Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-11-16


young, had been so stunted as to be |
nearly ruined while others were the J
old veterans of so or more years with
high tops beyond the reach of sprays l
or ordinary ladders. Such were our
pobiems. Fortunately had the means
and time available to work out the
problem and now I would never cut
down an old orchard unless it was in
an extremely hopeless state.
/ have in mind one of our orchards
of 200 trees, some 40 years old, Bald
wins and Greetings predominating I
had been told that not more than 100
barrels of inferior fruit had ever been
harvested from it in. a single season.
The Baldwins generally required Sc
we're topping. the Greetings a great
amount of thinning. Scale was en-
trenched on every tree. Three years
afterwards we were harvesting 300
barrels of choice fruit from this same
orchard and it has borne regularly
ever since. Another. illustration I
might cite is Baldwin orchard about
rs years old. Only moderate amount
of topping was necessary but the scale
infestation was most severe. Three
years after Surfing the treatment we
were harvesting on an average of Q
barrels of choice picked fruit per tree,
while formerly it would not have yieid-
ed moro than two barrels OF inferior
| fruit per tree.
| When you stop to consider the time
and money it takes to plant an or
chard and get it into profitable bear
4 ing condition the value of these old
trees if they can be renovated becomes
more evident. In a recent bulletin is
| sued by the Rhode Island State Board
! of Agriculture is most interesting
article giving the estimated value of
apple trees at different ages Taking
Baidwins and Greetings as standard
! varieties some correspondents place
| their value at 40 years even as high
as $3.50 per tree. and at 60 years at
$3.50 per tree, others figure at from 500
to 1926 at those ages. but even at 81
much lower valuation say from s25
| to $50 per tree. at 10 years. one can
readily see what valuable asset they
would be 10 any farm.
In handling an old and neglected or
chard my experience would lead me
TO advise you:
First Get your trees low down or
comparatively so where they can be
handled economically.
| Second-Clean cut the scale, IL you
have any, besides cleaning off the old
fungus laden bark on the trunks.
| Third-Get new bearing wood on the
ltrees which have long been stagnant
and keep the trees in good. vigorous
growing condition.
| Fourth-Iook out for cavities and
decayed places in the trunks and
1 1f,f1hs n1.f IN 4
and protect from further decay.
Fifth-Practice thinning your fruit
in the summer time. even though the
cost is considerable; it is the best
paving proposition / know of
Sixth-Spray thoroughly, harvest
Your fruit with care, pack 1t honest
~ and put it on the market in attrac-
tive shape.
| ting to be great specialized industry.
The areas now being planted to young
trees are very extensive. which is as
| ii should be for those who go at it
rightly It is, however. no get-rieh-
quick proposition. Time and patience
are required.
| There are many who fear that the
| industry will be overdone. While / am
not one of these, l realize the strate-
gle value of an orchard already estab-
lished. This is why I make my plea
fer the old neglected orchard In a
great majority of cases 1t has the
power to- come back Give it intelli-
gent care. its recuperative powers are
such that even the most seeptical will
be convinced if they proceed along
these lines.
Mr. Drew showed many photographs
explaining the work done in neglected
orchards and a general discussion of
his address follows;