Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1890-05-21
THE APPLE ORCHARD,

THE APPLE ORCHARD.
How Best TO Raise, cultivate and Care
for It-Usefuls Hints and Directions by
an Experienced Illinois Fruit-Grower.
The following paper on elbow to
Raise, Cultivate and Care for an Apple
Orchard" was delivered by Hon. Thorn
as Lowrey, an experienced orchardist of
Flora, H., before the spring meeting of
the Fruit Growers Association of South
eastern Illinois. From it we take the
following:
Having selected the site for my
orchard, would, in the fall OF the year,
with the pillow throw up ridge on the
lines surrounding my orchard tract for
the purpose of planting hedge. I
would then with pillow, or what would
be better, a road scraper, throw up o
road twenty feet in width on each side
of the tract, thereby making road
entirely around the orchard.
IL would then pillow the ground into
lands thirty feet wide, or as near that
width as may be, to make the rows como
out an equal distance apart. Thirty
feet, think, is the proper distance to
plant. The land should then be har.
rowed sufficiently to make a good bottom
for meadow. Then when the proper
time comes for seeding would, If tim
Der land, SOW it in clover, one peck Of
seed per acre. If prairie land, would
sow it in clover and timothy, at the rate
of one peck of clover seed and one gallon
of Timothy per acre.
''When spring came, with the land in
good condition for cultivation, l would
pillow strip six feet in width in the CEN
ter of each land, as deeply as l could,
throwing the dirt out, then harrow it we'll
and throw the dirt back with the pillow.
This will leave the land in fine condi-
ton for planting. would plant the
trees thirty feet apart in rows each way.
When ready to plant the first thing I
would do would be to pillow entirely
around the tract, having lath to stand
exactly whore I intended to plant each
tree, in the outside rows of the orchard.
The outside rows should be, l think,
about twenty-five feet from the center
of the road which was laid out around
the orchard.
II would set the trees about two
inches deeper than they grew in the
nursery. After leveling the bottom Of
the shallow hole in which you are going
| to plant, take the tree, and with a
sharp knife cut Oft all broken or bruised
roots with an underslope. Examine
carefully for borers in the roots, and BE-
certain not to plant any with the tree,
as in all probability you will have
enough of them without going to that
trouble. Now place the tree in the hole
spreading the roots as evenly in each
| direction as possible, placing the side
| which is most heavily rooted to the
southwest; now sift the loose dirt down
amongst the roots, pressing it in so as
not to leave air spaces, then fill in with
dirt until the roots are thoroughly GOV
cred and tramp down solidly, then fill
up with loose dirt and leave the tree
standing as nearly perpendicular as pos
sible.
| would plant nothing but yearling
trees. AS soon as l was done planting
my orchard would plant the hedge Of
Usage orange, placing the plants two
feet apart in the row, then puta barbed'
wire fence, of at least three wires, di
| rectly over the hedge.
81 would with double-shovel or cul
tivator keep the strip of ground il
which the trees are planted thoroughly
cultivated until the middle of July, a
which time would carefully examine
for borers, repeating the middle O
August and about the last of September
at which time would wrap the trees t.
protect them from rabbits. The stri)
of clover between the rows should b,
moved when it is ready to cut for hay
and left lying on the ground as it fell
to act as fertilizer. After the leave
fell would go over the orchard ant
pick off every leaf roller, caterpilla
nest and, in fact, every insect or insec
harbor l could find, dropping them int
a sack swung around the neck. Whe,
any considerable number were collected
I would empty them out and bur,
them. When good weather came in tn
spring, l would again examine TO
| bOrers.
A Homemade Name Comb.