The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1905-12-01

cific northwest cannot afford to over
look The Ranch as a means of adver-
Using their business.
w. O.. Tibbits, Cashmere, Wash,
asks some important questions about
the distance apart to plant the differ
ent kinds of fruit trees, and whether
| would recommend the use of filters.
The distance apart for apple trees and
the use of filters is discussed in this
issue under the head of Orchard
Problems" and to this | would refer
Mr.. Tibbits and all others who are in
terested in that phase of orchard work.
| would plant pears, peaches, plums
and cherries nearer together than APP
pies. Twenty feet apart is a good dis
lance for pears and cherries unless
the grower is pinched for land. In
that case they can be planted nearer
and then heavily pruned, so that they
may not be lacking in sun light. Plums
and prunes need to be planted more
than a rod apart and may be as near
as fourteen feet each way Peach
trees, if planted so that the rows cross
each other at right angles, will do
very well at one rod apart, but IL
planted on the triangular plan, which
| prefer, then use a triangle eighteen
feet on each side. All these matters
will be thoroughly discussed in orch
ard Problems" but only that part per-
tanning to apple trees for some time
yet.
J. E. Combs, of Oakesdale, Wash,
wants to know the value of an orchard
of 200 fruit trees, 140 being winter
apples, 10 or IL summer and fall ap-
pies, the balance pears, plums, prunes,
peaches, cherries and apricots The
trees have been set six years and have
been well cared for. | think it would
be conservative estimate to say that
such an orchard is worth 1000. That
would be putting the trees at SIS apiece
and where is the man who would be
willing to have his siX-year-old trees
dug up and have to start again ii
he should be paid SIS apiece for them?
The question is not so much what 1T
has cost to raise the trees as it is
what is their earning capacity A
good healthy fruit tree six years old is
capable of earning at least 81 per
year, over and above all expenses OF
caring for it, for the next twenty years.
In the east a few years ago the ques-
ton of the value of bearing apple
tree was discussed in the agricultural
papers and the consensus of opinion
was that such a tree as it stands in the
orchard is worth $40.
Is 4
II. H. Proctor, of Riverside, Okanog-
an county, Wash, sent two apples to
the horticultural editor of The Ranch
for Identification. He says that they
were received from a nursery at Roch-
ester, N. Y, and billed as Yellow New
ton. They are certainly not that well
known variety, for they are beautiful,
red apples of large size. The apple
resembles somewhat the Mcintosh, but
| am quite sure it is not that apple.
| showed the apples to several OF our
Western avenue commission men, but
none of them could name them. [ am
determined not to name an apple I'M
less | am sure about the matter One
man in Washington became laugh
ing stock among our fruit men by pre-
tending to name without hesitation
every apple shown him. No man can
do that One thing | admired in H. e.
VanDeman the past summer at Port
land was that he would not pretend to
name all the apples sent there for
Identification. had two varieties from
my own orchard which VanDeman
could not name. 1t must be remem-
bered that there are thousands of ap-
pies in the United States and the Brit
ish provinces. No man can know the
names of all of them. Even if man
knew them in one locality he could
not always name them when grown
somewhere else. When G. B. Bracket,
who is at the head of the department
of pomology at Washington, d. c.,