The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-03-25
WAYNE APPLES AS
GOOD AS OREGON S
LETTER FROM THE WEST
The Writer says: "Get Together,
Know Your Own Country''-We
Should Push Home Industry in
Every Way Possible.

| noticed in the columns of The
Citizen, the getting together" in
orchard work. Now this is a splen-
did move. A great many know very
little about home affairs in general
way. Know your own country
first"
/ noticed the item about the editor
having a Mcintosh Red from Oregon,
and did not think it better than ap-
Piles grown in Wayne county. Now
| would like to ask this: Was it as
good?
| was born and raised in Wayne
county; have spent twenty years in
Oregon, raising fruit. / understand
the apple from the nursery until it
is put in the car to be sent to the
far-away East and | fail to see yet
that apples grown here are any bet
ter than can be grown there.
Now ! want to say to those that
have worked up to the idea of
planting orchards, Good for you"
If there is anything meritorious here,
it is the same there. You should
push home industry" not let the
Pacific people here say that you will
always be glad to buy these apples at
such figures" for l think there are
as smart a people there as here, only
the Pacific people have got ahead of
you in learning and understanding
the apple.
Now your late move is a splendid
move that shows that you will not be
{ 1nt Af
that cannot learn the apple culture.
| am deeply interested in Pennsylva-
MIA getting ahead in the apple ques-
ton. | noticed the item from the
gentleman from Waymart, saying
that your section was a grassy coun-
/ try. Now in most cases here, except
/ on a sandy loan, river bottom, a crop
is planted to be plowed under, clover
| being best, and it is not any different
| in Wayne county than in Oregon, as
| it is the way you care for your trees
and apples after bearing.
| once supposed when living there
! that apples generally bore every 9TH
! err year. Now you can control your
! trees, so that they will bear each
year, all they ought to bear. l have
not time, and do not know as the edi-
/ tor will allow me space to go through
/ it all. In fact, it is like beginning
with the Alphabet, and going through
your common branches at school, if
you follow the apple from the nur-
! sery until it is aboard the car. But a
very essential thing is the polleniza-
ton of the apple, and you must,
among other things understand the
pollenization of the apple. You
should plant the pollenizer with the
non-pollenizer. But you ask how
shall we know the pollenizers from
/ the non-pollenizers. ! will tell you
that if you will bear with me, that
experiments here have demonstrated
the fact beyond question that cross
pollenizing is essential in the ma
iority of cases if a crop is insured.
In determining this-the polleni-
ger of any variety-it is essential
/ that they come into blossom about
the same time, if cross-pollenizing
is insured.
In selecting a good pollenizer, its
pollen producing qualities should be
taken into consideration as well as
the market value of the apple. A
good pollenizer should produce an
abundance of pollen, but there are
exceptions to this rule for some varie-
ties known to be shy pollenizers when
used as pollenizers, have given eX-
cellent results.
The varieties used here on the
coast for long keeping apple polleni-
GERS are: Staymen's Winesap (not
the little common Winesap), Ar
kansas Black, Black Gano, and the
Newton Pippin. Newton Pippin
with less success than the other va
rieties. | think | hear you ask
shall we plant Ben Davis?" De-
cidedly no, for these reasons. Very
few markets in the United States
accept them, and not then until all
others are gone. They are a light
weight apple. We pack in boxes
here; each box holding As pounds
of apples, 80 pounds including box;
while the Ben Davis only weighs
about 40 pounds to the box, and
cannot be shipped here in carloads
very well with other standard yarie.
ties. In fact, we are cutting the
Ben Davis trees down, or grating
them over. / think you will say;
Shall we plant the Mammoth Black
Twig?" The answer is: The apple
is good enough, but no better than
1 the others, and it is a very large
apple which makes it an undesirable
apple to pack, if you pack in 'boxeS
as we do, which | hope you viii
soon adopt.
Shall we plant the Baldwin
Here it is not considered a Ions
keeping apple, and not in the list
of commercial apples. Besides
here on bottom land, it has black
spots which render it unfit for any
thing but stock food.
The Arkansas Black so nearly
resembles the Spitzenburgh that Il
easily takes its place.
| expect to be in Pennsylvania