go THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



These orchards, in most cases, have not paid and can 

 never be made to pay, for the reason that they are too far 

 gone, or are made up of too many unprofitable varieties. 



Admitting that apples can be grown on our hills at a 

 profit when given proper care, the first thing to be consid- 

 ered is the soil and location. The soil should be naturally 

 strong and fertile, capable of holding moisture, but not 

 wet ; the underlying rock should not be too near the sur- 

 face, for, if it is, in seasons of severe drought the whole 

 depth of soil becomes dry, the trees lose their leaves, and 

 the crop of fruit is injured. 



The surface should be sufficiently smooth and free from 

 stone to admit of easy cultivation. Loose stones do not 

 check the trees' growth, but they make cultivation more diffi- 

 cult and expensive. I would not advise any one to set an 

 orchard where the ground cannot be cultivated, on account 

 of the slow growth the trees will make, and the longer time 

 it will take to get them to bearing. 



In selecting varieties of apples to plant in a commercial 

 orchard do not be guided merely by your own personal lik- 

 ings ; remember that such varieties as the markets call for 

 must be selected. Do not set too many varieties : dealers 

 do not like to handle a lot of apples made up of several va- 

 rieties. What they want is a lot composed of from one to 

 three kinds of the standard market sorts. Select varieties 

 that are known to do well in your vicinity, not the standard 

 sorts of some other portion of the country ; and, unless you 

 have a near and sure market that calls for early and fall 

 fruit, set only winter varieties. 



Fit the land as for other crops before setting the trees. 

 Do not plant the trees too close. If the soil is strong and 

 the variety planted a good grower, 40 or even 50 feet apart 

 each way, will be none too great a distance when the trees 

 come to full bearing. In planting my own orchard the 

 trees were set 24 feet apart each way. After 18 years 

 growth the trees in the best portion of the orchard began to 

 meet, so that every other tree had to be removed or all the 

 trees would have been injured. If every other tree is sure to 

 be dug out as soon as the branches begin to touch, it may 

 be advisable to plant apples 24 feet apart ; but unless one has 



