364 FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 



FRUITS, BY MR. HENRY FUNCH. 



Grayling, Feb. 1, 1889. 



Me. Chaikhan, Ladies and Gentlemen — I have been requested to 

 appear before you today to give you my experience in fruit raising. 



I settled in South Branch township in the spring of 1874, and planted my 

 first fruit tree in 1877, fourteen apple trees, eight pear trees and two grape 

 vines, as an experiment. Out of the lot I lost but three trees, two Eed 

 Astrachan apple trees and one Bartlett pear tree ; the roots of the pear tree 

 were badly scraped when I got it, so I knew that it was not the climate that 

 killed it. I have added to my orchard from year to year, and have now about 

 one hundred and seventy-five trees, some of which I have raised from the 

 seed. 



I picked twenty-two bushels of apples from thirteen trees last fall, the 

 varieties were Golden Eusset, Maiden's Blush, Transcendent and Seek no 

 Further, some of the trees are not what I ordered, so I cannot tell you the 

 names of all of them. Of pears I have the Bartlett, Anjou, Flemish Beauty 

 and Clapp's Favorite; the Bartlett does remarkably well; of pears I had about 

 two bushels. I shall plant no more dwarf pear trees, I consider the 

 standards better in every way. I have two Concord grape vines trained up 

 on the south side of my house that bear well every year, and by layering I 

 have secured several more vines which I planted at a little distance from the 

 house, and they are all doing well. Three of them bore fruit last summer. 



I raised some peach trees from the pit which grew finely and bore fruit 

 twice ; they were fine, large peaches but rather late for this climate ; they 

 have not borne fruit for some years now ; the fruit buds freeze during the 

 winter. 



Of cherries I have the little red sour. 



I believe that our soil here is not in a right condition to plant trees until 

 after the third plowing. 



I set my trees about thirty feet apart, and dig the holes about two and a 

 half feet across and twenty or twenty-two inches deep ; I throw the sub-soil 

 to one side, then I take some leaf mould, which I get from a swamp, and 

 mix it well with the top soil, then I fill the hole with that until it is the right 

 depth for the tree. I set them as deep as they were in the nursery, then I fill 

 in about the roots, shaking it in well so as to have the ground firm and solid 

 around every little root. 1 put the sub-soil on top as much as I need of it, 

 and then mulch. In planting trees I do not trim the tops much unless they 

 are too heavy, for sometimes they start late and do not have a chance to 

 ripen the new wood, then if injured by frost they will have a chance to fall 

 back on the last year's growth ; I give them a light dressing of wood ashes 

 occasionally. I plant my orchard to corn or potatoes; sometimes the trunks 

 of the trees turn black, but a good scrubbing with soap suds makes them 

 bright and clean again. My farm is on a hill, the soil is a little heavier 

 than on the plains, the timber is white and red oak, pine, poplar and soft 

 maple. 



Mr. Funch exhibited specimens of Ben Davis, Pomme Gris and Seedling 

 apples. 



Dr. Kedzie: A potash soap made from ashes would be better for washing 

 trees than soda soap. 



