Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1910-01-21
INTENSIVE APPLE CULTURE.
r T Holmes Of Charlotte Explains His
Methods-Tells How He Raised His
$4,000 Apple Crop in 1909.

L.
Methods-rells How He Raised His
$4,000 Apple Crop in 1909.
letter to the Burlington Free Press.l
WAS interested in this orchard before
1oo- lint not i'm such way that l could
Give IL the kind of care l knew it should
5ovc THE hundred acres had been in
cod for years The trees had been
trimmed and sprayed thoroughly for sew
sraI years. but the yield had never been
mn TO the average of orchards in this
section. although since spraying began
The quality had been good.
I'm tine winter of 1907, fifty acres of
qre,nincs were given a good mulch Of
harvard manure as far as the branches
extended. As soon as frost was out of
+he ground l turned this mulch under
about three inches-not deep enough to
inture the roots. l don't believe in prun-
ing a tree at both ends. One acre was
given a dressing of air Stacked lime
about 200 pounds to each tree. l will
here say that this acre showed such
marked superiority to the rest in color
and size of foliage and in finish and tex
ture Of fruit that seventy acres more we're
lined that fall and the remainder of the
orchard will be lined this winter.
no go back to 1907 the plowed ground
was thoroughly pulverized with a disc
harrow and was gone over with a spring
tooth narrow ABOUT once every TWO weeks
until the middle of July, when l sowed
one bushcl Of buckwheat to the acre.
Two weeks before apple picking time,
when the buCkwheat was in full bloom,
.r was rolled with a low roller in order to
break it down and at the same time
provide soft cushion for windfalls and
keep them clean. That fan l picked $500
barrels from the 80 acres l took care of,
and coo barrels from the rest,
in the spring of 1905 foolishy allowing
myself to be Influenced against my own
Judgment by. the opinions of some of the
wise ones, who said the crop Of the
previous year was due to the manure
alone, I dropped one-haf of the so acres
and cultivated but 25, while manuring
the entire orchard. We all know what
a dry season we had in 1908. l cultivated
the % acres once every ten days until
the middle of July when l seeded to
mammoth clover for cover crop for
winter The outcome of this experiment
was. that from % acres cultivated two
years in succession COO barrels were
picked The % acres cultivated but one
wear yielded 200 barrels much inferior
i'm size; and from the other half OF the
entire orchard l got nothing.
was now convinced that intensive
cultivation was of the greatest import
ance, and this year the whole orchard
was under cultivation. From inquiries
coming from all parts of the continent,
It would seem that everyone had heard
of the crop of apples which rewarded me
in 1909
OF 1000 barrels I picked 300 from the
so acres cultivated two and three years
and of these l didn't have ten barrels of
stunE apples. The crop was packed as
fancics, hrsts and number 2's, 2,20O bar
rels fancies, nothing smaller than "a
inches 500 barrels tirsts, nothing smaller
than pa inches, balance windfalls, a
trihe small, but free from worms. The
wndfalls brought two dollars per barrel
a the station. The others were placed
i'm cold storage at Troy, y. Y, and are
being handled by f. p. LOOMS & Co of
New York. Fancies are selling today at
500 and firsts at $3.50. No. 2's were
sold on arrival at $500.
The 1907 crop netted, after deducting
costs Of picking, freight and commits
sion 81 O44 30
The crop of 1908 netted ........ 81, 10000
This year the gross returns will go well
beyond Observation-Disclosures. SIS 200. 90
In spraying use a 2 Ia horse power
gasoline sprayer made by the Field
Force Pump company, Elmra, n. Y. a
man makes no mistake when he buys
one of these. Hand power pumps are too
laborous and do not give force enough
to produce the fine spray necessary to
reach every part of fruit and foliage.
spray DtlOIt butS open lbl Duu mum
and cigar case bearer with Bordeaux
lead arsenate mixture, and again after
the blossoms fall for codling moth, with
lead arsenate and lime. My experience
is that this is the most important spray.
The third spray comes just before the
apple turns down and is for blight fun
gus and the codlng moth. Spraying at
this time. If carefully done, fills the calyx
with first and last breakfast for the
grub when he energies from the egg.
our greatest pest is the codling moth,
but this little chap need not be feared
if the spray nozzle is pointed in the right
direction and held there long enough
during the second spraying.
With good cultivation, thorough spray
ing trimming and fertilization we have
nothing to fear from the great Northwest.
Last, but not least pack true to mark.
And don't pack anything you would not
buy yourself
c. T. HOLMES.
Lake View Orchard, Charlotte VT.