AMONG THE ORCIIATIDS AND VINEYARDS. 14» 



The orchard of Thomas Petty was by a large per cent the best of any en- 

 tered at this place in full bearing. The location was a hillside sloping to the 

 southeast. Soil quite sandy; nearly as mucli so as any found in this locality. 

 In cultivation it ranked perfect. The cultivator and harrow were put in re- 

 quisition as often as once in ten days or two weeks during the season, keeping 

 the weeds down and inducing moisture in the soil. No crops are allowed to 

 mature. It is sown to rye in autumn to keep the sand from blowing away 

 from the trees and for fertilizing by plowing under in the spring. All the fa- 

 cilities for manuring are taken advantage of, and ashes, lime, muck, and barn- 

 yard manure are applied as a top dressing. The pruning was less at fault than, 

 any found elsewhere at this place. The trees were more compact and sym- 

 metrical, with less of the sprawling habit noticed generally where the shorten- 

 ing system is not in practice. There were no borers to be found. Mr. Petty 

 has an eye on them ; he goes over bis trees twice a year, and prefers the month 

 of June for his work. He has not taken any especial pains to trap or jar, for 

 the curculio is not mnch trouble to him as yet. His varieties are Early and 

 Late Crawfoids, Hale's Early, Barnard, Smock, and Hill's Chili. Considers 

 the Late Crawford the most profitable for market, and still the Smock netted 

 the most money this year ; this orchard of about 1,000 trees netted $1,G00 this 

 season. Mr. Petty is a careful, industrious, and observing man, and has the 

 best orchard examined in the vicinity of Spring Lake, and was a close com- 

 petitor with the Engle Orchtird at Paw Paw. 



The two-years-old orchard of A. B. Soules was a very perfect orchard of ten 

 acres in extent. It was brim full of merit, not a tree missing, all of uniform 

 size, well grown, and in most perfect shape. It was the only perfect two-years- 

 old orchard met with while on our journey. I much desire to sse the shorten- 

 ing in system practiced in the mauiigement of this orchard, and contrasted 

 "with the strtiggling skeletons with which it is now surrounded. 



The bearing orchards of A. B. Soule, J. B. Soule, and Hunter Savidge, were 

 all severely injured with the cold winter, and that of Mr. Savidge was about 

 one-half planted anew — this might better have been done with the others 

 above mentioned — many of these orchards were alternated by planting the 

 apple among them in quincunx order. This mixing up of orchards with dif- 

 ferent species is open to many objections which it is unnecessary to mention 

 here. They are all pruned on the long-arm plan, and most wretched appearing 

 specimens many of them were. The varieties embraced most of the leading 

 market sorts, with the Crawfords in greatest numbers. 



Frank Hall, next to Thomas Petty, has the best bearing orchard here. Not- 

 withstanding it had been injured like the rest by severe cold, it was found to 

 be really a good orchard. Soil light, genuine Spring Lake sand, sown to 

 winter rye for the same purpose as was Mr. Petty's. The cultivation, pruning, 

 and management in general was a repetition of Mr. Petty's plan, and marked 

 next to his in all points of quality and perfection. 



With the orchard of Theodore Curtis on the west bank of Spring Lake we 

 finished up the work at this place. This was quite a large orchard when first 

 planted six years ago, but the winter has done a work of destruction here with 

 no light hand. lam willing to believe whoever saw this orchard during or 

 previous to the autumn of 1872 beheld one of great promise. The soil here is 

 some heavier than east of the lake, but the location is most too flat and level. 

 There is not much of an orchard left now; with the utter neglect in cultivation 

 and pruning and the management in general through the pnst season, it is 

 hardly possible to consider it in a condition otherwise than hopeless. 



