September, i 9 2o BETTER FRUIT 



Apple Crop Estimated at 175,000 Cars 



THE Denver & Rio Grande Railroad The total estimated shipment of 

 Company has recently issued a commercial apples for North America 

 report on the estimated volume of this for this season is 175,500 carloads, 

 year's commercial apple crop in the Barrels are scarce and are costing 

 United States and Canada. The re- growers from $1.25 to .$1.50; boxes 

 port is based upon data secured from are costing growers from 27 to 32c. 

 personal night letter reports received It is predicted a large volume of 

 from members of the American Rail- apples will move in bulk, 

 way Development Association living The average all-around condition or 

 in commercial apple districts of the quality is 70 per cent against a ten- 

 United States and also stale board of year average of 61 per cent, 

 agriculture statisticians, the fruit com- The final estimate of the apple crop 

 missioner of Canada and Canadian in the United States for 1919 was 

 Pacific Railroad. about 130,000 cars. 



_ % of Crop Estimated Volume of Container 



District I'JIO 1920 1020 Crop in Cars Used 



1. New York 34 86 20,000 Bbl. 



2. Penn 40 80 2,150 Bbl. 



3. Md., Va. and W. Va 43 62 22,000 Bbl. 



4. S. E. Group (Tcnn., Ga., Ala., N. C.) 25 68 3,750 Bbl. & Box 



5. Michigan 42 82 11,730 Bbl. 



6. Ohio and Ind 20 65 « 7,000 Bbl. & Bu. Bskl. 



7. Illinois 26 65 9,000 Bbl. 



8. Ozarks (Mo. and Ark.) 72 47 5,230 Bbl. 



9. Colo, and Utah 58 79 4,500 Box 



10. N. W. District (Mont.. Ida., Wash, and 



Oregon) 81 71 25,000 Box 



11. Canada 90 70 12,600 Bbl. & Box 



Transplanting Deciduous Fruit Trees 



By J. C. Whitten, Professor of Pomology, University of California 



THE growth and development made 

 by a deciduous fruit tree the first 

 years it is in the orchard is perhaps 

 more important in determining its pro- 

 ductivity and efficiency than is any 

 other year in its life history. In handl- 

 ing the tree every possible precaution 

 should be taken to avoid drying the 

 roots by unnecessary exposure to the 

 air; the roots should not be bent or 

 kinked in planting; dead, fibrous root- 

 lets should be pruned away; the roots 

 should not be exposed to freezing tem- 

 peratures; usually the tree should be 

 set no deeper than it stood in the 

 nursery (most fruit trees are set too 

 deep) ; the soil should be pressed firmly 

 about the roots; the roots should not 

 be bruised in handling; roots and tops 

 should be properly pruned at the time 

 of planting; the tree should be white- 

 washed as soon as possible after plant- 

 ing in winter. Most of these suggestions 

 are well understood by the experienced 

 fruit grower; most of them are well 

 neglected by the average operator who 

 plants the tree. If most of our trans- 

 planted fruit trees live we are apt to 

 think they were properly handled. As 

 a matter of fact fruit trees are tenacious 

 of life. They may endure lots of abuse 

 and still live, but abuse weakens them. 

 In my judgment more than half the 

 fruit trees planted yearly in the United 

 States make less than half the growth 

 they should make the first year in the 

 orchard. These observations should not 

 be regarded as a reflection upon the 

 fruit grower, for it is the successful 

 fruit grower with whom I have been 

 intimately associated, who first called 

 these suggestions to my attention. Some 

 of them have been still farther empha- 

 sized by investigations which these 

 fruit growers stimulated. 



Before planting the trees the soil 

 should be plowed to a good depth and 

 as carefully pulverized as is required 



for a seed bed. If there is a hard plow- 

 sole beneath, the plow should be fol- 

 lowed by a subsoiler. If the land is 

 crusty or cloddy on top, it should be 

 disked to pulverize the surface before 

 plowing. This avoids turning under 

 large clods, which can not be pulver- 

 ized by the disk or harrow after the 

 plowing is done. Such clods turned 

 under leave air spaces which will dry 

 out. If the subsoil is reasonably porous, 

 the use of dynamite will not be neces- 

 sary. If there is a shell of impervious 

 hardpan a few feet below the surface it 

 is advisable to explode a stick or half 

 stick of dynamite below each tree hole 

 to crack through the hardpan shell to 

 porous subsoil below. If hard subsoil 

 is too deep to crack through to a porous 

 layer beneath, the value of dynamite is 

 doubtful. It may form an undrained 

 water pocket below the tree. Dynamite 

 should be used only when the subsoil 

 is dry and brittle, so it will be shat- 

 tered by the blast. Dynamiting wet 

 wet subsoil puddles it. 



If the soil has been thoroughly work- 

 ed throughout the orchard, the holes 

 should be dug only deep enough and 

 wide enough to accommodate the nat- 

 ural spread of the roots of the trees. If 

 the holes are dug deep the soil and 

 young trees may settle after planting, 

 leaving the tree set too deep. If, how- 

 ever, replants are being set in an estab- 

 lished orchard the holes should be dug 

 deep and broad enough to cut back the 

 roots of surrounding trees, so they can 

 not compete with the roots of the re- 

 plant. Often the roots of three or four 

 year old trees may spread to the open- 

 ings where replants have died out. 



Every reasonable precaution should 

 be taken to avoid exposure of the roots 

 of the trees to the air in handling. The 

 tops of trees are adapted to exposure 

 to dry air; the roots are not. Even under 

 favorable conditions the roots of trees 



Page ip 



are necessarily exposed more than is 

 good for them, between digging in the 

 nursery and setting in the orchard. 

 When received from the nursery, trees 

 should be "heeled" in a trench, getting 

 moist soil pressed firmly in contact with 

 the roots as soon as possible. In handl- 

 ing trees to "heel" them in or to plant 

 them in the orchard the roots should be 

 dipped in a thin "puddle" of soil and 

 water to hold a moist layer on the roots 

 and avoid drying. Careful experiments 

 covering several seasons show that any 

 exposure of the roots to drying out 

 weakens them, and that the more they 

 are exposed between digging and plant- 

 ing the less growth they make, the 

 larger percentage that will die the first 

 season and the more susceptible they 

 become to sunscald, borers and many 

 other troubles. 



It is a fact not heretofore generally 

 known that the roots of fruit trees are 

 easily injured by slight freezing. The 

 roots are adapted to soil temperatures 

 which rarely fall more than a few de- 

 grees below freezing, even in northern 

 climates. Careful investigations show 

 that the roots of our hardiest fruit 

 trees, such as the northern native plum, 

 are usually killed at a temperature of 

 twenty-two degrees, or ten degrees be- 

 low freezing. The roots of peaches, 



ATTENTION! 



Boys 



and 



Girls 



I want to hear from every boy and 

 girl who would be willing to devote 

 just about one hour's spare time. I 

 will reward them for their services 

 with choice of the following articles: 

 Premo Cameras 

 Raincapes 

 Rain Hats 

 Flashlights 



Beautiful pencil boxes with as- 

 sortment of pencils and pens 

 Fancy stationery, and many 

 other beautiful articles. 

 And for those who would like to 

 start in the Poultry business, f will 

 start them by supplying pure-bred 

 Chickens Free. 



For full particulars enter your 

 name and address on the coupon be- 

 low and tell me what you would like 

 to have. I will tell you how easy it 

 is to get it. 



B. MARCUM, 



Director of Circulation, 

 sun Oregonian Bldg., Portland. Oregon. 



Please (ell me how I r:in secure 



(name article 



desired.) 

 Mj name is 



Address 



Post Office 



