The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-02-23
"Cemfsrt Me with Apples.

"Comfsrt Me With APples.o
-
Thus cried the wise man Of the ancient
Hebrews, and thus has cried many q
wise man of other nations since his time.
The fact is. the apple is the king OF
fruits. 1t is worth more than all the
other fruits raisedin temperate climates.
There is something substantial about the
apple. It is much more than a luxury.
IL satisfies hunger and keeps it satisfied
long time. Like bread and meat, it is
true food. 1t does not quickly come and
suddenly vanish like the strawberry. 1t
does not commence to decay before it
has scarcely ripened like the banana and
plantain. 1t has lasting qualities. 1t
comes to stay till other fruit can be raised
to take its place. No fruit presents so
many varieties of size, color and flavor
as the apple. 1t accommodates itself to
the peculiar taste of every person. 1t
is sweet, sour and sub-acid. There are
persons who dislike strawberries, and
others who do not care for figs, dates or
peaches, but there is no one who does
not like some kind of apples. Some fruit
like the ounce, is only palatable when
cooked, while others are only valuable
when in the state they are in when ripe.
But the apple isexcellent whether eaten
raw or cooked. 1t can be cooked in
more ways than any fruit that grows.
Few kinds of fruit surpass it for can
ming purposes, though it is preserved
so easily and cheaply in other ways that
it is rarely kept in tight cans. For dry
ing it is worth all other kinds of fruits
combined. Its juice, if rightly managed,
is but little inferior to that of the grape.
Less time and money are required to in
sure a supply of apples than of any kind
of fruit. Trees planted in childhood
will continue to produce fruit till the
planter is as old as apatriarch.
Less attention has been given to set
ting out apple trees during the past few
years than during a corresponding time
in the early settlement of the country.
The decline in interest in the apple cult
ure has been largely owing to the great
attention to other fruits. Nurserymen
have made more money in selling grape
vines and bushes that produce small
fruits, and have accordingly devoted
more attention to bringing them to the
notice of the public. As consequence
there is scarcity of apples in almost all
parts of the country. The foreign de-
mand for apples is very large and is
constantly increasing. Dried apples are
very high, while cider sells for more
than it ever did in the history of the
country. The prospect for raising apples
with a view of supplying the market
was never so good in this country as at
the present time. Most of those raised
in the East and not wanted for consump-
ton in the vicinity where they are raised
are sent to Europe. Very extensive
regions are settling up in which apples.
or at least very desirable varieties of
them, can not be raised. The demand
for apples, in the far West is rapidly in
creasing. The same is true in the
South. The planting of apple trees does
not keep pace with the increase of popu-
lation. Apples are used for more pur-
poses than they were few years ago.
The trade in apple jelly is now very large.
During some years it is very difficult to
procure material enough to supply the
demands of jelly-makers. Persons en-
gagged in drying apples in large estab-
lishments save all the cores and parings
and dry them for jelly manufacturers.
Considerable is made into imitation
champagne. The foreign demand for
dried apples is increasing very rapidly.
Every farmer who lives where apples
can be raised should at least plant trees
enough to supply his family with fruit
For family orchard there should be
quite variety. There should be late
and early. sweet and sour varieties. For
commercial orchard it is better to plant
but few varieties. There is generally
little profit in very early varieties. The
fruit will keep but short time, and the
harvest comes on when there is other
work pressing. The early apples are
ripe when the market is filled with
peaches, cherries, grapes and other small
fruits. Late keepers are ready for the
market when there is no other fresh
fruit. There is nothing to compete with
them. Color has much to do in selling
apples. The preference is for bright red
apples. They are especially wanted for
fruit-stands and the table. Red apples
will always sell on sight. In the Ian
guage of the vendors of patent medicine.
..'children cry for them" The color of
an apple has more to do with its sale
than its flavor. Large apples sell better
than small ones, and it is much less
trouble to pick them. A large red, long
keeping apple fills the requirements of
the market If the variety is productive
and the tree hardy it fills the require
ments of the grower. The qualities of
hardness and productiveaess can be as
certained by reading the reports of local
horticultural societies or by consulting
with fruit-growers in the vicinity. 4
local nurseryman can ordinarily be relied
on to give reliable information about the
most profitable varieties to plant. If one
sort of tree is much more hardy and pro-
ductive than others it is good policy to
plant an entire commercial orchard to it.
A large dealer will have the product of
several orchards and will be able to fur
nish the required variety to customers.
The orchards that pay poorest are those
that contain the largest variety.-Chi-
cago Times.