THE SUCCESSFUL ORCHARD. 363 



the body from sun-scald, rabbits and other animals. The burlap 

 can be left on until it rots off. Every fall clear the ground next 

 to the tree and put a little dirt smoothly around it so there will 

 be no possible harbor for mice. 



Taking the Wealthy, Duchess or Okabena as a standard for 

 northern varieties, they should come into bearing from three to 

 four years after they are transplanted, producing, perhaps, from a 

 peck to one-half bushel of apples the third season, supposing the 

 tree to have been three years old when set out. The value of a 

 tree when it comes into bearing may be placed at $5.00, because 

 it will pay a good interest on this valuation. Planting them twenty 

 feet apart will make one hundred and nine (109) trees to the 

 acre. Counting the land upon which the trees are usually planted 

 as worth $20.00 per acre, we find the estimated value of an acre 

 so planted would be $565.00. 



It is considered a good investment if 6 per cent profit can be 

 realized on real estate from year to year, but the apple crop can 

 be made to average a much larger per cent of profit per acre upon 

 the valuation above given -if the business is rightly managed. 

 Our neighbor, Dell Howard, has an orchard of eight acres in bear- 

 ing, with several acres more coming into bearing another year. He 

 states that the eight acres he has in bearing bring him a greater 

 profit than any eighty acres on his farm, and his farm is a good one. 

 We have talked with a number of orchardists regarding the value 

 of an apple tree when it comes into bearing. It is impossible to 

 arrive at a definite estimate. Mr. Howard states that he would 

 not take $25.00 apiece for his Wealthy trees when they come into 

 bearing, as they will pay a good interest on that investment. 



We are clearing the timber from off a bluff that is too steep 

 for cultivation, and valuable only for pasturage, but excellent for 

 orchard purposes. As fast as the timber is cleared we are setting 

 out fruit trees, so that by another year we shall have five thousand 

 (5,000) trees in bearing, with several thousand more to be set out 

 in the future. We are making this bluff land valuable, and this 

 statement is no "bluff." 



Commercial orcharding has passed the experimental stage. In 

 1903 we shipped four thousand (4,000) bushels of apples, receiv- 

 ing good prices for the crop. 



Do not plant too many varieties for a commercial orchard. We 

 suggest the following as being of special value : Okabena, Jewell's 

 Winter, Wealthy, Northwest Greening and one or two crabs. We 

 omit the Duchess from this list, not because it isn't a good tree 

 or a good fruit, but as a commercial apple it comes into bearing 



