THE COMMERCIAL APPLE ORCHARD. 285 



THE COMMERCIAL APPLE ORCHARD. 



^ D. K. MICHENER, ETNA. 



(Southern Minnesota Horticultural Society.) 



This is a problem we have been trying to solve for the past forty 

 years, and I see veterans here who could tell you more in five min- 

 utes than I could if you would give me the entire morning- session. 

 It occurs to me that even their wise heads have been puzzled a little 

 at times on this problem. I remember well in the spring of 1858, 

 when father got on the old horse and rode ten miles after the first 

 twenty apple trees, and when he came home we children in youthful 

 anticipation could almost see the budding, blossomingandripening 

 fruit, for we had lived in this sparsely settled territory for more than 

 a year without even smelling an apple. And this ( displaying an 

 apple) is all there is left of that first planting. The old tree died in 

 1885, and this apple grew on a shoot from the root. From that small 

 beginning we kept building until the past season we had three 

 thousand bushels of apples, and still we are all working on the old 

 problem, "The Commercial Apple Orchard " for Minnesota. I re- 

 member, some twenty years ago, when Geo. Bar, a neighbor, was 

 selling hundreds of bushels of Haas, Ben Davis, Fameuse, St. 

 Lawrence and Duchess, at prices that would make us smile at the 

 present time, I thought the problem solved, and that I would try 

 those varieties. But, alas! mine went the way of friend Bar's 

 orchard. He had some Duchess in his orchard, and he has them 

 yet. 



I commenced planting Duchess when they weie first introduced 

 and kept steadily at it; then when friend Jewell said "Young man, 

 you ought to plant some Wealthy trees; it would be a good invest- 

 ment," 1 planted them and have never been sorry. 



But by far the most profitable apple for me up to the present time 

 is the (Now don't all speak at once!) Duchess. I commenced selling 

 them in the early seventy's at two dollars and forty cents per bushel , 

 and the past season at (Whisper it softly! ) twenty-five cents per 

 bushel, but in all that time they have averaged me fully one dollar 

 per bushel. But to plant largely of Duchess now would be a mis- 

 take, but they are so easily and cheaply raised that an orchard 

 should have a good supply of them, we have an abundance of fall 

 and early winter varieties. What we need is a variety combining 

 quality, hardiness of tree and long keeping. As far as keeping 

 qualities are concerned, the Malinda fills the vacancy perfectly. 



I am not going to mention the numerous varieties of new apples 

 looking for a place in our orchards, for you will find people on every 

 hand with their little horns ready to blow for the particular apple 

 they are interested in. But my experience in the apple business in 

 Minnesota has taught me that the Arctic blizzards have done the 

 most effective blowing. I think it best to confine ourselves to a few 

 varieties like Tetofsky, Duchess and Wealthy— though the Wealthy 

 is not quite up to the standard of hardiness for fall and early winter 

 varieties — I do not think you will find any better market apples in 

 their season, for if they are cheap anything else would be. You 



