The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1908-11-05
COMMERCIAL APPLE GROWING.
Soil, Location and varieties--Neces-
sity Of sheItor--cIve the Trees
Plenty Of Roon--Polnts on
Pruninq-spray often.

that the soil must be adapted to the
business and that very good and very
poor locations may lie side by side.
Nearly every farm contains some
land that is adapted to apple grow
ing, although very few farms as a
whole would prove adapted to the in
dustry. Soil and location are fully as
important factors as the climate. A
careful study Of the conditions sur
rounding the orchards that were
planted in the early times has proved
to us that in selecting an orchard site
the most important things to consid-
er are the character of the soil, ex
Dosure and shelter, says a writer in
the Country Gentleman. Good, deep
soil, composed largely of vegetable
matter, with sand and gravel or clay,
is ideal. The scarcity of timber that
formerly afforded windbreaks makes
it essential that we select northeast
ern, northern or eastern exposures or
slopes for an orchard. On land that
affords a natural wind-break. or
where there is no protection from
timber-land or groves, a double row
of evergreens may be used to advant-
age as a wind-break.
After determining on the site OF
the proposed orchard, the next impor-
tant step is that Of properly prepar-
ing the soil. The old saying that the
hole should be the same size as the
orchard" is a safe rule to follow and
means literally that we should care
fully fit the field at least one year
before the trees are to be planted. 1t
is loss of time and money to plant
trees on wet and undrained soil. We
have also learned that the selection
OF the varieties best adapted to our
conditions in great measure means
success or failure. The desire to
plant too many varieties Of apples has
resulted in flooding our orchards with
undesirable fruit, in many instances
without regard to market demands,
quality or profit. The most profitable
commercial orchards in New York
state are those containing from one to
three varieties. Planting few choice
varieties for home consumption or
for home markets is a different pro-
position from commercial apple grow
ing.
For commercial orchard in this
latitude there are three market ap-
pies that stand in a class by them
selves, the Baldwin, Northern Spy
and Greening-all great market ia
vorites that possess good keeping
qualities. The 20-ounce Pippin and
the Tompkin's County Kings are ex-
cellent fall and early winter apples,
but they must be marketed in their
season regardless of the market con
ditions. Hardy varieties must be Sc
lected regardless of their beauty of
cold dollars and cents and not of SEN
timent. Select the best trees that
can be found, and above all, select
them from the stock of some first
class nurseryman who sells good trees
instead of making panic prices to get
rid of a lot of old stock that has ac-
cumulated on his hands.
In setting out the trees, give them
plenty of room. l would set apple
trees 40 feet each way at least If
you feel that you cannot afford to use
SO much land, plan to grow some
small fruit between the apple trees,
and by the time the apples are ready
to occupy the interspaces the small
fruit trees may be removed and give
them the whole of the field. We may
be able to grow corn stalks and trees
by close planting, but when 1t comes
to growing first-class crops of cora
and apples we shall fnd that 1t is
essential that the stalks and trees
have plenty OF light, air and feeding
space for their roots. believe that
there is but one way for trees to grow
to insure the greatest hardness. The
practice Of low heading may be adap
ted to some sections of the west
where the climatic conditions are not
the name as in this state. The re-
h1oi hdbiC tSoulto SCOulCo w bOlhC
western apple growers may be due in
some measure TO low heading; but in
my opinion the different soil and eli
mate are more important factors than
pruning. 1t is Useless, toy us 70 ex-
pect similar results in this climate.
From my experience and observation
among the commercial orchards OF
the west and southwest. the low
headed trees are. as a rule. short
lived and unsightly. AS they grow
larger and branches grow longer there
is a tendency to split apart at the
trunks and break down.
While advocating pruning trees
higher than is the practice of many,
! am by no means in favor of high
training. The branches should afford
protection to the trunks during the
hot summer after the trees come in
to bearing. Ny ideal tree is trained
high enough to secure the growth of
the branches at right angles with the
trunk, otherwise they will form what
has been aptly termed malformed
crotches, by the tendency of the low
er branches to am upright growth.
Every tree should have a center shaft
on which the branches should be
regularly distributed. never allowing