WEST MICHIGAN FRUIT GROWERS' SOCIETY. 157 



Early peaches, the fruit on several trees standing on a sandy ridge was found 

 to be green and shriveled and about the size of hickory nuts. These trees 

 had not been properly thinned, and carried too many peaches to ripen well 

 except in a favorable season. It was supposed that the fruit was past recovery, 

 but as an experiment a barrel of water was applied to each tree. This revived 

 them perceptibly. Several days later the ground was well soaked by rains 

 and the fruit ripened perfectly, although rather small and a week or more 

 later than trees on heavier soil. Three Smock trees stand in sod near the 

 house where they can not be well cultivated. Two of them received no water 

 and bore no fruit. The third received five barrels of water, or two hundred 

 and fifty gallons, at intervals during the summer whenever the ground 

 seemed very dry. Notwithstanding the tree had stood in sod and had 

 received no cultivation for two years, it bore nearly a bushel of quite large 

 Smocks. If the tree had been cultivated, probably one-half the amount of 

 water would have produced the same results. The experiments undoubtedly 

 prove that surface irrigation during a drouth will enable a tree to ripen a full 

 crop, when if neglected a crop of small, inferior, and often worthless fruit 

 will surely result. 



The time has come when we must adopt a more intensive method of culti- 

 vation. The man who thoroughly cultivates a few acres, looks after the 

 wants of each individual tree or vine, and never tires of studying their vary- 

 ing characteristics, is the one who will ultimately succeed. 



A. C. Glidden of Paw Paw followed with a paper on " Vitality of Apple 

 Orchards." 



PRUNING AND GENERAL CARE OF APPLE ORCHARDS. 



J. G. Eamsdell of South Haven said : The decline or the bad condition 

 of so many apple orchards, is the result of bad management and improper 

 pruning or no pruning at all, and in some instances they have been allowed 

 to overbear without returning to the soil the necessary amount of manure 

 to supply the elements to produce fruit. Constant draft upon the soil will 

 in time starve any fruit tree which bears annually. The trees should not be 

 allowed to carry too much top. If apple trees are properly pruned and fed 

 from year to year, and not allowed to overbear, they will, if the location and 

 soil be what it should be, remain in healthy and thrifty condition very much 

 longer than many of the orchards to be found in every locality. 



H.Dale Adams: I don't agree with Brother Ilamsdell. Don't trim the 

 tree at all if you want to pieserve its vitality. Pruning and overbearing 

 are the causes of the decline in many cases. Near my farm stands an old 

 apple orchard, planted by the Indians. It has never been pruned and has 

 borne but little fruit; yet it is in apparently good condition. The old apple 

 orchards j)lanted by the Indians were found in good, sound condition and con- 

 tinued so much longer than trees planted in later years by the white settlers 

 and cared for. 



J. G. Ramsdell: The statement made by Bro. Adams is not proof that the 

 no-pruning system was the cause of the health and longevity of the Indian 

 orchards. At that time the soil was new, containing all the elements neces- 

 sary to grow any fruit tree. The forest trees were then mostly standing, 

 affording protection. At that time and until most of the forest trees had 

 been destroyed, the peach grew and bore large crops of fruit ; but from some 

 cause a change has come. This may be observed in many other things 



