Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-18
Maine Apples.
lPortland Press. J

portland Press.)
There was food for thought in the
able address delivered by James j.
S.orrow, pre- sident of the Boston Mer-
chants association, before the Port
land Board Of Trade last week, and In
nothing more SO than in what he said
about industrial education and apple
culture Mr.. Storrow told about a man
who came from the apple region of Mis-
souri, and was surprised to find how
small crop of the fruit was raised in
Massachusetts. where the soil and eli
mate seemed to him as well adapted to
it rs in his own state. This man sad
his home town shipped over million
dollars worth of apples in a year,
while the town of Billerica shipped on
" about a carload and half. sup
pose" said Mr. Storrow, "Billerlca
brought into the town s1,000,0O0 of out
side money each year; 1T would be a
good thing for that town, 1t would De
good thing for Boston, and the same
kind of thing would be of great I'M
portance TO you here in Maine. 1T
could easily double the population oil
Portland and very much increase the
population and prosperity of the
State"
There is much truth in this, and we
believe the subject is receiving unusual
attention among the farmers and aSrl-
cultural papers at this time. We near
sometimes of the superiority of Maine
ap, les, but the past season they nave
been conspicuous by their scarcity,
while market prices are so high that
-, &c. a COSTLY as the
orange. This of course is due to
short crop. but in years of good pro-
duction the yield of the Maine orchards
is not what it should be or what II
might be. There is not a county IN the
State, even the most northern, tnat
does not produce this king of the fruits
The climate and the soil in many parts
are adapted to raising the best qualty
OF apples. 1t is d profitable crop. Yield
ing more for less outlay than many
others. once the trees are planted ana
of bearing age. they yield In alternate
wears. and often every year. for many
years, and with proper care they yield
bountifuilv But the product OF the
State, compared with that OF
the whole country, is almost m
finitesimGl Take the census year. the
apDle crop of the United States was IN
round numbers 175.000.000 bushels. The
ample crop Of Maine that year was
1 .421 900 bushels of value OF SS33,ooo'
In other words, the value of the apple
crop Of this great State was less than
that of the single Missouri town MT.
Storrow told of. 1t cuts small figure
beside the $4,000, 900 bushels of New
York, the "a 900, 600 of Pennsylvania. the
20 600. 600 of Ohio, the 100000 each OF
Illinois. and Virginia the 100000 each
Of Kentucky and Missouri, the 5.0OO.0oO
in Tennessee. and the 100000 and
a. 600 900 each in California. Kentucky
Iowa. Connecticut, Kansas. New Jer-
sew and North Carolina. Even Mass
achusetts. the product of which seemed
cortemptIblc to the man from Mlssou-
ri. who perhaps Judged the whole by a
part reported crop of over "'oW'oo'
bushels. nearly half that OF MISSOURI
New Hampshire raised more apples
| than Maine, and the only New Eng
land states that raised less were YER
mont ana Rhode Island.
This should not be so. Maine with
an area larger than all the rest of New
England and with soil and climate vel
suited to the raising of the finest apples
ought to make better showing. With
proper methods this can be done
| The old fashioned way, which is to be
feared is still pursued to considerable
| extent, was to plant the young trees
| in the greenSward and leave them t
do the best they could. But the farmer
! cannot raise hay and apples on tho
same ground at the same time with the
| best results To get such results the or
chards must be made up of the mos'
suitable varieties in the first place. as
regards hardness. productiveness
keeping and marketable qualities. ano
they must be cultivated. fertilized
pruned and sprayed. Insect enemie:
must be kept down. and when the
fruit is sent to market it should go il
| a presentable and attractive condition
1t is believed that there is a great ant
profitable field for apple-growing il
Maine, and that the field needs only t
be occupied and cultivated in an intel
| lioapt manner