APPLES 87 
yy Fas Es 
cere ee é . 
at 
% tg : 
Fig. 2. Trees Like This With a Constricted 
Trunk, Were Probably Top-grafted About 
1850. Conn. Sta. 
at the time of this visit there was not a 
fruit tree living which was there at the 
earlier date. Some attribute this to a 
cold freeze that occurred in 1890, some to 
lack of rain. The fact remains, however, 
that the orchards that were planted where 
there was sufficient seepage from the hill- 
sides and sufficient depth of soil, are still 
living and the trees are in a healthy con- 
dition. | 
On account of the importance of this 
subject the opinions of many observers 
are given, covering the conditions of vari- 
ous localities. 
GRANVILLE LOWTHER 
Soils for Apples 
Apples will grow on a great variety of 
soils, but most kinds do best on deep, 
rich clays or loams. Soils very rich in 
nitrogen should be avoided as they will 
produce too much wood growth at the 
expense of fruit. ‘Very few soils are too 
rich for apples, however. Many farmers 
plant their fruit trees on the poorest and 
roughest pieces of land on the farm, be- 
cause such soil will not produce any other 
crop profitably. If the trees do not pro- 
duce good fruit in a few years, without any 
attention, the orchard is abandoned and 
the farmer says fruit growing is a fail- 
ure. Does he expect this of other crops 
and has he a right to expect it of apples? 
Give apple trees the care and attention 
that other crops get and they will re- 
spond by producing profitable crops of 
fruit. It is a mistake to expect trees to 
grow well on poor soil, for food is just as 
essential to tree growth as to the growth 
of cotton or corn. It requires a large 
quantity of food to produce a crop of trees 
and even a greater quantity to produce 
the fruit. 
H. C. THOMPSON, 
Agricultural College, Miss. 
SOIL ADAPTATIONS TO VARIETIES 
OF APPLES 
It is believed that different varieties 
have adaptations to different soils, which 
adaptations, if known, would guide the 
orchardist in the selection of a site for 
an orchard, or the selection of varieties 
suited to any particular soil, which he 
may possess. . 
*H. J. Wilder has treated this subject 
extensively, and a summary of his con- 
clusions is given. 
Baldwin Soils 
If soils are thought of as grading from 
heavy to light, corresponding to the range 
from clay to sand, then soils grading from 
medium to semi-light fulfil best the re- 
quirements of the Baldwin. The ideal 
is to be sought in a fine sandy loam, or 
light mellow loam, underlaid by plastic 
light clay loam or heavy silt loam. The 
surface soil should be of a dark brown 
color, due to the presence of decaying or- 
ganic matter. There is much of this soil 
in the Appalachian region, which from 
Canada to .Southern Pennsylvania is 
adapted to the growing of Baldwins. 
Rhode Island Greening Soils 
For the Rhode Island Greening, a sur- 
face soil of heavy silty loam or light silty 
clay loam, underlaid by silty clay loam, 
excels. Such a soil will retain sufficient 
*H. J. Wilder, Pennsylvania State College, 
1911 Report. 
