Chapter L: L. LOVETTE, Toronto, Woodson county: I have lived in Kansas

thirty-two years; have an apple orchard of thirty trees twelve to twenty years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Winesap, and for family use would add Early Harvest and Smith's Cider. Have tried and discarded Fall Pippin, Northern Spy, and Rambo. I prefer level prairie land well enriched, with black limestone soil and a sandy subsoil, northern aspect, to hold the trees back in the spring. I prefer large, smooth trees with good roots, planted in large holes with rotten chip manure. I cultivate my orchard to hoed crops, using a diamond plow. I plant bearing orchard to white beans, peanuts, etc., and cease cropping when well in bearing. Windbreaks are essential; I use soft maple four feet apart, in four rows around the orchard. For rabbits I wrap my trees with slough grass. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and borers, and my apples with curculio. I sprayed once with Bordeaux mixture; have no faith in it; I may possibly have reduced the codling-moth a little. I now watch and burn the insects. [?] I pick my apples in a sack over the left shoulder, from a step-ladder wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Sort into three classes: first take out all inferior for cider, then put the sound ones in the barn until late in the fall, when I sort, keeping No. 1's for spring, No. 2's for winter, and use all the rest for cider. I sell some apples in the orchard to neighbors, and some to grocerymen. I haul my best apples to market in a spring wagon with hay under them. We use many culls and give some away. My best market is at home. I dry some for market, then put them in sacks and keep in a cool place; find a ready market for them, but it does not pay. I store apples for winter market in a pit; am successful; find Winesap, Rawle's Janet and Missouri Pippin keep best. We have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about ten per cent. of them. I water my trees artificially. Prices have been from $1 to $1.50 per bushel. I employ young men at one dollar per day and board.

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B. F. COX, Fowler, Meade county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years; have an apple orchard of 125 trees ten years old, six to ten inches in diameter. For family orchard I prefer Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Ben Davis, Gennetting, and Rawle's Janet. I prefer hill land, with a northeast slope, having a clay subsoil. I prefer two-year-old trees, set at crossing of furrows run both ways. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a plow and harrow; it is too dry in this climate to let weeds grow. Do not plant any crop. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of African tamarix, set in three or four rows around the orchard. For rabbits I grease lightly in the fall and wash off in the spring. I prune my young orchard with a knife, to balance the tree properly. I think it pays. Never have thinned the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter. I think it has been beneficial, and would advise its use on all clay soils. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and roundhead borer, and my apples with worms. I spray when in bloom, and again after blooming, with London purple. Do not think I have reduced the codling-moth any. I pick my apples by hand, and sort into two classes--family apples and hog apples. Am successful in storing apples for winter use in boxes in a cellar. I find Ben Davis and Rawle's Janet keep best. I irrigate my orchard, using a windmill and pump with a four-inch cylinder. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

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Dr. JAMES MYERS, Hutchinson, Reno county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-nine years. Have about 3000 apple trees eight years old, six to eight inches in diameter; fine, large trees. For market I prefer Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis; for home use, Early Harvest, Northern Spy, and Maiden's Blush. Most other varieties that are a success in the East are a failure here. I am satisfied with a few of the best varieties. In this county lowland is the best. I prefer a sandy land, on a clay subsoil, and a north slope, every time. I plant two- and three-year-old, clean, thrifty trees. I mark the ground in squares of one rod and plant in every other crossing, mismatching to make the trees zigzag. I will cultivate the orchard for forty years in this county if they live so long. I would grow corn amongst them for the first three or four years; after that, nothing; the less crop the better. I believe windbreaks are essential in small orchards, but in large orchards the trees will protect each other. For windbreaks I would plant maple or mulberry, at least two rods away from the apple trees. For protection against rabbits and borers, take lime and Portland cement, equal parts, mix with sweet milk to the consistency of paint; add one tablespoonful of Paris green, and apply with a brush; it will never fail. I prune while the tree is young; then the wound does not affect them so much; it pays, and is very necessary. I have never thinned, but think it necessary, just before the apples are half grown. I use no fertilizer whatever. I do not pasture my orchard much, but when I do it is with hogs, and I think it advisable when the fruit is wormy and falling off. I have some insects, but have never sprayed. For borers I use a knife. I pick in baskets, just as late as possible.

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J. O. EMERY, Cimarron, Gray county: Have lived in Kansas twelve years; have 400 apple trees four years planted, of the following varieties: Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Arkansas Black, Mammoth Black Twig, Rawle's Janet, and a few Yellow Transparent. Prefer bottom land in this county; plant only fifteen feet apart each way on account of the wind. Grow no crop in the orchard, and cultivate every two weeks until the 1st of August with a five-tooth cultivator. Have a double row of locusts and Osage-orange hedge all around the orchard, and consider windbreaks a necessity. I prune out the inside branches, leaving only four or five limbs, so they will not grow scrubby, and think it beneficial. I plowed under forty loads of stable litter to the acre before planting. I would not pasture an orchard. Am troubled some with web-worm and twig-borer, and have used a spray in June and August of concentrated lye and cold water; also, some Paris green and London purple for worms. I irrigate my orchard once every two weeks, from a reservoir 70x140 feet, and have apple trees that made 4-1/2 feet of growth last year. My reservoir is supplied by two windmills running four- and six-inch pumps.

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BEN. McCULLOGH, Ellinwood, Barton county: Have been in Kansas twenty-two years; have the biggest grove in Comanche township, Barton county, covering twenty acres, most of it in fruit of all kinds. Have 300 apple trees, planted from five to fourteen years, from eight to sixteen inches in diameter; varieties, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Rawle's Janet. Have discarded the Nonesuch. My orchard is second bottom, black, sandy soil, and perfectly level. I planted two-year-old trees in rows both ways. I grow corn and potatoes in the orchard until the trees shade the ground pretty well, and then I grow nothing, but cultivate the ground until they get big and old enough to go without it. I believe windbreaks are essential in this country; mine is composed of three rows around the orchard, of box-elder and cottonwood. I wrap my trees while small to protect from the rabbits. Wash with lye for borers. While small I prune out the middle of the tree with knife and saw, but let the lower limbs grow to protect the trunk. I believe stable litter beneficial in an orchard, and use plenty of it. I do not believe in pasturing an orchard. I never spray. I always sell my fruit in the orchard; some wagons come forty miles for it, and pay me from fifty to seventy-five cents per bushel.

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B. LEONHART, Kiowa, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years. Have 300 apple trees, planted from nine to ten years. Am uncertain as to best varieties. Plant in low ground or a "draw"; advise any loose soil, but no clay subsoil (?); like east or northern slope. Plant fresh one-year-old trees, in "deep subsoil trenched." Have planted root grafts eighteen inches long, where they are now growing, and are the pride of my orchard. Hot sun and wind make the fruit woody and sapless. Plant no crop in orchard, but plow yearly and harrow all summer. Believe in windbreaks made of locust or anything that will grow, planted in deep subsoiled furrows on south and west of orchard. For rabbits I use, in summer, lime, grass, and cow-dung, mixed. In winter I use clay with dead rabbit pounded into it. Prune to keep limbs from rubbing, and shorten in for bearing; not sure that either pays. Plant permanent orchard, and fill between with early-bearing varieties like Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, etc. [presumably to cut out afterward]. Use no fertilizers. Never let stock run in orchard. Encourage the birds, and spray some years with London purple and Bordeaux mixture before and after leafing out. Think I have reduced codling-moth. Thrifty trees never contain borers.

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J. L. LIGGITT, Belpre, Edwards county: Has resided in Kansas thirty years; has a family orchard of 125 trees, planted from three to thirteen years, and advises Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, and Jefferis. For commerce he recommends Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin. Prefers valley land sloping east or west, with sandy soil and clay subsoil. Plants sixteen feet east and west, and thirty-two feet north and south, after a lister. Plants to corn and beans for fifteen years, lessening the number of rows as the trees grow; uses a one-horse cultivator. Thinks a windbreak a necessity, and would make of evergreens, if possible; next, of box-elder, planted four feet each way after deep listing. Uses axle grease against rabbits. Prunes sparingly for shape, and says it certainly pays. Thinks thinning should frequently be done when trees appear to be overloaded. Believes trees should be in mixed plantings to produce best. Uses barn-yard litter to fertilize, and says it will pay, if scattered over the entire surface. Believes that pasturing with hogs is advisable, and makes the trees more productive. Has never sprayed, and is seldom troubled with leaf-eating insects. Removes borers with a wire or some pointed instrument twice a year. Picks from step-ladder by hand into baskets or buckets. Makes three classes--first, perfect in form and color; second, sound but not so regular in size; third, culls. Packs in three-bushel barrels carefully by hand, marked with name of variety and quality or class. Sells any way possible. Has shipped successfully to Missouri river cities.

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H. CLAY HODGSON, Little River, Rice county: Has been in the state twenty-six years. Has an orchard of 5000 trees, planted from five to twenty years. Uses Winesap, Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin for both commercial and family orchard. Has tried and discarded Willow Twig, Lawver and Smith's Cider on account of blight. Says bottom land of black loam, with clay subsoil, is preferable in this section. Plants two-year-old trees, in trenches made with plow and subsoiler. Cultivates with disc and harrow, from one to twelve years, growing corn for first five to eight years, afterward nothing. Thinks windbreaks made of several rows of Osage orange or box-elder on south side a great help. Prunes while young to make a more open head. Advises the use of manure on all orchards. Does not allow stock in the orchard. As soon as the leaves appear he sprays with London purple for canker-worms, and believes he has reduced codling-moth by it. Picks in sacks, with corners tied together and hung over the shoulder. Makes two classes, market and culls. Piles his apples as picked in the orchard, and sorts out for market from the piles, leaving the culls for cider. Sells mostly in orchard. Best market is home towns; never shipped any. Stores some in a cave, in bulk, for winter, and makes a success of it. Winesaps keep best. Sold last fall (1897) at 75 cents per bushel; during winter, at $1 to $1.25. Uses ordinary farm help at twenty dollars per month and board.

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A. S. HUFF, Sharon, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years; have an apple orchard of 130 trees ten years old. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Large Romanite, and Missouri Pippin, and for family orchard Missouri Pippin, Little Romanite, Limber Twig, and Winesap. I prefer level land with sand as deep as I can get it, with [natural] subirrigation. I use strong, thrifty trees, set in furrows plowed as deeply as possible, and then dug out. I cultivate my young orchard to corn with one-horse, five-tooth cultivator, as long as I can get in the orchard, and cease cropping only when they commence bearing, and plant nothing after that. Windbreaks are essential, and I would make them of Russian mulberry or box-elder, set six feet apart in rows running east and west, on the north and south sides. I protect from rabbits by wrapping with corn-stalks, and use lye for borers. I prune very little with a saw to keep out watersprouts, hardly enough to pay here in Kansas. Do not thin the fruit on my trees; it thins itself. I do not need to fertilize; would advise it on clay soil. I never pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable, unless you wish to destroy your trees. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my apples with curculio. Never have sprayed; insects not affected by spraying I gouge out with a wire, and apply concentrated lye in April and August. I pick my apples from ladders set up around the trees, one with four legs made solid, with steps on one side and a broad board on top to set baskets on. I sort into four classes, keeping those of a uniform size separate from the small ones. I keep my apples in an apple house. I generally sell in the orchard; always get $1.50 for my best, packed in boxes and sold at the nearest towns, at retail. I make cider for vinegar of the culls. My best market is at home; never tried distant markets. Never dry any; it does not pay. I store all I do not sell in orchard, in a cellar 12x16 feet, six feet in the ground, with earth on top; they do not freeze. I find the Winesap, Limber Twig and Little Romanite keep best. We do not have to repack stored apples before marketing; only lose about one per cent. I do not irrigate. Prices have been $1.25 per bushel. I hire no help; my own family does the work.

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E. F. REEVE, Greensburg, Kiowa county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years; I prefer Missouri Pippins for a commercial orchard. I like a sandy bottom with a north slope. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees having bright bark; plant them by throwing out a deep furrow, and then making large holes in the furrow. I cultivate my orchard with a one-horse cultivator, planting no crop, and keep the orchard clean, never stopping cultivation. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of Russian mulberry or Osage orange, on the north, west and south sides of the orchard, especially on the south. I do not prune my trees, nor thin my apples. I do not fertilize my orchard, and would not advise it in this section. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar. Have not sprayed. Sort my apples into one class, cut out the rot, and make into apple dumplings [?]. Never sell apples in the orchard; keep them all for home use; my best market is at home. I do not dry any for market; they sometimes dry on the trees, the effect of hot winds. This is not very satisfactory, and does not pay. I do not store any for market. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from seventy-five cents to one dollar per bushel; dried apples, eight and one-third cents per pound.

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G. W. HOLLENBACK, Coldwater, Comanche county: I have resided in the state thirty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees from six to nine years old, four to eight inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for family orchard Maiden's Blush, Smith's Cider, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet on account of poor quality, and Willow Twig on account of shy bearing. I prefer a northeast slope, with sandy loam and clay subsoil; bottom causes the trees to grow too rank. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees with low, well-balanced tops, set thirty feet each way. I give my orchard thorough cultivation, on account of lack of moisture; I will continue indefinitely using a plow and corn cultivator, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of double row of peach trees on south side, to keep the trees in shape. I prune to give form; I think it pays, as they would become too dense if not pruned. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees, but think some varieties would be better if they were. My trees are planted with each variety in a separate row. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial, but would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. Flathead borers are in my trees, but if they are kept thrifty the borers will give little trouble. My apples are troubled with codling-moths. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand and sell in bulk in the local market. I do not dry any. I am quite successful in storing apples in pits for winter use; the Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Winesap keep the best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from $1 to $1.25 per bushel.

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J. J. ABLARD, Lawndale, Pratt county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees from three to six years old. For family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Nickajack, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer second bottom, sandy loam, with clay subsoil, and an eastern or northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, four feet high, branched low, planted 24x24 feet, in a furrow plowed very deeply, north and south. I plant my orchard to corn, using a cultivator, plow, and cutaway harrow, and cease cropping when the trees need all the support. Windbreaks are a benefit; I would make them of white or green ash and mulberry, by planting and cultivating three or four rows on the south and west. For rabbits I wrap the trees with rags, long straw, or grass. I prune just enough to balance the head; I think it pays and that it is beneficial. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize, and would not advise its use. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with flathead borer and grasshoppers, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray, and I dig the borers out. I do not dry any.

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