The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-12-19
VT. APPLE
ORCHARD OF
$4,000 TREES
Largest Private Orchard
In World In
Bennington

The production of maple sugar
is one of Vermont's foremost in
dustries. Vermont maple sugar is
universally known. It's demands
are enormous. Yet there is an in
dustry that will surpass if it has
not already outdistanced the maple
sugar industry in Importance
That industry is the production of
apples.
The largest orchard in Vermont,
OF for that matter, the largest
private-owned orchard in the
world, is located at Bennington in
the extreme southwest corner of
Vermont The orchard contains
$4,000 trees, or more; $4,000 of
these are apple trees, and the re
mainder are plum, pear ounce
and cherry trees. The total acre
age occupied by these trees is $500
acres. The orchard is divided into
two main diyisions-the Benning-
ton division and the Carpenter Hill
division.
The orchards are given careful
attention. A man, well versed i'll
the knowledge Of apple culture, is
kept busy going about the orchard
to see that the trees are in good
condition. As soon as any disease
is discovered in the orchard, it IS
Immediately reported to the office
and men sent out to check it. In
the spring the trees are intensively
sprayed.
1t is an interesting sight to see
the orchard during picking time.
The heavy laden trees, the busy
men, the piles of picked fruit, the
weighing of horses and the creak-
ing of the wagons all combine 20
produce an interesting scene.
The orchard is divided into
| blocks. There may be block Of
four or FIVE hundred Baldwin trees
in one place, and next to it a block
Of Greetings. Roads wind in and
out of the orchard. When picking
time comes, the picking gang 90
onto one block and finish that
block before starting another. All
of the fruit is picked by hand, no
automatic pickcrs being used
Suppos we consider what a typi-
cal picking and packing scene looks
like. 1t is plum time. For weeks
the plums have been ripening in
the hot afternoon sun. And now
they are ready TO be picked, packed
and shipped. The procession that
we see leaving the packing house
for thG plum lots is rather
strange one. Men are carrying
picking baskets, bushel baskets,
ladders and hammer and nails. And
behind them comes a huge wagon
piled high with crates and a pack
ing table. The men arrive at the
plum lot and locate a well-shaded
spot to establish a packing station.
Such a spot being found, the pack
ing table is set up and the wagon
unloaded. Now everything Is ready
for business AS soon as the dew is
off the plums the pickcrs begin to
gather the fruit and bring it to the
packing table. Here the fruit is
carefully graded and packed The
plums are packed in quart baskets,
which are placed in crates, There
are 80 baskets or quarts in a crate.
When the crate is full the cover is
nailed on and the crate set up in
the shade. The crates are carried
from the plum lot to the storage
barn in a spring wagon. In pack
ing, great care is taken to see that
no inferior plums are packed with
the good fruit, If some Of the
fruit is not as firm as the rest, it is
placed in crate by itself and prop
erly labeled.
The plums are shipped to New
York, Boston, Springfield and other
cities. Last year "Thc Orchards
shipped three carloads of plums
besides selling a huge quantity in
Bennington, North Adams. Mass,
and Pittsfield, Mass. When car
is to be shipped, it is first iced 20
as to make sure the fruit arrives at
its destination in good condition.
The plum crates in which the
plums are packed are made at "Thc
Orchards" On rainy days, when
out-of-door work is impossible, the
men make the crates The field
boxes, which are used for packing
apples, are also made at "The Or
chardS."
The apples are picked and placed
in the field boxes. Then they are
carried to the packing barn, where
they are carefully sized and graded
They are packed in boxes, similar
to those used by western apple
growers, and in barrels Some APP
pies are sold in bushel baskets hut
the manager has found that apples
packed in boxes stand up better
than shipments in any other form.
The work Of building up such an
orchard has been an arduous task.
The credit for producing such a
magnificent orchard and Keeping
it in such a fine condition must be
rivpn tn the SuDprintendcnt Mr.