67 



fairly straight with three or more good branches low down. I do 

 not cut back the roots or top unless broken. 



One of the first things I remember was "apple sprouts" and 

 those "Remembers" were very painful, at home or in school, and 

 I objected to the trimming of apple trees or boys. 'My father was an 

 orchard fiend, takes after me, and all his trees were cut back to the 

 main stalk — he had five boys. When I began to set trees for my- 

 self, I followed the same bad plan until I was convinced "behead- 

 ing" young trees was not the way to make the best orchard and most 

 money. Two farms near me were bought by city men, one man 

 a shipshod lumber dealer who m.ade a failure at the lumber business 

 and the other a Polander. who did not know a tree from a boot 

 jack : both set out young trees without any trimming at all, both set 

 their trees next the road where I could see them at any and all times. 

 Of course I broke that good old Bible saying "Fret not thy gizzard 

 out" and proceeded to "Fret," but it did no good. Those fool trees 

 grew better than any I had ever set out and it made me disgusted. 

 I found the same conditions in a western orchard I visited. I also 

 saw the experimental trees in which Air. Foster Udell, "the Baldwin 

 king'' of Brockport, N. Y., proved out his belief that trimming of 

 young trees was a mistake. His untrinimed trees were away ahead 

 of his trimmed trees and still continue to lead. My first planting of 

 untrimmed trees was in 1908 : I set 2,000 and all started to grow but 

 one, and but six died later. Several Baldwins at three years of age 

 bore 40 or more large apples. This orchard at three years had 

 many apples and next year, as a four year old, we hope for a good 

 crop. 



Orchard men tell me that I am making a mistake to let the trees 

 bear so young, but I don't agree with them, and will not take oft 

 any apples except to thin and encourage the trees to be annual bear- 

 ers. This orchard has the largest trees for its age of any orchard 

 I have seen. Bearing apples will not hurt virgorous trees like these 

 in the least. All the trimming this orchard has received is to cut out 

 branches that cross ; these are cut in summer. Every tree set since 

 1908 on our farms goes in without trimming. The past season trees 

 set without trimming have endured the worst drought known to 

 Western Xew York better than trimmed trees. I think our station 

 at Geneva carried on experiments on this line this year, which are 

 favorable to the untrimmed trees. 



I like a low headed tree for my experience shows that trees 

 headed low keep their large limbs farther from the ground than high 

 headed ones. We are setting our permanent trees 4.2 to 45 feet 

 apart with three fillers to each permanent tree. The trees are 

 dipped in commercial lime-sulphur, 34° Beaume test i to 9. We do 

 not dip the roots except as an experiment and have never seen any 

 bad results from dipping the roots. The practice of dipping trees 

 before setting is one that cannot be too highly recommended, for 

 the dipping is so much more thoroughly done, is a great saving in 

 time and does not require nearly as much liquid as in spraying. 



spray young trees the same as the old ones. 



The year before the orchard is set, I prefer to have some cul- 

 tivated crop on the ground. The ground is staked out so a dead 



