Connecticut western news., 1883-12-05
William Sa rdla ms Letter.

CANAAN VALLEY, Or, Nov. 23, 1883.
 Dear Sir:--Thanksgiving is close at hand and perhaps few lines on sub- ject that interests us all may not come amiss. I have thought for sometime the subject would be spoken of by someone so will give my views. have always given much attention to fruit that we can raise in our high latitude. Apples stand at the head and compose the bulk of the fruit that will grow with us.
 For 30 years have been growing trees and grating and budding has been a recreation that I have enjoyed each of those years. have about four acres of apple trees in various stages of growth. The question is will it pay think it can be made to pay fair percentage on the investment
 The orchard wants the richest land on the farm the lot that will raise wheat is the kind that will produce the best apples. When look back and see the cost and pains taken to get my trees whers they are, I see that as the har- ness is on must keep the traces even and no stopping.
 Our orchards bear the most every other year. have one tree that bears full the year that the others do not and in future l am going to graft from this tree, for they are nice winter fruit, equal &N %he al lx,y1Y, ker bushels this season.
 have tried various ways to make an income from apples. tried to self the best fruit and make the rest into cider ; make vinegar and other ways to get the crop into money. After repeated trials in all the usuals methods of getting money out of apples, I have settled down on this plan: raise considerable stock each year to keep up the farm and make the apples do their part. I will give my experience of six years ago. found that apples were good for stock if carefully used. I raised IT calves and weaned them all by the middle of July. I then had five sows aud their pigs to take the milk of the dairy, also had over 40 young turkeys and plenty of chickens. Now started all this lot of eaters with special design on the apples. AS soon as the golden sweet and other early apples were ripe began feeding them to the pigs and I took ripe apples and mashed them for my chickens and turkeys, l merely stepped on them with my foot. I would get rid of bushel each day in that way. Win ter apples were plenty and prices low, cider about $1 per barrel. I shook most of them for it did not pay to pick them. I put 500 bushels under cover and commenced feeding to every kind of stock that would eat them; my calves had two bushels each till the 1st of March and l never raised better calves :; the apples kept the digestion good, they eat the hay up clean and we taper ed off on the apples as the season ad- vanced. The hogs did well on them and the horses ate their share. I did not feed in large quantities so as to get the teeth of the stock sore and here I learned that apples put in heap on the cellar bottom, kept fresh and crisp un- til gone. I put the best apples in long pile in the center of the cellar and could pick them over handy and manage as was necessary and found no wilted ones, as we often have in bins up from the ground. Last winter the apples on the cellar bottom kept better than the oth- CTS in the bins. I found had no cash outlay aside from picking them up and carrying them out to the stock. sold some from the cellar and have come to this conclusion, sell what I can in the orchard, make up just cider enough for boil away for my family's use and make provision for two years stock on account of the non-bearing year, put the best of the residue in storage to feed and the crop is utilized to the best possible use.
 Cider drinkers disagree with me, but to them say, use all you please but don't make one barrel beside what you can use for there is no money in cider, let the rest of the apples rot on the land and save time and vexation of spirit. | WILLIAM SARDAM.