Trotwood's Monthly, Vol. I, No. 6. March, 1906

by Various

Early Apples—A Southern Opportunity

By R. A. Wilkes, Culleoka, Tenn.

[Note: Mr. Wilkes has made a life study of this subject and speaks from a practical standpoint, at the request of the editor of Trotwood’s. He has, of course, confined his paper to the hill lands of the Middle South; but in the publicity which will be given by this publication, it is to be hoped other sections of the South will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity where their conditions are favorable.—Ed.]

Nature never gave to any people a fairer heritage than to the farmers of Middle Tennessee. With a rich soil, a mild climate and an abundant rainfall, it is in truth a garden spot. Adapted to the growth of nearly every product necessary for man’s sustenance, covered with forests, underlaid with minerals and phosphates, midway between the cold blasts of the North and the excessive heat of the South, with cold, pure water pouring from under every hill, and not a taint of malaria in the atmosphere, it is the ideal farmer’s home. With all its advantages and opportunities there should be the highest degree of success and prosperity, and the owner of a Middle Tennessee farm should be the happiest and most contented man that lives. That such is not the case in recent years, however, is a lamentable fact.

Distinctly an agricultural people, prosperity depends upon the success of the farmers, and that they are not prospering as they should is an undeniable fact. The reason for this can be found in the fact that Tennessee farmers have failed to realize the results of the marvelous expansion and upheaval of the industrial conditions that have come as the result of building railways and the invention of labor-saving machinery. There was a time when the owners of these rich hills and valleys could successfully meet all competitors in the markets then accessible, and growing all their own supplies, the sale of their surplus products kept the balance always in their favor. But with the building of railways that opened up vast acres of rich territory, and the invention of machinery that multiplied many fold the products of labor, new centers of production were made accessible, and where Tennesseans once had the markets all to themselves, new competitors came in, and with this new competition came the beginning of the end of their supremacy in growing many standard products. Failing to realize the new state of affairs, and unwilling to acknowledge defeat in lines they had so long excelled in, they continued their efforts to compete with these new forces in the same lines of production, and in the unequal contest sacrificed much of their rich soil rather than be driven from their beaten paths into lines to which they were strangers. They failed to look facts squarely in the face and to recognize their true condition, and continued to struggle against an ever-increasing balance that in the end could only bring disaster. Take a plain business view of the situation and consider the chances an average Middle Tennessee farmer has in growing grain crops upon his rolling land and steep hillsides, rich though they be, when he must meet in competitive markets grain grown in that great area known as the West, with its broad, level fields and virgin soil, where the labor of one man controlling perfect working machinery so far surpasses the same labor upon his restricted, rough area. Labor is always the greatest cost of production, and the physical character of a large part of Middle Tennessee will always prevent that economical use of machinery that is available to the Western farmer in growing grain and other farm products in the handling of which machinery is effective. No people can permanently prosper who must meet in competitive markets the cheaper grown products of more favored sections, for while they may have a degree of prosperity in periods of high prices like the present, yet, when the low price periods come, as come they will, they bring loss and often ruin to the weak competitor, for it is Nature’s law that only the fittest shall survive. What then is to be the future of Middle Tennessee farming? This question is hard to answer, not for a lack of answer to the question, nor for a lack of products that can be grown with success, but rather because there are so many ways to meet it, and so many products to select from, and such a variety of soils to select for, that it is more a question of adaptability and location, and the fitness and taste of the individual than a want of ways to meet the issue. There are many owners of large, level farms that may still compete in growing all ordinary farm products, and there are many who grow certain lines of live stock and have special markets for their surplus, and others whose soil and location make profitable different lines; and to these classes changes in their mode of farming may not be desirable.

But the majority of Middle Tennessee farmers have only small farms, all more or less rolling, and many of them too rough and steep for the economical use of machinery, and for these some change in their system is an absolute necessity.

There should be grown upon every farm two distinct lines of products—the one for home consumption, for these can always be utilized for much more than their market value, and Tennessee farmers as a rule pursue the right course in regard to their own supplies; but it is in the products that are grown for market that the mistake has been made, and they must change this line, and grow those that give greater returns per acre, and a greater value for the labor, and quit growing those lines that bring them in direct competition with labor that is supplemented by the use of machinery.

While much of the virgin soil has been washed from the rich hills of this Middle Tennessee country in the endeavor to meet competition and to regain lost supremacy, yet its natural advantages are so great and the soil is so richly stored with the elements of plant food that it recuperates rapidly, and when under a new system, with intensive farming, and a proper rotation and selection of crops that suit its varied soil, and in the sale of which her farmers can stand upon the top round of the ladder, and look down upon, instead of up to, their competitors, as they do now, then will this grand commonwealth flourish as it never did, and its farmers will reap a harvest of prosperity unsurpassed by that of any farmers upon earth.

Among the many products that can be grown with the greatest assurance of success, I know of none with results more certain and sure to give rich returns for the labor bestowed, nor more exempt from hurtful competition, than that of growing the early varieties of apples upon the hills and uplands of this great basin. Ninety-five per cent of all the apples grown are winter varieties, and with the utmost care in handling, and the best facilities that cold storage can give for keeping them, there is a period of several months in the early summer when the markets are bare of apples, except a remnant of stale cold storage stock; and it is at this scarce period when prices are highest, competition least and demand greatest, that our early apples are at their best, and supply an urgent demand for the fruit acids so necessary at this season to the people of cold climates, to eliminate the effects of living many months upon rich, heating foods. Fruit acids are Nature’s remedy for many ills, and they are indispensable where the winters are long and cold; and in no fruit are these acids so rich and so well adapted to the needs of man as in the apple; and no apple is ready for use at so opportune a time as these Tennessee grown early kinds. They are ready for use at a season when all fruits are scarce, and the market is an open one, from which Tennesseans can reap a rich harvest if they will take advantage of the opportunity presented. Only a few years since fruits were a luxury of the rich, and were not considered articles of food; but as their value became known under the modern rational ideas of living, they have quickly become necessities; and where obtainable, are staple foods upon the tables of every class and condition of man. Among fruits the apple stands pre-eminent for its many uses and great healthfulness; and he is a poor provider indeed who does not supply his family with this, the most healthful and palatable dish that can go upon his table in some of its many prepared forms. The supply of apples has not increased in the same ratio that consumption has, for it takes time to grow orchards, and older orchards die; but the demand is an ever increasing one. These early apples sell much higher than the winter varieties, and the territory that can grow them is so limited that low prices need not be feared. They cost much less to grow, for they mature before the drouths and storms of summer come, and are less subject to damage by insects and fungus disease. Middle Tennessee is the heart of the territory that can grow choice apples that mature in that bare season, the months of June and July, and should, and I believe will, be the center of this industry in the years to come. Farther South the apple does not grow with any success, and north of us they do not mature in time to compete, and there is only a small zone east and west of us that can grow them, and we have at least two months with practically no competition, and an unlimited demand. With the rapid and constantly improving facilities for moving this class of freight these apples can be put into any of the cities in perfect condition, shipped in ordinary cars without the heavy ice changes that most fruits must bear. With the limited area available for their production, and the small amount now grown, it will take years to furnish an adequate supply; and the greatest danger will be the scarcity and not an overproduction, for with greater supplies the buyers will come and the markets will be at our doors.

With more growers and greater supplies will come organization. Associations will be formed, and instead of haphazard individual shipments, the crop will be handled in a systematic way, and be distributed to meet the needs of the different markets. The railroads will be ready helpers along these lines, for they realize the importance to their own interests of fostering enterprises of this kind. The L. & N. R. R. is now doing a great work in encouraging the increased growth of this class of products and give assurance of their ready co-operation at all times. This industry has passed the experimental stage, and it is an assured fact that these early apples will become a standard production of Middle Tennessee. It has been demonstrated by practical tests that the hills of Tennessee are especially adapted to this class of fruits, and the great success that has followed the efforts of the few who had the foresight to anticipate the coming results, and the nerve to back their views is a sure indication of what the future will develop along this line.

The pioneer in this line of business was Mr. W. L. Wilkes, of Spring Hill, Tennessee, and the success that he achieved has been followed by the planting of many large orchards around him that will soon be yielding a harvest to their owners. He is too modest to say much of the profits, but the facts are so patent that his neighbors are following his example and a revolution is taking place in the farming of that section. He claims that there is better profit in growing these apples now than when he began, for the business was then a venture, and the fruit was unknown upon the market, but now growing them is an assured fact, and there is a demand for all that can be supplied. The question of varieties, too, has been settled by experience, while then it was a matter of test.

Fruit well grown and handled has ever been the most profitable of all crops; and certainly a better opportunity was never offered to any people than this one offers to the farmers of Tennessee and other Southern States. Knowing what has already been done and the success already achieved, it offers an opportunity to the man who has a taste for fruit growing and has the energy and capacity to properly care for an orchard, and the patience to wait for its fruiting, an assurance of success greater than that of almost any other business. And when his orchard has passed its fruitful age, and ceased to be profitable, it leaves the soil as rich as that of a virgin forest, as an inheritance for his children.

It must not be inferred that good results will be had in growing apples, or any kinds of fruit without up-to-date methods of culture; for fruits do not take kindly to careless and slovenly ways. There are many details necessary to success, and explicit directions cannot be given in an article of this kind that will be a sufficient guide to those who have no practical knowledge of fruit growing. There are some general rules, however, that apply in all cases, and that cannot be too strongly emphasized. No one should go into commercial fruit growing without first considering well their surroundings as to soil, location, shipping facilities and other matters of that kind, and more especially to their own fitness for the business. A man must have an adaptability to, and a taste for, any business to make a success of it, for each individual has, more or less, an adaptation for some calling; and many of the failures in life are the result of the individual’s failing to get into the right channel.

The right person with the proper surroundings, having settled the question of planting in the affirmative, there will come many matters of detail that will require the exercise of common sense and judgment, and for the practice of which no specific rules can be given. I do not know any better way to help beginners than to tell them some of the things they should not do, and thereby prevent their making some costly mistakes.

The most important question to be decided by a commercial planter is that of varieties, for they must be of the kinds to suit the market demands, must be regular bearers and barrel-fillers, and must ripen in succession. Don’t plant many varieties, for they must be shipped in carloads, and each variety should be ample for that purpose. Don’t plant novelties, the kinds that have all the good points and that never fail to bear, regardless of frosts and freezes, and are so often palmed off at fancy prices by smooth-talking salesmen who always have the perfect kinds; for when your “perfect kinds” begin to show up their crops of crabs and seedlings your smooth agent will be far away practicing his games upon other suckers. The perfect apple is yet a vision of the future, and need not be expected until the perfect man comes.

Confine your commercial planting to well tested kinds that have succeeded in locations similar to yours. Don’t buy inferior trees because they are cheap. You are planting for a lifetime, and your time and money will be worse than wasted trying to grow profitable orchards from inferior stock. Life is too short to waste it waiting for diseased trees to drag along for years and then die just as their fruitings should begin. Buy the best trees that you can get; for if you are not willing to pay a fair price for good stock, don’t go into the business; for that very fact is conclusive proof that you have missed your calling. Having made your selection of varieties, and bought good trees, don’t let them lie around exposed to sun and air until half dead and then blame the nurseryman if they fail to grow. A tree is a thing of life and loses vitality every hour it is exposed, and it will need all of its vitality in adapting itself to its new home, and to recover from its rude removal from where it grew. Don’t buy old trees, thinking you will gain a year’s time in growth and fruiting, for such will not be the case. All experienced planters agree that one-year apple trees will live better, grow better and bear fruit as early as older ones. They can be bought for less money, are easier to plant and can be pruned to grow the style of tree you want. Only the thrifty, healthy trees are large enough for planting at one year old, and in buying them you run no risk of getting inferior stock.

Don’t plant without a thorough preparation of the soil, for no after care will compensate for the bad effect of careless preparation. The first year is the crucial period in the life of a tree; it has lost in removal many of its roots, and practically all of those fine, fibrous feeders through which it drank life from the soil; and while nature has stored in its cells a reserve supply of vitality, yet it needs every aid that can be given to enable it to overcome the loss of roots and the shock of removal and to succeed in its efforts to become established in its new home. Do not forget that the success or failure of your orchard will be largely owing to the manner of planting and to the treatment that it gets during the first year.

Having planted first-class, one-year trees in well prepared soil, cut them down to stubs eighteen to twenty-four inches high and let them branch close to the ground, for if there is a single reason for growing a long-bodied tree I have never heard it. On the contrary, there are many reasons against it. Let every twig that starts grow the first year, for they will be needed to furnish leaves to assimilate the food taken up by the roots, and to return the solid part to increase the growth of trees and root. You have now only the question of cultivation, and that should be the best that you can give. Plant the orchard in some suitable crop, preferably a low growing one, that requires hoe work, but leave ample space next to the trees for continuous cultivation, and keep that space clear of grass and weeds, for the trees cannot compete in their new surroundings with these gross drinkers of the water that is in the soil, that will be so badly needed to start their growth. Should the summer be dry, keep a dust mulch by frequent cultivation with light harrows or sweeps until the fall rains come, and if your soil is reasonably fertile, the growth the trees will make will be a surprise and pleasure, and the hardest period in growing your orchard will be a thing of the past. Get all the information you can from practical fruit growers; study the bulletins of the National Agricultural Department and of the State Experimental Station; read the papers and magazines that treat of these subjects; seek every available source of information; and having digested the opinions and practices of others, formulate your own opinions, map out the course you believe most suitable to your surroundings and follow the dictates of your own judgment. Continue this line of action through the coming years, adapting your methods to suit the condition of your orchard from year to year, and if you have exercised good common sense success is as certain to reward your efforts as anything in this life can be certain that is dependent upon human effort and the vicissitudes of drouths, storms and frosts.