A MARYLAND APPLE ORCHARD. 



215 



been the most profitable part. But old orchards will 

 not pay here as a rule, and frequent planting is neces- 

 sary. — L. R. Bryant, Northt-ni Illinois. 



Yes, apples pay if the right varieties are planted and 

 the proper care given. Each variety is an individual and 

 has its distinct needs. — Benj. Buckman, Cenlral Illinots. 



II II II 



The most of the orchards in this State, as at present 

 set and cultivated, do not pay. I know of some orchards 

 that are paying nicely. If our farmers would confine 

 themselves to a few of our best and most hardy varieties, 

 purchase their stock of reliable men, set the trees upon 

 high land, with somewhat of a northern slope, and then 

 care for them in a proper manner, I have no doubt that 

 orchards in this state would, as a general rule, be- 

 come profitable. I believe that such will be the case 

 in the near future, and that we shall have apples to sell 

 instead of being obliged to buy more or less every year, 

 as at present. — J. M. Smith, Eastern IVisionsin. 



Do apples pay ? In Missouri with her wonderful 

 fruit lands. Yes ! Yes ! Apples pay well if planted in 

 good locations, of proper varieties, well cultivated, well 

 fed, and well protected from the insects. 



Plant Jonathan, Rome Beauty, Wine Sap, Willow 

 Twig, York Imperial, Clayton, Ben Davis ; in some 

 locations Missouri Pippin, White Western Pippin. 

 Plant on new land, cultivate every year as you would 

 corn, give plenty of manure, good care, and here in 

 Missouri with her great wealth of fruit lands, her glori- 



ous climate, and her abundant rainfall, you may be 

 sure it will pay. An instance : an 8o-acre orchard 

 near Springfield, Missouri, 8 years old, well cultivated, 

 with no crops on the land, paid last year ^^7,000. Yes, 

 orcharding in Missouri is a paying investment, and we 

 have room for thousands of good men. — L. A. Goodman, 

 Western Missouri. 



II II I 



Yes ! In Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa and Mis- 

 souri it costs less than $1 per tree to bring the apple 

 into bearing, and when once in bearing, provided the 

 right kinds of apple are planted, the profit is from $60 

 to $200 per acre. I know of one orchard near here of 

 Ben Davis that paid $700 per acre last season. I would 

 say further that the profit depends largely on the num- 

 ber of varieties planted in an orchard. In our large 

 orchard of 200 acres we have but 6 varieties : Jonathan, 

 Ben Davis, Wine Sap, Janet, York Imperial and Grimes' 

 Golden. Plant these varieties and take good care of them 

 and there is more money in the apple orchard in the ter- 

 ritory mentioned than in an orange grove in California 

 or Florida. — G. J. Carpenter, Southeastern Nebraska. 



II II II 



Do apples pay ? I answer emphatically. Yes, when- 

 ever the orchard has been intelligently managed. By 

 selecting a suitable location, varieties having local 

 adaptation and naturally fruitful, and having a desir- 

 able marketable character, the vigor and health of 

 trees have been maintained. With such care there is no 

 product of the land that pays better through a series of 

 years. — G. C. Brackett, Eastern Kansas. 



A MARYLAND APPLE ORCHARD. 



THE illustration on pap;e 213 shows a view in 

 the Red Astrachan orchard of Mrs. William 

 O. Shallcross, in Kent county, Maryland, 

 made from a photograph which we took 

 last October. The orchard comprises four acres, 

 and was planted in the spring of 1876, The trees 

 are set in quincunx fashion, the alternate rows being 

 forty feet apart. The diagram shows the manner 

 of arrangement. The orchard is now in sod. It 

 has had liberal applications of wood ashes and sta- 

 ble manure. The trees are pruned every spring. 

 The orchard is now uniform, thrifty and handsomes 

 and there is probably no better in the state. 



In 1885 it produced about five hundred baskets — five 

 -eighths bushel — which brought an average net price 

 in Philadelphia and New York of seventy-five cents. 

 When eleven years old it gave a marketable crop 

 of over one thousand baskets, which sold from seventy- 

 five cents to one dollar. From 1885 to 1890, not count- 

 ing one or two "off years," the average production was 

 two hundred and fifty baskets. The freight to New 

 York is about twenty cents a basket, and to Philadel- 



phia about twelve cents. The trees are gone over every 

 day in the picking season. Red Astrachan is the most 



Diagram of Orchard. 



profitable apple in that region, and the only other one 

 that can be relied upon is Smith's Cider. 



