VOL. LVII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JULY 12, 1902.
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TELL HOW TO PUT OUT A TEN-ACRE FRUIT
ORCHARD-STATE KIND OF SOIL, VARIETIES OF FRUIT, TREATMENT,   ETC.
Break Deep snd Subsoil Deeper.
1st Premium.—The first thing io be considered in putting out an orchard is the
site or location. Too often an orchard
in set out on a piece of ground just because it is "out of the way" or "it is not
good enough for anything else," and then
it is not understood why it does not
bear. The site should be high, or at
least higher than the surrounding country,
as a higher elevation often will prevent
winter killing, for cold air is heavier and
it will naturally sink to the hollows and
1 alleys, leaving the warmer air above.
Hollows, ravines, spongy or black lands
thould be avoided. In low black ground
the trees will become too growthy and
succulent and are more easily winterkilled. A running stream on one side at
a short distance gives perfect atmos-
phoric drainage, which is very essential,
end it will greatly assist in removing the
surplus water. The surface may slope
in any direction but a southern slope ia
best for summer and fall apples, while for
winter apples a northern slope is preferred. In preparing the soil, break deep
and subsoil 12 or 15 inches deeper. Prepare the surface with as much care am)
get in the same order as though sowing
wheat. This will give the young roots a
chance to push out in all directions and
take that from the soil which is required
to build up the growing tissues. Get
your trees from a reliable nursery, or better do your own grafting and budding, (and
with a little experience anyone can do
this). Trees transplanted from two to
three years old give better and more satis-
lactory results than trees four or five
years old. Plant apple trees 32 to 40
feet apart; pears (standard) 20 to 24 feet;
dwarfs 10 to 12 feet; peach, cherry and
plums 15 to 20 feet. In a severe climate
trees set out in the spring will thrive
best, but in a milder climate, such as is
found in southern Indiana it is more desirable to set out in fall, any time before
ihe ground freezes. Always set a little
deeper than they were in the nursery. If
Ihe ground is not too rolling, cultivate
some crop between the rows, such as corn,
potatoes or any of the leguminous plants,
for the first four or five years. Oats
should never be sown in a young orchard,
< xcept in the fall for a winter mulch. Care
should be taken that the cultivation is
not too close so as to rub or knock the
bark from the stems. If the ground is
rolling or sloping and liable to wash at
every heavy rainfall, the mulching
system should be used and not cultivate
at all. When setting out, prune out such
branches so the top will be open and
spreading. Then watch closely and keep
out all limbs which will be of no benefit
tc the tree. For general pruning, late
in* the fall or early in the spring is best.
Prime in mid-summer to induce fruit fulness. When the trees begin to yield, be
sure they do not overbear, as this is very
exhaustive to - the tree and will shorten
its life. Better have one bushel of nice
fruit than two bushels of small knotty
fruit. So, if they bear too full, thin out
about one-half. As to the varieties: For
profit, fruit must have quality, hardiness, productiveness and beauty. One
must know the demands of his own particular market   in selecting   his varieties.
For instance for a Southern trade, beauty
ind size are desired. Here a Ben Davis
apple will answer. But an Eastern market requires quality, such as is found in
a (.rimes' Golden* but is lacking in the
Ben Davis. So a man must decide for
himself as to what varieties will suit his
market the best. In an orchard of ten
acres, six to eight acres should be in
apples, for by selecting good standard
varieties of summer, fall and winter apples he may have fruit for sale eight
months in the year. The other fruits
which should have a place are, peaches,
pears, cherries and quinces. These have
their own few weeks for sale, then are
no more, as they have no keeping qualities compared with the noble apple. So
in selecting varieties of whatever kind of
fruit it may be, select first for hardiness
and productiveness, then follow with
Quality, and beauty comes last. Get
enough of one variety to "be worth while."
A number of barrels of the same variety
ore worth much more on the market than
the same number of barrels of mixed
varieties. Spraying might come under
this topic also but it is a broad question,
r. question in itself, and should be treated
as such in a separate article.
Fayette Co. E. L. S.
Beit Site for Orchard is a "Knob flat."
2d Premium.—It would be a fatal and
almost unpardonable mistake for a man
to go blindly into any enterprise, more especially into one comprehending so much
labor, time and other expense. Indeed in
this matter, more than almost any other,
we ought to see the end from the beginning. My opinion, whieh is based upon
close observation, logical reasoning, and
upon 40 years of experience, is that the
selection of a proper site for the orchard
is of first importance. There is plenty
of good orchard land in southern and
central Indiana, but the best is found in
the various Knob systems, where the soil
is made up of decomposed knobstone,
which is a very fine-grained sandstone,
and vegetable mold. The very best site,
wo think, is an elevated table land, or, as
people who live in the knobs say, a "knob
flat," standing above the level of the surrounding country from 200 to 300 feet.
The atmosphere is much drier, it is 4 or
5 degrees warmer in winter, and not so
subject to killing frosts, and the season
is two or three weeks longer. Apples
peaches, pears, plums and cherries, when
planted on new land of the kind described,
grow and bear fruit to perfection, if the
right varieties are planted and properly
cared for. The soil on these table-lands,
when new, is excellent, producing under
favorable weather conditions and fair culture 75 to 80 bushels of corn. The site
should be well cleared and plowed and
worked down well and laid off with two
horse plow, in rows east and west, north
and south; for apple and standard pears,
2 rods apart, each way. Plant in October.
Plant deep enough to cover well all the
roots and pack earth in well about them
to prevent drying out. Heap up a little;
leave no hole for water to stand in during
winter. I prefer trees with plenty of
root. A symmetrical well-balanced vigorous tree is best. If you have to buy
trees, bay of some reputable home nurseryman. I think those grafted in whole
roots are the best, with reference to apple
trees. If the ground is very dry when
[ trees are planted, it would be well to
pour in some water, not very much however. Peach, plum and cherry trees
might be planted midway between apple
and pear trees in one direction, north and
south, so as not to interfere with the admission  of    plenty   of  sunshine.      Some
plant both ways between, but this I think
crowds  the   ground   too  much.      Among
ether  preparations   it   would   be   well   to
have a wind-break, as fruit is often killed
by severe northwest winds.     If there is
not natural forest protection on north and
west sides,  it would  be well to plant a
thick-set   row   or   two   of   rapid-growing
evergreens for this purpose.     The nearer
to a good home market, or shipping facilities,  you can  locate your orchard,  when
other  matters  of   vital   interest   are   not
sacrificed, the better will it pay you.     As
te the selection of varieties of fruits and
number  of each  to plant,   I  would  say,
plant only such apples, peaches and other
fruits as are known to succeed    best    in
your  locality.      If  you  experiment  with
new kinds do it well, but sparingly.     Of
late apples I would plant about five acres,
three-fifths Ben Davis and two-fifths Wine
Saps.      Late  pears:      Keiffer,  one  acre;
Bartlett,   one-half   acre.      Early   apples,
Yellow  Transparent,     one  acre;   Benoni,
one-half  acre;  Maiden's  Blush,     one-half
acre;   Grime's   Golden,   one   acre.      One-
half acre Hughes' Crabs. Fill in, one way,
as before said, with about equal parts of
smallest blue plums (Damsons), and Early
Richmond  cherries,  in   one-half the  plat.
The other half I would plant in peaches:
Clings—Heath's,    Fleanor's      Snow    and
Lemon, mostly    Heath's and    Fleanor's.
Freestones—Old     Mixin,       Stump,       the
World, Elberta and Mammoth Pearl, The
orchard should be carefully cultivated for
three of four years; but the crops should
not be taken off after three years,    but
should  be plowed  under to keep  up  the
fertility of    the soil.     The most permanent peach orchard may be made by planting the seeds, or kernels, where the trees
are  wanted  to  stand.      If  -Hie  seed  are
well selected, this makes the   best orchard
in the shortest time.     The orchard should
be pruned, cultivated and otherwise well
cared for to get the best results.
Jackson Co. S. B.
stakes 15 feet apart in each direction. You
are now ready to set the orchard.     Commence  setting  on   the   left  side   and   set
an  apple tree  first.     Then  set the next
tree a cherry, then the third tree an apple
again,   making   the  apples  30  feet  each
way.      The  cherries  can  be   set  in  one
block   or   the   peaches   can   be   set   with
them.      The   trees   should   be   leaned   towards the southwest or in the direction of
the  prevailing  wind.      They  should  also
be set some deeper than they were iu the
nursery row. After they are set the trees
should bo pruned, taking off most of the
limbs, so as to let the roots get a    start
the first year.    The field should be planted
in  some  crop,   as  corn,   plowing  it  both
ways, to keep the soil as level as possible
as well as clean.     It can be planted  in
corn or some other crop until the trees
come into bearing, then it can be seeded
down  to  clover or orchard  grass.      The
trees should    have a light application of
manure each winter,    to keep up the fertility of the soil around the trees.    Every
spring each tree should be pruned, taking
out all defective, diseased and unnecessary
limbs and making a low, well balanced top.
After coming into bearing the trees should
be sprayed  several times each year,    to
secure sound, healthy fruit and trees.     I
should    set  four    acres  of  apples   (with
cherry  and   peaches  between),   four  acres
of pears and two acres of plums. Of course
the varieties and amount of each will vary
with   the   location.      Of   pears   I   would
set three acres of Keiffer and the balance
in several other good varieties.     Most of
the  other  varieties  are  more  subject  to
i.light and more tender than the Keiffer
with us. Of the apple, mostly Ben Davis,
Baldwins, Rhode Island Greening, Ranbo,
Russets, Grime's Golden, Nonesuch. Cherries—Montmorency, Dyehouse, Early Richmond, Morello.     Peaches—Early and late
Crawford,  Champion,  Elberta.      Plums—
Burbank, Lombard, Blue Damson,    Wild
Goose, Abundance, Ogon and Green Gage.
Howard Co. C.  B.
The Soil Should be Under-Drained.
3d Premium.—In setting 10 acres in orchard I would use rolling ground that
would not be very good for other crops,
as grouuR? is so high and it takes so many
years for an orchard to come into bearing, a man cannot afford to set fruit trees
on high priced soil. T think the soil
best adopted to fruit growing is a hillside,
or ground of a rolling nature. But of
course soil that washes badly, or steep
hillsides, are not ideal places for a fruit
farm. It should be well underdrained,
s:nce most of the varieties of fruit cannot withstand an over supply of water
as well as an under supply. The ground
should be moderately rich, but it does
cot necessarily have to be very rich to
produce a good orchard, although richer
soil should produce more and larger fruit.
After the ground has been decided upon,
the preparation requires attention*. It
should be well plowed, and worked to as
good seed bed as possible, during the
early spring. It pays to make a good
seed bed, by harrowing and dragging several times, in the less amount of work to
cultivate it as well as the greater amount
of growth the trees will make. After the
soil has been made ready the ground has
to be laid off and a stake put where each
tree is to stand. This should be done
before the trees arrive, so they can be
set at once. To lay off the ground take
a stake and put it 7 1-3 feet from the fence
at one corner. Then measure off the rows
across    the field both ways,  setting the
Set the Trees Carefully.
Plow the ground early and give it thorough cultivation. When tho trees come
fiom the nursery heel them in carefully in
some convenient place. Commencing 20
feet from one side of the field, mark out
as if for corn, making the rows 30 feet
tpart. Use four six-feet stakes for this
purpose—five lengths making the proper
distance. Then stake directly across
these marks 30 feet apart, commencing
20 feet from fence. Set by the stakes
and in the cross marks. Carry a bucket
of water and immerse each tree's roots
in it. The dry dirt will adhere to the
wet roots. Spread the roots to their
natural lateral position. Dig a hole large
enough to contain the roots without
cramping and slightly deeper than nursery
depth. Put fine soil next the roots and
firm down by tramping. Lean the trees,
if at all, to the southwest. After all are
set, prune off surplus limbs, and trim
back head moderately. F. M.
Wabash Co.
Premiums of $1, 75 cents and 50 cents
are given for the first, second and third
best articles for the Experience Department
each week. Manuscript should be sent
direct to the Indiana Farmer Company
and should reach us one week before date
of publication.
Topics for discussion in future numbers
of the Farmer are as follows:
No. 332, July 19.—Give experience with
corn   harvesters     and     corn     shredders.
Contiued on page 9, 4th column.