FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 67 



assistant United States pomologist, Michigan in 1888 took second place 

 in yield among the apple producing states of the Union, The apple 

 crop of Michigan that year amounted to 13,154,626 bushels. This yield 

 was exceeded by a few hundred thousand bushels by that of the state of 

 Ohio, and was followed by that of Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, 

 New York and Virginia in the order named. At the present time, no 

 very recent statistics being available, Mr. Taylor is inclined to believe 

 the apple yield of Michigan falls a little below that of Missouri, New 

 York and Illinois. 



According to statistics, compiled by the Secretary of State, Michigan 

 had, in 1898, about 196,541 acres in apple orchards. As no material 

 change has taken place since '98, we will, for convenience, assume this 

 to be the present apple acreage in the State. Of the number of acres 

 in orchards above mentioned, 142,054 are in the southern four tiers of 

 counties. These figures represent nearly three-fourths of the entire 

 apple acreage of the State. Taking the counties of the State as a whole 

 into consideration, Oakland is in the lead, with 9,096 acres of apple 

 orchards. Allegan, Berrien, Kent, Van Buren, Lenawee and Washte- 

 naw counties follow in the order named, with areas varying from 5,500 

 to about 7,000 acres. Among the northern counties of the Lower 

 Peninsula, Grand Traverse has the largest area in orchards, some 

 2,277 acres in all. Next in order among the larger apple producing 

 counties of that section come Leelanau, Mason, Antrim, Manistee, 

 Charlevoix, Benzie and Osceola counties. In the Upper Peninsula 

 plantings have been light, aggregating only 618 acres in all counties. 

 Delta county has 195 acres, Menominee 98 and Marquette 73. These 

 three counties have the largest acreage for that section. Prof. Taft 

 considers prospects good for hardy, apples in nearly all counties of the 

 Upper Peninsula. He expects to make very extensive plantings at the 

 new Experiment Station in Alger county next spring. 



The general condition of Michigan apple orchards is well known. 

 Nearly everywhere, especially in the lower counties, one meets with 

 old neglected apple trees. Most of them are in sod and have suffered 

 much from bad i^runing or from entire lack of pruning. The tops have 

 become a tangled mass of brush and dead wood, and the fruit produced 

 is often scabby, wormy and almost worthless. With such conditions 

 as these existing, a good many farmers have become discouraged with 

 apple growing and have made stove wood of their trees. During the 

 11 years intervening between 1887 and 1898 there was a falling off of 

 15,l62 acres of apple orchards in the State. This condition did not 

 prevail in other lines of fruit growing. During the period just men- 

 tioned the acreage of peach orchards in the State very nearly quad- 

 rupled. This, decrease in apple acreage has taken place mostly in the 

 lower counties of the State, and in some instances has amounted to 

 about one-third of the original acreage of the county. There has also 

 been some falling off in a part of the central counties of the State, but 

 when we come to the northwestern counties we find that to a certain 

 extent there is a reverse of conditions. More new orchards have been 

 planted in that section, and in some counties the area set to apple or- 

 chards has doubled during the 11 years mentioned. If present indica- 

 tions can be relied upon, this northwestern section will, in the course 

 of a few years, become the largest apple producing district of Mich- 

 igan. 



