8 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



The climate and soil of the Northern United States 

 and of Canada are peculiarly well adapted to the growth 

 of the apple, and no country in the world can produce 

 apples of so fine quality, so brilliantly colored, or that 

 w^ll keep so long. Our fruit has almost a world-wide 

 reputation, and European and other countries ought in 

 the future to consume more and more of it, both in a 

 fresh or in some preserved condition. It is a fruit 

 that yields heavy crops, as many as twenty barrels hav- 

 ing been obtained from a single tree, and five hundred 

 barrels have been produced on an orchard of two acres. 

 Such crops, however, cannot be grown except under the 

 most favorable condition of soil and skillful care. 



THE SOIL 



Tlie land best suited to the growth of the apple 

 is a deep, moist loam, but it will produce some fruit 

 upon almost any soil, except one that is very wet or 

 composed largely of sand. As with all other crops the 

 margin for a profit is small and one about to start inlo 

 apple groAving *for profit should carefully investigate 

 the condition of soil, and not invest largely until well 

 satisfied that the land selected is naturally adapted to 

 the growth of this fruit. 



The slope and exposure of the land are of consider- 

 able importance. High land is generally better than 

 that situated in the valleys, though the soil often is 

 not of as good quality, but there is a good circulation 

 of air about the trees on the high land, and fungous 

 diseases are not so troublesome, and late frosts in the 

 spring and early frosts in the fall are not liable to cut 

 off the crop. There is little choice as to the exposure 

 unless in a given locality there is more danger of high 

 winds, when the trees are loaded with fruit, from one 

 direction than another. Sloping land is much more 

 difficult to cultivate than level land and much of the 



