Putnam patriot., 1924-02-08

 demonstration at the farm of Chester r. May of East Woodstock. Atten- tion of the United States was focus cd on the orchard and it's owner by a half page article appearing in the current issue of the Country Gentle man. The article was written by W H. Darrow, fruit specialist of the Connecticut Agricultural College at Storrs and Is entitled, "He Found S6 900 in an Orchard"
 Briefly the article sets forth how Mir. May, who is 75 years old, had decided to sell his farm and had plac- ed a value on it of Sl4,000. Then came tho demonstration to induce his apple trees to take on new life and vigor and bear bumper crops. The methods followed are described in detail and the article winds up with the assertion that the demonstration was so successful that big crop of apples was harvested last fall, hand some profits were poeketed and the owner refused S20,000 for his place {!
 Should Be an Inspiration
 What has been accomplished by Mir. May with his old orchard, should serve as an inspiration to every farm CT in the country with fruit trees that are aged and not bearing as they should. Proper methods, carefully carried out, not only net the farmer a handsome profit in fruit, but increase the value of his farm. Mr. Mays case is concrete proof of this.
 Mir. Mays success in rejuvenating his apple trees should also serve an- other purpose. 1t ought to make the farmers glad that there is such an organization working all the time in their interests, as the Windham County Farmers Association. The demonstration at the May place was started and carried on under the aus pices of the county association. The State college and it's fruit experts CO., operated in the undertaking and all interests combined, Mir. May being the central factor, made the demonstra- ton the outstanding extension pro- ject in the State of Connecticut. County Agent Frank Davis of Putnam worked hard with Mir. May in develop ing the demonstration from the begin ming.
 Fruit Men Visit Orchard
 The May demonstration attracted statewide attention as disclosed py the many visiting delegations from all sections of Connecticut. The trip to the May farm by the Pomological Society is one illustration of this fact.
 Mir. May, the county farmers as- sociation and the State college may well feel proud of what their scientific fslr ta~a l.l l..l, Il The article about the May place in the Country Gentleman, which is in full as follows, is regarded IS the first instance where q national publi- cation of this character, treated a Windham County subject in q special, feature article.
 Offers Farm For Sale
 In the fall of 1922, Chester F. May. of East Woodstock, Connecticut. con sidered selling his farm. A price of 900 was placed on it. There were no buyers. In September, 1928, he re- fused an offer of $20, ,000-and ali be- cause of an apple crop.
 For three years previous to 1923, Mir May had been compelled to sell the apples from his Mcintosh trees. nearly half his orchard, for cider stock because of apple scab and other pests. Last year 610 barrels of fancy McIn- tosh apples, practically free from blemishes of any kind, were harvested from Z20 fOurteen-year-old trees. He had pruned and sprayed and fertil- ized.
 A row of ten trees which were not fertilized yielded fifteen barrels of ap- rlae la uAtAtnfFafr {arttlazol twenty-seven barrels. In other words, about two dollars worth of fertilizer produced twelve barrels of fancy Me Intosh apples. It's the old story. Good pruning, fertilization and spray ing pay.
 Mir. May is 75 years old and his farm consists of about 100 acres. The orchard consists of about $50 trees, including the 220 Mcintosh, twenty Winter Banana, also fourteen years old; 1l0 Baldwins, eighteen years old; no Baldwins, thirty years old, and odd trees and varieties to make up the re- mainder. The 1923 crop was about 1900 barrels, of which 610 barrels were Mcintosh, 40 barrels Baldwins, Approximately S5 per cent of the crop packed out A grade.
 The May farm is typical of many in the northeast corner of Connecti- cut. The soil is moderately fertile loam, the land somewhat rolling and the farming interests diversified.
 Three Important Crops
 Mir Mays principal cash crops are hay, apples and potatoes. His crops last year were approximately sixty tons of hay 1900 barrels of apples and 600 bushels of potatoes. The farm also produced last year $50 bushels of corn which was fed to livestock. Heif- CTS are frequently bought and fed on the place and sold after freshening. Several hundred dollars each year are obtained from such miscellaneous sources. Last year the hay was val ued at about S20 ton and the pota- toes at Si.50 a bushel.
 Mir Mays Baldwin crop, previous to last year, averaged about 400 barrels year. The crop last year was 440 barrels, trifie above the average. The quality was the best ever produced.
 The Mcintosh crop for several years had been practically worthless. Mir. May was SO discouraged with his Me- Intosh trees that he considered top grating them over to Baldwins. Fin ally he decided to seek the help of the county farm association and the Con- necticut Agricultural College. He was