DECEMBER MEETING. M9 



were to tell how it li;i[)})cns that he has such "good luck" witli his orcliard wo 

 should attribute it chielly to two or three causes. Tlic soil is not very dark nor 

 loamy, and is gravel, thus giving perfect natural drainage. Tlie roots of the 

 trees" have never been damaged by water. Not being very loamy, the land 

 bears a liberal dressing of manure and^cultivation without running too much to 

 wood. Tlie best twigs grow six inches or a foot in a year. With more loam in 

 the soil, he would have a greater growtli of timber and less fruit. He might 

 have larger apples, but they would not keep so well nor be of so good quality. 

 In Michigan there arc 'many orchards which would stand abuse, — would stand 

 ])oor culture, or no culture and no manure, much better than that of Mr. 

 Bailey. 



THE APl'Ll-; OKCHARD OF WM. JI. MILLEIl, 



Berrien Springs, contained 5i3 trees which had been set two years. They were 

 set twenty-eight by twenty-eight feet, too close for largo trees ou good soil. 

 The soil here was a sandy loam, with reddish clay subsoil, after passing down 

 eight or ten inches. The leading sorts are 103 Wagener, 127 Baldwin, G4 Ben 

 Davis, 40 Ilhode Island Greening, 29 Spies, 28 Mann Apple, 48 Eed Canada, 

 top-grafted, with a few of quite a number of other common sorts. Ho expects 

 to make the most money out of his Ben Davis, considering tlie number of trees. 

 The odd sorts Avith only a few trees were set next to the house. The trees are 

 growing well and were in corn this year. Tiiey have had very good care, except 

 that he has lost nine from the rabbits. His orchard is 140 feet above the river, 

 which lies half a mile away. 



THE APPLE OKCIIARD OF JOSEPH H. WETMORE, 



Allegan, contained trees of several ages. The soil is a dark reddish, heavy 

 loam, a deep and strong soil for farm crops. The surface is quite rolling and 

 rather high. The trees in the orchard entered have been set eight years. There 

 has been on some of the trees on his place a little twig blight for the past ten 

 years. It has not increased any. The 500 trees are for a market orchard, and 

 consist of 125 Baldwins, 150 Greenings, 20 Spies, 20 Yellow Belleilowers, 15 

 Ked Canadas, top-grafted on Colvarts, and several other sorts. They are set 

 30x32 feet. On the ground he has raised a variety of farm crop-, corn, wheat, 

 grass, etc. The heads are quite open in the center. There are some vacancies, 

 mostly caused by rabbits. There is a little fruit, rather more on the trees of 

 Yellow Belleflower, Greening, and Esopus Spitzenburgh, the latter doing very 

 well in this orchard, 



THE APPLE ORCHAED OF DAXIEL ILGENFRITZ, 



Monroe, contains 1,000 trees which have been set two years, and was three years 

 old when set. As Mr, Ilgeufritz was in company Avith his brother in the nur- 

 sery business for some years, and had been a careful observer of the successes 

 and failures of orchards in all parts of that county, and neighboring coun- 

 ties, and as he has now retired from the nursery and gone to planting quite 

 largely to several kinds of fruit, wo were quite interested to see how such a man 

 would start an orchard. Here may be learned by most men lessons well worth 

 remembering. 



The land was strong, rather level with clay subsoil. It was well tiled, three 

 feet or more in depth, the tiles being G2 feet apart. The stumps were all 

 cleared out. The trees are 3Gx3G feet, set quincuuxiallv. The trees were all 

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