Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1884-07-19
ORCHARDS AND FRUITS.
The Culture of the Apple in Giles
County.

OF the committee OF Ine Glles county
Farmers Association:
The apple will always remain king
of fruits for this climate, should be
most extensively planted and can be
made profitable if the proper soil and
location is chosen, suitable varies
ties selected, good cultivation given and
protection from stock, rabbits, &C.,
afforded.
SELECTION OF SOIL AND LOCATION.
We think the best class of high ridge
land in this county, freshly cleared
from the forest, or such lands not ex.
hausted by improper cultivation, the
best location for apple orchards, espec-
tally for the winter varieties; next best
is our good hillside land and we think
a northern, eastern exposure preferable
to a western. These high ridge and
hill sides in this county are gravelly,
which insures good drainage-a necessi-
ty for growing the apple successfully,
There are some sheltered valleys where
the soil is gravely and well drained
that are very suitable for the apple.
We think a growth of forest tress to
the north and west of the orchard as a
protection from the high winds and
cold blasts very desirable. Soil not
rich enough naturally or exhausted by
improper cultivation should be man.
ured and deeply plowed before set to
the apple.
SELECTION OF VARIETIES.
For summer we recommend the
Early Harvest, Red June, Red As.
trachan, Summer Queen, Summer
Red and Golden Sweet. The Early
Harvest is perhaps the best early
market variety we have, especially
for shipping north. We have a good
many summer and fall apples that
bear well and are desirable and we
would here state that we have never
seen finer summer and fall apples any
where than we grow here in Giles
county. Fall Queen, Fall Cheese,
Seek no Further, Kentucky won
der, Zone Of the best for DRYING and
Carter are all good fall varieties. Rox>
burg Russet, at the north one of the best
winter apples, as grown here is splen-
did fall apple. For late fall and early
winter, the Lady Finger, Kinnard
Wine and Wine Sap or as some call it
the Black Twig. For winter varieties,
especially for very late keepers, we
find it more difficult to select such as
will generally prove profitable and
give satisfaction. Many of the
old kinds, such as Timber Twig,
Rawle's Janet or Never Fail, Turner's
Green and Penn Cider, are not gener.
ally maturing their fruit we'll and with
some of them both tree and fruit are
unhealthy. The Ben Davis is per-
haps the most desirable early winter
we have--a large snowy variety
trees are fine growers and bear
we'll. This variety was very much ad.
mired at horticultural show in Nash.
vile in the fall of 1882. The Spitzen>
burg is good winter variety if plant
ed on high lands For late keepers
we recommend the Shockly, Lever,
Yates and Smoky Twig. For cider,
Halls Seeding and Hew's Crab We
need more very late keeping apples to
select from and every one interested in
fruit culture should be on the lookout
for chance seedlings found growing in
our county and some variety may be
found more profitable to us as late
keepers than any now on the lists.
PLANTING AND CULTIvATING.
we think it best to set apple trees at
one year old from bud or graft. If
well grown they should be about five
feet high. 1t is very little trouble to
take up all the roots and when they
are taken up they should be set in the
orchard Immediately if practicable and
with. aslittle exposure of the roots to
the sun'or drying winds as possible,
We.prefer the early spring for plant
ing. The ground should have been
well broken with a two horse pillow and
better if a subsOil pillow was run after
the turning pillow before commencing to
Al