December 17, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



615 



had any influence in forming the Maple. But Professor 

 A. C. Apgar, of Trenton, who visited the Borden town tree 

 not long after the note concerning it had appeared in the 

 Critic, asked a resident of the neighborhood for a ladder in 

 order to get a specimen of the " Weeping Maple," and he 

 was at once told about the proximity of the Weeping Wil- 

 low, which, according to the man's notion, completely ex- 

 plained the phenomenon. White Maples not rarely assume 

 a somewhat drooping habit, and this tendency differs very 

 widely in different trees. Professor Apgar writes that be- 

 tween the Hopkinson place and the station, which distance 

 is not more than a length of two or three city blocks, there 

 are three other Maple-trees which show a marked weeping 

 habit. The one in question, however, is more decidedly 

 pendulous than any specimen which has come under his 

 observation. Some of the twigs, of which sketches were 

 sent to this office, hang in as nearly vertical lines as those 

 of any of the so-called "weeping" trees. One twig with 

 over thirty-six inches of growth for the current year shows 

 that the Maple is a vigorous one. Specimens of the leaves 

 which were sent differ little from those of ordinary White 

 Maples, although they may have been a trifle more deeply 

 cut. In this particular, too, the leaves of this species vary 

 considerably. — Ed.] 



The Kansas Horticultural Society. 

 Orchards on the Prairies. 



DURING the three days' session of the Kansas State Horti- 

 cultural Society, which began at Topeka on December 

 2d, the usual wide range of topics was under discussion, but 

 throughout the entire meeting it was easily seen that the sub- 

 ject of paramount interest was that of the Apple-orchard, and 

 especially the growing of market sorts. This was doubtless 

 due in part to the shortage of the apple crop in the east and 

 the presence in Kansas last fall of a host of eastern buyers who 

 took the surplus of apples at high prices. Much had been 

 published in state papers about the Wellhouse Orchard of 

 Leavenworth County, and when the manager and part owner, 

 Mr. F. Wellhouse, of Fairmount, took the floor as chairman 

 of the Standing Committee on Orchard Culture he was plied 

 with numerous questions relating to every feature of the great 

 enterprise. From his replies and from additional information 

 kindly given I gathered the following : The orchard is owned 

 by Messrs. Wellhouse & Wheat and contains 437 acres of 

 trees in bearing, planted in 1876, 1878 and 1879. Of the prin- 

 cipal varieties planted Ben Davis occupies 225 acres, Missouri 

 Pippin seventy acres, Winesap seventy acres, Jonathan forty 

 acres, Cooper's Early White sixteen acres and Maiden Blush 

 sixteen acres. In 1889 and 1890 of Ben Davis 370 acres were 

 planted, Missouri Pippin 260 acres, Jonathan i2oacres, Yorklm- 

 perial fifty acres and Ganot twenty acres. There were planted 

 in the older orchard a total of 52,000 trees, of which it is esti- 

 mated that 40,000 are alive to-day. The heaviest loss occurred 

 from the effects of the winter of 1884-5. With a very wet 

 fall the trees made a late growth and went into the winter full 

 of unassimilated sap. With the mercury at twenty degrees 

 below zero during January many of the trees burst their bark, 

 others were split through the trunk. Many that did not die 

 from this injury the next season only lived a year or two 

 longer. The loss from this cause was greatest among the 

 Ben Davis trees, amounting to about fifteen per cent, of the 

 whole. It will be seen that the number of trees planted gives 

 about 119 to the acre. It is but fair to say that Mr. Wellhouse 

 now regards this planting as too close, and their young orchards 

 mentioned above are set sixteen feet apart, in rows thirty-two 

 feet apart, running north and south, which will admit of thin- 

 ning one-half if found desirable. 



The location of these orchards is upland-prairie of average 

 fertility, the subsoil being a red clay containing considerable 

 sand. Mr. Wellhouse advises cultivating the land to corn till 

 the trees come into bearing, after which he would seed to Red 

 Clover. Stock should be kept from the orchard, especially 

 hogs, as their tramping packs the ground, and by rubbing and 

 rooting about the trees they do a great deal of damage. The 

 Clover-crop is not removed from the orchard, but with a long 

 machine resembling a stalk-cutter, but with smaller diameter, 

 the weeds and clover are cut and allowed to remain on the 

 ground, the object being to secure a loose, mellow soil among 

 the trees, resembling a forest-bed as much as possible. Spray- 

 ing with London Purple in the proportion of one pound to 100 



gallons of water was tried last year to destroy the codling 

 moth. A part of the orchard was sprayed twice and the rest 

 three times ; but the third application seemed to scald some 

 of the leaves without being of any benefit. 



Mr. Wellhouse has discarded, as useless for his purpose, all 

 the spraying machines and nozzles upon the market, and he 

 uses a tank fifteen inches deep, three and a half feet wide and 

 four and a half feet long, slung between the wheels of a 

 wagon. Upon this is mounted a common rotary pump, 

 operated by means of a sprocket-wheel and chain from one 

 of the hind wheels. This gives a positive action, starting the 

 spray the instant the wheel starts and stopping it as quickly, 

 avoiding the unpleasant waste and drip occasioned by the 

 pressure from the air-chamber of the force-pump. The noz- 

 zle finally adopted is one of their own construction, having a 

 fine slit in the casting resembling a gas-burner. This gives a 

 broad, fan-like spray, and enables the operator to cover one 

 side of the row of trees in driving by, at the same time manag- 

 ing the team. Ponds for collecting surface water to be used in 

 spraying are constructed at convenient distances by damming 

 ravines or draws. A man and team spray 160 acres in about 

 five days. Adding to this the cost of poison and it brings the 

 cost of spraying once to about fifteen cents per acre. 



Everything in connection with the enterprise is reduced to 

 the most careful system, and an accurate account has been 

 kept of all expenses and receipts since the planting of the 

 orchard. The actual yield of so large an orchard, over a pe- 

 riod of eleven years, is a matter of much interest, and I am 

 permitted to give you the following figures: In 1880, 1,594 

 bushels were gathered ; in 1881, 3,887; in 1882, 12,037; in 1883, 

 12,388; in 1884, 11,726; in 1885, 15,373; in 1886, 34,990; in 1887, 

 33,790; in 1888, 20,054; in 1889, 1 1,952; and in 1890, 79,170 

 bushels. The last crop, it will be noticed, is more than double 

 that of any previous year. This, at the high prices which ruled, 

 gave a gross income of about $50,000. The entire outlay for 

 the year, including barrels for shipment, amounted to $14,000, 

 of which $7,000 were paid for picking. This left a net profit of 

 $36,000, or $82.38 an acre, which gives considerable color to the 

 story which went the rounds of the press during the fall 

 that the crop from many Kansas orchards this year had sold 

 for more than the entire land was worth. 



His Jonathans gave Mr. Wellhouse the best prices, bringing 

 from $3.50 to $3.75 a barrel of three bushels. Ben Davis, 

 Winesap and Missouri Pippin were contracted to eastern firms 

 at $3 a barrel. During the entire eleven years the Missouri 

 Pippin has taken the lead for profit, and this year's returns 

 placed it still further ahead. The Winesap they have not 

 found as profitable as the other sorts, the size of the fruit 

 averaging too small, and it is not included in their new planta- 

 tions. The York Imperial they regard as a promising apple 

 for their locality, and they are planting it quite extensively. 

 The Ganot, a new apple originating with a fruit-grower of that 

 name near Lee Summit, Missouri, was mentioned with much 

 favor by Mr. Wellhouse. It is described as closely resembling the 

 Ben Davis in tree and fruit till the latter begins to color, when 

 it takes a much deeper color, has more yellow and firm flesh, 

 and is generally conceded to be a better keeper. Mr. Well- 

 house closed his remarks by adding, very aptly, that he was 

 looking with a good deal of interest for the coming apple, and 

 wanted to get some trees of it to plant. 



In the general report on fruits from different parts of the 

 state the Winesap received rather better treatment, and will 

 doubtless continue to be planted largely as a reliable late 

 keeper of much better quality than either Missouri Pippin or 

 Ben Davis. Rawle's Genet, except in a few favored localities, 

 was declared to crack and rot badly on the trees, besides keep- 

 ing poorly after it was gathered. It is being largely discarded. 



An instructive paper prepared by Professor L. H. Bailey, of 

 Cornell University, entitled " Causes Affecting the Longevity of 

 Orchards," was read by the Secretary. The ground taken was that 

 the supposed greater longevity of old seedling orchards in the 

 east was more apparent than real ; the trees which attracted atten- 

 tion being the few fittest to survive, while the many which per- 

 ished prematurely escaped notice. The popular cry against root- 

 grafting on stocks from pomace seed, as tending to deteriorate 

 the vitality of varieties, had no foundation in fact. The even 

 stand and uniform character of trees in modern orchards 

 showed that the cion either dominated the stock or had be- 

 come self-rooted. The short life of many orchards in the 

 west must be accounted for by the fact that they were in a 

 prairie region beyond the limits of natural forest-growth. 



The general opinion of the members of the Societv seemed 

 to be that while (lie older orchards of the state show that they 

 are destined to he short lived, we should not be discouraged by 

 this fact. With the abundance of comparatively cheap land in 



