Vol. LXIX No. 4030. NEW YORK, JANUARY 22, 1910. weekly, Ji.oo per year. 
NEW ENGLAND APPLE SHOW WINNERS. 
How Fruit Was Grown. 
We were fortunate enough to be awarded the fol¬ 
lowing prizes at the New England Fruit Show: Sweep- 
stakes prize, "best box R. I. Greening; the same for 
best box of Northern Spy; Berlin prize for best plate 
exhibit by a Connecticut grower; first prize for best 
commercial plate exhibit by a Connecticut grower; 
same for 12 specimens (Kings); first for best speci¬ 
men dwarf apple; first on several plate exhibits of 
Fall Pippin and Northern Spy; second and third on 
Russets, Pewaukee, Ben Davis, etc.; second on sweep- 
The surface of the soil was cultivated about every two 
weeks up to July 25, then seeded with Crimson clover 
as a cover crop. No manure has been used—chemicals 
with clover have supplied all the plant food. Our com¬ 
bination has been an annual dressing of about 200 
pounds of sulphate of potash and 500 pounds basic 
slag, with the Crimson clover to supply the nitrogen. 
After the cultivation is abandoned I intend to use 
about 50 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre to aid 
growth of tree. All the fruit was sprayed with Bor¬ 
deaux and arsenate of lead; the Codling moth was 
very well controlled, but the fruit was somewhat 
russeted by the Bordeaux. In a small way we have 
At first we used light dressings of stable manure, 
but for three years , past only wood ashes , have been 
used, an average of a half ton per acre perhaps. We 
do not think we need nitrogenous fertilizers, as we 
have an annual growth of a foot of new wood, and 
as the trees were set only 30 feet apart they are getting 
too close together for convenience. Our soil is rather 
moist, natural grass ground, on hill top about 700 
feet above sea level. The quality of our fruit is stead¬ 
ily improving each year, notwithstanding the former 
neglect of the trees. Although we suffered from 
extreme and continued drought last year, still we 
have never got as good results, especially in color 
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A CONNECTICUT APPLE ORCHARD; OLD TREES HEADED DOWN. Fig. 19. 
stakes prize, best barrel of R. I. Greening. All the 
fruit was grown up.on old neglected apple trees from 
25 to 50 years old, which had been renovated. Several 
years ago the trees were covered with scale, the fruit 
was scabby, gnarly and of poor texture, and almost 
unsalable. First we cleaned up the scale !by vigorous 
treatment, using the oil sprays in the Fall and lime 
and sulphur in the Spring. The tops were cut back, 
the sed broken and chemicals supplied and the change 
in the appearance of the fruit was soon evident. The 
fruit was grown from trees which had long been 
neglected and in sod. For three years they have been 
cultivated, but now we have seeded them down to 
grass and clover, to be mown and left where cut. 
been experimenting with lime, sulphur and sulphocide 
as a Summer spray with promising results. 
Conyers Manor, Conn. g. a. drew. 
. The Northern Spy apples which won the double 
sweepstakes of $50 at the. New England Fruit Show 
were grown in sod, and have been in sod the greater 
part of the time for 30 years. Previous to eight 
years ago, when I took charge of the orchard, they 
had received no care for at least 20 years, and were 
in wretched shape, dying, some trees entirely dead. 
We have pruned and sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture 
each year since, and with Scalecide for past two years. 
All of the grass is mowed and left on the orchard, 
we also add any other material that may be handy. 
and flavor. A large proportion of the prizes at the 
New England Fruit Show were won by fruit grown in 
sod, and many in Connecticut at least who have been 
persistent cultivators admitted that they had overdone 
it, and would cultivate less. everett e. brown. 
Windham Co., Conn. 
The apples we displayed at the New England 
Fruit Show were grown under various conditions. 
Of the several varieties on which we were awarded 
prizes (15 in all) some were grown iv. sod with no 
mulch, and two crops of hay have been taken each 
year from the land for a dozen years, but where hens 
run during the Spring and Fall. Others were grown 
on very rich, cultivated land, and have always had 
