The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-11-16
The Orchard.

Inc Orcnaru.
"a paper read at the last meeting of the Allen
County Horticultural Society by D. b. d. Smell
tier
We will consider first the selection
and preparation of the ground for an
orchard. This should be moderately
undulating and well drained, either
naturally or made so artificially, and
very fertile If not naturally fertile
it can be made rich by deep blowing
and tho application of plenty of well
rotted manure. 1t is almost impossi-
BILE to get piece of ground too rich to
successfully raise an apple orchard
thereon.
There are many poor sickly, scrub
by orchards simply because the
ground is poor or improperly drained.
THE SELECTION OF TRIES.
The best results are usually obtain
ed by selecting trees two or three
years old. l have seen some fine or
chards raised from trees one year old,
and also from four year old trees, but
these are the exceptions rather than
the rule. Never use fOrked tree I'M
less you cut off the north fork on the
north side, as forked trees in almost
every instance split down when load
ed with fruit.
PLANTING.
In planting, set your trees just a
little deeper than they were in the
nursery and lean them slightly to-
ward the southwest, as the prevailing
winds from that direction often cause
them to lean toward the northeast
and they are liable to be blistered by
the hot sun and then the borer gets in
his work on the diseased trunk and
premature death of the tree follows
as surely as daylight follows darkness.
Plant either in fall or spring to suit
your own convenience. Head tree
very low, that is, select trees with
limbs low down on the trunk. Cut
back slightly but never cut the top
off of a young apple tree. 1t is geneI-
ally conceded to be very injurious to
do so. AS to the varieties to plant,
will leave that to the taste and good
judgment of the owner. / will say,
however, that a half dozen summer
and fall apples are enough for any or
chard and about four good varieties of
winter apples are sufficient for profit.
For few good varieties bring more
money than a multiplicity of mixed
apples.
Many orchards suffer in this lati-
tude for the first eight or ten years
for want of protection against wind
and sun. In order to prevent this,
some plant the trees so clOsethat even
before half grown the limbs from OPP
posite trees begin to touch and soon
the fruit becomes scrubby and of little
value. think this might be Obviat
ed by planting the trees thirty feet
apart and midway between the apple
trees i'm the rows running north and
south set beach tree, thus making a
protection for the apple trees on the
south side just where needed. The
peach trees can be cut out when the
apple trees need the space leaving the
apple trees thirty feet apart Gust 80
trees per acre.) A large hedge fence
or double row of peach trees or for
g trees on south side of orchard will
make a valuable protection. In speak
ing of the necessity of protection to
the trunk of apple trees, L will say |
that have seen orchards where the |
trees stood wide apart north and |
south in which very large per cent |
Of the trees were scOrched by the sun
and killed by the borers, while such
is not the case where the trees are
protected. l remember one
Of the finest orchards ever saw, prob
ably twelve or fifteen years old, was
IN Butler county, Kansas, where
man, whom many would have called
4 crank, set out his apple orchard of
perhaps one hundred trees, all in one
inc running north and south and SO
lose together that they shaded each
,ther and do not remember of seeing