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Linn County Nursery 
Apples thrive in almost any well drained soil. They respond to good care 
and cultivation and pay well for it. A farm with a well cared for orchard 
will sell for much more than one without. The old orchard is one of the last 
things forgotten about an old homestead. 
Commercial Orcharding. Iowa is in the heart of the apple producing region 
of the United States. Commercial orcharding has great possibilities here. By 
intensive methods it has been proved that apples can be made as sure a crop 
here as anywhere, and many well tended orchards are yielding large profits to 
their owners. The quality of Iowa apples cannot be excelled and their size and 
color compares well with that of the more tasteless apples of the West. 
Varieties. In planting a commercial orchard it is judicious to plant but 
few varieties, and these should be selected with reference to securing the best 
pollination. Experience has shown that large blocks of single varieties are often 
more or less barren. Home orchards should be selected to have fruit from 
early until late. 
Size to Plant. It is always best to choose small, thrifty trees one or two 
years old and from three to five feet high, as these are more safely transplanted 
and with more satisfactory results than older and larger trees; in fact, the three 
to four foot size is now being more used in commercial planting than any other. 
How Pi'opagated. Our apple trees are grafted by the most approved methods, 
aiming to produce trees best adapted to withstand the rigors of this climate. 
We use the piece root and long scion and plant up to the top bud, this makes 
a tree on its own roots and of known hardiness. Experience has repeatedly 
proved that trees grafted on whole roots are not hardier than the seedling root 
used, which is very variable' and often too tender. 
