The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1912-05-16
THE ORCHARDISTS STIRRED
IOWA APPLE CROP MAY BE FAIL.
URE THIS YEAR.
Which Produced Last Year Are
Worthless This Year.

Glenwood, Ia, May 15.-Special:
Reports from various localities in
Iowa to the effect that the apple trees
are not blOssoming this year, has crea
ted considerable alarm among the or.
chardists and commission men and
have brought food of inquiries to
experts located in this section of the
state for reports upon the probability
Of the loss of the apple crop this year,
which yielded so much wealth last
year.
}. w. Murphy, Of this city, one of
the best kuOWu authorities and the
largest apple producer in the state
today tailed enthusiastically of the ap.
pie prospects, yet revealing a surpris-
ing condition in that Iowa will pro
duce practically no Jonathan apples
this year, and as JonathanS are re
cogniZed as the most valuable and
and most sought after variety of ap,
| pies grown. the loss from this one APP
pie will be marked and felt seriously.
However, Mr.. Murphy says, this
should not be very surprising. Here
is the situation" said Mr.. Murphy
Last year the Jonathan trees bore
an unusually heavy crop of the finest
apples produced in any state. Some
OF the other varieties, however, did
not do very well, and some of them
in fact, did not produce an apple.
1t is but the natural order of things.
then, that the situation this year
should be reversed. Inere will also
not be any apples of the Wealthy va
riety this year, except in isolated 10
caIitiPs wehere the trees did not bea
last year But, Judging from present
conditions, there will be a large crop
of Wine Saps, Crimes Golden and
other varieties this year, and you
know the Iowa Wine Saps and the
Iowa Crimes Golden are some apples
when it comes to making comparisons
as to quality. Where the Ben Davis
was a good producer last year there
will be no Ben Davis this year, and
vice versa.
"The bloom this year, just as last
year, has been very heavy and large
per cent of it must drop off. And just
now is a critical period in the apple
| industry. Will the proper proportion
of the bloom drop off? Last yeal
many orchardists were compelled tC
reduce the embryo crop in order tc
protect the growing crop, the bloom
and wouldbe yield being so heavy.
THUS far there could hardly have
been a more promising season for or
chards. The spring has been ideal
and while there was freeze Sunda!
night, it was not enough to injure the
fruit
A heavy freeze was experienced ir
western Iowa Sunday night. Exten
sive damage was done to early gar
den truck and to potatoes.
In the state orchard, near here, Prof
Laurenz Green and J. w. DOrland from
the Iowa experimental station, sat III
all Sunday night watching the wealth
err. Throughout the orchard We're Their
mGmeter alarms which rang bell
when the temperature reaches twenty
eight degrees, and the use of firepOt
becomes necessary to save the fruit
At one o'clock the bells rang, and tn,
men were aroused, but on test of tn,
temperature it was found there was S,
much moisture danger of damage
was small and the tirepots We're no
used. Half an hour later the temper
ature began to rise steadily.
Fruit Crop to be Poor.
New Hampton. Ia, May 15.-Spe
cial: There will be very little frui
raised in Chickasaw county this yeal
Apple trees that were loaded wit
blossoms last year are almost bar
this spring. The plum trees are wei
in bloom, but they are a comparative
ly Insignificant crop.