THE APPLE. 73 



adjoining states. The large crop in that year resulted from its 

 being a favorable season, and also from the fact that after the 

 severe seasons of some ten years previous, which proved the great 

 value of the Duchess of Oldenburgh, it was largely planted, and 

 these plantings had just commenced to come into heavy bearing 

 condition in 1892. There is every reason to believe that several 

 other varieties will prove even more widely adapted to general cul- 

 tivation here than the Duchess of Oldenburgh. 



In this section apple trees are not so long lived as in a some- 

 what milder climate, but they come into bearing much earlier and 

 are very productive. The profits from properly planted orchards 

 here are far in excess of those realized from Eastern orchards, and 

 orcharding in some parts of this section offers a good field for prof- 

 itable investment. The reason for this is found largely in the 

 superior quality, higher color and generally brighter appearance of 

 our fruit* and the proximity to good markets, together with the 

 fact that our summer and autumn varieties do not come into mar- 

 ket until the great rush of early Southern shipments has ceased 

 and the winter kinds have not commenced to come in. 



Locations Especially Adapted to Orcharding. While 

 apples will undoubtedly be grown in the near future to some ex- 

 tent over the whole of this section, yet at present the facts will 

 only warrant their being planted on a commercial scale, in favor- 

 able locations south of the latitude of St. Paul, and in other loca- 

 tions where the climate may be much equalized by bodies of water 

 and other modifying conditions. There are many excellent loca- 

 tions for orchards on the high rolling land and admirable soils in 

 this section. 



Location of the Apple Orchard. The best location for 

 an apple orchard is on high noithern slopes, tipping down to the 

 northeast, and the steeper the slope the better, providing it does 

 not interfere with cultivation. The northern slope is preferred 

 because it is least affected by drouth, by sudden changes in temper- 

 ature, and by drying winds, which very uniformly come from the 

 south. However, some excellent orchards in the Northwest are 

 located on southern slopes. It is important to plant apple trees on 

 the highest land available. If the elevation is not more than ten 

 feet above the general level of the adjacent land it is a great ad- 

 vantage in furnishing air, drainage, equalizing the temperature in 

 summer and lessening the danger from frost in the blossoming 

 period. 



The Worst Location for an Orchard is what is called a 

 warm, sheltered spot, where the sun has free access and the winds 

 are entirely shut off. Into such a|Jplace the cold air from surround- 

 ing higher elevations settles at night, and while it is the hottest 

 place during the day, it is the coldest at night. Blight and winter 

 killing are apt to be abundant in such places. In some sections, 

 most generally those protected by water, forests or wooded hills 

 but little if any difference is to be noticed in the growth and pro- 



