Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1912-04-18
ALkALI BY IRRIGATION
Orchard Soils Often Become
Heavy and Alkaline.
Thousands Of Trees Lost by Hard Wa
tering From Wells and Other
Causes-Open System in Prun-
ing Meets With Much Favor.

This theme might have been prop
erly labeled THE Fools Progress"
but happily some people can learn
things when a house falls on them.
had two orchards fall on me and have
come out of the debris with shattered
nerves, but with one eye open any
how and am seeing things. Solomon
was wise man, writes George h.
West, in the Denver Field and Farm.
He had much domestic experience and
knew of the apple. Speaking OF the
apple tree among the trees OF the
wood he says: 81 sat down under his
shadow with great delight and his
fruit was sweet to my taste" Later
he says: Comfort me with apples
for | am sick Of love" Long before
ones orchard becomes a source of in
come TO the tired soul and body and
empty pocket, the grower may well re-
verse this saying and cry out Comfort
me with love for am sick of apples"
The Lord loves a good fighter and
eternal vigilance brings many things
besides liberty. The apple grower
fights from start TO finish and well
earns his profits. Who can say the
limit is yet reached on the net profits
from mature apple orchard under
the added wisdom of the years yet
before us? | am not an experienced
apple grower. No doubt most of those
men are doing their orchard and apple
work better and at less cost than
have been doing and have secured
better results. Such can pat them
selves on the back. To others ! may
prove horrible example but you need
not fall into the same holes did
you can dig plenty Of your own. Prob
ably II costs on the average 90 cents
a box to grow apples and 40 cents
more for harvesting. boxing and mar
keting-say 60 cents box total. Per
haps 81 60 a box is a fair average price
for Jonathans and Winesaps and s1.2i
for the Missouri pippin and s1.00 fol
Ben Davis, carload lots, net (. o. b
our stations. The margins show wha
to grow.
We have lost many trees by ou
own men leaving them in the origina
nursery bundles and heeling them il
instead of opening and spreading then
out; also heeling them in pits will
upright instead of sloping sides. Il
both cases they get air and dry out
Much of our irrigated orchard land
have become heavy and somewhat al
kaline and We have lost thousands o
young trees by hard watering fror
wells that were strongly alkaline i
replanting hereafter We plan to put
shovel or two OF clear sand aroun
every young trees roots. Every yea
we lose young trees from girdling b
the rabbits. We have tried blood o
the tree trunks and abandoned I
Then axle grease was used-it kept o
the rabbits but drew the heat. drie
up the sap and killed the trees.
We believe in cross-fertilization an
our largest crop of apples came on
year when We had one hundred hive
Of bees in the orchard. We now hav
two hundred hives on one orchard an
the same number near the other on
We use what may be called the ope
system in pruning. taking out the Gel
= ters uf the young trees and where oil,
er orchards are acquired We are doin
: the same thing so far as insurin
symmetry and balance to the tree wi
permit. Under this system the tree
bend every way from the center. easil
carrying their fruit. We use no proT
and rarely are picked from the fi.fi
= and rarely find limb broken. MOI
r Of our apples are picked from II
= ground.
, This plan of growing apple trees "
= find in every way best for pollinatio
| air drainage, pruning. spraying an
. harvesting. The low spreading tire,
, catch little wind and We have Re
, windfalls Rubbing of the sKll
D green water sprouts or suckers
4 July by hand greatly lessons the co
/ OF pruning later. Also cutting Il
4 ground suckers right back to the ro
Q Or tree trunk prevents them fro
growing again.