The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1911-02-04
Apple Culture on
Lake Shore.
Experience OF BaraBa County Man
Shows Folly of GoiuB West
For Horticulture.

That man who knows his business
can make money. growing apples and
other small fruits in the upper penin-
sula of Michigan, and that the land
adjacent to Lake Superior is especially
well adapted to Horticulture, is the un-
qualified claim of o. Won Zellen, of Ska
nee. Mr.. Won Zellen ought to know
what he is talking about, for he has
been in the business for thirty years
and now has an orchard of about 1000
apple trees, and several hundred cherry
and plum trees. His orchard is at Ska
nee, about mile and half from the
lake shore.
Probably not in the upper peninsula
is there better concrete example of
the folly of local people investing their
money in western fruit lands than is
afforded by Mr.. Won Zellen's orchard.
While Mr.. Won Zellen does not claim
that he can grow as fine looking apples
as are shipped into this region from the
irrigated fruit lands of the west, he
does contend that there are no better
favored apples in the United States
than are grown in the upper peninsula,
quality that makes them just as mar
ketable. Persons who are under the
hypnotic spell of the western land
agents highly colored prospectuses will
be benefited financially and otherwise
by having a talk with this practical up
per peninsula horiculturalist.
In the thirty years that Mr.. Won Eel
len has been growing apples, there
have been just two springs when his
crop was materially injured by late
frosts, one of which was a year ago.
This surprising statement is likely to
come as rude shock to those who are
of the belief that, from an agricultural
and horticultural standpoint, the upper
peninsula and refrigerator are almost
synonymous. There is undoubtedly
more danger of frost farther away
from the lake, and the best apple lands
are those within five miles from the
shore.
No WoRMY APPLES.
Another surprising statement: Mr..
Won Zellen has yet to find the first
wormy apple in his orchard. At the
present time, spraying is not necessary
to successful apple culture, though as
the industry spreads out, the insect
pests of other latitudes may be intro
duced here. While spraying at the
present time is not necessity, even
now it will do no harm, as it is of ben
eft to the tree. Mr.. Won Zellen, how
ever, does not make practice of spray
ing his apple trees.
The only disease or parasite with
which Mr.. Won Zellen has had to con-
tend is blight, brought in with nur-
sery stock for planting. Blight in a
tree is similar to gangrene in a person
and can only be removed by cutting it
out or destroying the tree affected.
While it has not proven a serious men :
ace to Mr.. Won Zellen's apple orchard,
his experiments with pear trees have
been failure because of blight. He
has also found peach culture a failure
at his farm.
''There is no doubt in my mind, said
Mr.. Won Zellen Saturday, "that apples,
cherries and plums can be successfully
and proftably grown along the south
shore of Lake Superior. Trees will
bear as often and as prolifically as in
localities farther south, and there is
very little trouble from insects pests.
However, Horticulture is science and
one must know his business in order to
be successful, which is true of every
other occupation. One cannot learn
it all out of books, either, for in some
respects different methods should be
used in these northern ATTITUDES than
farther south.
SUGGESTIONS FROM EXPERIENCE.
my experience has shown that orch
ards will do better on west or north
west slope than facing the south. Trees
facing the south are apt to bud too
early in the spring, the warm sun start
ing growth only to be killed by late
spring frost. If not directly facing the
sun. they will not bud as soon and the
snow will remain around the roots long
er. and they are mole likely to bear
fruit.
''For prote ction from the weather, ap-
pie trees should be planted closer to-
gether here than is recommended by the
lower Michigan experts. I have found
that the best results are obtained If
planssd from fifteen to twenty feet
apart, a. one tree protects the other.
Then there are always some young trees
that die and It Is easier to thin them
oit il too thick, than to plant others If
not thick enough.
Another important point is to prune