Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-10-25
The Champion Apple Orchard.

The largest apple orchard in America
and probably in the worlds located
in the town~of Greenport, Columbia
County, N. Y, about five miles from
the city of Hudson. Robert Mckinstry,
an eX-New York business man, is the
owner. Like many other city men.
he had a fondness for fruit culture, and
about twentysix years ago pitched
upon this locality for an experiment.
The selection is evidently good one,
as the location is high, the soil in gen.
eral moderately heavy, mellow and
fertile, and the facilities for shipping
excellent. Mr. McKinstry purchased
260sacres at first, and has, we believe,
added few acres to it since, though
the farm is still less than 500 acres in
extent. He began plant ne Immediately.
and kept it up in succeeding years until
he.had 1000 apple trees under culture,
besides several thousand pcar-trees and
a few peach trees, the last mainly for
home use. but which are now pretty
much gone.
At present McKinstry puts the whole
number of trees at about 80, 500, mat
ter OF. 10000 4apple-trees having been
seven years ago. The remedy against
AHCO aNiHbCl 10 W IEtdll uO" IIlC
snow next the, trunk, or shovel it away
so as to leave it bare; but during that
winter there were three or four snow
storms in quick succession, each fol-
lowed by rain and freezing weather, so
that the snow froze solid and made it
mpossibleate bare the trunks except by
the slow process of cutting it away with
axes. AS result the field mice made
raid the trees and a0InnlatpIU
girdled about 10000 of them. 1t was a
sad sight, but there was no help for it.
A tree girdled in June can be saved
with a little care, but not in winter. AS
many as $4,000 barrels have already
been marketed in a single year. but
as many of the trees are as yet COM
paratively small, this is hardly an indi-
cation of what will be the crop ten or
twenty years hence in case the present
careful culture and management are
continued. An average of five or six
Barrels per tree in favorable years
would not be surprising, and with
from 100000 to 10000 barrels year,
even at a moderate price, the value of
such an orchard under the modern
system of utilizing the fruit as well as
the opening OF foreign markets, can
hardly fail to be appreciated by any
mind
The trees almost universally indicate
thrift and good health. Some well
rottea stablemanure is annually applied,
and frequently there is a seeding
down to clover for a single season, when
this is ploWed under to enrich the soil.
Mr.. Mekinstry believes this treatment to
be betterfor his soil than frequent appli-
cations of stable manure OF late years
he also plows toward the trees to bank
up somewhat to prevent the winter dep
relations of mice. This has raised
somewhat of a ridge against the trees
and makes the ground uneven, but the
good condition of the trees, in connec-
ton with the owners Judgment, rem
ders it probable that for his locality and
soil tie system is a success. though for
more southern localities it could not be
commended. Something the same is to
be said of clover growing in orchards
as u rule. Generally it is a dangerous
practice, as on most soils it monopo-
Lies the moisture when the trees most
need it, and the trouble of blowing up
once year and Resolving is apt to be
But Mr.. Mckinstry is rigid
on this point, and, when the clover is
well grown it goes under. A late crop
last year had been allowed to fall down
and form a mulch, and teams were
busy in blowing it under at the time of
this visit. Both horses and oxen are
used, the former for blowing when the
viii not Lark the trees, and
then the slow oxen are called. in, who
creep around the trees with the training
of experts. The frequent blowing
sends the roots down, where they get
more moisture than at the surface, and
no special harm is feared if now and
then a root is broken or scraped. But
an orchard plowed but once in six or
ten years, as is often the case, will have
a. multitude of roots near the surface
which the pillow tears into thousands of
and is probably worse than
no blowing at all. 80
No scraping or embarrassing is prac-
ticed on the trees, the idea bein that if
a tree is kept in vigorous health it will
not be needed. Pruning is carefully at
tended to in the earlier stages of growth,
that being the time to give tree its
shape, as well as to avoid the cutting
away of large limbs afterward. The |
heads are round and compact, hardly
any being what can be called s'lop-
sided" 1t would take very high wind !
to uproOt or twist them, as their very
numbers are protection to each other.
The 'harvest season" on this farm
begins in June with cherries and ends
in December with apples. Pickers are
brought up from New York city, where
Mr.. Mex. has his winter home. Cher |
ries sell by the pound, and are accounted |
a good crop on this farm though in SO
many sections they are a failure. The
barrels for apples and pears are manu-
featured on the place, which necessi-
tates. another force of workmen. The |
materials are bought at
wholesale prices, North and West.
The dealings with the railway company
are so large that Mr.. Mex. makes fav-
orable annual contracts, which is an
other advantage. Most of his apples |
are shipped to Liverpool in the fall.
Retarding houses have not been tried, |
but with the good prices usually OBJ
tanned Mr.. Nick. thinks they would not