| Show u I I GU CULTIVATION VATI o. o OF APP APPLE E AN AND PE PEACH CH TR TREES S U- U c 4 t i a. a f g r CW C W Large Apple Orchard In Michigan Eight years ago we wo began setting and peach trees with the Intention intention intention in In- I of f becoming commercial fruit I growers We Ve set 12 acre acres acre's of or apple apple trees in the tho fall faU and the peach trees in the spring for fillers using lising the square method of setting As our orchard land was WS cut by deep de p ravines ravines ravines ra ra- ra- ra vines we were careful to keep the hillsides hillsides hill hill- sides set in grass to avoid washing but on the level we used clean cultivation cultivation in summer with rye for tor a cover cover cov er crop crop which was turned under Inthe in inthe inthe the spring For the trees set on the hillside we used the hoe says a a. writer in an exchange After five years of cultivation the trees had made madea a vigorous growth so we sowed the level land in clover which we we mow and leave on the ground We find our apple trees doing as aswell aswell aswell well on the hillsides as on the hilltops hilltops hill hill- tops but the peach trees are ha hardly so good as s they need a more thorough cultivation than It is possible to give them with the hoe We pruned as soon as the trees were set repeating the task each spring and after five years all trees that had made a good growth were pruned again in June to check wood growth and promote fruit buds At two more recent settings of or 14 acres each we have used the hexagonal hex hexagonal method of setting and find it much better than the square as we can get more trees on an acre and give each tree more useful space There are several arguments as to which is the best time for setting Our conclusion is to order pur our trees sent in the fall and heel them in until spring then set as soon as the soil will do the work They are too apt to be winter killed if It set in the fall Some spray every year but as we have never been molested with any kind of scale insects Infects we do donot not The green lice are our enemy on the apple and for this we find that spraying with sulphur lime-sulphur solution just before the buds begin to swell in inthe inthe inthe the spring is more satisfactory than spraying with kerosene emulsion Inthe in inthe inthe the summer When spraying with lime lime- sulphur for leaf leat curl oa on the peach we add arsenate of ot lead for Just before the calyx cup of the apple closes we spray with arsenate of ot lead In the spring of ot 1912 we were unable to spray all of our peach trees and we were certainly convinced of ot the good goodof of spraying because the unsprayed trees had much less fruit which was of an inferior Interior quality Each ye year r in September we go to every peach tree and take out the borers We Ve often orten see where someone is wanting to know what is the best method of keeping rabbits from gnawIng gnawing gnaw gnaw- ing th the trees o our r method is to use a a shovel and throw a mound of dirt up around the base of the tree about a afoot afoot afoot foot high As it ft is the habit o of the ther rabbit to sit up while gnawing he will r find it inconvenient to do so on the side sido of the steep mound and will go elsewhere The mound also braces the tree against winter winte winds When making the mound we take up the tha dirt so as to leave a little trench around the foot of or the tho mound In Inthis Inthis Inthis this we put wood ashes or manure for lor fertilizer The mounds are down as soon as possible in the spring thus giving the trees a cultivation that would otherwise be impossible because because be be- cause the mound would be dry so much earlier Of our different varieties of apples Stayman Grimes Golden Jonathan Baldwin etc we are partial partial par par- to the Stayman for growing a hardier tree and the good ize size excellent excellent ex ex- ex flavor and keeping quality of its fruit The Carman is our favorite early peach It ripens when the southern peaches are scarce sc while for a late peach the Elberta leads In the fall of 1914 our l ss than 12 acres of ot year seven-year-old trees yielded 1500 bushels of ot first class fruit which was delivered to the commission commission com com- mission man by auto truck the same day as picked The fruit was graded and packed the No 1 class bringing as high as 3 per bushel |
