Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-06-12
HE "ApPLE KING, of KANSAS
How His Vast Orchards Are Planned
and Successfully Managed.

Judge Fred wellhouse of Leavenworth
county, Kansas, is reputed," says f. d.
Coburn, secretary of the Kansas board of
agriculture, ito be the most extensive
and PROBABLY the most successful indi-
vidual apple grower in the United states
and is known far and wide as the apple
king. His orchards consist OF 1850 acres,
the product in ID years has been upwards
of 10000 bushels and the varieties given
chief precedence are: Ben Davis, 63O
acres; Missouri pippin, $50 acres and the
success that has attended all his work
makes his methods of much interest to
anyone setting considerable area in
trees. AS related by him in brief, his
procedure, covering an experience OF 70
years is as follows:
Using land in a good state of cultiva-
ton, as for other crops preferably but
not necessarily a northern exposure),
rows north and south, thirty-two feet
apart, are made by turning straight
pillow furrow to the west and another to
the east, say, 20 inches from the first.
The middle strip thus left is thrown out
by another round with the pillow, the last
furrow being about 10 inches deep. In the
bottom of this dead furrow running
listing pillow, with subsoiling attachments,
and then cross-marking with any device
to indicate the location for trees 16 feet
apart in the rows completes the prepare
ton of the ground.
Thrifty 2-year-old trees are consider
ed best, although those year older are
not Objectionable. These are taken up by
a tree digger run 10 to II inches deep.
When the trees are delivered on the orch
ard land ready for planting, men dis
tribute them at the croSs-marks, and TWO
work together in planting a row. one
stands the tree in it's place and spreads
its roots out in their natural position,
holding it, while the other shovels the
foar soil Nhn MAJ
the tree constantly tramps the earth
among and around the roots, until it
will firmly hold the tree in an upright
position. When the rows are thus made
ready, team hitched with short single
trees to a pillow follows and in one round
throws the adjacent earth back into the
central furrow, filling it. In 10 days or
two weeks, when weeds begin to show,
another round is made, turning furroW
two or three inches wide toward the tree
and little deeper than the first, covering
all turned by the previous round. In
fortnight another narrow furrow is turn
ed as before, as deep, and throwing the
soil as far up on the ridge as possible,
with view to smothering any weeds
started in the tree row. This is repeated
at two week intervals until the middle of
August forming continuous beds of mel
low earth or tree-rows about eight feet
wide, elevated four to six inches above
the adjacent surface, IL TO 10 lncneS ueep
and in superior condition for the reception
of rains and vigorous growth of the
trees.
g If the pillow ng and covering have fail
ed to keep the weeds in subsection, the
larger ones are cut with hoes, but this is
usually light task. The following sea-
son cultivation is carried on by first
blowing the soil from and later toward
the trees, as in the preceding year, and
for winter leaving the land in much the
same condition as in the fall before. This
cultiva ton is kept UP until the trees are
five or six years old, or in bearing, when
the land is seeded to clover