R u R A L. NR W - Y O R K E R 
663 
Lif 
on a Big, Maryland Fruit 
As Seen By a Hired Man 
arm 
{{TTELLO, Joe! How’s fruit farming going by 
11 this time?” 
“Oh, pretty well. Bill, except that I had no idea 
that there was so much very dirty work about it. 
I've worked on farms in different places, from the 
Iloek} Mountains to Chesapeake Bay, but never be¬ 
fore have I struck so much disagreeable work all in 
a bunch. But I’m not complaining, for I can see 
that it’s all necessary work.” 
M What particular work is it that you are talking 
about, Joe?” 
"I'm talking about spraying the peach and apple 
trees. First was the dormant spray, a strong lime- 
sulphur solution. That burned my hands and face 
till they were as red as a rose, r stopped that by 
putting on vaseline. But sometimes the wind was 
blowing in the wrong direction, and my clothes 
would get soaked. You can imagine how unpleasant 
it would be to work in a fog of that stinking stuff 
all day. But I got off easy there, after all. Our 
foreman got so badly soaked with the caustic stuff 
Maryland men qualified to judge had told him that 
he had the finest apples and peaches grown in the 
State. And it must be so. for r understand that he 
sells his choice grades in Boston at higher prices 
wholesale than he could get at retail in Baltimore 
for same grades.” 
“They must be fine if he can do that, Joe." 
“Well, he needs to get pretty big returns. Bill, for 
look at what an expense he has. There’s been from 
seven to 20 of us working all Spring, eight of us 
doing nothing hut orchard work the year around. 
The others were clearing land for new plantings. 
Later there will be a gang of pickers here for sev¬ 
eral months to be fed and paid. Then there’s sev¬ 
eral thousand dollars’ worth of commercial fertil¬ 
izers and spray material, etc. I’ve heard that the 
orchard upkeep and marketing expenses amount to 
around $30,000 per year.” 
“For goodness’ sake! How many acres of orchard 
has he got, anyway?" 
“He is said to have 200 planted now. and we are 
thinning if only one blossom in four matures a fruit. 
I’m hoping that four-fifths of them drop off soon, for 
I don’t particularly fancy that job of thinning. I 
imagine that it would he very tedious.” 
“That lug apple tree seems to be heavily loaded 
with bloom, too.” 
“Yes. some of them are very much overloaded: 
some have very little, while others have only an 
average amount of bloom. Notice those trees down 
there below that steep hill. See how bright and pink 
the blossoms on the upper half of the tree are, and 
how brown and dull looking those below are?" 
“Yes. How did that happen?" 
“That's the result of that frost that we had on the 
night of April 21. Colder and still down there in the 
bottom you know.” 
“Haven’t I read somewhere of a method of keep¬ 
ing frost out of orchards?” 
“Yes, there’s a way. It’s by burning crude oil in 
what are called smudge pots. But the boss didn't 
seem to think that it would be profitable to use them. 
.1 Crop of Riirkichcat in a Young Peach Orchard. Fig. 280 
that his back and the front of his legs were blistered 
till the blood ran down them under his clothes.” 
"Whew! That must have been strong stuff, sure 
enough!” 
"After we finished with the lime-sulphur the boss 
put us to spraying an oil spray. He said that it 
wouldn’t hurt us any. Well, it didn’t the first half 
day. hut the afternoon of the second day I thought 
that I would surely have to quit. My face and eyes 
burned so that I could scarcely stand it to keep on 
at work. I sure put on plenty of vaseline the follow¬ 
ing morning. To add to our misery, we had to wash 
in kerosene first to get the pesky stuff off after the 
day’s work, as soap and water wouldn't faze it.” 
"How did you get the kerosene off. Joe?” 
“Oh. plenty of hot water and soap took that off 
pretty well, Bill.” 
“You snid that those were dormant sprays, Joe. 
But didn’t I see you fellows putting something on 
just before the blossoms came out?" 
"Yes. you did. Bill. But that was pretty mild stuff 
in comparison—atomic sulphur, hydrated lime and a 
little arsenate of lead. That. I believe, was to kill 
the brown rot on the peaches. The others were for 
the red spiders, so-called, and aphis. Then, just be¬ 
fore the apple blossoms burst, we sprayed them with 
a weak lime-sulphur solution with a little arsenate 
of lead in it. I hear that the trees are to have 
seven sprayings this season. I’m in hopes that the 
remaining four will be move pleasant to put on." 
“Seven? That's a good many, isn’t it. for one 
season?" 
“Yes, it seems so to me, but I guess that the boss 
knows his business. lie told me last Winter that 
putting out 2,000 more trees right now: some re¬ 
plants and some on new land." 
"Peaches and apples separate, I suppose?” 
"Yes; the old orchards were planted that way, but 
we are planting them together now, using peaches 
for fillers and apples for the permanent trees.” 
“Why mix them that way?” 
“I don’t know. Bill, but I imagine it’s because the 
apple trees are longer-lived than the peach trees, 
and possibly more profitable. I notice, too. that a 
good deal of the land here is wet. and where that is 
the case the peach trees have all died out, but the 
apple trees seem* to he able to stand wet feet better. 
C’ome. Let's go look around a bit." 
“What are those poultry netting cylinders around 
those newly set apple trees for?” 
“Oh. those are to keep the rabbits from gnawing 
the bark off.” 
“Rabbits gnawing the bark off? At this time of 
the year, and with ail of this green grass and clover 
around?” 
“Yes, indeed. Seems odd, though, don’t it? But 
if we didn’t protect the new trees promptly a good 
many would he ruined in a little while.” 
"I see that you don’t put any around the new 
peach trees." 
“No, the rabbits don’t seem to like the taste of 
them at all. Neither do the mice bother them.” 
“There’s certainly lots of blossoms on these old 
peach trees, Joe.” 
“Yes. there are. Bill. I’ve counted the blossoms 
on many twigs where they average two to the inch. 
A? each peach must have four inches of space to 
ripen and color properly, we will have a big job of 
I don't know. The fruit growers in the Far West 
seem to think that it pays to use them.” 
“Well, Joe. I must go now. Perhaps I'll see you 
again in a few days. Good bye.” 
“Good bye. Bill.” the hired man. 
Notes on Transplanting Trees 
HAVE read with interest the article eutitled 
“Transplanting Trees.” on page U09, and cannot 
refrain from giving some personal experience, in 
'the hope of aiding I. R. In his endeavor to beautify 
his grounds. 
There are two general classes of trees and shrubs 
—deciduous and evergreen. Dec-iduous trees and 
shrubs may he moved at any time of the year, but 
evergreens must be moved only at the time of the 
year just preceding the time when new growth Is 
active: that is. during the months of April and 
August. The reason why trees and shrubs wilt and. 
in the case of evergreens, lose their foliage, is be¬ 
cause the flow of the sap has been interfered with 
by disturbing the roots, and more evaporation takes 
place from the leaves and needles than can be sup¬ 
plied from the disturbed roots; consequently, the 
foliage withers, and. in the case of evergreens, the 
needles drop off and do not reappear. Deciduous 
trees and shrubs may be moved when in full foliage, 
provided you supply, by artificial means, such as 
spraying the foliage and by watering the roots that 
have been enclosed in the ball, the loss by evapora¬ 
tion. Some people even move the trees in foliage by 
pulling off the leaves to prevent evaporation. 
The plan we have pursued with success is as fol- 
