ORCHARDING ON THE FARM. Ill 



Mr. A. B. Lyman : What was the condition of the ground in 

 1884-5? Wet or dry? 



Mr. Underwood: It was dry. 



Mr. Busse: Does it make any difference in the bHghting of 

 trees whether the ground has been mulched or cultivated? 



Mr. Underwood: That subject is a little too deep to touch up- 

 on. I find no difference. You will find blight under any and 

 all conditions you can name. Cultivation or no cultivation, wet or 

 dry, I guarantee you will find blight. 



Mrs. A. A. Kennedy: Did you raise plums this year? 

 Mr. Underwood: We did. 



Mrs. Kennedy: We cultivated our plums but we had none. 

 Mr. A. W. Latham: I have had quite a little experience with 

 grapes. Mr. Kellogg's question as to root-killing of his grapes 

 gives me an opportunity to speak of the practice followed in my 

 vineyard. I always plowed my vineyard in the spring with a one 

 horse plow', throwing the earth away from the vines, and in the 

 fall the vineyard is plowed the other way. The last thing in the 

 fall the earth is thrown toward the vines by the plow, and this leaves 

 a loose surface four or five inches deep, and I never have had any 

 trouble wdth root-killing. Even four years ago when root-killing 

 was so prevalent my vineyard was practically immune. Another 

 thing we did in our vineyard — and I don't see why it would not 

 apply to orchards — another thing w^e did was to trim all the roots 

 off the vines for a distance of four inches down from the surface of 

 the ground. When the vines' were young we dug down and cut 

 away the roots, repeating this root pruning process every other 

 fall. In the spring and fall we plow the ground, and there being 

 no roots near the surface we have a mulch of earth four or five 

 inches deep and no roots. 



The proof of any theory is in the practice, and those of us 

 who know about Mr. Underwood's orchard know that the theory 

 of cultivation early and late, it does not matter how late, is the 

 successful one in practice with him. It has been necessary for me 

 to know sometimes where to find fruit for various purposes, and 

 if it was not to be had anywhere else I knew it could be obtained 

 of Mr. Underwood, because his orchard bears fine fruit every year. 

 In the last number of the Horticulturist, which most of you take 

 and some of you occasionally glance over, was published an article 

 that I prepared to read at the Wisconsin meeting. In connection 

 with that article there Avas published replies to a list of questions 

 which were sent out to sixteen or eighteen of the principal fruit 

 growers of the northwest. The purpose of the questions was to 

 get a little information, and the fact I want to emphasize here is 

 that the questions brought out this thought, which I found ran 

 through all the answers : that the problem of orcharding in the 

 northwest is that of the conservation of moisture, and all the re- 

 phes of those orchardists. without realizing, perhaps, themselves 

 always just what the situation was, pointed directly to that fact, that 

 the thing they were trying to do was to get and save moisture for 

 their apple trees. I am convinced from my own observation that 



