PRODUCTIVENESS OF HARDY APPLES. 103 



crop every year. Here is the great danger to the Wealthy, its pro- 

 pensity of destroying itself by over-production. Not knowing this, 

 we let three trees at ten years old produce ten barrels of fruit in one 

 year; the next spring not one of those trees showed a sign of life, 

 although the winter was not hard on the other apple trees in the 

 same locality. The best way to manage the Wealthy to get the most 

 benefit from them and have them live, is to take off at least half the 

 apples that set each year, give them plenty of fertilizing and keep 

 them well mulched. Here is another source of productiveness often 

 overlooked or neglected by those who would be successful apple 

 growers; that is, the keeping the trees mulched and clean for four 

 or five feet about their trunks. 



If we were to arrange the varieties of apples that have fruited on 

 our grounds, not including- those we have grown from seed, accord- 

 ing to their productiveness, we would put them in the following 

 order, viz.: Wealthy, Duchess, Minnesota, Haas, Virginia crab, 

 Transcendent, with others so nearlj^ alike in productiveness 

 that if we divide them into three classes, calling Wealthy, No. 1, 

 Duchess, No. 2 and Minnesota, No. 3, many would be classed 

 in No. 2 and No. 3. I have a seedling ahead of No. 1 for productive- 

 ness, having given fruit at six years old from the seed and annually 

 since, being now eight years. It is a very early apple, ripening in 

 August, before the Tetofsky; it has never shown any blight, and> 

 being ripe so early, before other varieties, it is called extra good by 

 all who have sampled it. I have noticed that the same variety of 

 apple trees gives more and larger fruit in a wet year than in a dry one 

 and that the trees setting on naturally damp, fertile ground, other 

 things about their location being the same, give larger and more 

 fruit than when set on dry, poor soil. 



Mr. Clark: I would like to ask the gentleman if he has the 

 Hibernal. 



Mr. Akin: I have, and every one blighted. I bought them 

 under that name. 



PRUNING APPLE TREES -WHY, WHEN AND HOW? 



S. D. RICHARDSON, WINNEBAGO CITY. 

 WHY? 



I prune trees to keep them from growing too tall; to keep them 

 from forming the top mostly on the north-east side; to remove one 

 limb where two limbs crowd each other; to remove dead wood; and 

 when trees get to bearing it is desirable to remove enough of the 

 lower limbs to enable a person to pick up apples from the ground 

 bj' getting on their knees. 



A few years ago Mr. Harris was looking over some of my trees and 

 made the retnark that my trees would not bear good unless I pruned 

 them some. I said I would know better in a few j-^ears, "that the 

 proof of the pudding was in the eating."' This year those trees were 

 full of apples, and the lower limbs had the most apples, for the wind 

 could not blow thein off. 



