The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1877-01-18
ORCHARD CULTURE AND MANAGE
MENT.
REPORT FROM THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT.
delivered by
HON. JNO. N. DIXON,
of Mahaska,
before the State Horticultural Society, at
0skaloOsa, Jan. 16, 1877.

HON. JNO. N. DIXON,
of Mahaska,
before the State Horticultural Society, at
OskaloOsa, Jan. 16, 1877.
In preparing a report on orchard cul-
ture and management, we are not insen-
sible of the dimensions of our subject, or
of the difficulty of presenting anything
really new or interesting, especially to
those who have been carefully studying
the experience and observations Of the
best orchardists of the State, as found in
the annual report of this Society.
A knowledge of successful orchard cul-
ture has not been learned by any one in a
single year, or in single lesson, so many
are the difficulties in the way. So soon
as we learn to overcome one obsta-
Gle, some new, and if possible more form
idable enemy disputes our road to sue
cess.
First we had to learn what varieties of
apples were suited to our over fertile soil,
and would survive our dry arctic winter.
When we had partially learned this les
son and planted what were termed hardy
varieties, the gopher commenced grubbing
them up, the borer to bore them down, the
mice and rabbits to girdling them. Af-
ter these came the caaker worm and
codling moth, the tent caterpillar and
the caterpillar without tents.
The greater and lesser leaf crumpler
the leaf skeletonizer.
And still they come, insects unk nown
and unnamed by the entomologists.
How to successfully combat all these
enemies, as well as what to plant and how
to plant, and how to cultivate, and most
important of all, how best to protect our
orchards from the fatal effects of drouth
and cold, are lessons we are trying to
learn.
Still, in the face of all difficulties, fruit
growing, in Southern Iowa is success. Ii
we 60 back in retrospect twenty years our
progress is indeed encouraging.
The winter of '55-6 played havoc
with our orchards Half, or more of all
the orchards then planted were killed OF
badly damaged; public sentiment on fruit
raising was completely denoralizcd; the
general conclusion was that apples could
not be proftably raised in Iowa.
Bat there were few men like Wei
lington at Waterloo, that did not know
when they were defeated, or were too OBJ,
stinate to acknowledge it; these men went
to work to select varieties where ev er they
could be found from the wrecks of our
orchards that had survived those terri.
bic winters, and from these selectio ons and
from other varieties since added, as ex
perience has justified, we have to-day, as
valuable list of choice apples as any
State in the Union; and instead of here
and there in township wreck of an
orchard, now almost every farm has its
orchard, and by those who have made a
study of the calling, orcharding is consid.
cred about as sure business as hog-rais'
ing, and the people of Southern 10 wa-at
least in all the older settled porti ons-
have an abundance Of the choicest apples,
not only for their own use; but thousands
of bushels to spare to those less favored.
In one school district in this township,
there are twenty-one thousand apple trees
in orchards. Some of these orchards,
four years planted last spring, bore con-
siderable crops last fall, and of as fine
apples as ever graced the table of Presi-
dent or King. One of them yielded over
four hundred bushels
Coming more directly to my subject:
First, as to what kinds to plant.
If for mercantile orchard, we don't
want many varieties, but those that are
hardy, good bearers, of good sized, saleable
apples.
If for family or amateur orchard, if
you are willing to devote sufficient ground
and attention, plant everything that is
pleasant to the sight, and good for food.
AS to the location Of an orchard,
| prefer rather level land; think the
trees are not so likely to suffer from
drouth, as on quite rolling land
IF [ had to take rolling land, would
avoid southern or western slopes.
The best plan in my experience to
prepare the ground for planting, is to
plow it in lands the width you want your
trees apart, trench plowing the dead fur
rows, to the depth of 1S or 20 inches.
This preparation is better done in the
fall. Plant your trees in the dead fur
row, planting by stakes at right angles
with the burrows, ordinarily the furrow
will be deep enough, if not a few shovels
of dirt thrown out of the way will make
it 80.
This plan has many advantages over
the common plan of digging holes with
the spade:
First, it is cheaper. Second, The
earth is completely mellowed beneath and
all around the future home of the tree,
and there is plenty of fine earth on every
side for covering the roots. The trench
plowing enables the young roots to more
easily penetrate the subsoil in the search
Of moisture.
PLANTING.
Plant the trees six inches deeper than
you found them in the nursery. The
advantages of this deep planting are: it
prevents the blowing about of the tree.
Second, it is great security against their
drying out.
Corn is the best crop to cultivate in an
orchard. Let the stalks stand over
winter. Reserve strip five or six feet
wide on each side of the row of trees, for
their exclusive benefit. Cultivate this
strip well, but not later than the middle
of june, throwing the earth to the trees
After this date let the foxtail have full
sway. BY the first of September the
trees will have made fair growth for
the season, and the weeds and foxtail
will prevent late fall growth; will hold