Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1916-07-19
F A r M A N ID
O r Gil A r D


The Farm Orchard
Often during the past year, peo-
pie have said to. the writer: 'truit
growing is destined to become q pro-
iession. The time will soon be here
when the average farmer will not try
to grow fruit. The time was when
the orchard needed but little care, a
slight annual pruning, perhaps some
fertilization now ana then, were all
that was required, but now we must
spray and prune, fertilize and thin,
and 1T is simply out of the question"
/ do not wish the reader TO under
stand that each one of these parties
delivered his speech in the above
words, but they are fair interpreted
ton of the minds of an increasing
number of people who really feel that
1t will not pay them longer to pay any
special attention to their orchards.
They realize, of course, that the San
Jose scale will destroy the trees in a
very few years at most; and that very
soon the fruit will be rendered worth
less by these pests and others, but this
only strengthens their determination
to let them go.
YES" says the man who would
give up his orchard, "but what does
It matter when the curculio stings the
plums, the yellows destroy the peach
trees, the worms get into the apples
and the scab on the outside of them,
then the blight kills the pear trees
and the San Jose scale comes along
to take whatever happens to be left 7"
Now we did not say that we could
have the orchard on the farm without
intelligent labor, and we do not claim
that it can be done without some ex-
penditure of time and money, but our
position is that it can and should be
done, because it will pay; because the
time and labor required are going to
be we'll spent and worth while.
1t is true that more time is requir-
ed in proportion, to care for small
orchard, than for one of commercial
proportions, but the owner can afford
to expend more time on an orchard
whose fruit is to be consumed at home.
1t is worth more to him, than it
would be if he were obliged to sell it
to someone else after he had produced
it. If the fruit is consumed at home,
the grower gets all of "The Consum-
er's Dollar"
He may not be able to market his
surplus to as good advantage as the
large orchardist sells his crop, but he
will sell for a price which will COM
pensate him well for the labor ex-
pended, and will get the fruit consum-
ed at home, in larger quantities and
for much less cost than he otherwise
could.
Now, reader, if you are a farmer
with small orchard, and are think
snc Nf
fruit of someone who has time to grow
it, let us see if it would not be cheap
er and better after all, for you to care
for that orchard, and have plenty of
good fruit right at home just when
you want it.
Apple scab is a difficulty that is
widespread. l have seen it nearly all
over Michigan, and do not believe
empt. But it is easy to control this
trouble. The first necessity is good
spray-pump. A hand-pump for the
small orchard is good enough. One
man in the community with good
spraying for his neighbors if he could
be gotten just when he was needed.
but the trouble is that when you want
JndI man Tie WOISI, lie 10 WOIhlfiB lOI
someone else, or is at home detained
by his own work, and so unable to
spray for anyone. A good hand
pump, then, is the first necessity.
To my mind, the most important
spray in the control of scab is "The
Pink Spray" the spray that is made
just before the blossoms open. It
does not take long to do this work. A
small orchard can be gone over at
little cost. After the blossoms fall
comes the first spray for codling
moth. The best mixture is arsenate
of lead, about two and one-half
pounds to fifty gallons, and lime-sul-
phur, one gallon to 40 of water. The
application should be very thorough,
because if the poison is not gotten in
to the calyx cups of the little APP
pies, the worms will not be killed.
This spray should be repeated in ten
days, and final application should
be made on the winter fruit only, at
the end of July, or during the first
week in August.
1t is not my purpose in this article
to give instructions about spraying. /
simply wish to make a plea for the
orchard on the general farm, and
prove that it can be successfully
grown and cared for without material
ly interfering with the routine of
farm work