FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 99 



HORTICULTURAL SESSION. 



Friday Afternoon. 



The chair -svas occupied by C. F, Hale, Shelby, president of the State 

 Horticultural Society. The band of the State Industrial School for Boys 

 was present and furnished several pieces of music which were encored. 

 Miss Bertha Wellman was expected to furnifeh a recitation, but was 

 unable to be present, and Mr. A. J. Anderson kindly responded with 

 several selections. 



THE APPLE ORCHAKD AND ITS NEEDS. 



BY A. P. GRAY. TRAVERSE CITY. 



The essentials of profitable apple growing may be grouped under seven 

 different heads : 1, thorough preparation of the soil before the trees are 

 set ; 2, selecting desirable varieties ; 3, cultivation ; 4, fertility ; 5, pruning ; 

 6, thinning; 7, spraying. 



There has probably been more stress laid upon spraying during the last 

 decade than upon all the others combined. This is just as it should have 

 been, being the latest of them all, somewhat expensive, and rathier dis- 

 agreeable, and it was necessary to make it very emphatic until fruit grow- 

 ers became aroused to its importance. This has been pretty well 

 accomplished, and now it would be well to bring the other essentials up 

 with it, for there are more orchards suffering from starvation than from 

 any other cause. 



Tillage and fertility then would rank first in the list for the majority 

 of orchards. Cultivate early and thoroughly until about the middle of 

 July and secure a thrifty growth of some kind of cover crop after that 

 date by a liberal use of fertilizers containing nitrogen for the cover crop, 

 and phosphoric acid and potash for the fruit. The cover crop has a 

 quadruple capacity of robbing the trees for the time being, thus checking 

 their growth and causing early maturity of the new wood, and consequent 

 safety from winter killing; holding the leaves and the snow, and supply- 

 ing humus to the soil. When our cover crop becomes humus, it still has a 

 triple capacity of making the soil loose and porous, it has a sponge-like 

 quality of holding water, and finally adding fertility. This cover crop 

 may be crimson clover, where protected by snow during the winter, or the 

 mammoth variety anywhere, rye or oats. The objection to those crops 

 that live through the winter is the temptation of letting them grow for a 

 time in the spring, thereby losing the early cultivation necessary to an 

 early growth and conserving moisture. We have had very satisfactory 

 results by seeding the alternate strips to mammoth clover and cultivating 



