170 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 



would be complete failures. In almost any soil of the North- 

 west the chances of trees living and doing well would be in- 

 creased by the use of a mulch around them, but this is especially 

 true of trees on sandy land and in southern exposures. It is 

 generally best to cultivate the land around trees when they are 

 small; but if they are set on sod land, or after they begin to 

 bear, or if they suffer from drouth, they should be heavily 

 mulched at once, and this should be renewed as often as nec- 

 essary to keep a covering five or six inches in depth on the 

 ground at all times extending at least four feet on all sides of the 

 tree, and, in the case of larger trees, extending out as far as 

 the branches. Trees that are mulched should for best results 

 have the mulch removed and the soil spaded up around them 

 each spring. Mulch, however, encourages the presence of mice 

 which are liable to gnaw the bark from the stems which must 

 be protected against them. 



The varieties of the apple differ greatly in their resistance 

 to severe climatic conditions. Some varieties have wonderful 

 hardiness and recuperative qualities and are adapted to a wide 

 range as, for instance the Oldenburg, Baldwin, Ben Davis and 

 Tolman Sweet, while others are adapted only to a limited range, 

 like the Newtown Pippin. There are a large number of differ- 

 ent kinds, although but few of them are cultivated in a large 

 way commercially. The varieties of the first degree of hardiness 

 are recommended by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society 

 and may be taken as illustrating the kinds that should be tried in 

 the most severe northern sections. They are Hibernal, Duchess 

 of Oldenburg, Charlamoff, Patten's Greening and Okabena. 

 This list illustrates the way in which we are developing an 

 American pomology of our own, for of this list the first three 

 are of northern European origin and the last two are American 

 seedlings; one, Patten's Greening, originated in northern Iowa; 

 the other, Okabena, originated in southwestern Minnesota. 



The principal varieties of apples cultivated in the large 

 commercial orchards of the chief apple-growing regions include 

 the Baldwin, Ben Davis, Gano, Winesap, Greening, Grimes Gold- 

 en, Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, Northern Spy, Oldenburg, Tol- 

 man Sweet and Wealthy. 



