Newark post., 1912-10-16

Near Salem, Ohio | visited two fine
apple orchards. The first was an old or
chard, possibly sixty years old. The trees
had been neglected and allowed to grow
so tall that picking the fruit was dan
gcrous AMI expensive operation. The
present owner, however, has applied mod
crn methods of pruning, spraying and
tcrtiizing, so that this year he has a
crop that will more than pay for all the
work he has put on the orchard the past
two years. This is point that | want
our eastern farmers to look into. Most
of YOU have old orchards. Don IT neglect
them. Start next winter and cut out all
the dead branches, paint over the sears,
prune carefully. head in the trees all you
can and spray for scale and codling
moth. Do not neglect the work in order
to look after your corn powing or plant
ing-if your old orchard is of any size,
it will pay you well to give it intelligent
care. The second orchard was twenty
six wears old. The trees were low-headed,
so that the loaded branches touched the
ground. and resting there, prevented
much breaking of the trees. This Or
chard had been sprayed three times this
year and should say fully so per cent
or the apples would grade No. |, and 10
per cent No. >. The orchard contained
II acres, and the owner estimated that
he would have five or six carloads of
marketable apples.
One of the best farming sections
have ever seen, lies along the line of
the Louisville 4 Nashville r. r.. between
Cincinnati and Louisville. Here we ran
through the famous blue grass section
of Kentucky. The farm homes are large
and give an air of comfort behind their
spacious lawns. The crops are good, the
fields are well fenced and the stock is
unsurpassed. | am told the farmers here
are in comfortable circumstances and this
is easy to believe, for there are evidences
of thrift and prosperity on every hand.
There is one thing more | want to
speak about that appears to me a posi-
hle solution of the road problem. Through
many sections of Ohio brick roads are be-
feet wide and usually built along one
side of the roadway. This gives a dirt
road for good weather and a brick road
for winter and spring. Our macadam-
l., ~ l,1
up under the heavy automobile traffic.
They cost much to build, and still more
if kept in repair. The hard brick roads
OF Ohio may offer less expensive and
more lasting road than macadam.
Alfalfa in western Iowa and eastern
Nebraska has kept pace with corn, wheat
and oats. This is the greatest alfalfa
raising section of the country, where five
and six cuttings are not unusual. We
are only beginning to learn how to grow
it in the East, but when experience has
taught us how. we will have one of the
greatest dairy feeds, both for hay and
pasture, that modern agriculture can give
Minnesota has a fine wheat record this
year. In fact, this state seems good in
all her crops Corn, wheat, oats, barley
rye, flax, potatoes, clover, hay and grass
as well as fruits, berries and vegetables
Minnesota farmers have made good.
know this state pretty well from top to
bottom having lived in it for nearly
three years. Every time | go back there
for a visit, | wonder why more of our
eastern farmers, that is, the young men
' hO are looking for farms of their own
30 not investigate the possibilities Of the
''Gopher State Certainly, anyone who
could see the present agricultural wealth
istied, would be hard to please Mime
sofa farmers are now busy filling their
silos. | saw score of them at this work
as passed along on the train. 1t is a
great dairy state, second to New York
in this respect. The silo is almost as
common in Minnesota as the dairy barn
Silage and rich clover hay form a large
part of the winter dairy ration, that has
brought the state into such prominen,
position among the other great dairy
states of the Union. A few years age
Minnesota was classed as "A big wheat
state-it is yet, but it has not gone whea
crazy like the Dakotas and Canada, fO
after raising wheat continuously on tht