is best because it contains one

rank grower to check the growth of the trees and to furnish humus
and one perennial legume to add nitrogen, act as a "mat" for
the windfalls and to catch and hold the leaching nitrates. Look
over the list of purposes which the cover crop is expected to serve
and see how well either of these mixtures will fill the bill. Take
No. 1 as an example. Both barley and clover prevent washing
fairly well, but the clover is especially good. The rank growth
of the barley will check the growth of the trees, and add much
humus. It will also hold the snow and leaves, and assist in pre-
venting winter injury. The clover on the other hand, while not
strong on these points, grows late in the autumn, and so takes up
the soluble food at that time, it adds nitrogen, is excellent for
protecting the windfall fruits, and assists materially in prevent-
ing winter injury.

The principal objection to a mixture is that it takes more
time to sow it since seeds must either be mixed or else two sowing
operations will be required, one for each seed.

Weeds.— It seems worth while to add that some orchard men
make use of weeds as a cover crop. Where they can be depended
upon for a good stand they are better than nothing. In fact there
is probably no really legitimate objection to them, except with a
very few such as witch grass. Of course they add no nitrogen.

QUESTIONS

1. What is a corn crop?

2. What are the most important uses of orchard cover crops?

3. Why should the fall growth of trees be checked? How does the cover

crop assist in this?

4. What class of cover crops add nitro^fen to soils?

5. Is there any advantage in having the cover live over winter?

6. Give a list of the crops most suitable for winter covers in your section.

7. Discuss the advantage of several of these.
S. What ones are legumes?

9. What ones live over winter? What ones are killed by fall frosts?
10. What is the objection to perennial crops for this purpose?

CIIAPTP]R X
PRUNING

No other operation connected with growing an oi'chard can
compare in interest with pruning. It requires more knowledge,
more experience, and more thought than any other orchard work.
Probably it is also true that we know less about it (or think we
know more things that are not so) than about most other opera-
tions. Yet books have been written and might still be written
about what is known of the art and science of pruning.

Fig. 46. — A young apple tree started on the wrong road by bad pruning. All the fruit spurs
have been removed from the lower branches.

In the present chapter we shall attempt merely to under-
stand a few of the most universally accepted general principles
and to bring out some of the practical details of pruning our
common orchard fruits.

How Trees Bear their Fruit. — One of the first things for the
would-be pruner to acquire is a thorough understanding of the
way in which the different orchard trees bear their fruit. Many
a good apple tree has had its usefulness curtailed because the
man who pruned it did not realize the vital importance of the

119

120 PRUNING

little crooked spurs along its branches, but insisted in clearing
them off to make the tree look more neat. Figure 46 shows an
excellent example of a young apple tree which has been thus
started on the wrong road, and Figure 94 shows an old orchard
which has travelled that road for years, in fact it has travelled
it so long that it would be difficult to get it onto any other
road.

In view of the importance of this side of the question, it may
be worth while to begin by summing up briefly the method of
fruit-l)earing in each of the principal orchard fruits.

The apple and pear may be discussed together since their
l^lan of bearing is practically identical. INTost varieties of these
two fruits bear almost altogether on short, crooked little branches,
known technically as "fruit spurs." There are some varieties

Fig. 47. — .\n apple fruit spur. This spur ia perhaps six inches long and has probably
borne five apples. Yet many pruners systematically cut them off the trees.

which, particularly when young, bear fruit from lateral buds on
the one year wood, and even for terminal buds on this wood, but
this is rather uncommon. An apple spur is shown in Figure 47.
This particular spur has a terminal bud on each of two very
short branches. In the spring these buds expand and produce a
number of leaves, perhaps a half dozen, surrounding from four to
six blossoms. Under normal conditions one of these blossoms sets
a fruit and the balance fall away. The growing and ripening of
this apple takes about all the strength of the spur, but it usually
manages to develop at one side a small leaf bud which the follow-
ing year makes a very short growth in a new direction and at the
end of the season produces another large, plump terminal bud.
The following year this bud bears an apple, and so on. We thus
have the spur bearing an apple every alternate year and con-
tinuing its slow, crooked grow^th for a long series of years. The

THE APPLE AND PEAR

121

spur shown in Figure 47 was about ten years old and was probably
not more than six inches long. It had borne at least five apples.
This is practically the only way in which apples and pears
are produced, upon these little spurs, so that the man who gets en-
thusiastic for cleanliness and prunes off alt of these little spurs
from his apple and pear trees is simply spoiling his chance of
getting any fruit from that particular part of the tree. Just con-
trast the pear branch shown in Figure 48, with its wealth of these
little spurs, with the young tree shown in Figure 46. In the one

FiQ. 48. — .\ pear branrh ■well .supplied with fruit spurs. Such a branch i.<i capable of bearing
a maximum crop.

case the owner stands a chance to have his tree loaded down
with fruit, while in the other he can not by any possibility get
fruit from that part of the tree where the fruit spurs have been
cleaned away.

Two other facts in connection with these little spurs ought
to be kept firmly in mind. The first is that, as already hinted,
they continue to bear for a long series of years. It is nothing
uncommon for one of these spurs to continue to bear for twelve
or fifteen years and as it branches considerably it may produce

122

PRUNING

in that time ten or a dozen apples. Think of the value of such
a little spur to the man who owns the tree, and yet he is fre-
quently the very man who cuts it off. The second point to be
emphasized is that once these spurs are cut or broken away, they
can never be developed again at that particular spot. The only
possible way that this section of the tree can be again brought
into usefulness is by developing water-sprouts on these bare

branches and then growing
fruit spurs on the water-
sprouts. And this is a long
and difficult process and fre-
quently fails altogether.

Pruning the apple or pear
tree, therefore, ought to con-
sist in thinning out the top so
as to let in enough light and
air to keep it healthy, and
in persistently holding on to
these small spurs just as long
as they remain productive.

How Peaches are Borne. —
Now contrast this method of
bearing and pruning with the
peach. It is about as different
as one can well imagine. To
begin with, the peach always
bears on last year 's shoots in-
stead of on these ancient little
spurs (Fig. 49). Then the
fruit buds, instead of being "mixed" buds, as in the apple, which
produce both leaves and blossoms, are plain blossom buds, each
winter bud containing a single peach blossom. This is probably
one reason why peaches are more subject to winter-killing of the
fruit buds than apples. They are not nearly so well protected.
And lastly the bearing section of the tree in the peach migrates
along the branch, as we might say, instead of remaining practi-
cally stationary for years, as in the apple.

•^

Fig. 49. — Young peaches just set
that most nodes have two peach*
cluster of leaves.

Notice
and a

HOW PEACHES ARE BORNE

123

The whole object of the peach primer is therefore to keep up
a supply of new wood. His short, interior twigs are often useless
after one year, in which case he may cut them out altogether.
In any case he prunes his tree much more severely than in the
apple, so as to develop new growth. Sometimes this new growth,
resulting from severe pruning, is so vigorous that it does not
bear much the first year but the operator knows that he can rely

Fig. 50. — Spurs of the European plum. They differ from the apple in being straight and

in not living so long.

Fig. 51. — Cherry spurs. Similar to the plum.

on its sobering down by the second year and producing a lot of
good new shoots that will bear.

The " leaders " in the peach need especial attention. From
the very fact that the method of bearing is progressive, there
is a strong tendency for these leaders to get away and carry the
tree to undue heights. This disposition is especially strong in
young trees, and for several years after the tree is set the pruner
has to take out practically all the leaders, even though he knows
that they will be replaced by an equally strong growth.

124 PRUNING

The plums and the cherry may, perhaps, be classed together
because their methods of bearing, though differing in many-
minor details, are essentially the same. They all agree in bear-
ing their fruit not only on the sides of shorter or longer spurs, but
also from the lateral buds of last year's growth. These spurs,
which may be seen in Figures 50 and 51, differ from those of the
apple in that they produce their fruit from lateral buds and also
in that they do not live nearly so long as the apple spurs. These
fruits also agree fairly closely in the character of the winter
blossom bud, which is about half way between that of the peach
and the apple. There are usually two or more blossoms in each

Fig. 52. — Blossoms of the Japanese plum. These bear on short, plump spurs which carry
a large number of blossom buds and consequently set fruit very abundantly.

winter bud and one or more leaves, though the leaves are fre-
quently rather rudimentary' (Figs. 52, 53 and 54).

In pruning these trees the orchardist adopts a middle course.
They are not pruned as severely as in the peach because the
spurs are going to bear for three or four or even more years, but
they are pruned more severely than the apple because the bearing
wood has to be renewed more frequently.

The Quince. — It remains to speak briefly of the quince,
which has a method of fruit bearing entirely its own. There
are not any winter fruit buds whatever ; but each spring, shoots
arise from lateral buds on last year's wood, and after these

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PRUNING

125

shoots have grown from one to six inches they produce a single,
terminal blossom, which of course stops any further growth in
that direction. The pruning ought therefore to aim at keeping
the tree growing with reasonable vigor, and at keeping up a
supply of new wood.

General Principles of Pruning. — It seems worth while to
notice next a very few general principles which apply with
greater or less force to the pruning of any tree.

Fio. 53. FiQ. 54.

Fig. 53. — Blossoms of the European plum. Notiro the blossoms and small or rudimentary

leaves from each winter bud.

Fig. 54. — Cherries just set. Notice that only one (or two) in each cluster ia developing.

The rest will be crowded out in the struggle for existence.

Heavy Fruning and Vigorous Growth. — The first, and by all
means the most important of these, is that a heavy pruning of
the top during the dormant season will tend to cause a very
vigorous wood growth the following season. This is exactly
what might be expected and is easily explained if one will think
the matter over a little. When the tree goes into the winter there
is normally a balance between the top and the root system. Each

126 PRUNING

one has grown enough so that when spring comes 'round again
and growth begins, the roots can supply the food and water that
will be needed to make a natural, typical growth of the top.
Now comes along the pruner and takes off twenty-five to fifty
per cent of that top. The result is that there remains one
hundred per cent of roots to support fifty per cent of top, and
of course the top is going to be better supported. It is going
to make a tremendous growth to try and take care of all the food
that the root is supplying. This is an especially important princi-
ple in renovation work, which is discussed in Chapter XVI.

Rank Growth Opposed to Fruit-hearing. — A second general
principle which ought to go with this first one, though it is not
strictly a principle of pruning, is that rank wood growth is
opposed to fruit-bearing. One will rarely find a tree which is
growing very vigorously that is also bearing heavily. The two
things simply do not go together. The young tree, so long as it
remains vigorous and growthy, does not come into bearing. In
general it is those varieties, like the Wagener and Oldenburg
apples, which are not vigorous growers, that bear earlj^ in life,
while the strong growing sorts like Gravenstein and Spy require
more time to come into fruit. So it is with the heavily pruned
old tree. It at once starts a very vigorous growth of top but
does not bear fruit until it has had time for this growth to
subside.

The lesson which these two principles teach is very fre-
quently overlooked by the man who does the pruning. He
gauges his success by the amount of wood he takes out of the
tree, and then when the tree fails to bear the following year he
blames the practice of pruning instead of the operator.

Influence of Summer Pruning. — A third principle is that
when pruning is done in the winter the tendency is to promote
a strong growth of wood, while pruning done in the summer
tends in the opposite direction, or towards the production of
fruit. There can be no question about the first part of this.
It is the same fact that was given in the first principle, only
stated a little differently. The strength of the tendency will
correspond exactly to the severity of the pruning. Prune a

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PRUNING

127

tree very severely during the dormant season and you will
develop a very strong tendency towards wood growth the follow^-
ing year; prune it very moderately and the tendency to wood
will be moderate. The other side of the principle, the influence
of summer pruning towards the production of fruit, is not so
well established and doubtless depends considerably on the
nature and extent of such pruning. If a large amount of wood is

^in. 53.

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Fig. 55. — A Sutton apple tree. A very upright growing tree and one that is difficult to
prune into a satisfactory shape.

Fig. 56. — Bradshaw plum tree. Like many other varieties of European plums the Bradshaw
makes strong leaders which need to be cut back each year to keep the tree down.

removed in the summer pruning, and particularly if this is done
rather early in the season, it is very doubtful whether there is
much, if any, tendency towards fruit. In fact such pruning
will usually result in developing secondary shoots which may
produce quite as much growth as the original shoot would have
done. But if the pruning is delayed until rather late in the
season, and if it then consists in merely taking out the growing

128 PRUNING

tip of the leaders, then it ought to have a considerable influence
towards fruit-bearing.

This seems to be a reasonable exi)lanation. We have said
that rank growth does not favor fruit, while moderate growth
does. This is because it is necessary to have plenty of elabo-
rated plant food, such as starch and sugar in the cells to
produce the fruit bud. It is the lack of this elaborated plant
food which forces the little apple spur to produce merely a leaf
bud the year that it bears an apple. Now if the summer prun-
ing is delayed until rather late in the season so that plenty of
leaf surface has been developed to manufacture starch and sugar,
and if we then merely take out the gi'owing tip we develop
exactly the conditions that will tend towards fruit. We have
taken away that part of the plant which was forming new leaves
and new wood and which was therefore using a large amount
of plant food (far more than it was itself producing), and we
have left the manufacturing end of the tree practically the
same as it was before. There is nothing left for the tree to do
but to develop fruit buds.

Different Pruning for Old and Young Trees'. — It is perhaps
worth while to give one more general principle and that is that
the habit of growth is quite different in a young tree from that
in an old tree, and consequently the young tree requires a
different kind of pruning. This difference is shown in various
ways. In the first place the young tree grows more rankly,
producing longer shoots and larger leaves.

In the second place young trees of most varieties tend to
make a much more upright growth while young than when they
get older. This is especially true of certain varieties of plums,
apples, and pears, but it applies more or less to nearly all kinds
of tree fruits except a certain few, like the Burbank and Satsuma
plums, which are persistent sprawlers from the start (Fig. 57).
Now if one of these close-growing young trees is thinned out
during the first few years to what may seem the proper degree
of density then, when it comes into bearing, and the branches
spread, as they naturally will, with the load of fruit the top is
entirely too open. The pruner ought, therefore, to understand

PRUNING TOOLS

129

his variety and if it is an upright grower, as the Bartlett pear,
it should be allowed to renuiin somewhat too thick while young,
knowing that when it comes into Ijearing it will correct this
difficulty of itself.

Pruning Tools. — Let us turn now to some of the practical
details of pruning the orchard. The first thing to do is to pro-
vide a suitable outfit of pruning tools. This, of course, is going
to vary with the type of pruning that one is doing, but for

Fig. 57. — A Burbank plum tree; one of those sprawling growing varieties which need to
have the side leaders cut back every year.

general pruning, for doing all the different kinds that one is
likely to be called upon to do, there should be at least several
different saws, a good pair of hand shears, and a knife. Possibly
we might add the pole pruner, though it is rare that it is needed
and then it is unsatisfactory, as it can not be made to take
off a branch properly. The one place where a pole pruner is
really useful is in heading back side branches that are out of
reach from the ground. The knife will be used the least of any
part of the equipment, barring the pole pruner, but still the
9

130

PRUNING

PRDNING SAWS 131

workman does occasionally find a place where notliino; is quite so
satisfactory as a good knife — in removing side shoots from the
tnmk of a yonng- tree, for example.

Pruning Saws. — It is a singular thing, but the writer has
never found a pruning saw Upon the market that exactly suited
him for serious orchard work. The fact that nine-tenths of the
pruning saws on the market are of the two-edged type lends
strength to the argument that there are at least very few good
pruning saws to be had (Fig. 59). This two-edged pruning saw
is a relic of barbarism which probably comes down from the days
of the two-edged sword when men were not particular how much
they mutilated the remains of their victims. Certainly no man
who has ever done any pruning, and who has any regard for the
tree he is at work upon, would ever use such a saw the second

Fig. 59. — The two-edged saw. An abomination that ought to be banished from the orchard.

time if it could be avoided. After a good deal of thought and
some experimenting, and after many consultations with practical
orchard men, the writer has developed the series of saws shown
in the accompanying pictures (Figs. 60, 61 and 62), which, if
they are not entirely satisfactory, are at least a great improve-
ment over anything that could be bought in the open market.
They were all made up on special orders, by one of our large
saw manufacturers.

The largest saw is designed for renovation work primarily,
and any one who has ' * fiddled along ' ' with one of the ordinary
small pruning saws, or who has in desperation resorted to a
big, clumsy carpenter's saw, will be delighted with the way this
saw works. It was modelled after an old carpenter's saw that
had been filed so often it had been reduced nearly to a point,

132

PRUNING

and the narrowness at the point of this saw shown will be
appreciated by the orchard renovator who gets into a narrow
place. The specifications of the saw will be found beneath the
picture. In developing this saw the large type of tooth was first
tried ; this is known technically as the lumberman 's tooth, and is
shown in the cut of the two-edged saw. This tooth was tried
because it seemed reasonable that a large tooth, on a saw of this

FiQ. 60. } a. 61. Fig. 62.

Fig. 60. — A good saw for small trees. It is 14 inches long, three inches wide at the butt,

with seven teeth per inch.
Fig. 61. — An excellent saw for heavy pruning. It is 26 inches long, 6 inches wide at the

butt, 1 inch wide at the tip and has five teeth per inch.

Fig. 62. — A good saw for ordinary pruning. It is 24 inches long, 4 inches wide at the butt,

1 inch wide at the tip, with five and one-half teeth per inch.

type, would cut faster than a small one, but in actual orchard
work it was found that it required more effort to cut off a
branch with the coarse-toothed saw than with the finer type.
The saw simply did not have weight enough to carry such
heavy teeth.

The second and third saws are intended for use on trees
which have been well cared for and regularly pruned and which
therefore do not need to have any very large branches taken out.

PRUNING SH^AilS

133

The writer is still experimenting on both, of these sizes and may-
develop some slight changes, but they are very satisfactory just
as they stand. The small saw, Figure 60, is intended primarily
for work in young trees, but it AArill do excellent work on any
ordinary fruit tree. It simpl}^ means a little more work to get
off a large limb with this saw than with those shown in Figures
61 and 62.

Pruning Shears. — ^N( :^t to a saw, a good pair of hand shears
will be found most us^Jul. In fact w^here the orchardist is
pruning fairly young trees, say up to six or seven years, and
where he has a large pair of shears, of the type shown in Figure

Fig. 63. — An excellent tj'pe of pruning shears. A large part of the pruning on many trees
may be done with a shear of this tjTJe.

63, it is surprising how seldom it is necessary to resort to the
saw. The shears shown are imported, being made in France.
They are known technically as the " French wheel-spring
shears." It seems unfortunate to be obliged to recommend
an imported article; perhaps the writer has been unfortunate
in the American shears he has used, but he has tried many makes
and none of them have stood up under hard usage like this
French make. In buying such shears get good-sized ones for
heavy work. A ten-inch size of this pattern is none too large
when one is going to do a lot of heavy pruning. For example:
A foreman of a pruning gang used one of these ten-inch shears

134

PRUNING

for pruning about three thousand peach trees four and five years
old, and an equal luimber of apple trees varying from one to five
years; and after all this pruning the shears were still in good
working order.

A good knife completes the outfit for most work. A lieavj'"
knife, with a wdde blade and a good hook on the end of the
blade, is best. The one shown in Figure 64 suits the work admir-
ably, though a man will use a pair of shears a thousand times

FiQ. 64. Fia. 65.

iM.:. Gl.— A go.nl tyi)(3 (.f pruui

Fig. 65. — A good combination knife; pruning, budding and ordinary blades.

for every time he uses a knife. The second knife shown in
Figure 65 is a good one, with a budding blade and an ordinary
blade, in addition to the pruner. Where a man. wants to do
various things with the knife it is probably worth having.
Usually, however, the workman prefers to have his blade in
different handles, and carry only the type of knife for which he
has immediate use.

YOUNG TREES 135

Actual Pruning. — Now let us sally forth with our newly
acquired i)ruuing tools and do some actual pruning. Every
different tree will prove to be a different problem. This is one
thing that makes pruning interesting. It is not the province
of this chapter to suggest all the types of problems that the
pruner will encounter. Two of these will have to suffice.

Young Trees. — The first is the young tree. Like training
children this is the most important and the most difficult stage.
At the time of setting, the tree is given a severe pruning as out-
lined in chapter four. The next season and for several years
thereafter something like the following program is followed :

First. — The head of the tree is examined to see that the main
branches are satisfactory in number and in position. There ought
to be from three to five of these main scaffold branches and they
should be well distributed about the tree, not coming out at the
same height and not too many of them on any one side. This
is a more serious problem than some miglit think, particularly
with certain varieties such as the Wealthy apple, which do not
tend to form good heads naturally. It will require ten times
the effort on this one point to shape up satisfactorily a block
of Wealthy trees that it will to develop a similar block of Mc-
intosh trees. In any case, but particularly with wayward
growers, it is well worth while to look after this matter of main
branches during the growing season, and it ought to be settled
just as early in the life of the tree as possible. Yet with all one 'a
care it often happens that branches simply will not develop in
the right place at the start, and the pruner must keep at the tree
until he gets a reasonably satisfactory top. Frequently he haa
to forego a scaffold branch at one point and train out secondary
branches from adjoining main branches to supply the deficiency.

Second. — Examine the leaders, particularly the leaders in the
top of the tree, and sliorten them in, if they need it, as they may
if they are running especially high. In most cases the side leaders
may be allowed to grow as much as they will, for at tliis stage one
wants to develop a good big tree. It is only with such sprawling
growers as the Burbank plum that one needs to head back the
side leaders.

136 PRUNING

Third. — Look for poor forks on all the main branches. This
is not quite so important as the forks at the main trunk, but it
is well worth looking out for, especially with varieties which
tend to develop these poor forks frequently, and it does not re-
quire a great amount of time.

Fourth. — Take out crossing branches, particularly those
.which tend to grow back into the centre of the tree where they
do not belong. As a rule these crossing branches may be left
till the second year without any damage, unless they are very
vigorous, and one will find that it requires much less time to do
the necessary pruning if only two-year wood is considered. This
is really a point of a good deal of practical importance where one
has many trees to prune. With a half dozen trees to look after
the owner can afford to look at every twig. With a half dozen
hundred it is a different matter.

Fifth. — Thin out the rest of the top where this may be
needed. Usually there is little left to do after the first four
points have been looked after. The writer is very strongly of
the opinion that young trees, from two to five or six years of age,
should be pruned just as little as possible and still have them
develop well formed heads and good main branches. Thinning
for the sake of thinning ought to be reduced to a minimum.

Sixth.—Newer take out the small shoots so long as they re-
main healthy. This rule has few exceptions. If the top is too
thick take out small branches with their attached shoots but do
not take the shoots alone.

Bearing Trees. — The second illustrative pruning problem we
Avant to discuss is the tree at bearing age. Of course this is
going to vary greatly even with different varieties, and still more
Avith different classes of fruits, and yet there are a good many
things which are common to all trees. Here is the program :

First. — Preserve the fruit spurs. Never strip a branch of
small shoots, whether thev are spurs or not. This has already
been discussed under the various fruits and also under the young
tree and it need not be further elaborated here, but it is of
crucial importance.

Second, — Thin the top uniformly by taking out relatively

TIME TO PRUNE 137

small branches. It is a very common mistake to prune out too
large branches while removing the same total amount of wood
from the tree. This means that in some parts of the top we have
made large holes where there is no wood whatever, while in
other parts the top is as thick as before. Branches the size of
a man 's finger are the ideal size. This kind of pruning requires
more work, in some cases much more work, but it is worth the
extra effort. And the tendency to overdo the pruning is less.

Third. — Cut out dead or diseased or broken branches. This
needs no discussion except to say that in some diseases, like black
knot and canker, it is not always possible to remove all the
affected branches. Sometimes the branch is of so much impor-
tance that it must be cured if possible.

FourtlK — Shorten back the leaders where they are going
too high or are spreading too far. In doing this do not leave a
straight stub but take them back to a side shoot. The importance
of keeping the trees down where they can be sprayed and picked
and pruned easily can hardly be overestimated.

Fifth. — Take out the water-sprouts altogether where they are
not needed and shorten them back severely where they are
needed. In this type of tree, the well-cared-for, bearing tree,
there are usually few water-sprouts and no need of preserving
them. But if they are needed it is merely to reclothe a branch
with bearing wood and they should therefore be cut back each
year to one or two buds. This ought to gradually cause the for-
mation of fruit spurs. If not they should be taken out altogether.

Sixth. — Cut out crossing branches or such as tend to grow back
into the tree. There are not likely to be many of these where
the pruning is attended to yearly, yet there are always a few.

Seventh. — Thin the balance of the top where it is needed.
As with the young tree, there is usually not much left to thin
after all the other points are looked after.

Time to Prune. — It remains to discuss briefly a few general
questions which are sure to come up where the subject of pruning
is being discussed. The first of these is the season of the year
at which pmning should be done. It does not make much differ-
ence. Summer and winter pruning have already beeu discussed.
and barring the difference brought out in that discussion, there is

138

PRUNING

little choice as to seasons so far as the effect on the tree is con-
cerned. There is this objection to autumn pruning that the
wounds made then have to stand a long time before they can
begin to heal, which means, of course, that they dry out and die
back further than they would if made at any other time of year.
And yet other considerations may entirely offset this objection.
For example, renovation pruning is frequently done in the autumn,
because the owner wants to begin the fight on the San Jose scale.

FiQ, 66.

Fig. 67.

Fig. 66. — A long stub left in pruning. Such a stub is sure to decay before it can heal over.

Fig. 67. — An old stub beginning to decay. It is impossible for such stubs to heal over
and every one is a menace to the tree.

and this can not be done to the best advantage until the
dead and half -dead branches have all been removed. It ought also
to be said here that there is no harm to the tree from pruning
when the wood is frozen. It may harm the prmier but not the
pruned. There is also probably little harm to the tree from
bleeding, though it is best to avoid it if possible. It produces
more favorable conditions for disease germs and possibly weakens
the tree slightly.

HOW TO PRUNE 139

There are two very strong reasons why pruning is usually
done during the dormant season, the first being that there is
usually more time at that season of the year, and the second
that a workman can judge better what branches ought to be re-
moved, because there are no leaves to interfere. It will be seen,
therefore, that the time for pruning is chosen largely from the
standpoint of convenience. Do it when it will best fit in with
the other farm work.

How to Prune. — The best way to make the cuts in pruning
is of far more importance than the time of making them. To

Fio. 68. Fig. 69.

FlQ. OS. — A well-made wound. Suoh a wound will heal over if some dressing is used to

preserve the heart wood.

Fio. 69. — A well-made wound beginning to heal. With proper care such a wound will heal

over completely in a few years.

Fig. 70. — A well-made wound that has entirely healed over.

begin w^ith, every branch that is removed, whether it be small or
large, ought to be cut just as close to the limb from which it is
taken as possible (Fig. 68). There is no exception to this rule.
A large collection of these wounds was made in getting up an
exhibition on pruning, for a " better farming " train. With-
out any exception the wounds where long stubs had been left
were not healing well. Those that w^ere old enough had already
begun to decay (Fig. 67). Those which had been cut close were
healing nicely. Some of these wounds are shown in Figures 68
and 69. Cutting back close like this is going to enlarge the

140 PRUNING

wound considerably, but do not worry about that. Cut close,
and the tree will do the rest.

It is also desirable to leave the wound as smooth as possible,
to which end one should not use an axe but should use a sharp
saw. It rarely pays, however, in commercial work to smooth a
wound up with a knife. Leave that for the amateur. Occa-
sionally, when the best healing is very important and when,
in some way, a rough cut has been made, it may be w^orth while
to take a knife and smooth up the edges along the cambium
layer.

Dressings for Wounds, — All sorts of things are used for this
purpose, from mixtures of clay and cow-dung to grafting wax or
shellac. The ideal dressing ought to be durable, waterproof,
harmless to the tree, reasonably cheap and easily applied. If it
can be antiseptic so much the better. In the writer's opinion
there are just two classes of dressings that are worth using.
These are paints of various kinds and the tar and creosote
mixtures. For nearly all wounds, paint is the best material by
far. and comes very near to possessing all of the desirable points
just enumerated. It is best to mix your own paint rather thick,
using white lead and raw linseed oil. Also add a little raw
sienna, enough to make the paint about the color of the bark.
This does not make it any better dressing, but the wounds you
are making will worry the neighbors less. This is particularly
important on renovation work where many and relatively large
wounds will have to be made. Tar or creosote are preferred on
large wounds simply because these substances are better pre-
servatives than paint, and the heartwood of the large wound will
have to stand many years before it is completely healed over.
One reason why tar preserves better than paint is because it
strikes in more deeply. It therefore damages the cambiiun layer
more, and for this reason, on large wounds which it is very de-
sirable to have heal well, the pruner will sometimes tar the
center of the wound and use oil and lead paint around the out-
side over the cambium layer. This takes considerable time but is
worth it in important cases. Pruners are sometimes advised to
take a paint pot into the tree when pruning and paint the

QUESTIONS 141

wounds at once. There are two objections to this: First, the
pruning tools are all that he wants to be bothered with at one
time ; and, second, the wounds will take the paint much better
if they are allowed to dry out a little. It is usually much better
to delay the painting for two or three weeks.

QUESTIONS

1. Explain why tlie primer sliould understand how trees bear their fruit

2. Describe tlie method of fruit-bearing of pear and apple trees.

3. What should be the object of the orchardist in pruning these trees?

4. Describe the method of fruit-bearing in the peach.

5. Cive the differences in pruning between the peach and the apple.

0. Compare the plum or the cherry with the apple in metliod of bearing
fruit.

7. How would the pruning differ?

8. How does the quince differ from the others in its fruit-bearing?

9. Explain the general relation between heavy pruning and vigorous

growth.

10. ^^'hy is rank growtli opposed to fruit-bearing?

11. What are the influences of summer pruning as compared with Avintcr

pruning?

12. \Miy should the pruning of young trees differ from that of old ones?

13. Give a list of pruning tools for orchard work.

14. What are some of the desirable points in a pruning saw?

15. Describe the best shears for orchard pruning.

16. Give specific directions for the pruning of young trees for the first few

years.

17. Discuss the problems involved in priming trees of bearing age.

18. Give cautions and directions regarding the pruning operations.

19. How should wounds be dressed? Why is this done?

20. Have you seen old orchards that were not properly pruned? WTiat

was the effect of such neglect?

CHAPTER XI
ORCHARD INSECTS

It is not expected that this chapter will include, by any
means, all of the insects with which the orchard o^vner is likely
to have dealings. To do that would require a volume in itself.
An endeavor has been made to select merely those insects which
experience and observation have shown were almost certain to be
commercially important to the man who grows an orchard. And
they have been treated in the briefest possible way and princi-
pally from the standpoint of fighting them in the orchard, only
enough of their life history being included to give a key to the
most effective line of treatment.

Following the custom of almost every one who writes on this
subject, the writer wishes to lay down certain general principles,
a knowledge of which ought to enable the orchardist to select,
with a fair degree of certainty, the remedies that should be most
successful. Of course the details will vary slightly with each case,
but it should be possible for anyone to select the general line of
attack.

The first general rule is that if an insect actually devours the
tissues of the plant, so that anyone can see very evidently where
it has been at work and that some of the tissue has disappeared,
then the cheapest and best remedy is some kind of poison applied
to that part of the plant where the insect is feeding. In other
words, it is cheaper to poison an insect by means of the food it
eats than it is to kill it in any other way ; but you are able to
kill it in this way only when it chews off a piece of the leaf or
fruit and swallows it.

Take the tent-caterpillar as an example of this class of in-
sects. Almost every one is familiar with its work. The tree
attacked looks more and more ragged as its leaves are eaten
until finally it may be entirely stripped of foliage. It ought to
be evident to anyone that these insects are devouring the plant
tissues and can be killed through their food. Some sort of poison
142

INSECTS OF THE APHIS TYPE 143

is used to kill them, sneli as Paris green or arsenate of lead, and
not siieh a substance as lime, or sulfur or copper sulfate.

If a man were attempting- to poison a skunk or a weasel that
was killing his chickens he would not expect to do it b}^ putting
out a bait covered with sulfur, but would use some form of
strychnine or arsenic. Precisely the same rule holds with
insects. They are merely smaller animals. They take the poison
along with the plant tissue into the stomach and are killed.

Now contrast with this the aphis, which is a conspicuous
example of an altogether different type of insects. Most orchard
owners are entirely too familiar with the way this insect works.
If the owner is on the watch for it he sees first a few little green
or black lice on the under side of the leaf, or even on the opening
bud, waiting for the leaf to appear. These increase rapidly in
number and the leaf begins to curl up because the under sur-
face, where the insects are sucking the sap of the leaf, is thereby
retarded in its growth, while the upper surface, being less
affected, continues to grow normally or nearly so. But the leaf,
while it is distorted, does not disappear. It is all there except the
juice and no amount of poison applied to it will have any effect
on the apliis. It would be exactly as reasonable to expect to kill
a mosquito, by putting Paris green on one 's hand, as to destroy
the aphis with such a poison. The beak of either insect would
be pushed through the layer of poison and into the tissues on
which it wished to feed and it would draw in the blood of the
man or the sap of the plant without any poison whatever.

Insects of the aphis type have to be attacked in an entirely
different manner. And it is a much more expensive method.
They must be treated with some substance which will either stop
up the pores along the sides of the abdomen through which the
insect breathes or else (either by entering those pores or by work-
ing on the surface of the insect) will corrode the tissues and
destroy the insect. Soapy substances work in the former manner,
while the oils and similar substances actually attack the tissues.

These may seem like very simple statements and so they are.
But they are fundamental and are inserted here because so often
they are not understood. Indeed, at meetings of fruit growers

144 ORCHARD INSECTS

one often hears some intelligent orchard man recommend the use
of Bordeaux mixture for the tent-caterpillar, or condemn arsenate
of lead because it did not kill the aphis.

APPLE INSECTS

The following list comprises those insects which the apple
grower has to reckon with year in and year out. Of course
they do not all come in any one season, but he has to be on the
watch for them, and when they do come they make serious
trouble. They are arranged roughly in the order of their im-
portance, though seasons, localities and even varieties influence
this point.

The San Jose scale and the codling moth are rivals for first
place on the list of the apple grower's insect troubles. Either
one is bad enough but the scale is considered first because of its
ability in actually killing the trees. In its damage to the fruit
itself the codling moth is far in the lead, for a wormy apple is
seriously damaged, while the apple with scale on it is not hurt
much for cooking and even for eating raw, a few scales will not
particularly affect the flavor.

There are three things which make the scale an insect specially
dreaded by the orchardist.

Inconspicuous. — The first of these is its inconspicuous char-
acter. Unless the owner is very familiar with it, the first notice
he has of its presence on the tree may be the dying of some of
the branches. An insect which is spectacular in its attack, such
as the tent-caterpillar or the fall web-worm, has little chance of
escaping notice. But the San Jose scale is so small, and looks so
much like the bark of the tree, that even one who is entirely
fainiliar with it may go by an affected tree day after day and
never notice it. The writer confesses with chagrin that he has
proved this point in his own garden.

Breeds Eapidly. — The second difficulty in combating the
scale is the fact that it breeds continuously and rapidly through-
out the season. Beginning some time in the late spring or early
summer, at a date varying with the locality, the young scales are

SAN JOSE SCALE 145

produced up to late autuniii. And they are produced with sur-
prising rapidity. Investigations have shown tliat so rapidly are
the young produced and so quicldy do they reach maturity, that
starting with a single female in the spring we might reasonably
expect that by the close of the breeding season there would be a
family of something like a billion, if there were no accidents.
Fortunately^ there are many accidents, but, even so, the rate of
increase is tremendous. This " continuous performance " in
production means that while the grower may clean up the trees
in the early spring and have relatively few live scales, yet if he
leaves any at all, he may expect that by autumn the trees will
be in bad shape again.

Attacks Many Kinds of Plants. — The third difficulty in keep-
ing the scale down comes from the fact that it feeds on so many
different trees and shrubs. The orchardist may get it out of
his apple trees, but an adjoining currant patch or some Japanese
quinces or thorn trees or dog-woods on a neighbor's lawn, or
even willow trees along the brook, may furnish a new source of
supply. It is therefore a constant fight in a scale neighborhood.

Hard to Recognize. — The first point in this fight is to learn
to recognize the pest. The easiest way to do this with apple
trees is to watch the young apples as they develop. The young
scales seem to be particularly partial to the fruit and are espe-
cially conspicuous on it, so that if there are any great number of
scales on the trees one is sure to find them sooner or later on
the apples. They usually collect at the blossom or calyx end of
the fruit, and frequently, though not always, produce a bright
red spot, the scales themselves varying in color from nearly
white on through gray to practically black. One will therefore
find a white, gray or black central speck surrounded by a bright
red ring. The scale itself is easily scraped off, leaving the red
ring with a light center. On the twigs and branches the appear-
ance is frequently described as resembling ashes thrown upon
the tree, and this is as good a description as can be given. The
bark will be roughened, and on scraping it with the thumb nail
or the back of a jack-knife a wet, yellowish streak is produced
by the crushing of the insects. Also if the observer cuts into
10

146 ORCHARD INSECTS

the twig, the inner bark, which is normally green, will be found
to be stained red.

Remedies. — In fighting this insect the two standard remedies,
at the present time, are the lime-sulfur washes and the miscible,
or so-called "soluble," oils, which are fully described in
Chapter XIV. Many other things are used, and doubtless
new remedies will be constantly put upon the market, but these
tw^o have stood the test of time and seem likely to stand it for
some time to come. It is usually not possible to keep the scale
entirely under control particularly in sections where there are
some neglected orchards, without giving two sprayings per year.
Not being able to decide which of the above remedies is the
better, the writer has developed the plan of using oil in the
autumn, as soon as the leaves are off the trees, and lime-sulfur
in the spring just before the buds break, when he has a bad
attack of the scale to combat. The bulk of the insects are thus
killed by the autumn treatment while many of them are young
and less resistant, and one gets the advantage of the "creeping"
of the oil. Also the operation is less disagreeable, which is worth
considering. And lastly, the tree does not have to exhaust itself
by supporting all these insects over winter. Then by using the
lime-sulfur in the spring, the orchardist not only kills what
scales were left but also gets the advantage of the fungicidal
effect of the wash. When the orchard is less seriously attacked
it may be better to use lime-sulfur in the autumn or it may even
be omitted and the spring application relied upon to keep this
part under control.

Thorough Spraying. — The one fundamental thing in the ap-
plication of insecticides for scale is thoroughness. Keep everlast-
ingly after the men who are doing the work and insist on their
reaching every part of the trees. This is more important with
scale than with any other insect, though it is always of im-
portance. Take the codling moth for example. Suppose the
orchardist sprays only half of the apples — he has protected those,
at least in a section like New England where there is but one
brood. But if he is going to hit only half of the apples in fighting
scale, he might better save his time and money, and go to a ball
game., for both will be absolutely thrown away on this spraying.

CODLING MOTH 147

The scales will continue to breed on the unsprayed areas and
will soon reinfest the whole tree.

Perhaps a little experience may be worth relating here, as it
serves to show just where a grower is likely to get into trouble.
It was in spraying for scale on some old apple trees at the
Massachusetts Agricultural College. These trees had been used
for years for testing new, and for the most part worthless, sprays
for scale. Many of the trees had become completely covered
with scale and were dying rapidly, and though they were not
very valuable in themselves, they were a constant menace to
other trees that were valuable. It did not look well for the
college to have such a disreputable orchard around, even for
experimental purposes. So it was decided to clean it up. It was
sprayed as here outlined, oil in the autumn and lime-sulfur in
the spring, and the work was done with a reasonable degree of
thoroughness. The next season the trees were examined from
time to time through the summer, and at first everything looked
well, and we said, "What a fine thing it was to get those old trees
cleaned up." But gradually we began to see a few scales, and
then more and more, till finally we were back about where we
started. Too many of the tips of the branches had been missed
in spraying. The next year the same program was followed,
only these tips were looked after, and out of thirty trees that
were literally alive with scale only two or three were found
that had any scale at all, and these had very few indeed.

Some Varieties Injured more than Others. — A point worth
mentioning in this connection is the varying degree to which dif-
ferent varieties are injured by the scale. Any neglected orchard
that is suffering from scale will show this. Rhode Island Green-
ing trees will be found half-dead, while Kings and Baldwins,
under the same conditions, are in fairly good condition.

Codling Moth. — This is the insect that is responsible for
the wormy apple, and no one can visit our markets without
having it borne in upon him what a fearful responsibility it is.
Simple as the treatment for this insect is, and long as the life
history has been well understood, the pest is still allowed to do a
tremendous amount of damage.

148 ORCHARD INSECTS

The moth itself is small and iucouspicuous and is seldom
seen by the orchard man. It deposits its eggs sometimes on the
fruit but more often on adjoining leaves or even on the bark
of twigs and branches, where they hatch in a short time and the
little "worms," or larvae, soon attack the young apples, in most
cases entering at the blossom end. Once inside the apple, they
feed for about a month, principally on the inside (but occasion-
ally working on the surface). When it has reached full size the
larva emerges and forms its cocoon usually in a crevice in the
bark. From this point the life history varies with different
parts of the country. In most of New England there is only a
partial second brood, that is most of them pass the winter in
the cocoon stage. A few pass through this stage and emerge
as moths which deposit their eggs, producing the second brood
of "worms." The future history is practically the same as
before, except that the later broods of the season do more feeding
on the surface of the apples, especially where two apples hang
together or where a leaf rests upon an apple.

In States farther south there are two or more complete
broods in a season.

The all-important remedy in fighting the codling moth is
spraying with poison, and usually it is the only remedy at-
tempted. In sections w^here the codling moth is very trouble-
same the following additional methods are practised:

First, the rough bark is scraped from the trees to reduce
the number of hiding places for the larva? when they emerge.

Second, bands of burlap are put about the trees as traps
under which the larvae will spin their cocoons. These bands are
removed from time to time and the insects which are found under
them are killed.

Third, the windows of storage houses are kept screened so
as to prevent the escape of the moths which may have passed
the winter as larvae in barrels or elsewhere.

But, as before suggested, the all-important method of con-
trol is spraying with a poison. Authorities differ as to just the
type of spray that is best. Many western experimenters insist
on a coarse, forcible spray which shall force the poison into the

APHIS 149

calyx cup. Others believe in a fine, mist-like spray which shall
reach all parts of the tree. This is the type of spray which
is most in favor. All agree that the spraying should be very
thorough and that it is best to make the first spraying within a
week or ten days after the petals fall from the blossoms, using
3 pounds arsenate of lead paste or one and one-half pounds of
the powdered form to 50 gallons of water. A second spraying
is usually made three or four weeks later. In sections where
several broods are produced it is necessary even to spray three
or four times for this insect.

Avoid Spraying When Trees Are in Bloom. — Another im-
portant point is the desirability of avoiding spraying while the
trees are in bloom. Authorities differ as to just how serious
a matter it is, but there seems to be considerable evidence to
show that the bees may be killed by such a spray. It is also
probable that the pistils may be injured if the spraying is done
just when they are in the most tender condition, which is when
the trees are in " full bloom." In any event there seems to be
nothing gained by spraying when trees are in bloom, over spray-
ing just after the petals fall. It is certainly worth while to
avoid any chance of injuring either the bees or the blossoms.

Aphis. — This is the most discouraging group to fight, of all
the "bugs." So far as winning the fight is concerned the
writer had far sooner tackle the San Jose scale. With the latter
there is a well-defined course of treatment, and if one follows
this carefully there is no question about success. With the aphis
one never knows quite what to do, and when the best possible
has been done, the result usually leaves much to be desired.

The life history of the aphis is as follows: It passes the
winter in the egg state and these eggs will be found as little,
shiny black objects looking much like weed seeds, clustered
about the buds on last year's growth. They hatch very early in
the spring, usually before the buds open, into little, dark green,
almost black, lice which will be found on the expanding buds,
and, later, on the under side of the leaves. The leaves soon curl
up and protect the insects almost perfectly. The later genera-
tions of the young are produced alive, and as it requires but

150 ORCHARD INSECTS

a few days to reach maturity and as each adult female will
produce several youug in a day, they increase with great rapidity.
This makes their control a serious matter.

Control. — Now, what shall be done to check this insect?
As already suggested, in the general discussion, this is a sucking
insect and must be killed by a contact poison; that is every
insect must he hit to be killed. "When we remember how well
they are protected and how rapidly they increase, the difficulty
of controlling them may be realized. It is realized still more
fully after we have tried to fight them. Nothing but the
most thorough treatment will be effective, for if only a few
individuals are left after a spraying they will increase so
rapidly that in a very few days things are as bad as ever.

The best time to fight the aphis is in the early stages, as soon
as possible after it hatches. If some treatment could be devised
to destroy the eggs in winter, that would be the ideal method.
It has often been suggested that the winter spraying with oil or
lime-sulfur might be effective, but there is much doubt in regard
to this. Orchards which had been sprayed every year for four
years with oil and lime-sulfur were as badly infected with aphis
as the most neglected orchard in the neighborhood.

The best treatment seems to be to delay the spring applica-
tion of lime-sulfur (using it at the rate of one gallon to about
eight or nine of water) until just as the buds are breaking and
after the aphids have hatched. If the right time can be selected
after all the aphids are hatched and before the leaves are out
enough to be damaged or to allow the aphids to crawl in among
them and thus be protected, and if the work is done thoroughly
enough to destroy this first generation, then there will be no
future generations. Later treatment, when needed, must con-
sist in using some one of the contact sprays, either as a separate
spray or combined with the arsenical sprays which are given for
codling moth. On the Pacific coast, where these insects are
troublesome and where there is a form which does not curl the
leaves, it is the usual custom to combine a tobacco preparation
with the poison and the fungicide of the regular sprayings and
thus kill both types of insects and the fungous diseases.

BUD MOTH 151

But when all is said and done, the aphis is still a very-
difficult insect to control and it is fortunate that bad outbreaks
of it do not occur more frequently.

Curculio. — Both the plum and the apple curculios work on
the apple, but the former is a far more serious pest. They are
both "snout" beetles, but the plum curculio is of a dark,
brownish-gray color and has a short snout, while the apple
curculio is reddish-brown and has a long, slender snout. For
present purposes, however, they may be considered together.

Life History. — They hibernate as adult insects in the grass
or trash about the orchard and emerge in the spring about
the time that the trees bloom. They feed for a time on the buds,
leaves and even blossoms, but soon- attack the fruit, and the fe-
males begin laying eggs in small punctures in the skin of the
young apples, the plum curculio cutting, in addition, a crescent-
shaped incision above the incision where the eg^ is deposited. On
apples most of the eggs do not develop and the damage results
from the scars, which cause the fruit to become misshapen and
unsalable. With plums and peaches the larvaj usually do develop
and produce the white "worms" of the fruit, all too common in
many orchards.

The most effective treatment for the curculio is spraying
with arsenate of lead, using 3 pounds of the paste or one and
one-half pounds of the powder to 50 gallons of water before the
blossoms open, and a second application of the same materials
within a week after the petals fall from the blossoms. This latter
is the same spray which is most important for the codling moth,
so that one kind of treatment will control these two serious pests.

Bud Moth. — This is a very interesting insect from the
standpoint of its life history, which is quite unusual. The egg
hatches in the summer and the little "worm" is dark brown
with a shiny black head. It grows to perhaps an eighth of an
inch in length and then prepares a little nest for the winter.
This little nest or burrow is usually located in some crevice of
the bark near a bud, and considerable experience is necessary
to find it, as it is very difficult to detect. About the only indica-
tion of its whereabouts is a bit of leaf, or a small scale of bark,

152 ORCHARD INSECTS

attached to the branch. On poking about with a pin, however,
the searcher will tind a little web and soon is rewarded by find-
ing the little silk-lined tunnel and in it the little ' ' worm. ' '

As soon as the weather begins to warm up in the spring, and
the buds begin to break, this little fellow crawls out of his winter
quarters and establishes himself in the centre of the expanding
cluster of leaves and blossoms from some terminal bud. Here he
develops, feeding on the leaves and blossoms and drawing them
together in a rather compact bunch by fastening the ends together
with silk threads.

Spraying. — Once the larva gets inside this cluster it is
perfectly safe. No amount of spraying can touch it, as it feeds
on the inside. The only time when it is feasible to attack this
enemy is when it goes from its winter quarters to the opening
buds and leaves. The larva eats its way into this cluster of
leaves, and if the trees can be sprayed just before it crawls from
winter quarters it can be poisoned. But the poison must be
strong. Five to ten pounds of arsenate of lead paste or half
that amount of the powder to fifty gallons of water will be none
too strong. And the spraying must be thorough; every bud-
cluster must be reached.

The amount of damage which this insect does in some seasons
is very great, but the insect is so inconspicuous that its presence
is usually not even suspected. Practically the entire crop of
certain varieties is sometimes destroyed by the bud moth and
the loss attributed by the growers to unfavorable weather at
blossoming time.

Canker Worm. — There are two types of canker worm, differ-
ing principally in the fact that in one case the eggs are laid in
the autumn and in the other case in the spring. In both types
the insect pupates in the soil and the wingless adult females crawl
up the trunk of the tree and deposit their eggs in clusters or
sheets upon the branches. Here they hatch about the time the
leaves are well expanded into small ''measuring-worms" and
begin feeding.

Their presence can usually be detected by shaking the
branches of the trees, when each little "worm" will drop from

TENT-CATERPILLAR 153

the leaves and liang by a thread. Another good method is to go
under the trees and look up through the tops, when the small
holes eaten out where the little larviE have been feeding will
be readily seen.

Ordinarily canker worms are not troublesome, frequently they
will not be seen for years, but when they do come in force, look
out for trouble. It will require sharp, efficient work to keep
them in check.

Methods of Conibating. — There are two principal ways in
which these insects may be combated. The best way, by all
odds, because it fits in with the fight against other insects, U
to spray with arsenate of lead or some such poison. Usually
the spraying for codling moth will attend to the canker worms
as well. And ^-et instances are seen where the most energetic
and up-to-date orchard men have been literally swamped by a
bad outbreak of this pest.

Where, for any reason, one expects such an especially severe
attack from them, it is well to band the trees wdth some sticky
substance to catch the wingless female insects as they crawl up
the trunk. If no crack is left underneath the band through
which the female can make her way, and if the bands are kept
sticky for a long enough time, the method is decidedly effective.
For the fall canker worm October and November, and for the
spring species IMarch and April, are likely to be the months
during which the females move up the trunk.

In this connection it is worth calling attention to the fact
that the stirring of the soil in cultivated orchards makes it
difficult for canker worms to pupate with any degree of com-
fort and security.

Tent-caterpillar. — This is a leaf-eating caterpillar of the
"first magnitude." A few nests of them in an apple tree will
strip it of leaves about as completely as the cold of winter can.

The eggs are laid in the summer in curious bands which may
be discovered about the twigs during the winter when the leaves
are off. These eggs hatch with the first warm days of spring and
the little bits of l)laek, hairy caterpillars may be found clustered
about the expanding buds in the vicinity, waiting fur the leaves

154 ORCHARD INSECTS

to come out to give them a "square meal." Getting such an
early start as they do and being provided with an insatiable
appetite, they come very near to keeping up with the leaves
when there is a bad attack of them. This makes it necessary to
use drastic measures with them when they once get a start in an
orchard. Few insects can make an apple tree look more desolate,

Bemedy. — Where trees are attacked badly by this insect it
will usually be necessary to give a special spraying with arsenate
of lead before the blossoms open, else they may get so large
that it will be difficult to kill them with any ordinary dose. If
they have been allowed to get a start in the orchard it is simply
a question of using poison strong enough and they can be killed.
Four to six pounds of arsenate of lead paste to fifty gallons of
water will be found none too strong. It is also worth noting
that where orchards are sprayed while dormant with lime-sulfur
at the usual strength there is generallv no trouble from the
tent-caterpillar as the eggs are usually all destroyed.

The Railroad Worm or Apple Maggot. — There is not much
satisfaction in discussing this insect because, up to date, there
has been so little discovered that can be done for it.

Life History and Habits. — The adult insect is a little fly
which deposits its eggs just under the skin of the apple. This
egg-laying is likely to occur at any time during the summer and
on hatching the little maggot burrows through the tiesh of the
apple. If there are several maggots in one apple the fruit may
be completely riddled. An ajffected apple has a peculiar pitted
appearance on the outside, the sunken areas being of a different
color from the balance of the surface. On cutting open the apple
the flesh will be found to be a net-work of little tunnels. The
first tunnels made by the little worm after batching, usually
close up and appear merely as little hard threads running
through the flesh. The later tunnels remain open. An apple
attacked by this insect is practically worthless as human food,
but may be fed to stock.

It is a curious fact that the apple maggot seems to have very
decided preferences for certain varieties. In a general way
those varieties which are soft in flesh and mild in flavor seem

BORERS 155

to be especially acceptable to it. Such varieties as Hubbard-
ston, Porter and Tolnian Sweet may be badly attacked, while
adjoining trees of other varieties are little injured.

Destroy the Wind-falls. — About the only generally accepted
thing to do for this pest is to destroy the wind-fall apples. If
one has any number of trees and attempts to do this by hand it is
a good-sized contract. But if it can be arranged to run hogs or
sheep in the orchard they will effectually clean up the wind-
falls. The one objection to these animals in the orchard is that
they do not always wait for the apple to drop before they eat it,
and they are likely to clean up not only apples but leaves on
low-hanging branches. In many old orchards, however, where
there are no branches near the ground this objection does not
apply. Hogs are especially adapted to this purpose. They
not only dispose of the drop apples, but by their rooting they
furnish a good substitute for cultivation and their droppings
will enrich the soil. They are particularly good in old orchards
on lands too steep and rocky to be cultivated. Occasionally they
make some trouble by barking the trunks and branches, but this
does not often happen if they are kept well watered and fed.

Effect of . Spraying. — The one other hopeful suggestion in
connection with this insect is that it seems to do relatively little
damage in orchards which are well sprayed. Some of the most
recent experiments seem to show that it is possible to do some
special spraying for it, using some poison combined with molasses
to make a sweet poison which, when sprayed upon the leaves,
attracts and kills the adult flies in the same way that poison
fly-paper kills our house flies. Kesults have been conflicting, but
in some cases this treatment has reduced the damage.

Cultivation. — It is also worthy of note that early spring
plowing, followed by thorough cultivation, seems to reduce con-
siderably the damage from this pest.

Borers. — The apple grower is likely to be troubled by two
species of borers, the flat-headed and the round-headed apple-
tree borers. They differ principally in the fact that the
latter requires much more time to reach maturity than the
former, but either one will stay in the tree long enough to make
it look sick. AU parts of the trunk and main branches are

156 ORCHARD INSECTS

liable to attack, but especially the lower part of the trunk.
The larvffi burrow in the wood, principally in the sap wood,
and in bad cases they may completely girdle the tree.

Clean Culture. — Trees standing in sod, or with weeds about
the trunks, are especially liable to attack, much more so than in
well cultivated orchards. Take the case of a single young orchard
which was examined on account of some of the trees being badly
attacked by borers. The land was under cultivation, but several
patches were very weedy. Other parts were entirely free from
weeds; and without exception the trees attacked by borers were
those standing in weeds. This suggests one of the best methods
of fighting this pest in sections where it has been found trouble-
some— thorough cultivation.

Careful Examination. — The presence of the borers may be
detected usually by the castings or dust which is thrown out by
the larva as it bores through the wood. In badly affected trees
it is also shown by the sickly appearance of the tree, but no one
should ever wait for this sign. In sections where this pest is
likely to be troublesome the trees should be examined carefully
at least once a year, the best time being early autumn.

Dig Out Borers. — ^When a tree is found to be affected the
only thing to do is to cut out the borer. A good sharp knife and a
stout wire are the usual equipment. Cut into the burrow and
follow it up until the borer is found. Sometimes the wire is
used to push into the hole and kill the borer without getting it
out of the burrow. This is all right provided one is certain that
the borer is killed, and of course it saves some cutting of the tree.

Prevention. — It seems unfortunate that some really satisfac-
tory method of prevention has not been devised. Various
schemes have been suggested and some of them are certainly
w^ortli trying. A piece of wire screen, if put on carefully so
that the female insect can neither crawl down behind it, nor
deposit the egg through it where the screen rests against the
bark, will prevent any attack on the trunk, where most of the
trouble occurs. Another plan worth trying, in sections where
these insects are known to be plentiful, is to wash the trunks

PEAH PSYLLA 157

with soft soap or whale-oil soap, made the consistency of thick
paint. To this is added some crude carbolic acid, an ounce to
each gallon of the wash.

Another borer which is worth mentioning here is the shot-
hole or pin borer, a small, cylindrical insect of the size of the lead
in an ordinar^^ pencil. It makes many small holes in the trunk
and main branches, but, so far as known, never attacks a
thoroughly healthy tree. If this insect is found, therefore, it is an
indication that the trees have been damaged in some other way,
and the cause of and remedy for this injury should be
investigated

INSECTS ATTACKING THE PEAR

The pear is attacked by much the same list of insects as the
apple. The San Jose scale is even more pai-tial to it than to the
apple, the codling moth attacks it, so does the curculio, and the
canker worm is by no means averse to a pear diet. Of course
the treatment for all these insects is the same as when they
attack the apple. Two other insects, however, which have not
been mentioned may be given here.

Pear Psylla. — This insect prefers the pear and it frequently
becomes so serious as to practically ruin an orchard. Cases are
known where men were actually driven to cut down their pear
trees because of the difficulty of keeping the psylla in check.

Life Historjj. — The adult insect is very small indeed, perhaps
a tenth of an inch in length, and is likely to escape notice en-
tirely unless a systematic search is made for it. The adults are
very active, jumping and flying readily, and from this are often
called "jumping lice." They pass the winter in this stage, in
cracks and crevices or under scales of bark on the trees. With
the first warm weather the eggs are deposited, principally upon
the twigs. The young soon hatch and begin feeding, which
they do by sucking the juice of the tree, attacking principally
the leaf stems. The insect gives off a "honey dew" similar to
that of the aphis, which coats the whole tree, trunk and all,
with a shiny, and later a blackish, varnish. So abundant do
they become by successive broods, that the trees are seriously

158 ORCHARD INSECTS

weakened, making little growth and sometimes dropping both
leaves and fruit.

Control. — The psylla may be largely controlled by spraying
with lime-sulfur and in bad cases there should be an application
of this wash just as soon as the leaves are off the trees in the
autumn. This ought to be followed by another application in
the spring and both of these should be of such a strength as to
do thorough work. If the specific gravity hydrometer test is
made, 1.03 is the proper strength after diluting. About one
gallon of commercial lime-sulfur to 9 or 10 gallons of water
will usually produce this strength. "Where the dormant spray-
ing has been neglected, or if the insects are plentiful in spite
of winter spraying, some summer applications must be made.
Any of the contact sprays are likely to be useful, but some
of the tobacco extracts seem to be most efficient. If this summer
spraying can be done just after a rain has washed off the honey-
dew so much the better.

Leaf Blister Mite. — Another pest which is frequently trouble-
some on both pears and apples is the blister mite. This is not
a true insect, but is related to the red spider of plants and to
the mite which causes ''scab" in sheep. It is entirely too
small to be seen without the aid of a microscope, so that the
orchardist is never likely to see it, but if he lives in an infested
district he is likely to become altogether too familiar with its
work.

Habits and Injimes. — The winter is passed in the adult stage
under the scales of the buds, where the mites collect in large
numbers. As soon as the leaves begin to expand in the spring
they are entered by the adults and the eggs are deposited in the
leaf tissues. The eggs soon hatch and the old and young feed
upon the cells of the leaf, causing the galls or blisters which are
very characteristic.

These are at first light-colored in the apple and reddish in the
pear, but later turn brown when dead. This is the most notice-
able and distinctive stage of the injury and is easily recognized
by anyone who once becomes familiar with it. The small brown
blisters are ' scattered somewhat regularly over the surface of

THE PEAR SLTJG 150

the leaf, giving it a peculiar and very characteristic appearance.
In serious eases, however, the most of the leaf is affected and
sometimes hoth leaves and fruit may drop as a result of the
injury to the leaves. The fruit is itself also attacked, though
much less commonly, and the injury is less severe and much
less conspicuous.

The principal injury comes through the interference with
the functions of the leaf. The mites remain in the leaves until
autumn, when they seek the buds and work in under the outer
scales for the winter.

The most convenient treatment is to spray with lime-sulfur
in the early spring. This catches them in their winter quarters
among the bud scales. Any of the forms of this wash which
are used for the San Jose scale will be effective, and fortunately
one application is usually all that is needed for both pests. In
the event of a very serious attack Professor Parrott of New
York, who has carefully investigated the blister mite, recom-
mends two applications, one in the autumn and one in the
spring, using kerosene emulsion diluted with five parts of
water. The autumn application is likely to be most effective,
since the mites have not yet secreted themselves in the bud
scales. This double treatment, however, is rarely necessary.
The mite has seldom been serious in orchards which are care-
fully sprayed for San Jose scale each year, w^hile it is often
seen both in neglected orchards and in those where the spraying
is done carelessly.

The Pear Slug. — The foliage of the pear, plum, quince and
cherry is likely to be attacked by a shiny, olive-green little slug
with a brownish head. Frequently the first intimation one has
of any trouble is to notice that some trees in the orchard are
turning brown as though from the effects of dry weather. A
closer examination will show these little slugs scattered over the
upper surface of the leaves. They eat out the tissue of the
leaves till only the ribs and the epidermis of the lower surface
remain. The leaves turn as brown as in winter and are later
sometimes replaced by a new crop. The slugs spend the winter as
larvas in the soil and emerge in late spring or early summer.

160 ORCHARD INSECTS

The pest is easily controlled by spraying with arsenate of
lead or any similar poison. Contact poisons may also be used
and even fine dust or water is effective.

INSECTS ATTACKING THE STONE FRUITS

There are not nearly so many serious insect enemies of the
stone fruits as of the pome fruits. Probably this is due in con-
siderable part to the more pungent taste of the foliage of most
of the stone fruits. However, there is no real dearth of insect
enemies, even of the stone fruits.

The peach, like the rest of its relatives, is attacked by very
few insect enemies. The San Jose scale, the plum curculio and
the aphis are all likely to attack it, especially the first named,
but about the only " specialty " in the insect line is the borer.

Peach Tree Borer. — ^^lost people who grow peach trees are
familiar with this pest. Its presence in the tree is shown by a
sticky gum which is thrown out in large quantities at or near
the surface of the ground.

Life Cycle. — The adult insect, which one rarely sees, is a
very pretty moth, looking, however, much more like a wasp. It
is variously marked with black, brown and several shades of
yellow, and the two sexes are quite unlike. The eggs are laid
throughout the summer on the bark and usually well down on
the trunk. The larva, on hatching, burrows into the inner bark
and sap wood, where it feeds, causing the copious production
of gum just mentioned. Here it feeds for nearly a year, ceas-
ing operations only during the winter, and emerges during the
early part of the summer to begin the round of life again.

Dig out the Borers. — The orchardist is likely to have little
difficulty in identifying the work of this insect. The gum already
mentioned is the first indication. On digging into this the brown-
ish castings of the larva will be found, and a little searching
with a knife will soon disclose the burrow and later the larva
itself. Sometimes the larva will even be found outside the tree
in the mixture of gum and castings. A small, sharp-pointed
trowel will be found an excellent implement to work with. It

THE CHERRY APHIS 161

can be used to dig a\\ay the i?um. and some of the surface soil,
and 2nay even be used to follow up the burrows and locate the
borer itself. Usually a fairly heavy wire is a useful addition
to the equipment and a good knife ought also to be included.
Experience seems to differ as to the best time to dig out the
borers, but autumn is usually preferred for the work. In south-
ern peach districts the "woraiing of the trees" takes place twice
a year, say about April and October.

This is the remedy on which the greatest reliance must be
placed and is frequently the only one used. Mounding up the
trees with earth early in the season, wrapping the trunks with
building paper and using varioiLs washes are all recommended,
but are, after all, only makeshifts.

The plum curculio perhaps deserves some further mention in
connection Avith its work on plums and peaches, though it has
already been discussed under apples. The larva is the white
"worm" so often found about the pits of plums and peaches.
The injured fruit usually drops prematurely, sometimes when
very small and green, and at other times they merely ripen
prematurely. Often this dropping is not a serious matter, as it
serves merely to relieve the tree from an overburden of fruit,
l^ut when the tree has set a light crop, the loss from curculio
may be a very serious matter.

The spraying already discussed is generally all that it is
worth while to attempt in the way of remedies. The jarring
of the trees to make the insects fall upon a sheet and thus give
an opportunity to destroy them, while it is usually an entirely
effective method, is too slow and expensive to be warranted under
most conditions.

The Cherry Aphis. — The cherry has a special aphis of its
own which attacks especially the tips of vigorous shoots and
often does very spectacular work, especially on the big, sweet
cherries. On young trees, which are making long, vigorous
shoots, each shoot will be terminated by a cluster of curled
leaves which later turn brown. The insect itself is dark brown
or black and large compared with other aphids. But the general
treatment is the same.
11

162 ORCHARD INSECTS

QUESTIONS

1. Contrast insects with biting moutli-parts and tliose with sucking

mouth-parts.

2. What three things malce the San Jose scale especially dreaded by

orchardists ?

3. What kinds of plants are attacked by this insect?

4. Wliat are the principal remedies used to combat the' scale?

5. Give reasons why the spraying for scale should be especially thorough.

6. Give some idea of the damage done by the codling moth or apple

worm to the American apple crop.

7. What methods should be used in combating this insect?

8. Outline the life history of the aphis.

9. Give methods of controlling the aphis.

10. Describe the damage to the apple from attacks of tlie curculio.

11. Outline the life history of this insect.

12. What remedies should be used?

13. Describe the life history of the bud moth.

14. How is it combated?

15. Tell what you can of the canker worm and its work.

16. How is it controlled?

17. Tell how to combat the tent-caterpillar.

18. Describe the life history of the railroad worm, or apple maggot.

19. What methods are recommended in f;ghting this insect?

20. Give directions for controlling borers.

21. Give a list of insects attacking the pear.

22. Wliich of these is most destructive in your section? Give metliods

of controlling it.

23. What are the serious insect enemies of the stone fruits?

CHAPTER XII
DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES

As in the case of insects, the writer makes no claim in the
present chapter to anything like a complete list of the fungous
troubles which may beset the orchard owner. He merely hopes
to give some suggestions, taken principally from personal ex-
perience, which may help the student and the orchardist in
recognizing the more common pests and in deciding what to do
for them.

Importance of Knowing Why. — To the student, the fungous
diseases of fruit trees form an extremely interesting group of
organisms, one that he likes to examine and to study. To the
orchard owner they are a pestiferous collection of annoying
troubles against which he must be constantly on his guard. But
even with the practical orchard man it is very desirable that he
should give them sufficient study to know what methods are
best and why they are best. This latter point has received much
study. It has always seemed to the writer that almost anyone
ought to do better work if he knew why he did it in a certain
way rather than in some other way. If the man who sprays
understands that when he leaves live San Jose scales on the tips
of a lot of branches he is likely to have the entire tree reinfested
because the scales breed all through the season and crawl down
onto the part he sprayed ; if he understands this he is far more
likely to do good work than if he is merely told to spray
thoroughly. If in cutting out fire blight, he understands just
why he cuts as he does and why he disinfects his shears, he is
much more likely to do his work properly than if he is merely
"shown." So it seems worth while to understand something of
the life history of these fungous diseases that cause so much extra
work to the orchardist and to know just how the fungicides
affect them.

Nature and Types of Fungus. — The fungus is merely a very
low form of plant life. It does not manufacture its own food,

163

164 DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES

as the apple tree does, out of air and water and various other
ingredients, but it allows the tree to do this and then it comes
in and steals the manufactured foods. It is a robber pure and
simple. And iji order that it may absorb these manufactured,
foods such as sugar and starch, it has to establish a very intimate
contact with the host plant (and a very unwilling host it is).

Sometimes it grows on the surface with very slight attach-
ment to the host, as in the case of mildews, and such a disease
may be treated by the use of dry sulfur dusted upon the leaves
after the fungus has become established, because practically all
of the fungus is spread out there open to attack.

Again, the fungus has a much more intimate connection with
the host, although still growing on the surface. Such a type is
the apple scab. In this case a large part of the fungus is im-
bedded in the host, and treatment, after the fungus has become
established, is of relatively little value.

Lastly we have a type of fungus which grows wholly or
largely within the host. The black knot of the plum is such a
fungus. Here the fungus is entirely safe from attack after it
once enters the host and until it emerges in the black knots of
the fruiting stage.

The most rational treatment for all fungous diseases is that
which attempts to prevent their ever gaining a foothold on the
host, and we are enabled to give our trees this kind of protec-
tion because men have discovered certain substances which are
harmless to the host plant but which will kill the fungus. Fre-
quently the margin of safety is very slight and a substance to be
effective against the fungus must be of such a strength or such
a composition as to come very near to injuring the host plant.

Sometimes varying conditions of weather or of the plant
cause the fungicide to pass the margin of safety and become
injurious to the host as well as to the fungus. Bordeaux mixture
is one example of this. As sprayed upon the apple tree it is
probably in the form of copper hydroxide, or some similar com-
pound, and in this form it does not hurt the apple tree but does
destroy the apple scab. But under certain weather conditions
the chemical form of this fungicide undergoes a change which

SCAB 165

makes it dangerous to the apple and we have the apples on the
tree "russeted" and the leaves of the tree damaged so that they
turn yellow and fall.

Action of a Fungicide. — ]\Iost fungicides become effective
against the fungus by entering its cells and destroying its
tissues. For example, the spore of the fungus becomes lodged
upon the leaf of the host plant and, the conditions of heat and
moisture being favorable, it germinates much as a grain of
wheat might do, sending out a little germ tube Avhich grows about
over the surface of the leaf and finally enters the tissues, either
by way of one of the breathing pores or by actually working its
way through the tissues. Now if the germ tube is able to do all
this witliout encountering any injurious substance, it establishes
itself within the host and goes on thriving. But if the tree
has been i^roperly sprayed, then the little germ tube in its
wandering prior to entering the host comes in contact with
some of the fungicide, absorbs it into its tissues and is thereby
destroyed.

This is the whole story in a few words and the aim of the
man who sprays should be to do his work so thoroughly that
no wandering fungus can escape coming in contact with a
particle of the fungicide used, whether this be lime-sulfur or
Bordeaux mixture or plain copper sulfate.

SPECIFIC DISEASES

Now let us consider a few of the more important specific
diseases. They may perhaps be considered in two sections, those
attacking the pome fruits and those attacking the stone fruits,
because it so often happens that a particular disease attacks
both the apple and the pear, for example, or the peach and
plum.

DISEASES OF POME FRUITS

Scab. — This list may be very appropriately headed by the
scab or black-spot, which stands in about the same relation to
apple diseases as the codling moth does to apple insects. It
attacks fruit (Fig. 71), leaves and twigs. On the fruit it

166 DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES

produces very characteristic spots which are a peculiar olive
green in the early stages but soon become blackened, the skin
usually breaking about the margins of the spot. In very bad
cases the spots coalesce and the fruit may crack open nearly to
the core (see Fig. 90). On the leaves the spots are usually
nearly circular in outline, at least in the beginning, and are of
a peculiar light green color which gradually changes to brown
as the tissues die. In many cases the leaves wrinkle in a peculiar
manner, due to the growth of the surface being retarded irregu-
larly. The scab passes the winter upon the old leaves in the
orchard and the spores reinfest the trees the following spring
from these old leaves.

Fia. 71. — Scab, or black-spot of the apple. This is the most serious of all the apple diseases,
but can be controlled by thorough spraying.

Susceptibility to Scab. — There is a very marked difference in
the relative susceptibility of different varieties of both pears and
apples. Among pears the Flemish Beauty is peculiarly liable
to attack and the crop is frequently ruined, many specimens
being cracked nearly to the core, while adjoining trees of
Bartlett may be relatively little affected. "With apples the
Fameuse, Rhode Island Greening, Mcintosh and Spy are among
those which are especially subject to attack.

The treatment for scab, in either pears or apples, consists
in spraying with lime-sulfur or Bordeaux mixture, and the
number of applications varies with the locality, the season and
the variety. If a bad attack is expected the trees should be
sprayed before the blossoms open, just after they fall and once

BLOTCH 167

or twice thereafter at intervals of two to four weeks. The
relative importance of these sprayings will vary with the season.
If the weather is drj^ during the early part of the season and wet
at the last part, a single late spraying may give better results
than two or three early ones.

Rust. — Similar forms of this disease attack the apple, pear
and quince. It is one of those peculiar diseases which at one
stage lives on one host plant and at another stage on another
host. In this case the second host, with all three forms of the
disease, is the cedar tree. On this it forms the peculiar rough
brown knots known as "cedar-apples," and authorities agree
(and common experience bears them out) that one of the first
things to do, where it is at all possible, is to get rid of the cedar
trees.

On apple leaves the rust appears as small roughened spots,
generally in the form of a distinct ring. The tissue of this ring
is thickened and on the under surface of the leaf there are
numerous little protuberances, while on the upper surface the
tissue turns yellow and finally a bright orange. On the fruit
the disease is less conspicuous, but appears about the same as on
the under surface of the leaves.

Varieties of fruits differ greatly in their susceptibility.
Among apples the Wealthy is conspicuous for its liability to the
disease, and the bright orange spots will be found on the leaves
of this variety if there is any of the disease in the neighborhood.

"When the disease cannot be controlled by destroying the
cedar trees, the only thing to do is to resort to spraying and the
same applications given for the scab are sufficient to keep this
disease more or less in check, though they will not entirely
eradicate it. It is much more troublesome in southern sections
tlian farther north.

Blotch. — This is a relatively new disease and is much more
common in the Middle West than elsewhere, but is sometimes
found in most apple sections. It resembles the scab very closely
and is often mistaken for it, but on the fruit it is apt to be
scattered rather uniformly over the entire surface, while the
scab is confined to one side of the fruit. The blotch also makes
a less compact growth on the areas affected. It produces cankers

168 DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES

upon the twigs and branches and peculiar light brown spots
upon the leaves. It works later in the season than the scab,
necessitating, where serious, one or two sprayings after the last
spraying for scab.

Cankers. — There are a number of diseases which attack the
twigs, branches and even the trunks of apple trees (and less
frequently of pears and quinces), producing ugly roughened
brown areas. Sometimes the diseased section is very well de-
fined with a distinct line marking its boundary where the dis-
eased tissue has shrunken and broken away from the adjoining
healthy tissue. In other cases, as the European canker, there
are many concentric rings or folds where the tree has repeatedly
attempted to heal over the wound and each time the fungus has,

Fia. 72. — Apple canker. There are several different diseases which pass under the general
name of canker and some of them are quite serious.

during its season of rapid growth, gotten the upper hand
(Fig. 72).

Treatment. — These cankers vary greatly in the organism
which causes them and in the appearance, but the general line
of treatment is much the same. There ai-e three ways of fight-
ing such diseases.

First, all affected twigs and branches which can be spared
should be cut out and burned.

Second, in case the branch is too valuable to be spared, or
in the event of a canker spot on the trunk, the diseased tissue
should be cut out carefully and then the wound painted over
as in the case of wounds made in pruning. For the preliminary
work of cutting out, a light, sharp hatchet will be found very

FIRE BLIGHT 169

satisfactory, and the smoothing up of the wound may be done
with a knife or a heavy chisel.

Third, the trunk and branches of the trees should be care-
fully sprayed whenever an application of any fungicide is made
to the orchard. In particular they should be given a thorough
spraying before the buds start in the spring.

These three lines of attack will generally keep things fairly
well under control, though cases are found where the attacks
are so bad as to make the task of cleaning up the trees almost
hopeless.

Sooty Blotch and Fly Speck. — These two diseases are very
similar, the difference in appearance being that suggested by
the names. Some observers have even considered them as two
forms of the same fungus. They are both superficial, with very
little attachment to the host, and can frequently be entirely
rubbed off with a cloth. They injure the appearance of the fruit
so as to render it unsalable. There is usually little or no trouble
with them in orchards that are sprayed for scab, but occa-
sionally a later spraying may be necessary.

Fire Blight. — This is one of the most serious diseases of the
pome fruits, both because it injures the trees so severely and
because the methods of eradicating it are so expensive. It
attacks pears, apples and quinces, as well as many allied plants,
such as mountain ash, hawthorns, and crab apples. The dis-
ease is most noticeable where it attacks the tips of vigorously
growing shoots. Here it works rapidly, killing both leaves and
twigs and causing them to turn bro-wTi and eventually nearly
black, especially on the pear. It will also, on bearing trees,
attack the fruit spurs, where it does more serious, though less
spectacular, damage, because new terminal shoots are easily
grown, but new spurs are grown Math great difficulty. By follow-
ing down the spur or twig the disease frequently becomes estab-.
lished on the main branches or even the trunk, where it produces
what is popularly known as ''body blight."

Tlxe Cause. — The disease is caused by a bacterium which
works in the tender parts of the twig, largely in the cambium
layer, and during the actively growing stage the organisms may

170 DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES

be found some distance below where there is any outward sign
of the disease. It winters over in the old, diseased tissues and is
spread in the spring to the growing shoots, largely through the
instrumentality of insects, particularly bees. Bearing apple
trees may often be seen with one-quarter of the fruit spurs dead,
and in every spur the infestation came through the blossoms,
doubtless having been carried by the bees in their visits to the
blossoms.

There is a marked difference in the susceptibility of varieties,
the Wealthy and Rhode Island Greening, among apples, and
the Bartlett, Clapp and Flemish Beauty, among pears, being
especially liable to attack, while the Mcintosh and Baldwin
apples and the Anjou and Seckel pears are much less so.

The Eemcdij. — The disease cannot be influenced by spraying.
The only satisfactory remedy is to cut out the diseased parts,
and the best time to do this is in the autumn. If all the dis-
eased areas can be cut out and burned during the dormant
season there will be no outbreak in the spring. Of course this
cannot always be done, but systematic effort will go a long way
towards it. If the work can be done in the autumn before the
leaves fall, so much the better, as the affected areas are more
easily located then. The diseased shoots should also be cut
during the growing season, though this is a less efficient time than
the other. Great care should be taken to get well beloAv the
diseased portion in this cutting so as to be sure that all the
bacteria are removed.

The shears or knife with which the cutting is done should be
disinfected after every cut to prevent any germs being carried
to healthy tissue; otherwise this cutting may really spread the
disease from branch to branch. For this disinfecting a solu-
tion of corrosive sublimate is used (1 part to 1000). A cloth
or sponge dipped in this may be used to wipe the shears, or it
may be carried in a can and the shears dipped into it. In the
winter work all affected parts which are cut out should be
gathered up and burned. This is not so important in summer
work, since the parts removed are soft and soon dry up and
kill the bacteria,

BROWN ROT 171

In addition to this active work of control it is well to keep
the trees in only moderate growth. Withhold nitrogenous fer-
tilizers and cultivation, perhaps seed down the orchard and do
not prune heavily in av inter.

DISEASES OF THE STONE FRUITS

Brown Rot. — This attacks practically all of the stone fruits
but especially the plum and peach. It is most conspicuous on
the fruit, causing it to turn brown and shrivel and eventually
to dry up. The fruit also becomes covered, as the decay ad-
vances, with a powdery material, the spores of the disease.
Fruit in clusters is especially liable to attack, and thinning
should be practised so that no two fruits may touch. The
disease may also attack the blossoms and even the spurs, fol-
lowing down from the fruit or blossoms. Damp and warm
weather is especially favorable to its spread and the rapidity
with which it works when the trees are not carefully sprayed
and when all the conditions are favorable for the disease is
something alarming. It passes the winter largely in the mum-
mied fruits which frequently remain hanging to the trees until
the following season.

Efforts to control the disease should be along two lines. In
the first place all of these mummied fruits should be destroyed
if possible. They may be shaken off the trees and then either
gathered up and destroyed or else buried or plowed under.
The second line of attack is by spraying. The trees should be
given a thorough spraying with lime-sulfur, at the winter
strength, applied shortly before the buds swell in the spring.
Strong copper sulfate solution is satisfactory, if more con-
venient, and may be used if there is no San Jose scale in the
orchard. Then the trees should be sprayed later with self-
boiled lime-sulfur. When a bad attack is feared, three applica-
tions should be made: The first perhaps three or four weeks
after the blossoms fall, again two or three weeks later, and a
third time two or three weeks after this. Under less serious
conditions one spraying may be all that is needed and this
should be probably six weeks to two months after blossoming.

172

DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES

In any case care should be taken not to spray these fruits, espe-
cially peaches, so late that the spray will still be on them at pick-
ing time, as it detracts very seriously from their attractiveness.
Peach Scab. — This is a very common disease on many
varieties of peaches, producing small, blackish spots which may
be so plentiful as to make practically one whole side of the fruit
black. The growth of the side attacked is retarded so that the
fruit becomes one sided, and in bad cases this side frequently
cracks open. Fortunately the treatment just outlined for the
brown rot will also entirely check the peach scab.

-Black-knot of the plum, showing how new knots will start from the old stubs
when these are not cut back far enough.

Leaf Curl. — This is a very striking disease and one which it
is very easy to recognize. It attacks all parts of the tree,
leaves, branches, flowers and fruit, but is so inconspicuous on
all parts but the leaves that it usually escapes notice. The leaves
thicken, curl up, and are often highly colored in certain parts
and in others of a light yellowish green. As the disease advances
the leaves turn brown and soon fall, causing a severe loss of
vitality to the tree, which not only loses the food which the leaves
would have produced had they remained healthy, but also is
further exhausted by being obliged to put on this second crop
of leaves. The spores of the disease live over winter on the
bark and gain entrance to the buds when growth starts in the

BLACK-KNOT

173

spring. The spread of the disease is markedly favored by cold,
damp weather in the spring.

It may he controlled practically by a single spraying with
lime-sulfnr at the winter strength applied just before the buds
break in the spring.

Black-knot. — This is another very striking disease and
attacks both the plum and the cherry, principally upon the
smaller branches but often upon both main branches and trunk.

Fia. 74. Fia. 76.

Fia. 74. — A plum tree badly affected with black-knot.

Fig. 75. — The same plum tree as shown in Fig. 74 after the knots have been cut out.
It ia possible to recover trees which are very badly affected if the knots are cut out and the
trees sprayed.

The spores gain entrance to the tree during the spring or summer
and grow for a season entirely within the branch. The follow-
ing spring the affected part of the branch begins to swell and
soon the well-known knot develops. At first it is soft in texture,
and light brown in color, but gradually turns darker and becomes
harder in texture. During late spring and early summer the
knot is covered with a velvety appearance, which is caused by
the production of summer spores. Later these disappear and the
surface becomes hard and roughened.

174 DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES

The knots may develop in new positions or by the side of old
knots (Fig. 73). It is very common for them to break out where
a small twig joins a branch, the fungus having apparently
gained entrance in the angle between the two where the bark is
probably less impervious. The disease lives over in the tissues
adjoining the old knots and breaks out again either above or
below the knot.

The most practical remedy is to cut out and bium the knots
(Figs. 74 and 75). This is especially important in the spring
before the spores are produced, but should be kept up through
the season. Care should be taken to cut well below the knot,
otherv\use the disease may break out again as shown in Figure 74.
Spraying, particularly just before the buds break, is also
effective. This may be supplemented by an earlier application
in late winter and by others during spring and summer if the
outbreak is serious.

QUESTIONS

1. What is a fungus?

2. Describe the action of a fungicide.

3. Describe tlie apple scab.

4. What methods are recommended for combating the api)le scab?
0. vVliat remedies are recommended for rust?

6. Tell what you can of the disease known as blotch.

7. Outline the methods of fighting canker.

8. Describe the work of the fire blight. How may it be controllod?

9. Describe peach scab.

10. Describe leaf curl. How is it controlled?

11. ^\^lat is the most practical method of controlling tlxe black-knot of

plums and cherries?

12. What are the worst fruit diseases in your district?

CHAPTER XIII
SPRAYING APPARATUS

It has already been said that it pays to have a good equip-
ment with which to work. There is as great a difference between
an ordinary spray pump and an exceptionally good one as there
is between a No. 3 Baldwin and an Extra Fancy Baldwin. And
usually the best pump does not cost much more than the medium.

Fig. 7C. — Using a bucket pump on a bearing apple tree. This is a very efBcient little pump
for the money and is entirely satisfactory for a few trees.

It is the same with buying a spray pump as with buying a suit
of clothes. Get a good one and it will last for years and be a
satisfaction all the time. Buy a poor one and you are sorry for
it from the start. Moreover, the styles in spray pumps do not
change much.

A good spraying outfit consists of a pump at one end and a
nozzle at the other, with more or less hose and extension-rod
between. We will begin with the pump.

175

176

SPRAYING APPARATUS

Spray Pumps. — There are quantities of them on the market.
Some are better than others, Ijut most of them are good. A few
of them are worthless or nearly so. Of course the type of pump
one ought to have depends on whether he has six trees, or sixty,
or six thousand; also on whether his trees are old or young,
peach or pear, dwarf or standard. There are five general types

of good pumps which it seems
worth while to mention.

I. The tucket pump is
shown in Figure 76. This is
for the man with the six trees.
And it will surprise anyone
who has not tried it to see
what an efficient little pump
it is. The writer has never
been able to figure out where
it gets its pressure, but it
certainly develops one. The
good points are : ( 1 ) That it
develops this high pressure
and will, therefore, deliver
a good spray; (2) that it is
N'cry cheap, so that anybody
can afford one; and (3) that
it is very simple in construc-
tion, and consequently easy to
repair and to operate. We
do not mean from all this
that it will do as good a job as a power sprayer, but it is not
a toy, by any means.

Its shortcomings are (1) that the operator has to be constantly
going back to the base of supplies after more spray material;
(2) that it is inconvenient to move about; (3) that there is no
agitator; and (4) that the pressure runs down quickly. And
yet for all this it is entirely adequate for a few trees.

II. The knapsack sprayer is shown in Figure 77. This is not
adapted to very tall trees nor to very large operations, but is

Fig. 77. — Knapsack sprayer. Thia ia an
excellent pump for rough ground or where-
soever it is difficult to get about, but is rather
heavy when one has much spraying to do.

SPRAY PUMPS

177

the most convenient thing made for the man with a garden and
dwarf or otherwise small trees. It is also especially good where
a man wants to go over the trees in a young orchard in search
of occasional trees affected with the teut-caterpillar or with the
red-humped apple caterpillar. It is handy to get about with,
one man can handle it, it agitates the liquid well and maintains
a good pressure. On the other hand, it is heavy to carry about,
particularly in the late afternoon if one has been using it all
day ; it requires filling rather frequently, and it has an unpleasant

Fig. 7S. — A barrel outfit ^vith a roll.ip

(Mer; excellent for working among old trees
hich hang low.

habit of slopping and wetting the operator in the small of the
back. On the whole it is a very efficient little pump, but, like
most sprayers, it is more comfortable to ' ' use it by proxy. ' '

III. The barrel pump (Figs. 78 and 79) is by all odds the most
generally satisfactory of all the spraying machines. It is
adapted to more different circumstances, and a good one will
always give a good account of itself. If a man has only a few
trees he can combine with one or more neighbors and the cost
of the barrel pump Avill not be great for each one of them,
while the satisfaction in using it will be great. On the other
12

178

SPRAYING APPARATUS

hand, a barrel pump "will be satisfactorj- for a goodly nimiber of
trees and if the owner of the large orchard gets enough outfits
he can handle any size of orchard with them.

The following are some of the important points in a good barrel
pump.

1. It ought to be mounted on the side. It is singular how few
pumps are mounted this way, because there seem to be good
practical reasons for preferring it to the end-mounted pump and

FiQ. 79. — A barrel spray outfit with two extra barrels of water; a device that will save
much time where the water supply is far from the orchard.

no reasons or none of importance for the other plan. The ad-
vantages of the side-mount are: (1) That it brings the pump
itself lower, thus reducing the danger of catching on trees; (2)
that it brings the center of gravity of the whole outfit lower,
thus reducing the danger of tipping over (Fig, 79) ; and (3)
that the sediment in the spray mixtures (and there is usually
more or less of this) naturally works down under the pump and
is drawn out instead of collecting about the comers as it does
in the end-mounted pump.

SPRAY PUMPS . 179

2. It ought to have a good-sized air-chamber. This does
not mean that the air-chamber should be conspicuously placed
on top of the pump as is often the case. It can be as low down
as desired, but it will keeiD the pressure much more uniform.

3. There should be as few and as small openings about the
pump as is compatible with the free working of the plunger and
agitator. The splashing of the liquid through these openings
is bad enough at best; a prize awaits the manufacturer who
develops a pump which does not splash the operator,

4. The pump ought to have a good agitator. As already-
suggested, most of our spray materials carry more or less solid
material in suspension, and these ought to be distributed evenly
with the liquid. "With an inefficient agitator the operator gets
nearly all the poison on the first few trees and the balance are
sprayed with plain water, or nearly so.

5. There ought to be a good strainer at the bottom of the
pump. Even with the most careful preparation of the materials
and the most thorough straining there is always danger of some-
thing getting into the pump that will clog the nozzle. The
strainer is an additional safeguard. If it can be such as can
be readily taken off and cleaned so much the better. And if
the actual straining area is on the bottom instead of on the
sides of this strainer it will come nearer to emptying the cask.

6. The pump should have all brass working parts. In these
days of strong corrosive materials the best of pumps will wear
out soon enough.

7. The valves should be simple and easily accessible. It is
astonishing how often a valve will get stuck, even when the
pump receives reasonably good care. The operator should know
just wiiere it is and how to get at it and the manufacturer should
put no unnecessary difficulties in the way,

8. The type of packing ought to be simple and the method of
renewing it or of tightening it should be easy. This is an
extremely important point. The packing is bound to wear and
allow leakage, and no one wants to be obliged to resort to a
machinist or a high-priced (and low-speed) plumber to get his
pump fixed.

180

SPRAYING APPARATUS

9. There ought to be an opportunity for two leads of hose
if they are wanted.

10. There should be a pressure-gauge. This can be dispensed
with, but it helps one to keep track of what the pumper is doing
and it stimulates him to do better work.

IV. The large, doiible-action hand pump attached to a large
tank is sliown in Figure 80. ]\Iany of the points discussed under
the barrel pump apply with equal force to this type of pump. It
has the great advantage over the barrel that it will carry more

F;g. 80.-

-A large, double-aotion, hand pump with 20n-
but it IS a mau'rf jwlj to dn tlic i

allnn tank. An excellent outfit,

liquid. This is especially important where the orchard is some
distance from the water supply. The chief disadvantages of this
type of pump are that it requires a good, strong man to work it,
and it requires an equally good team to haul it, if the orchard is
on a side hill or if the land is rough or soft.

V. The Power Sprayer. — There are four different types of
these and many variations under some of the types. We have in
the first place the traction power sprayer. Here the power is gen-
erated by the movement of the wagon wheel, which, by means of a
sprocket wheel and chain, works a pump that compresses the air

SPRAY PUMPS

181

in a large chamber. This compressed air, in turn, forces the
liquid out of the tank. The great objection to this machine is
that the pressure runs down as soon as the wagon stops. And
since it is absolutely necessary to stop in order to do good
spraying on trees of any size the best orchardists have ruled
this machine out of their list. It is all right with small trees
where the outfit travels a considerable distance for every gallon

Fia. 81. — Gas power sprayer. An excellent type in some respects, but it is too difficult to
clean out the tank.

of liquid put out, but most orchardists cannot afford so expensive
an outfit for this one type of spraying.

In the second place, there is the gas sprayer, shown in Figure
81. This consists of an air-tight steel tank which holds the spray
material, and a tube containing carbonic acid gas under pressure.
The tube of gas is connected by suitable pipes and valves with
the tank of liquid and when one is ready to spray he simply turns
the valves and lets the gas into the tank. This, of course,
exerts a pressure on the liquid and it is forced out through the
hose. In some respects this outfit is admirable. It is relatively

182 SPRAYING APPARATUS

small and light and it requires no extra man to run it. The
two difficulties which orchardists have with it are that the
cost of power is relatively high and that such materials as
Bordeaux mixture and lime-sulfur tend to coat the inside of
the tank and then peel off in flakes which constantly clog the
nozzles. As the tank is required to stand a heavy pressure there
is only a small opening into it and it is well-nigh impossible to
keep it thoroughly cleaned out.

The third type* of power sprayer uses compressed air as a
source of power. It is, therefore, essentially like the type just
discussed, except that it uses air instead of carbonic acid gas.

Fig. 82. — A gasolene power outfit. The most efiScient power sprayer. The cut alao shows
an excellent arrangement for filling the tank and mixing the materials.

The air is compressed by a special apparatus w'hich has to be
installed on the farm, and this makes the first cost high. There
is also the same objection in reference to scaly coating from the
inside of the tank clogging the nozzles.

The last and by all means the most important type of power
sprayer at the present time is that run by a gasolene engine
(Fig. 82). The best of these engines have been perfected until
they give relatively little trouble in running and the pumps are
also admirably adapted to the work. Of course the great ad-
vantage of any power sprayer over other types of pumps is the
high and relatively constant pressure that it develops. With

SPRAY PUMPS

183

184

SPRAYING APPARATUS

the gasolene type the owner may also easily adapt it to doing
other kinds of work, such as pumping and sawing wood. There
are many different styles of gasolene outfits, from one costing
one hundred dollars and using a one and one-half horse-power
engine and a hundred-gallon tank, up to a twelve hundred dollar
machine with a ten horse-power engine and a three- or four-
hundred-gallon tank. Of late several good forms of the small
machine have been developed which seem to give promise of
great usefulness (Fig. 83). They are especially acceptable where

Fig. 84 a. — Old style of vermorel nozzle. This type has the serious weakness that the
ejectora are constantly catching on the branches of the tree.

Fig. 84B. — Angle vermorel nozzle. This type has great advantages over the last; it has no
ejectors and it delivers the spray at an angle.

good, reliable labor is scarce. With one of these machines a
man, if "put to it," can do his spraying alone, and they are light
enough to get about on relatively rough land and cheap enough
so that the small orchardist can afford to buy one. One of these
machines will easily take care of two or even three small
orchards, so that if a man is on sufficiently good terms with his
neighbors there is nothing to prevent his clubbing in with one

NOZZLES

185

Fia. 85^.

FiQ. 85B.

or two of thorn and thus bringing the cost of his power outfit
nearly down to that of a good barrel pump.

Nozzles. — Next to the pump in importance, in fact more
important in some ways, is the nozzle. The number and variety
of them on the market would bewilder a novice, yet they may
nearly all be reduced to three or four principal types.

The Vermorel Type. — This
is a relatively small nozzle and
delivers a small amount of
liquid as compared with other
types. This shortcoming is
usually gotten around by mak-
ing them in clusters of two or
more, but of course such a nozzle
is heavy and therefore hard to
use (Figs. 84A and 845). This
type gives a very fine, mist-like
spray, but the small size of the
orifice renders it very liable to
clog, and tliis in turn makes it
necessary to have some kind of
ejector to push out the clog.
This means a double annoyance,
first because one must constantly

stop and clean the nozzle and Z^^^^l^^^^^J^^^l^^
second because the ejector is lulturoZ.ri^nfwT''' "^^''^ '^ '^^-
liable to catch upon the branches diScfn/o7h?; ^'p^ Jor S iT'^i^

d. • 1 J.J. J. J. seldom clogs, does not catch on branches,

twigs When one attempts to makes a fine spray, and delivers a large
, 1 . . T r> ■ 1 i TTi amount of material in a given time.

spray the mside of the tree. For

these reasons the vermorel has largely gone out of use except
with smaller pumps like the knapsack, where it is still the main
type used.

TJic old Bordeaux nozzle is still largely used in many sec-
tions. It throws a relatively coarse spray, which is not suited
to many kinds of work. It will throw a long distance, which is
very important for high trees, and for such spraying as the

Fio. 85 A. — Bordeaux nozzle. Useful

186

SPRAYING APPARATUS

winter application of lime-sulfur it is excellent. It is not
likely to clog, and can be adjusted to throw anything
from a solid stream to a fairly fine spray. The Bordeaux
nozzle has a distinct place in any orchard man's outfit, though
it is not well to use it for such work as codling-moth
spraying (Fig. 85 A).

The disc type of nozzle is shown in Figure 85B. This has been
on the market a relatively short time but is rapidly displacing the
other types for most kinds of spraying. It has three advantages
that will appeal to any man who has ever sprayed : First, it does

Fig. 86. — Long- and short-tailed hose couplings. The former are much to be preferred, as
they do not allow the hose to pull apart so easily.

not catch on th^ branches of the trees ; second, it throws a rela-
tively fine spray and lots of it; and, third, it seldom clogs..
For most spraying the orchardist should certainly choose this
type of nozzle.

The Angle of Delivery. — Any nozzle, of whatever type, is
very much more efficient for most work if it delivers the spray
at an angle of 45° instead of straight ahead. ]\Iany nozzles are
made this way by the manufacturers, and others can be changed
into this type by introducing a small angle connection between
the nozzle and the extension rod. The advantage of the angle

THE HOSE

187

nozzle is that the direction of the spray may be changed by
simply twisting the extension rod, while with the straight nozzle
the whole rod must be moved.

The Hose. — A third important feature of the spraying
outfit is the hose. It has little effect on the kind of spraying
done, but it does make a difference to the man who does the
spraying.

The writer is very strongly in favor of a reasonably small
hose, preferably about one-fourth inch in diameter. It is true
there is some loss of pressure as compared with the large hose,
but the greater ease and comfort of doing the work will far
more than offset this loss. The following table gives the weights
of various kinds and sizes of hose. If anyone who is accustomed
to using the large size will once try the small size he will never go
back again. It is like play in comparison, and anything which
makes spraying seem playful, even in the remotest degree, ought
to be adopted.

Table V. — Comparison of Weights of Hose of Different Sizes

Length

Size

Kind of Hose

Weight Empty

Weight Full

lbs.

25 ft.

3/4 in.

Rubber

10.87

13.56

25 ft.

1/2 in.

Rubber

6.66

9.16

25 ft.

1/4 in.

Rubber

4.11

4.45

25 ft.

3/16 in.

Special cloth-

covered

1.00

1.75

When buying hose get plenty of it. The ordinarj^ spray out-
fit equipped with 8 to 15 feet of hose is a "delusion and a snare."
The operator has to adjust his machine almost as carefully as he
Avould a cannon in order to even hit the tree. Twenty-five feet
is the least any outfit ought to have, and if two leads of hose
are used let one be twenty-five or thirty feet and the other fifty.
"With the small hose this is not unduly heavy and the spraying

188 SPRAYING APPARATUS

can be done with an ease and comfort and thoroughness im-
possible with the short lengths (see types of couplings, Fig. 86).
The Extension Rod. — In addition to these more important
parts the outfit should have an extension rod on each lead of
hose. This may be either an iron rod or a bamboo lined with a
brass tube. The latter is preferred because it is much lighter
and its larger size makes it easier to handle, but the iron rod is
certainly mucli cheaper and does not break as easily. There
should also be at least one, and preferably two cut-ott's for each
lead of hose. It is absolutely necessary to have one at the base
of the extension rod so that the operator may shut off the liquid
at will, and it is very desirable to have a second one at the
pump, if there are two lines of hose, so that in case of accident
to one line it may be shut down for repairs, while the other may
continue to operate.

QUESTIONS

1. "W-Tiat are tlie good and bad points of the bucket pump?

2. Discuss the knapsack sprayer.

3. What can you say of the barrel pump?

4. Give the important points of a good barrel pump.

5. Wliat are the advantages of the double-action hand pump?

6. Name the different types of power sprayers.

7. Grive the special advantages of each type.

8. Describe the Vermorel type of nozzle.

9. What are the advantages of the disc type of nozzles?

10. Wliy is an angle nozzle preferred to a straight one?

11. Give some points to be considered in the purchase of spray hose.

12. What type of extension spray-rod would you prefer? Give reason.

13. What power sprayers and what type of hand sprayers are used in

youi" section?

CHAPTER XIY
SPRAYING MATERIALS

The selection of spray materials is just about as confusing to
the beginner as is the choice of spray apparatus. There are
many manufacturers in the field and each one is putting on the
market his o^\^l special brand of each of the different materials,
so that there are almost innumerable things to be had. If the
orchardist wants a spray made from a copper salt he has his
choice between Bordo-lead, Sal-Bordeaux, Pyrox, Tiger Brand
Bordeaux and a dozen other patent preparations. If he wants
to use sulfur in some form he is embarrassed by an even longer
list of possibilities. He can buy commercial lime-sulfur of a
dozen different manufacturers, or he can make his own con-
centrate or make the home-boiled wash, or use self-boiled lime-
sulfur. Or, again, he can use atomic sulfur, soluble sulfur, sul-
focide or various other special forms. The list of any of these
principal sprays is so long that even the old stager is sometimes
in doubt. Is it any wonder if the novice feels like giving up in
despair? Yet if we will study into the matter it is not as bad
as it seems on the face of the returns.

Doubtless new materials, and new combinations of old ma-
terials, will continue to come along, so that what was the best
thing possible this year may be out of date a few years to come.
This is going to make it necessary to do some experimenting all
the time and to keep in touch with the Experiment Stations and
the Emit Growers' meetings. But all orchardists should do this
anyway. When the list of spray materials in vogue at any one
time is sifted down it will be found that there are reallj^ only a
relatively small number that have to be considered. If a man
buys from reputable manufacturers he is not apt to go far
wrong, even though he may not get absolutely the best form.

Commercial Mixtures vs. Home Mixing. — There are two
or three general questions that ought to be discussed before we

189

190 SPRAYING MATERIALS

speak of specific remedies. The most important of these is the
question of buying tlie mixtures already prepared or of buying
the materials and preparing the mixtures on the farm: com-
mercial mixtures vs. home mixing. There are certain things
like arsenate of lead which cannot be made as well at home as
they can by the manufacturer. ]\Ioreover, the price for these is
relatively low because so many firms are manufacturing them.
It seems, therefore, much better for any grower, large or small,
to buy ready-made stock of such materials.

On the other hand, there are certain other things such as the
various substitutes for Bordeaux mixture which often come at a
high price to the orchardist and which it is relatively easy to
make on the farm. It would seem that such mixtures might be
prepared by the grower, at least when he is operating on a
reasonably large scale. If a man has only a few trees probably
it is better for him to pay the manufacturer his extra price for
doing the mixing, rather than to bother to "post up" on methods,
and then go to all the trouble of getting the different ingredients
and combining them. But for the man who has as much as
ten acres of orchard the writer is very strongly of the opinion
that it pays to prepare these mixtures at home.

Classify Spray Materials. — Another point which has already
been mentioned is the need of getting all these remedies classified
in one's mind so that he understands which are insecticides and
which are fungicides and which are a combination of both.

Dry vs. Liquid Sprays. — A third general question, though
one which just at the present time seems to be settled, is the
question of the dry vs. the liquid spray. Up to the present time
no very satisfactory method of applying spray materials in a
dry state to fruit trees has come into general use. But it seems
so desirable to get rid of the expense and annoyance of hauling
around so much water and sprinkling it on our trees that the
writer cannot help thinking that American ingenuity will
some day solve the problem of satisfactory powders which can
be put on dry.

Copper Salts. — We come now to a consideration of some of
the principal spray materials which are used by the fruit grower.

COPPER SALTS 191

Among the fungicides the two principal substances used are some
copper salt and some form of sulfur.

Copper Sulfate. — Of the copper salts by far the most im-
portant is copper sulfate, which is used either in the form of a
plain solution on dormant trees or as Bordeaux mixture. This
plain solution has the advantage of being as easy to apply as
water, and where the grower does not Have to fight any scale

FiQ. 87. — Spray injury on apples. Any copper salt is likely to cause this under certain con-
ditions of weather.

insects, especially San Jose scale, it makes an excellent dormant
spray. It is usually applied at the strength of 3 or 4 pounds
of copper sulfate to 50 gallons of water.

Bordeaux Mixture. — Where it can be used without danger,
Bordeaux mixture is still probably the most efficient fungicide
on the list. There seem to be two dangers from its use. On
apples, in certain seasons, especially where there are many rains
or a great deal of foggy weather, it may produce a russeting
of the surface of the fruit that injures its appearance and some-
times its keeping quality (Fig. 87). This damage is sometimes
very severe, in particularly bad cases even cracking the fruit
open. It affects some varieties more than others. In some

192 SPRAYING MATERIALS

sections where there is not much trouble from the apple scab,
more harm than good is often done to the fruit by spraying with
Bordeaux. Another trouble that is sometimes experienced with
it is that it aggravates the tendency, frequently seen in fruit trees,
for the leaves to turn yellow or brown and to fall.

Yet with all its faults Bordeaux is such an efficient fungicide
that it ought to be used whenever it can be without too much
danger. For example, it ought to be used on all such fruits as
grapes, currants and gooseberries because here it does no damage
and these fruits are especially liable to damage from fungous
enemies. Many good orchardists prefer to use it, particularly
on those varieties not seriously injured by it, where apple scab is
especially troublesome, because a considerable russeting of the
skin is to be preferred to even a small amount of scab.

Formulas for Bordeaux. — There are two formulas for Bor-
deaux mixture which are in general use at the present time. One
which is used most generally is as follows :

4 pounds copper sulfate, 4 pounds lime, 50 gallons water.

For those fruits or varieties which are most susceptible to
injury, such as Japanese plums, peaches, and certain varieties of
apples, a weaker formula is used, made as follows :

3 pounds copper sulfate, 3 pounds lime, 50 gallons water.

Stock Solutions for Bordeaux. — Where Bordeaux is to be used
in any quantity it is much better to use in preparing it what are
called "stock solutions." These are prepared as follows:

Weigh out 50 pounds of copper sulfate and dissolve it in 50
gallons of water, by hanging it in a cotton bag in the top of a
barrel of water. It will dissolve much more quickly in this way
than if thrown into the barrel. In fact, it never will dissolve if
merely thrown into the barrel, as the water immediately sur-
rounding the crystals soon becomes saturated and as this solution
is heavier than plain water it remains right in the bottom of the
barrel. The amounts mentioned give us one pound of copper
sulfate to each gallon of water.

THE VARIOUS FORMS OF SULPHUR 193

The "stock solution " of lime is prepared in the same general
way. Fifty pounds of lime is slacked in a barrel, taking care
to use enough water to prevent the lime from ' ' burning, ' ' as it is
called, which makes it tiaky so that it is likely to clog the nozzles.
After it is slacked enough water is added to make 50 gallons.

With the stock solutions thus prepared the making of a ca^k
of Bordeaux mixture is a very simple matter. The ideal way
is to have two half barrels, into one of which we measure four
gallons of the copper sulfate solution and into the other four
gallons of the lime water. Then add to each enough water to
make 25 gallons. Next pour the diluted lime into the spray
cask, add the copper sulfate solution, agitate thoroughly and the
mixture is ready to apply. Or, better yet, the two solutions may
be allowed to run into the cask simultaneously. A man may in-
troduce several variations in the procedure and still be quite
successful, but the thing which must be avoided always is mixing
the lime and copper sulfate in concentrated solutions. This
invariably leads to trouble, a thick, cheesy precipitate being
formed which will clog the nozzles and will not stick to the trees,
and is unsatisfactory in various other ways.

Now is there anything so complicated in this operation of
preparing Bordeaux mixture that a good, intelligent orchardist
cannot master it '? The writer would vote most emphatically
" no " and has no patience with those who argue that ready-made
Bordeaux should be bought because the farmer cannot prepare it
properly. There may be something in the argument of saving
time and bother, but not in the argument of ' ' lack of ability. ' '

The Various Forms of Sulfur. — Just at the present time
there seems to be a very marked interest in sulfur sprays. New
forms are constantly being introduced by manufacturers and
many growers are using them to the exclusion of most other
sprays. There are four forms which it seems worth while to
discuss at some length.

1. The Commercial Lime-sulfur Solutions. — These come as
more or less clear, amber-colored liquids which mix readily with
water, giving a yellow liquid. They come at various strengths,
varying about 30° to perhaps 35° Beaume (hydrometer test),

194 SPRAYING MATERIALS

the test supposedly varying with the amouut of sulfur iu solu-
tion. As a matter of fact a handful of salt or various other
cheap materials will raise the strength as indicated by this
hydrometer test just as surely as more sulfur will, so that the
only reliable standard is the per cent of sulfur in solution.

In preparing these commercial lime-sulfur sprays for use
in the orchard the common method is to dilute them by taking
a certain number of gallons of water to each gallon of the con-
centrate. This is not a reliable method because, as already sug-
gested, the concentrate may vary from 30° to 35° Beaume. The
latter would give the proper strength for San Jose scale by
diluting with dy^ gallons of water, while the former could take
only 71/4 gallons of water to each gallon of the concentrate.

A hydrometer should therefore be used to test the concen-
trate and again to test the spray when ready to apply to the
trees. The hydrometer is a simple instrument, consisting of a
graduated glass tube weighted with shot at the lower end. This
is immersed in the liquid to be tested and the lighter the liquid
the more deeply the hydrometer sinks. The reading is taken at
the surface of the liquid. j\Iost hydrometers give both the
specific gravity and the Beaume strength. Anyone can therefore
tell by the use of this instrument, and by knowing what strength
he should have for a certain pest, just exactly how much water
to use, provided that he has confidence in the manufacturer and
knows it is sulfur and not salt in the solution. This is quite a
proviso, but most manufacturers, no doubt, intend to be honest
and if the buyer selects a reputable brand he is not likely to get
into any serious trouble.

The Saving and the Cost. — The great advantage of the com-
mercial lime-sulfur solutions is that they save all the annoyance
and messiness of home preparation. And this is a great deal.
They are also very simple to use.

On the other hand, the buyer pays considerably more for a
hundred gallons of spray by this method than he does to prepare
his own concentrate.

2. Home-made Concentrate. — This is the same material, in a
general way, as the commercial, but it does not run as high in

THE VARIOUS FORMS OF SULPHUR 195

sulfur content. The great advantage of this form is that it can
be made up on the farm during the winter when work is slack
and when the labor expense is relatively small. Tlie general
method of preparation is as follows, though formulas and methods
are still undergoing changes:

Formukt.—oO pounds rock lime, 100 pounds sulfur, 50 gallons water.

It seems to be immaterial whether the sulfur is the flour
(finely ground) or the flowers, but the lime should be good and
should preferably have little magnesium in it. Slack the lime in
the kettle in which the cooking is to be done and when the slacking
is well started add the sulfur and mix thoroughly. Then add
enough water to make a thin paste. Continue boiling vigorously
until the sulfur is all dissolved, which will usually take from
forty-five minutes to one hour. When the boiling is finished the
concentrate may be put into barrels and stored. If these barrels
are perfectly tight and are filled full, no other precaution is
necessary than to cork up tightly. If these conditions do not
obtain then the concentrate must be covered with oil. Any oil
which will not injure the trees and which does not take fire at the
boiling point of water will do. The various miscible oils are used
with entire satisfaction. There is sometimes considerable sedi-
ment, but this does not seem to be a serious objection.

The proper degree of dilution either with the home-made or
the commercial, as measured by the specific gravity scale on the
hydrometer, seems to be about as follows: For San Jose scale,
blister mite, peach leaf curl and other spraying when trees are
in dormant condition^ 1.03, For apple and pear scab and similar
diseases, summer spray, 1.01. For peach scab and brown rot,
summer spray, 1.005. It is probably better not to use this material
at all in spraying the stone fruits, especially peaches and Japanese
plums as while it will often do no harm, it will, on the other
hand, sometimes do serious injury to the leaves.

3. The nome-hoiled Lime-sulfur Wash. — This was the original
home-prepared lime-sulfur spray material and was at one time
used very extensively. But the two forms already discussed have
largely driven it out of use. It is still used by many growers

19G SPRAYING MATERIALS

who consider it the only really satisfactory form. The great
objection to it is that only a small quantity can be prepared at
a time, usually a single cask, and that, too, only as it is wanted
for use, being applied hot, as a rule.

The formulas used vary greatly in both ingredients and run
all the way from

15 pounds lime, 1.5 pounds sulfur, 50 gallons of water
to 22 pounds lime, 20 pounds sulfur, 50 gallons of water.

The process of making is as follows : Put the lime and sulfur
into a large kettle with about 20 gallons of water and boil for one
hour. Then add enough water to make 50 gallons, strain into the
spray cask and apply at once. Authorities differ as to the objec-
tion of allowing this mixture to cool ; for example, to stand over
night. Frequently it is very convenient to prepare the night be-
fore what is to be put on the first thing in the morning, and enough
success attends this plan so that Ave need not hesitate to do it.

4. The "self-hoilecV' lime-sulfur is that in which the heat
of the slacking lime is relied upon to cook the mixture. It is a
very mild form, being little more than a mechanical mixture of
sulfur and slacked lime, and is useful only as a summer fungicide.
But for that purpose, particularly for use against the brown rot
of stone fruits, it is very efficient.

The usual formula is as follows :

8 pounds sulfur, 8 pounds rock lime, 50 gallons water.

An old oil cask is a good receptacle in which to prepare it.
The lime is placed in the bottom of the cask, and it is imperative
that it be good, hard rock lime and not air-slacked lime, since
the heat for cooking is to come entirely from the lime. On top
of the lime place the sulfur. Then add hot water slowly until
the lime is slacked, stirring carefully, as needed, to prevent the
"burning" of the lime. After slacking is complete allow the
mixture to stand and cook for from ten to fifteen minutes, depend-
ing on the amount of heat generated by the lime, keeping the
barrel covered with an old burlap to keep in the heat. Then

ARSENATE OF LEAD 197

add enough water to make 50 gallons, strain into the spraying
cask and apply at once. Remember this is merely a summer
fungicide and has no value for San Jose scale and relatively
little as a dormant fungicide.

Dry Forms of Sulfur Compounds. — At the present time the
most interesting of the special forms of sulfur on the market are
the dry forms in combination w^ith other substances such as
calcium, sodium and barium. They come as powders of varying
degrees of fineness and dissolve fairly readily in water. Some
of them are very promising and of course all have the advantage
over the liquid forms that they eliminate expense in handling.
If further experiments shall show they are efficient under all con-
ditions and do not injure foliage they ought to prove of value.

''Atomic sulfur" is another form. This is a very finely
divided paste form of pure sulfur which seems promising, but
at the present writing needs further testing.

INSECTICIDES

There are two general classes of insecticides : The food-poisons,
used for chewing insects and of usually some form of arsenic;
and the contact sprays used for sucking insects.

In the first of these classes, at the present time, the arsenate
of lead is used much more generally than any other form, with
Paris green as a second. Several others are on the market and
are used to a limited extent, but from the commercial orchard
standpoint they may be ignored.

Arsenate of Lead. — The great advantages of arsenate of lead
are (1) that it is very adhesive, remaining on the leaves through
the entire season; (2) that it is finely divided, remaining in sus-
pension much longer than Paris green ; and (3) that it is usually
harmless to foliage. This is a strong combination and it is small
wonder that arsenate of lead is so generally used. It is, how-
ever, sometimes injurious to trees, and one should take every
precaution possible to avoid trouble

There are two forms on the market, one of which, known as
the tri-plumbic foi-m, has a hisrher percentage of lead and no
hydrogen ; while the other, known as the standard, has a higher

198 SPRAYING MATERIALS

percentage of arsenic but also has some hydrogen in it. This
latter form, while more effective pound for pound in killing
insects, is also more dangerous to plants. On such tender foliage
as Japanese plums and the peach it is sometimes injurious.
Arsenate of lead can be had either as a paste carrying about 50
per cent of water, or as a dry powder. The dry form is rapidly
replacing the paste as the cost of transportation and handling is
less, and it is much less work to get it mixed with w^ater.

Paris Green. — The only advantage of Paris green is that in
some sections it is more easily secured than arsenate of lead;
and possibly we might add a second, that is has a very distinctive
color which prevents its ever being mistaken for anything else.
There is now little danger that it will be adulterated, but if
anyone wishes to test it he may easily do so. Put a small quantity
of Paris green in a glass tube or bottle and pour on it some strong
ammonia. If the Paris green is pure it will all dissolve, if not
pure there will be some sediment. The value of this test rests on
the fact that the materials generally used to adulterate Paris
green are not soluble in ammonia, while pure Paris green is
soluble in ammonia. When some cheap material which is soluble
is discovered the test will lose its value. However, with our
present laws and methods of enforcing them, there is relatively
little danger from adulterated materials.

It is usually recommended to use Paris green at the rate of
four ounces to 50 gallons of water, but many orchardists use
it at the rate of five or six ounces to 50 gallons on the theory that
poison is cheaper than labor, and at the latter strength they are
sure of killing the insect enemies. It is well to add an equal
weight of lime w^hen the Paris green is not used in combination
with a fungicide. The lime combines with any soluble arsenic
which may be present.

Contact Insect Sprays. — There are four contact insecticides
which are very commonly used, each one of which has its good
points.

Miscihle Oils.— First of all there are the soluble, or, more
properly, the miscible, oils. There are several of them, but they
all agree in being made from crude petroleum and in mixing

CONTACT INSECT SPRAYS 199

more or less readily with water. They are intended for use only
on dormant trees and in particular for fighting the San Jose
scale, and for this purpose the writer has found them very
satisfactory indeed. They have the advantage over lime-sulfur
that they are much less disagreeable to apply, which is certainly
an important consideration. They will also ' ' creep ' ' on the sur-
face of the branch, thus insuring a somewhat better distribution.
While these oils are usually bought already prepared, they can
be easily made at home and frequently at some saving in cost.
However, the commercial forms are usually so satisfactory and
they are sold so cheap that it is doubtful whether it would pay
the grower to make his own. It certainly would not except
where he is in the orchard business in a large way.

Whale Oil Soap. — A second material frequently used for
sucking insects is whale oil soap, which comes as an ill-smelling,
sticky, brown soap. Only very distant relatives of the whale
enter into its manufacture, as any cheap fish-oil is used in making
it. For orchard use it is well to prepare it beforehand by boiling
the soap with a certain quantity of water. This gets it into a con-
dition where it will readily mix with water when wanted for use,
and if this "stock solution" is made at the rate of two or three
pounds per gallon it is a very simple matter to prepare a batch
of spray for use in the orchard. It is generally used at the rate
of one pound of the soap to about 8 to 10 gallons of water.

Kerosene emulsion, is another \Qvy efficient remedy for such
insects as the aphis. The chief objection to it is that it requires
a special operation to make, but that is certainly not a serious
matter. The formula is as follows :

^/4 pound of hard soap, 1 gallon water, 2 gallons kerosene.

Cut up the soap and dissolve it in the water by boiling. Then
remove from the fire and add the kerosene; reheat and agitate
the mixture violently. A good way to do this is to have a small
pump, and pump the liquid back into itself until a creamy white
mixture is produced. This is a "stock solution," and ought to
keep for weeks or even months without the oil separating out. It
is diluted for use according to the insect to ])e attacked. With

200 SPRAYING MATERIALS

aphids, which have very soft bodies, one part of the stock solution
to ten or even fifteen parts of water may be strong enough. For
those insects which are more difficult to kill, such as the San Jose
scale, it may require one part to four or five of water.

Tohacco Extracts. — There are a number of tobacco extracts
on the market which are very satisfactory for sucking insects,
especially for the aphids. In the Northwest it is customary
in many sections, where the aphis is plentiful, to include some
form of tobacco extract with the regular sprayings for fungous
pests and chewing insects so that the spray kills sucking and
chewing insects and fungous diseases at one operation.

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the importance to the orchardist of a knowledge of spray-

materials.

2. Under what conditions is it best for the orcliardist to prepare his own

spray mixtures?

3. What are some of the objections to the use of Bordeaux mixture?

4. Describe the preparation of stock solutions for Bordeaux. What is

the advantage of these solutions?

5. Describe the making of Bordeaux mixture from these stock solutions.

6. What is commercial lime-sulfur? How is it used?

7. Describe the home-made lime-sulfur concentrate.

8. Tell how to make self-boiled lime-sulfur.

9. Give the advantages of arsenate of lead as an insecticide.

10. Give directions for the use of Paris green.

11. What are miscible oils?

12. Why are oils especially valuable in killing scale insects?

13. Give the formula for kerosene emulsion and describe the methods of

preparing and using it.

CHAPTER XV

THE SPRAYING CAMPAIGN

Disagreeable but Necessary. — If anyone were to take a vote
of the orchard men of the country as to which is the messiest
and most thoroughly disagreeable operation connected with grow-
ing fruit, spraying would be elected unanimously to the position.
There is no question about that. Neither is there any question
that it is more important than any other one operation. We
may neglect to prune our trees, we may fail to fertilize them
and we may grow them in a hay field and still we may frequently
grow some very good fruit. But the man who can proudly
boast that he did not spray his orchard and still had a crop of
fine fruit is in a hopeless and ever-dwindling minority. He is
still to be found ; occasionally he even gets into a fruit meeting,
but his days are numbered. The advent of each new pest
makes the non-spraying orchardist more rare, until he will soon be
worthy of a place in a dime museum.

Now since spraying is so disagreeable and yet so indispen-
sable, the thing for the orchardist to do is to use the best ma-
chinery and the most approved materials and then to fix his mind
on the good he is doing and not on how disagreeable the work is.
After all. if the operator does use the best apparatus and does
protect himself as fully as possible with gloves and a hood he
can get through the job with a fair degree of comfort, particu-
larly if, as suggested, he thinks about the wormy apples he is not
going to raise. While the writer thoroughly believes this, and is
satisfied that anyone who once gets at it will find that it is not
as bad as it might be, still he has a great deal of sympathy with
the novice who feels rather appalled at the prospect of under-
taking the work.

As the beginner looks over even the condensed list of enemies
given in this book, and as he notes that this one requires spraying

201

202 THE SPRAYING CAMPAIGN

after the blossoms fall and that one before the buds swell ; and
then as he attempts to select a satisfactory spraying outfit from
the bewildering array in even one catalogue (and usually he has
half a dozen catalogues at the very least), it is no wonder that
he feels as though it was a hopeless undertaking. And yet as
he sifts matters out he finds that most of the spraying outfits are
a good deal alike, and that most of the pests are accommodating
enough to group themselves in such a way that a relatively few
sprayings will control them all. So that w^hile spraying is un-
doubtedly bad enough, and while the necessity for it may
properly be catalogued as one reason why the orchard business
will not be over-done, yet any good, intelligent man will very
soon master the essential details of the work.

Good spraying consists in selecting the right materials, in
getting these onto the trees at the right time, applying a uniform
strength to all parts of the trees and in doing the work easily
and economically and with reasonable comfort.

Making up and Applying. — We have already discussed
everything except the work of making up and applying. Let
us see what can be said to assist in this operation.

In the first place, the orchardist should have every con-
venience to make as easy as possible the work of preparing the
mixtures and getting them into the spray tank. Few people
realize how much time and money are wasted by failing to
provide for this. To begin with, have a platform sufficiently
raised to allow the materials to run by gravity into the spray
tank. On this platform are located the stock solutions and
other paraphernalia used in the mixing. Know just where to
find everything that is wanted, instead of having to hunt all
over the place for the arsenate of lead or the strainer. A very
convenient outfit of the kind is shown in Figure 82. Then have
a convenient and abundant water supply. It is nothing un-
common for a spraying gang to spend more than half the time
loading up, and most of this is often spent in getting the water.
Sometimes this is unavoidable, but frequently a little time and
money spent wisely in advance will completely obviate the
trouble. To offset the money so spent it must be remembered

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 203

that the time of a spraying gang is worth money and whatever
conserves that time is worth doing.

The ideal plan is to have a large storage tank, such as is
shown in Figure 82, with a ball-cock to control the water
running into it. This tank fills up while the gang is in the
orchard and is all ready when they come in to fill the spray
tank. A large gate on the storage tank allows the water to run
from this into the spray tank in a very few minutes, frequently
in less time than it takes to prepare the arsenate of lead and
lime-sulfur, or whatever is being used for spraying.

Get Things in Beadiness Early. — Order the sulfur and lime
and arsenate of lead and all the other materials and have them
on hand. Go over the outfit and clean it up and repair it. This
is good work for winter or for rainy days, and will save any
amount of annoyance when spraying actually begins.

Have a good repair kit to take into the orchard while spray-
ing. This outfit ought to contain wrenches of several kinds
(particularly a stilson), pliers which wnll cut wire and wire for
them to cut, washers, nozzles and extra small parts of every
description. A few dollars invested in such a kit will save ten
times the cost the first season in the time it will save running
to the house, or, worse still, to the repair shop in town.

Make the Work Comfortahle. — In this matter of getting ready
for the work, have as good an equipment as can be found to
make the w' ork comfortable for the men and horses. The princi-
pal thing in this line will be gloves for the men and blankets for
the horses. A pair of heavy leather gloves well oiled is perhaps
as good as anything. Good rubber gloves are possibly a little
more efl:ective, but they cost much more, and a good rubber glove
is a difficult thing to find. Any light blanket for the horses will
be satisfactory. It protects both the horses and the harness, and,
w^hile not indispensable, is worth using, at least in lime-sulfur
or Bordeaux spraying. Some men wear a sort of hood for the
winter lime-sulfur work, which will frequently be found an
acceptable thing, particularly if one 's skin is tender.

Fundamental Principles. — In the actual orchard work a few
cardinal principles ought to be kept in mind.

204 THE SPRAYING CAMPAIGN

1. Have a Definite Object in Yieie. — Know what you are
spraying for. Know what your pests look like, how they work
and what will kill them. Perhaps it may seem hardly worth
while to mention this, but a very large proportion of the men
who spray do not have this clear notion of why they do it. How
often a man is heard to say that the aphis is less abundant than
it was last year and he thinks it is because he sprayed so
thorouglily with arsenate of lead. As a matter of fact, arsenate
of lead does not have the slightest effect in the world on them.
Or he may say that he must do something this year for the big
ants which attacked his apple trees the year previous when in
reality the ants were not hurting his trees in the least, but were
after the houeydew given off by tlie aphis. Or that he is con-
sidering the use of Bordeaux mixture this season for canker
worms, when he should know that Bordeaux is regarded merely
as a tonic by any canker worm in good health. Examples like
these might be multiplied indefinitely and that, too, among good,
intelligent orchard men. So that it seems quite reasonable to
urge the importance of having a clear idea of what to do.

2. Spray in Time. — Many of our orchard pests are not
affected in the least by any spraying which is not done promptly.
The codling moth and the bud moth are good examples of this
class. No amount of spraying after they once gain entrance to
the apple or the bud, respectively, will have any effect on them.
With a great many other pests spraying is of relatively little
value if done late, and with only a few is there any objection to
doing it considerably beforehand.

3. Spray Thoroughly. — This has already been spoken of more
than once, but it will bear repeating, as no other one point is of
more importance. A common way of regarding spraying is to
consider that it is like a medicine ; if the tree gets a certain quan-
tity of it, it will be cured of its diseases. But the proper way to
regard it is to think of it as we would of painting a barn. Paint-
ing one side of a barn has no effect in preserving the other side.
Neither does spraying one side of an apple affect the other side.
The ease is even stronger than this, because such pests as the
San Jose scale may migrate to the parts that were sprayed if

EFFECTS ARE LASTING 205

we have left scales undisturbed in some places by our poor
spraying.

4. Let the Wind Help. — In spraying when there is a wind
blowing if one will get at just the right angle with his tree he
can spray into the tree and wet one side of a branch and then the
spray will be blown back onto the other side and so the whole
tree is reached quite as thoroughly as though there were no wind
blowing and one sprayed from each side. Some men make a
practice of spraying one side of their trees with one wind and
then waiting a few days and spraying the other side with a wind

Fig. 88. — Proper condition of apple blossoms for spraying before they open. This is often
a very important spraying when scab is troublesome.

from the opposite direction. This is all right if the winds are
accommodating enough to come that way, but even then it takes
more time to go through the orchard twice than if it can be done
at one operation. In spraying bearing trees of good size some
wind is even desirable, as it keeps the leaves in motion and the
spray is apt to reach both sides more thoroughly.

Effects are Lasting. — If the orchardist sprays year after
year he is almost certain to find that conditions in the orchard
improve from year to year. In other words, the effect of spray-
ing is cumulative. We get some of the benefit of our 1913 spray-

206 THE SPRAYING CAMPAIGN

ing in 191-4. This is a comforting thought and ought to stimulate
the owner to keep up the practice regularly. It is still more
likely to be true if a whole neighborhood or section takes up
the practice. A few poor, shiftless non-sprayers in a section
can do a lot of damage to the whole region by keeping up the
supply of insects and fungous spores.

Spraying is Insurance. — In this connection the fruit grower
ought to keep in mind a fact, which is often urged but frequently
forgotten, that spraying is really an insurance. He can not
always tell beforehand exactly what pests he will have, but he
knows somewhat definitely. He must, therefore, map out his
program and spray accordingly, knowing that one year with
another such a program is going to pay. And in particular
he must not become discouraged and give up spraying because
in some season Jones, who didn't spraj^, gets just as good
results. A man does not become disheartened and condemn fire
insurance because his house does not bum down and give him the
benefit of the insurance. And he ought to regard spraying in
the same light.

The Question of Danger to Animals. — Another point which
is often asked about is the question of the danger to animals
which eat grass that grows under sprayed trees. And less fre-
quently there is some concern as to the danger of the sprayed
fruit as human food. On the first point, danger to stock, the
situation may be thus stated: With any ordinary fruit tree
sprayed in any ordinary way with poison there is no danger
whatever to animals which eat the grass growing under the
tree, either in a fresh state or as hay. The Michigan Experiment
Station investigated this matter very thoroughly a number of
years ago, pasturing sheep under trees which had been heavily
sprayed and in other cases cutting the grass and feeding it to
horses, and no injury resulted in either case. On the other hand,
there have been cases where animals have fed on grass growing
beneath street trees that had been sprayed, and such animals
have been either killed outright or made seriously sick. But
the case here is very different from any ordinary fruit tree.
With these street trees the operator stays in the tree for a long

THE QUESTION OF DANGER TO ANIMALS

FiQ. 89. — Gravenstein apples sprayed for scab. Compare with Figure 90.
Fig. 90. — Gravenstein apples not sprayed. Compare with Figure 89. The matter of
spraying was the only difference in the treatment of these apples. One lot ia almost worthless
and the other nearly all No. 1 apples.

time and uses a very heavy stream so that there is a tremendous
drip of poison onto the grass beneath. The farmer need have no
hesitation in using the grass in any orchard wliich has been

208 THE SPRAYING CAMPAIGN

sprayed in the ordinary way. In this connection it ought to be
said that too great care can not be exercised to prevent animals
from getting at the poison. This does not often happen and yet
it occurs often enough to make extreme caution desirable. In
particular, the empty kegs ought to be destroyed after the
poison has been used. Cases are known where such kegs have
been left about the orchard and have caught rain water and
animals drinking this water have been killed. All poisons should
be kept under lock and key and should be taken out only as they
are wanted for use. It is a very easy thing to become careless
about this where men are using such materials constantly.

The question of the effect of sprayed fruit on human beings
was also investigated by the Michigan Experiment Station.
Grapes sprayed with Bordeaux mixture were chosen and it was
found that even though all the spray materials used were to
remain on the fruit a person might eat 300 to 500 pounds at
one meal without getting enough copper sulfate to be dangerous.
In testing the matter of arsenic, apples sprayed with Paris
green were examined, and it was shown that a person might
eat eight or ten barrels at one time without being in danger from
the arsenic. These figures seem fairly reassuring, even for a
person with a robust appetite, and we may therefore conclude
that it is safe enough to eat sprayed fruits. Nevertheless, it is
poor practice to have anything on the fruit which, can be seen at
the time it is marketed as it injures its appearance and most
people do not care to experiment on the effects of spray materials
on the human system. If it becomes necessary, therefore, to
spray late in the season use a material that does not show.

The spraying program varies somewhat in different seasons
and in different localities; yet it is possible to map out a
fairly constant program for each of the different fruits, and
it may be of interest and value to suggest such a general scheme
here.

For apples and pears the usual sprayings would be as follows :

First spraying in the autumn after the leaves have fallen,
using one of the miscible oils — about 1 gallon of oil to 12 gallons

THE SPRAYING PROGRAM 209

of water — or using lime-sulfur at the winter strength, say 1 to
9 or 10. This spraying is principally for the San Jose scale and
may be omitted altogether where the owner is lucky enough not
to have that pest.

Second spraying in the spring before the buds swell, using
lime-sulfur at winter strength. This is for the scale, principally,
but is also of value for certain fungous troubles. It is generally
advisable to apply this spraying, though there may be exceptions.
In seasons and localities where the aphis is troublesome it is
well to defer this spring spraying until the eggs of this pest have
hatched, so that the young aphids may be killed. At this time
the buds will be well broken open and may even show the tips
of the individual leaves, but experience has shoMai that no
damage will be done.

Third spraying, within a week after the petals fall from the
blos.soms, using arsenate of lead paste, 3 pounds to 50 gallons of
water, or the powdered form, one and one-half pounds, with about
a gallon of commercial lime-sulfur added for fungous diseases
This is primarily for the codling moth, but it is also very helpful
with the curculio and is the most important single spraying in the
calendar. It ought to be stated here that some people have had
trouble at times with the combination suggested above and some
authorities have even gone so far as to recommend not using the
eoml)ination but applying each one separately. This, however, is
too much trouble and if this combination will not work we must
get one that will. The writer has never had any trouble with the
combination, though he has used it for a number of years.

Fourth spraying, three or four weeks after the tliird, same
materials used. This is especially important for the codling moth,
but is also useful in checking fungous troubles like the scab, the
sooty blotch and other diseases.

These four sprayings will usually go far towards protecting
the orchard from attacks, and, as suggested, the first may some-
times be omitted, though if the orchardist lives in a San Jose
scale district he should always do more or less autumn spraying
in case the spring work rushes more than anticipated. On the

210 THE SPRAYING CAMPAIGN

other hand, in some sections it frequently becomes necessary to
spray several times in addition to those outlined. Where there
are several broods of the codling moth it may be necessary to
spray four or five times for that insect alone. Of if the scab is
especially troublesome or the curculio is particularly bad it may
be necessary to spray before the blossoms open.

For peaches and plums it is not usually necessary to spray
in the autumn, but the program would be as follows :

First spraying, lime-sulfur of winter strength before the
buds swell, for San Jose scale, leaf curl and brown rot. Be sure
that this is applied before the buds even begin to swell as other-
wise the leaf curl will not be controlled. Some experimenters
have even applied this dormant spraying in the autumn with
good results.

Second spraying, with self-boiled lime-sulfur when the fruit
is the size of the end of one's thumb, principally for the brown
rot. In sections where this brown rot or monilia is particularly
bad it is recommended to make three sprayings for it with the
self-boiled lime-sulfur, the first about a month after the petals
have fallen, the last about a month before the fruit is ripe, and
the second about half way between these two.

Cost of Spraying. — It remains to say a word about the cost
of spraying. This is an item which varies so much that it might
show better judgment to omit the discussion of it altogether.
But it is hoped that the following figures, like others that have
been given, may be at least suggestive.

A block of 53 bearing Baldwin trees, probably thirty years
old, was sprayed for San Jose scale, using an outfit consisting
of a team and three men at a combined cost of 87i^ cents per
hour.

Time, TVa hrs. @ 871/3 cents (cost of labor) $6-56

Materials 431 gal. spray (Oil 1 to 12 = 321/2 gal., @ 35 cents) 11.38

Total cost •'^17.94

Labor cost per tree 121/2 cents

^Material cost per tree 2I1/2 cents

Total cost per tree 34 cents

QUESTIONS 211

It should be said in explanation of these figrnres that the work
was done with ^roat thoroughness, as it was especially desired
not to let any of the scales escape.

The same block of fifty-three trees was sprayed for codling
moth at the following cost:

Time, GV3 hours (3 men and team) @ STVs cents (cost of labor) $5.69

Materials 2,50 gal. spray (3 lbs. arsenate of lead to 50 gal.)= 15 lbs.

arsenate of lead, @ 8 cents 1.20

Total cost $6.89

Labor cost per tree 10% cents

Material cost per tree 2% cents

Total cost per tree 13 cents

Total cost per barrel of apples, about 4 cents

A block of 1,487 four-year-old apple trees was sprayed for
San Jose scale at the following cost:

Time, 41 hours (3 men and team) @ 871/2 cents (cost of labor).. $35.88
Materials 720 gal. spray (Oil 1 to 12 = 551/3 gal., @ 35 cents) 19.43

Total cost $55.31

Labor cost per tree 2.41 cents

Material cost per tree 1.30 cents

Total cost per tree 3.71 cents

QUESTIONS

1. What can be done to make spraying convenient and comfortable?

2. Discuss the importance of knowing why we spray.

3. \Miy is it important to spray in time?

4. Why is thoroughness especially important in spraying?

5. In what sense may spraying be considered as an insurance?

(i. Under what circumstances is there likely to be danger to animals from
spraying?

7. Outline the seasons spraying for apples and pears.

8. How should plums and peaches be sprayed?

9. Discuss the cost of spraying.

CHAPTER XVI
RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS

In all the older orchard-growing sections of the country
there are many old orchards which have been neglected for
years and are practically worthless as they stand, sometimes
worse than iiseless, since they harbor every imaginable pest, and
yet which may be brought back into vigor and made to grow
fine crops of fruit if rightly handled. Orchards have been
changed from absolute worthlessness into thrifty growth and
remunerative crops in from two to three years. So easily and
quickly can this change be made that an old orchard, which is
not in too bad condition, offers better and quicker returns than
the setting of a new orchard. It seems worth while, therefore, to
devote a chapter to this subject, since in many respects it is
quite different from ordinary^ orcharding.

Is Cutting Down Better than Renovation? — There are cases
so bad that the best thing to do is to cut down the trees- and put
them on the wood-pile. It may be remarked in passing that they
make fine wood for an open fire-place. Anyone who has not
used well-seasoned apple wood in his fire-place has something to
look forward to. The first question to decide, therefore, is
whether the orchard is sufficiently promising to warrant the
necessar}^ outlay to bring it back into good condition again or
whether it should be used for fire-wood. Of course it is im-
possible to make rigid generalizations on the subject, for so much
depends on the owner and the farm.

Age and Vigor. — There are three or four considerations
which seem to be of special importance and which would apply
to almost any case. The first of these is the age and vigor of the
trees (Fig. 99). The younger they are the better, because the
owner has just so many more crops to look forward to. Trees
up to fifty years are certainly Avorth considering if they are
thrifty. Trees of seventy-five or one hundred years are some-
times seen that should be considered by no means hopeless.
212

THE STAND OF TREES

213

Vigor is far more important than age. The vigor should be in
the roots and trunk. Indeed, if the roots are poor the outlook
is rather hopeless. But with a good root system and with a
sound trunk and main branches it makes little difference how
much dead wood there may be among the smaller branches. We
can judge of the root system by the amount of growth being
thro\^^l out by the top. If the original branches are killed
by San Jose scale but the roots remain sound, the tree wiU. at

Fig. 91. — A good type of tree for renovating. If the dead wood is cut out and the sucker
removed from about the trunk it will very soon develop into an excellent tree.

once throw out a large number of water-sprouts to take care
of the food being sent up by the roots. "Water-sprouts are, there-
fore, always a hopeful sign in an old, neglected tree. They
indicate vigor and are useful in forming the future top, as will
be explained later (Figs. 91, 94, 100 and 102).

The Stand of Trees. — Having decided favorably as to the
age and vigor of the trees, the next question of importance to
the OA\Tier is the stand of trees in the orchard. Where there are
many gaps in the orchard its value is very much reduced. Of

214

RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS

course it is possible to set out young trees where the old ones
have died out, but this is seldom, entirely satisfactory. In the
first place, the young trees so set are not apt to do well and
often refuse to grow at all. In the second place, even though
they do grow, it is a long time before they come into bearing.
With a poor stand of trees the profits are bound to be less, the
reduction depending on how poor the stand is, for many

Fig. 92. Fig. 93.

FiQ. 92. — Rather a diflBcult tree to renovate and one which will require several yor'-s
to work over. It is headed so high and there are so few small branches low down that the
operation will have to proceed slowly.

Fig. 93. — A difficult type of tree to renovate, but one which has little value as it stands.
It is so high that it cannot be sprayed properly and all other operations are costly. But it
can be renovated, as will be seen by referring to Figure 9G, which shows the same tree three
years later.

operations in the orchard cost just as much for a poor stand as
for a good one. Plowing, cultivating and cover crops, for ex-
ample, are ''per acre" items and not ''per tree." Even such
operations as spraying cost considerably more per tree if the
trees are scattered. It is, therefore, far more likely to be
worth while to undertake renovation with a good stand of trees
than with a poor one.

PESTS IN THE OLD ORCHARD

215

The Question of Varieties. — The third point on which the
fate of the orchard hinges is the question of what varieties it
contains. Our old family orchard with one tree each of forty-
different varieties is far less likely to prove profitable than a
good block of Baldwins. And, on the other hand, an orchard
of Ben Davis, or some such variety where the consumer will need
to "take a glass of water" with his apple in order to get it
down, would certainly appeal to any practical orchardist less,
even though it were all of one variety, than an orchard made up

Fig. Of. — A poor type of orrhard for renovating. The trees are ?o tail and there are
do few small branches low down that it will take several years before it can be brought
into anything like a profitable condition.

of several varieties but all of them good. So the variety ques-
tion is important. Of course, even large trees can be grafted
over, but that is a long and rather expensive operation, for
"grafting" is costly in other places than New York City.

Pests in the Old Orchard. — A last question which is worthy
of some consideration, though it is not nearly so important as
those already mentioned, is the matter of what pests are in the
orchard. San Jose scale, for example, complicates the situation
and adds very decidedly to the cost of bringing the trees back to
health. So do cankers. The orchardist would seldom, perhaps

216 RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS

never, turn down the proposition merely on account of the
pests in the orchard, yet coupled with other difficulties they
may turn the balance against the orchard.

RENOVxVTION OPERATIONS

Having decided that the orchard is worth undertaking,
the renovating will usually fall under the following six heads :

1. Pruning.

2. Grafting.

3. Fertilizing.

4. Plowing and cultivating.

5. Cover crops.

6. Spraying.

Some of these are more important than others and the second
item, grafting, can usually be omitted from the list altogether
and yet it is best to be prepared for the whole six. Let us con-
sider each one as briefly as we may and still get a clear idea of it,

I. Pruning. — This is usually the first thing done and requires
more study and a greater variation than any of the others.
Each tree is going to be a problem by itself. Some will require
severe treatment and others only normal pruning. The type of
treatment depends on how badly the top has been killed, on
whether the tree is so high as to make a lowering of the top de-
sirable, and on how many water-sprouts there are in it. De-
pending on these three questions a tree may be pruned normally,
or it may be pruned severely, or it may be ' ' de-homed ' ' ; that is,
the top cut back very severely. Serious mistakes are often made
in choosing the type of treatment. If a tree needs to be de-
horned the pruner wastes time and money if he gives it merely
a light pruning; and, on the other hand, trees are sometimes
killed outright by being de-homed when they should have been
given merely a severe pruning.

Suppose that the type of top is satisfactory, that is that the
tree is not over-tall and there is not much dead wood in it,
then it may want only a normal pruning.

If the top is very high so that it ought to be lowered and
yet there are very few water-sprouts lower down, then the top

PRUNING 217

ought to receive a severe pruning to start more water-sprouts
in order that it may be de-horned later. It would be a mistake
to de-horn at onee, because there are not enough water-sprouts
to take care of the food sent up by the roots. And it would also
be a mistake to give it only a light pruning.

If the top is poor and high with plenty of low-growing
water-sprouts then the thing to do is to de-horn at once and
start a new top.

A common mistake among those who undertake this sort of
work is to de-horn trees which are really too good for such
drastic treatment. If a tree has a reasonably good top it is
much better to do the work gradually, taking several years,
perhaps, to accomplish the desired result. The owner thus
secures some returns from his orchard each year, and still the
trees are improving all the time.

Having decided on which of these three types of treatment
is to be m.eted out to our tree we begin the pruning. A safe
rale to follow is to go over the entire top and take out all dead
wood (Fig, 99). Frequently, far too frequently, this is all
that the tree will stand, and in any case one can judge better
what more ought to be done after the dead wood has been taken
out. Next should follow diseased branches. Branches affected
with blight should come out altogether. Those having such
diseases as European canker may be kept for a few years if
they seem to be needed and either taken out altogether, later
on, or the diseased areas treated, if the branches are too im-
portant to be sacrificed.

In most cases where these old trees are not de-homed it is
veiy important to low^er the top more or less. This can be done
gradually, year by year, taking out relatively small branches
from the top of the tree, and in a surprisingly short time the tree
will be down where it can be sprayed and picked with comfort
and dispatch and yet there will have been little loss in the crop.
The King tree shown in Figure 93 is a good example of this.
Before the work of renovation began it stood forty feet high
with the bearing wood at the ends of the branches and most
of the fruit borne so high that the cost of spraying and picking

218

RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS

the fruit was simply prohibitive. Now it is down, as shown in
Figure 96, where the work on it can be done with comfort.
It had been neglected too long to form a model tree, yet no

95. — An old orchard before the work of renovatint:
foliage small and sickly,

ofran; full of .le

Fig. 96. — The same orchard as shown in Fig. 95 after three years' treatment. Many of the
trees are almost models in form and foliage, and all are greatly improved.

one would ever recognize it as the same tree shown in Figure 93.

In this renovation work the operator has to be very careful

about the wounds which are made in pruning. Many of them are

PRUNING 219

large in size and the trees, of course, are less vigorous than
younger ones, so that everything possible has to be done to
facilitate the healing process. In particular, no stubs should
be left and the painting or tarring of the wounds should be
very carefully attended to. Even with the best of care these
large wounds are going to be a menace to the tree. The pruner
is fortunate also if he does not find a lot of old stubs on the
trees, left by former pruners, which have already started to
decay and have gone too far ever to be entirely recovered. It
is a problem to know just what to do with them. If the decay
has extended into the main branch it can be stopped entirely
only by chiselling out all of the decayed wood and filling in
the hole, but this is usually too costly a process to be under-
taken on a commercial scale in an orchard. About all that
one can do is to resaw the stub, dig out as much of the decayed
wood as can be done conveniently and quickly and then fill in
the cavity with cement. This is only a make-shift, and delays
but decs not stop the decay. It merely keeps out the water and
air, rendering the conditions less favorable for the organisms
causing the decay.

In most cases of renovation work it is best, at the start, to
save all the water-sprouts in th^ tree. This becomes increasingly
important as the pruning is more severe. AVhere trees are de-
horned every sprout should be carefully preserved, and unless
the pruning is relatively light (what we have called "normal
prunirrg") there will be few of these sprouts that can be spared
to advantage. The second year a large number of them may be
removed, but not in the beginning, for the tree will need all
the leaf -sirrf ace possible to take care of the relatively large
amount of plant food that will be sent up by the roots. It
will be a revelation to those who have never had experience in
this work to see the luxuriant growth which these old trees
will develop even during this first season (Figs. 96, 98 and 102).

This is about all that need be said in regard to the pruning
proper. There may be parts of the remaining top that will
need some thinning, but frequently not, and in any case it is
a relatively unimportant part of the work.

220

RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS

Scraping. — Another operation which ought usually to accom-
pany the pruning is scraping off the rough bark. This is re-
garded by some as of doubtful utility, but it is usually very
desirable. It helps to get rid of a large number of insects, eggs
and fungous spores. There can be no question about that. And
where the orchard is affected with San Jose scale this scraping
is imperative, since live scales will be found hidden away under
the old scaly bark and these can never be reached by the spray

Fig. 97. Fio. 98.

Fia. 97. — Beginning' tin >s 1 1 . if i. novating an old apple tree; a high top full of dead wood.

Cwmpare with Figure 98.

Fig. 98. — The same tree aa shown in Figure 97 after three years' treatment. It is now an

excellent tree.

mixtures unless the old bark is removed. j\Iore than this, it has
always seemed from pure theory that the bark will expand better
and the whole tree respond better to the efforts in its behalf if
this old, mossy, scaly covering that it has carried for so many
3'ears is removed.

2. Grafting. — If the trees in the orchard are of satisfactory
varieties the owner is saved this expense, but it usually happens
that a few trees are of poor sorts, and sometimes a large number
have to be worked over. This matter of grafting is really a

GRAFTING

221

subject in itself and can be treated only very briefly here. One
of the chief points to be secured in the remodelled tree is a low
top, and it is also one of the most difficult points. There are
two ways of doing it : Either the new grafts or buds must be
put on water-sprouts which come out low on the tinink or main
branches, or else we must use what is known as the crown or
bark graft or the Coburn. The former method is much to be
preferred, and where water-sprouts are already available or can

FiQ, 99.

FiQ. 100.

■"■

■ ^ ^ I ■% >; ■ '^rv >^^|-|^- \ >^ -

W^^^

fff^^m^

^^1

''-'' ""'^^^^^^Bl

Fig. 99. — An old apple tree before beginning renovation. Two-thirds of the top ia dead
and the rest sickly.

Fig. 100. — The same tree as Figure 99, de-horned after one year's treatment.

be developed, there need be no difficulty in changing over the
top. It is simply a question of budding, if sprouts are small,
or of cleft grafting, if the sprouts are large. For budding we
should have a branch not over half an inch in diameter, and the
ordinary shield-bud method is used.

The more buds we put in the more quickly the new top cai?
be grown, and it is such a simple operation that the extra cost
amounts to very little. In such a tree as is shown in Figure
100, fifty buds might be used and the tree changed to the de-

222

RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS

sired variety with very little loss of time. If the same tree were
to be worked over by cleft grafting it would simply be necessary
to insert cions in all of the main shoots shown on this tree, per-
haps ten in number.

When water-sprouts, or other relatively small branches, can
not be had then we may resort to crown or bark grafting or to
Coburn grafting in order to lower the top. In the first of these
methods the branch to be grafted is sawed off at the desired
height, which may be well down toward the trunk, and the cions,

Pig. 101. — The same tree as Fig. 100 after on« season's ;?TOwth. Notice foliap< \\'j:.t.
Fig. 102. — The same tree as Fig. 99 after three years' treatment.

cut to a thin wedge, are pushed down between the bark and the
wood. There is no splitting of the branch, as in cleft grafting,
and consequently very much larger branches may be worked over.
A six-inch, or even an eight-inch branch, may be used. And the
cions, being pushed right into the cambium layer of the stub, are
almost sure to grow. The objection to the method is that it takes
several years for the cions and stock to unite firmly, considerably
longer than with cleft grafting, and during this time the cions
frequently blow^ out if the orchard is in 'a windy location. In
the Coburn method the incisions are made with a sharp saw
instead of by splitting the stub as in cleft grafting, and this
lessens very greatly the danger of d<5cay starting in the stub.

FERTILIZERS

223

The cions are cut to a long wedge and are driven down into the
incision made by the saw, being careful, as in cleft grafting, that
the cambium layers meet. It is a much easier method for the
novice than the other metliod.

3. Fertilizers. — On the matter of fertilizers for the renovated
orchard the writer has rather decided opinions, based on his
work in several orchards and on observations in several others.

No Nitrogen. — In the first place, there ought to be no
nitrogen of any kind applied the first year. This comes as near
to being a rule without exceptions as we are likely to run across.
Just think for a moment of
what has been done to the
orchard. If all that has
been outlined (with the ad-
dition of cultivation and
spraying) has been carried
out thoroughly it will be the
most surprised lot of trees in
the state, without the addi-
tion of an ounce of nitrogen.
We have taken away from
one-fourth to nine-tenths of
the top, which alone would
induce a vigorous growth ;
it has been freed from insect
and fungous attacks and the
soil has been stirred up so
as to supply it with all the
water it can use, something
it probably has not had for
years. • Incidentally this soil treatment seems to give it about all
the plant food that it can use and it puts forth a rank, dark
green growth that would do credit to a green bay instead of a
green apple tree. A glance at Figure 102 will show the type of
growth to be expected.

Now suppose that more nitrogen has been added, particularly
slowly available nitrogen, like barn manure or tankage. The

Iiu. 103. — Trunk of a tree damaged by too
much nitrogen. The cambium layer has been
killed and the bark is separating iroin the wood.

224

RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS

tree is l)oniid to make a still more rank growth and it is going
to be practically impossible to check it in the autumn in time
for it to ripen its wood before winter comes on. The result
is almost certain to be more or less damage to the cambium
layer and consequent killing of the adjoining bark. If the
damage is "less" we are likely to find injury around the trunk
of tlie tree, as is shown in Figure 103. In this case the bark was
killed only part way around and the tree survived, but it is like a
man with one lung so far as getting down to work is concerned.

Fig. 104. — An orchard damaged by too much nitrogen. The trees have grown late in the
autumn and have not been able to withstand the cold.

When the damage is more severe the tree may be killed outright
or so severely damaged that it is practically out of the race.

Figure 104 shows a case of this kind. It was in an orchard
in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. The trees had been
rather neglected for several years, being kept in sod and no
fertilizer used. Then the owner had a ''change of heart" and
decided to do better by his trees, so he plowed the orchard and
applied a heavy dressing of barnyard manure. The soil was
not very fertile, and the past neglect had made it less so, with the
result that the trees had made long, straggling roots in search
of moisture and plant food, as it is well known that trees will

CULTIVATION 225

do in a poor soil lilve this. Then comes this entire change of
conditions. The soil is plowed up and supplied with an abun-
dance of both moisture and food, particularly nitrogen. The
large, spreading root system at once develops an abundance
of feeding roots throughout its entire length, as it is also well
known that trees will do when conditions are favorable. The
result is that the trees are worse off than trees accustomed to
good care from the start. They "over-eat," over-grow and are
not able to withstand the cold of winter. Therefore, if you are
tempted to use nitrogen in a renovated orchard resist the tempta-
tion, under most conditions. At least give the orchard one
season 's treatment to see how the trees respond.

Damage from tliis source is usually first shown by the
trees having a sickly appearance as they leaf out in the spring. An
examination of the bark about the base of the trunk will fre-
quently show that it is loose and separates readily from tbe wood
over considerable areas. In severe cases practically i\\e entire
cambium layer is killed and the bark may be pulled off in long
strips. When the cambium layer is killed all around the trunk
there is nothing to do ])ut cut the tree down. But where the
damage is less severe we may cut away the injured baik and
paint over the wound and the tree wnll probably recover.

Oil the potash and phosphoric acid side, the case is quite
different. There is certainly no danger of damaging the trees
and probably every reason to expect that you Avill benefit them.
Consequently, the orchardist should use from 400 to 600 pounds
of basic slag and from 200 to 300 pounds of high-grade sulfate
of potash per acre. Doubtless these amounts could be varied
still more and yet give good results, but the amounts suggested
have been used on different orchards with entire success.

4. Cultivation. — It is assumed that the orchard is not going
to be kept in sod. Most of these old orchards of the type under
consideration have long been in sod and occasionally it may be
possible to renovate them by sod culture, but usually not. If
they are to be cultivated the first problem is to get them plowed,
and sometimes it is a very difificult problem. A steady team is
needed, a very strong plow, and a man who has a good grip on
his temper. With these essentials and with plenty of time and
15

226

RENOVATING OLD ORCH.\RDS

persevei-ance almost an.y orchard may be plowed. It is sometimes
recommended to use a disc harrow fii-st in case the orchard has
long been in sod and the roots are close to the surface, but this
is entirely unnecessary. Some large roots will have to be cut,
a great many in fact, and they will keep working out of the
ground all through the first season, but the tops have also been
severely pruned and some loss of roots will do no harm. It is a
good plan to do this first plowing away from the trees to facilitate
getting out the sod from about their trunks. This will require

Fig. 10.-.— An

neglected orchard when renovation was begun.
and poor and the trees generally unthrifty.

The foliage is thin

some work with the mattock or grub-hoe after the plowing is
done, but it is worth while in order to make a thorough job.

After the plowing is done the land should be put in the best
condition possible. Usually a disc harrow is a good implement
to use after the plow and it ought to be ran the same way the
land was plowed to avoid turning up the sod. The disc harrow
may be followed by anything else in the harrow line that is
available. The orchard should be cultivated up to about July
10 and then sown to some cover crop,

5. Cover Crops. — There are no important special directions
for cover crops in a renovated orchard unless it be to use buck-

SPRAYING

227

wheat the first year on account of its rotting the sod and leaving
the soil in such good physical condition. If the soil is reasonably
good to start with there is usually little difficulty in getting a
good growth of cover crop this first year, because the sod
furnishes plenty of humus and the fertilizers applied, with the
subsequent cultivation, leave the land in fine condition.

6. Spraying. — Here again there is no marked difference in
the program for a renovated orchard. If the trees are affected
with San Jose scale, which is one of the most common causes of

Fig. lOG. — The samo orchard as shown in Figure 105, after five years' treatment. There
were fifty-three trees in the orchard and it yielded as follows: 1908, 43 bbls.; 1909, 45 bbls.;
1910, 205 bbls.; 1911, 50 bbls.; 1912, 175 bbls.

the decline of these old orchards, two very thorough sprayings
will be necessary, one with oil in the autumn just after the
leaves are oft'; and the other in the spring, with lime-sulfur, just
before the buds swell. These two sprayings, with two for
codling moth, are generally all that are necessary. A thing
which will interest and please the man who does the spraying
is to see how much easier the spraying becomes year by year
as the trees are gradually reduced in height by the successive
pninings. It is the tops of these tall trees that take the time
and the materials.

228 RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS

Renovation Practice. — As already suggested these theories
of renovation have been tried out on many different orchards.
The history of one of these orchards may be worth stating briefly
to show what can be accomplished in such old, worn-out orchards
as we are considering.

The block consisted of fifty-three trees on about an acre and a
quarter of land (Fig. 105). The trees were in such bad condi-
tion that the advisability of cutting them down and planting
a "real" orchard was considered seriously, but it was finally
decided to see w^hat could be done to bring them back into useful-
ness again. The methods just outlined were followed. During
the first summer the orchard appeared as shown in Figure 105.
This first year was the bearing year and the block produced
forty-five barrels of apples, "the first really good crop it had
ever borne," one of the neighbors said. As the trees were
mostly Baldwins the following year was the "off year" and the
orchard i)roduced only forty-three barrels. The third year it
bore nearly two hundred barrels, the fourth year about fifty,
and the fifth year one hundred and seventy-five barrels. This
last year the apples were thinned, which reduced somewhat the
total crop but greatly improved the general quality. In fact,
there were very few No. 2 apples in the orchard. The trees no\"^
look, after five years' treatment, as shown in Figure 106.

QUESTIONS

1. Are renovated orchards likely to be profitable?

2. What points should one consider in deciding whether to renovate an

orchard or not?

3. Give some idea of the importance of varieties in such an orchard.

4. How would you prune an orchard that is to be renovated ?

5. Why is scraping recommended?

6. Discuss the fertilizing of a renovated orchard.

7. What tillage should be practised in such an orchard?

8. Can you describe any methods in the renovation of old orchards which

you have seen?

CHAPTER XVII
PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

This is where the real fun of fniit-growinf? comes in. The
other work is, much of it, pleasant and most of it interesting,
but for downright pleasure go out and gather a basket of
Carman peaches or pick a basket of Mcintosh apples.

Thinning the Fruit. — While it does not strictly belong here,
being half way between pruning and harvesting, this is perhaps

Fig. 107. — A pair of fhinninR shears. The long pointed blades enable one to get at the
Btema in a cluster of fruit.

the best place to discuss the thinning of fruit. It is another
western custom that is bound to become more general. The
sooner our eastern growers can be brought to realize its im-
portance the sooner they will see a marked improvement in
the grade of fruit produced. No one thing will so change the
size and appearance of a crop of apples as the simple operation
of removing about half of them from the trees (Fig. 109).
Thinning is profitable for many different reasons, but the fol-
lowing are some of the most important.

1. It maintains the vigor of the tree. The development of
the fruit is the most serious drain that the tree has to undergo

229

230

PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

and the production of the seed in the fruit is much more ex-
hausting than any other part of the fruit. So that, while a
thinned tree may produce nearly as many bushels of fruit as
one that is not thinned, the number of fruits is so much less on
the thinned tree that it is left in far better condition.

2, It prevents the breaking of branches due to overloading
(Fig. 110). This is a very important matter on trees that are
bearing a full crop. It is not advisable to thin a tree so much
that no props at all are required to help the tree to carry its
load, but there is no question that with proper thinning the

iming Japanese plums.

number of props may be greatly reduced and still leave the tree
reasonably free from danger of breaking.

3. It enables us to get rid of fruit infested by insects and
fungous diseases. This is especially true of the codling moth
and the railroad worm, but applies to a number of other pests.
This not only relieves the tree from the drain of maturing these
fruits, but it helps to hold the pests in check and, perhaps most
important of all, it relieves the owner of the moral responsibility
of deciding what to do with these inferior specimenswhen packing
time comes.

THINNING THE FRUIT

231

4. The fruit is of better size and color. The improvement in
these respects will be a revelation to the man who has never
thinned. The fmit seems to swell right out after the tree is
thinned and runs a very even grade at picking time (Fig. 109).

5. The trees will bear more regularly. This seems to be the
universal testimony of those who have tried it for a sufficiently
long period. Of course a single year will not demonstrate it,

Fig. 109. — Branch of an apple tree that was thinned twice. Even now there are some
apples left that should have been taken off. The most difficult thing in thinning is to get
the men to take off enough fruit.

nor is it probable that old trees which have formed the ' ' habit ' '
of biennial bearing can ever be brought entirely to annual
bearing. But there seems to be little doubt of its efficacy on young
trees, though it is probable that with fruits like the apple and
pear, w^hieh bear on spurs, it will be necessary to remove all the
fruit from some spurs in order to induce this annual bearing.

This seems like a goodly array of advantages and ought to be
sufficient to at least warrant a fmit grower in making a start.
Once the start is made the pi-actice will probably be kept up.

232

PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

The actual operation varies greatly with different fruits,
with different men and under different conditions. Most au-
thorities seem to favor the use of a pair of shears for taking off
the fruits, though others are rather partial to a good pair of
hands. A point that is very important is to go systematically
over the tree in thinning. If he does not do this the oper-
ator never knows when he is through. Begin by removing
all defective fruits, such as wormy or diseased ones, those
that are under-sized and tliose that show limb-bruises or

Fig. 110. — Boys thinning apples. It cost 40 cents per tree to thin trpp^ of this size
twice, and they averaged about four barrels of apples at harvest lime. TIkU is ten rents
per barrel for thinning and the owner was offered $1.00 per barrel more than his neighbors.

other similar defects. Then try to thin down to a reason-
ably uniform distance apart, for uniform distance gives uni-
form fruit. This is going to vary, of course, but the usual
error is not to take off enough. When a man gets through
with the thinning and looks at the ground he is sure he has
taken off too many. When it comes time to pick he almost always
wishes he had taken off more. Western orchardists are by far
the best authorities in the matter, and many of them recom-
mend thinning apples to as much as 8 or 10 inches apart. If this
seems like too much, begin by taking off all the apples but one

HARVESTING THE CROP 233

from each spur. Then gradually increase the distance as con-
lidence and courage increase. With peaches and plums a good
rule to begin on is to thin until no two fruits touch each other.
Of course this really means that the fruit will average a fair dis-
tance apart and this can be increased as suggested for apples.
The main thing is to get the practice introduced. A great ad-
vantage of both these standards of thinning (taking off all but
one apple per spur, and thinning plums and peaches so that they
do not touch), is that they are simple rules which anybody can
follow without any particular thought or slackening of speed.
Tell a man to thin to eight inches apart and he spends too much
time figuring Avhether two particular apples are seven inches or
eight inches apart.

The Cost. — -What discourages many from thinning is the
notion that it is an endless job and that the cost is very high.
Of course it does cost, but one should reflect that it costs little
more to pick an apple by thinning in July, than it does to
pick it by harvesting it in October. The writer kept care-
ful account of the cost of thinning an orchard of fifty-three
bearing Baldwin trees one season. They were gone over twice,
once the fore part of July and a second time the fore part of
August, and the total cost was about forty cents per tree. It
was the orchard shown in Figure 106, and the trees would
average about four barrels per tree, which made the cost of
thinning about ten cents per barrel. As no check trees were
left without thinning, it is impossible to say how much the fniit
was increased in value, but it was certainly a beautiful crop
and an apple buyer offered foi- it what he claimed was a dollar
a barrel more than he was paying for most fruit, because of their
uniformity and size. This would make the profit due to thinning
one thousand per cent.

HARVESTING THE CROP

Coming now to real picking, several questions of importance
present themselves: First, equipment needed for picking; second,
when fruit should be picked ; third, how it should be picked.

234

PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

Picking equipment. — For most fruits this consists of some
type of ladder and some kind of receptacle, usually a basket.

There are all kinds of ladders on the market, but two kinds
especially commend themselves. In step-ladders the kind shown
in Figure 111 is preferable. It has only one leg- in front, which
enables the operator to establish it firmly on the ground much
more quickly than can be done with the four-legged kind, and

incidentally it is much more
firmly established. The spread
of the ladder proper at the
bottom also helps to make it
a very stable ladder.

Then for old apple trees or
other large-sized trees th3
best ladder is what is gener-
ally known as the orchard
type of ladder, where the two
side-pieces come together in a
point. This makes it much
easier to establish the ladder
fimily against the tree than
is the case with the other
type of ladders in which the
two side-pieces run parallel
or nearly so. Both types of
these ladders are shown in
Figure 115.

A very mtisfactory pick-
ing receptacle is a smooth oak
picking basket such as is shown in Figure 112. For perishable
fruits it ought to be lined. Another good picking receptacle which
is strongly recommended by many western fruit growers is the
galvanized iron pail. Besides being a perfectly rigid affair
with no tendency to allow the fruit to squeeze dowm along the
edges of the receptacle, as it will do in a flexible one, the pail
possesses the additional advantage that the foreman can tell
by the sound when a picker throws an apple into it. This last

Fig. 111. — Picking cherries. Notice the
type of .step-ladder, broad at the bottom and
with only one leg in front.

PICKING EQUIPMENT

235

point appeals to any man who employs a number of pickers.
Never buy the rough type of picking basket shown in Figure 113.
They cost just as much and bruise the fruit far more. Another
type of picking receptacle which is very objectionable is the
picking bag (Fig. 114). There are various types of these, from
a home-made contrivance made from a grain sack and designed
to sling over the shoulder, to the cross between a pail and a
bag with iron sides and a cloth bottom. With a very careful

^IG. 112.- — A good picking basket. The smooth surface dues not bruise the fruit uud the
padding helps still more to reduce this type of damage.

Fig. 113. — A poor type of picking basket for fruit, yet one often used. The rough sides are
sure to bruise the fruit.

picker they may work very well, though even then it is difficult
to see how fruit can escape being bruised more or less as the
operator moves about in picking. With the usual help that
must be employed when there is much picking to do, it is simply
out of the question to avoid a lot of serious injury. Tt probably
will not show itself when the fruit is emptied into the box or
barrel; frequently it may not show when it is packed, but it
certainly will in the long run. Such fruit cannot keep as well
as that which has not been subjected to this treatment.

236

PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

A word also ought to be said in regard to the containers
which are used to carry the fruit from the orchard to the pack-
ing house. If possible these should not be the packages which
are to be sent to market. Some veiy large peach growers make
a practice of taking the regidar basket in which the fruit is to
be shipped right into the orchard, but in most cases this is not
done. And where it can be avoided it is certainly better not to
use them, for the baskets are bound to get soiled and broken

Fig. 114. — Picking apples into bags. These may be all right with very careful men
and have the advantage of leaving both hands free, but the fruit is almost sure to be bruised
with the least carelessness.

more or less in their trip from the storehouse to the orchard and
back again. For the smaller fruits, like plums and peaches, the
picking basket shown in Figure 116 is excellent for transporting
the fruit from orchard to packing house, and it will last much
longer if oiled. For apples and pears either a heavy orchard
box should be used or else barrels. In either case it is much
better if these receptacles are kept expressly for this purpose.
Second-hand barrels are entirely satisfactory and the heavy

WHEN AND HOW TO PICK 237

orchard box makes an excellent receptacle to store apples in and
will last a long time if handled with reasonable care.

When and How to Pick. — We come now to the second of
our picking- questions. When to pick the fruit varies, of course,
with circumstances and with fruits. It varies all the way from
peaches, which are never quite so good as when allowed to get
thoroughly ripe on the trees, to pears, which practically ought
never to be allowed to ripen on the tree. The distance the
fruit has to be shipped is an important factor in determining
the proper degree of ripeness for most fruits. The farther one
has to ship the "greener" must the fruit be Avhen picked. That
is one of the advantages which the local grower has over the
man who has to ship long distances. Watch the way prices
jump up when the first "native" or local peaches or strawberries
come on, and you get an estimate as to how much it improves
them to ripen on the tree or vine.

As there is considerable variation in handling the different
fruits at picking time it may be well to suggest a few points
as to picking each pai*ticular fruit.

Apples when grown for market are seldom allowed to get
fully ripe on the tree, though it probably does not reduce their
quality any to do so if they mature early enough. Gravensteins,
for example, that have ripened on the tree are certainly fully
as good as if they had been picked earlier and allowed to ripen
in storage. Of course the winter varieties are not really ripe
until long after they are picked, and even the early sorts, though
they are more nearly ripe, are usually pretty "green" when
picked.

The proper degree of maturity is judged in various ways.
The amount of red color is frequently a fair index. The appear-
ance of the cheek, whether it is still a dead, even, hard green or
whether it has begun to ripen up and look edible, is very im-
portant. The ease with which the stem separates from the tree
is also an excellent index of maturity. So long as either the
stem or the spur is likely to break instead of the joint between
the two, the apple may safely be left on the tree, except where
one is shipping very long distances. But when this joint

238

PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

separates easily, when some of the apples even begin to fall,
then there is little danger of their being too green. The color
of the seeds is another point usually given, but it is really seldom
resorted to. If the seeds are examined they should be a good
brown color, as a rule, before the apple is fit to pick. There are
exceptions to this rule, for some varieties are still immature
when the seeds are brown and others are fairly edible while the
seeds are still very light colored, but these exceptions are rare.

Fig. 115. — Picking appli^
be thinned enougli t.j

:>aded trees. Apple trees carrying a full crop cannot
fruit without danger unless they are propped.

In the operation of picking the apple, if the thumb is placed
beside the joint between the stem and the spur, and then the fruit
is bent towards the thumb with a quick motion, the joint will
usually break readily. This requires a little practice, but once
acquired the good picker will harvest very few spurs. The
apple should always be picked with the stem on, as where the
stem is pulled out it breaks the flesh and allows disease germs to
enter. This is a point frequently overlooked by careless pickers
and ought to be insisted on by the foreman. It is frequently
a good plan to make more than one picking of a variety. With

WHEN AND IIO'W' TO PICK 239

early apples this is especially true, but it will hold with even as
late varieties as the Gravenstein and the Mcintosh. One gets much
better fruit in this way, and it is suq^risiiiii how the smaller
apples which are left on the tree will fill out in size. Of course
this is especially important with such varieties as Wealthy and
Mcintosh, which tend to drop before they are fully ripe, yet it is
often worth trvnng even with varieties which hang on well.

Pears, as already suggested, are picked decidedly green, in
fact greener than any other fruit. If allowed to become too
ripe on the tree all sorts of difficulties are likely to develop.
Some varieties rot at the core, many develop the hard, gritty
granules, so disagreeable to the consumer, of an otherwise fine
pear, while still others become mealy. Most of the indications
discussed under the apple, except red color, apply to the pear,
but the really important indication is the appearance of the
cheek of the fruit. When this changes from a dull, unattractive,
green to a more yellow and inviting appearance the fruit should
be picked. Of course, greenness can be over-done, even in the
pear, in which case the fruit will wilt and shrivel instead of
mellowing, but there is relatively little danger of this. Pears
should be picked very carefully, more so than almost any other
fruit. Bruises are peculiarly disastrous with a fruit which must
remain in storage so long and which has a flesh that is so soft
and melting.

Peaches ought to remain on the tree just as long as possible
and still get to market in good condition. This accepted rule
practically means that it is impossible for anyone to advise the
owner as to when to pick. It all depends on how far he is from
his market, and it will probably require some experimenting on
the part of the man who is not familiar with the business. The
all-important indication with the peach, as with the pear, is the
appearance of the cheek of the fruit. When this looks mature
and is attractive in color the peach is ready to pick. Do not
pay much attention to the question of red color. This is largely
a varietal question and depends also on how dense the top of the
tree is. Moreover, red frequently develops on a peach weeks
before it is ripe. We frequently see the advice given to judge

240

PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

by feeling of a peach whether it is ready to pick or not. This
is absolutely unnecessary and very detrimental to the fruit. It
may be necessary at the start to test a few specimens in this
way in order to get at the relation between appearance and
maturity, but that is all. The man who cannot pick peaches
without pinching and punching them in this way had better
be put to picking potatoes, which will stand that sort of treat-
ment. Moreover, it is an unnecessary waste of time. The picker
who stops to feel of every peach he picks will not pick many.
Another point worth mentioning is the fact that cling-stones

Fig. IIG. — Peaches picked into oak picking baskets, to bo packed out into other baskets
for market.

and semi-cling-stone varieties may be allowed to stay on the tree
much longer than those which are perfectly free. The real
cling is not much in evidence these days, but the semi-cling is
fairly common. Peaches are, of course, always separated from
the very short stem, and this ought to be done by as straight
a pull as possible, as this bruises the edge of the cavity less
than if they are pried loose.

Cherries. — There is no great art about picking cherries ex-
cept to be sure to get the stems. In fact, the fruit itself should
not be touched any more than can be helped. Do the work with
the stems alone. They should be allowed to get as ripe as possi-

WHEN AND HOW TO PICK

241

ble before beings srathered, as they do not improve much after
pickinjET. And still they are not allowed to f;et fully ripe except
for very nearby markets. Taste is the staudaxd by which to

Fio. 117. — AttackinK an old-timer.

The cost of piddng such larpe trees is much preatRr than
from low trees.

judge ripeness that is usually suggested by those who write on
this subject, and it is probably as good as any, though if it is
adopted there is danger that some pickers will require to have
16

242

PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

their judi,'ment refreshed rather often. Cherries ought always
to be picked into baskets or some other rigid reeeptack^ and this
should be rather small, as too large a body of fruit is likely to
lead to injury.

Plums are generally picked before they are ripe; for distant
markets, long before. Yet like all stone fruits, they will respond
in improved quality if they can be allowed to stay on the trees
till fully ripe. The writer has had some experience with Bur-
bank and Red June plums which was interesting to him and may
be helpful to others. Both of these are Japanese varieties, a

Fig. 118. — A load of apples on the way to market. This is a good type of wagon for hauling
barrels. It is low, making it easy to load, and it will carry twenty-five barrels easily.

class usually singled out by authorities to recommend picking
green. The trees under discussion were thinned carefully and
the fruit was then allowed to hang until it was fully ripe. We
started picking once or twice and quit because there was not
enough fruit that was sufficiently ripe. We made repeated
pickings, taking only the really ripe plums, and, though these
two varieties are not usually rated as of high quality, these
particular specimens were certainly delicious. They were put
up in strawberry quart baskets and sold at 9 to 10 cents whole-
ale. But it was the quality that accomplished the results, and
it was the ripeness that gave the quality. Plums ought always

MANAGEMENT OF PICKERS

243

can get it only by absolutely

to be picked with the stems on if possible. With some of the
American varieties it is sometimes difficult to do this, as they
separate from the stem very readily.

Management of Pickers.— It i-emains to say just a few-
words in regard to orchard methods which apply pretty gener-
ally to all the different fruits. The first of these, and by all
means the most important, is the question of managing the
pickers. Various methods are in vogue, l)ut, with few excep-
tions, the only proper way is to pay by the day and not by the
piece. With small fruits this may not be so generally true, but
with the orchard fniits, which we are considering, where the
orchardist wants good work ho
owning the men's time. It
is desirable to get as good
help as possible. And if the
owner can have enough
regular men, or men who
have worked on the place
enough to have an interest
in things, so that he can put
one or two of them with the
raw recruits, it is a great
advantage. It is also well not
to have too many men in any
one gang.

Some method must also be adopted to relieve the picker of the
necessity of holding his basket, so that he may have both hands
free. A very common and handy device is an iron hook fastened
to the handle of the basket which may be hooked over a limb
of the tree or a rung of the ladder. Sometimes the basket is hung
to the belt or over the shoulder.

The sooner the fruit can be gotten under cover after being
picked the better. Do not allow it to stand in the hot sun. Of
coiirse this is more important with the perishable classes, like
cherries, but it holds to a greater or less extent with fruit of
any kind.

For hauling the fruit from the orchai'd some type of low

-Distributing barrel;
orchard.

e apple

244 PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT

wagon will be found very useful. If it can be such as will
turn in a very short space so much the better. A low wagon
becomes almost imperative where apples are brought from the
orchard in barrels (Fig. 118). The amount of energy that is
wasted in lifting barrels of apples into high wagons or carts
and then lifting them down again would have built the Panama
Canal. Good equipment for all the different operations is half
the battle in handling the fruit economically and well (Fig. 119),

QUESTIONS

1. Give the principal benefits from thinning fruit.

2. Describe how it is done.

3. Give some idea of the expense.

4. \Miat should be the equipment for picking tlie ditlcrent fruits?

5. Discuss the stage of maturity for the picking of apples.

6. Same for peaches and plums.

7. Same for pears. For cherries.

8. Give special points and cautions to be oljserved in the picking of each

of these fruits.

9. Discuss the management of picking crews.

10. Describe the picking of fruits as you have seen it and disjuss the
good or bad features.

CHAPTER XVIII
STORING FRUIT

It is rare that a fruit grower is supplied with abundant and
efficient storage room. Frequently the only storage available
on the farm is the cellar of the dwelling house or, worse yet, of
the barn. While the late varieties of apples may keep sur-
prisingly well in these old cellars, there is no hope of holding
tlie earlier and more perishable fi-iiits.

Advantages of Good Storage. — The principal advantages
which the orchard man secures by having adequate and efficient
storage are the following:

1. Prevents Forced Sales. — It puts him on an equality, or
nearly so, with the buyer. Frequently the great advantage which
the buyer has over the fruit grower is that the latter has no
place to store his fruit and the buyer knows this. He therefore
offers as little as his conscience will let liim, Icnowing that the
orchard man, realizing his precarious position, will accept the
otfer rather than run the risk of failing to find another buyer.
Now suppose that the grower has plenty of room in which to
store his fruit and that this storage is efficient so that his fruii
will keep in good condition for a long time. He is in a very
different situation from the former case. He knows that his
fruit will be perfectly safe for a number of Aveeks or months and
he therefore feels quite independent about selling. If the price
offered is satisfactory he will take it, and if not he will wait.
Good storage facilities, therefore, put the transaction just where
it belongs. Neither buyer nor seller has any advantage over the
other. If they can agree on a price the fruit changes hands, and
if they can not it does not.

2. Good storage prevents gluts of the market by allowing the
producer to hold back a part of his crop. This is especially true
of the more perishable fruits. For example, in New England
there is what is known as "I^lberta week," when this variety

245

246 STORING FRUIT

comes on with a rush. It so happens that it usually comes the
week of Labor Day, when most people do not want to labor.
The result is that prices usually collapse. But if even the large
growers were so situated that they could put some of their
peaches in storage for this week they would not only be saved
the necessity of selling this part of the crop at a sacrifice, but
the mere fact that they took some of the fruit off the market
would help to keep the price up.

3. Good storage increases consumption by keeping the fruit
in better condition. This is a self-evident fact but one frequently
overlooked. If a consumer gets a barrel of apples in poor condi-
tion, one barrel will perhaps be all that he will buy ; whereas if
his first barrel comes to him in fine shape he may be induced to
use two or even three barrels. Few people realize how much
difference there is in selling capacity between a fruit which is
merely not decayed and one which has been kept in prime
condition.

4. Good storage improves the price by allowing the grower
to delay his marketing. It almost always happens that the price
of any fruit is higher at either end of the season than it is in
the middle of the season. Therefore if a grower can keep the
fruit which he would ordinarily market in the middle of the
season until this rise in price occurs he is going to realize con-
siderably more for his crop.

5. Good Storage Avoids Mental Strain. — It seems worth
while to add another advantage of good storage, and that is the
influence it exerts on the grower himself. Few people who have
not had the experience realize what a mental strain it is upon
a man to market a large crop of fruit. A good share of this
strain comes from his anxiety lest the fruit shall deteriorate
before he can sell it. The reassurance which a good storage would
bring to such a man would increase his comfort aud prolong
his life.

The Ideal Storage Plant.— With all these benefits to be
secured from storage it is worth while next to consider what
constitutes an ideal fruit storage plant. It ought to have the
following characteristics :

THE IDEAL STORAGE PLANT 247

1. Low Temperature. — A satisfactory storage must be able
to give relatively low temperatures. Just what these shall be
depends on the kind and condition of fruit, but they must be
low. Usually fruit keeps best, or at least longest, when the
temperature approaches the freezing point. AVith apples it is
generally considered that the best temperature is from 30° to
32° F., but it is quite possible that this idea may be modified
with further experimentation, but in any case it is going to be a
low temperature that is desired. The low temperature prolongs
the keeping of the fruit for two reasons, first because it prevents
or retards the work of the organisms of decay and second because
it slows down the life processes of the fruit so that it lives a
slower life and therefore lasts longer.

2. Little Variation. — The storage room should have as con-
stant a temperature as possible. Variations are always objection-
able and become more so as they are rapid and extreme. The
writer once had experience with a small storage room where the
insulation was very poor. The first winter he managed it
he attempted to get around the difficulty by putting a small
oil stove in the room. As this could not be left burning all night,
the temperature was run up to perhaps 60° during the day and
then fell to nearly freezing during the night. This was repeated
each day of the very cold weather. It is needless to say that the
fruit kept very poorly that winter, so much so that it was de-
cided that something would have to be done to improve matters.
The following year furring strips an inch thick were nailed
against the walls and then the room was lined with building
paper, thus giving an inch air space and the additional layer of
paper over the entire wall surface. The result was that the
following winter the temperature was very constant and the
fruit kept surprisingly well.

3. Getting Fruit hi and Out. — The storage should be
arranged so that it is convenient to get fruit into it and out
again. Just what this arrangement will be will vary with
circumstances, but if it is at all possible to get a wagon into
the storage it will save tremendously in the cost of getting the
fruit in and out. An elevator and an outside bulk-head are two
common methods, but neither is as expeditious as the wagon

248 STORING FRUIT

method, and the bulk-head method is not much more efficient in
conserving the cold temperature of the storage house.

4. Not too Expensive. — The storage must be reasonable in
cost. Just what may be considered as a reasonable cost varies.
The cost of the same house in different localities will vary and
the price which a grower can afford to pay and still make a
profit on his investment will vary. If an orchard man is selling
his apples to a fancy trade at $5 to $10 a barrel he can afford
to put more money into a storage house than the man who is
selling on the general market for $1.50 to $2.00 a barrel. In
estimating the capacity of a room or building it is customary to
allow ten cubic feet per barrel, and two and a half cubic feet
per bushel box. These amounts allow for alley ways for getting
at the different lots in the storage. It is generally considered
that a refrigerated storage house can be put up for from
$2.50 to $3.50 per barrel of capacity. If an orchard man is
expecting to put his fruit in cold storage he can probably
put up his own building, provided he is a reasonably large
grower, cheaper than he can hire his fruit stored in a com-
mercial storage plant.

The usual price charged for storing apples is 40 to 50 cents
per barrel for the season. Now if a grower is producing say
one thousand barrels of apples, and putting them in refrigerated
storage, he pays $500 for the season. This is the interest at
five per cent on $10,000, which at the estimates given above
would put up a building with a capacity of from 2,900 to 4,000
barrels. Of course it is going to cost the owner something to
run it, but even so he is going to save money and he is going to
have the advantage of a satisfactory storage right on the place
(Fig. 120).

On the other hand there is some advantage in having the
fruit stored near the point where it is to be consumed or at
least distributed, and as the commercial plants are usually
located in the larger centres this advantage should be kept in
mind. In particular the danger from freezing in transit during
the winter months is greatly reduced by having the fruit shed
near the point of consumption.

5. Proper Moisture. — A storage room should carry a rela-

THE IDEAL STORAGE PLANT

249

tively high percentage of moisture. Just what the best moisture
content is has not yet been accurately determined. ]\Ir. ^Madison
Cooper, a recognized expert in such matters, suggests for apples
80 per cent of a saturated atmosphere. One thing is certain,
it is very easy to get the storage room too dry. While it is
undoubtedly possible to also get it too moist, this is a far less
common difficulty. The writer recalls the methods used by
two growers in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, w^ho were
noted for their success in keeping apples. One of them had
a stream of water running through his storage cellar and the
other made a practice of wetting down his cellar with a hose.
It is apparently particularly objectionable, from the moisture
standpoint, to have a cement floor in the building unless some
provision is made to srpply the needed amounts of moisture.

Fig. 120. — A good type of farm storage house. This building will hold about two thousand
barrels of apples and has ample room for empty barrels in the loft.

In one house the requisite moisture supply has been kept up in
a room which has a cement floor, by having a small channel
cut in the cement along two sides of the room and keeping a
small stream of water in this from a faucet which is allowed
to drip slightly.

6. Good Size. — The storage ought to be ample. The cost
per barrel is less on a large plant than on a small one and it
therefore adds relativel.y little cost to increase the capacity
of the house considerably. And where new orchards are coming
along, more and more room is going to be needed. It is there-

250 STORING FRUIT

fore much, better to build a good-sized plant to begin with.
It can never be done as cheaply afterwards.

7. Operation Inexpensive. — The building must be operated
cheaply. This is imperative. The more simple the method of
operating the better. A method requiring expensive machinery
that is likely to get out of repair and which needs the attention
of expert and high-priced men, while it may be all right for
the large city plant, is certainly not usually the best for the
farmer unless he is a large grower.

The various typts of fruit storage may be classified as
follows :

1. Refrigerated storage, in which ammonia, carbon dioxide
or some other gas is used for cooling the room. This is the most
common type with large establishments and has the advantage
that it is usually very accurate in operation. It is possible to
regulate the temperature to a degree, which is often very im-
portant. The objections to it are that it is expensive and that
the machinery required to operate it is rather complicated and
when it gets out of order requires an expert to fix it up again.
There are three different methods of cooling storage rooms by
this gas system: {a) The gas, after being liquefied under
pressure, is conducted in pipes to the storage room which is
to be cooled, and there allowed to expand and take up the heat
of the room; (&) the gas is allowed to expand in pipes which
are immersed in brine and this cooled brine is then conducted to
the room to be cooled; (c) the air of a certain room (or rooms)
is cooled down and then is put in circulation by fans and carried
thus to the storage rooms.

2. We have refrigerated storage where ice is used for cool-
ing. This is the type of storage which is often used for fruit,
and it has proved an exceptionally satisfactory method for this
purpose. The method is briefly as follows: At the top of the
building are vats in which are located coils of pipes filled with
chloride of calcium brine. This brine is 25° Beaume density
and will not freeze at 3° F. These coils, known technically as
the primary coils, are connected by pipes with other coils in the
rooms to be refrigerated, known technically as the secondary

THE VARIOUS TYPES OF FRUIT STOR.\GE 251

coils. To cool the rooms, broken ice and coarse salt are put
into the vats and the ice in melting takes up the heat from the
primary coils, thus cooling the brine in them. This makes the
chloride brine heavier and it flows, by gravity, down through
the connecting pipe into the secondary coils. Here it takes up
the heat of the room and thereby becomes lighter again, and so
the flow is kept up. The temperature of the refrigerated rooms
is controlled principally by varying the amount of salt used
with the ice, but there are valves on the pipes by which the
flow may be stopped altogether when desired or shut down as
much as may be wished. The great advantages of the system
are: The cheapness with which it can be run, requiring no
high-priced labor whatever; the fact that one or more of the
rooms may be run without the others, thus reducing the cost
proportionately; the fact that there is no intricate machinery'
to get out of order, and repairs at their worst are made by a
plain plumber, and, most important of all, the fact that it works
well in practice.

3. There is the frost-proof type of fruit storage. This de-
pends on the temperature of the outside air for cooling the
rooms. It is not as efficient as either of the others, but neither
does it cost as much, either to build or to operate. The old-
fashioned ^bam or house cellar is the crudest form of frost-
proof storage. The building shown in Figure 121 represents the
highest type. Where storage is required principally for winter
varieties of apples and where the autumn temperatures are
relatively low, the frost-proof house is likely to prove very
satisfactory. Where the more perishable fruits are grown it is
by no means so useful. Such a building or room is operated
by opening it up when the outside air is cooler than that of the
room and closing it again when the outside temperature rises.
With a little attention, and leaving it open during the cold
nights of early autumn, tlie temperature may be forced do\^^l
fairly low quite early in the season.

Construction. — It may be worth while to give next the type
of construction used in the two buildings here described.

2o2

STORING FRUIT

CONSTRUCTION

253

In the refrigerated building, shown in Figure 121, the walls
are relatively very complicated and are correspondingly efficient.
Particularly on the outside walls of the refrigerated rooms the
insulation is very perfect. These walls consist of the following
materials, beginning on the outside: (1) Brick veneer, (2) air
space, (3) water-proof building paper, (4) inch boards, (5)
2 by 10 inch studs, the space filled with shavings, (6) inch
boards, (7) water-proof paper, (8) inch hair felt, (9) water-
proof paper, (10) inch hair felt, (11) water-proof paper, (12)
inch boards.

Fig. 122. — Type of apple storage house foiind in the .Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.

An excellent feature of this building, which every storage
building should possess, is an ample storage room in the third
story for empty packages.

T/ie frost-proof storage liouse has been brought to great
perfection in the famous Annapolis Vallej% Nova Scotia, where
this type is used exclusively. Some of these houses are located
on the farms, but most of them are located along the railway,
and are either cooperative or are built by large commission
houses or by large buyers who operate in the section. One of
the farm type is shown in Figure 120 and one of the other type
in Figure 122. The walls of these storage houses vary con-

254

STORING FRUIT

siderably, but the following is a common construction. Be-
ginning on the outside we have: (1) Shingles, (2) water-proof
paper, (3) inch boards, (4) water-proof paper, (5) inch boards,
(6) 2 by 4 inch studs, (7) lath and plaster, (8) inch furring
strips, (9) inch tongue-and-groove sheathing.

A diagram of this wall is shown in Figure 123. Considering
that it is not a very complicated wall, it is certainly a very
efficient one.

Keeping Qualities of Fruits. — It remains to say a word about
the factors which influence the keeping quality of fruits. Like
most of the work in fruit growing, we need more light on many
points connected with the storage of fruits, yet the following
seem reasonably well established:

^ STOnn SHUTTEfi 1 CASir^S 1 SM//^G/.ES \

Sf^ce 1 cAS/fv& j J ir^CM board \

SASH

J /NCM BOAflD \

e irjCM jfAC^

4 irvCH SfACE

y ^^s^

LA-TM A/SIO PI.ASr^'=! ^

r.r„\ y.r.,.\

f /^ycfy Ta/vBci£. AA/a effooi^m sr/eArfi/ivs- ^

Fig. 123. — Diagram of a croas-section of the walls of the storage house in Figure 122.

Tlie haudling of fruit from the time it is on the tree until it
lands in the storage house has a very important influence on
the length of time it will keep. Fruit which is picked roughly,
so as to bruise it in separating it from the twig; frait which is
thrown into the picking basket or poured from that into the
receptacle in which it is to be stored; or fruit which is roughly
handled while loading or unloading in hauling the packages
from the orchard to the storage house, will not keep as well as
that which is carefully handled. The importance of this cannot
be over-emphasized, and every detail in the work should be care-
fully scrutinized to see if there is any possible chance for
improvement.

The degree of maturity of the fruit at the time it is picked
and stored has a very decided influence on the length of time

KEEPING QUALITIES OF FRUITS 255

it will keep. It is a common impression that the greener the
fruit is when picked, the longer it will keep, but this is by no
means true. A certain degree of immaturity is desirable, but it
is quite possible to overdo it. There is some difference in this
respect with the various fruits, but in general it may be said that
fruits will keep longest if picked when they are fully matured
and well colored, but before the tissues have begun to break
down, while the Hesh is still firm.

Delay in getting the fruit into storage after it is picked is
a third very important factor. It ought to be understood that
there are certain life processes which are constantly going on
in the fruit, as in any other part of the plant. These processes
have to do with the growth, maturing, and finally with the break-
ing down and decay of the fruit. They go forward more rapidly
under some conditions than under others. Among other things
which hasten this ripening process is the removal of the fruit
from the tree. It ripens faster after it is picked than while it is
on the tree. Therefore it should be hustled into storage as fast
as possible when once it has been picked.

]\Ir. G. Harold Powell has shown that Kings, Suttons and
Rhode Island Greenings picked September 15 and stored within
three days, kept in good condition until March, while the same
varieties picked at the same time and handled in tlie same way,
except that they were not stored for two weeks, were badly de-
cayed by January' 1. Their commercial value had been injured
from 40 to 70 per cent by delay in getting them into the storage
house.

High Temperature Before Storage. — One of the chief factors
in making delay dangerous is the higher temperature to which
the fruit is subjected in the orchard or the open shed. A high
temperature shortens the life of the fruit by hastening the
life processes in it. There is no question about that. Just what
is the best temperature and just how it ought to be varied in
ripening up the fruit, are matters still to be determined, but
there is no question that they ought to be low. The more
carefully fruit has been handled the higher temperature it
will stand and still come out in good condition. And conversely

256 STORING FRUIT

the rougher the fruit has been handled the lower the temperature
should be. We ought not, however, to expect that fruit is
going to be any better when taken from cold storage than when
put in. Many people have apparently overlooked this and ex-
pect the storage man to make a number one apple out of a
number two while it is in his charge.

Fungous and physiological diseases exercise a very im-
portant influence on the keeping of fruit. Among the former
the scab or black spot of apples and pears, and the monilia, or
brown rot, of the stone fruits, deserve particular mention. When
fruit has the skin broken in any way, as by pulling an apple
from the tree without the stem, or by having the stem of another
apple puncture it while in the basket, several of the common
molds are likely to gain entrance and cause the fruit to decay
rapidly. Frequently they cause almost the total loss of fruit
that is stored. Spraying, careful handling, and low temperature
are the methods of reducing the loss, but even these cannot reduce
it to zero. Among physiological diseases the scald, and the
dry rot or Baldwin spot of apples, are especially important.
Neither one is entirely understood, but either one will cause a
tremendous amount of loss under certain conditions.

The conditions under wltich the fruit ivas groivn also exert
a very important influence on the length of time that it will
keep. Large, overgrown specimens will not keep as well as
smaller specimens with firmer flesh. This is why apples grown
in sod orchards usually keep better than those grown in culti-
vated orchards. Fruit grown on a light sandy soil generally
does not keep so w^ell as that grown on a heavier soil, though this
is probably due largely to the fact that the fruit on the sandy soil
is allowed to get too ripe before picking. Fertilizers certainly
exert an influence on keeping. Where too much nitrogen is
used and the fruit is large and soft it will not keep so long
after it has reached maturity. On the other hand, the maturing
of such fruit is delayed. Good color is desirable because it
means a fully developed fruit, but overcolor is not desirable
because it indicates that the fruit inay be past the best stage
of maturity.

QUESTIONS 257

The type of package used in storage certainly influences the
keeping quality. A tight package seems generally to give
better results than an open one, and a relatively small package
is better than a large one, probably because the smaller body of
fruit does not generate so much heat. The weight of the fruit
in the larger package may also have an influence. A bushel
box of apples is often found to keep better than a barrel of
the same apples.

Wrapping the fruit will usually cause it to keep better. It
seems to prolong its life and of course prevents bruising and
the transfer of disease from one specimen to another. Any
type of "wrapping," from storing the fruit in sand or sawdust
to the use of an oiled wrapper, will assist its keeping.

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the influence of storage in preventing forced sales of fruit.

2. How does good storage prevent gluts in the market?

3. How does it increase consumption?

4. In what way does storage affect the price of fruit?

5. Give several characteristics of an ideal storage plant.
(5. Describe an ammonia cooling system.

7. Describe the system of cooling with chloride of calcium brine and ice.

8. Describe the frost-proof storage house.

9. Give the wall construction of a well-insulated storage house.

10. How does the method of handling fruit affect its keeping qualities?

11. What influence on keeping quality has the degree of maturity at

picking time?

12. How is the keeping of fruit affected by delay in storage?

13. Give other influences affecting keeping quality.

CHAPTER XIX
GRADING AND PACKING

These two operations are very intimately associated and are
frequently performed by one operator at the same time. But
as methods improve there is more and more tendency to separate
the two and make the grading an operation by itself. While
we hear much less about this grading of fruit than we do about
packing it, and while fruit is frequently put upon the market
without any grading whatever, yet there is no doubt that where
anything like careful grading is done it requires more judgment
and closer attention to the business in hand than packing does.
Once a man learns the art, he can pack apples, for example,
into a box without much thought, provided they have been
graded and sized. It is largely a mechanical operation. But
when he is grading apples into from four to six grades, varying
in size and color, he must look critically at every fruit he handles.

Reason for Grading. — ^Another point emphasizing the im-
portance of grading which is frequently overlooked is the poor
impression which a mixed lot of fruit always gives. It is worth
while to take out the large apples, and sell them separately,
merely for the improvement it makes in the appearance and price
of the medium-sized apples that remain. A customer will be
perfectly satisfied with an apple two and a half inches in
diameter, provided all the rest of the apples in the package are
of about the same size. But put this size in with some of three-
inch and larger specimens and he objects strenuously and thinks
he is being cheated. By all means grade carefully for any sort
of good fruit.

Grades for Apples. — Just what the standard for the different
grades shall be, and just what names shall be used, is a some-
what mixed question at present. The grades for apples in
barrels recognized by the United States and the Canadian
federal laws are discussed in Chapter XXII. For boxed apples
the usual designations recognized by our western growers are
258

WESTERN GRADES FOR APPLES 259

Extra Fancy, Fancy, and Choice (grade C), which are defined as
follows :

Extra Fancy. — In this grade all apples shall be sound, smooth,
free from worms, womi stings, scale, water core, sun damages
or diseases of any kind, and of proper shape, according to the
variety. No apples smaller than 165s shall be allowed in this
grade (this is the number of apples required to fill a bushel box).
No apples that are of a red variety that are not at least
three-fourths red, except Rome Beauties one-half red, will be
taken in this grade. Yellow Newtowns, White Winter Pear-
mains, Grimes Golden, Bellflowers, Winter Bananas and Red
Cheek Pippins will be allowed in this grade, but no other variety
of yellow apples. Winter Bananas and Red Cheek Pippin
must show a red cheek.

Fancy. — In this grade also all apples must be smooth, sound,
free from bruises, blemishes, worms, worm stings, water core,
sun damages or diseases of any kind, and of proper shape, accord-
ing to the variety. No apples smaller than 165s shall be allowed
in this grade, excepting apples of the following varieties, which
will be accepted when packed as small as 200 apples to the
box: Winesaps, Jonathans and IMissouri Pippins when red all
over. All apples of red varieties ranging in color from three-
fourths red down to one-third red will be included in this grade.
All varieties of yellow apples will be allowed in this grade.

Grade C. — This grade shall be made up of all merchantable
apples not included in the Extra Fancy and Fancy grades.
These apples must be sound and free from bruises, worm stings
and other diseases. Skin to be unbroken, but wiU include mis-
shapen apples or apples having a limb mark or other similar
defect. This grade will include apples of all colors and as small
as 200s, but no smaller. It is optional with the buyer whether
this grade be wrapped or not.

Western Grades for Apples. — It will be seen, therefore,
that as yet our grade names and definitions are in process
of evolution and are still somewhat variable. Doubtless we
shall see more and more uniformity in both of these matters.
But the grade name and the grade definition are of minor im-

260 GRADING AND PACKING

portance compared to the grading, and if growers will grade
carefully and uniformly, and will pack honestly and skilfully,
there is likely to be little difficulty about names.

FRUIT PACKING

Now as to the question of packing, we need, first of all, a satis-
factory equipment. This means suitable packages, a packing
table of some kind, usually a press, besides such accessories as
wraps, stencils, stemmers for apples, and various other things
varying with different fruits and different types of packing.

Packages for Apples. — Since the package will, to a consider-
able extent, determine the kind of equipment needed, we may
begin with a discussion of packages in general. For apples we
have principally the barrel and the bushel box. Both of these
packages have their advocates and both have their place in
marketing apples. The barrel is the typical eastern package,
while the box is used in the West to the exclusion of all other
packages. The box, however, is gaining ground, though slowly,
among the eastern growers. The claims for the box, which seem
to be fairly well founded, are that it carries the fruit in better
condition, that it is a more attractive package, and that its
smaller size makes it more convenient for many consumers. On
the other hand, the barrel is an old and well recognized package
(Fig. 124). Fruit can be handled in it at less cost than in
boxes and it will stand rough usage in transit much better than
the box. We ought not to have rough usage, but neither ought
we to have a great many other things that we do have. Nothing
but apples of the very highest grade ought to go into boxes. It
is essentially a high-grade package, and if a customer finds poor
fruit in it he feels defrauded and rightly so. The writer would
meet the argument that there is a demand for small quantities of
the poorer grades by suggesting that these be put in some other
type of package. Possibly the flat bushel box generally used for
vegetables might be used for these low^er grades of apples or
some type of basket might be selected, but the regular bushel
apple box should be reserved for good fruit. One large grower
solved this problem by usingr a special type of the round,
Delaw^are peach basket for his ''drops" and other lower
grades of apples. These grades were never put into any other

PEACHES

261

receptacles, and no good apples were ever put into these baskets.
There is a third class of package for apples which is just now
coming into prominence and which is bound to become of more
and more importance. That is the small retail package holding
from a few quarts up to perhaps half a bushel. These packages
are principally of two types, either baskets or cartons. They have
the advantages from the standpoint of the consumer, that they
can be carried easily in the hand, that they keep the fruit in
good condition and that they hold so little fruit that the ques-
tion of storage is not important. They thus obviate the greatest
difficulty which is experienced with the barrel, and even with
the box, namely that the ordinary household cannot use all the
apples before they begin to decay.

Fig. 124. — An attractive face to a barrel of apples. Such a barrel of apples is sure to
attract attention, and if tiie middle is as good as the face it is sure to make friends.

For pears we have almost the same packages as for apples,
except that they are shipped quite largely in half barrels instead
of in barrels, and that the pear box is of a ditferent size from
the apple box, being 18 x lli/o x 8l^ inches inside measure.

Peaches are shipped principally in three types of packages:
The Delaware peach basket, liolding from 5 quarts to 16 quarts,
usually in the latter size ; the Georgia six-basket carrier ; and the
climax peach basket, a relatively new package. One of the
climax baskets is shown, filled with apples, in Figure 145. It
has the advantage of being a small package which is quite rigid
so as to protect the fruit well. It also packs well into cars.

262 GRADING AND PACKING

In western sections we have also the four-basket carrier and th(
peach box. The box is 18 inches long by lli/o inches wide and
is made in three different depths — 1, 4i/2 and 5 inches.

Plums are packed in practically the same packages as peaches.

Cherries go to market principally in two kinds of packages,
either in strawberry baskets and crates or, the fancy western
cherries, in boxes varying in capacity from eight to thirty pounds.
Sometimes these fancy cherries are also packed in one-pound
cartons.

Packing Apples. — Since the barrel must long remain the most
important package for apples it seems worth while to discuss,

Fig. 125. — Stemmers; shears for removing the sterna from the face apples when packing
in barrels.

in some detail, the equipment for packing apples in barrels and
the operation of so packing them.

The table for barrel packing ought to be fairly large, for, the
fruit being rarely graded beforehand, the operator needs a
rather large supply from which to choose. A table which is
three by six feet and six inches deep (with six-inch boards
around) will be found a good size, and the sides and bottom
should be padded with or made of burlap or some such material
to keep the fruit from bruising. A table of this size which is
mounted upon two carpenter's "horses," instead of having
rigid legs of its own, can be hung up on the wall out of the way

PACKING APPLES

263

when not in use. There should also be several swing-bail baskets
and a press.

There are several styles of presses on the market, principally
either the lever or the screw type. The screw press \Wth a
circle follower shown in Figure 127 is preferable, but the lever
press is verj' popular with many packers and can perhaps be
worked more quickly, but it may not do quite as good work.
The circular follower is much better than the old bar-follower

Fig. 126. — The ordinaty barrel press with a bar follower. This is not nearly bo good as the
press shown in Figure 127.

FiQ. 127. — Barrel press with circle follower. Any blacksmith can make such a follower and
it is a great improvement over the old bar follower.

because it touches the entire circumference of the barrel head,
thus insuring its going down more evenly than wdth the bar
(Fig. 126) . Presses with circular followers are now manufactured
and may be secured from some dealers, or the follower may be
made by any good blacksmith, using quarter-inch bar iron.

In addition to the above there should be a stemmer (Fig. 125)
for removing the stems from the apples of the face layer, a good
stencil for marking the head, and a false or padded head. The

264

GRADING AND PACKING

false head is merely a round piece of board slightly smaller than
the barrel head and padded on one side. This is used when the
barrel is nearly full, for pressing the apples down in order to
get a smooth surface on which to lay the * ' tail ' ' or last layer of
the barrel. In packing good fruit one ought also to have
corrugated pasteboard heads, paper caps and lace circles. The
conjugated cardboard heads are circular and just large enough
to fit into the head of the barrel and are designed to prevent
bruising of the face layer of apples. It ought to be said here

that some orchard men prefer
not to use these, but others
believe that they serve a use-
ful purpose. The paper cap
is a similar affair except that
it is of paper and may also be
printed (Fig. 152), and is de-
signed as an additional pro-
tection and for advertising
purposes. The lace circle
(Fig. 124) is merely for
ornament, to make the barrel
look attractive when opened
in the market.

The operation of packing
r/. barrel of apples in new bar-
rels may now be given in de-
tail. First, nail one head of
the barrel, using about six five-penny nails; next, loosen the.
hoops at the other end and take out this head ; third, drive down
the quarter hoops snug and nail them with three small nails (lath
nails are good), which should always be clinched on the inside of
the barrel, otherwise many apples will be damaged. Put into the
barrel a corrugated head with the smooth side up, a paper cap
and a lace circle. Be sure that the latter is put in with the best
side down so that when the barrel is opened in market that side
will be seen and not the reverse side.

The barrel is now ready to be filled. Select the apples for

i'lQ. 128. — Swing-
appli

ill basket used i
in barrels.

PACKING APPLES

265

the face of the barrel. These should be of uniform size and color
(Figs. 129, 130, and 131) and should fairly represent the eon-
tents of the barrel. The interior of the barrel may contain
smaller apples than the face, but it should also contain some
that are larger. Where the face apples are of uniform size
it is possible to tell beforehand exactly how many it will take
of any particular size to lay the face. The following table
gives the numbers and arrangement of the different sizes :

Table VI. — Number and Arrangement of Facing Apples in Barrel.

Diameter of Apples

Number of Apples
in Face

Number of Circles
in Face

Number in Center
of Face

Inches

The apples intended for the face should be placed in a basket
as selected (Fig. 128), and the stem clipped out of each one
(Fig. 125). If the stem is not removed it will be bent over when
the apple is placed on the head of the barrel, in laying the face,
and will usually break the skin, thus giving an opportunity for
decay to start. When the required number of apples have been
selected, lower the basket into the barrel and pour out the
apples very carefully. Next begin and lay a row of apples,
stem end down, around the outside of the barrel; then a second
row and so on until the entire face is laid. Figures 129, 130
and 131 will give a good idea of the arrangement of the apples
in the different faces. Having laid the face there are three
different ways in which we may proceed. First, we may pour in
the apples without attempting to place any more ; or, second, we
may place a second layer, or face, directly upon the first one;
or, third, we may select apples which have a red cheek (provided
we are packing a red variety) and place an apple, with the red
cheek down, in each opening in the face already laid. This

266

GRADING AND PACKING

Fig. 129. — Face of a barrel of apples using nineteen apples 3Ji inches in diameter: one apple

in the center of two circles.
Fig. 130. — Face of a barrel of apples using 27 apples 3 inches in diameter; three apples in

the center of two circles.

FiG. 131. — Face of a barrel of apples using 40 apples, 2)4 inches in diameter; one apple

in the center of three circles.

PACKING APPLES

267

last is considered by far the best method. It accomplishes two
important objects. It fills up the openings in the face so that
the buyer gets the impression of a full, solid barrel of apples
instead of a lot of open space; and the red cheeks look well,
setting off the apples of the face.

Having laid the face, we next proceed to fill up the barrel.
The apples are put into the baskets and each basket, as filled, is

FiQ. 132. — A good type of packing table for boxing apples. Notice the rack for holding the
box and the hood for holding the wrapping paper.

lowered into the barrel and carefully emptied. After about
three baskets have been put in, the barrel should be shaken or
"racked" in order to settle them into place. The first racking
is deferred until three baskets are in so that there may be weight
enough upon the face apples to hold them in place, but there-
after the barrel should be racked after each basket is emptied
until it is nearly full. Then the "false head" is put in and the
barrel is given a thorough shaking and at the same time the

268

GRADING AND PACKING

operator exerts as much pressure by hand as he can upon this
head. The object of this, as before explained, is to get a smooth
surface on which to lay the "tail" or last layer of apples.

The "tailing off" of the barrel is the supreme test of good
packing. The whole object is to lay a smooth surface so that
when the pressure is put on it will be distributed over the
entire face and not confined to a few spots, as it will be if a
few apples stick up above the rest. Many packers tip the barrel

Fia. 133. — Diagram showing method of starting the 2-2 pack.
Fig. 134. — Diagram showing the method of starting the 3-2 pack.

slightly in order to slant the face and then begin to lay the
apples at the lower side of this slanting surface. In this way
the apples will stay in place better than if the surface is level.
The proper height for this last layer is a somewhat debatable
point. It depends on the variety and on the distance the fruit
is to be shipped. Some varieties, such as Russets, require and
will stand a good deal of pressure. Others, such as Gravenstein
and Northern Spy, will not stand so much. Among many
experienced packers the general opinion is that where the apples

PACKING APPLES

269

are well racked, so as to get everj^ one into its place and leave
no open spaces, the apples should not project more than a half
inch above the barrel even when they are to be exported. At
this end of the barrel many packers use what is called a ' ' cushion-
head" to put between the fruit and the head of the barrel.
This cushion-head is merely a pad of excelsior enclosed in paper
and is intended to relieve the apples from some of the bruising

Fig. !35. — Diagram showing the arrangement of apples in the first and third layers of a 2-2
box of apples with 96 apples in the box.

FiQ. 136. — Diagram showing the arrangement of apples in the second and fourth layers
of a 2-2 box of apples with 96 apples in the box.

that they would otherwise get. They ser^'e a useful purpose
and they are in fairly general use among growers.

Following the tailing of the barrel, the cushion-head is put in
place, then the head of the barrel, and lastly the press. The
head is then pressed down and nailed in with six nails. These
should be driven through the upper hoop and the staves into
the head. Never nail the second hoop at either end of the
barrel.

270 GRADING AND PACKING

Our barrel is now ready for marking, which is done with a
stencil. This ought to contain the name and address of the
grower and the name and grade of the apple. And above all the
stencil should be of plain, large letters.

Scoring Barrels of Apples. — As an indication of the relative
importance which is placed upon the fruit, packing and package
for a barrel of apples it may be worth while to insert here the
score card used in judging barrels at the Third New England
Fruit Show, held in Boston in November, 1913.

Score Card for Barrels of a Given Variety of Apple

Fbuit. — Texture and flavor 100

Size 100

Color 150

Uniformity 150

Freedom from blemishes 150

650

Package. — Staves 10

Hoops 10

Heads 10

Nailing 20

Marking 20

Packing. — Facing 70

Tailing 60

Pressing 70

Racking 80

280

Total 1000

Packing apples in boxes requires more skill than packing
them in barrels. That is one objection to the box. Still, any
man who is at all "handy" will very soon pick up the principal
points, and it is then largely a matter of practice. There are
two principal sizes of boxes used. One is 101/4 inches deep by
11% inches wide by 18 inches long inside measure, and the other
10 by 11 by 20 inches. The first shape is preferable, but the
capacity is a trifle less. The material for the ends should be
% inch thick, that of the sides 3^ inch and the top and bottom
% inch.

PACKING APPLES IN BOXES

271

A good type of packing table for boxes is shown in Figure
132. It is more shallow and holds fewer apples than the table
used for barrels and there is a rack or shelf at one end to hold
the box in a slightly slanting position while it is being filled.
There should also be a hood for holding the wraps. A con-
venient type, made of galvanized sheet iron, is shown on the
left-hand side of the packed box in Figure 132.

Fia. 137.

^ s

^V^
\^_/

Fig. 137. — Diagram showing the arrangement of apples in the first, third and fifth layers
of a 3-2 box of apples with ISS apples in the box.

FiQ. 138. — Diagram showing the arrangement of apples in the second and fourth layers
of a 3-2 box of apples with 188 apples in the box.

Most boxed apples should be wrapped, and various kinds of
tissue and other light papers are used for the purpose. If they
can be printed, at least for the top and bottom layers, so much
the better. The principal advantages of wrapping the apples
are that the wraps act as a padding, preventing bruises and
enabling the operator to pack the fruit more tightly; that they
prevent the germs of rots being transferred from one apple to
another and that they prolong the life of the apples. Wraps
axe used in varying sizes, according to the size of the apples to

272

GRADING AND PACKING

be packed, but the 9 by 9 inch size will be found most useful.
There should also be layer-papers, made of heavy cardboard in
sheets 11 by liy^ inches, to be used between the layers of apples;
and also lining papers, which are sheets 17yo by 36 inches, of
ordinary wrapping paper or a similar weight. These are for
lining the boxes.

It is difficult and probably impossible to give sufficiently ex-
plicit directions for the actual packing of the box, so that one
who is unfamiliar with the operation can become an expert. In
box packing we are all of us Missou-
rians to the extent of ''needing to be
shown," but it is hoped that with the
help of the diagrams (Figs. 133-139)
anyone can get a start in the work.

There are many different plans or
"packs" in boxing apples, but they
may practically all be classified under
two heads, the ''straight" and the
"diagonal." There is a, third type of
pack, known as the "offset pack,"
which differs from the diagonal
slightly; but it is not very generally
used, and will be omitted from our brief
discussion. As a matter of fact, the
straight pack is now rarely used, as it
bruises the apples much more than the
diagonal. Most of the diagonal packs are
either "three-two" or "two-two."
In starting the first layer of the three-two pack, place an apple
in the lower right-hand comer, the second one in the lower left-
hand comer and the third half way between these two. This
leaves two spaces, one on either side of the middle apple, and
the fourth and fifth apples are slipped into these spaces. This,
again, leaves three spaces, in which three apples are placed;
and so on, until the layer is completed. The method of starting
this pack is shown in Figure 134. The second layer is started
by putting an apple over each of the spaces between the apples

T^^v^sr^

Fia. 139. — Diagram showing
the "straight" pack. This pack
is no w little used , as i t bruises the
apples more than any other pack.

PACKING APPLES IN BOXES

273

of the first layer; that is, this second layer is started with two
apples instead of three. This brings each apple of the second
layer over a space of the layer below, instead of its resting
directly upon an apple of that layer, as in the "straight" pack.
There is, therefore, considerable "give" to this pack, and con-
sequently much less bruising of the fruit.

The two-two pack is started by placing an apple in the lower
right-hand corner and a second one in the middle of the space

remaining. The next two ap- ,

pies are placed in the spaces
left by the first two, and so on
(Figs. 135 and 136).

Layer paper may or may
not be used in box packing.
When to use it is a point that
can be learned only by experi-
ence. It is used with certain
sizes and shapes of apples in
order to bring them high
enough to get the required
firmness or compactness in
the box.

The bulge or swell is a cru-
cial matter in box packing.
The apples must be put into
the box in such a way that
when the top is put on and
nailed down, both the top
and bottom of the box are
pressed out in the middle, giving a bulge. It is the pressure
exerted by this bulge in the top and bottom boards which keeps
the apples tight in the box. Of course the bulge is produced by
having the mass or body of apples in the box thicker in the
middle than it is at the ends. Different packers secure this
bulge in different ways, but the three principal methods seem to
be as follows: First, pack the apples a little tighter in the
central part of each layer than they are at the ends. In this
18

140. — A western type of box press.

274

GRADING AND PACKING

way, when" the cover is nailed on, the apples press together
more at the ends than in the middle and we get the bulge as a
result. Second, selecting just a little larger apples for this

Fia. 141. — An excellent type of box press which can be made at home by anyone who i
handy with tools.

middle part of each layer. Third, turn the apples on the side
or end in order to bring them at the right height. Some packers
will tell you that they do not do anything to secure the bulge,

PACKING FRUIT INTO OTHER TYPES OF PACKAGES 275

that it "just comes that way," but of course this merely meiins
that in their cases the method is carried out unconsciously.

Scoring Boxes of Apples. — The following score card is the
one used in judging boxes at the New England Fruit Show in
Boston in 1913. It represents fairly accurately the relative
importance placed on the various points which enter into a well-
packed box of apples.

Score Card for Boxes of a Given Variety of Apples

Fruit. — Texture and flavor 100

Size 100

Color 150

Uniformity 150

Freedom from blemishes 150

G50

Package. — Material 30

Marking 10

Solidity (nailing, cleats, etc.) 10

Packing. — Bulge or swell 100

Alignment 20

Height of ends 60

Compactness 80

Attractiveness and style of pack 40

300

Total 1000

The packing of fruit into the other types of packages has not

been so well reduced to a system, and in many cases probably
never will be. It is largely a question of getting a smooth,
attractive "face" on the package that shall fairly represent the
contents and still tempt the customer to buy (Figs. 145, 146,
147 and 148).

QUESTIONS

1. What are the advantages of grading fruit?

2. Name and define three standard grades of apples.

3. [Mention tliree kinds of apple packages and give the advantages of eacli.

4. What packages are used for pears?

5. What for peaches?

276 GRADING AND PACKING

6. What for pliuns?

7. What for cherries?

8. Give a list of the equijiincnt needed in packing barrels of apples.

9. How is the barrel prepared for packing?

10. Describe the " facing "' of the barrel.

11. How is the barrel then filled?

12. Describe how to place the apples of the last layer, and '' head np " the

barrel.

13. What are the main points considered in scoring barrels of apples?

14. Name the different kinds of " packs "' for boxes.

15. Describe the packing of apples in boxes.

16. What are the points considered in scoring boxes of apples?

17. What styles of fruit packages have you seen in market?

CHAPTER XX
MARKETING

The greatest single problem in marketing fniit is to have
good fruit (Fig. 142). Beside this problem all others sink into
insig-nificance. Given such fruit there can be developed a
market for almost any quantity. In fact, it will sell itself.
If this truth could only be brought home to our orchard men,
and if they could only be made to adopt such methods as would

Fig. 142.- -Tho gre.it est single problem in markotinfr fniit is to have good fniit. Fruit
like that shown above, which was picked up in the local market at Amherst, will not tend
to increase the consumption.

insure yearly crops of such fruit (and there are methods that
will make this reasonably certain), there would be little difificulty
in anything else. In fact, the fruit growers' millennium would
have arrived. Some of the things which seem most important
in bringing about this result have been discussed in this book.

The next greatest problem is to pack it honestly and care-
fully. This was discussed in the last chapter. The man whose
fruit is invariably well packed, and who has the reputation of
getting just as good, or a little better, fruit in the middle of the
package than is on top, is never going to lack for customers.

277

278 MARKETING

The discussion in this chapter will presuppose that the orchardist
has been measurably successful in p:rowing a crop of good fruit,
and that it has been properly packed for market. How shall it
be disposed of to the best advantage ? This is our next problem.
The Best Market. — ^We ought first to consider with the ut-
most care just what are the requirements of the particular
market we intend to supply. As already suggested, under the

Fio. 143. — Boxes of western apples. The use of the box and careful, honest paoking have

made the western apple famous.

discussion of varieties, the general type of market should be
decided upon before the orchard is ever set. Of course condi-
tions are going to control largely whether the owner should
develop a special or retail market, or whether he is going to
rely upon the general market. If he is too far away from
his customers it is relatively difficult to develop a special market.
Yet it is surprising to what an extent a special market may be
developed by proper methods when one has really fine fruit

THE BEST MARKET

279

(Fig. 143). There is not the slightest question that the special,
retail market is the one which pays if it is well worked up.

Some one has said that the great difficulty with farmers is
that they sell at wholesale and buy at retail ; and this difficulty
is nowhere better shown than in the fruit business. The less
fruit you can sell a customer, at one time, the more he is willing
to pay for it. Did you ever stop to think of that? Take it in
apples. A man is usually quite willing to pay five cents for a
single apple and sometimes ten cents for a really fine one; and
he thinks he is getting a bargain at two for five. But attempt to
sell him a barrel at these rates, and he thinks that you are com-
mitting liighway robbery. A barrel will hold about three lumdred
and fifty to four hundred apples of average size. Taking the
latter number, if these are sold at ten cents it means $40; at
five cents, $20 ; and at two for five $10 for the barrel. No one
would suggest that we sell apples at $40 per barrel, but we should
come just as near to retailing them direct to the consumer as
we can.

The following table brings out the point just discussed and
is worthy of study by every fruit grower:

Table VII. — Vahie of a Barrel of Apples when Sold in Retail Lots, Estimating
350 Apples per Barrel

Unit of Quantity

Single apple

One dozen apples .
One dozen apples.
One dozen apples.
One dozen apples.
One peck apples. .
One peck apples . .
One perk apples. .
One b\ishel apples
One bushel apples
One bushel apples
One bushel apples

Price per Unit

Value of a Barrel at
This Rate

2Kc. each

$ 8.75

5c. each

17.50

10c. each

35.00

2.5c. dozen

7.29

40c. dozen

11.66

50c. dozen

14.58

60c. dozen

17.50

25c. peck

3.00

50c. peck

6.00

60c. peck

7.20

$1.00 bushel

3.00

1.50 bushel

4.50

2.00 bushel

6.00

2.50 bushel

7.50

280

MARKETING

The special market, too, will -usually respond at once to any
improvement in quality or pack (Figs. 144, 145, 146 and 147).
If you are selling through a good grocery store, which is one of
the very best methods, the consumer knows who furnishes the
f rait, and if it is good he asks for more of your brand ; while
if you ship into the general market there is much less chance
that special effort will receive special reward. Where the
grower can secure such a market he shoiild, if possible, retain
control of the price for which the fruit is sold. If he is reason-
ably close to his market, and if he has confidence in his grocery-
man, he can usually afford
to assume any loss due to
decay! When this is done the
grocer is usually willing to
accept really good fruit on the
commission basis.

When the grower does keep
control of the price he can
lower it if necessary to move
his crop of perishable fruit
faster ; and at the same time
that he is getting more for his
fruit the consumer is usually
])aying less for it.

Then if a man is to develop
and maintain this special mar-
ket, it is very desirable that
he should keep up a continu-
ous supply of each fruit.
This was discussed under varieties, but is worth mention-
ing again. If your customers are watching for your brand
do not disappoint them at any point in the season. The writer
recalls an instance where a man actually refused a dollar a
barrel more for his Spies than he could get at his regular
market because he did not want to disappoint and lose his
customers. To carry out this plan the fruit grower must not
only have a good list of varieties but he should have good
storage facilities as well.

Fig. hi — Pa^tflioard carton for fancy-
apples. Tins package will carry the fruit
perfectly, but it is too costly for anything
but very high-grade fruit.

THE GENERAL MARKET

281

The General Market. — Where the orchard is situated so that
the owner cannot develop a retail market he must rely on the
general market. In this case he sells either to a buyer at the
orchard or through a commission man. There is a good deal
to be said in favor of the former method. The buyer and the
seller are more nearly on an equality than in the latter. If the
buyer docs not want to pay what the grower thinks the fruit is
worth it can remain on the farm. And an additional advantage is

Fig. 145. — The climax peach basket used as a retail package for apples. This package
has much to commend it. It is cheap, carries the fruit in good condition and will pack
well into cars.

that one gets rid of the entire crop with relatively little worry,
and he can then give his attention to other matters. He also
has his money for use and is saved considerable loss from shrink-
age. On the whole, there is considerable argument for selling
to a buyer at the orchard. It is not as good as the retail plan,
but stands next to it.

Frequently, however, the grower has to soil through a com-
mission man. This is the poorest type of marketing, not because

282 MARKETING

commission men are dishonest, but from the very nature of the
method. Even the commission men themselves will admit that
there are dishonest men in the business, which makes the situation
still worse. It puts temptation in the path of the commission
man which is unnecessary. There is the same objection to it as to
the sod-eulture method. It may do when properly carried out,
but there is always danger that it will fail. The chief objections
to this plan are two:

Fia. 146. — Climax peach basket with cover on. This type of cover holds the package rigid
so that the fruit is not damaged.

First, the grower is practically at the mercy of the commis-
sion man. The latter can put down any amount he chooses in
making his returns and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the
grower will never be the wiser. Such laws as the one in New
York, which is discussed in Chapter XXII, will undoubtedly
help to mend matters, but they can not altogether remove the
difficulty. The grower is still verj^ largely at the mercy of the
commission man.

COOPERATIVE MARKETING

283

The second objection is that by this method there is usually
little chance of holding the fruit, in case the market is not satis-
factory. The fruit is there, it must be disposed of, and the seller
must take what he can get for it.

Under these circumstances it becomes absolutely essential
to find an honest commission man. There are plenty of them.
Having found one then stick to him. Do not be led away simply
because your neighbor happens to get a little more for his fruit
on a certain day than you did. Perhaps his fruit was better or
perhaps his commission man was simply trj^-ing to draw trade.

Fig. 147. — Splint basket used for apples. A store window filled with these baskets makes
an attractive sight and one which it is difhcult for the customer to pass by.

Fig. 14S. — An attractive package for the retail trade.

it is a very common custom, and especially with the man who is
not too scrupulous, to make some uncommonly good returns early
in the season in order to draw trade. Do not be fooled by it.
Call the attention of your own commission man to it if you
like ; it may spur him on. But do not leave him.

Cooperative Marketing. — The best method of marketing fruit
where it can be jjroperly carried out is undoul)tedly cooperation.
The western states have amply demonstrated this in the splendid
results that they have secured. The chief advantages of coopera-
tion seem to be :

284 MARKETING

1. It utilizes the best business talent of the community.
This is a crucial point. It is only one man in a thousand who
has the head to run such a business, and the cooperative method
picks him out and lets him run the business for the community.
The rest of the men are free to devote their attention to produc-
ing a crop of good fruit for the manager to sell, and anyone who
has ever tried it knows that this is a serious enough proposition
in itself. It is no discredit to farmers as a class to say that not
many of them are good business men. Neither are many of the
men in the hardware business. But the fellows who are not do
not try to manage the business. They do something else — sell
goods or make goods.

2. The distribution of the output is better. The members do
not all ship to Boston one day and to New York the next, but all
the markets are uniformly supplied. The manager looks after
that. If there is an association of associations, as there usually
is when the scheme is well started, the control of the distribution
is just that much better.

3. The fruit is handled in large lots and therefore better
freight rates can be secured. The car-load shipment is much
more economical than the small lot.

4. The association can adopt methods of advertising that
would not be open to the single grower. As a matter of fact,
the single grower usually does not advertise at all; but even if
he does, there are many kinds of advertising that he cannot
afford.

5. The manager of an association can keep in telegraphic
touch with the markets and thus know better whether to ship
or not, and, if so, where.

Objections to Cooperation. — All these advantages and many
more are claimed and usually admitted for cooperation. Then
why do we not have more associations? There are probably
many reasons, but the one chiefly responsible seems to be con-
servatism. The farmer has always run his own business and
thinks he can do so still. Distrust of each other among farmers
is also usually given and probably is an important reason for
lack of cooperation. Someone has said that most men would

UTILIZING LOW-GRADE FRUITS 285

rather lose two dollars than see their neighbor make one, and
while this principle can hardly be endorsed, there is undoubtedly
some truth in it. Another verj^ important reiison seems to be
that the best growers in the community usually do not make
much by joining the association and sometimes even lose some-
thing. This is because the.y have already been receiving the
highest prices for fancy fruits. Since they are the ones who
must usually take the lead in such matters, the scheme is likely to
languish unless they are of a somewhat self-sacrificing turn of
mind.

A further difficulty Avhich is usually experienced is that the
packing varies too much in the different packing houses. This
is pretty certain to be so unless the packing is all done under
one central supei-vision. This plan has been used in some
sections of the northwest and seems to work well. An experi-
enced packer is put in charge of each gang of hands, and he is
responsible, not to the owner of the fruit, but to the association.
This obviates the difficulty which one speaker expressed by
saying that no man ought to pack his own apples because it is
so hard for him to see a worm-hole.

Utilizing Low-grade Fruits. — It remains to say a word about
utilizing the poorer grades of fruit. Of coui*se, we may say that
there should not be any such grades, and it is quite true that
entirely too much of our fruit belongs in this class. But even
with the best of treatment there is going to be some of this sort
of fruit produced, and it is a very important question what dis-
posal should be made of it. Usually it is put on the market and
allowed to bring what it will. Most men who market these
inferior grades of fruit (such as poor A\dndfalls and wormy
specimens) do not appreciate the depressing intiuence which
this sort of fruit has on the market. Because they are getting
some cash for their fruit they think it is a better bargain
than to let it lie on the ground and rot. Perhaps it is looking
at it from their own selfish standpoint, though even this is to be
doubted, if they are growing any good fruit in addition. But
if we look at it from the standpoint of the larger interest of
the industry as a whole ti'ere can be no doubt whatever. These

286 MARKETING

grades ought never to be put upon the market in a fresh state,
but should be canned or made into jams, jellies, vinegar, and
other products. Every fruit-growing community ought to have
its canning plant, and the time will come when it will. Not
only will such a plant take care of the poor grades at all times,
but it will also take the good grades in times when the market
is glutted, and thus reduce the frequency of such depressions.

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the effect of " quality " upon the marketing of fruit.

2. Compare wliolesale and retail markets.

3. Show the advantage, to the grower, of selling in small quantities.

4. What are the objections to selling through a commission man?

5. What are the advantages of selling to a buyer at the orchard?

6. WTiat are the advantages of cooperative marketing?

7. What objections are there to this method?

8. How should low-grade fruit be utilized?

CHAPTER XXI.
ADVERTISING.

Did you ever stop to think what a tremendous amount of time,
money, energy, brains, and a lot of other less important things,
are spent on advertising, on getting the producer and the con-
sumer together? And on making consumers out of non-con-
sumers ? The writer is not much of a Socialist as yet, but when
he thinks of the saving that would result if this one item of ad-
vertising were cut out by eliminating competition, he is tempted
to change over at once. So long, however, as the present arrange-
ment holds and every one who has anything to sell must depend
on his own efforts to get rid of it, advertising is going to be a very
important factor in any man's success. So strong is this factor
that it seems worth while to devote an entire chapter to the
subject.

METHODS OF ADVERTISING

There are innumerable ways in which one may advertise his
wares, but the following are among the best :

A Name and a Sign. — Have a name for the farm or the
orchard. The more distinctive and attractive this name can be the
more assistance it is going to be in advertising. But almost any
name will help. It serves to locate the goods, to make the con-
sumer remember where those fine apples came from. Having
decided on a name, put up a sign on the highway. Let it be an
attractive, artistic sign if you can, but even a plain, rectangular
board with the name on it is better than nothing. If the name
can have special local significance, and in particular if it can be
such a name as is not likely to be chosen by anyone else, so much
the better. The following are examples of good names: "Hill-
crest Orchards, " " Fairview Orchards " " Seaview Farm, " " Bay
Road Fruit Farm."

A Farm Bulletin Board. — Do some local advertising at the

287

288

ADVERTISING

farm by means of a bulletin board on the highway. It will sur-
prise anyone who has never tried it to see what this will do. In
these days when so many people own automobiles, the number
who will pass by the farm, particularly if it is on a main thorough-
fare, is surprising. A great many of these travellers are city
people, to whom anything from the country that is really good
will appeal. Choice fruit appeals more than anything else.
Usually these customers are perfectly willing to pay a good price,

ALWAYS

■■i

^BiiiBil^BBIIi^Biil^Wilp

L^l LARGEST PEACH GROWERS IN THE WORLD

ESt«lvJ25^00Trees ^^^RCHARD CO. ^^^^^

SAME ALi- THROUGiiiiiWiiillM

Fig. 149. — Probably the most famous fruit label in use.

too, for a fancy article, so that they really offer an excellent op-
portunity to the enterprising orchardist. It is true that the sign
has to be decidedly conspicuous to be seen by some of them as
they flash past, but the fruit grower will soon get a name for fine
peaches or choice apples, so that the automobile fraternity will
be on the watch for his sign. And among the more slowly moving
classes of humanity who pass by there will be many a one who will
want something that is for sale.

Adopt some attractive label for the package. The western
apple and orange growers have worked this method more ardently
and consistently than those of any other section, and no one can

USE AN ATTRACTIVE PRINTED WRAP 289

compute the sales it has made for tliem. The buyer is never left
ill doubt as to who grew this western fruit.

As with the farm or orchard name, so with tliis label — the
more distinctive it can be the better. It is not always the most
gaudy label that is remembered the longest. Perhaps the most

A MONTANA McINTOSH

Youn^ Orchards Bear Profitable
Crops in Five Years. 5500 to JIOOO
Per Acre From Bearing Orchards

For Particulars Write to

STEVENS 6 JONES

Table Rock. Monuoa.

FiQ. 150. — A good type of advertising wrapper. Half natural width.

widely known single label of this class is ]\Ir. J. H. Hale's famous
red label, a cut of which is shown in Figure 149.

Use an attractive printed wrap for sucli fruits as apples,
pears and oranges. AVheii ordered in large numbers the printing
does not add much to the cost of the wrap, and it may frequently
be made the means of attracting the consumer 's attention to the

290

ADVERTISING

^41.

GRGWHND PACKED By <^

orchard that produced the fruit. Here is a sample of a wrap
which was sent out with a Montana Mcintosh apple. Evidently
those men believed in the wrap as an advertising medium, and
whether we swallow all the statements on the wrap or not, we shall
at least swallow the apple (if it is good as most Mcintosh apples
are), and we shall know where to go when we want more apples
like it (Fig. 150).

Printed Matter in Fruit Packages. — Where fruit is sold in
packages put some sort of advertising matter into the package.

This is capable of endless
variations, but almost any
of them will be of value.
In apple barrels there is the
''pulp-head" or the "paper-
cap." A sample of these is
shown in Figure 151. They
differ only in that the ' ' pulp-
head" is a light cardboard.
Besides furnishing an excel-
lent type of advertising, they
serve a useful purpose in
protecting the fruit and, as
with wraps, the extra cost of
printing is relatively small
when they are ordered in
large numbers.

Another type of advertising which may be included in any
sort of package is a little leaflet which guarantees the pack.
Nothing will give your customer so much confidence in your fruit
as to find out that you are willing to stand back of it. Here are
reproduced two such leaflets from the opposite sides of the conti-
nent, which are good examples of this excellent plan of adver-
tising (Figs. 152 and 153).

Still another type of leaflet is that which takes the customer
into your confidence, tells him something about your orchard
and your plans and, rather incidentally, about your fruit. It
takes some literary ability to get out a good one, but if the grower

J. ELLIOT SMITH.

FAIRVIEW ORCHARD.

^//ri\\«.

Fio. 151. — A good type of advertising for
apple barrels. 1 1 calls the attention of the con-
sumer to the man who grew the fruit, which is
a good thing to do if the fruit is good.

PRINTED MATTER IN FRUIT PACKAGES 291

THId BOX PACKED BY

Packer No. -

If purchaser of this box finds

any Ir-

regularity tn the pack, kindly

return

this card with any Infornnation

which

may help os to make pack more

perfect

in the future.

Sierra Vista Packing

Co.

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA

J'iG. l.')2. — An excellent "guarantee" label frum the Pacific Coast.

NOTICE!

This fruit was packed at the ' ' Riverside' ' Fruit
Farm, Middleton,. Annapolis Co., Nova Scotia.
Having large interest in growing orchards in the
Annapolis Valley, 1 am very desirous of having my
brand known abroad for its invariable reliability,
both as to quality of fruit and honesty of packing.
To insure this object, I hereby GUARANTEE
the contents of this package to be the same from
head to head, and to be fairly represented by the
face end; and I further authorize my consignees to
refund the money paid for fruit of my packing
which is proved not to be according to brand, in-
jury in transit only excepted.

G.C.MILLER.

Fio. 153. — Another guarantee label from an eastern orchardist.

292 ADVERTISING

nsi

xjfie careen ^ills

of Vermont

c>Dimock yuppies

Fig. 154. — Outside cover of an advertising leaflet sent out by Mr. Julian A. Dimock, of
East Corinth, Vermont.

PRINTED MATTER IN FRUIT PACKAGES 293

has that abilitj^ or can secure it in am- way, it will take witli an
especially good class of customers. Here is one of the best of this
type (Fig. 154) . The contents of the leaflet follow :

We think that the apples grown in this orchard have a -little the best
flavor of any on earth. We wish that you could see the heavily laden
trees amid the beauties of the prettiest part of old New England.

Dame Nature was in a kindly mood when she fashioned tliis farm.
She tipped the best land to the east that it might catch the earliest sun-
shine, fed it with springs and protected it from the cold winds by placing
it in an amphitheatre of encircling hills. The clover-covered fields stretch
up over the hill-tops, while below them woodlands reach down to the
little brooks in the valleys. Deer come into the fields, and, in the early
mornings, stand and watch us with startled gaze. Scarlet tanagers build
their nests in the apple trees and sing their love songs from the branches.
Mother partridges play the old, old game of the broken wing when we
come upon their little, scuttering broods.

But it was Aleck Eastman's love for his trees that built up this
orchard. Forty-six years ago lie and his wife settled on this farm. Even
in the first year Aleck planted a few trees, for he' had inherited the love
of them from his father. He planted new ones and trimmed up the old
ones. Every year saw a few more trees set out, wliile his neighbors called
him crazy for using good land that might be made to feed cows for his
slips of trees. But Aleck loved his trees. He imported the first spray pump
that came into this county and began to kill the bugs before they came.
He got up early and he worked late. He did the work of two strong men
that his trees might not suffer while his farm was carried on.

Then, just when the orchard was coming into its own, Aleck awoke
to the fact that it had outgrown him. His baby trees were grown to full
treehood and as he became feebler tlie trees demanded more and more work.
He could no longer climb to the topmost branches to prune and spray and
pick. He had never hired help and he was too old to begin. In all liis days
no one had come to see his trees and show an appreciation of his work
with them until I happened along. If any of his neighbors bougiit the
place they would begin by cutting down the trees that he had spent his life
to bring up. He could not carry it on any longer, so he proposed to sell
the farm to me. That is why I am here to-day.

These apples that Aleck Eastman raised I am offering to j'ou.

Tliey are good because Dame Nature was tliinking of apples when ahe
fashioned this farm.

They are good because Aleck put a labor of love into tending his trees.

They are good because the rigors of the winters make hardy, full-

294 ADVERTISING

flavored fruit, and tlie bright sunshine of the summer lays on the color so
tlie apples are fair to see.

Fameuse. — Of the varieties whicli we grow we prefer the Fameuse
(Snow), for we think it grows to perfection with us. Normally this is
considered an early fall apple, but here it often keeps until spring. You
know it: An early red and white, fine-fiavored, crisp eating apple. Small,
l)ut full of spice.

McIntosh Red. — This is another of the Fameuse group and perhaps
the most popular. Dark red and of fine flavor for dessert.

Bethel. — Our best winter apple is the Bethel. This variety originated
within thirty miles of this farm. It matures late in the fall, is a dark red
color and one of the best of keepers, and as handsome a winter apple as
one cares to see. It resembles a Northern Spy, and makes a splendid eating
apple.

Nodhead. — The Nodhead is another of our favorites. A late apple,
it is streaked with red and makes a table fruit of quality. It is a good
keeper and should please you.

Lincoln. — We want you to know the Lincoln. It is a trade-holder.
But that is next year's story, for this is their non-bearing year.

We shall pack the fancy grades of these apples in western style as
near as may be and will deliver them, freight prepaid, to either Boston or
New York for $2.50 per box. We will appreciate a trial order and ask for
a check with the order. Our personal guarantee goes with every box. Wo
wish to replace every apple that arrives in damaged condition, througli
fault of ours, whenever this is possible.

If you insist, we will sell you a barrel of our Number One grade for
$4.50, freight paid to New York. Our responsibility ends with delivery
to the transportation company. We believe in our Fancy Grade and would
rather sell it. We think you get more for your money.

Julian A. Dimock,
East Corinth, Vermont.

Such advertising is bound to attract an especially good class
of consumers.

Recipes. — One more type of advertising leaflet may be men-
tioned, and that is the one which, after giving some general in-
formation about the fruit and where it was grown, proceeds to
suggest ways in which it may be used. Recipes for peach ice-
cream, peach marmalade, and canned peaches may be put into
each basket of peaches, and the customer who bought one basket
to eat out of hand may end by buying a half-dozen to put up for
the winter. Here is a sample :

ADVERTISE WITH SAMPLES 295

We have more of this same grade for sale. Did you ever see finer
for the money? Why don't you put up some for winter? Here are a
few of the many ways in which they may be preserved. Try some of them!
You'll be glad next winter that j'ou did; not only when there is unexpected
company for supper, but when you feel like having something a little extra
yourself!

Canned Peaches.

4 pounds peaches.
1 pound sugar.

1 quart water.

Put the sugar and water in kettle and allow to boil a few minutes. Add
peaches and cook slowly until soft. Place carefully in jars and seal.

Peach Marmalade.
10 pounds peaches.

5 pounds sugar.
V2 cup water.

Put the water in a preserving kettle; add the fruit and sugar in alternate
layers. Heat slowly and stir and mash the fruit, breaking it up as much
as possible. Cook about two hours and put away in small jars.

Pickled Peaches.

7 pounds peaches.

4 pounds granulated sugar.

1 pint vinegar.

1 cup spice — stick cinnamon and whole cloves.

Tie the spices in little cheese-cloth bags. Put the vinegar and sugar in a
kettle on the stove and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Then add the
bags of spice and boil for 20 minutes. Add the peaches which have been
peeled. Do not remove the pits. Boil slowly till soft. Put in stone jars.

Bay Road I^ruit Farm,

Amherst, Mass.

Advertise with Samples. — Tf you are selling apples, and pos-
sibly pears, there are great possibilities in sending a single sample
fruit by mail or giving it away at any store which is handling your
fruit. This is an old scheme of the cracker manufacturers and
the breakfast food men and has sometimes })een resorted to ])y tlie

296

ADVERTISING

western fruit growers, who always head the procession in such
matters. Of course some advertising matter accompanies the
sample saying what grade it is and giving prices for this and
other grades. If you are growing something like Mcintosh or
Northern Spy apples, that are bound to make friends when
tasted, this sample method is excellent. Probably no one would
expect to sell many Ben Davis apples in this way. There are
two considerations which ought always to be kept in mind in
using this method: First, that it will not pay unless one has
a fairly large quantity of fruit to dispose of, and second, that
great care should be exercised to see that the sample is not
better than the stock from which resulting orders will be filled.
Window displays are capable of selling more fruit than al-
most any other method if they are rightly handled. To begin
with, the grower must get a window in a good store in which the

public has confidence. The
display must be something
unusual that will at once
catch the eye of the public.
Fine, highly colored fruit
in fancy packages, with
perhaps, in the case of
apples, a barrel or two
with the fruit pouring out.
Add to this a few photo-
graphs and a few advertis-
ing placards and you have
a combination that will
keep you busy filling orders for some time to come. One grower
in Massachusetts put up such a display in the window of a Boston
store and within two weeks received five hundred letters order-
ing fruit or asking for prices.

Newspaper and magazine advertising, if it is done in a
businesslike way, is always good, provided the grower has fruit
enough to justify it. Of course it will not pay if he has only one
hundred baskets of peaches or fifty barrels of apples. But with
reasonably large orchards, and especially with cooperative asso-

HAVE YOU

A HANKERIN'

for those firm, sweet applw you
knock off the tree with i cliib when thcoW
nun *asn'l looking? That was bicfc
in the days when the East— the natural
apple country — u-as producing bumper
crqpa. It was before- the days of Ore-
gon applea that have siie and color, bul
lack the real flavor of Eastern hillsides. I
have reiovenaled a Vermont orchard and will
have for October delivery a limited quantity of
•pplej that are just a little the best that can
be grown. Drop me a card for the particulars.
JUUAN A. DIMOCK, East Ctitlnth, Venninr

FiQ. 155. — A magazine advertisement that is
sure to attract attention.

HAVE DEALER AND BUYER VISIT THE ORCHARD 297

ciations, there are great possibilities in this type of advertising.
Like the leaflets it wants to be good material. The one here shown
is one of the best samples the writer has ever seen (Fig. 155) . Of
course we do not all have Mr. Dimock's ability in this line, but
most of us can do something if we try hard enough.

Have the Dealer and Buyer Visit the Orchard. — If you are
selling fruit througli a store, or even a commission house, get the
proprietor and even his head clerk to come out and see the or-
chard. Take them out in picking season when there is something
worth seeing and worth eating. Show them how the fruit is
grown and handled, and if your orchard and methods are worth
showing you will get these men interested and they will sell twice
as much fruit as they would if they knew only the store end of
the business.

QUESTIONS

1. \Miat is the advantage of naming the farm? Suggest some good names.

2. Of what value is the farm bulletin board?
;3. Discuss the use of the package label.

4. Describe the method of advertising by means of printed material in tlie

package.

5. Under what conditions do samples make a good method of advertising?
G. Describe the window-display method.

7. Discuss newspaper advertising.

8. What is the advantage in having the buyer visit the orchard?

CHAPTER XXII.
LAWS AFFECTING ORCHARDING.

In the recent wide extension of the legal regulation of business
the orchard industry has not been allowed to escape. The first
of these fruit laws aimed at the control of orchard pests, prin-
cipally those carried in nursery stock, but to a certain extent those
in the orchards themselves. The later laws have undertaken to
regulate principally the packing and sale of fruit. While many
of the first laws were crude and while some of them have been
flat failures, there is no question that many of them have been of
marked assistance to the fruit industry.

PESTS IN NURSERY-STOCK

Let us look first at the laws in relation to nursery-stock. These
have been of two types : First, those which required the examina-
tion and perhaps fumigation of nursery-stock coming into a State
or nation; second, State laws requiring the inspection of nurs-
ery-stock. The value of an examination of stock is quite variable,
depending on the conspicuousness of the pest and the conscience
of the inspector. Where the pest is one easily seen like the brown-
tail moth for example, a thorough examination ought to prevent
absolutely its entry into a State or its shipment from a nursery.
On the other hand, when a pest is as inconspicuous as the San Jose
scale, it is absolutely impossible, even after the most rigid inspec-
tion, to say that the stock is free from it. It can only be said that
none was discovered. The value of such an inspection as this last
rests on the fact that if the stock were badly infected the inspector
would discover it.

When a pest can be destroyed by some treatment of the nurs-
ery-stock, such as fumigating with hydrocyanic acid gas for the
San Jose scale, the treatment is of far more value than the best
inspection ever given. It practically guarantees the freedom of
the stock from this pest. The difficulty is that so few of our pests
can be destroyed in this way.
298

NATIONAL LAWS 299

Another point of great practical importance is the question of
what shall be done with stock found to be infested with some
serious pest. Such stock ought either to be treated so as to free
it from the pest or else the stock ouglit to be destroyed. For
example, an inspector looking for San Jose scale in a nursery when
he discovered the scale on a tree, might break it down as an indica-
tion to the nurseryman that that particular tree was to be dug
out and destroyed. But immediately adjoining trees, whose
branches might interlock with those of the tree broken down, but
on which the inspector failed to find any scale, might be allowed to
stand and be shipped out to customers. Such an inspection is ab-
solutely worthless. In fact it is worse than that, because if the pur-
chaser knows of it he is thereby thrown off his guard and is less
likely to discover the pest for himself.

Local Administration. — Any law dealing with orchard pests,
whether it be with those in tlie nursery or in the orchard, is much
more likely to be of value if it is administered by a State or na-
tional officer, rather than being left to a local official. The locally
administered law is absolutely dependent on local support for its
effectiveness. If the people of the neighborhood believe in it with
sufficient zeal, then the law is carried out ; if they do not, then the
most zealous official is powerless. The writer has seen this well
illustrated in the case of laws against the black-knot of plums.
When public sentiment was not strong on the subject, black-knot
flourished undisturbed even in orchards immediately adjoining
the highway.

Nationallaws are likely to be most effective both because of the
fact just suggested and because such a law brings all parts of the
country under uniform regulations. For example, the Ignited
States has a "Quarantine Act," by the provisions of which the
Secretary of Agriculture may prohibit the importation of plants
or of fruits likely to be the means of introducing into this country
a dangerous pest. The following was Secretary Wilson's order
prohibiting the importation of fruits likely to bring in the "]\lexi-
can fruit fly " :

The fact has been determined by the Secretary of Agriculture tliat an
-injurious insect known as the Mexican fruit Hy (Trypeta ludena), new

300 LAWS AFFECTING ORCHARDING

and not liorctofore widely prevalent and distributed within and throughout
the United States, exists in the Republic of Mexico.

Now, therefore, 1, James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, under
authority conferred by section 7 of the act of August 20, 1912, known as
'• The plant quarantine act," do hereby declare that it is necessary, in
order to prevent the introduction into the United States of the insect known
as the Mexican fruit fly {Trypeta hulens) , to forbid the importation into
the United States from the Republic of IMexico of the following fruits:

Sweet limes Peaches

Mangoes ' Plums

Oranges Guavas
Achras sapotes

Hereafter, and until further notice, by virtue of said section 7 of the
act of Congress approved August 2X), 1912, the importation or entry into
the United States for any purpose of the fruits hereinbefore named and
their horticultural varieties is prohibited.

Done at Washington this 15th day of January, 1913.
Witness my hand and the seal of the United States Department of
Agriculture.

James Wilson,
Secretary of Agriculture.

As soon as such a notice is given the fruits affected are stopped
at the port of entry.

PACKING AND SALE OF FRUITS

Canadian Laws and Regulations, — In the realm of laws in-
tended to govern the packing and sale of fruits the Canadian
' ' Inspection and Sale Act, ' ' better known as ' ' Fruit Marks Act, ' '
is the oldest, the most far-reaching, and consequently the most
worthy of study. Its chief provisions are as follows :

The Marking of Fruit. — 320. Every person who, by himself or through
the agency of another person, packs fruit in a closed package, intended for
sale, shall cause the package to be marked in a plain and indelible manner
in letters not less than half an inch in length, before it is taken from the
premises where it is packed, —

(a) With the initials of his Christian names, and his full surname
and address, or, in the case of a firm or corporation, with the firm or cor-
porate name and address;

CANADIAN LAWS AND REGULATIONS 301

{&) With the name of the variety or varieties; and,

(c) With a designation of tlie grade of fruit, which shall include one
of the following four marks, viz. : Fancy, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3.

2. Such mark may he accompanied hy any other designation of grade
or hrand, if that designation or hrand is not inconsistent with, or marked
more conspicuously than, the one of the said four marks which is used
on the said package.

321. No person shall sell, or offer, expose, or have in his possession
for sale, any fruit packed, —

(a) In a closed package and intended for sale unless such package ia
marked as required by the provisions of this Part;

(6) In a closed package, upon which package is marked any designa-
tion which represents such fruit as of

(i) Fancy quality, unless such fruit consists of wcll-gro^vn speci-
mens of one variety, sound, of uniform and of at least normal size and of
good color for the variety, of normal shape, free from worm holes, bruises,
scab and other defects, and properly packed;

(ii) No. 1 quality, imless such fruit includes no culls and consists of
well-gro\\'n specimens of one variety, sound, of not less than medium size
and of good color for the variety, of normal sliape and not loss than
ninety per cent free from scab, worm holes, bruises and other defects, and
properly packed;

(iii) No. 2 quality, unless such fruit includes no culls and consists
of specimens of not less than nearly medium size for the variety, and not
less than eighty per cent free from worm holes and such other defects as
cause material waste, and properly packed;

(c) In any package in which the faced or shown surface gives a false
representation of the contents of such package; and it shall be considered
a false representation when more than fifteen per cent of such fruit is
substantially smaller in size than, or inferior in grade to, or different in
variety from, the faced or shown surface of such package.

Branding Falsely Marked and Falsely Packed. — 322. ^Vlienever any
fruit in any package is found to be so packed that the faced or shown sur-
face gives a false representation of the contents of the package, any in-
spector charged with the enforcement of tliis Part may mark the words
Falsely packed in a plain and indelible manner on tlie package.

2, \Mienever any fruit packed in a closed j)ackage is found to be falsely
marked, the said inspector may efface such false marks and mark the words
Falsely marked in a plain and indelible manner on tlie package.

3. The inspector shall give notice, by letter or telegram, to the packer
whose name is marked on the package, within twenty-four hours after he
marks the words Falsely packed or Falsely marked on the package.

Fruit Packages. — 325. All apples packed in Canada for export for sale
by the barrel in closed barrels shall be packed in good and strong barrels of

302 LAWS AFFECTING ORCHARDING

seasoned wood having dimensions not less than the following, namely:
Twenty-six inches and one-fourth between the heads, inside measure, and a
head diameter of seventeen inches, and a middle diameter of eighteen inches
and one-half, representing as nearly as possible ninety-six quarts.

2. ^^^len apples, pears or quinces are sold by the barrel, as a measure
of capacity, such barrel shall not be of lesser dimensions than those specified
in this section.

3. When apples are packed in Canada for export for sale by the box.
they shall be packed in good and strong boxes of seasoned wood, the inside
dimensions of which shall not be less than ten inches in depth, eleven
inches in width and twenty inches in length, representing as nearly as pos-
sible two thousand two hundred cubic inclies.

4. When apples are packed in boxes or barrels having trays or fillers
wherein it is intended to have a separate compartment for each apple, the
provisions of this section as to boxes and barrels shall not apply.

Inspector's Right to Examine. — 327. Any person charged with the en-
forcement of this Part may enter upon any premises to make examination
of any packages of fruit suspected of being falsely marked or packed in
violation of any of the provisions of this Part, whether such packages are
on the premises of the owner, or on other premises, or in the possession of a
railway or steamship company.

Offences and Penalties. — 328. Every person who, by himself or through
the agency of any other person, violates any of the provisions of sections
320 and 321 of this Act, shall be liable, for the first offence, to a fine not
exceeding twenty-five dollars and not less than ten dollars; for the second
offence, to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars and not less than twenty-five
dollars; and for the third and each subsequent offence, to a fine not ex-
ceeding two hundred dollars and not less than fifty dollars, together, in
all cases, with the costs of proseciition ; and in default of payment of such
fine and costs shall be liable to imprisonment, with or without hard labor,
for a term not exceeding one month, unless such fine and costs, and the
costs of enforcing them, are sooner paid.

2. Wlienever any such violation is with respect to a lot or shipment
consisting of fifty or more closed packages, there may be imposed, in addi-
tion to any penalty provided by this section, for the first offence twenty-
five cents, for the second offence fifty cents, and for the third and each sub-
sequent offence one dollar, for each closed package in excess of fifty with
respect to which such violation is committed.

329. Every person who, not being an inspector, wilfully alters, effaces,
or obliterates, wholly or partially, or causes to be altered, effaced, or oblit-
erated, any marks on any package which has undergone inspection, shall
incur a penalty of one hundred dollars for the first offence, together in all
cases, with the costs of prosecution: and in default of payment of such
fine and cost shall be liable to imprisonment, with or without hard labor,

CANADIAN LAWS AND REGULATIONS 303

for a term not exceeding one niontli, unless sucli fine and oosts, and the costs
of enforcing them, are sooner jjaid.

'S'AO. Every person who violates any of the provisions of sections 325
and 320 of the Act shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a penalty of
twenty- five cents for each barrel of apples, or box of apples, pears, quinces,
berries, or currants, or basket of fruit, or berry box, respecting which such
violation is committed, together with the costs of prosecution; and in
default of payment of such fine and costs shall be liable to imprisonment,
with or without hard labor, for a term not exceeding one month, unless
such fine and costs, and the costs of enforcing them, are sooner paid.

332. Every person who obstructs any person charged with the enforce-
ment of this Part in entering any premises to make examination of pack-
ages of fruit as provided by this Part, or who refuses to permit the making
of any such examination, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five
hundred dollars and not less than twenty-five dollars, together with the
costs of prosecution, and in default of payment of such penalty and costs,
shall be liable to imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for a term
not exceeding six months, unless such penalty and costs, and the costs of
enforcing the same, are sooner paid.

Explanation. — The following "general notes" are also of in-
terest as explaining and interpreting the tenns of the act:

(a) For Inspectors.

Inspectors will not examine particular lots of fruit at the request of
buyers or sellers. When not under specific directions, inspectors will use
their discretion as to where they can best employ their time witliin tlie
district assigned them.

Inspectors will avoid anything which would delay unnecessarily the
movement of fruit or which would interfere with the interests of those con-
cerned in the fruit trade, except in so far as action may be necessary to
prevent violation of the Act.

Packages which have been inspected are to be closed by the inspector
and left in marketable order after examination, unless the owner prefers to
take charge of such opened packages.

(b) For the Grower.

If the grower sells his fruit unpacked, the Act does not apply to him
in any particular.

If he sells his fruit in uncovered barrels or boxes, the Act requires
only that the top of eadi package shall be no better tlian tin; fruit throughout
the packagi.

304 LAWS AFFECTING ORCHARDING

If the grower packs his own fruit he accepts the responsibility of the
packing, as described in the following paragraph:

Section 320 of the Act requires that the person who owns the fruit
when it is packed in closed barrels or boxes must mark plainly on each
package :

1. His name and post office address.

2. The name of the variety of the fruit.

3. The grade of the fruit, whether it is " Fancy," " No. 1," " No. 2,"

or "No. 3."

If he marks the package " Fancy " the fruit must be practically perfect,
as described in section 321 (6) (i).

On reading subsection (6) (ii) carefully, it will be seen that the
packer should aim in packing grade No. 1 to discard every injured or
defective fruit, and not to deliberately include ten per cent of inferior
specimens. This margin is meant to make the work of grading easier and
more rapid than if absolute perfection were exacted. Ten per cent is
presumed to be the margin within which an honest packer can do rapid
work, using every endeavor to make each specimen conform to the general
standard for the grade.

Even the twenty per cent margin in grade No. 2 miist be composed of
specimens not less than nearly medium size, including no culls.

The Act makes no restriction as to the quality of fruit which is marked
" No. 3."

The owner at the time of packing is responsible if the face of each
package does not represent the contents as required by section 321, sub-
section (c). Over-facing is an offence against the Act, which is most
severely dealt with by the courts.

( d ) For the Foreman of the Packing Gang.

Whether he is putting up his own fruit or that of another person, the
man who does the packing is required, by section 4 of the Order in Council
printed above, to pack the fruit in accordance with the law. He should
read the whole Act carefully, but should give section 321 special attention.
If he violates these requirements, he is liable to the fine specified in section
5 of the Order in Council.

(e) For the Apple Operator.

Tlie apple operator for his own protection should see that his work-
men are familiar with the Inspection and Sale Act, Part IX.

Section 4 of the Order in Council is a special protection for the apple

OPINIONS OF THE CANADIAN LAW 305

operator against carelessness or fraudulent work upon the part of his
packers.

Where the apple operator buys apples already packed, he should note
particularly that the fruit is marked as required by section 320.

To avoid possible complications in case of fraudulent packing, all con-
tracts should stipulate clearly wliether the apples are purchased packed
in barrels or whether they are purchased to be packed by the buyer.

Apples should not be bought or sold witli the stipulation, " subject to
government inspection." Tliere is no such thing as " government inspec-
tion," meaning a " certificate " or " report " guaranteeing the quality of a
particular lot of fruit.

Opinions of the Canadian Law, — There can be no doubt
whatever as to the eflficacy of this act. All classes of men in-
terested in the orchard industry of Canada agree in endorsing
its main provisions and in commending its effect on the fruit in-
dustry of that country. By way of evidence on this point the
writer has taken pains to secure the opinions of representative
men of various occupations, some of which are here given :

From the Fruit Growers. — "The Fruit j\Iarks Act has done
and is doing good work. The longer it is in operation and the
better it is understood, the more good it is doing. I can safely
say that apples are now much better packed than formerly."

2. "I consider the Act was one of the most necessarj-, the
wisest and best bits of legislation bearing upon agriculture that
our federal government has put through. The effect of it at home
has been most wholesome and though there have been a few most
foolish and short-sighted breaches of the act by fruit growers,
yet generally speaking it has made them very careful and they
realize that the legislation has not only been helpful to Canadian
fruit as a whole but has been beneficial to their own individual
work. ' *

3. "The Act is certainly a good thing for Canada, as it has
been the means of bringing up the standard of Canadian packing
in the English markets."

From a Large Dealer and Buyer. — "The Act has certainly
had a marked effect in improving the packing of apples by keeping
farmers up to the mark, and by putting inspectors in touch with

306 LAWS AFFECTING ORCHARDING

the bad packers, who would otherwise continue shipping badly
packed fruit to the detriment of the good packers. It has also
had its effect in warehouse-packing and checked many frauds.
One of these was the marking up of the grade of fruit and another
was the branding and shipping of fruit under spurious names and
marks. Packers are every year having a more wholesome regard
for the Fruit Marks Act, and I look for a steady improvement in
the pack. ' '

Fruit Standardized. — Turning now to the officials of the
Dominion Department of Agriculture we have several opinions :

Mr. George H. Vroom, Chief Fruit Inspector for the Province
of Nova Scotia, says: "The Fruit Marks Act has standardized
the pack to such an extent that Canadian apples average from
one to two shillings more per barrel than imder the old methods.
It has aided very materially in the formation of cooperative asso-
ciations, which means first, last and always a better and higher
grade article to put on the market. And this improved pack has
been the means of opening up new markets to Canadian fruit. In
short the Fruit Marks Act has succeeded beyond the most
sanguine expectations."

Professor W. T. ]\Iacoun, Dominion Horticulturist, says:
"While the Fruit Marks Act has not yet made every Canadian
apple packer put his apples up in accordance with the require-
ments of the Act, yet much has already been accomplished in this
direction. It has given fruit growers standards of what No. 1 and
No. 2 grades of apples should be. This was not clearly understood
before the passage of the Act and there was a great difference of
opinion among fruit growers as to what constituted a No. 1 and a
No. 2 apple. The Fruit Marks Act has made the branding of
barrels much more uniform. Formerly a man could put as many
Xs on the barrel as he thought would sell his fruit to the best ad-
vantage. Now the grade marks must be confined to No. 1, No. 2
and No. 3 and the packer's name and address must be on every
closed package. This we consider a great step forward. ' '

Mr. A, McNeill, Chief of the Fruit Division, says: "In my
opinion the Fruit Marks Act has revolutionized the packing of

ITXITED STATES T.AW FOR APPLES 307

apples in Canada. The effect of it has been to establish definite
grades. It is safe to say that there have been thousands of dollars
saved in law expenses alone by the definiteness of the definitions
and the conclusiveness of them from the fact tliat they are a
matter of \a.w. The second benefit from the law is that the
Canadian pack is more uniform as a whole than it would have
been. Notwithstanding the many violations of the law, and not-
withstanding the wide range of grades that may be packed within
each of the grades noted in the Act, it is now being recognized
quite definitely in the markets of the world that Canadian apples
are in the main of the quality marked upon the outside of the
package. ' '

Mr. McNeill then quotes from a letter received from one of their
Canadian Consuls in an English city who says : ' ' From a personal
interview with a dozen or more firms in this city, selected at ran-
dom, it is safe to say that this English city consumes $15,000 to
$20,000 worth of apples weekly during the season from October to
the middle of ]\Iarch or April. Of this amount about three-fifths
are Canadian, the remaining American. Practically all of these
apples are bought of connnission men in Liverpool. The tendency
of the trade here is to favor the Canadian grower and packer, the
reason given for this being that Canada exercises a supervision
over the grading, packing and branding of its fruit that is en-
tirely lacking in the American product."

United States Law for Apples. — This is certainly very strong
evidence, coming as it does from men in so many varied lines of
work, and it is small wonder that the United States has made an
attempt to take up a similar line of work. The following act was
approved August 3, 1912, and everyone connected with the fruit
industry is watching its effect with the greatest interest. The
chief objection to the law is that its standards are not sufficiently
high.

An act to establish a standard barrel and standard jjradcs for apples
when packed in barrels, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congreaa aaaembled. That the standard barrel for

308 LAWS AFFECTING ORCHARDING

apples shall be of the following dimensions when measured without disten-
•tion of its parts: Length of stave, twenty-eight and one-half inches; diam-
eter of head, seventeen and one-eighth inches; distance between heads,
twenty-six inches; circumference of bulge, sixty-four inches outside meas-
urement, representing as nearly as possible seven thousand and fifty-six
cubic inches: Provided, That steel barrels containing the interior dimen-
sions provided for in this section shall be construed as a compliance there-
with.

Sec. 2. That the standard grades for apples when packed in barrels
which shall be shipped, or delivered for shipment in interstate or foreign
commerce, or which shall be sold or offered for sale within the District of
Columbia or the Territories of the United States, shall be as follows : Apples
of one variety, which are well-grown specimens, hand picked, of good color
for the variety, normal shape, practically free from insect and fungous
injury, bruises, and other defects, except such as are necessarily caused in
the operation of packing, or apples of one variety which are not more than
ten per cent below the foregoing specifications shall be " Standard grade
minimum size two and one-half inches," if the minimum size of the apples
is two and one-half inches in transverse diameter; "Standard grade mini-
mum size two and one-fourth inches," if the minimum size of the apples is
two and one- fourth inches in transverse diameter; or "Standard grade
minimum size two inches," if the minimum size of the apples is two inches
in transverse diameter.

Sec. 3. That the barrels in which applea-are packed in accordance with
the provisions of this Act may be branded in accordance with section two
of this Act.

Sec. 4. Tliat all barrels packed with apples shall be deemed to be below
standard if the barrel bears any statement, design, or device indicating
that the barrel is a standard barrel of apples, as herein defined, and the
capacity of the barrel is less than the capacity prescribed by section one of
this Act, unless the barrel shall be plainly marked on end and side with
words or figures showing the fractional relation which the actual capacity
of the barrel bears to the capacity prescribed by section one of this Act.
The marking required by this paragraph shall be in black letters of size
not less than (seventy-two point) one-inch gothic.

Sec. 5. That barrels packed with apples shall be deemed to be mis-
branded within the meaning of this Act:

First. If the barrel bears any statement, design, or device indicating
that the apples contained therein are " Standard " grade and the apples
when packed do not conform to the requirements prescribed by section two
of this Act.

Second. If the barrel bears any statement, design, or device indicating
that the apples contained therein are " Standard " grade and the barrel
fails to bear also a statement of the name of the variety, the name of the

REGULATING COMMISSION MERCHANTS 309

locality where grown, and the name of the packer or the person by whose
authority the apples were packed and the barrel marked.

Sec. 6. That any person, firm or corporation, or association who shall
knowingly pack or cause to be packed apples in barrels or wlio sliall know-
ingly sell or ofl'er for sale such barrels in violation of the provisions of
this Act shall be liable to a penalty of one dollar and costs for each such
barrel so sold or offered for sale, to be recovered at the suit of the I'nited
States in any court of the United States having jurisdiction.

Sec. 7. That this Act shall be in force and effect from and after the
first day of July, nineteen hundred and thirteen.

REGULATING COMMISSION MERCHANTS

Another type of law which has recently been advocated is
tliat which attempts to regulate the business of commission men.
Probably no one will deny that there have been many abuses by
unscrupulous men of tlie commission method of selling fruit and
it is hoped by the advocates of these laws that some at least of
these abuses may be corrected. A bill passed by the New York
legislature will give an idea of what is attempted in this direction.
The following are its chief provisions :

1. Every person doing a commission business in farm jiroducts
is required to take out a license with the Connnissioner of
Agriculture.

2. The Conunissioner may refuse to grant a license to a prod-
uce man whom he is convinced is not honest in his ])usiness
dealings.

3. Each commission man is required to give a fidelity- bond
of $3000 as a guarantee of honest dealing, and farmers may collect
from this bond for money not honestly accounted for by the com-
mission merchant.

4. The commissioner is also authorized to give hearings and
to examine the records bearing on the case under dispute.

Laws of this kind have long been needed and cannot fail to do
good. Doubtless there will have to be many changes as the details
are worked out, but it is certainly a move in the right direction.

Many people object to all these laws on packing and .selling
because they say, "You cannot make a man honest by legislation."
Perhaps you cannot, but if you can "legislate" him so that he

310 LAWS AFFECTING ORCHARDING

acts as though he were honest, it may do just as well so far as
selling fruit is concerned.

QUESTIONS.

1. What two types of laws are there relating to orcharding?

2. What two types regarding nursery- stock?

3. What are some of the difficulties regarding inspection of nursery-stock?

4. Compare local administration of these laws with national.

5. Give some of the main provisions of the Canadian " Fruit Marks Act."

6. With what favor has the law been received by growers? By buyers?

By officials?

7. Give the main provisions of the United States law regarding apples

packed in barrels.

8. What provisions have been recommended for the regulation of the

commission business?

INDEX

Acme harrow, 95
Advertising, 287

by recipes, 294

by samples, 295

by window displays, 296
Age of nursery trees, 40
Animals, danger to, from spraying,

206
Aphis, 149

apple, 149

cherry, 161
Apple barrel, 260

presses, 263

blotch, 167

borers, 155

box, 260

canker, 168

curculio, 151

fly-speck disease, 169

insects, 144

maggot, 154

method of bearing, 120

rust, 167

scab, 165

sooty blotch, 169
Apples, grades of, 258

packing in barrels, 264
in laoxes, 270
Asparagus as a companion crop, 75
Aspect of orchard lands, 12
Atmospheric drainage, 12
Atomic sulphur, 197

Baldwin soils, 16

Barley as a cover croj), 115

Barrel, apple, 260

pump, 177
Beans as a companion crop, 71
Bearing, methods of fruit, 119

trees, pruning, 136
Blackberries as a comi)anion crop, 75
Black-knot of plums, 173
Blister mite, 158
Blossoming period, spraying during,

149
Blotch of apples, 167
Bordeaux mixture, 191

nozzle, 185

Borer, apple, 155

peach, 160

pin, 157

shot-hole, 157
Borers in orchards, 82
Brown rot of plums, peaches and

cherries, 171
Buckwheat as a companion crop, 73

as a cover crop, 113
Bud moth, 151
Bulletin boards, 287

Cabbage as a companion crop, 71
Canadian laws, 300
Canker, apple, 168

worms, 152
Census figures regarding apples, 2
Cherry, method of fruit-bearing, 124

packages for, 262
Clover, common red, as a cover crop,
116
crimson, as a cover crop, 116
mammoth red, as a cover crop,

116
to add nitrogen, 110
Codling moth, 147
Color of fruit, 27

in sod orchards, 79
Commercial lime-sulfur solutions, 194
Commission merchants, laws regu-
lating, 309
Companion crops for orchards, 67
good, 71
list of, 70
poor, 75
Concentrated lime-sulfur, home-
made, 195
Conserving moisture, 81
Contact insecticides, 198
Cooperative marketing, 283
Copper salts for sprays, 190

sulfate, 191
Corn as a companion crop, 73
Cost of orchard, 63
of spraying, 210
of storage, 248
of thinning fruit, 233
Cover crop, barley as a, 115

311

312

INDEX

Cover crop, buckwheat as a, 113
cow peas as a, 113
crimson clover as a, 115
mammoth red clover as a,

116
peas as a, 118
rape as a, 1 14
red clover as a, 116
rye as a, 115
soybeans as a, 117
turnips as a, 113
vetches as a, 116
weeds as a, 118
crops, 108

best crops to use, 112
in old orchards, 226
plowing under, 112
time to sow, 90
use of, to add humus, 109
nitrogen, 110
to check growth 109
to hold snow, 112
to prevent washing, 108
to protect windfalls. 111
to take up plant food
110
Cow peas as a cover crop, 113
Cropping the orchard, 66
Cultivating old orchards, 225
Cultivation, advantages of, 81
for orchards, 95
methods of, 83
time to stop, 87
Culture of orchards, 77
Currants as a companion crop, 73
Curculio apple, 151
plum, 151, 161
Cutaway harrow for orchards, 94

Damage during cultivation, 88
Disc harrowing instead of plowing, 85

harrows for orchards, 94

plow for orchards, 93

type of nozzles, 185
Diseases of fruit trees, 163

pome fruits, 16*5

stone fruits, 171
Distances for planting, 58
table of, 59
Double-action hand pump, 180
Drainage, 11
Dressing for wounds, 140
Drew, George A., fertilizer formula

of, 105
Dry sprays vs. liquid, 190

Experiments in fertilizers, 101
Extension rod for spraying, 187

Fall pippin, soils for, 20
plowing, 45

advantages of, 84
setting of trees, 53
Fertility of soils, 81
Fertilizer, nitrogen as a, 102
phosphoric acid as a, 103
potash as a, 102
Fertilizers, application of, 106
formulas for, 105
for old orchards, 223
need of, 101
used by apples, 100
Fillers, 61
lire blight of pears, apples and

quinces, 169
Fly-speck disease of apples, 169
Frost-proof storage, 253
Fruit-bearing and growth, 126
method of, in apple, 120
in cherry, 124
in peach, 122
in pear, 120
in plum, 124
in quince, 124
Fruit, keeping quality of, 254

protection by cover crop. 111
storage of, 245
storage types of, 250
trees, diseases of, 163
wraps for advertising, 289
Fungicides, action of, 165
principal kinds, 191 .
Fungus, types of, 163

Gang plow for orchards, 92

Gas sprayer, 181

General market, the, 281

Gooseberries in orchards, 73

Grades of apples, 258

Grades of trees, 42

Grading fruit, 258

Grafting old orchards, 220

Grains in orchards, 75

Grape-hoe for orchards, 99

Gravenstein, soils for, 21

Greening, Rhode Island, soils for, IS

Grimes Golden, soils for, 20

Growth and fruit-bearing, 126

and pruning, 125
Growth checked by cover crops,
108

INDEX

313

Hand work in orchards, 88

Harrows for orchards, 94

Hay in orchards, 75, 77, 83

Heading trees, 55

Health of trees, 26

HeeUng in nursery stock, 50

Hexagonal method of planting or-
chards, 46

Hitchings, Grant, culture methods
of, 77

Home-boUed lime-sulfur, 196

Home-made lime-sulfur concentrate,
195

Home spray mixtures vs. commercial,
189

Hose spraying, 186

Hubbardston, soils for, 19

Humus added by cover crops, 109

Hydrometer, 194

Implements for orchard culture, 91
Insecticides, 197
contact, 198
Insects attacking the apple, 144
the pear, 157
stone fruits, 160
effect of fall plowing on, 85
in sod orchards, 82

Keeping of apples grown in sod, 78

of fruit, 29

qualities of fruit, factors in-
fluencing, 254
Kerosene emulsion, 199
Knapsack sprayer, 176
Knife for pruning, 134

Labels, 288

Lands for orchards, 8

Laws affecting orcharding, 298

Laying off orchards, 47

Leaf curl of peach, 172

Light-draft orchard harrow, 98

Lime-sulfur, commercial, 194

home-boiled, 196

home-made concentrate, 195

self-boiled, 196
Low heading of trees, 58
in sod, 79

Macoun, Prof. W. T., quoted, 306
Magazine advertising, 296
Mangels as companion crop, 72
Market, general, 281
special, 280

Marketing, cooperative, 283

fruit, 277
Marshall, A. A., culture methods of,

77
Maturity of fruit, proper degree of,

254
Mcintosh, soils for the, 20
McNeill, A., quoted, 306
Mice in orchards, 82
Miscible oils, 198
Munson and Frost, fertilizer formula

of, 106

Newspaper advertising, 296
Nitrogen added by cover crops, 110
as a fertilizer, 102
forms of, 103
Northern-grown nursery stock, 39
Northern Spy, soils for the, 19
Nozzles, 185

Number of trees per acre, 60
Nursery stock, buying, 24
in orchards, 75
trees, age of, 40

southern- vs. northern-
grown, 39

Old orchards, renovating, 212
Optimum temperature, 34
Orchard culture, 77

implements, 91

insects, 142

lands, 8

sites, 8
Orchards, cropping, 66
Outlook for orcharding, 1
Over-production of fruit, 2

Packages for apples, 260

for cherries, 262

for peaches, 261

for pears, 261

for plums, 262

used in storage, 256
Packing apples, 262

in barrels, 264
in boxes, 270
_ fruit, 258
Paris-green, 198 ,

Peach borer, 160
Peach leaf curl, 172

method of bearing fruit in, 122

packages for, 261

scab, 172

314

INDEX

Pear, insects attacking the, 157

method of bearing fruit in, 120

packages for, 261

psylla, 157

slug, 159
Peas as a cover crop, 118
Phosphoric acid as a fertihzer, 103

forms of, 103
Pickers, managing, 243
Picking and handling fruit, 229

equipment, 234
Pick, time to, apples, 237
cherry, 240
peach, 239
pear, 239
plum, 242
Plant food held by cover crops, 110
Planting boards, 49
Plowing in fall, 45

under cover crop. 111
Plows for orchards, 91

gang, 92

types of, 92
Plum, method of bearing fruit in, 124

packages for, 262
Pome fruits, diseases of, 165
Potash as a fertilizer, 102

forms of, 104
Price of nursery stock, 42
Priest, L. F., fertilizer formula of,

105
Printed matter in fruit packages,

290
Prune, how to, 139
Pruning, 119

bearing trees, 136

general principles of, 125

knife, 134

old orchards, 216

saws, 131

shears, 133

summer, 126

time for, 137

tools, 129

young trees, 135
Psylla, pear, 157

Quality in fruit, 29

Quince, method of fruit-bearing in,

124
Quincunx method of laying off

orchard, 46

Railroad worm, 154
Rape as a cover crop, 114

Raspberries as a companion crop,

75
Recipes for advertising, 294
Refrigerated storage, 253
Renovating old orchards, 212, 228
Rhode Island Greening, soils for

the, 18
Rome Beauty, soils for the, 21
Roots protected by cover crop. 111
Roxbury Russet, soils for the, 22
Rust of apples, 167
Rye as a cover crop, 115

San Jose scale, 144

Saws for pruning, 131

Scab of apple, 165
of peach 172

Score card for apples packed in
barrels, 270
in boxes, 275
commercial variety of

apples, 24
orchard site, 8

Self-boiled lime-sulfur, 196

Self-sterile varieties, 31

Setting trees in fall, 53

Shaw, Dr. J. K., quoted, 33

Shears for pruning, 133

Slope for orchards, 12

Slug, pear, 159

Snow, held by cover crop. 111

Sod culture, 77

advantages of, 78

Soils for orchards, 9

the Baldwin, 16
the Fall Pippin, 20
the Gravenstein, 21
the Greening, 18
the Grimes Golden, 20
the Hubbardston, 19
the Mcintosh, 20
the Northern Spy, 19
the Rome Beauty, 21
the Roxbury Russet, 22
the Tompkins King, 20
the Wagener, 20
varieties of apples, 15

Soluble oils, 198
sulfur, 197

Sooty blotch of apples, 169

Southern-grown nursery stock, 39

Soybeans as a cover crop, 117

Spike-tooth harrow for orchards, 95

Spray pumps, 176

Sprayer, power, 180

INDEX

315

Spraying an insurance, 206

apparatus, 175

campaign, the, 201

cost of, 210

in bloom, 149

materials, 189

old orchards, 227

program for apples and pears,
208
for peaches and plums, 210

thoroughly, 204
Spring planting of trees, 53

-tooth harrow for orchards, 94
Squash as a companion crop, 71
Starr, A. C, fertilizer formula of, 106
Stewart, Prof. Jolm P., fertilizer for-
mula of, 106
Stock solutions for Bordeaux, 192
Stone fruits, diseases of, 171

insects attacking, 160
Storage, advantages of good, 245

cost of, 248

frost-proof, 253

plants, 246

refrigerated, 253
Storing fruit, 245
Strawberries as a companion crop,

74
Subsoil, 10
Sulfur, forms of, 193
Summer pruning, 126

Table for barrel packing, 262

for box packing, 271
Temperature for storage, 247
Tent-caterpillar, 153
Thinning fruit, 229
Tillage and moisture, 86
Time to prune, 137

Time to spray, 204
Tobacco extracts, 200
Tompkins King, soils for the, 20
Tools for pruning, 129
Trees per acre, 60
Truck crops in orchards, 72
Turnips as a companion crop, 72
as a cover crop, 113

United States laws, 307

Varieties in old orchards, 215

of fruits, 24

number of, 30
Vermorel type of nozzle, 185
Vetches as a cover crop, 116
V-shaped cultivation for orchards, 99
Vroom, George H., quoted, 306

Wagener, soils for the, 20
Washing of soils in sod 80

prevented by cover
crops, 107
Water drainage, 1 1
Weeds as a cover crop, 118
Whale oil soap, 199
Wilder, H. J., quoted, 15
Windbreaks, 13
trees for, 14
Windfalls in sod orchards, 80
Window displays for advertising, 296
Winter injury of roots prevented by

cover crops. 111
Witch grass in orchards, 95
Wounds, dressings for, 140
Wrapping fruit in storage, 257
Wraps for fruit, 289

Young trees, method of pruning, 135

.f*na7r

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