Hudson Bros., Kanopolis, Ellsworth county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-four years; have an apple orchard of fifty trees, six to thirty years old, from four to eighteen inches in diameter. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap, and for family use would add Duchess of Oldenburg. I prefer sandy bottom land. I plant three-year-old trees thirty feet apart each way, in well-plowed land. I cultivate my orchard to corn or potatoes till the trees are ten years old; sow rye in bearing orchard; mow in June, and then plow; never have ceased cropping. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees planted in a belt around the orchard. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter; think it beneficial; would advise its use to a certain extent on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable. My trees are troubled with flathead borers. I do not spray.
E. W. O'Toole, Collyer, Trego county: I have resided in Kansas nineteen years. Have an apple orchard of sixty-four trees, twenty-two of which are fourteen years old, and thirty-seven inches in circumference. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, and for family Early Harvest and Winesap. I prefer black loam with sandy bottom, south slope. I plant two-year-old trees, in rows eighteen feet apart. I do not cultivate my orchard, but mulch it with hay for four years. Windbreaks are essential here; would make them of cottonwood trees, planted in rows around the orchard. For protection against rabbits I use whitewash and tar paper. I prune to thin the tops; think it beneficial. The wind thins my apples for me. I fertilize my orchard with hay; think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard. I shall spray this year after the bloom falls with London purple and lime water. I peddle my apples. This is the best market, because they are scarce. I am successful in keeping a few bushels in a pit; the Missouri Pippin keeps best. I do not irrigate. I am located on bottom land. Price has been one dollar per bushel.
M. A. Wilson, Atwood, Rawlins county: I have resided in the state nineteen years; have an apple orchard of fifty trees ten years old, six inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Winesap and Ben Davis. I prefer bottom land with a dark loam and a clay subsoil, with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees with good tops and stocky bodies, set in early spring, sixteen to twenty feet apart. I plant my orchard to corn, potatoes, and garden-truck, using a hoe and cultivator; have never ceased cropping. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Russian mulberries planted twelve feet apart each way; trim and cultivate them. For rabbits I wrap the trees with rags or burlap cut in strips three or four inches wide; begin at the bottom and wind up; if the limbs are near the ground, wrap them, too. I prune with a small keyhole saw and shears to keep the tree hardy, and think it pays. I thin my apples when they are about half grown; it pays. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it has been beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard. Trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and flathead borer. I do not spray. I stand on a step-ladder and pick my apples, laying them in the baskets as carefully as though they were eggs. I sort into two classes—best, and second grade. I sell apples in the orchard; retail the best, second and third grades; use and sell the culls. Home is my best market. I do not dry or store any for winter market. I irrigate, lifting the water twenty feet by an elevator and horse power from creek. Prices have been from $1 to $1.60 per bushel. Dried apples, sixteen pounds for one dollar. I employ hands at from fifteen dollars to eighteen dollars per month.
F. T. M. Dutcher, Phillipsburg, Phillips county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-six years; have an apple orchard of 100 trees from eight to ten years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for family orchard Ben Davis and Winesap. I prefer a bottom which has a sandy soil and a clay subsoil, with a northeast slope. I set two-year-old trees in listed ditches. I plant my orchard to potatoes as long as possible; use a five-tooth cultivator; cease cropping when the trees shade the ground, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I tie corn-stalks around the tree, leaving them on the year round. I prune my trees with a knife; think it beneficial, and that it pays. I thin apples, if necessary, as soon as established. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and would advise its use on all soils. I never pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with borers, and my apples with curculio. I do not spray. I dig borers out. I make only one grade of my apples, and feed the culls to pigs, and use all the rest at home. I do not dry any. I irrigate a little; have a pond around the trees.
D. E. Stevens, Norton, Norton county: I have resided in the State eighteen years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees from ten to fifteen years old, three to six inches in diameter. My orchard should be composed of Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Pewaukee, Jonathan, Willow Twig, Maiden's Blush, Snow and two kinds of Russets (and I haven't a Russet in the orchard!!), Early Harvest, one or two sweets (and I haven't a sweet in the orchard!), which proves to me that an agent will sell you any variety you want, and ship what they happen to have. I prefer bottom land with a loamy soil and a clay subsoil, with a northern slope. I prefer three-year-old, low-top trees, cut back, set in a furrow made with a lister and dug out with a spade. I plant my orchard to corn, using a stirring plow and harrow, and am still cultivating; would plant corn or clover in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Russian mulberries. For rabbits I wrap with fine meshed wire. I prune my trees with a saw and knife to give sunlight, and make larger fruit; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I mulch my orchard late in the fall with coarse manure; would advise it on all soils, unless very rich. Feed your soil if you would have thrifty trees. I pasture my orchard with hogs; I think it advisable, and that it pays because they keep the soil loose. Trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, and borers; and my apples with worms. I do not spray, but ought to. I hand-pick my apples. I dry some for family use. I do not irrigate, but am confident we need more water.