i66 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[November, 



tree, and it will bear as heavy manuring as 

 can be given, not only without injury but 

 with positive advantage. Some old trees 

 grafted twenty years ago to the JSTorthern 

 Spy gave him more apples the past fall than 

 all the trees in the young orchard planted a 

 little later. The Northern Spy on old trees 

 has a habit of bearing a little every year, 

 though every other season the crop is nearly 

 twice as great as in the off years. It takes 

 young Northern Spy trees so long to get into 

 bearing that there is little profit in setting 

 out young trees of this variety, but there is 

 none better for regrafting old orchards that 

 do not produce good fruit. 



Large Orchards.— A. R. AVhitney, of 

 Franklin Grove, 111., has now about 170 acrts 

 in apple orchards (according to the Prairie 

 Farmer), and he has expectations that the 

 crop this year will reach 1S,000 barrels. The 

 orchard is larger than the famous Chapin or- 

 chard, of East Bloomfield, N. Y., which oc- 

 cupies about 1-25 acres, but not nearly so large 

 as that of Robert McKinstry, of Hudson, N. 

 Y., covering about 275 acres. Mr. Chapin 

 had 10,000 barrelsjof apples in 1S79, which sold 

 for $17,000. Mr. Kinstry had 20,000 barrels 

 in 187S, and about the same in other years. 

 He raised most largely Rhode Island Green- 

 ing, Baldwin and Tompkins King, and sev- 

 eral others in less numbers. Mr. Whitney 

 finds Red Astrachan, Maiden's Blush, Willow 

 Twig and Dominion, most profitable in that 

 region of Illinois. Single trees, in some in- 

 stances, have given SI. 50 each. The Yellow 

 Bellflower proves worthless ; the trees give 

 only a single crop, and that was after a severe 

 root-pruning. Bailey Sweet has been a valu- 

 able sort. When the price of Mr. Whitney's 

 apples are not over $1.25, he converts them 

 to vinegar ; at three dollars a barrel they are 

 quite profitable. On this prairie soil lime is 

 very beneficial; and to apply it old mortar 

 was spread under the trees, and was worth 

 ten dollars a tree. There is no doubt that be 

 gives his orchard intelligent management and 

 has not grown poor in taking care of it. 



The Chicago Tribune is of the opinion that 

 the prices of fruit will never be low again in 

 this country. The facilities of transportation 

 are so abundant and the foreign demand for 

 evaporated fruit so constant and increasing 

 that fruit-growing in the United States may 

 be considered established as a paying busi- 

 ness "while grass grows and water runs." 

 Thus the production of standard fruit is an 

 increasing business, and not only seedsmen 

 and nurserymen are profiting from it, but 

 those who give most attention to orchards, 

 vineyards, berry gardens, etc., find their in- 

 terests rapidly on the increase. Our railroads 

 carry fruits and their products hundreds of 

 miles, and render possible tlie cultivation of 

 flourishing orchards on hitherto isolated hills 

 which were abandoned to the wilderness. 

 Dried fruit is wanted in most foreign coun- 

 tries. Canned fruit is carried from our great 

 seaports to "the end of the earth," and pro- 

 fitably sold. Many of the European peasants 

 use our jams instead of butter on their bread. 

 Dehydrated or evaporated fruit, better than 

 all other kinds, is of general acceptance 

 wherever offered, and valued equally with 

 the fresh products. Within the last ten years 

 the amount of raw fruit brought into Eng- 



land from the United States is something as- 

 tonishing. In 1871 there were but .56,441 

 bushels, valued at £40,604 ; but in 1882 there 

 were 1,065,075 received in Great Britain 

 from this country, worth £387,190 or Sl,881,- 

 734.40. The outlook for the American fruit 

 grower is most favorable, and those of the 

 rising generation who have a fancy for the 

 business may enter upon it with confidence 

 that their enlightened efforts will be crowned 

 with 



Selections, 



Contributions. 



TAXPAYING. 



Brookville, O., Nov. 10th, 1884. 



Editor. Farmer— Dear Sir: Taxpaying 

 will .soon be in order here, and is certain to be 

 so with you before long, as I presume you pay 

 taxes semi-annually as we do. It is said that 

 taxes and death are the only two things that 

 we are sure of in this world. The law of both 

 is inexorable. In view of this it is well enough 

 for farmers to study the philosophy of taxa- 

 tion. It is a common thing for farmers to call 

 the tax they pay a rent. The payment of this 

 tax can only be paid by farmers being very 

 industrious and economical. As a general 

 thing the burden of taxation rests upon the 

 farmers. This burden would not be so heavy 

 if it was not for the exemptions from taxa- 

 tion. All property should be taxed alike ; not 

 exempting church property. To those who 

 think that the churches are the embodiment 

 of most of the morality doubtless think that 

 they should be exempted from taxation on 

 that account ; but then there are scientists in 

 the country who say, that the development of 

 morals depends upon the evolution of the 

 natural sciences, ti that is so, then, on the 

 principle that churches are exempted, so might 

 scientific schools be. By the Government sell- 

 ing bonds free of taxation the farmers tax is 

 increased. A good deal of the capital of the 

 country is invested in these bonds. If it was 

 not in tliese bonds it would be taxed. By 

 selling these kind of bonds the taxpayer is 

 impoverished and the Government enriched. 

 I think it would be better for us if the people 

 were enriched, even if the Government had 

 to be poor. In the matter of indirect taxes 

 the farmers' tax is also increased. It is now 

 axiomatic that the consumer pays the indirect 

 tax or tariff if you please. The farmer is a 

 consumer to a large extent. Amid, all this 

 noise, about "free trade and protection," 

 nothing is said about protecting the farmer. 

 However, he don't ask it, he don't ask that 

 others should be made poor, that he might be 

 made rich. The farmer can't afford to have 

 his taxes increased, that other property may 

 be exempted. It is a usurpation of legislative 

 power to pass laws by which one class of pro- 

 perty is exempted from ta.xation to the detri- 

 ment of a class of taxpayers who have no in- 

 terest in the property exempted. 



The State Board of Agriculture of this 

 State are now arranging to have farmers' in- 

 stitutes, in most or all the counties in the 

 State during the coming winter. At the last 

 Farmer's Club meeting of this county (Mont- 

 gomery) there were present about 300, mostly 

 ^G. I 



members. 



RAISING SMALL FRUITS. 



" The frost and the drouth of the present 

 season may lead some of us who are engaged 

 in small fruit culture to look on the dark 

 side, and to feel that we had more to contend 

 with than any other class ; and in view of 

 this state of things perhaps it would be well 

 to recount some of the advantages of our oc- 

 cupation," says Mr. Crawford, in a paper 

 read before Trumbull County Horticultural 

 Society. " By so doing we may possibly find 

 that we have more to encourage than we ever 

 before thought of, even when things were 

 most prosperous. It is natural for us to mag- 

 nify our diflSculties and drawbacks, and forget 

 our advantages. Let us now reverse this 

 order, and for the time being put aside all our 

 discouragements, and consider some of the 

 reasons why we should congratulate ourselves 

 that we are fruit growers. 



"It is a business that benefits all classes 

 and injures none. It is almost the only busi- 

 ness in which a poor man can engage and be 

 his own employer. Fruit growers are com- 

 paratively independent; they are not liable to 

 be thrown out of employment. If sickness 

 hinders for a time, their crops do not cease 

 growing. If friends come to visit, they can 

 take a little time without having to give an 

 account of it, or deduct the price from the- 

 few dollars due them at the end of the week 

 or month. It is wor.h much to a man to be 

 employed at home, to spend his days with his 

 family rather than in some mill or shop or 

 factory. Those who have children may justly 

 consider it a great advantage to be able to 

 employ them during the summer vacation, 

 when so many children are running wild, and 

 laying the foundation of bad habits which 

 cling to them for lile. 



" Fruit growers have more leisure than 

 most work people. In the winter they can 

 take time to plan for the next season, and get 

 everything ready for work. They can attend 

 important horticultural meetings, doing good 

 and getting good; and just here is a point 

 worth noticing. Fruit growers have no se- 

 crets; the proceedings of their meetings are 

 published to the world. They have originated 

 many improved methods, but they do not 

 guard their knowledge with a high board 

 fence and locked gates, least others should 

 profit by it. On the contrary they gladly 

 give to their fellow men the benefits of their 

 thoughts and experiences. They adopt the 

 generous motto 'My light is none the less for 

 lighting my neighbor's,' and act upon it. 

 While they meet more frequently than any 

 other class of working people, they come to- 

 gether for a nobler purpose than to connive 

 to monopolize all the advantages their busi- 

 ness may possess. There is no monopoly in 

 this, as in many other pursuits. The man 

 with a single acre, or even a village lot, can 

 engage in small fruit culture, and is quite 

 likely to realize better returns for the amount 

 invested than one with a hundred limes as 

 much. 



" As fruit growers have a general knowl- 

 edge of horticulture, they can do more to 

 make home beautiful than any other class in 

 moderate circumstances; and for the same 

 reason they and their families have a more 



