APPLES 99 
sential with the apple than with less 
hardy fruit. Almost any exposure other 
than a northern or western one on a 
steep slope will serve admirably. More 
attention should be paid to good air drain- 
age than to slope; hence an apple or- 
chard should be raised somewhat above 
the adjoining land, at least on one side 
Due regard should be given to expos 
ure to strong winds. Wind-swept hill- 
sides or Knolls should be avoided, or, if 
such aie chosen, windbreaks should be 
planted at once on the sides from which 
blow the strongest winds. White cedar, 
Norway spruce, hemlock or white pine 
make the most effective hedges. The tree 
rows should be set far enough away from 
the hedge to insure them against injury 
from shading or from robbery of plant 
food. 
WILLIAM STUART, 
Burlington, Vt 
Exposure is the direction of slope of 
the site. By a northern exposure is 
meant a site in which the general slope 
of the land is towards the north. On 
rolling sites it is impossible to have all 
the land slope in the same direction, but 
in such cases it is the general slope 
which is considered. No one exposure is 
best under all conditions. As a rule, in 
this state a northern or northeastern ex- 
posure is preferable. The trees are slow- 
er in coming into blossom in the spring 
than when the orchard has a southerly 
exposure, and therefore there is less dan- 
ger from late spring frosts. Near large 
bodies of water best results are secured 
by having the exposure toward the water. 
In regions of high winds, much damage 
often resulis from fruit being blown off 
and from rapid evaporation of moisture. 
These injuries are reduced by choosing a 
Site which has an exposure away from 
prevailing winds. Fortunately in most 
locations in Wisconsin this direction will 
be north or northeast, and thus coincides 
with the general exposure. 
J. G. Moors, 
Madison, Wis. 
Altitude 
The proper location of a commercial 
apple orchard within the limits of Idaho 
is no small task as there are many prob- 
lems involved Above all things in se- 
lecting a location for a commercial or- 
chard it is essential that a locality be 
chosen where the elevation permits prop- 
er maturing of the apple. In favored 
sections apples are now grown at an 
elevation of 6,000 feet, but it 1s rarely 
advisable to plant an orchard above 5,000 
teet The greater percentage of the profit- 
able commercial orchards at the present 
time are in sections where the eleva- 
tions are below 3,000 feet. Local markets 
and the family needs may be supplied 
with apples grown near the upper limits 
of elevation, put the general markets de- 
mand such varieties as are adapted to re- 
gions of lower altitudes. 
J.R SHINN, 
Moscow, Idaho 
An apple tree, in its soil and fertilizer 
requirements, differs little trom a forest 
tree The conditions of soil that will pro- 
due heavy timber will produce productive 
fruit trees. Forest trees grow naturally on 
mountain slopes because they find there 
a rich soil, abundant drainage and clear 
sunlight. The same conditions will pro- 
duce large, productive, long-lived fruit 
trees. Where the natural forest is taken 
off the mountain slopes by the lumber- 
man a forest of fruit trees can profitably 
succeed it. Indeed, no cultivated crop so 
well holds sloping lands from washing 
as do the strong roots of fruit trees. The 
common agricultural trouble known in 
the South as “washing of land” is only 
another name for uncontrolled drainage. 
Trees, since they are perennial in growth 
and have their roots in the soil at all 
seasons, are more useful than any other 
crop in protecting mountain lands from 
destructive erosion. Sloping soils which 
will wash must necessarily be well 
drained. This is the foremost reason 
why trees like sloping land and why 
mountain orchards give better results 
than those in similarly cool locations, but 
on flat lands with the water table too 
close to the surface. W. N. Hurg, 
Raleigh, N. C. 
Thermal Fruit Belts 
In mountain regions, where elevations 
are greatest, the maximum of exemption 
