No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURlE. 427 



years old. By top working, I should have said, that we get apples 

 a little earlier. We have had two and one-half bushels at eight years 

 of age, on top worked trees. After a tree gets to bearing and bears 

 as it should do, it does not make a very heavy growth. If we in 

 duce the growth of the trees too much after they come into bearing 

 we will get a large growth of wood and it will not mature fruit 

 buds. Therefore it makes wood and not fruit. We want the fruit 

 We have to be a little careful about that. Now with me after the 

 orchard gets into bearing, I seed it down and leave it seeded. I 

 have said that I don't cultivate an orchard after it once gets into 

 bearing. Ours is situated on a ridge that is underlayed with slate 

 rock and the slate rock is within two feet of the surface in some 

 places, and is full of water. We cannot get in the rock over three 

 feet when digging for water. Dr. Jordan told me that if I ever 

 made the statement in public that I did not cultivate, we would 

 shake me up for it. He said I do cultivate. Well now, I don't 

 plough my orchard, but I have hogs in my orchard, and they root, 

 and that is the only cultivation that my orchards get, although they 

 get barnjard manure every other year, and it is going to be a ques 

 tion with me whether I will have to cultivate to maintain those or 

 chards, for I do not have enough manure. I am satisfied that T 

 cannot cultivate all the time for it induces so much growth of wood 

 that we cannot mature fruit buds. 



Picking. 



When it comes to the picking, we have had all kind of 

 schemes devised, but we still have to pick them by hand, and of all 

 arrangements I have yet seen for picking apples, there is nothing 

 like a common grain bag with a walnut or a stone tied in the corners 

 with a strap fastened to go over the shoulders, or a phosphate sack 

 instead of a strap is easier on the shoulders. We pick all of our 

 apples by this method. Now in my talk a little later on I have made 

 arrangements to speak to you about co-operative work, but I will 

 tell you what we can do at present. The dealers have changed their 

 mode of buying and the bulk of the apples are now sold on a basis 

 of tree run. We put them right into barrels without facing, and 

 take them immediately to the storehouse. Many of the apples this 

 year were bought in that way, otherwise we picked them into bar- 

 rels and took them into the barns and set them there with the 

 head out. On a rainy day we sort them. We have been in the 

 habit of putting into the No. 1 barrel all apples which measure two 

 and one-fourth inches or more, with a fair color and some green 

 fruit if good size. All other sound fruit down to two inches are 

 packed as No. 2's. Those below two inches go to the cider mill 

 All the apples were packed and if they were not sold as soon as they 

 were packed they were put into the storehouse. One of our store- 

 houses holds about 1,000 barrels, another storehouse at the station 

 will store about 7,000 barrels. Those storehouses are kept under my 

 control until the apples are disposed of. and I will not sell my apples 

 unless I rent the storehouse. Buyers often buy the fruit so they can 

 control the storage. If we don't get a sufficient price for the apples, 

 we will put them into the storehouse and sort them ourselves 



