Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-09-28
TREE WILL BEAR 40 BUSHELS
A. J. EatOn's 75-Year.Old Apple
Tree Is a Wonder.
Member OF state board Of Agriculture
and Forestry Also Successful with
Cherries at south Royal ton
Farm.

Amos J. Eaton. a member OF the State
board Of agriculture and forestry. in II
letter to Prof F. A. Waugh, who UP to
June, 1902, was professor OF horticulture
at the State Agricultural College, writes
Of an apple tree on his White River valley
orchard at South Royalton which this
year will bear 70 bushels Of apples Dur
ing tho last four bearing seasons 1t has
yielded 500 worth of fruit. And the tree
Is 10 years old Mr.. Eaton also has been
a successful raiser Of cherries. The
speech which he refers to Professor
Waugh as making was one the latter
delivered on one Of his speaking tours
In the eastern half Of the State.
This is the letter.
II noticed to-day an article on cherry
culture in the August number OF Country
Life in America signed #. "A. w which
contains much good advice that I
attribute 1t to your pen.
whether I am correct or not. you may
be interested to know something OF the
effect of one Of your speeches here You
may perhaps remember that you came
to South Royalton one day some eighteen
years ago to address a Grange meeting
on the subject OF Apple Growing" At
the close OF your address a lank black
haustively about cherries.
Possibly you failed to discover that
large part OF your mission that day
was to answer those questions. Follow
ing your advice we planted an acre OF
English Morello cherries the following
spring and have kept planting more and
more as the years have passed While
most Of our trees are still young we
harvested two hundred bushels Of cher
ries this season. They sell for 81 per
bushel net, and we cannot begin to fiji
the market Most OF our fruit goes
directly to the consumers scattered all
over Vermont and New Hampshire. 1t
costs about rs per cent to pick and mar
ket in addition to fertilizers, spraying,
cultivation and genera al care Of the trees,
but the crop Is fairly profitable.
| THESE cherry trees are planted as I'll
lers among Spy. Mcintosh and Baxter
apples. The trees are spaced 1874 feet
each way, 100 TO the acre. This season
we harvested 100 bushels OF Montgomery
cherries from one acre Of land, 10 cherry
trees planted twelve years ago.
"One season We grew 81 worth of cher
Hes and Is cents worth of potatoes to
each square rod in a six year Morello
orchard.
Your talk that day on apple culture
apple growing In small way and one
or the results was an apple exhibit for
two seasons at which the showing was
of better quality than at the present
State fair.
I'VE now have seventeen acres in or
chard and are working toward fifty acres
as fast We can.
My eldest son. boy Of seventeen
standing six feet and an inch in his
stockings, is well enough pleased with
on the farm with us.
| The Windsor county farm bureau
delegation visited us here yesterday 80
strong and I was able to show them ono
Spy tree which has yielded me slo0 worth
lof fruit In the past four years and Is
loaded with splendid apples now. I es-
innate the yield this season will be forty
bushel boxes. and the fruit will grade
30 per cent. No. /, provided We have suf-
ficient sunshine to color It we'll
This tree is probably rs years old and
was top grated on native stock. 1t has
a spread Of about 10 feet
Our land is very poor stony loan, too
poor to raise weeds. the neighbors said,
but fruit does fairly Well We We're un-
able to make living dairyng. The en-
tire crops grown on the farm in 1891. the
year before We came on it, would not
have scld for SOD
Last year our sales totaled about 81 500
and we are only beginning. owe much
OF such success as l have had with fruit
to you starting me right"
Yours very truly,
AMOS ]. EATON.