ORCHARD PRACTICE IN WASHINGTON. 365 



ORCHARD PRACTICE IN WASHINGTON AS 

 APPLICABLE TO MINNESOTA. 



H. E. BURNLEY, ZILLAH, WASH. 



In the southern half of Minnesota extensive orchards are so few 

 and scattered, that the novice intending to start an orchard finds 

 few to whom he can turn for advice; at least, I found this to be the 

 case in what little orchard work I did while living in Minnesota. 

 After having been engaged in orchard work for nearly a year in the 

 state of Washington, I can look back and see how some of my mis- 

 takes and those of others of my acquaintance could have been 

 avoided. 



When your secretary requested me to write something for the so- 

 ciety, I decided the best I could do would be to give what little ex- 

 perience I have gained here in an orchard country for the benefit of 

 those members who have not had the same opportunity. 



The orchard practice in use in this section by the best growers is 

 the same as the California practice, but modified to suit the differ- 

 ent conditions of this more northern state. The methods used here 

 deserve notice on account of the great and growing importance of 

 the fruit industry of this section. The area of orchards is estimated 

 to be 4,000 acres in this county alone. The transportation of fruit to 

 St. Paul is about $125.00 per car less than from California points. 

 The high altitude and abundance of sunlight here gives apples and 

 pears a color and keeping quality hard to excel. 



Pears, plums and prunes come into season here at a time when 

 the California supply is exhausted, insuring fancy prices for the 

 same, while the Washington prune is as good as any on the market. 

 These and other facts add to the importance of this as a fruit coun- 

 try and make the methods that have proved successful here well 

 worth copying in states which have had but little horticultural ex- 

 perience of their own. As to the varieties of the different fruits to 

 plant, this state is not a fit model for Minnesota. Select from those 

 hardy varieties that have stood the test of time in your climate. 

 For planting I would recommend one or two year old "whips," as 

 the shock to transplanting is not so great as to an older tree, and 

 the results, as a rule, are more satisfactory. 



The age of the tree also cuts some figure in the pruning, a subject 

 to which I want to pay special attention, as it is the one least likely 

 to be understood by the amateur. A man about to prune his first 

 tree generally marches around it two or three times, and at last 

 gingerly snips off the ends of any branches that project beyond the 

 rest. This only adds to the evil that usually exists; that is, that the 

 top is too thick, and this shortening in onlj^ tends to make it more 

 dense. When the tree is set out, it should be immediately pruned 

 with regard to the formation of the future "head." If "whips" are 

 used, they can be cut back to the proper distance from the ground, 

 leaving at leastthree healthy buds at the top to produce the branches 

 that are to form the head. There is ample opportunity for discus- 

 sion as to what this proper distance is. The tree must not be headed 



