NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 4, 1911. 
WEEKLY, Jl.OO’PER YEAR. 
WORKING OVER OLD APPLE TREES. 
A Successful Michigan Worker. 
Great attention is being given to the work of reno¬ 
vating old apple orchards. Frank Howard of Berrien 
County, Mich., has made a success with old trees 
worthy of mention. When Mr. Howard came in 
possession of Fairview Farm there was on it an old 
apple orchard of 34 trees, consisting of Greenings, 
Baldwins, Northern Spys and Russets. This orchard 
was considered worthless; the only rev¬ 
enue received from it was a few cider 
apples. Still Mr. Howard, believing 
"where there’s life there’s hope,” set 
about to bring it back to usefulness 
and profit. 
The first thing to do was to give it 
a severe pruning, as new tops had to be 
grown on many of the trees. The or¬ 
chard was plowed and kept cultivated 
often enough to hold the moisture and 
to keep the weeds down. This method 
has been followed for 13 years. Every 
third year it is covered with a liberal 
dressing of stable manure, no other fer¬ 
tilizer being used. Fifteen years ago 
he bought a spraying outfit and began 
spraying, using the concentrated lime 
and sulphur of his own manufacture in 
March, following this from three times 
in 1901 to seven times in 1910 with 
Bordeaux Mixture. The last two spray¬ 
ings were applied on the Winter stock 
from the 5th to the 20th of August to 
control the late brood of Codling moth. 
This orchard in 1911 will be sprayed 
nine times. Lime and sulphur as a 
Summer spray has never been tried, but 
no doubt will be another year, using the 
Bordeaux Mixture twice before the 
blooming period. 
Below are the number of times the 
orchard was sprayed, number of bar¬ 
rels of apples and the price received for 
ten years: 
Delay in this work may be a very serious matter, 
as many orchardists know by experience. 
e. v. A. 
R. N.-Y.—Our correspondent visited Mr. Floward’s 
orchard and took the pictures here shown. We 
have also asked Mr. Howard for a further state¬ 
ment and lie gives it as follows: 
My orchard of old trees is small, only 54 trees 
on V/ 2 acre of ground. Some of those trees were 
cut back 10 or 12 feet; some of the tops were nearly 
Sprayed 
1901 4 times 
1902 7 times 
1903 7 times 
1904 7 times 
1903 8 times 
1900 8 times 
1907 8 times 
1908 8 times 
From 44 trees 
1909 8 times 
Light crop due to frost 
1910 8 times 225 
Bbls. 
121 
307 
421 
294 
421 
431 
321 
370 
501 
Total.3,418 
Sold for 
$330.00 
521.90 
450.00 
350.00 
450.00 
754.25 
G42.00 
752.00 
1,000.00 
753.75 
$6,003.90 
spray about 10 days or two weeks later with Bor¬ 
deaux and arsenate of lead. The last two sprays 
we put on Winter varieties about August 5 and 20. 
In all we use nine sprays, including lime and sulphur 
on Winter stock. The lead is mixed with Bordeaux 
except the first time of using; the buds have not 
started then and I cannot see any need of using lead 
at that spraying. I never have used lime and sul¬ 
phur as a Summer spray. In regard to the Duchess 
apple trees, the one grown by the mulch method is 
11 years old; the ground was plowed 
the first year, the trees set and cultiva¬ 
tion was kept up that season, and seed¬ 
ed that Fall. The grass has been 
mowed and put around the trees. The 
other, seven years old, stands in a block 
of 200, they are all about the same. It 
has been cultivated with crops of corn 
and potatoes. frank Howard. 
RESIDENCE OF A MICHIGAN FRUIT GROWER. Fig. 140. 
What has this sort of spraying done 
for Mr. Howard? It has produced 90 
per cent, of No. 1 apples, 14 crops in 
14 years, paid him in 10 years, $6,003.90 
from 54 trees or over $1,000 per tree. 
These trees to-day are 60 years old 
and spread over 65 feet, and the past 
year have made over a two-foot growth. The only 
objection found in spraying by Mr. Howard is that 
his fruit does not color up as well, due to the heavy 
foliage excluding the sun. While Mr. Floward has got 
wonderful results in this orchard of limited area he is 
not positive that lie could have accomplished the same 
results in a large orchard. Fie believes that the secret 
of his success in getting 90 per cent. No. l apples is 
hue to thorough spraying and at the right time, not 
later than three to five days after the blossoms drop. 
When there are large orchards it would pay to have 
an extra outfit and extra help to get aver it in time. 
A SIXTY-YEAR-OLD BALDWIN TREE. Fig. 141 
all cut off. It took three years before I got any 
apples on the new wood; we were very careful in 
our work and made our cuts slanting so water 
would have to run off; then painted the stubs with 
the best of paint. The first year water sprouts 
started freely; we kept those thinned out to suit 
ourselves. We have been spraying with lime and 
sulphur since 1903, a heavy spraying during the month 
of March. We also give two heavy sprayings of 
copper sulphate before the bloom opens. The next 
spraying is done after the bloom falls with arsenate 
■of lead, leaving out the blue* vitriol; then the'next 
PARCELS POST OPPONENTS. 
Before I took up the fight for parcels 
post I had known that an effort was 
made to get the mail order house argu¬ 
ment against parcels post before the 
people. This was tried by having cards 
printed, not by the country merchant, 
but lie was used as the reason, for con¬ 
stituents to send to their Congressmen. 
It was not successful and finally aban¬ 
doned. I did not write on this point 
because I saw nothing to be defended, 
and I think the same to-day. The more 
I study this point the more I become 
convinced that this is about the most 
contemptible piece of deceit yet brought 
up regarding parcels post. If you will 
follow closely what I will try to point 
out you can do nothing else than form 
the same opinion. No attempt has been 
made so far to deny any statement I 
have made. The points involved are 
true, and they know it. Two methods 
have so far been employed to defeat this 
project, both being possible through a 
lack of knowledge of postal matters by 
the people in general. Parcels post on 
rural routes only as suggested contains 
two jokers. The mail order house is 
another “nigger in the wood pile;” and 
both these facts have only one object in 
view, viz., to show the “impracticability” 
of parcels post, and let the project de¬ 
feat itself by its failure. During the 
last few months petitions have been 
poured into Washington against the es¬ 
tablishing of an unlimited parcels post; 
principally from the Southern States. 
Requests have also been received for it. 
The opponents of the system have been 
hardest at work, and although in the 
minority, they have made the strongest 
impression. No matter how few of these petitions are 
received you can assure yourself most emphatically 
now that they will be used in every possible way to the 
limit. Those in favor of it, but remaining 
quiet, will wake up only too late, when they 
either see or never get the chance to see tlie 
opportunity they have missed for freeing themselves 
from the two greatest and most formidable concerns 
which stand between the farmer and the consumer to¬ 
day. You invest your money; by hard toil and study 
and by correct application of scientific principles you 
produce the food products by which the world is 
