The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1912-02-16

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also two hundred pounds Of tobacco DUST
While pruning drop the trees into this hole,
roots downward, leaving them there ready
for planting. This will revive the trees and
may kill many injurious insects. Also con-
venient place to keep the trees from drying
out between the time Of pruning and planting
Cut or all broken roots. also cut out any
crowding and interlacing roots. Throw out
any trees that you find have diseased roots, or
for any other reason are not fit to plant.
Measure of twenty feet for border all
around your orchard; this will leave room for
teams 10 turn In cultivating, spraying, also in
picking gives room for team and wagon to
get around. We plant 2ox2O on level, and 20x82
on hillside; after filters are removed this
will leave the permanent trees 40x40 on level
and 32x40 ON hillside. We plant In squares and
straight rows; you will find this very import
ant in spraying and hauling out fruit. Trees
should be planted at least two inches deeper
than they were in the Nursery. Holes must
be dug to accommodate the tree in hand so
that roots can be spread out and not touch
the sides Of the holes as acramped root win
not thrive; the subsoil should be thrown to
one side. replacing with two to four inches of
good rich soil in the bottom Of the hole One
man takes the tree. spreads out the roots with
one hand. and the other man throws in a
shovel full or two of mellow. rich soil, also
scatters about half pound OF bone meal or
other good fertilizers on top OF first two
shovels full Of earth. At the same time the
man holding the tree IN one hand takes the
other hand to work the earth thoroughly be-
tween the roots; this done, one fills the hole
while the other tramps solid with his feet,
standing right in the hole as each shovel full
is thrown I'M; when completed a man cannot
pull the tree up with one hand; should it be
possible to pull tree up with one hand, we do
not consider it properly planted. Have found
it dangeroust to plant when the soil is dried
out We prefer to plant trees in the fall of
the year or any time during the winter or
early spring when the ground is fit. when the
thermometer is above 81 degrees
It is said that not more than SO per cent. of
the fruit tress planted live to bear fruit, ard
can safely say that more than 80 per cent Of
the fruit trees planted, in our section, the
year just passed are dead now.
One of my sons with a crew Of twelve men
planted 10000 trees in ten days in the fall Of
1906 and not per cent. of them died.
Clear your land of all old rail fence, Usage
Orange hedges; grub out fence rows, stumps,
trees, and large stones as they will greatly i'm
terfere with cultivation, spraying and more
particularly with hauling fruit from orchard
You cannot get good fruit from an orchard
Uttered with brush, roots, stones. etc; unless
you carry it out by hand. and you know that
would be very expensive.
Young apples trees should have absolute clean
cutivati IN followed by Glover Crops for the first
five years This cultivation can begin the first
year with strip six to eight feet wide, and to be
.widened out each year a foot or two. Young
trees should also have plenty Of nourishment. A
neglected tree when young, is just like neglect
ed young animal, takes a long time to recover,
and rarely does entirely overcome early bad
treatment. +
Corn, potatoes. tomatoes or other vegetables
may be grown in an apple orchard the first four
or five years, by using plenty Of fertilizer and
cover crops to plough under; but we doubt If
this can be made a financial success for COM
mercial orchards. Wefind we cannot grow crops,
at profit. paying l5c per hour for labor No
crops whatever should be grown in bearing
Apple Orchard
We cultivate alternate rows in our bearing
orchard every other year; by this method haifof
each tree is cultivated each year. This cnltiva.
with disc harrow and Is repeated as often as
necessary, either with disc or spring barrow. We
aim never to allow crust to form on our land.
About the 10Th of July the land is soEn down in
Cow Peas and Glover. We use u Crimson, x
Sapling Glover and "a Red Glover about two
pounds Of each to the acre, also about one bushel
Cow Peas to acre. We use grain drill, closing
up every other spout, and SOW 100 pounds 8. c.
Rock and 80 pounds SuIphate Potash to acre.
The Cow Peas and Glover gives us humus and
nitrogen, and s. Q, Rock phosphoric acid.
The following Summer we NOW just when the
Crimson Clover is in full bloom and again in
August; this grass il allowed to remain on the
around and acts as q mulch When picking
time comes the ground under our trees is in nice
clean condition half oft in Glover and the other
halt in Cow Peas and Glover. In Winter we haul
stable manure on parts Of orchard that seem to
need it most. Get manure from cities in cars
loads.
We are now carrying on an experiment. to
test the difference between thinning apples and
feeding the trees up to this time am very
much in favor OF feeding the tree
There are two dist met methods of shaping an
apple tree; one called the vace shaped or open
head tree and the other system allows a central
leader You should decide at the outset which
of these systems you are to follow and carry it
through We prefer the central leader and there
fore will confne my talk to that system.
The old style. high headed. apple trees has
gone out Of favor with the progressive fruit
growers. Low headed trees are so much easier
TO spray. prune and gather fruit from; they shade
the trunk OF tree and ground, conserving mois-
ture in the soil under tree nor are they so liable
to injury from storms. as the high headed tree
We head our trees eighteen to twenty-four inches
above the ground leaving as many branches as
possible on the tree the first two or three years to
ieduce healthy growth, shade the trunk Of the
tree and gre und Each year we go over them
cutting back here and there. TO keep the tree
symmetrical not allowing the limbs to become
willowy also take out the cross limbs. We trim
during January, February and March when the
weather Is fit for men to- work, Our direction are
in all cases OF doubt. DON'T CUT.
After the fifth year occasionally we do some
little thinning cut Of branches. We find BY this
system iair crop of apples win come on the