Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1911-09-07
Gets ss5, 200 From About 1 200 Trees.

some trees having ten or fifteen barrels,
and not in the least affected by the drought,
was a pleasure experienced recently by
a party of Frederick county, Va, orchard
lists, composed of Messrs. Melvin Green,
John M. Steck, Courtney Weems and H.
F. Byrd. This orchard is the Rose Cliff
orchard, located near Waynesboro, Va,
of which James Craig is the chief owner.
The Winchester orchardiStS were met
by Mr.. Craig, who very kindly explained
every detail in connection with the man
agement OF his orchard and advanced
many up-to-date ideas.
!, The orchard is located along a river
bottom, which is probably more SuScept-
ible to frost, although the soil is OF great
depth and fertility.
There are 2,700 trees in this tract COW
ering IS acres, twelve hundred OF which
are twenty-four years old, and the bal
ance ranging from six to ten years.
The old theory thatan orchard will only
bear every other year has proven to be a
mistaken idea, as this orchard bears an
equal crop every year, and this result is
obtained by scientific and up-to- date
methods employed by Mr.. Craig.
Mr.. Craig thinks that systematic thin
ming is probably more responsible for
every year crops than any other one
thing. Last year this orchard yielded a
gross income of $4,000, and practically
all OF this came from the 1900 24-year-old
trees, think of it: nearly thirty dollars a
tree on an average. Mr.. Craig has five
adjacent York Imperial trees that yielded
last year 1l5 barrels or nearly 800 per
tree. BY the old theory, this orchard
would not have crop this year, yet the
trees are loaded with as many apples as
can be matured, and the crop this year
will probably exceed last year's-this in
spite OF a very severe drought, more Sc
we're than has been experienced in this
section.
Mr.. Craig, when asked how long ne
expected his twenty-four year old trees
to be profitable, said, "These trees will
continue TO bear larger crops each year
long after you and have passed away"
From the healthy look OF the trees and
the depth and fertility OF the soil one
would say that Mr.. Craig is correct, and
in the years to come the returns from this
orchard, continuing the present methods
of maintenance, will be little short offab-
ulous.
The Frederick county crchardistS can
do the same by proper methods. 1t is
more the management than the orchard.
Mr.. Craig attributes the success OF the
orchard mainly TO three things, cutiva-
ton, spraying and thinning.
Cultivation: Mr.. Craig is a great be-
lever in cultivation, especially in time OF
drought, such as has been experienced
this year.
He plowed his twenty-four year old
orchard early in March and has since been
cultivating it once a week until August
10th, making twenty civilizations in all.
AS a consequence he has retained all
OF the moisture he needs and moisture
can be seen in the soil within an inch OF
the surface.
The ground Immediately under the
large trees which could not be reached
by cultivators has been thoroughly culti-
waited by hand, so that at the time the or
chard was visited hardly spray OF grass
or weed was on the ground.
Spraying: Mr.. Craig believes in thor
ough spraying, and sprayed his orchard
five times as follows: First, winter spray
ing for scale, one gallon of lime and sui
phur to seven gallons OF water; End,
Just before the buds open and after the
leaves come out, with Bordeaux Mixture,
three pounds OF blue stone, four pounds
of lime and fifty gallons of water; 3rd,
spraying for codling moth, one gallon OF
lime and sulphur TO forty gallons ofwater
and one pound of lead to fifty gallons Of
water; 4th, ten days or two weeks later
with the same solution; 9Th, latter part OF
July or first of August with same solution.
Mr.. Craig believes in heavy pressure
spraying and never sprays with less than
two hundred and twenty five pounds
pressure. Hardly wormy or defective
apple was seen in his orchard.
Thinning: A great deal OF Mr.. Craigs
success is due to his method of thinning,
and he is probably the only orchardist in
this part of the State of Virginia, who
thins Systematically and properly.
On account OF thinning Mr.. Craig is en-
abled to get crops every year and the
fruit he gets is all of the first-class quail
ty.
Mr.. Craig thins some time in May just
as soon as the apples get as big as mar
bles, as he claims that the chief strain on
a tree is maturing the seed and that thin
ming should be done before the seed ma
lures.
Another innovation which greatly I'M
pressed the Frederick county orchardiSts
was the system of proppingthe overload
ed limbs by wire. A screw with an eye
let is attached to the main trunk and from
this sixteen guage wire is attached 10
the limb desired to be supported.
These wires are left in the trees nom
year TO year and are very little trouble al
ter they are once installed. This system
of propping is very effective and hardly
a limb is broken, although occasionally
the screws will pull out of the limbs.
The location OF the orchard demands
e ou oPPOit0t nj fTOSt