J. H. Roach, Lowemont, Leavenworth county: Have been in Kansas forty-two years. Have an apple orchard of 5500 trees; 800 planted thirty years, 1200 planted thirteen years, and 3500 planted three years. For commercial purposes I prefer Jonathan, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Willow Twig. For family use I prefer Jonathan, Huntsman's Favorite, and Winesap. I have discarded Yellow Bellflower, Rawle's Janet, and Russets. I prefer black loam with red gravel subsoil, hilltop with extreme north slope, no matter how steep. I plant thrifty two-year-old trees, thirty-three feet apart each way, except Missouri Pippin, which may be closer. Cultivate up to twelve years of age; grow corn until seven, then clover two years; then corn one year, after that clover with a little timothy, to keep the weeds down. I cease cropping the clover when the orchard is from twelve to fourteen years old. I consider windbreaks harmful. Any good axle grease or "dope" will keep off rabbits. I trim until five years old with a pocket-knife, to give shape and stout branches. I believe fertilizers are beneficial, put on every second or third year. I pasture my bearing orchard with horses and cattle, after the fruit is gathered until the 1st of January; think it is advisable and a benefit; allow no hogs in at any time. Am bothered some with borers and codling-moth. Have never tried spraying, but would advise it. We pick in sacks fastened over the shoulder with a snap and ring. Usually sell in the orchard. Have tried artificial cold storage satisfactorily, and think it the most reasonable plan. Prices have ranged from $1 to $1.50 per barrel, for firsts and seconds, in the orchard. I employ men at seventy cents per day.
A. D. Arnold, Longford, Clay county: Have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have 300 apple trees, sixteen years planted, from ten to fifteen inches in diameter. Grow only Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin for all purposes. I prefer bottom land in this locality, sandy loam with a northern aspect. Plant two-year, stocky trees, with a low top. I cultivate with the plow and disc, and grow no crop in the orchard. I believe a windbreak of box-elder or evergreens is beneficial but not essential. I prune very little, using my knife with judgment. I use stable litter as a mulch, and think it pays. I never pasture my orchard. Have few insects but codling-moth. I shade the body of the tree to keep borers out, and dig them out if any get in. I use ladders, and pick into baskets, and sort into two classes—perfect and imperfect. My trees have never borne a full crop, only enough for home use and the neighbors. We have had several dry seasons, causing the fruit to fall badly.
J. S. Gaylord, Muscotah, Atchison county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-six years; have 5000 apple trees, planted from one to twelve years. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, Winesap, and York Imperial, and for family would add Yellow Transparent, Cooper's Early White, Maiden's Blush, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Jonathan, Rawle's Janet, and Little Romanite. I prefer hilltop with eastern slope, and would plant only two-year-old trees. I have grown both seedlings for stock and root grafts, in the nursery. I believe in thorough cultivation with two-horse cultivator and double-shovel plow, using a five-tooth cultivator near the trees. I crop with corn from seven to nine years, and then sow to clover. I do not think windbreaks essential. For rabbits and to prevent borers I use equal parts of carbolic acid and water as a wash. I prune a little by cutting back on the north side and keeping out the watersprouts, which I think pays. I think it pays to thin apples by hand in July and August. I have used some stable litter in the orchard, and think it pays. I pasture horses in my orchard during winter, but no stock at any other time. I spray, after blossoms fall, three times, two weeks apart, with Paris green, for the codling-moth, and my apples are quite free from worms. I dig out borers and pick off worm nests. I pick by hand in half-bushel baskets, sell at wholesale, and the buyer sorts to suit himself. I have never dried or stored any. Prices in 1896 and 1897, seventy-five cents per barrel; spring of 1898, $1.25 to $1.65. I use laborers at one dollar per day.
Alex. Spiers, Linn, Washington county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years. For commercial orchard I prefer Jonathan, Cooper's Early White, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Rawle's Janet, Dominie, Winesap; and for family orchard Jonathan, Winesap, Cooper's Early White, and Ben Davis. Have tried and discarded Yellow Bellflower on account of shy bearing. I prefer rolling upland, black, sandy loam with porous subsoil, and a southeast slope. I prefer two-year-old trees; have tried root grafts and seedlings with good success. I cultivate with a diamond plow up to bearing age. Windbreaks are essential, and I would make them of ash, box-elder, maple, and elm; I would plant either the young trees or seed. I prune with a saw, and use a chisel on watersprouts. I think it beneficial. I thin by shaking the tree when the fruit is small. I fertilize; think it benefits the trees, by making them grow stronger, and they fruit better; think it advisable on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs, but would not advise it; does not pay. Flathead borer and fall web-worm affect my trees. I spray, as soon as the bloom falls, with London purple. I sometimes sell my apples in the orchard, and sometimes from the cellar. I store apples in the cellar, and am successful. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.
Theo. Bedker, Linn, Washington county: I have lived in Kansas thirty years; have an apple orchard of 100 trees from two to twelve years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, and for a family orchard Winesap. I prefer bottom land with a sandy loam and a northeast aspect. I plant my trees in squares thirty feet apart. I cultivate my orchard for three years with a single-horse cultivator. Plant corn and potatoes in a young orchard; cease cropping after four years; plant timothy and clover mixed in bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of willows, by planting on north and south sides of the orchard. For rabbits I wrap the trees with corn-stalks in the winter, and dig the borers out. I prune my trees with a saw to make thinner; I think it beneficial, and that it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I do not think it would pay. I fertilize my orchard with slaked lime, and would advise it on all soils. It helps to keep off borers. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. My apple trees are troubled with bud moth, twig-borer, and leaf-crumpler, and my apples with curculio. I have sprayed when in bloom with London purple, but do not think I have reduced the codling-moth. I pick my apples by hand, and sort into two classes—good keepers and cider apples. Put them all in one pile and then sort. I prefer barrels or boxes, from three to twenty bushels; fill them full. I retail my apples. I sell the best in sacks by the bushel. Make cider for vinegar of the culls. Never tried distant markets. I dry some for home use in the sun; this is satisfactory. I am successful in storing apples in boxes and barrels in the cellar. I find the Rawle's Janet and Winesap keep best. I never tried artificial cold storage; I lose about one-twentieth of my stored apples. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from thirty-five to fifty cents per bushel.