FRUIT DISTRICT No. 3.

Following is the third fruit district, comprised of thirty-one counties in the southwest quarter of the state. Reports, or rather experiences, from each of these counties will be found immediately following. We give below the number of apple trees in the third district, compiled from the statistics of 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.

Bearing.Not bearing.Total.
Barber12,90116,38429,285
Barton25,14624,19649,342
Clark7351,9422,677
Comanche1,0101,5122,522
Edwards3,3786,67210,050
Finney6,13910,55916,698
Ford2,2814,1786,459
Grant8523001,152
Gray4102,7153,125
Greeley10402412
Hamilton7412,2422,983
Harper36,29620,50856,804
Haskell328141469
Hodgeman4156751,090
Kearny4,4057,31211,717
Kingman39,24923,41662,765
Kiowa1,6832,2123,895
Lane1,6472,5244,171
Meade1,3402,2003,540
Ness1,1881,6302,818
Pawnee11,1377,80018,937
Pratt12,89412,96325,857
Reno141,460280,713422,173
Rice65,06945,133110,202
Rush2,1182,6294,747
Scott2291,9362,165
Seward4326021,034
Stafford22,91427,37750,291
Stanton10150160
Stevens8971,6512,548
Wichita909591,049
Total in district397,304513,633910,937
Estimated acreage60,000100,000160,000

D. J. McNeal, Scott, Scott county: I have lived in Kansas ten years; have an apple orchard of sixty-five trees five years old, seven feet high. I prefer a clay soil with a north aspect. I plant two-year-old trees in ground that has been plowed for two years before planting. I cultivate my orchard with a disc harrow and cultivator, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of cottonwoods. I rub rabbits' blood on the trees to protect them from other rabbits. I prune my trees with a knife and a fine saw; I think it beneficial. I have fertilized my orchard with stable litter, but it causes a too rapid growth; I would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable; it does not pay. I am not troubled with insects, and do not spray. I do not irrigate, but think it would pay.

G. O. Vick, Fowler, Meade county: Have lived in Kansas fourteen years. I planted an apple orchard twelve years ago; have about fifty Missouri Pippins, that have not failed to give us a crop for seven or eight years; last fall we got three bushels from a single tree—the most ever taken from one tree by us. They are fine keepers, and are said to be much better, both in color and flavor, than those grown farther east. We have kept them in fine condition until July following, and then the supply gave out. Have no trees where they can be irrigated, but hope to put out an orchard next spring that can be irrigated. I have the finest location [for irrigation] in the West, and will do my best. I prefer valley land, with a southeast slope. Prices have been two dollars per bushel.

C. A. Blackmore, Sharon, Barber county: I have lived in the state about five years; have an orchard of 1100 apple trees, three years old, two inches in diameter, seven feet high. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Early Harvest, Benoni, and Maiden's Blush. When planting a family orchard select varieties from the earliest to the latest, that they may be well supplied. In planting a commercial orchard I would study the wants and demands of the people, also the varieties best adapted to our soil and climate. Do not be like an experiment station and plant all varieties catalogued. A mongrel orchard, like mongrel stock, is not good property. The man who has a hundred bushels of some one good variety of apples can always get the best price for them; but if the hundred bushels consisted of ten or a dozen varieties there would not be enough of any one variety to attract a buyer, and consequently he must take what he can get for them. Select such varieties as the market demands, and then confine your planting to as few varieties as possible, and your commercial orchard will attract buyers. I prefer a bottom, with a dark, sandy or red land, with a reddish clay subsoil, north or northeast slope. I plant thrifty two-year-old trees, in ground plowed deeply and marked off with a lister sixteen by thirty feet; then set the trees four to six inches deeper than they stood in the nursery, in holes dug at the crossings. I haul my trees to the field in a barrel two-thirds full of water, take them out one at a time and trim all the broken and long roots, arranging them in natural positions and turning the ends down in the hole, leaning the tree toward the two P. M. sun; then I fill the hole, using a rammer while a boy shovels the dirt in. If the soil is dry pour two or three gallons of water on the roots. When the water has soaked away finish filling the hole, and tramp the soil lightly around the tree. When they are all set, cut them well back.

I cultivate my orchard from early spring to the 1st of September, using a plow, cultivator, and disc; I plant corn in a young orchard, and cease cropping after eight years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south and west, and I would make them of Russian mulberries. For rabbits I rub rabbits' blood on the trees twice during the winter. Borers I cut out the first year; after that I drown them out by cultivation. I prune my trees while they are small, to give shape. I think it pays, as you do not have to cut off large branches when grown. Do not have to thin fruit here in Kansas. I do not plant a solid block of any one kind of trees; I intermingle the varieties in alternate rows, and insure more perfect pollination. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it pays especially well on sandy soil, and I would advise its use on all soils. Don't expect your trees to produce something for nothing; feed them. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, bud moth, root aphis, bag-worm, flathead borer, roundhead borer, woolly aphis, twig-borer, and oyster-shell bark-louse, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. Hunt the insect eggs and nests in your trees, and destroy the source of much loss to your fruit this season. In picking, I use a ladder to reach the apples in the top of the trees; put them in a grain sack over my shoulder with a stick in the mouth; have gathered sixty bushels per day for weeks at a time in this way. Prices have been from one dollar to two dollars per bushel, and dried apples five to eight cents per pound.

A. D. Einsel, Greensburg, Kiowa county: I have lived in the state twelve years. I plant thrifty one-year-old trees, in holes large enough to receive the roots, cover the roots with earth, and then pour in a pail of water. When this is soaked away fill the hole nearly full of earth. I cultivated my orchard to corn, using a spring-tooth harrow, to keep the soil loose and kill the weeds. Am going to plant another apple orchard. I think western Kansas will yet grow apples.

A. N. Patterson, Ford, Ford county: I have lived in Kansas seventeen years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees five years old. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter. Do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. I do not irrigate.

John Hinds, Olcott, Reno county: I have resided in the state thirteen years. Have an apple orchard of 500 trees; 375 of them are three years old, and the balance eight years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Rawle's Janet, and Grimes's Golden Pippin; and for family orchard Early Harvest and Maiden's Blush. I have tried and discarded Greening, Baldwin, and Missouri Keeper. I prefer a sandy bottom with a clay subsoil, and eastern aspect. I prefer three-year-old trees, set in the spring. I prune the roots and tops when setting. I plant my orchard to corn or potatoes for six or eight years; plow shallow; cease cropping after eight years, and plant nothing but clover and orchard-grass in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of mulberries planted one or two feet apart all around the orchard. For rabbits I make a varnish and apply to the trees in the fall. I prune my trees in June when they are large, so as to let in light and sun; I use a tree pruner; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, but do not put it close to the trees; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs; I think it pays. My trees are troubled with fall web-worm and leaf-roller. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand; sort into three classes from piles. Pack them in barrels and haul to market on wagon. I sell apples in the orchard at retail. Make vinegar of the culls. I store some apples for home use. Price has been one dollar per bushel.

Henry Miller, Ulysses, Grant county: Have lived in Kansas fifteen years. I have 256 apple trees, nine and ten years planted, from three to five inches in diameter. I grow for market Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Ben Davis, adding for family use Maiden's Blush and Grimes's Golden Pippin. I prefer bottom land, northeast slope, sandy soil, and gypsum subsoil. I plant in squares twenty-four by twenty-four feet. I have cultivated up to date with stirring plow and cultivator. I grow garden-truck among my trees until seven years old; after that nothing. I believe windbreaks essential in this county, and would make them of Russian mulberry, cottonwood, and locust. I would plant on the outside a row of mulberry four feet apart; next, a row of cottonwood or locust eight feet apart. To prevent destruction by rabbits I rub with fresh blood. I prune with a knife to prevent watersprouts from getting too thick; I am sure it pays, and lets sunshine into the center of the trees. I use stable litter, straw or rotted hay for fertilizer. I do not pasture my orchard, and have no insects but grasshoppers. Our crop has been light, owing to dry weather. I sell largely in the orchard. Our best market is at home. We dry a few for home use. I keep some for winter use, in a cave dug out and covered with earth. I do not irrigate. The prevailing price for apples is one dollar per bushel, and of dried apples, six cents per pound.

E. T. Daniels, Kiowa, Barber county: I have lived in the state twenty-five years. Have an apple orchard of 150 trees, from ten to sixteen years old, four to eight inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Jonathan, Twenty-ounce Pippin, Maiden's Blush, and Rawle's Janet. Would plant the same varieties for a family orchard. Have tried and discarded Ben Davis, Early Harvest, Smith's Cider, Lawver, Fink, Walbridge, and McAfee; they will not stand the heat and drought. I prefer bottom land, with heavy loam and red subsoil, southeast slope, sheltered from north and south winds. I prefer a good yearling tree, planted in a dead furrow; after planting, plow two furrows to the tree, and then harrow. I plant my orchard to corn for two years only, using a twelve-inch plow, cultivator, and harrow. I cultivate my orchard as long as it lives, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south and north; would make them of a belt of deciduous trees, six rods wide on the north, and one-half as wide on the south; would make this of native trees—elm, ash, or mulberry. For rabbits I wrap the trees with hay. I prune my young trees with the thumb and finger mostly, forming low heads; bearing trees I prune very little, except to take out the blighted limbs. I thin my apples when too full, when about the size of marbles; believe it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter and ashes, but cannot see any benefit; think it would do no harm, unless heavy coats of coarse manure are plowed under. Never have pastured my orchard, but am going to very soon; am fencing now, so I can turn in hogs. My trees are troubled with twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. I sell apples in the orchard, and peddle the best second and third grades; give the culls to the hogs. My best market is in Oklahoma; never have tried distant markets. I am successful in keeping apples for family use in bulk in a cyclone cellar dug in the red rock. Missouri Pippin keep the best for me. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

D. D. White, Enon, Harper county: Have lived in Kansas twenty years; have 500 apple trees planted from three to eighteen years. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. For family orchard I would add Maiden's Blush and Grimes's Golden Pippin. I prefer sandy bottom with an eastern slope. I would plant yearling trees, with every limb cut off, in rows twenty feet north and south, and forty feet east and west. Cultivate with double-shovel plow until they get too big to get among them, and grow nothing near them. I believe in a windbreak of mulberry, or any trees planted thickly, on the south. I prune only so that I can get under the trees. I use plenty of barn-yard litter, for it pays in the orchard. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable, as it pays. I have sprayed, but never saw any good in it. I dig the borers out with a wire, unless they are in the heart of the tree, and then there is no help for the tree. I pick from a step-ladder, and sort into three classes: windfalls, wormy, and perfect. In picking we drop the decayed and gnarly to the ground, carry the rest in baskets to the barrel, put the perfect ones in one barrel, and the others in another. Do not disturb the best ones until you sell; the others should be sorted again before you sell. I sell some in the orchard, but peddle mostly; my best I sell to the stores in the spring; of the culls I make cider. My best market is the towns in the "Strip." I dry some satisfactorily on a cook-stove evaporator, pack in flour sacks, and find a ready and profitable market for them in the spring. I store successfully for winter in bulk and in barrels in a cave with eighteen-inch wall arched over from the bottom. I find that Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin and Winesap keep the best. We lose, perhaps, one-sixteenth. I do not irrigate. Prices range from 50 cents to $1.50 per bushel, and dried apples from five to twelve cents per pound. I use only farm hands at fifteen dollars per month and board.

Amos Johnson, Ellinwood, Barton county: Have been in Kansas twenty-three years; have an orchard of 2000 apple trees, planted from three to twelve years. Varieties for market: Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Smith's Cider, and Northern Spy; for family use, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Smith's Cider, Maiden's Blush, and Red June. Have no use whatever for Ben Davis. Prefer bottom land, with black, sandy soil and a southern aspect. Plant good, thrifty two-year-old trees 25×25 feet. I plant corn or potatoes for three or four years, and after that nothing; thoroughly cultivate with the plow, disc, and harrow. I think a windbreak on the south side very essential, and would make it of cottonwood and Russian mulberry, in five rows, alternating, six feet apart. I use soap and turpentine for the borers, and hounds for the rabbits. I believe pruning pays, and makes the fruit much nicer. I use common pruning shears, and prune so that the sun can get in. Never have thinned apples on the trees, but believe it would be a good thing. I believe in fertilizing with stable litter; think it keeps the orchard thrifty and more fruitful. I have never kept any stock in the orchard, but believe it would be advisable and no detriment to pasture with hogs in June and July. Have never sprayed any. I pick from step-ladders into baskets, and sort into three classes: No. 1 are sold in barrels, No. 2 in bulk, and No. 3 go for cider. I have sold a few wagon-loads in the orchard, but I sell my best apples by the bushel late in winter; I usually sell the second-grade apples first, and make the culls into cider. My best market is in the counties north and west of us; have never tried a distant market. Never dried any. For winter we store in barrels, and are successful. The Missouri Pippin and Willow Twig keep best. I irrigate on a small scale. Prices average about one dollar per bushel.

S. S. Dickinson, Larned, Pawnee county: Has lived in Kansas thirty-three years, and has an apple orchard of 1800 trees, planted from seven to fifteen years. For commercial purposes he prefers Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Willow Twig, Ben Davis, and Rome Beauty, and for family use adds early apples. Has tried and discarded Red Winter Pearmain, because of blight. He is located in river bottom, with sandy soil, and a blue clay subsoil. Prefers a north and east slope. Plants two-year-old trees, with heads two feet from the ground, in deep dead furrows. Cultivates until the middle of July with a disc harrow, plow, and weeder. Never ceases cultivation. In the young orchard he plants corn, potatoes, and garden-truck, and would plant the same in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping when the trees got too large. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of any fast growing timber, by planting two rows, six to eight feet apart, and three feet in the row. For borers and rabbits he uses paint, whitewash, and poison. He prunes his trees with a knife and shears, and thins out the tops to let the sun in, and thinks it pays, and is beneficial. He thins the fruit as soon as he sees that it is too thick. His trees are in mixed plantings, and fertilized with all the stable litter he can get. He finds it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. Does not pasture his orchard, excepting in late fall and early winter, when he lets the calves run in to tramp the ground, and thinks it advisable. His trees are troubled with canker-worm, bark-louse, and some other insects; and his fruit with codling-moth. He sprays his trees twice before the buds open, with Bordeaux mixture and arsenical solution, for blight; thinks he has reduced the codling-moth. Picks his apples from the trees into sacks, and hauls in a padded wagon box. Sorts them from tables into three classes—extra, good, and medium. Never sells apples in the orchard; wholesales, retails and peddles them. His best market is at home, but he has not enough to fill it. Does not dry any. Is successful in keeping a few apples for winter market in barrels and boxes in a cellar, as near air-tight as possible. They keep well until May 25, and he does not find it necessary to repack stored apples before marketing. He does not irrigate. Prices have been: Wholesale, 60 cents to $1.20 per bushel; retail, 80 cents, $1.40 to $1.60 per bushel. He employs good help at one dollar per day and board.

F. F. Hansberry, Larned, Pawnee county: Have resided in Kansas twenty-three years. Have 1400 apple trees nine years planted. For market, Ben Davis, Winesap, Red Edgar (?), Haas, and for family orchard Ben Davis, Winesap, Maiden's Blush, and Whitney (crab) No. 20. I have discarded the Missouri Pippin, as the tree is too short-lived. I prefer second bottom, with sandy soil and clay subsoil; always choose north or northeast aspect. I always plant good one-year-old trees, twenty by thirty feet apart, putting Missouri Pippins between the wide way, to be cut out later on. I grow and graft all my trees. Cultivate with a disc cultivator until the trees come into full bearing; after that every second year. I grow no crop in the orchard. I believe windbreaks are essential on south side; I think mulberry trees best, and would plant a double row two feet apart, in rows four feet apart, the nearest row forty feet away from apple trees. I shoot and trap the rabbits. I only prune enough to keep the tree well balanced. I often thin Winesaps on the tree because I think they need it, and it pays. I believe in mixed plantings, and therefore plant Ben Davis among all the others. I spread stable litter among my trees after they come into bearing; sandy soil, I think, requires the most fertilizer. I pasture in a small way, putting my little calves in, in the spring. Am only bothered with a few codling-moth and flat-headed borers. I do not spray, but I make way with all the fallen fruit. I hunt borers and kill with a wire. Pick by hand as soon as well colored; sort into two classes; the best is first, and all sound smaller fruit second. We pack in barrels by hand, marking with the variety and class. We sell ours all at home; usually they are engaged before they are picked. Our second grade we keep at home; culls are made into cider. Our apples are sold in Dodge City and Larned. Have never shipped any; have never dried any. I store some second grade in barrels and bulk in the cellar, and find that Missouri Pippins, Ben Davis, and Winesaps keep the best, and I do not lose over three per cent. Some seasons I irrigate, with windmills. Prices vary from 75 cents to $1.25 per bushel.

L. G. Morgan, Richfield, Morton county: I have lived in Kansas forty-three years; have an apple orchard of 125 trees, medium size, ten years old. For all purposes I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer black loam bottom, with clay subsoil, northern slope. I plant two-year-old trees with small tops, well rooted, in large holes, and filled in with well-worked soil. I cultivate my orchard to vines, using a stirring plow and hoe, and cease cropping after six years, but keep cultivating, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees planted in hit-and-miss rows around the orchard. Am not troubled with rabbits and borers. I prune with a saw and knife to give shape; think it beneficial. I thin apples on the trees as soon as large enough. My trees are in mixed plantings; Maiden's Blush are surrounded by Pippins and Rambos. I think they are more fruitful. I do not fertilize. I pasture my orchard with chickens and turkeys; I think it advisable, to keep out bugs. Trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar. I pick my apples by hand into baskets from step-ladders, and sort into three classes, choice, common, and culls, while gathering. I pack in barrels, placing a layer in the bottom, mark with paint, and haul to market on a wagon. I sell apples in the orchard, also retail to merchants; make cider of culls. Richfield is my best market. Do not dry any. Am successful in storing apples for winter in boxes and barrels in cellar; find Missouri Pippin and Winesap keep best. Lose about two per cent. of the stored apples. I irrigate my trees direct from a well, in ditches running close to the trees. Price has been one dollar per bushel.

E. Morgan, Hutchinson, Reno county: I have lived in Kansas seventeen years; have sixty acres of apples, from four to sixteen years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap; and for family orchard Early Harvest, Cooper's Early White, Maiden's Blush, Jonathan, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and discarded Snow and Early Pennock on account of blight. I prefer river bottom with a clay subsoil. I plant two-year-old, large, thrifty trees, at the crossings of furrows made with a lister, twenty by thirty feet. I cultivate for the first four years to corn and garden-truck, using a Planet jr. cultivator, then use a one-horse plow for two years, and cease cropping when bearing begins heavily, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of one row of Osage orange, on the west side of orchard. For rabbits I use tree paint and wood veneers. I prune my trees in the winter, to produce health and give good form; think it beneficial, and that it pays. I do not thin my fruit while on the trees, but think it would pay. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial; would advise its use on sandy land. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my fruit with codling-moth and curculio. I do not spray. I pick my apples from ladders; pile those taken from eight trees together and cover with hay. Sort into three classes: First, sound and large; second, sound and small; third, spotted. I sell apples in the orchard, also wholesale and retail; pack my best in bushel boxes and sell to grocers. Sell my second and third grades to peddlers and farmers from the west. My best market is at home. Have tried distant markets and found they paid. Am successful in storing apples in bulk in a bank cellar, Winesap and Missouri Pippin keeping the best. Do not irrigate. Good apples sold here this winter for one dollar per bushel. I employ farm hands at farm wages.

C. H. Longstreth, Lakin, Kearny county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-nine years. I have 3400 apple trees—500 eleven years old, 1200 eight years old, 700 six years old, and 1000 set this spring. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. For family use I would advise Early Harvest, Red June, Maiden's Blush, Chenango Strawberry, Smith's Cider, Huntsman's Favorite, Rome Beauty, Jonathan, Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin. Have discarded the Red Astrachan, Willow Twig, and Cooper's Early White, as they will not bear. I prefer second bottom, not too high or too low; sandy loam, with loose clay subsoil; any slope is good, north preferred. I prefer small-sized, well rooted, two-year-old trees, planted with a spade, in deeply plowed, thoroughly prepared ground, and would cultivate until they die of old age. I use a sixteen-inch disc, Acme harrow, Thomas's smoothing harrow, and Barnes's weeder. I grow small fruit and vegetables among the trees until of bearing age. Would plant windbreaks of six or eight rows of North Carolina poplars, honey and black locust, Russian mulberry, white ash, and box-elder, one-year seedlings, two feet apart, in rows four feet apart, on the north and south side of orchard. For rabbits, I wrap my trees as soon as possible after planting. I prune with a knife to admit sun and air, and to keep down suckers and limbs that rub each other. I thin all through the season, taking out imperfect fruit as far as possible, and it pays. I don't think it necessary to mix varieties to insure fruitfulness, yet this spring I planted 1000 Missouri Pippins, filling every sixth row with Winesaps for a test. The varieties I have discarded as not bearing were thoroughly mixed in with other kinds. I would use no fertilizers unless on very thin soil, and then would prefer to use before planting. I use fertilizers after the trees come into bearing, but up to bearing age good, thorough cultivation in the early part of the season is all that I would give. I do not pasture orchards; it might be advisable to turn hogs in to eat up windfalls affected with codling-moth, but never any other stock.

Am troubled only with root aphis, codling-moth, and curculio. I spray right after the blossoms fall with London purple, for codling-moth, and have reduced them to a great extent. Have prevented borers by wrapping. I contemplate using kerosene emulsion on curculio and insects that I cannot reach with poison. I pick in canvas lined half-bushel baskets, and sort into firsts, seconds, and culls, carefully, by hand. I pack in boxes, if I can get them; have used barrels well shaken and pressed down, marked with stencil, and shipped by rail. Denver has been our best market thus far; sometimes I have sold most of my apples in the orchard; never have to peddle any. I feed the culls to my hogs. Never dry any, but think I will try it in the near future, as there is a good home market for a large part of them. Have stored a good many in cellar in barrels and in bulk; some I have buried. I don't like either plan, and am figuring to put up some kind of cold-storage building for future use. Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis, in the order named, have kept best for me, my losses being about one-fifth. I irrigate by flooding the ground all over thoroughly when necessary. Prices have ranged from 75 cents to $1.25 per bushel; from $2.50 to $3 per barrel. I use the best men I can get, and pay $1 a day and board, or $1.50 per day without board.

A. W. Switzer, Hutchinson, Reno county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-six years; have 2000 apple trees twelve, fifteen and eighteen years old. Winesap, Missouri Pippin and Ben Davis for market purposes; Maiden's Blush, Rambo and Roman Stem added for family use. Have discarded Limber Twig and Willow Twig, both subject to blight. I prefer bottom land, sandy loam soil, and sandy subsoil; north slope is best. Plant two-year-old, low-headed trees, in holes large enough to receive all the roots without crowding, one inch deeper than in the nursery. Plant to corn until five or six years of age; then nothing. Plow and cultivate both ways to kill the weeds. I believe windbreaks are a necessity, and should be made of trees planted two or three rods wide, four feet apart, on the south side. Wrap the trees with straw or hay to protect from rabbits and borers. I prune with a saw to thin out where too thick, and to keep down the watersprouts; it certainly pays. I use stable litter and old hay in the orchard for fertilizer. Do not think it pays or is advisable to pasture orchard. I spray when the bloom begins to fall, three times for codling-moth, with London purple and Paris green, and I am satisfied I have reduced them. For the borer I use a knife and a wire. I pick in baskets, and pile in long rows in the orchard. I sort into two classes, and sell the best in the orchard to men who haul them west. The culls go for cider. I do not irrigate, and I do not dry or store any apples. Prices have varied from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel. I use common farm labor at fifteen to eighteen dollars per month.

J. C. Curran, Curran, Harper county. I have lived in Kansas fifteen years. Have fifty apple trees eleven years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and York Imperial, and for family orchard add some summer and fall varieties. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet, on account of slow growth. Bellflower is a fall apple here; and Jonathan is too small. I prefer bottom land, sandy loam, subirrigated, water at six feet. I prefer good two-year-old trees, head twenty-eight inches from the ground, planted in spring, after March winds. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a disc drawn by four horses. I plant no crop. Have some weeds and rabbits. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of mulberries planted not closer than forty feet to the first row of trees; would buy the mulberry sprouts from the nursery. I keep the rabbits down with dogs and shot-guns; dig borers out. I never thin my apples; the wind does it for me. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter, but think it injurious to the trees. Do not pasture my orchard. Trees are troubled with canker-worm and tent-caterpillar, and fruit with curculio. I do not spray. Pick apples by hand. Never dry apples; it does not pay. Do not irrigate. Prices have been fifty cents per bushel in the fall, and one dollar per bushel in the winter.

John H. Gosch, Norwich, Kingman county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees eighteen years old. I prefer a bottom having dark soil. I plant two-year-old trees in large holes, well watered. I cultivate my orchard shallow, and mulch, using a disc. Never plant anything among the trees. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of two or three rows of mulberries, on the north and south sides of the orchard. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, but do not put it near the trees; think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all southwestern Kansas soil. Am not bothered with insects. Do not spray. Apples have been one dollar per bushel.

L. W. Leach, Kingman, Kingman county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have an apple orchard of about 300 trees, from fourteen to eighteen years old. Those that do the best here are Red June, Maiden's Blush, and Cooper's Early White.

H. E. Jesseph, Danville, Harper county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five years; have an apple orchard of 800 trees, 100 of them but one year old and the other 700 are fourteen years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for a family orchard Grimes's Golden Pippin, Stark, and Cooper's Early White. Have tried and discarded the Nonesuch. I prefer bottom land with a deep loam that goes to water, with a north aspect. I prefer two-year-old trees set sixteen feet apart. I plant my orchard to corn for about eight years, using a disc harrow; and cease cropping at the end of that time. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of Osage orange, Russian mulberries, or cottonwood, by planting all around the orchard, making it the heaviest on the south side. For rabbits I wrap the young trees with corn-stalks, and borers I dig out. I prune with pruning-shears and a chisel to increase the fruit; I think it pays. I thin my fruit while on the trees in June and July, and find it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard, but would advise it on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my fruit with codling-moth. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples in a sack, one corner of which is tied up to the top, it has a strap eighteen inches long to put over the shoulder; spread the top of the sack and pick with both hands. Sort my apples into two classes: first and second. I pick the best first, letting the inferior ones stay on the trees; I afterwards shake these off and send to the cider mill. I sell apples in the orchard. Make cider and vinegar of the second and third grades and culls. My best market is at home in the orchard. Never tried distant markets. Do not dry any; cannot find a ready market for them and it does not pay. Am successful in storing apples for winter use in bulk, in an outside cave; find the Little Red Romanite and Missouri Pippin keep best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from sixty to seventy-five cents per bushel. I employ careful young men at one dollar per day or twenty-five dollars per month.

Sam Jones, Springfield, Seward county: I have lived in Kansas thirteen years. Have an apple orchard of fifty trees. I am not keeping them for the fruit, but for the pleasure of the birds—to build nests and sing their sweet songs in. I cultivate my orchard all the time to keep the weeds down; plant it to vines, such as squashes, pumpkins, melons, etc. Do not pasture my orchard. I do not know of anybody that ever irrigated. In regard to "the Kansas Apple," in this part of the state, they are no good. I will say there never was ten bushels of apples grown in Seward county. I planted out two acres of apple trees ten years ago; they grew, and looked very well. I took good care of them, but they never would bear; and that is the experience of every one else. I cannot tell the cause, unless it gets too dry and hot, with hot winds. [Such things were said of the whole state of Kansas by many intelligent men thirty years ago. Mr. Jones does not tell what varieties he tried, and his remarks need not discourage any whose lot is cast in Seward county. While there are only 1034 apple trees reported in the whole county, yet the low price of trees should encourage every farmer to plant a few of the hardier varieties, if only as an experiment.—Secretary.]

Joseph Bainum, Langdon, Reno county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five years. Have an apple orchard of twenty trees, most of them ten years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Winesap, and for family would add Early Pennock and Maiden's Blush. Ben Davis would not do any good for me. I prefer bottom or table land with a heavy subsoil and a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees with low heads, set in a ditch. I cultivate my orchard to corn as long as I can get in with a plow; I also use a disc and harrow. I cease cropping when the trees need all the moisture; do not plant anything in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of mulberry trees, set thirty or forty feet away from the orchard. For rabbits I use axle grease and sulphur mixed. I prune, leaving the tops low, and thin out the branches so as to give air and produce larger fruit; it has paid me. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter but do not put it close to the trees; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I have pastured my orchard with cattle and hogs; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. Trees are troubled with flathead borer and leaf-roller, and my apples with codling-moth. I have sprayed, but not lately, with London purple for codling-moth, just after the blossoms fell; it did not pay—did not reduce the codling-moth any. I go after insects not affected by spraying with a small wire. I pick my apples by hand in half-bushel baskets; sort into three classes—largest and sound, second best, and cider. I wholesale, retail, and peddle, and make the culls into cider and vinegar. Never have tried distant markets. I dry some with a Stutzman dryer; it is satisfactory. I pack them in cracker boxes and find a ready market for them at times; it does not pay. Am successful in storing apples two feet deep in bins, one above another, in a cellar walled up with rock; never tried any excepting Missouri Pippin and Winesap. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about five per cent. I irrigate my orchard with water pumped into a reservoir 80×120 feet, and three feet deep. Prices have been from 50 cents to $1.25 per bushel; dried apples, ten cents per pound. I employ women at fifty cents per day.

A. S. Drake, Bucklin, Ford county: Have lived in Kansas twenty years, and have 330 apple trees from three to eleven years old, part of them ten inches in diameter. I prefer good keeping apples for family use. I prefer bottom land, subirrigated, with a north and east slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, set the same depth as they grow in the nursery. I cultivate my orchard from three to eight years, in potatoes, with a plow and harrow; I plant nothing in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping when they shade the ground. Windbreaks are essential where orchards are exposed. I would make them of forest-trees. I protect from rabbits by wrapping with poultry wire. I dig borers out. I prune very little, just enough to stop top growth; I think it has been beneficial. I thin my apples when the limbs are unable to support them. I mulch only to hold back the bloom. I do not pasture my orchard. Borers trouble my trees. My apples are not troubled with insects. I pick my apples by hand, and put them carefully into a basket. I sort into two classes: first, sound and smooth; second, unsound. I do this work by hand. I pack in barrels, pressed full. My best market is at home; we eat and cook the best, and the culls I donate to the children. I never dry any. I store some in barrels, and am successful. I find those I keep from the family keep best. [?] The prevailing price has been one dollar per bushel. I employ men by the month.

Fred Moore, Great Bend, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years. Have 200 apple trees from one to sixteen years old. For family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer bottom land, with north slope. I cultivate every year with stirring plow and harrow; plant nothing; think windbreaks essential, made of forest-trees. I wrap my trees with rags to protect from rabbits. I prune with a saw to thin the branches. I never thin apples. I fertilize with stable litter. My trees are troubled with flathead borers. Worms trouble my apples. I do not spray. I dig borers out with a knife, in August and September. Price has been fifty cents per bushel.

W. G. Osborne, Medicine Lodge, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas since 1865. Have 150 apple trees, from two to fourteen years planted. I prefer root grafts, and plant in rows twenty to twenty-five feet each way. I cultivate in corn, using a plow. Keep rabbits down with hounds. I prune with a knife. I fertilize with barn-yard litter. Do not spray or irrigate.

Joseph Lewis, Bluff City, Harper county: I have been in Kansas twenty-two years; have an orchard of 1000 trees; the first were set in 1881. The varieties are Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Winesap for market, and Duchess of Oldenburg, Maiden's Blush and English Rambo for family use. I prefer bottom land, of level, sandy loam. I plant two-year-old thrifty trees in rows two rods apart. I grow nothing in the orchard, and never cease cultivating with a stirring plow, disc, and harrow. I believe windbreaks are essential in this county, and would make them of any thrifty forest-tree; Russian mulberry is good. I would put double rows around the orchard. I prune with shears and saw to thin the tops. I never use any fertilizer, and never allow stock in the orchard. Am troubled some with the flat-headed borer, which I remove with a knife. I spray with London purple just as the bloom begins to fall. I pick by hand, and sell in the orchard and otherwise; never dried any. I store for winter market in a cave in bulk, and am successful. The best keepers I find are Limber Twig, Striped Vandevere, and Ben Davis. Prices prevailing have been fifty cents per bushel; dried apples, from five to seven cents per pound.

John Pimm, Enon, Barber county: I have lived in Kansas sixteen years. Have an apple orchard of 2250 trees from four to twelve years old. For commercial purposes I prefer York Imperial, Ben Davis, Mammoth Black Twig, and Nero, also Shackleford; and for family orchard Jonathan, Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded White Winter Pearmain, Red Astrachan, and Mann. I prefer bottom land with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees planted in a deep dead furrow. I cultivate my orchard to corn and garden-truck; cultivate four or five times during a season, the more the better; I use a disc; believe an orchard should always be cultivated. I cease cropping after six or seven years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of two rows of mulberries. For rabbits I use wrappers of wood veneer. I prune to shape the tree and to get rid of all surplus wood, and think it beneficial. I do not thin my fruit on the trees; the insects and wind do it for me. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with flathead borer and twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth. I have sprayed with London purple.

L. L. Lovette, Toronto, Woodson county: I have lived in Kansas thirty-two years; have an apple orchard of thirty trees twelve to twenty years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Winesap, and for family use would add Early Harvest and Smith's Cider. Have tried and discarded Fall Pippin, Northern Spy, and Rambo. I prefer level prairie land well enriched, with black limestone soil and a sandy subsoil, northern aspect, to hold the trees back in the spring. I prefer large, smooth trees with good roots, planted in large holes with rotten chip manure. I cultivate my orchard to hoed crops, using a diamond plow. I plant bearing orchard to white beans, peanuts, etc., and cease cropping when well in bearing. Windbreaks are essential; I use soft maple four feet apart, in four rows around the orchard. For rabbits I wrap my trees with slough grass. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and borers, and my apples with curculio. I sprayed once with Bordeaux mixture; have no faith in it; I may possibly have reduced the codling-moth a little. I now watch and burn the insects. [?] I pick my apples in a sack over the left shoulder, from a step-ladder wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Sort into three classes: first take out all inferior for cider, then put the sound ones in the barn until late in the fall, when I sort, keeping No. 1's for spring, No. 2's for winter, and use all the rest for cider. I sell some apples in the orchard to neighbors, and some to grocerymen. I haul my best apples to market in a spring wagon with hay under them. We use many culls and give some away. My best market is at home. I dry some for market, then put them in sacks and keep in a cool place; find a ready market for them, but it does not pay. I store apples for winter market in a pit; am successful; find Winesap, Rawle's Janet and Missouri Pippin keep best. We have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about ten per cent. of them. I water my trees artificially. Prices have been from $1 to $1.50 per bushel. I employ young men at one dollar per day and board.

B. F. Cox, Fowler, Meade county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years; have an apple orchard of 125 trees ten years old, six to ten inches in diameter. For family orchard I prefer Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Ben Davis, Gennetting, and Rawle's Janet. I prefer hill land, with a northeast slope, having a clay subsoil. I prefer two-year-old trees, set at crossing of furrows run both ways. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a plow and harrow; it is too dry in this climate to let weeds grow. Do not plant any crop. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of African tamarix, set in three or four rows around the orchard. For rabbits I grease lightly in the fall and wash off in the spring. I prune my young orchard with a knife, to balance the tree properly. I think it pays. Never have thinned the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter. I think it has been beneficial, and would advise its use on all clay soils. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and roundhead borer, and my apples with worms. I spray when in bloom, and again after blooming, with London purple. Do not think I have reduced the codling-moth any. I pick my apples by hand, and sort into two classes—family apples and hog apples. Am successful in storing apples for winter use in boxes in a cellar. I find Ben Davis and Rawle's Janet keep best. I irrigate my orchard, using a windmill and pump with a four-inch cylinder. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

Dr. James Myers, Hutchinson, Reno county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-nine years. Have about 3000 apple trees eight years old, six to eight inches in diameter; fine, large trees. For market I prefer Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis; for home use, Early Harvest, Northern Spy, and Maiden's Blush. Most other varieties that are a success in the East are a failure here. I am satisfied with a few of the best varieties. In this county lowland is the best. I prefer a sandy land, on a clay subsoil, and a north slope, every time. I plant two- and three-year-old, clean, thrifty trees. I mark the ground in squares of one rod and plant in every other crossing, mismatching to make the trees zigzag. I will cultivate the orchard for forty years in this county if they live so long. I would grow corn amongst them for the first three or four years; after that, nothing; the less crop the better. I believe windbreaks are essential in small orchards, but in large orchards the trees will protect each other. For windbreaks I would plant maple or mulberry, at least two rods away from the apple trees. For protection against rabbits and borers, take lime and Portland cement, equal parts, mix with sweet milk to the consistency of paint; add one tablespoonful of Paris green, and apply with a brush; it will never fail. I prune while the tree is young; then the wound does not affect them so much; it pays, and is very necessary. I have never thinned, but think it necessary, just before the apples are half grown. I use no fertilizer whatever. I do not pasture my orchard much, but when I do it is with hogs, and I think it advisable when the fruit is wormy and falling off. I have some insects, but have never sprayed. For borers I use a knife. I pick in baskets, just as late as possible.

J. O. Emery, Cimarron, Gray county: Have lived in Kansas twelve years; have 400 apple trees four years planted, of the following varieties: Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Arkansas Black, Mammoth Black Twig, Rawle's Janet, and a few Yellow Transparent. Prefer bottom land in this county; plant only fifteen feet apart each way on account of the wind. Grow no crop in the orchard, and cultivate every two weeks until the 1st of August with a five-tooth cultivator. Have a double row of locusts and Osage-orange hedge all around the orchard, and consider windbreaks a necessity. I prune out the inside branches, leaving only four or five limbs, so they will not grow scrubby, and think it beneficial. I plowed under forty loads of stable litter to the acre before planting. I would not pasture an orchard. Am troubled some with web-worm and twig-borer, and have used a spray in June and August of concentrated lye and cold water; also, some Paris green and London purple for worms. I irrigate my orchard once every two weeks, from a reservoir 70×140 feet, and have apple trees that made 41/2 feet of growth last year. My reservoir is supplied by two windmills running four- and six-inch pumps.

Ben. McCullogh, Ellinwood, Barton county: Have been in Kansas twenty-two years; have the biggest grove in Comanche township, Barton county, covering twenty acres, most of it in fruit of all kinds. Have 300 apple trees, planted from five to fourteen years, from eight to sixteen inches in diameter; varieties, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Rawle's Janet. Have discarded the Nonesuch. My orchard is second bottom, black, sandy soil, and perfectly level. I planted two-year-old trees in rows both ways. I grow corn and potatoes in the orchard until the trees shade the ground pretty well, and then I grow nothing, but cultivate the ground until they get big and old enough to go without it. I believe windbreaks are essential in this country; mine is composed of three rows around the orchard, of box-elder and cottonwood. I wrap my trees while small to protect from the rabbits. Wash with lye for borers. While small I prune out the middle of the tree with knife and saw, but let the lower limbs grow to protect the trunk. I believe stable litter beneficial in an orchard, and use plenty of it. I do not believe in pasturing an orchard. I never spray. I always sell my fruit in the orchard; some wagons come forty miles for it, and pay me from fifty to seventy-five cents per bushel.

B. Leonhart, Kiowa, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years. Have 300 apple trees, planted from nine to ten years. Am uncertain as to best varieties. Plant in low ground or a "draw"; advise any loose soil, but no clay subsoil (?); like east or northern slope. Plant fresh one-year-old trees, in "deep subsoil trenched." Have planted root grafts eighteen inches long, where they are now growing, and are the pride of my orchard. Hot sun and wind make the fruit woody and sapless. Plant no crop in orchard, but plow yearly and harrow all summer. Believe in windbreaks made of locust or anything that will grow, planted in deep subsoiled furrows on south and west of orchard. For rabbits I use, in summer, lime, grass, and cow-dung, mixed. In winter I use clay with dead rabbit pounded into it. Prune to keep limbs from rubbing, and shorten in for bearing; not sure that either pays. Plant permanent orchard, and fill between with early-bearing varieties like Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, etc. [presumably to cut out afterward]. Use no fertilizers. Never let stock run in orchard. Encourage the birds, and spray some years with London purple and Bordeaux mixture before and after leafing out. Think I have reduced codling-moth. Thrifty trees never contain borers.

J. L. Liggitt, Belpre, Edwards county: Has resided in Kansas thirty years; has a family orchard of 125 trees, planted from three to thirteen years, and advises Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, and Jefferis. For commerce he recommends Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin. Prefers valley land sloping east or west, with sandy soil and clay subsoil. Plants sixteen feet east and west, and thirty-two feet north and south, after a lister. Plants to corn and beans for fifteen years, lessening the number of rows as the trees grow; uses a one-horse cultivator. Thinks a windbreak a necessity, and would make of evergreens, if possible; next, of box-elder, planted four feet each way after deep listing. Uses axle grease against rabbits. Prunes sparingly for shape, and says it certainly pays. Thinks thinning should frequently be done when trees appear to be overloaded. Believes trees should be in mixed plantings to produce best. Uses barn-yard litter to fertilize, and says it will pay, if scattered over the entire surface. Believes that pasturing with hogs is advisable, and makes the trees more productive. Has never sprayed, and is seldom troubled with leaf-eating insects. Removes borers with a wire or some pointed instrument twice a year. Picks from step-ladder by hand into baskets or buckets. Makes three classes—first, perfect in form and color; second, sound but not so regular in size; third, culls. Packs in three-bushel barrels carefully by hand, marked with name of variety and quality or class. Sells any way possible. Has shipped successfully to Missouri river cities.

H. Clay Hodgson, Little River, Rice county: Has been in the state twenty-six years. Has an orchard of 5000 trees, planted from five to twenty years. Uses Winesap, Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin for both commercial and family orchard. Has tried and discarded Willow Twig, Lawver and Smith's Cider on account of blight. Says bottom land of black loam, with clay subsoil, is preferable in this section. Plants two-year-old trees, in trenches made with plow and subsoiler. Cultivates with disc and harrow, from one to twelve years, growing corn for first five to eight years, afterward nothing. Thinks windbreaks made of several rows of Osage orange or box-elder on south side a great help. Prunes while young to make a more open head. Advises the use of manure on all orchards. Does not allow stock in the orchard. As soon as the leaves appear he sprays with London purple for canker-worms, and believes he has reduced codling-moth by it. Picks in sacks, with corners tied together and hung over the shoulder. Makes two classes, market and culls. Piles his apples as picked in the orchard, and sorts out for market from the piles, leaving the culls for cider. Sells mostly in orchard. Best market is home towns; never shipped any. Stores some in a cave, in bulk, for winter, and makes a success of it. Winesaps keep best. Sold last fall (1897) at 75 cents per bushel; during winter, at $1 to $1.25. Uses ordinary farm help at twenty dollars per month and board.

A. S. Huff, Sharon, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years; have an apple orchard of 130 trees ten years old. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Large Romanite, and Missouri Pippin, and for family orchard Missouri Pippin, Little Romanite, Limber Twig, and Winesap. I prefer level land with sand as deep as I can get it, with [natural] subirrigation. I use strong, thrifty trees, set in furrows plowed as deeply as possible, and then dug out. I cultivate my young orchard to corn with one-horse, five-tooth cultivator, as long as I can get in the orchard, and cease cropping only when they commence bearing, and plant nothing after that. Windbreaks are essential, and I would make them of Russian mulberry or box-elder, set six feet apart in rows running east and west, on the north and south sides. I protect from rabbits by wrapping with corn-stalks, and use lye for borers. I prune very little with a saw to keep out watersprouts, hardly enough to pay here in Kansas. Do not thin the fruit on my trees; it thins itself. I do not need to fertilize; would advise it on clay soil. I never pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable, unless you wish to destroy your trees. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my apples with curculio. Never have sprayed; insects not affected by spraying I gouge out with a wire, and apply concentrated lye in April and August. I pick my apples from ladders set up around the trees, one with four legs made solid, with steps on one side and a broad board on top to set baskets on. I sort into four classes, keeping those of a uniform size separate from the small ones. I keep my apples in an apple house. I generally sell in the orchard; always get $1.50 for my best, packed in boxes and sold at the nearest towns, at retail. I make cider for vinegar of the culls. My best market is at home; never tried distant markets. Never dry any; it does not pay. I store all I do not sell in orchard, in a cellar 12×16 feet, six feet in the ground, with earth on top; they do not freeze. I find the Winesap, Limber Twig and Little Romanite keep best. We do not have to repack stored apples before marketing; only lose about one per cent. I do not irrigate. Prices have been $1.25 per bushel. I hire no help; my own family does the work.

E. F. Reeve, Greensburg, Kiowa county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years; I prefer Missouri Pippins for a commercial orchard. I like a sandy bottom with a north slope. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees having bright bark; plant them by throwing out a deep furrow, and then making large holes in the furrow. I cultivate my orchard with a one-horse cultivator, planting no crop, and keep the orchard clean, never stopping cultivation. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of Russian mulberry or Osage orange, on the north, west and south sides of the orchard, especially on the south. I do not prune my trees, nor thin my apples. I do not fertilize my orchard, and would not advise it in this section. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar. Have not sprayed. Sort my apples into one class, cut out the rot, and make into apple dumplings [?]. Never sell apples in the orchard; keep them all for home use; my best market is at home. I do not dry any for market; they sometimes dry on the trees, the effect of hot winds. This is not very satisfactory, and does not pay. I do not store any for market. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from seventy-five cents to one dollar per bushel; dried apples, eight and one-third cents per pound.

G. W. Hollenback, Coldwater, Comanche county: I have resided in the state thirty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees from six to nine years old, four to eight inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for family orchard Maiden's Blush, Smith's Cider, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet on account of poor quality, and Willow Twig on account of shy bearing. I prefer a northeast slope, with sandy loam and clay subsoil; bottom causes the trees to grow too rank. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees with low, well-balanced tops, set thirty feet each way. I give my orchard thorough cultivation, on account of lack of moisture; I will continue indefinitely using a plow and corn cultivator, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of double row of peach trees on south side, to keep the trees in shape. I prune to give form; I think it pays, as they would become too dense if not pruned. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees, but think some varieties would be better if they were. My trees are planted with each variety in a separate row. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial, but would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. Flathead borers are in my trees, but if they are kept thrifty the borers will give little trouble. My apples are troubled with codling-moths. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand and sell in bulk in the local market. I do not dry any. I am quite successful in storing apples in pits for winter use; the Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Winesap keep the best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from $1 to $1.25 per bushel.

J. J. Ablard, Lawndale, Pratt county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees from three to six years old. For family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Nickajack, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer second bottom, sandy loam, with clay subsoil, and an eastern or northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, four feet high, branched low, planted 24×24 feet, in a furrow plowed very deeply, north and south. I plant my orchard to corn, using a cultivator, plow, and cutaway harrow, and cease cropping when the trees need all the support. Windbreaks are a benefit; I would make them of white or green ash and mulberry, by planting and cultivating three or four rows on the south and west. For rabbits I wrap the trees with rags, long straw, or grass. I prune just enough to balance the head; I think it pays and that it is beneficial. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize, and would not advise its use. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with flathead borer and grasshoppers, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray, and I dig the borers out. I do not dry any.

D. E. Bradstreet, Dighton, Lane county: I have lived in Kansas nineteen years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees; my oldest are nine years. I think Jonathan a good family apple; I have not discarded any. I prefer bottom with a loam, porous subsoil, and a southern slope. I prefer two-year-old whole-root trees, set twenty feet east and west and thirty feet north and south. I cultivate my orchard to garden vegetables, such as cabbage, tomatoes, etc., using a one-horse cultivator; have not ceased cropping yet. Windbreaks are essential, and I would make them of two rows of locusts, close together, all around, excepting on the east side of the orchard. I prune with a saw to thin the top; I think it has paid. I never thin fruit on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings, and think it best. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it is beneficial in keeping the weeds down, but would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. I do not spray. I never dry any apples. Never store any. Do not irrigate. Prices have been one dollar per bushel. Do not hire any help; myself and boys do the work.

C. L. Gunn, Heizer, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 110 trees, from ten to twenty-five years old; the largest ones are fifteen inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Maiden's Blush, and Duchess of Oldenburg, and for family orchard Early Harvest and White Winter Pearmain. I prefer creek bottom with a loose and porous soil and subsoil. Young trees should not be headed too low, as the lower limbs will lay on the ground when the tree gets older and begins to bear. I cultivate my trees until too large, using a disc harrow. I do not plant any crop; do not think it advisable in this dry climate. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees, on the north and south. I prune my trees, but have not had enough experience to tell whether it is beneficial or not. I thin my fruit while on the trees to prevent the limbs from breaking. I do not fertilize; it is not needed here. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. My apples are troubled with codling-moth and curculio. I spray with London purple about the time the blossoms fall. I do not dry any apples nor irrigate. Price has been seventy-five cents per bushel.

John Simon, Garden City, Finney county: I have lived in the state eighteen years; have an apple orchard of 150 trees, from two to fifteen years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap; and for family orchard Early Harvest, Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded Russet and Willow Twig. I prefer second bottom, sandy soil, with clay subsoil. I prefer one- or two-year-old trees, set twenty-five to forty feet apart. I plant my orchard to garden-truck, using a disc harrow, and cease cropping when they begin to bear. I plant nothing in a bearing orchard, but keep up the cultivation to keep the ground clean and loose. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of cottonwood, box-elder, and Osage orange, putting a belt of timber around the orchard. For rabbits I wrap with corn-stalks in the fall. I prune with knife and shears to keep the tree in shape; I think it pays. I never have thinned the fruit while on the tree, but think it would pay on some varieties. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter while I am cropping the ground; but would not advise its use unless you have plenty of water. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with twig-borer, canker-worm, and leaf-roller, and my fruit with codling-moth. I spray when the bloom falls, and ten days later, with London purple, for codling-moth; and I think I have reduced them. Borers do not trouble my trees when they have plenty of water. I hand-pick my apples; sort into three classes—first, second, and refuse. I sell some apples in the orchard, but retail most of them to the stores; make cider of the third grade and culls. My best market is at home. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing apples in bulk in a cellar; find the Missouri Pippin, Winesap and Arkansas Black keep best. I irrigate thoroughly in the winter, early spring, and again before the fruit begins to ripen. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

Dr. G. Bohrer, Chase, Rice county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five years. Have an apple orchard of 700 trees from nineteen to twenty-two years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, and for family use I add Smith's Cider, Wagener, and White Pippin. Have tried and discarded Missouri Pippin and Winesap; they require more moisture than the others mentioned above. I prefer a bottom, with black loam and a porous subsoil; an eastern slope. I prefer well-grown one-year-old trees, set thirty-four feet east and west, and twenty feet north and south. I plant my orchard to corn for ten years, using a plow and harrow; think a disc would be as good. I cease cropping after ten years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south and west sides of the orchard, and I would make them of Osage orange or box-elder, planted ten feet apart. For rabbits I wrap the trees with slough grass until six years old. I prune lightly, taking out the limbs which rub each other and balancing the trees. I think it pays. I do not thin the apples while on the tree. I do not fertilize my orchard; it is not needed in this locality. I pasture my orchard with horses and pigs, and think it advisable. I find it does not injure the trees. My apples are troubled with codling-moth. I do not spray. I pick by hand for storing, and sort into two classes, the good and the bad ones; the bad I make cider of and feed to hogs. I generally sell my best apples in the orchard on the trees, or any way I can. We sun-dry some apples, and find a ready market for them. It pays. I am fairly successful in keeping apples in bulk in a cave, and find Ben Davis and Rawle's Janet keep best. I irrigate a few trees. Prices have been from twenty cents to one dollar per bushel, and dried apples six to seven cents per pound.

J. T. Everhart, Pratt, Pratt county: I have lived in the state twenty years. For a family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, on sandy bottom land, with a north slope. I plant two-year-old trees, deeply. I plant my orchard to potatoes for five years, using a plow. Plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of rows of Russian mulberries planted every six feet. I prune only to keep the tree in shape. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. Cannot see any difference whether the trees are in blocks of a kind or in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize; would not advise its use on the soil here. I pasture my orchard with hogs; think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled with borers and sun-scald. I spray my trees when in bloom, and after it has fallen, with London purple only. My best market is at home; never have tried distant markets. I irrigate my trees on the upland four or five months. Prices have been from 75 cents to $1.50 per bushel.

James Craig, Garden City, Finney county: Have been in Kansas nineteen years. Have an orchard of 1300 trees, planted twelve years, trees running from twelve to eighteen feet high. Cultivate up to this time with twenty-inch disc harrow, and grow no crop. Windbreaks are essential in this county. I would not allow stock in my orchard. I dig out the borers, and intend to try spraying this year. I pick by hand, and sell largely in the orchard. My best market is Garden City. I make cider and vinegar of the culls. I have never dried any. I store in bulk for winter, and am successful in keeping the Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Ben Davis. I irrigate by flooding. The average price has been about sixty cents per bushel.

John Bailey, Harper, Harper county: I have resided in Kansas twenty years. Have an apple orchard of 400 trees, set sixteen years, eight to twelve inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet, because the fruit cracks open, Snow, because they are poor, and White Winter Pearmain, because the tree is subject to disease. I prefer good, sandy soil, with a northeast slope. I prefer healthy two-year-old trees, with good roots, planted twenty-eight feet apart each way. I cultivate my orchard every year with a cultivator and harrow, to keep the ground loose and mellow, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I wash the tree with weak lye and sulphur; have found no remedy for borers, excepting to keep the trees healthy and growing. I prune, to let in sun and keep the limbs from rubbing; I think it pays, and that it has been beneficial. I thin my fruit by pulling it off when small; I think it pays; it keeps the trees from breaking. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; I do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, woolly aphis, and twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I spray after the blossoms fall, and once a week for three or four weeks after that, with London purple, for all insects. I dig borers out with a fine wire. I sort my apples into three classes—first, second, and cider. I sell my apples in the orchard, wholesale, retail, and peddle. Sell the best ones in barrels. Make cider and vinegar of the culls. My best markets are at home and Oklahoma territory. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing apples in bulk; find the Missouri Pippin keeps best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.

Jacob Rediger, Maherville, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees eighteen years old. I prefer sandy bottom land near the river, with a north slope. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a disc and harrow, planting no crop. Windbreaks are not essential. I prune with a saw and knife, and think it pays. Never have thinned my apples, but if it were necessary would do it before they begin to hang down. My trees are in mixed plantings. I mulch my orchard with stable litter and straw; would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard, but think it would be advisable, as they would eat insects. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my apples with curculio. The first of June I dig the borers out with a penknife and cut their heads off. I pick my apples by hand. I sell apples in the orchard at retail; feed the culls to hogs. My best market is among the neighbors. I store apples for my own use by burying, and find the Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Romanite keep best. I do not irrigate, but ought to. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel at picking time.

N. Mayrath, Dodge, Ford county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have 250 apple trees eight to twelve years old, six to ten inches in diameter. I prefer upland for fruit, a sandy loam, with a northern aspect. I prefer two-year-old grafts, planted thirty by thirty feet east and west. Have tried root grafts with success. I cultivate my orchard to garden-truck and hoed crops, using plow in spring, then the disc or Acme harrow. I keep the ground clear of weeds and mellow up to the middle of July. I cease cropping after four or five years, planting nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential here in western Kansas, and I would make them of Russian mulberry, in one or more rows, north and south of the orchard.

M. M. Wilson, Zionville, Grant county: I have resided in Kansas fourteen years; have an apple orchard of 300 trees ten years old, four to six inches in diameter. I prefer sandy bottom land.

Thomas E. Hockett, Hugoton, Stevens county: I have lived in the state thirteen years; have an apple orchard of sixty trees eight years old, eight to twelve feet high. I prefer dark, sandy loam. I dig large holes, set one-year-old trees, putting top soil around the roots. I cultivate my orchard with a stirring plow and hoe, and plant nothing; am still cultivating. Windbreaks are essential. I would make them of two or three rows of mulberry trees. For protection from rabbits I rub dead rabbit on the tree, and repeat if necessary when we have much rain. I prune very little. Do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted in blocks. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. I do not spray; am not troubled with insects. I hand-pick my apples. I do not dry or store any for market. I do not irrigate.

Geo. T. Elliott, Great Bend, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 800 trees from two to ten years old, and three to seven inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Jonathan. I prefer a sandy bottom, with a northeast aspect. I prefer three-year-old trees set twenty feet apart, in land which has been plowed deeply and subsoiled. I cultivate my orchard as long as I can get among the trees, with a disc that throws dirt out first, and one that throws dirt in second. I cease cropping after the first year; plant nothing in a bearing orchard. I have a windbreak made of black locust and mulberries. I prune with pruning-knife and shears to form the tops. I think it pays. I do not thin my apples while on the trees. I believe all orchards should be set in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think it beneficial on sandy soil. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with flathead borers and tent-caterpillars, and my apples with curculio. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples. I do not irrigate; but think a windmill and a good pond would pay.

J. B. Schlichter, Sterling, Rice county: I have lived in Kansas since 1871. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Willow Twig, and Rawle's Janet, and for a family orchard Maiden's Blush and Early Harvest. I have tried and discarded Ben Davis because they died when eighteen or twenty years old; they are no good here. I prefer a northeast slope, with a sandy loam and a clay subsoil. I prefer small two-year-old trees, set 16×24 feet, rows running north and south. I plant my orchard to corn up to bearing age, using the plow and harrow, and plant nothing after they begin to bear, but keep up the cultivation. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of two or three rows of Russian mulberries, on the south side of the orchard. I do not prune my trees; it does not pay. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand, the old way; sort into two classes. I dry some.