THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
6 i 
last spring, loo were of Gano. Leaving out the Gano, 
which has not been tested in large quantity, nor for a long 
time. Judge Wellhouse’s second choice fora commercial 
variety is the Missouri Pippin, which in yield has so far 
been a trifle ahead of the Ben Davis. The Missouri Pip¬ 
pin bears very early and yields somewhat of profit before 
the Ben Davis has begun to yield any fruit, but its prime, 
decline and decay come early as well, and in later years it 
loses the advance over other varieties. 
The proportion in which Mr. Wellhouse has planted 
other varieties very nearly indicates his preference for 
them in a commercial way. His orchards contain of 
Ben Davis. 620 acres ; Missouri Pippin, 320 acres ; 
Jonathan, 360 acres; Gano, 100 acres ; York Imperial, 95 
acres; Winesap, 60 acres ; Maiden’s Blush, 16 acres ; 
Cooper’s Early White, 16 acres. 
Cooper’s Early White is the only variety that has not 
paid. Neither it nor Winesap are being planted any more. 
York Imperial, though not thoroughly tested as yet, is 
looked upon with special favor as a commercial variety. 
The tree is thrifty, hardy and very productive, although 
difficult to raise in the nursery. The fruit is of good and 
uniform size, well colored, a good keeper, and preserves its 
quality as to crispness and flavor as long as it lasts, never 
becoming spongy or flat. 
METHOD OF PLANTING. 
Mr. Wellhouse sets his trees so that the north and south 
rows are thirty-two feet apart with the trees sixteen feet 
apart in the rows. There are three main reasons for 
adopting this plan : (1) With the trees so close together 
they form their own wind-break, making hedges or belts 
of timber unnecessary. (2) The dense shade makes the 
evaporation of moisture from the soil less rapid, and the 
danger from sun scald of the trunks and branches less 
imminent. (3) It is easier to secure a good permanent 
stand by the close planting, and the excess of trees, if 
there is any, can be removed as is desirable. 
Trees are always set in trenches, rather than in holes, 
for several reasons. It is a more rapid and less expensive 
method, and it insures better drainage to the trees. Be¬ 
sides this, it loosens the soil to a greater distance around 
the trees than is the case where the holes are dug, as 
ordinarily. Mr. Wellhouse’s plan is to strike out a “ land,” 
about four ordinary furrows wide, where each row of trees 
is to be. From this land he turns two furrows each way, 
leaving a “ dead ” furrow. In the bottom of this “ dead ” 
furrow an ordinary listing plow is run, to a depth of four¬ 
teen inches from the surface, if possible. Very little dig¬ 
ging is required in this trench to prepare for the setting of 
each tree. 
Trees are never bought of nurseries, but are raised. 
The advantages of this course are that the proprietor 
always knows just what is being planted ; the trees are 
always on hand when wanted, and in the best possible 
condition, and they can be grown for a small part of the 
amount they would cost if purchased from a nursery. 
Mr. Wellhouse says that trees of the common varieties 
can be raised to two years old from the graft for less than 
2 cents each. 
Grafts are always made on “piece” roots, “whole” 
root grafts never having given satisfaction. It is the 
endeavor to get a tree on its own roots as soon as possible, 
and this is accomplished only by using ‘ piece ” roots. 
CARING FOR THE TREES. 
Trees are always headed very low and the heads kept 
as dense as possible to protect the trunks and branches 
from sun scald. Mr. Wellhouse says that he invariably 
refuses employment to men who will confess to any 
knowledge of horticulture, for such persons always persist 
in disobeying orders in regard to pruning. They insist on 
trimming the body of the tree up high and thinning out 
the head, which is not desired under any circumstances. 
Men who know nothing about pruning do as they are 
told. Sparing the pruning knife also promotes early 
bearing, in hastening the maturity of the trees. Missouri 
Pippin and Ben Davis have always been made to bear the 
fourth year after setting through allowing them to grow 
practically at will. 
There are two other strong reasons for heading the 
trees low : The heavy prairie winds have less opportunity 
to whip them about and injure them, and the fruit is 
much more readily gathered where it is borne near the 
ground. 
Young trees are never wrapped to protect them from 
damage by rabbits, dependence being placed upon the use 
of traps. Two or three box traps per acre, built upon a 
plan invented by Walter Wellhouse, who is associated 
with his father, and costing 15 to 20 cents each, insure 
immunity at a tithe of the expense attached to wrapping. 
The traps are about twenty-two inches long, six inches 
wide, and six high. They are built of inch lumber, that 
which has been weather-beaten being much preferred as 
it is less likely to arouse a rabbit’s alarm. One end is 
nailed shut, and the other is fitted with a wire door, hinged 
at the top and so arranged that it will be “ tripped ” at 
the slightest touch of a spindle inside. No bait is needed, 
as a rabbit will go into a dark hole anywhere. The rab¬ 
bit when going in brushes against the delicately adjusted 
spindle, the door falls, and his days of girdling apple trees 
are over. 
Young plantations are kept cultivated in corn until they 
begin to bear. They are then seeded to clover and none 
of the growth removed from the land. After the clover 
goes to seed each year the ground is run over with a cut¬ 
ter devised for the purpose, which cuts all the clover and 
and weeds and leaves them for mulching. The action of 
the cutter is also to cover much seed, which insures a new 
growth of clover. The cutter is built on a plan very similar 
to that of the ordinary stalk cutter. 
GATHERING AND PACKING. 
The gathering of the apples is done by men in gangs of 
twelve to fifteen, each gang in charge of a foreman. An 
ordinary two-bushel grain sack, swung over the shoulder 
and kept open by a hoop in the mouth, is used by each 
