THE APPLE ORCHARD IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER. 325 



THE APPLE ORCHARD IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER. 



J. P. ANDREWS^ FARIBAULT, 



These two months are to the orchardist the busiest months 

 of the year, and on the work done during this period the success 

 of the orchard depends. 



As to pruning-, httle need be done except to remove any dry 

 Hmbs or Wight, which should be cut away and burned. One of the 

 most important matters in the orchard to attend to is one that is 

 too often entirely neglected. Fruit well grown is half sold, and 

 to grow fruit to perfection it must have an abundance of moisture, 

 and to be sure of having plenty of moisture in this dry climate at 

 this dry season of the year the ground must be thoroughly well culti- 

 cated or heavily mulched. If mulching is practiced, it should be put 

 on when the ground is well saturated and before the dry season 

 begins. If cultivation is practiced it should commence as soon as the 

 ground is suitable to work in the spring and continued at intervals 

 of a week or two, depending somewhat on the weather, until the 

 fruit is nearly or quite grown. 



Gathering the crop is too often all the work that is done in the 

 orchard during the year, and yet the trees keep on bearing year 

 after year — perhaps not quite as perfect fruit as if we took better 

 care of them but altogether too good for the care bestowed upon 

 them. The methods adopted in gathering and marketing will de- 

 pend so much upon the size of the orchard crop and the market 

 that it is difficult to mention any mode of procedure that would 

 be suited to all cases. The small orchardist who has a near mar- 

 ket will provide himself simply with stepladders and plenty of 

 bushel baskets, gather the fruit directly into the baskets, set 

 them into a spring wagon and deliver them directly to his cus- 

 tomers, either consumers or dealers, at his near-by market town, 

 and get a good price, while his neighbor farmer, who hauls his 

 apples to the same market in a lumber wagon in sacks, can hardly 

 give them away. 



It is best to make two grades. On the first grade yoii can set 

 the price, on the second grade you can accept the price the cus- 

 tomer sets or work them up into cider and vinegar — but be very 

 careful and don't let the cider get too hard before using. 



The orchardist who is into it on a more extensive scale will 

 provide bushel boxes and barrels in advance for the crop he has to 

 ship. Stepladders, securely mounted on hand or push carts, that 

 have a small platform at bottom and shelf at top, are more easily 

 placed for most of the picking, using smaller ladders for the cen- 

 tral part of the trees. 



