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Show ALKALI BY IRRIGATION Orchard Soils Often Become Heavy and Alkaline. Thousands of Tree Lost by Hard Watering Wa-tering From Wells and Other Cause Open System In Pruning Prun-ing Meets With 'Much Favor. This theme might have been properly prop-erly labeled "The Fool's Progress." but happily some people can learn things when a house falls on them. I had two orchards fall on me and have come out of tbe debris with shattered nerves, but with one eye open anyhow any-how and am seeing things. Solomon was a wise man, writes George II. West, in the Denver Field and Farm. He had much domestic experience and knew of the apple. Speaking of the apple tree among the tree of the wood he says: "I sat down under his shadow w ith great delight and bis fruit was sweet to my taste." I.ter he says: "Comfort me with apples for I am sick of love." Long before one's orchnrd becomes a source of Income In-come to the tired soul and body and empty pocket, tbe grower may well reverse re-verse this saying and cry out "Comfort me with love for I am sick of apples." The Lord loves a good fighter and eternal vigilance brings many things beBldts liberty. The apple grower fights from start to finish and well earns Ids profits. Who can say the limit Is yet reached on the net profits from a mature apple orchard under the addd wisdom of the years yet before us? I am not an experienced apple grower. No doubt most of those men are doing their orchard and apple work better and at a lens cost than I have been doing and have secured better results. Such can pat themselves them-selves on the tack. To others I may prove a horrible example but you need not fall Into the same holes I did you can dig plenty of your own. Probably Prob-ably It costs on the average 20 cents a box to grow apples and 40 cents more for harveatlug, boxing and marketing mar-keting say 60 cents a box total. Perhaps Per-haps $1.60 a box Is a fair average price for Jonathans and Wlncsaps and $1.25 for the Missouri pippin and $1.00 for Ben Iiavls, carload lota, net f. o. b. our stations. The margins show what to grow. We hnve lost trany trees by our own men leaving tlx tn In the original nursery bundle and heeling them In Instead of opening and spreading them out; alno healing them In pita with upright instead of sloping sides. In both caw's they get air and dry out. Much of our Irrigated orchard lands have become heavy and somewhat alkaline al-kaline and we have IokI thousands of young trees by hard watering from wells that were strongly alkaline. In replanting hereafter we plan to put a shovel or two of clear sand around every young tree's roots. Kvery year we loce young trees from girdling by the rabbits. We have tried blood on the tree trunks and abandoned It. Then axle grease was uaed It kept off the nibblts but drew the heat, dried up the sap and killed the tree. We believe In crosa-fertlllzntlon ana our largest crop of apples came one year when we had one hundred hives of bees In the orchard. We now have two hundred hives on one orchard and j the same number near the other one. We use what may be called the open system In pruning, taking out the centers cen-ters of the young trees and where older old-er orchards are acquired we are doing tie same thing so far as Injuring symmetry and balance to the tree will ( permit. I'nder this system the trees ; brtrd every way from the center, easily carrying their fruit. We UHe no props i and rarely are picked from tho fl.flff Bnd rarely find a limb broken. Moat sf our apples are picked from the ground. This plan of growing apple tree we find In every way bsi for pollination, air driiinnge, pruning, spraying and harveaiiftg. The low spreading trees r-ntch little wind and we have f"w windfalls. Kubbing off the skmII green water sprouts or suckers In July by Land greatly letou-na the cost of pruning later, AIko cutting the f.round suckers right buck to the root ar tre trunk prevents them from ! groulug 1. 1. ;u ii. |
