THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
I 12 
WORK OF THE APPLE KIISG. 
Wonderful Success of the Wellhouse Orchards In Kansas—Net In¬ 
come of $104,000 in Fifteen Years — $39,000 in a Single 
Year—The Varieties Preferred and the Manner of 
Planting —1220 Acres In Young Trees. 
One man’s requirements often happily combining with an¬ 
other’s ability, work great advantage to both, say’s Colman’s 
Rural World. Such a circumstance effected the beginning of 
the success of Fred Wellhouse, of Kansas, the most extensive 
commercial orchardist in the United States. He is widely 
known as the “apple king” of Kansas, and the story of his 
eminently successful career in orcharding should be an inspira¬ 
tion to all who read it. Something of it is related here by 
F. D. Coburn, secretary of the Kansas Board of Agriculture. 
The year 1875 found Mr. Wellhouse without money, but 
with a definite knowledge of tree-growing and orcharding in 
Kansas, acquired by years of close observation, combined 
with practical experience, and full of faith in the possibilities 
of the state for fruit growing. L. B. Wheat, a lawyer, of 
Leavenworth, owned three tracts of 437 acres of land which 
were not profitable. Mr. Wellhouse closed a contract with 
Wheat to plant this, 160 acres near Fairmount and 117 acres 
near Glenwood, Miami county, and 160 acres in Miami county ( 
near Gardner, with apple trees. These lands had cost Mr. 
Wheat, with improvements, about $ro,ooo, and could be 
rented for perhaps $1 per acre. He furnished the land, 
fenced it (breaking that part of it not previously in cultiva¬ 
tion), erected buildings for tenants, dug wells, etc. 
Wellhouse & Son (the firm name) furnished the trees, 
planted, cultivated and took care of them until they came into 
bearing, getting all grain grown on unoccupied land between 
the trees, and paid taxes for the first five years. After that 
Mr. Wheat paid taxes and each party was to-pay one-half the 
expenses, and each receive one-half the income until Well¬ 
house & Son should receive 15 bushels per tree, or so long as 
the trees might bear. The Glenwood orchard was planted in 
the spring of 1876 ; the Miami county tract in 1878, and the 
Fairmount orchard in 1878, with varieties as follows: 
Glenwood tract (117 acres): Ben Davis, 60 acres; Winesap, 
16 acres; Missouri Pippin, 41 acres. 
Miami county tract (160 acres)': Ben Davis, 60 acres; Mis¬ 
souri Pippin, 42 acres; Maiden’s Blush, 8 acres; Cooper's 
Early, 8 acres; Winesap, 22 acres. 
Fairmount tract (160 acres): Ben Davis, 80 acres; Jonathan, 
40 acres; Cooper’s Early, 8 acres; Maiden’s Blush, 8 acres; 
Winesap, 24 acres. 
The years of usefulness from these orchards was from 1880 
to 1895, during which time they produced a total of 410,417 
bushels, giving a net income of $104,000, or $52,000 as a result 
of the venture to each party during the fifteen years’ active 
life of the orchards. The account practically closed in 1895 
Wellhouse & Son now own 1,220 acres of younger orchards, 
located in Leavenworth and Osage counties. About one- 
third of these are now laden with fruit and the product of this 
season is estimated at 20,000 bushels, approximately valued 
at $5,000. 
Their largest crop was 80,000 bushels in 1890 ; the year’s 
expenses amounted to $13,000 and the gross receipts for apples 
$52,000. The next year’s crop was 63,698 bushels. 
From their long experience in commercial orcharding the 
Messrs. Wellhouse are making their later plantings in about 
the following ratio as to varieties, viz.: Ben Davis, 100 ; 
Missouri Pippin, 50 ; Jonathan, 40 ; Gano, 15 ; York Imperial, 
15. Their trees are set, when two years old, in trenches 
instead of holes, 16 feet apart in rows north and south, and the 
rows 32 feet apart. 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 un¬ 
necessary. (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 close planting, 
and the excess of trees, if there is any, can be removed as may 
be desirable. 
NELSON BOGUE’S LOSS. 
Early on the morning of September 26th, fire at Nelson 
Bogue’s Nursery rear Batavia, N. Y., destroyed a large car¬ 
riage and horse barn and a series of two-story buildings, in¬ 
cluding the label-room, tool, blacksmith, grafting, workshop 
and packing rooms. Valuable business records were lost. 
The total loss was estimated at $4,000, partially covered by 
insurance. 
MYROBALAN PLUM FOR HEDGES. ’ 
John W. Duncan, Greenwich, Conn., writes to Meehan’s 
Monthly : 
Regarding your notes, in the June issue of the Monthly, on the 
Myrobalan plum as a hedge plant, I would say that such a hedge fence 
has been tried here. It was planted in 1898 , and has for the last four 
years been a beautiful hedge, pruned to a height of 5 feet. It makes 
a splendid hedge fence, as no one—or even stock—will attempt to go 
through it. It responds well to pruning, and, so far as the writer has 
seen, has never been troubled with the plum borer ; but alas, the San 
Jose scale has proved a worse enemy to contend with here, and where 
there is any danger of the hedge being infested with this pest, I have 
no hesitation in saying that the Myrobalan plum will prove a grand 
failure. 
©bituaiT. 
A. E. Phinney, who twelve years ago established the Sunnyside 
Nursery at San Diego, Cal., died there recently. Mr. Phinney and his 
son had been nurserymen in Nebraska. He was born in Granville, 
N. Y. 
William Saunders, horticulturist of the Department of Agriculture 
since its organization in 1862 , and a well-known landscape gardener, 
died at his home in Washington, D. C., Sept. 11 th, aged 77 . He was 
born in Scotland and studied for the ministry, but ran away before 
completing his course at the divinity college. He was connected with 
the Kew Gardens in London and came to America forty years ago. 
Some of the best landscape work was done in Fairmount Park in 
Philadelphia, the grounds of the Agricultural Department and the 
Gettysburg National Park. As president of the Parking Commission 
of Washington he contributed greatly to the work of beautifying the 
city. One of his most notable achievements was the introduction of the 
seedless orange. The original tree is still in the greenhouse at the 
department. Mr. Saunders was one of the organizers of the Patrons 
of Husbandry. 
The English apple crop, like that of America is unusually large 
and only the best American apples should be sent to England. Ger¬ 
many has an abundance of cooking sorts but there is a demand for 
Baldwins, Ben Davis, King, and other colored varieties. 
