48 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



I should root i)nnK' tliciii. If one niethod doesn't work, use 

 another. 1 would broadcast the fertilizer over the whole sur- 

 face, not up against the trunk, because the feeding roots are 

 on the extremities every time. 



Question. Is it inexpedient or a bad ])lan to set out an 

 orchard if care is taken to fertilize and to keep the earth 

 within three or four feet of the tree dug np for a few years 

 before ready to plow ? 



^\v. Dkt;w. That method is practically nsed by one of the 

 best, if not the best, fruit growers in Xew England, A. A. 

 ^Marshall of Fitchburg; but in spite of that fact I do not think 

 ordinary people would succeed with it. 



Question. Wonld yon set jSTorthern Spies and then graft 

 over to Mcintosh or Baldwins ? 



]\rr. Dkew. Under ideal conditions that is all right ; but 

 yon are taking a great many chances, — a dry season when 

 the bnds will not take, insects that eat the buds, canker from 

 an imperfect union. There is no question but what the North- 

 ern Spy stock and the Tolman Sweet are the strongest. 



]\[r. Burs ley. How would you proceed to set trees on 

 rough ground that could not be plowed ? 



Mr. Dkew. T should set out the trees and then spade 

 around them by hand. ITan.d labor is more costly than team 

 labor, as a rule, but there are thousands of acres in New Eng- 

 land where fine fruit could be grown in that way. 



Question. What do you think of pulting pigs into a piece 

 of land that is rough and stony ? 



Mr. Dkew. I would put the pigs in before I set out the 

 orchard ; T would not have them in afterward. 



]\rr. TuKNEK. What is the difference between the Snow 

 and the jMcIntosh ? 



Mr. Drew. The Snow apple belongs to the same group of 

 apples as the !McTntosh. It is smaller, not as delicate in 

 flavor and does not adapt itself to so wide a country. It will 

 keep possibly a little longer, but won't sell with the ]\[cIntosh 

 and is too small to box. The ^fclntosh has all the good qual- 

 ities of the Snow apple without the imperfections. 



Mr. Euwix. What is your cold-storage system for apples? 



