RURAL N E W- Y O R X E R 
315 
Plant Only Quality Apples 
Tractors for Orchard Work 
Hydrangea A Yearly Joy to the Flower Lover. Fig. 122 
Fall J’ipiiin, llubbanlston. King, Greening, Baldwin, 
Sutton, Sp.v, Jonatlian, Wagener and Newtown Pip- 
])in, witli ytill other varieties of as high grade, and 
perliaps other as desirable qualities. There are 
perhaps some peoi)le who might olgeet to m.v put¬ 
ting the Baldwin in the dessert cdass, but I state 
most emphatirally that a Baldwin, if picked just 
at the time, or within a very few days after It has 
attained full color, is well within that class; when 
picked, as it very often is, weeks later it belongs 
in the Sheep Nose clas.s. I have always enter¬ 
tained an esi)ecially kindly feeling for the Baldwin, 
l)ecause s(»me years ago I {Continued on pane S-i2.) 
Profit From Fine Fruit 
T he fundamental principle, un¬ 
derlying any successful busi¬ 
ness, is the one which demands 
both a satisfied seller and bu.ver. 
There is no side-stepping this, 
neither can there be any modifica¬ 
tion of it. When I planted 50 acres 
to apples some years ago, I de- 
teianined that my future customei*s 
at least, could have no cause for 
dissatisfaction; for I selected only 
fruits of the highest qualit.v, i’ii>eu- 
ing in their proper secpience, and 
thus far, I have had ever.v reason 
to he satisfied from a monetary 
point of view, as well as having a 
satisfaction that cannot so well be 
measured. But as with many peo¬ 
ple it is only “money that talks,” 
let me say that this year T received 
in the open market more per bar¬ 
rel for my “A” grade than I asked 
for my “Fancy” grade at pi-ivate 
sale—and that was not a small 
I)rice! So satisfied am I—as I look 
into the future of the apple industry, with the pres¬ 
ent day over-planting that Is being done—that only 
high-grade fruits are going to prove profitable, I 
would not accept it as a gift if anyone were to 
offer to .set out an orchard of inferior grades and 
grow it to maturity. And yet .A'ear after year, we 
see great blocks of poor or untested varieties .set 
out. becau.se the trees were cheap or some nurser.v- 
man or commi.ssion merchant had said they were 
good, while all about were varieties that had been 
tested for generations and Imd not been found 
wanting. I wonder if many of us realize that in 
this apple industry, which is great enough to war¬ 
rant a well-organized system of ad¬ 
vertising. more than 90% of the ad¬ 
vertising that is done, is done by 
the very lowest grade fruits that we 
have? By some law of compen.sa- 
tion, the low-grade apples are most 
brilliant in coloring and tough in 
skin, and as they are also juiceless 
they are immune to luaii.se.s, and 
con.secpiently get into market in the 
best possible condition; and for 
these qualities are selected for the 
fruit stand and retail stores. In 
(onseijnenct*, a barrel of Wolf lliv- 
er is sampled by a hundred fami¬ 
lies, where a barrel of Spy goes to 
but one. 
So I wi.sh to enter a plea to all 
aiiple growers, both great and small, 
to consider well the matter of qual¬ 
ity in all of their future planting.s, 
that they may help to adverti.se 
this great industry in the best and 
most practical way possible, by 
putting into the hands of the con¬ 
sumer only a fruit that is delicious 
in flavor and aroma and delightful 
in texture. I do not believe that 
there is an.v .section anywhere, 
where the apple can be profitably 
grown, where there are not at least 
a small number of varieties that 
are of high grade, and at the same 
time mea.sure up to the requisites 
of a good “commercial” ])roposL- 
tion. Here in the Hud.son Valley 
we are iiuh'ed fortunate, as we 
hiive nearly a score that are almost 
(‘verything that could he desired. 
For the Summer thei*e are Trans- 
))arent, Astrachan and Duchess, 
tlnaigh the last is rather tart for 
dessert—and by the Avay. I belieA'e 
the Summer A'arieties should go to 
the specialist, as I have noted that 
the lai-ge growers, on .iccount of 
theii’ pears, or for some other rea¬ 
son. are apt to neglect them. With 
the Autumn comes Gravenstein. one 
of the best of all. and if it ripens 
a little unevenly and drops more 
than others, it need not be cut out 
on that account, for it will pa.A’’ 
100% for repeated pickings and the 
drops being more than “fancy” 
grade of .some other varieties. And 
then in rai)idly following sequence, 
Come Wealthy. McIntosh, Snow, 
The Bear Tree 
I N the idcture shown on page ■'’.FJ 
will be s('en a ver.v ^urious 
growth on a tre(‘, perhaiis one of 
the most remarkalile we haA'e ever 
seen. This is a yellow birch, and 
the picture w.as taken while the 
tree Avas growing .about one mile 
east of Kenoz.a l.ak(' in i^ullivan 
Count.v. N. Y. It was known lo¬ 
cally as the “bc'.ir tree.” as the 
growth on its trunk carried a fair 
resemblance of a hear climbing a 
tree. For ycairs this tree Avas a 
great curiosity to visitoi-s. It Avas 
located near the highway on a 
farm owned by Thom.as Taylor, 
lie tried to protect the tree by 
buliding a high Avire fence about it, 
Starting Early to “ Get Up in the World.” Fig. 123 
Working With Kerosene Power 
W E have used a 12-24 kerosene 
tractor in our orchard and 
ftiimi Avork for two seasons. We 
would dislike to bi' without one, 
because Ave Avoidd be obliged to 
keep at le.ast one extra tejim, and 
then our Avork AV(»uld not he as 
Avell jind itroperly done, .and the ex¬ 
tra team Avouhl Ix' idle three- 
fourths of the ytair. I know, liow- 
eA'er, that our exiamse for fuel h.as 
been far less th.an for repjtirs, ;uul 
I belieA-e, if Ave could h.ave hired 
the AVork done as Ave AA’iinted it. and 
Avhen AA-e Avanted it. the expense 
Avould iiave betm less than to (.ovn 
the tractor ourselves. 
Our expen.ses for repairs are due 
to .several cause.s, one of AA'hich ;s 
the lack of experience of the man 
Avho operated it. Another cause 
Avas that the gears Avere not ]»rop- 
orly protected from sand, and the 
tractor had but one si)eed. Avhich is 
a defect. Both of these dtdVcts are 
remedied in newer maehine.s. We use fi-om 15 to 
20 gallons of kerosene per da.A’ of 10 hours. It pulls 
three 14-inch plows under faA’or.able condition.s. but 
in .sand or mud or deep ploAA'ing two are enough. W(‘ 
also run our 20-inch silage cutter in the Fall, but 
could not croAvd it very fast. Alost of oui- Avork for 
the tractor, however, consists of pulling a douljle 
cutaAA'ay harroAV 10 feet Avide in our orchard.s. 
(hir peach orchards are pianted aliout 20 feet by 
22 feet, and A\'e can turn .around in the orchard 
anywhere Avith this behnid the tractor. We calculate 
that about eight hor.ses AA-ould he recpiiiaMl to draw 
this deep as Ave mu it, and even then they could not 
keej) it going as ste.adily as the 
tractor doe.s, AA’hen eveiything goes 
right. We keep a man on the har¬ 
row to throAA' the leAmrs, so as to 
straighten the di.sks Avhen turning, 
for if the.A* cut full depth in turning 
it throws too much strain on the 
one driA'e Avheel, Avhich does the 
turning, Avhile the other stands still 
or nearly so, in making a short 
turn. By neglecting to do thi.s the 
lirst season Ave cut out the differ- 
enti.al gears, iind h.ad to replace 
them in less than 40 da.vs’ AA'ork. I 
think no other tool is ecpial to .a 
double cutaAvay or disk harrow in 
an orchard, especi.'illy whiu’e <*oA'er 
croits are u.sed, hot I wish so..ie 
firm wmdd make one. Aviiicb the 
engineer could raise out of ground 
when turning, so it could ride 
around tlie end like the ])ower-lift 
gang ph)ws. I helieve the tractor 
has come to sta.A’, both for farm and 
orchard u.se, but I do not think the 
f.irmer or orchardist Avho c.-in do 
his Avork Avith three horses is jus¬ 
tified in buying one, iK'c.-mse he Avill 
still need that many horses. If his 
place is much larger, he Avill find 
the tractor profitable, esi)eqially if 
he can find one Avhere the gears are 
well i)rotected 'from sand, AVhieh 
burns k(*ro.sene, Avhich has two 
speeds, and Avhere the repairs do 
not cost exorbitant i)rices. 
Ohio. W. \v. FAK.VSWORTII. 
