73 
A  Farm  Orchard  That  Pays  Over 
$1,600  Net  from  272  Trees 
THAT  the  farm  orchard  can  he  made  to  pay  well, 
if  given  the  proper  attention,  is  shown  by  the 
results  obtained  by  A.  H.  Hurlbut  of  Litchfield 
County,  Conn.  ML  Hurlbut  has  a  total  of  272  apple 
trees  on  two  adjoining  farms.  One  hundred  and 
fifty-three  of  these  trees  are  Baldwins ;  there  are  20 
R-  I.  Greening  trees,  and  the  balance  (as  is  typical 
of  many  New  England  orchards)  consists  of  17  other 
varieties,  as  follows :  Pewaukee.  King,  Blue  Pear- 
main,  Westfield,  Peck,  Hurlbut,  Wealthy,  Ben  Davis, 
Esopus,  Red  Astrachan,  Fameuse,  Roxbury,  Porter, 
Winter  Sweet,  Gravenstein,  Duchess,  Pumpkin 
Sweet.  The  272  trees  are  well  scattered  over  the 
two  farms,  but  mostly  in  three  blocks,  one  of  which 
is  about  20  years  of  age,  another  from  80  to  40  years 
of  age,  and  the  third  from  50  to  GO  years  of  age. 
In  the  Fall  of  1921  Mr.  Hurlbut  became  interested 
in  giving  his  trees  better  care.  During  that  Fall 
and  the  following  Winter  the  trees 
were  carefully  pruned.  Mr.  Hurlbut 
did  not  make  the  mistake  of  pruning 
his  trees  too  heavily  the  first  year,  as 
is  often  done.  First  all  dead  wood  was 
removed,  and  then  the  tops  were  given 
a  light  thinning  out,  this  thinning  be¬ 
ing  confined  insofar  as  possible  to  the 
removal  of  .  the  smaller  interfering 
branches  scattered  throughout  the  en¬ 
tire  top  of  the  trees. 
Two  or  three  weeks  before  blossom¬ 
ing  time  in  the  Spring  of  1922  an  ap¬ 
plication  of  about  5  lbs.  of  nitrate  of 
soda  and  5  lbs.  of  acid  phosphate  was 
made  to  each  tree.  These  materials 
were  applied  in  circles  about  the  trees 
extending  several  feet  beyond  the  tops 
of  the  branches.  A  luxuriant  growth 
of  grass  resulted,  which  was  mown  and 
allowed  to  remain  on  the  ground  as  a 
mulch  for  the  trees.  Mr.  Hurlbut  ap¬ 
plied  three  sprays,  as  follows:  The 
pink,  the  calyx  and  one  about  10  days 
after  the  calyx.  During  September  and 
October  of  1922  he  harvested  SS5  bar¬ 
rels  from  the  272  trees.  These  were 
sold  to  a  Bridgeport  wholesale  house  at 
the  following  prices  f.  o.  b.  the  ship¬ 
ping  station  :  A  grade  Baldwins,  $4.15 
per  barrel ;  A  grade  other  varieties, 
$3.50  per  barrel :  B  grade,  all  varieties. 
$2.50  per  barrel.  The  total  receipts 
amounted  to  $3,256.20. 
An  accurate  account  was  kept  of  ail 
expenses.  Man  labor  for  pruning, 
spraying,  picking,  packing,  etc.,  was 
figured  at  $3  for  nine  hours,  or  a  total 
of  $68S.  Man  and  team  labor  was  fig¬ 
ured  at  $6  per  day  of  nine  hours, 
amounting  to  a  total  of  $114.60.  Cash 
expenses,  including  fertilizer,  new  lad¬ 
ders,  barrels,  etc.,  were  $805.26.  The 
total  expenses  amounted  to  $1,607.86. 
which  when  subtracted  from  the  re¬ 
ceipts  of  $3,256.20  left  Mr.  Hurlbut  a 
net  income  of  $1,048.34  from  his  apple 
trees,  or  over  $6  net  per  tree. 
In  1921  Mr.  Hurlbut’ s  orchard  was 
typical  of  many  New  England  orchards. 
4  he  leaves  were  yellowish  in  color,  showing  the  lack 
of  nitrate  fertilizer.  There  was  a  considerable 
quantity  of  dead  wood  in  some  of  the  trees.  He 
realized  that  he  was  not  giving  them  a  “square  deal” 
and  could  not  expect  adequate  returns  from  them 
until  they  were  given  better  care.  Hesitating  to  go 
ahead  on  his  own  responsibility,  he  asked  the  advice 
of  the  County  Agent  and  the  Extension  Service  of 
the  Connecticut  Agricultural  College.  In  1922.  ac¬ 
cording  to  Mr.  Hurlbut,  the  orchard  produced  the 
largest  and  best  crop  in  its  history.  The  color  of 
the  leaves  was  a  healthy  green,  indicating  that  the 
trees  were  receiving  the  proper  food.  Mr.  Hurlbut 
is  primarily  a  dairy  farmer,  and  apples  are  one  of 
his  cash  crops.  His  interest  in  fruit  has  naturally 
greatly  increased  during  the  past  year.  s.  g. 
RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
said  to  me  recently :  “Why  are  you  farmers  so 
opposed  to  having  Chinese  come  in?  They  would  be 
excellent  helpers  on  the  farm.”  At  another  time  the 
same  man  said :  “When  I  want  a  good  young  fellow 
for  the  store  I  go  out  into  the  country.  There  is  one 
I  got  last  week  from  the  farm,  and  he  is  worth  any 
two  I  can  get  in  town.” 
“And  the  farm?” 
“Oh,  the  farm  belongs  to  his  father,  and  I  suppose 
he  must  hire  help  now  that  the  boy  is  gone.  I  had 
to  bid  high  to  get  him.”  This  man  thinks  the  farmer 
should  exchange  his  farm  boy  for  a  Chinese. 
If  it  be  true,  as  Mr.  Clark  says,  that  possibly  “the 
day  of  relief  is  near,”  and  conditions  will  be  bet¬ 
tered,  many  of  our  native-born  will  return  to  the 
farm,  glad  of  the  chance.  Whatever  may  help  to 
bring  this  about  should  be  encouraged,  and  to  that 
end  we  are  working  in  the  Farm  Bureau.  h.  m. 
R.  N.-Y. — Just  now  there  is  quite  an  effort  under 
way  to  change  our  immigration  laws.  Under  the 
present  system  immigration  is  limited  to  a  small 
Fishing  Through  the  Ice.  Fig.  15.  (See  Page  75) 
Farmers  and  the  Immigration  Problem 
ON  page  1514.  in  “Cheap  Labor  and  Immigration.” 
by  E.  L.  Clark.  Mr.  Clark  is  unquestionably 
right,  for  farmers  would  not  all  benefit  by  opening 
the  doors  wider  to  undesirable  aliens.  My  attention 
was  first  called  to  this  so-called  desirability  of  larger 
invoices  of  labor  by  the  representative  of  a  very 
large  cement  plant.  That  is  the  type  of  employer 
who  wants  unrestricted  immigration.  One  city  man 
Plunger  'Free  Primer.  Fig.  16.  (See  Page  75) 
percentage  of  the  nationalities  now  found,  in  the 
country.  There  has  been  quite  a  movement  of  work¬ 
men  away  from  this  country  to  Europe,  so  that  when 
we  count  incoming  and  outgoing  immigrants  there 
has  been  a  loss.  Farm  conditions  and  opportunities 
for  owning  land  are  good  in  Europe,  and  some  of 
our  workmen  object  to  the  prohibition  laws.  So 
they  go  back.  Some  of  the  large  manufacturers  and 
contractors  are  trying  to  obtain  more  liberal  laws, 
so  as  to  induce  a  heavier  immigration  of  rough,  low- 
class  labor,  but  it  is  not  likely  that  they  will  suc¬ 
ceed.  Such  a  rush  of  labor,  even  supposing  that  it 
would  come,  would  be  of  little  benefit  to  farmers, 
because  the  farmer  type  of  immigrant  is  not  now 
coming.  That  type  belonged  to  a  period  of  cheap  or 
free  land,  and  that  has  now  gone  forever.  Those 
who  will  come  with  open  immigration  would  be  more 
of  the  clerk  or  peddler  class.  For  today  the  Euro¬ 
pean  farm  hand  has  probably  about  as  good  an 
opportunity  to  own  a  farm  of  his  own  as  the  Ameri¬ 
can  hired  man. 
duced  this  new  fruit.  Is  there  any  basis  of  truth  in 
the  story? 
HIE  newspaper^story  is  substantially  correct.  A 
new  apple  of  merit  has  been  discovered,  and 
Lewis  Mood  of  Gloucester  County,  N.  J.,  is  to  re¬ 
ceive  $5,000  for  the  bud  rights  to  this  new  variety; 
$1,000  is  paid  in  cash  and  the  remainder  is  to  be 
paid  in  royalties,  according  to  an  agreement  filed  in 
the  county  clerk’s  office.  How  many  times  in  the 
last  few  weeks  I  have  heard  the  expression,  “Lucky 
man !”  “My,  I  wish  I  could  be  so  lucky !”  etc.  Well, 
I  suppose  it  will  be  ever  thus,  but  once  again,  as  in 
thousands  of  similar  cases,  luck  has  cohm*  to  the 
deserving  man. 
I  have  visited  Mr.  Mood  several  times,  and  I 
would  that  I  had  the  ability  to  tell  of  what  that 
man  has  accomplished  with  a  handicap  that  would 
have  made  many  men  both  dependent  and  despond¬ 
ent.  Think,  if  you  will,  of  a  man  with  but  little 
capital  locating  on  a  small  farm  (about  60  acres.  1 
think),  low  in  fertility,  without  much  in  the  way  of 
improvements,  and  handicapped  with 
illness  that  would  compel  him  to  spend 
weeks  indoors  at  seasons  of  the  year 
when  he  was  most  needed  outside. 
Such  a  combination  would  have  dis¬ 
couraged  any  but  a  man  of  strongest 
character.  Mr.  Mood,  however,  did  not 
become  sour  or  morose.  When  sick¬ 
ness  compelled  him  to  cease  outdoor 
work  lie  would  spend  his  time  indoors 
reading  and  studying  and  gaining  in¬ 
spiration  for  a  greater  effort  outside 
when  once  he  could  be  up  and  at  it 
again.  This  study  he  turned  to  practi¬ 
cal  use.  and  through  unceasing  efforts 
he  has  now  one  of  the  nicest  combina¬ 
tions  of  home  and  fruit  farm  for  which 
anyone  could  wish.  Mr.  Mood  is  a  very 
modest  man  and  dislikes  publicity,  but 
surely  as  an  inspiration  to  others  who 
are  striving  to  make  a  home  for  them¬ 
selves  with  similar  but  perhaps  less 
serious  handicaps,  it  is  no  more  than 
proper  that  some  little  should  be  told 
of  his  efforts. 
The  chief  factor  in  Mi-.  Mood’s  suc¬ 
cess,  I  believe,  is  in  paying  attention 
to  the  little  things.  No  detail  seems  to 
escape  him.  lie  is  a  close  observer 
and  believes  in  hard  work.  The  last 
time  I  visited  his  place  was  in  peach 
season.  Belle  of  Georgia  peaches  were 
just  coming  on.  I  found  Mr.  Mood  in 
his  shirt  sleeves,  and  too  busy  sorting 
peaches  to  talk.  The  fruit  was  fine, 
made  so  by  careful  cultivating,  spray¬ 
ing.  fertilizing  and.  most  important  of 
all  last  year,  thinning.  A  walk  through 
his  orchard  was  an  inspiration  in  it¬ 
self.  rt  had  to  be  seen  to  be  appre¬ 
ciated.  lie  had  a  fine  lot  of  immense  J. 
H.  Hale  peaches.  A  %-bushel  basket  of 
the  same  fruit  exhibited  at  the  Grange 
picnic  a  few  days  later  contained  only 
2S  peaches.  The  basket  was  full.  too. 
Mr.  Mood  has  a  fine  reputation  for 
growing  fancy  fruit,  both  peaches  and 
apples,  and  even  in  a  year  of  glutted 
markets,  like  the  past,  he  had  no  trou¬ 
ble  to  dispose  of  his  fruit  at  a  premium. 
1  he  fact  of  finding  this  new  variety  of  apple  is  no 
surprise  whatever  to  those  who  know  the  man.  He 
observes  his  trees,  and  knows  a  good  thing  when  he 
sees  it.  Mr.  Mood  is  now  in  Florida,  and  I  have  not 
seen  him  since  August,  but  it  seems  this  new  fruit 
came  as  a  bud  sport  on  a  Delicious  tree,  one  limb 
producing  an  apple  of  beautiful  red  color  having  the 
flavor  of  Delicious,  and  ripening  a  few  days  ahead 
of  tine  Delicious.  Mr.  Mood  has  load  this  under 
observation  five  or  six  year-.  Many  other  men 
might  have  had  the  same  thing  in  their  orchards, 
and  would  never  have  noticed  it.  or  if  they  did  would 
not  have  known  how  to  bring  it  to  the  attention  of 
anyone  who  would  have  developed  it. 
No.  Mr.  Mood’s  chief  asset  is  not  luck.  It  is  pluck, 
determination,  etc. :  nothing  more  than  the  old- 
fashioned  formula  for  success  and  right  living  well 
worked.  Congratulations  and  best  wishes  to  Mr. 
Mood.  May  the  Florida  climate  bring  to  him  the 
good  health  he  seeks,  trucker  ,tr 
Gloucester  Co..  N.  J. 
That  $5,000  New  Apple 
From  time  to  rime  the  papers  have  printed  .stories  of 
Lewis  Mood._  a  New  Jersey  farmer,  and  a  new  apple, 
for  which  $5,000  have  been  paid.  It  is  said  that  a 
single  branch  on  an  apple  tree-  of  known  variety  pro- 
Oxe  of  the  new  methods  of  extending  the  greetings  of 
.New  rear’s  is  for  some  artistic  soul  to  paint  a  neat 
picture  on  a  goose  egg  and  mail  if  to  the  well-wished 
one.  An  experience  in  dropping  one  of  theco  painted 
eggs  has  convinced  us  that  the  safe  plan  is  to  boil  the 
egg  hard  .before  mailing.  Age  may  add  strength,  but 
hot  virtue  to  an  unboiled  egg. 
