ORCHARDS
Another phase of tree-culture that does not, strictly speaking, come under the head of forestry, but which should be considered here, is the cultivation of orchards, either for home use or for commercial purposes.
In a few sections, fruit is the most valuable of all crops. Oranges in Florida and California, peaches in some of the southern states, and apples in the northwest, are more profitable than any field crops, and their cultivation is made the subject of careful scientific study. But there are many other states where the raising of fruit in commercial quantities is almost altogether neglected, and to which almost all fruit is shipped from other sections. This is particularly true in the rich corn and wheat producing states of the Mississippi Valley.
The early settlers each planted an orchard for home use, and these produced the finest quality of fruit in abundance; but usually, after being planted, the trees were left to take care of themselves, while the farmer's time and attention were given to his fields of grain.
As time passed, plant diseases and insect pests increased, winds broke down many of the unpruned trees, frosts often blighted the entire crop of fruit, and the uncultivated, sod-choked trees produced fruit that was less in quantity and poorer in quality each year.
In recent years the highest grade of apples have all been shipped from the West. These are grown on irrigated land; a high price being paid both for the land itself and for the water-privilege, and the orchards are seldom more than ten acres in extent. Wind and frost may cause as much damage here as in the eastern states and plant diseases and insect enemies are equally liable to injure the crop.
But here orcharding is carried on in a scientific manner. The small size of the orchard makes it possible for the owner properly to care for every tree, and each one must be made a source of profit. Every condition that tends to affect the crop is carefully studied, and the remedy found and applied.
There is no reason why the same care and labor should not produce equally good results with far less expense in the well-watered regions of the eastern and central part of the United States. The neglected orchard will prove a failure anywhere, as surely as will a neglected garden, and success will come only by giving to fruit the same intelligent care that would be bestowed upon any other crop.
The cultivation of apples should receive particular attention in the north central states, because they have great food value, are not perishable, can be shipped long distances, and the demand, both at home and abroad, is always greater than the supply. The home orchard, however, should contain many kinds of fruit, and the same general rules in regard to the care of the orchard apply to all of them.
First, the orchard should not be located on land that is fitted to produce the best farm crops, but it must not be too steep and hilly to be cultivated. A sunny sloping hillside is best suited to orchard crops.
In most cases little fertilization is needed except the planting of clover or some other leguminous crop. If corn be planted in young orchards, as is often the case, potash should be used as a fertilizer after the crop is gathered, since both corn and fruit trees draw very heavily on the potash in the soil.
Old orchards sometimes need a single application of a general fertilizer containing all the principal soil elements. All fertilizers should be applied not merely around the base of the trunk, but as far from it as the tree spreads its branches in all directions.
The trees should be carefully pruned and special attention paid to trimming the tops low to prevent damage from winds, and also to make spraying easy.
The soil should be deeply cultivated the first few years in order to make the roots strike deep into the ground, and afterward the soil should receive some surface cultivation every year.
When there is danger of frost after the trees have bloomed, brushwood fires are lighted and a dense smoke is raised over the orchard by burning pots of crude oil. This smoke is helpful in preventing the formation of frost, and will often be the means of saving the crop.
The other great causes of failure to grow large quantities of perfect fruit, if the varieties are well chosen, are plant diseases and damage by insects. The methods of their control are given in the chapter on Insects, and include principally the disposal of all decayed fruit, the raking up and burning of all leaves in infected orchards, arsenical and lime sprays, and, above all, such attention to pruning and cultivation as will keep the trees in good condition.
Lastly, the keeping of bees in the orchard will pay well, not only for the honey they produce, but because they assist greatly in carrying the pollen from flower to flower, and so increasing the crop of fruit.