The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-04-28


the first, or upper square. By this
method of irrigation a person can APP
proximately tell the amount of water
he is applying. This method was
adopted in the experiment station or
I chard last year, which is located upon
very dry land. Two irrigations were
] given. Probably between u and 10
/ inches of water was applied. As soon
as the land was sufficiently dry the or
chard was thoroughly cultivated TO
/ loosen the surface soil and prevent
evaporation. The orchard made better
growth and is in better condition than
! ever before. and I believe the result is
/ largely due to the method Of irriga-
! ton.
Pruning the Trees.
This part of apple orcharding is too
often but poorly done or entirely neg
! lected. The trees, of course, need some
! pruning when set. All bruised or
/ broken roots must be cut off. The top
must be pruned back in proportion:
! The amount of this top pruning will
/ depend largely on the size Of the tree
/ to the proportion of the roots. A three
year old tree, with a good top, would
/ probably require one-naf TO De re-
moved All crotched trees should have
one of the crotches removed at the
time of setting. l refer now to trees
which divide into two branches from
! the main stem. Such trees are very
| apt to split and injure or ruin the
trees when heavily loaded with fruit.
! All branches which cross each other,
rubbing against one another, should
/ have the defect removed by the cut
/ ting away of the least desirable
branch. This should be done whenever
such crossing and rubbing is noticed. 1t
! frequently occurs that branches are
growing in the wrong direction from
/ that which the orchardist desires IN
/ order to make a well shaped tree. AS
| a general thing this can be remedled
by cutting a portion of the branch OF
| just in advance of a bud which points
] in the direction he desires the branch
/ to take. There is considerable differ
! ence Of opinion es to the proper time
to prune a tree. 1.-THE proper time" is
/ generally determined by the con-
venience of the primer. or by the time
/ of year when the wound would heal
most readily. l prefer to prune apple
trees in early spring, so that as soon
! as growth commences the wound may
begin to heal. If pruned in the fall or
winter there is more or less danger
that the exposed portion Will crack
and then there is liability of decay
! setting in. To prevent this to a certain
extent the wound should be coated
with linseed oil, shellac, or paint OF
| some kind.
Picking and Packing Apples.
The best time to pick apples is when
| they have matured, but before there IS
! any sign of softness- When picked at
! this stage of ripeness they have OBJ
/ tanned their full flavor and are still IN
! condition to keep well. If the ques-
ton of long keeping is all that IS
| looked after, they will keep best II
| picked Just after the seeds turn
/ brown, but they are lacking in flavor
| at that time, also in color and general
! appearance.
In packing apples for market all
fruits of second grande should be dis
/ carded. Such as are too small or too
! large, green or over-ripe fruits. or
1 those that are in any way injured by
bruise or insect, should be discarded
from frst-class packages and either
used for drying or sold as second
grade fruit. The package, whether
barrel or box, should be neatly put up
The fruit should run evenly through
out. Don't select the finest apples for
the top.
In regard to keeping apples. the
nearer we can keep them to the tenn
perature of SO degrees the longer they
will keep. If a temperature OF 81 can
be maintained they will keep in
definitely. I have known them to be
kept two years in this manner. as no
L
ture But it is best to keep the tenn
perature constant whatever it may be-
I would rather have apples kept in a
store room that was 40 degrees than to
have them kept in store room that
was 10 degrees one day and down to 81
the next. Uniformity of temperature
is conducive to good keeping qualities
Before 1 close wish to say word
about keeping a. few apples for home
use late in the spring. They can be
kept much longer if on a cold night a
quantity of dried chaff is exposed to
the freezing temperature and the ap-
ples packed in this the next morning
early. This should be repeated two or
three times during the winter, the ap-
pies being removed and the chaf ex-
posed. Of course this is not necessary
if a person is provided with regular
fruit house. where the temperature
can be regulated to suit the grower.
AT the conclusion of the address the
following questions were asked:
/ Ouestion.-In selecting ground for an
orchard what slope would you recon-
mend?
Answer, by Professor Richman.-T
would prefer a northern slope, because
the trees are slower In starting in the
spring, and consequently there is less
danger of the buds being killed by late
frost; also because there is less danger
of the body Of the trees being injured
by the hot sun.
Q.-What is the best method of pre-
venting sun scald?
An planting trees they should
lean slightly to the Southwestern to
be more particular, they should lean
toward the o'clock sun. By planting
in this way the top will soon shade
the body of the tree and protect it
from the sun. Another method is by
using tree protectors. They are made
to encircle the body OF the tree and
shade it.
Q.-What was the general result Of
spraying last year?
Al might almost say that the gen.
eral result was that a majority of the
trees were sprayed with water merely
colored with the poison, and not &C
cording TO directions, but wherever the
work was properly and thoroughly
done, good effects followed; in many
cases not over 5 per cent. being
wormy.
Q.-What is the object Of planting
trees thirty feet apart and in the tri-
angular form?
Alt economies space to the eX-
tent of 10 per cent. When planted in
the old way there is considerable space
unoccupied; but when planted in the
triangular form each tree is thirty feet
from six others, thus making the space
for each tree nearly circular and not
square, as in the old method of plant
ing in squares. The tops Of trees grow
nearly circular, and not square.
Q-Will Ben Davis do well here?
A.-The Ben Davis tree has rather a
poor reputation in Utah. 1t does not
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