ORCHARDS — MANURES. 439 



BENJAMIN LEVAN, 



GUTHRIE CENTER, GUTHRIE COUNTY. 



Orchards — Manures — Black Walnut and Cottonwood Fence — 

 Small Cfrain — Corn — Herefords — Raising Calves — Hogs. 



The first sod on my farm was turned in the Summer of 

 1859, twenty years ago. The same season I put up a sub- 

 stantial brick building. In the Summer following I broke the 

 remainder of the farm, making in all about seventy-five acres 

 of tillable farming land. I also, among other improvements, 

 set out about two hundred apple trees, and a wind-break on the 

 west and north of the house and orchard, consisting of cotton- 

 woods, soft maple, black walnut and locust. 



ORCHARDS. 



My apple trees did not do as well as they should or would 

 have done, had I not planted them so close. Trees of that 

 kind want plenty of room and should be at least two rods 

 apart. The greatest enemies to fruit raising I find are the borer 

 and blight, or mildew. For the former I have found a success- 

 ful remedy in whitewashing the bodies of the trees early in the 

 Spring, first adding half a pound of copperas to a patent pail- 

 ful of the wash, just before using it. Also put around the foot 

 of tlie trees leached ashes. For the mildew, I know no better 

 preventive than the selection of such varieties of fruit as are 

 not subject to its ravages. 



MANURES. 



I keep up my farm by continually adding to its fertility 

 by home made manures. I always haul out all the manure 

 right after liarvest. I scatter it from the wagon and plow it 

 under as soon as possible, with the very best of results. It 

 makes big corn next year. 



