110 State Horticultural Society. 



many amateurs would not plant the same variety under two or three dif- 

 ferent names or pay an exorbitant price for trees propagated in a special 

 way and on special stocks, which never approached a reality nearer than 

 the incubation of the idea in the brain of some schemer who wanted 

 something for nothing. We simply refer to this as a caution in making a 

 bad start. Alany good men have been shipwrecked in commercial orchard 

 ventures because of bad beginning, so we trust our diversion will be 

 pardonable. 



Good, well-grown trees should be selected, grown as near home as 

 possible. Be careful not to plant too deep, keeping in mind that tree 

 roots can be starved for want of sunlight and air. Do your thinning in 

 the early life of your orchard, shaping your trees and trimming them,. 

 I<eeping in mind the fact that extreme changes in sap temperature are 

 very injurious to trees, causing them to die in spots, forming canker, 

 etc., while our trees should not be allowed to grow too thick inside, yet 

 they should be formed so that the force of the sun's rays would be broken 

 both in the summer and the winter. 



How best to cultivate depends largely on local conditions. As a 

 general rule it is best to cultivate regularly until the orchard comes to 

 bearing. After this, in some sections and upon some soils, it is best to sow 

 clover, cov/peas, or grow some grass crop and mow it twice a year, 

 leaving the crop on the ground for mulch. Some have splendid success 

 by continuous surface cultivation during the season. In applying the 

 different modes of cultivation to our orchards we should study the na- 

 ture of our soil, the location and the effect of the cultivation and treat- 

 ment about to be applied, and not go ahead on the theory that because 

 Smith, in IVIissouri or Illinois, by treating his orchard a certain way 

 made a success the same treatment will succeed with us. 



Commercial orchards are being planted on a large scale in many 

 sections of* the apple region. Large contiguous blocks, reaching one 

 to three thousand acres, are being handled successfully, yet we believe 

 that the same number of trees planted in lo to 20-acre plats would give 

 better results. It has occurred to us in our observations, covering a 

 number of years, that it would be better in planting 40 or 80 acres, as 

 the case may be, to plant in blocks, leaving avenues at least 100 yards 

 wide which could be cultivated in small fruits or other crops. Our rea- 

 son for this is that in our experience in packing apples we have found 

 that, after the trees have become large the limbs reach, or almost reach, 

 each other. We have often found that the fruit is not so perfect in the 

 large orchards as it is in the smaller ones, and have come to the conclu- 

 sion that it is easier to combat the ravages of insects and fungi in the 

 smaller plats than it is in the very large plantations. As the extended 



