The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1911-11-09
THE FARM APPLE ORCHARD
CHARACTER OF SOIL ADAPTED
TO DIFFERENT VARIETIES.
BY J. c. Written, Professor Of fort.
culture, University Of
Missouri.

thrive best upon light, wciidrH,ncl
and. \ sravelly sub.soil is prrirrabl,
to stln clay. In fact, the sub-sud !.
OF more Importance than the suripc,
soil Itself. Hllly. broken places are
usually better than level, fiat areas
Many rugged hillsides along ON rIy
cr5 too steep for ordinary tiIIage urp
excellent for apple orchards The
deep. loamy "loess" soil along our
great rivers and some OF our rIbuta
ries and the red soils OF the broken
Ozark region are among the best aP.
pie soils. While some of these soils
are better than others, almost any
farm in the state is capable OF pro.
ducing good family orchard that
will many times repay for the trouble
and expense Of growing IT,
Where there Is opportunity for
choice Of slope, the local conditions
and the varieties to be planted gov.
ern somewhat the site that should be
selected. Often northern or eastern
slope is to be preferred. On rocky.
hin soils, the northern slopes are
usually richer, and they stand the
drought better than the southern
slope. The buds start later on the
northern slope, and are more likely
10 escape late spring frosts. Other
things being equal, the fruit Is usually
higher favored and seems to be bet.
ter colored on the southern slope.
Low, damp places are to be avoided
II proper attention is given TO the
selection Of varieties, apples may be
grown successfully under most any
conditions.
The character Of the native forest
trees will Indicate to some extent the
fitness OF the land for apple trees.
Where the nut trees, sugar maple,
poplar, pawpaw, linn or sumac thrive
apples usually do well The larger
and finer these native trees, the bet.
ter the Indications for the success Of
apple trees
Ben Davis and Gano. two varieties
that are very much alike. are tho
two leading commercial sorts. These
TWO varieties are more grown In Mis-.
souri, than all others combined In
most localities experienced growers
recommend planting at least half their
orchard to these varieties. The trees
bear heavily and the fruit ships Der.
ter than almost any other sort, ana
pies. Their quality, however, IS not
the best They are remarkably cosmp.
polItan, succeeding remarkably well
in all parts OF tho state
Next to these two sorts. the iona
than is perhaps tho most popular zen.
cral commercial variety. II is OF the
richest red color and the highest
flavor. II is productive throughout the
state. The Jonathan rlpens earlier
than the Ben Davis or GanO, and Is
not so good a keeper In cold stor.
age, however. It will keep perfectly
until late winter or early spring, and
as q dessert fruit It is one of the best
in the state
The York Is uuexcelled In size,
quality and appearance as a CONNER.
cial variety In some parts Of the
state 1t produces well. II is a splen.
did keeper and is gaining in popu-
larity In some sections of the state,
1t Ia one OF the most profitable ap.
pies to grow on the 'loess" formation
along the Missouri river hills. 1t has
the fault OF scaldlng somewhat II
kept either too cold or too hot in
storage.
Grimes is an apple OF fine quality,
hut is neither a strong grower nor a
heavy bearer. except in certain local.
tiles. II requires a rich soil. The Mis-.
souri, Pippin is one OF the earliest to
come into bearing. The fruit tends
to be small size after the first few
crops. The Winesap is variety of good
color and flavor. but in some local..
ties II lacks vigor and productiveness
The Ingram is one OF the best keep.
ers and is Of fair quality 1t escapes
spring frosts on account OF late bios.
sOming.
II is well to bear in mind that some
Of the above named varieties are
to all conditions In the state,
while others are to be commended
only for certain localities or condl.
lions.
Ben Davis, Gano and Jonathan are
generally we'll adapted to all soils.
slopes and conditions in the state
Mammoth Black Twlg, York
and Rome Beauty succeed we'll on
south slopes and thin land. Genet, In.
gram and Rome Beauty are among
the best to select for moderately low
land. They blossom late and are sci. |
iom killed by late frosts.
For home orchard, the main plant. |
ing should be OF the commercial vari. |
nties Just mentioned, considering that
hey are usually good keepers and
will supply the family needs through. |
out the winter. In addition, a few |
trees Of the earlier sorts should be |
included. This will give a Succession |
Of fruit from early summer until the |
ate ones are ripe. Such varieties as
Yellow Transparent, Early Harvest,
Red Astrachsn, Sweet June, Red June,
Ramho Denont Maidan'a DIuah md