The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1906-03-23
FRUIT TREE POINTERS.
Why So Many Fruit Trees That We
Planted Nuke Unsatisfactory
0rchorJs.


many orchards, even in this favored
locality, that do not yield profit and
are unsatisfactory to the owners. The
reasons are many and varied 1t is the
purpose of this article to briefly point
out few OF them.
Many trees are failures because they
are planted on unsuitable locations.
Much of our land is cold and wet, and
this SOIL unless thoroughly underdrained,
can never produce a satisfactory orchard;
and the chances are, il the land is very
wet, that the trees will not live until OF
bearing age The statement made few
years ago by prominent horticulturist
that peaches were successfully grown
along the lake shore on all kinds of soil
from swamp TO blow sand is, believe,
an erroneous one. So far as my observa.
ton goes have never known any one to
make decided success Of peach growing
on low fiat land, and have known many
failures. On the other hand, this land
properly fitted and tiled may produce
o her fruits, but save your high land for
peach and cherry. 1t will not pay to
grow peaches unless you have reason
able sure location. / think folks along
the lake shore are better situated in that
respect than we who are further back
In fact, back from the lake 1T does not
pay to grow peaches unless one has a
high elevation. The further back from
the lake one gets the higher the elevation
that is required. If one can only get an
occasional crop, and that the years every
one else has crop, he must usually sell
his product at price that barely pays
harvesting, let alone caring for the
orchard the off year. The big money in
fruit is made by getting crops the off
years.
In many of our sections, farms are be-
ing bought by city folks who have little
idea of the adaptability of their soil, and
their first thought is to start a combina-
ton chicken and peach farm. In this
they are encouraged by the real estate
man, and it is hardly likely their ardor is
dampened much by the nurseryman who
has fruit trees to SELL Then there are
occasionally years due to certain local
conditions that even poor locations pro-
duce good crops, and lands that would
otherwise be left to hay or grain are
planted. Then again some farmers plant
orchards out on land that they know un-
suitable in order to sell their land at a
big price to some greenhorn, and, what
is more the pity, they usually succeed.
Certain it is that there are many trees
that are failures because they have not
been planted on land suitable for their
fruiting.
The planting of unsuitable varieties,
either because they are unproductive or
are not marketable, is another cause of
unsatisfactory orchards. 1t may be the
orchard is unsatisfactory because the
trees ordered by the planter we're not
furnished true to name by the nursery
man or the agent who purported to re
present the nurseryman. Ia this con-
nection let me say that In my opinion the
fruitgrower would do well to buy his
trees from the nearest reliable home
dealer or nurseryman, and not from the
/ irresponsible agents of eastern concerns
who so often are little more than conf
I 4 toF,
ally make mistakes but his business and
! trees are as arule much more satisfactory
than that of the outside fellow who is
often here to dump lot Of poor surplus
trash that he or his firm would be
ash AIMED to sell at home.
Many of our orchards, especially peach
are unsatisfactory and will continue to
be until large portion of the half dead
trees that were nearly killed by the
terrible winter of 1899, and the two OF
three cold winters that have occurred
subsequently, are pulled out.
Another reason that many of oui
orchards are unsatisfactory is that they
do not receive proper attention and care
from the owners. In these days of insect
pests and fungus diseases it is abso
lutely necessary, in order to bring the
highest success, that the fruit grower bt
thoroughgoing and give his trees proper
care in cultivating, pruning, thinning
when needed, and lastly, spraying, which
is always needed. A good object lessor
to some of us who were little slack las
season was the apple Taking the apple
crop through the fruit belt it was "a failure
Yet there we're few orchards that wer,
given good care that paid big dividends
/ have in mind an orchard two miles cas-
of Bangor. This orchard up to last season
never produced much but scab and worn
holes. A year ago last fall the farm
with this orchard was purchased by som,
Fennville parties They gave the orchard
several thorough sprayings, aud ] an
told 81 800 worth of fruit was sold off o
this hitherto worthless apple orchard
The surrounding orchards on simila