DECEMr.Ell MEETING. 247 



fcoo pi'cvalcnt in some orchards of our State, Tlic v.'oriny apples were not 

 picked up, (lie trees have not been scraped or soaped, and no bands about 

 the trees nor hogs in the orchard were employed to kill the codling moths. 

 The leaves of many of the trees had a yellowish cast, denoting hunger or 

 disease. The soil was a strong clay loam, naturally excellent for apples. 



THE APPLE ORCIIAKU OF C. A. SESSIONS, 



Blackberry Ridge, Oceana county, consisted of 100 trees in a wheat Held. The 

 trees were set seven or eight years ago. A few were dead or dying. The sorts 

 were mixed and some of them unknown. There were some fine, thrifty trees, 

 and some fine looking fruit. The soil appeared rather light for a long lived 

 and profitable orchard. Care had not been taken to prevent the formation of 

 bad crotches while starting tlie heads of the young trees. 



THE APPLE ORCHARD OF H. E. RUSSELL, 



Hart, Oceana county, contains Gil trees, of which 100 are nineteen years old, 

 170 are fourteen years old, and 343 were set three years -ago, and a few of other 

 ages. He has tried quite a long list of the most common varieties, and in 

 setting his last trees, selected one-third Northern Spy, one-third Ben. Davis, 

 and the other third Peck's Pleasant. Under most of his older trees was a 

 heavy mulch of straw extending each way about the trees as far as the spread of 

 the limbs. The trees were even and healthy, and in good condition, indicating 

 proper care. The soil was strong with clay subsoil. 



THE APPLE ORCHARD OF "W. F. LAKE, 



Shelby, Oceana county, contains 300 trees set from 13 to 15 years ago. These 

 are Northern Spy, R. I. Greening, Baldwin, Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, 

 Sweet Bough, Golden Sweet, Fall Pippin, Duchess of Oldenburg. The Sweet 

 Boughs were bearing well. None of these trees were injured by the late cold 

 winters. The ground slopes considerably to the northeast. There has been 

 no cultivation in seven years. The leaves of many look yellow, the growth is 

 slow, tlie bark mossy, and tlie whole orchard, as a rule, is suffering for want of 

 cultivation, or mulch, or manure. The trees were said to have borne well for 

 some years. From his experience and all he can learn of the success of apples 

 in his neighborhood, he will set next spring an orchard of equal quantities of R. 

 I. Greenings, Baldwins, and Red Canadas. 



THE APPLE ORCHARD OF L. H. BAILEY, 



South Haven, has been pretty well described in previous reports. Tlie older 

 part of the orchard was set about twenty years ago. About half of the trees 

 were root grafts and the other half natural fruit, which have since been top- 

 grafted. In the beginning he was strongly impressed in favor of top-grafting 

 trees of natural fruit, but he now confesses that he sees no difference in the 

 bearing, growth, or hardiness of the trees propagated in these two different 

 modes. The trees are set forty feet apart in squares, which is seven to ten feet 

 more than is commonly practiced in Michigan. They now evidently need all 

 the room they have. The trees bear full every other year generally, though 

 some bear moderately every year, and a few heavily every year. 



This 3'car he has about a fifth of a crop, mostly on trees which bore few or 



