The reports from those who irrigate are not as full as we could wish. It is claimed that with irrigation every apple becomes a perfect specimen of its kind; that there are no culls. If this is so, and we hope it is, what a grand opening for those rightly situated.
Our Lakin correspondent sells his apples at top prices at the tree for cash, to men who could but do not heed the injunction, "Go thou and do likewise." Prices, like wages, vary greatly. Apples put on board cars in a northeastern county at twenty cents per bushel often retail in western groceries at one dollar per bushel. The railroad and grocer get the "lion's share."
On the whole, a close study of all that is in this book ought to give an impetus to the planting of proper varieties, the careful and complete destruction of insects, the growing, picking, packing and marketing of more profitable apples, all to the glory of the Kansas grower and incidentally swelling his bank account. This means better dwellings, better furniture therein, better food on the tables, better education for the children, and more and better literature in the house. If these aims are realized, then the labor of the compiler shall not have been in vain, but will prove to be a help in making Kansas and the Kansas apple known throughout the whole world.
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES RELATING TO ORCHARDS.
APPLE CULTURE.
A paper read by Jacob Good, of Coffeyville, Kan., before the Kansas State Horticultural Society, at a summer meeting in Coffeyville, June 22, 1898.
Beginning in the early Roman period, the apple has been handed down through the successive ages as the standard fruit. True, the hard, bitter, uneatable crab or wild apple of former times was not much like the tempting apple of to-day; yet it is the parent of all, or nearly all, the varieties of apples so much prized at the present time. From its great hardiness, easy cultivation, and long continuance through the whole twelve months, it may be styled the "king" of all fruits. The apple tree is now one of the most widely diffused of fruit-trees, and in the estimation of many is the most valuable. But what has brought about this great change in tree and fruit? The same cause which makes the man of America or Europe superior to the tribes of northern Africa or India. The same cause by which the most wonderful inventions of any age have been placed before the public, viz., cultivation and constant attention. Having made these questions a study for twenty-five years or more, and having gathered all the points possible from the experience of the fruit-growers with whom we have come in contact, we have become thoroughly convinced that the growth of a perfect fruit is possible in this climate. One of the main difficulties in a general fruit-growing business is encountered in a hard subsoil—too hard when it is dry and too soft and yielding when wet. Deep and thorough draining is therefore a great requisite in tree culture.
The next step would be the means for securing plenty of moisture. We would first open trenches each way not less than twenty-five feet apart. They should be thrown out as deep as can be done with a plow, then followed by subsoiler twelve to eighteen inches deep. Draw the surface earth back into the crosses creating a mound. Plant the trees there and fill up the ditches by back-furrowing, and bring the land to a perfect level. It will not pay to plant trees on hard-pan soil without preparation. It is better to avoid the hard-pan altogether, and select a deep, rich subsoil. Trees planted in river bottoms have been known to be vigorous and productive after twenty-five years; while those on the prairie hard-pan planted at the same time have entirely disappeared. The best time for planting is in November, in order that the fiber roots may be ready for the first warm days of February. Nice, healthy trees, from two to three years old, should be selected; cut the tops back and trim off most of the fiber roots. The reason for cutting the tops back is to make the tree more productive, more easily harvested, and to aid in keeping off the tree borers, of which we will speak later. Our orchards should not be allowed to grow up in waste and neglect, neither should they be planted in those things which sap the life of the soil and leave nothing to sustain the tree. One of the main causes of non-productiveness of the apple orchard is land starvation. An orchard cannot produce fruit in addition to a crop of wheat, oats, rye, etc.; and so, if a man continues to take off crops of these every year, he simply does it at the expense of his trees. There are crops, however, which may be used with good effect, such as corn, peas, hay, potatoes, etc. In this the owner gets the profit of his fruit and also the use of his land. Yet, with all our care of the soil, minuteness in following directions as to setting out and trimming, etc., there are other difficulties still to overcome.