Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1899-11-07
BOARD BULLETIN FOR ocToseR.
HARVEST NUMBER

HARVEST NUMBER
AUGUSTA, October Is, 1899.
| 1n making this the harvest number of
the Bulletin We hoped TO get the ideas ol
| our correspondents on matters relating
10 the general work OF the farm and al
the same time concensus OF opinion In
relation to the general condition and
value Of the crops usually produced upon
our farms.
We believe our readers will gain much
Information from the hints and sugges-
tions with which We have been favored.
We take pleasure In calling your At
tention To the article on orcharding BY
Mr.. G. 5. Phinney Of Stsndish and wish
TO say that personal vislt TO his orchard
has fully convinced Us OF the virtues OF
his methods Of work. Certain IL is that
any system OF orchard management
which viii bring paying crop OF frui,
In q season like this should be known OF
all men, and be initiated ss fully as pos
| sible by every orchardist In the land.
This orchard as viewed on July 3lst,
WAS an otj-ct lesson worthy the study
Of all who are interested in fruit culture.
The trees, literally loaded with apples,
just beginning to turn, the ground un-
dernesth, clean and free from grass or
weeds, turning all its available fertility
into the trees, and the fruit on them
showed conclusively that the orehsrding
Of the future In our state must be con-
Quoted along these lines, and that in-
different work can no more succeed there
than In the corn fields.
When We come to think Of IL, We find
great changes along all OF the different
classes OF farm work. IL Is within the
memory OF many OF our readers that
farm machinery was unknown, that all
planting, sn sowing, all cultivating, all
harvesting was done by manual labor /;
the iron and steel plows OF to-day, the
modern tillsge implements, the mower,
the reaper, the horse rake, the tedder,
the horse fork. the plsn,er, the corn
harvester and the potato digger, all
coming into use In one generation. How
plain this makes the necessity for im-
proved intelligent work, for skill In
handling mschinery and In directing
forces, for special work along special
lines and for advanced thought along all
lines.
GENERAL AVERAGE FOR THE STATE.
Aeresge Of corn, yellow, 95 per cent;
sweet, 9a per cent Yield OF oats, 36
bushels, quality, 90 per cent; peas,
yield, % bushels, quality, 30 per cent;
rye, yield. - bushels; barley, yield, u
bushels, quality, 80 per cent; mixed
grain, yield, 81 bushels, quality, ss per
cent. Condition OF fruit, IS per cent.
Potsto prospects, 100 per cent. Potatoes
are not reported as ro,ting 10 any con-
siderable extent except in portions OF
Washington County. Rose sud Beauty
OF Hebron are the varieties mentioned as
affected most. Yield Of ensilsge corn,
Ia tons. Amount OF stock fodder on
hand, 81 per cent.
oRcHARDISG.
IL we are 10 make our orchards pay IL
Is absolutely necessary that we grow n
fancy grade OF fruit. To do this four
things are needed: cultivating, fertiliz-
ing, pruning and spraying. IL can hard
ly be said that either one OF the above is
of more Importance than the others, for
IL We neglect either We shall surely fail
TO get fruit Of the first quality.
In cultivsting an orchard In bearing
do all the work possible with the hsr-
row, snd when necessary TO plow, plow
Just deep enough to turn the sod under.
For Young trees u will do to plow four
or i've burrows on each side OF the rows,
aud keep thoroughly cultivated with a
spring tooth cultivstor. As the tree
grows wider strip can be plowed. The
strips In grass between the rows can be
moved and raked handily.
For fertillzlng use fertilizer contain
ing the following per cent OF plant food:
ammonis ) per cent, phosphoric acid 10
per cent, potash n ,O) as muriste 10
per cent. For trees large enough 10
bear from one 10 five barrels OF fruit,
from ten 20 twenty pounds OF the ferti-
lizer should be applied broadcast and
narrowed In. An application OF this
kind every other year viii do nicely. ]
should advise applying IL the of year.
IL stable manure be used IL should be
supplemented with potash 10 some form,
either In wood ashes or muriate, and
with fine ground bone, for IL Is deficient
In both phosphoric scid and potash for
the r, quired purpose.l
Pruning does not receive the attention
that Il should As rule our trees carry
much more top than they ought. Thin
cut by cutting out small limbs. and do
not cut out large limbs unless absolutely
necessary. Do not let them go five or
six yesrs without pruning and then 10 u
..fs f.ri. IN "a la in
Prune little every year.
IL IL hardly necessary TO estimate the
value of spraying in dollars and cents,
but ,hSt IL gives large returns for the
time and money expended is beyond
question. II Is impossible to grow first
class fruit unless we spray thoroughly.
The writer is so fortunate as to be one
of the favored ones this year, and will
probably have three hundred barrels OF
Baldwins and Spys which will grade 80
per cent fancy. Since 1892 the orchard
has been treated about "a outlined above,
and has given number Of large crops.
II has failed TO give fair crop but one
year, and then the trees blo0med we'll
but drenching rains and cold westher
blighted the blossoms.
writer has been travelling through nearly
every town Ia the state, and it Is his
opinion thst there are hundreds and hun
dreds OF scres of land, hardly giving re-
turns enough to pay taxes, which might
be made 10 give large income il set out
10 apple trees and thoroughly cultivated
along the lines laid down above.
Take a given srea, fi.e, ten or fifteen
scres as the case may be, and make the
grow ing OF the orchard OF first impor-
tapce, and everything else, 80 far ss this
particular piece Of land Is concerned, Of
secondary Importance.
Have confidence in the results and In
a few years you will not want TO go
West but will be satisfied 70 stay right
here in the good old State Of Maine.
c. s. PHINNEY.
Standish, Ne.
OXFORD COUNTY.
PoRTER.-The subject for discussion
n =