his climate and soil: therein lies the profit. There are many soils in every district so entirely unsuited in the condition we find them, that it would be folly to plant any variety; but in very many instances the objectionable features may be entirely removed, or changed. Compactness, may be overcome by mechanical means by the application of humus, exposure to the elements; missing elements may be supplied; excessive moisture may be removed by ridgeing, or by underdraining, thus carrying off all surplus.

Soils that are porous, permitting the surplus water to penetrate, are most suitable for orchard planting. These may be designated as gravelly, sandy, or sand loam. Others are more compact, made up of finer material, clay, which permits the water to penetrate very slowly, and requires very different treatment. By back farrowing, throwing up a ridge upon which to plant, or by underdraining and turning under plenty of material to make humus, this soil becomes more porous and becomes peculiarly adapted to the production of certain varieties of apples, as certain apples do much better upon clay or clay loam; others upon limestone, granite, etc. One variety may give abundant crops of the choicest fruit upon a granite formation, and be utterly worthless upon a shale, or sandstone formation. Therein lies the value of understanding the individuality of the different varieties.

Preparation. This should ordinarily be begun the season previous. If the soil is lacking in humus, which is the foundation of fertility, it should be well covered with good stable manure, thoroughly and deeply plowed, and planted to some hoed crop, corn or potatoes, the latter being the better. Apply complete fertilizer of high grade, at least 1,000 pounds per acre. As soon as the pota

toes are removed, sow to cow peas, or some other quick growing crop; this may be turned under late in fall, or left as a winter mulch on top and turned under early in spring, plowing not less than 10 or 12 inches deep, harrow thoroughly and roll, which places it in excellent condition for planting.

Selection of Stock: What Age?-If peach, never take a tree over one year from the bud, but good, strong, healthy stock, 4 to 6 feet high, with clean bark, clean roots, free from root galls.

If apple or pear, select one year old in preference, if you can get strong 4 to 6 feet whips. The reason for this choice is, when you get trees of this size at one year old, you have trees of strong, robust habit, strong individuality, the very cream of the nursery. They can be dug with less injury to the roots; you can form the top at any height you desire; you can form a head any shape you wish, having no forks, which should be avoided, as they are apt to split when they are heavy laden with fruit. It is almost impossible to get trees with heads formed in the nursery that will suit the orchardist who understands his business.

If you cannot get one year old trees as described, take smooth, thrifty two-year old trees, that have low, well formed heads. It is advisable to place your order early with some reliable nurseryman, or dealer, before his stock is reduced, as too many will substitute rather than lose the order, and substitution is what you wish to avoid, for if you have made a careful selection of just what you want, you want that order filled to take the letter, and do not wish to have some worthless variety, which the nurseryman says is just as good,

(because he happens to have a surplus of that variety), palmed off

on you.

As to Varieties.-Make a canvass of your neighborhood, see what varieties are regular bearers, of good sized showy apples, of good quality. Make inquiries of some one who is well versed, on fruit suitable to your locality. No matter how good an apple you get, if it be a poor bearer, leave it alone; on the other hand, no matter how good a bearer a variety is, if it lacks quality and beauty, do not plant it. The time has come when people's tastes are becoming cultivated, and such apples as Ben Davis, etc., are not wanted.

In selecting varieties, if for family use, have a succession, from early, until late. You can have apples the year round.

If for commercial purposes, do not plant too many varieties. Plant a limited number of select fall varieties, as there is a time when choice fruit is scarce, and brings high prices. These can be supplied by planting Jeffries, Gravenstein, Summer Rambo, Wealthy, and Smokehouse, all choice fruit of highest quality, trees hardy and heavy producers. These are followed by Hubbardston, Nonesuch, Jonathan, Grimes' Golden, Kinnard's Choice.

For winter, plant heavy of Stayman's Winesap (of this variety you cannot plant too many), York Imperial, Rome Beauty, Salome, Nottingham Brown, Nero, Mammoth Black Twig. If you are planting north of 41 degrees, you can add Baldwin, Greening, King and Northern Spy. There are many other excellent varieties in every locality, but from those given the planter can make a selection, that for productiveness, quality and profit, cannot be excelled.

When Shall We Plant?-We can generally get the best stock in the fall of the year, more likely get varieties we want; we also have more time at this season, and the work is apt to be done better. For the hardier fruits, such as apple, pear, cherry, etc., also currants and gooseberries, I believe this is the best season, giving the roots, where cut, time to callous, and often start new roots weeks before the leaves appear, and are thus better able to overcome the severe shock of transplanting. When planted late in the spring, the buds expand and leaves form and often pump out the stored up vitality, faster than the mutilated roots can furnish moisture and food; then should a dry season set in, as it so often does, the tree suffers very severely and frequently dies.

How Shall We Prune?-First, the roots that are bruised and mutilated should be cut back, leaving stubs from 3 to 6 inches. Anything beyond 6 inches is superfluous. The Stringfellow method of pruning, if you are north of latitude 38 degrees, leave it alone; enticing as it may appear, failure is almost inevitable.

Cut all tops back proportionately, if one year old apple and pear. Cut back to two feet stubs. If two year old, with tops already formed, cut limbs back to mere stubs, cutting off immediately above an outside bud, so as to give it an open spreading head. On visiting my orchards, both apple and peach, the visitors' attention is first attracted to the spreading open heads, and they wonder how I get them so. Care in pruning is the whole secret. A good sharp knife is a wonderful instrument in the hands of an intelligent, practical horticulturist. As you can prune for wood growth, prune for fruit, early bearing and many other things.

PLANTING.

Never plant in sod, unless you wish to utilize a steep hillside or rocky piece of ground. If such is the case, then dig large holes, placing the surface soil on one side, the subsoil on the other. Set the tree about one inch deeper, than it originally stood, putting the good surface soil, supplemented with bone meal, in below and over the roots, filling the poorer soil in above. Mulch the ground heavy with straw manure, to keep moisture, and the surface loose, also to furnish fertility. If the ground is plowed and in good tilth, then open deep broad furrows with plow, and plant the young trees therein.

Distance-A great diversity of opinions exist as to the proper distance trees should be planted in an orchard. Many plant 40 feet apart, claiming when mature, the tree needs all this space for the spread of its roots in search of food, also giving room for the limbs to spread, giving plenty of circulation of air and sunshine, that fruit grown on such trees bring better fruit, of brighter color and higher flavor. Others claim that this distance is unnecessary, that 30 feet is far enough for any orchard, and more a waste of land.

In

In many commercial orchards they plant 35 to 40 feet apart for permanent trees, then plant fillers between, making three fillers for every permanent tree. In the large Western orchards this method is in vogue, planting such varieties as come into early bearing, such as Missouri Pippin, Grime's Golden, Wealthy, etc. sections where the peach does well, peach are planted as fillers. After these fillers have borne several crops, or when the trees begin crowding, the fillers are removed, giving the entire space to the permanent trees.

I am frequently asked whether it is advisable to plant fillers. It is doubtful if apple fillers ever produce sufficient before removed to pay for care and expense. With peach it depends on the man, whether he has the moral courage to cut them out in time to prevent injury to the permanent trees, especially if said fillers are paying $10.00 to $15.00 per tree. I have gone through this and know whereof I speak.

I think 35 feet is about the proper distance for apple; 25 feet for pear; 20 feet for peach, plum and sour cherry.

CULTIVATION.

In former times cultivation was thought unnecessary, but clean culture is now acknowledged best by all intelligent fruit growers. During the early stage of an orchard, if the lay of the land permits, and the owner prefers, he may plant some hoed crop for a few years, applying plenty of fertilizer to keep up the fertility of the land. But, if not financially necessary, the best results can be obtained by clear culture in the spring, then sowing to some leguminous crop to mulch the ground over the winter, to be turned under in the spring, which adds humus and breaks up the mineral elements in the soil, appropriating them to its own use, to be returned to the soil in a more available form, abstracting large quantities of nitrogen from the air, and thus enriching the land. When the orchard comes into bearing, the raising of leguminous crops cannot so well be done. Then it is best to seed to grass and leave this cropped short, keeping all clippings on the ground. Or the land may be

mulched by hauling foreign matter, as spoiled hay or straw, on the ground. The best showing I ever had from mulch was from a three inch covering of second crop clover hay, after the seed had ripened. The seed kept reseeding the ground for several years.

For peach, I prefer the dust mulch, going over the ground both ways in early spring, while the ground is loose, with a sharp spring tooth harrow. This can be done even when trees are so large that the terminal shoots meet, by dividing the harrow and placing a steel frame between the two sections, thus enabling the team to pass through the middle, while the harrow passes under the limbs, close to the trees. After the land is broken loose, the cultivation is continued with a three section spike tooth harrow, taking a full width space with one passage. This is kept up two to four times a week until in July, always keeping a dust mulch, never leaving a crust form, the cultivation not to exceed three inches in depth. The drier the season, the oftener you cultivate, as you thereby prevent evaporation and retain the moisture for the use of the tree. This may, in dry season, be continued until the 10th of July; but continuing later will be detrimental to the tree by keeping up the growth too late to properly mature its wood, then should the winter be severe the tree suffers greatly.

Thinning. This is very essential for successful, profitable fruit raising. Trees frequently set so much fruit, that if left, will so impair the vitality of the tree, that the present crop fails to attain its full size and flavor; also fails to make the necessary wood growth and develope good strong buds for the following season. It frequently happens such a tree sets sufficient buds showing abundant bloom the following spring, but, lacking vitality, drop without setting fruit. The fruit matured lacks in size; frequently one-half developes, the other half stops growth when half-size, remains insipid and tasteless, whereas if three-fourths had been removed when less than one-fourth grown, the remainder would have increased in size, yielding as many bushels of fruit, of superior quality, bringing three times as much money to the producer. Choice fruit never gluts the market. It is the poor, insipid, worthless trash that ruins the market, as well as impairs the health of the consumer. It is not the edible part that reduces the vitality of the tree, but the seed. The edible part is made up largely of water. When you reduce the number, the tree having so many less seed to mature, throws all its energy into developing the pulp or edible part, and stores up all surplus vitality in good strong buds for next season's crop, thereby giving you a full crop every year. An off year is not in accordance with Nature's plans. If one fails to materialize (unless something unusual, such as a severe freeze in blossoming time, or a continual rainy week while the tree is in bloom, occurs), something is radically wrong, showing gross mismanage ment. Many may think this is unavoidable, but a tree properly pruned, sprayed, fed, etc., is able to withstand hardships that would be fatal to the tree neglected, as most trees are. I know whereof I speak, not having a failure in a fruit crop in thirty odd years.

INSECT ENEMIES.

These are the bane of the fruit raisers' life; and there are so many of them. Fifty years ago a large proportion of these pests

were unknown, or in such small numbers that little damage was done; but, with the importation of new fruits and vegetables, these different insects were imported with them. We have the San José Scale from China; the Codling Moth from Europe; and many others that time will not permit us describing. But these two are the most dangerous, and unless the orchardist fights them with the most approved machinery and the best insecticides, he had better give up and leave fruit raising to the man who has the brain and push to do effective work.

Remedies. During the last few years so much has been written, talked about, demonstrations held throughout this and other states about the San José Scale and how to control it, that there seems little more to add. Formulas have been given by the score; lime, sulphur and salt, cooked and uncooked, by kettle and steam, how to apply it, and when to apply it; oils, soluble oils, emulsions, soaps, etc., have been extolled. One would think the little insignificant pest would have surrendered long ago, yet strange to say, there are still a few left, enough to make it interesting.

Why is this apparent lack of success? There are several reasons, such as poor material, poor machinery, poor man. The two principal causes are poorly prepared material and poor application. The average farmer is so used to doing things in a careless, indifferent way, he thinks a few small details left out will make no difference in final results, so he wastes a little time, a little money, and accomplishes nothing; then "cusses" the professors, scientists, and specialists as a set of imposters. Lime, sulphur, and salt is now conceded, when rightly made, to be a sure remedy.

Its Time of Application. Instructions are given to apply any time after foliage drops until buds expand, some advocating fall to be just as good as spring. Do you know that term "just as good" disappointed many a man? The fall is all right for the apple and pear, but for the peach it is dangerous. This past season hundreds of peach trees sprayed in October and November were seriously injured, not only the buds but the new growth? Last fall I sprayed about two hundred peach trees. I can estimate my loss at not less than $100.00 on this season's crop, and a greater loss in future. The injury shows at a distance; trees full of dead limbs; all bearing wood inside the tree killed; high limbs that received less of the spray are alone producing their full crop. The symmetry and productiveness of the tree is destroyed. Too much care cannot be taken, to give no advice, unless it has been tested, what is food for one, may be poison for another.

The man who abuses a confidence should be held criminally responsible for his neighbors' loss. If such were the case, there would be less rubbish published in our papers.

The Codling Moth.-There is more loss to the fruit grower from this insect than from any other insect we have. The loss annually can be estimated at millions of dollars; yet the greater part can be saved by judicious spraying with an arsenical poison, just after the petals fall, and again a few days later.

Fungi can be treated by Bordeaux mixture, combining the two and applying at one operation.