ORCHARD NOTES.
Conducted monthly by R. S. Mackintosh, Horticulturalist, Extension Division, University Farm, St. Paul.
A CONFERENCE OF HORTICULTURAL EXTENSION WORKERS.
A conference of the Horticultural Extension leaders of Wisconsin, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota was held early in August at the Iowa State College, at Ames. The subject of apple and potato clearing houses was the chief question discussed. The work of this kind was started by Professor Greene in Kansas when they had the big apple crop in 1913. Later Iowa and Minnesota undertook similar work. It is expected that a co-operative plan will be formulated which will be of greater value than when each state works alone.
The visiting members were very glad to have President Pearson discuss co-operation as he saw it while visiting a dozen or more countries in Europe.
One hour was spent in an automobile tour of the grounds and farms. Considerable land from one to three miles from the main campus is now used for experimental work. One of the latest additions to the horticultural equipment is a cold storage plant and range of greenhouses, costing over sixty thousand dollars.
HORTICULTURAL TOUR IN WESTERN IOWA AND EASTERN NEBRASKA.
The horticultural societies of Iowa and Nebraska joined in an automobile tour of the orchards, vineyards, nurseries, and truck farms August 2 to 4. The first day was spent in and around Council Bluffs. Interest centered around the large Co-operative Grape Growers' Association. A grand picnic dinner was served by the ladies. This association has been in active operation for fifteen years. Professor Beach emphasized the value of the work that is being done, and especially the value of having a contented lot of people in a community mutually interested in one kind of work. On the return trip a stop was made at the experimental apple orchard that is conducted by the Horticultural Department of the Iowa State College. This orchard of 900 trees was leased in 1910 for ten years to determine if an old orchard that has been unprofitable could be made profitable. Careful records have been kept of expenses and of the size and grade of all fruits produced under the several soil treatments. To date six crops have been harvested from the 475 trees under experiment. The lowest was 1,700 bushels in 1911 and the largest was 6,000 bushels in 1915. It is estimated that there is about thirty per cent. of a crop on the trees this year. Demonstrations were given in spraying, dynamiting trees, treating trees affected with blister canker, and grading apples with a large grading machine.
The second day was spent in orchards near Omaha. Some excellent orchards that have been very profitable were visited. It had been very dry in that region, consequently the fruit was undersized.
The third day was spent in southwestern Iowa, from Hamburg to Glenwood. It is impossible to tell about all the good things seen on this trip. We saw all kinds of pruning, cultivated and "sod cultivated" orchards and, above all, corn, corn and more corn. At Shenandoah the nurserymen and seedsmen took charge of the party and entertained all in a very hospitable manner. There were ninety at the noon banquet. In the afternoon they showed us the large nurseries and seed warehouse.
Toward the end of the trip we stopped at a 40-acre orchard, mostly Grimes Golden. A hailstorm had injured the fruit very much.
One of the great lessons gained from the 150-mile automobile tour was the fact that spraying is one of the most important orchard operations. It was interesting to hear what some of the older orchardists would say when they saw fruit injured by scab. It is an important matter with them, because it means dollars to have disease-free fruit to market.
Veteran Douglas Fir, standing miles out from the protecting mountain, exposed to all the fierce winds of the plains.
While it is not the intention to publish anything in this magazine that is misleading or unreliable, yet it must be remembered that the articles published herein recite the experience and opinions of their writers, and this fact must always be noted in estimating their practical value.