THE STATE, BY DISTRICTS. (continued 4)

William Cutter, Junction City, Geary county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years; have an apple orchard of 4000 trees. For a commercial orchard I prefer the list recommended by the State Horticultural Society. I prefer a rich bottom with a north aspect. I prefer two-year-old trees four or five feet tall, branched low. I cultivate my orchard as long as it lives with a disc harrow or plow. The first five years I plant a crop that requires cultivation, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are very beneficial; would make them of two rows of Russian mulberries set ten feet apart in a row. I prune very little when young to balance the tree; I think it pays. I do not thin my fruit while on the trees, but think it would pay if I had time. I fertilize my old orchard with stable litter, and think it advisable on all soils. If you do not do this you must prune. I do not pasture my orchards. My trees are troubled with canker worm, root aphis, flathead borer, roundhead borer, woolly aphis, and leaf-roller, and my apples with codling-moth, curculio, and gouger. I spray for canker-worm and codling-moth—the oftener the better. I think I have reduced the codling-moth. I dig the borers out, and kill the rabbits. I carefully pick my apples by hand from a step-ladder, into half-bushel baskets, and sort into three classes—first, second, and culls. Pack in barrels rounded up and marked on the head; then send to market by rail. I sell some apples in the orchard, usually at wholesale. My best markets are south—Texas. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing in boxes, barrels and bulk for home market; I find Fink keeps best. Never tried artificial cold storage. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about one-fourth of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel. I pay my help one dollar per day and board.

A. H. Griesa, Lawrence, Douglas county: I have lived in the state thirty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 1000 trees, from six to eighteen years old. For a commercial orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap; and for a family orchard Yellow Transparent, Early Melon, Jonathan, and Gano. I have tried and discarded Gilpin, Lawver, and McAfee; they were not productive or good. I prefer a sandy river bottom. I prefer one-year-old trees, set as they grew in the nursery. I cultivate my orchard to small fruits, using a disc or cultivator; cease cropping when the trees spread too much. The more cultivation the better. Windbreaks are not essential. I trap the rabbits; and dig the borers out in May and September. I prune my trees a little each year, to let in sunshine; I think it pays and is beneficial. I thin the fruit while on the trees a very little; but it would pay to while the fruit is small. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter and ashes; and would advise their use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; but think it would pay, with calves and young pigs. My trees are troubled with borers and aphis, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. I pick by hand, and sort into three classes; pack in three-bushel barrels, facing the bottoms, and ship to market by freight or express. I sell apples in the orchard; sell the second and third grades to evaporators. I have tried distant markets, and found it paid. I do not dry any. I am fairly successful in storing apples in boxes and barrels, in a barn cellar, for market and family use, and find the Fink and Cullins keep best. Never tried artificial cold storage. I have to repack stored apples before marketing; the per cent. lost depends on the variety. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from seventy-five cents to two dollars per barrel. I pay my help one dollar per day.

William Bond, Rossville, Shawnee county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years; have an apple orchard of about 300 trees, from five to twenty-five years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap; and for a family orchard would add Chenango Strawberry and Maiden's Blush. I have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet on account of rot, worms, and shy bearing, and Smith's Cider on account of blight. I prefer bottom land having a deep, porous subsoil and an east or south slope. I prefer two-year old trees, set in rows thirty feet apart each way. I cultivate my orchard with corn or potatoes for six or eight years, using a common cultivator, and cease cropping at the end of this time; plant the bearing orchard to clover. Windbreaks would be beneficial; would make them of forest-trees or Osage orange, by planting in three close rows on the south and west sides of the orchard. For rabbits I tie split corn-stalks around the trees. I prune very little; just enough to keep the head open and the watersprouts off. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted with one variety in a row. I do not fertilize my orchard. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worms and flathead borers, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand. I sell apples in the orchard; also wholesale, retail and peddle some. The home market is best; never tried distant markets. I do not dry or store any. I do not irrigate. Apples were fifty cents per bushel in the fall of 1897. I paid my help one dollar per day.

Reuben Walton, Aurora, Cloud county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees from six to eighteen years old. For a commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, Late Emperor, and Maiden's Blush; and for a family orchard Winesap, Cooper's Early White, Late Emperor, Maiden's Blush, and Rhode Island Greening. I prefer a north slope with a rich black loam and limestone subsoil. I prefer two-year-old, well-rooted trees, set twenty feet apart. I cultivate my orchard to potatoes for ten years, using a double shovel plow, and cease cropping at the end of this time, planting the bearing orchard to grass. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of evergreens. I dig borers out. I prune to give the trees more air and better shape; I think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees; the hail and dry weather generally do that for me. My trees are in mixed plantings. I have one apricot tree which never bore until a swarm of bees came and lit on it, and it has borne every year since then [??]. I do not fertilize my orchard; our soil does not need it. I pasture my orchard all the time, with hogs and pigs. It is not advisable, as they injure the trees, but they pick up the wormy fruit. My trees are troubled with canker-worms, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray with London purple and Paris green three times, when we have the time and water to spare. Think I have reduced the codling-moth. I pick my fruit by hand and sell some apples to the neighbors in the orchard. I feed culls to pigs. I never tried distant markets. I have apples dried on shares for family use. It does not pay to dry for market. I am partially successful in storing apples in barrels in a cellar under the house. I find Rhode Island Greening, Ben Davis, Duchess of Oldenburg and Emperor keep best. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing one-fourth of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty to thirty cents per bushel.

W. D. Cellar, Edwardsville, Wyandotte county: Been in Kansas twelve years; have 2000 apple trees from two to eight years of age, comprising Ben Davis, Jonathan, Gano and Missouri Pippin for commercial purposes, and Maiden's Blush, Early Harvest, Bailey Sweet, Huntsman's Favorite, Grimes' Golden Pippin and Winesap for family orchard. I have discarded the McAfee and Lawver as unproductive. I prefer loose soil, and hill land with an east and north slope. Plant thrifty two-year-old trees, in rows 25×30 feet. I cultivate to corn, berries, etc., until seven or eight years old, with the Planet jr. horse hoe, and then sow to clover. Windbreaks are not needed in our locality. I prune conservatively, cutting out broken or interlacing branches, and suckers at the base; I believe it pays. Have never thinned on the tree, and fertilize with barn-yard litter and clover. I do not pasture my apple orchard. Am troubled some with insects, but have not sprayed. I dig out borers, which I think may be largely prevented by the use of wooden tree wrappers. I pick in the ordinary way and divide into two classes: select, sound, smooth apples above two inches in diameter; number two, sound apples too small for select. I do this on a sorting table, and pack in twelve-peck barrels, pressed down, and marked with a stencil. I sell at wholesale, sometimes in the orchard; culls I sell in the orchard or the Kansas City market. Our best market is Kansas City. I have shipped to distant markets and made it pay. Have never dried any. Have stored for winter in barrels in cold store; they have not kept satisfactorily, I cannot say why; Jonathan and Missouri Pippin kept best this past winter. I had to repack this spring and lost twenty per cent. Prices have ranged from 10 cents to $1.50 per bushel. For help I use men, and pay one dollar per day.

C. D. Gaiser, Lansing, Leavenworth county: Have lived in Kansas forty years. Have 5000 trees eight years old, of Gano, Ben Davis, Jonathan, and Huntsman's Favorite; I grow no others. My location is hilltop, with good, rich soil, and a clay subsoil; slope makes no difference. I plant two- and three-year-old trees, 15×30 feet, and cultivate to corn for seven or eight years, and then sow to clover and timothy. I never prune, thin, or fertilize; and allow no stock in the orchard. I do not spray, but dig the flat-headed borer out with a knife. I use ladders, and gather in baskets and pour into a wagon, and sort in unloading; I make only two classes, culls and good apples. I ship my best apples to different points in barrels, and it pays; my culls I make into cider. Have never tried drying apples. I store some for winter in bulk, and keep them successfully. I use men and boys for help. I sell for $1.25 to $1.50 per barrel.

W. H. Robinson, Dunlap, Morris county: Has lived in Kansas thirty years; has 1000 apple trees, planted from two to nineteen years. Prefers Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Grimes's Golden Pippin and Jonathan for commercial purposes, and Early Harvest, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Duchess of Oldenburg and Cooper's Early White for family use. Has turned down Rawle's Janet, as they rot on the trees. All on best bottom land, clay subsoil. Plants two-year-old trees thirty-five feet apart each way, with nothing [?] between. Plants to corn, and cultivates well up to twelve years. Is protected on the southwest by a belt of timber. Keeps rabbits off by wrapping with corn-stalks. Prunes to make the tree healthier and apples finer; says it pays. Plants varieties in alternate rows, but does not say why. Uses all the stable litter he can get. Pastures with cows after gathering; says they eat the culls and wormy fruit, and it pays. He advises others to try it. Sprays with London purple before blooming, after blooming, and ten days later for tent-caterpillar and codling-moth, and believes he has reduced both of them. Has no borers—thinks "a stitch in time saves nine." Picks and sorts into two classes, first and second. Always sells in the orchard to western apple haulers. Lets the cows have all culls he does not use for cider. Price in orchard for picked apples, forty to fifty cents per bushel.

J. H. Taylor, Rhinehart, Dickinson county: Lived in Kansas twenty-two years. Have 700 apple trees, out from one to nineteen years. Prefer, for commercial purposes, Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Rawle's Janet; and for family orchard add Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, and Rambo. Have discarded all the specially recommended eastern [?] varieties as shy bearers, and too warm for Grimes's Golden Pippin. Prefers to plant on good black loam, in ravines facing north. Plants two-year-old thrifty trees, some 33×33, others 33×16¹/₂ feet. Have tried to grow root grafts, with poor success. Cultivate all the time with disc and plow; grow corn for five or six years, afterward nothing. Does not need windbreak, but would use if required—about fifteen rows of ash and catalpa, planted four by four feet. Wraps trees from rabbits. Mice ate bark off and completely girdled roots six inches in diameter under the ground last winter (1897-'98). Prunes some to keep the top balanced and low, to prevent sun-scald and effects of wind. Uses fresh stable litter as a mulch, and believes it pays. Does not pasture at any time. Has few insects, and does not spray much, says rains wash it off too readily. Picks in baskets, and finds the family the best market; stores for winter in boxes and barrels, and is successful with Rawle's Janet, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin. Prices have run from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel. Uses farm help at fifteen to eighteen dollars and board per month.

James Lawry, Hollis, Cloud county: I have lived in the state sixteen years; have an apple orchard of 140 trees from six to fourteen years old. For all uses I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin. I have discarded the Willow Twig because they die out. I prefer a clay soil. I prefer three-year-old trees set in big holes. I cultivate my orchard about five years with a one-horse shovel plow. I plant potatoes or sweet corn in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping when the trees cover the ground, and sow red clover in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of mulberries. I prune with a saw, to make them more productive; I think it pays. I never thin my fruit while on the trees. Can see no difference whether trees are in block of one kind or mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard, or spray. I pick my apples by hand from a ladder. I do not sell in the orchard. I do not pasture my orchard. Don't dry any.

Levi Kimmal, Concordia, Cloud county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five years; have an apple orchard of 120 trees eighteen years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap; and for a family orchard Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Limber Twig, and Maiden's Blush. I have tried and discarded Golden Russet on account of shy bearing. I prefer a sandy loam with a clay subsoil, having a north or northwest aspect. I prefer two-year-old trees for planting. I plant my orchard up to bearing with potatoes and corn; then seed down to red clover. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of several rows of Osage orange on the south side of the orchard. I prune my trees; thin out the top to let the sun in for coloring. My trees are more fruitful when planted in blocks. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; I think it beneficial because it mulches, enriches, and holds the moisture, and would advise its use on all soils; no land is so good but what stable litter will make it better. I do not pasture my orchard; I do not think it advisable; but I mow all the weeds or whatever grows in the orchard and leave it on the ground for a mulching. My trees are troubled with twig-borers and leaf-rollers, and my apples with codling-moth. I have sprayed my trees when in blossom with Paris green; did not succeed last year. I dig borers out and pick the bad fruit (if there is any) off. I hand-pick my apples for winter use into baskets from step-ladders. I sell apples in the orchard; would rather sell that way than to hold them. I feed the culls to pigs. My best market is at home; I never tried a distant market. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing apples for home use in a cellar. I do not irrigate, but use stable litter for moisture. Winter apples brought fifty cents per bushel; dried apples three or four cents per pound.

Seneca Heath, Muscotah, Atchison county: I have lived in the state thirty-one years; have an apple orchard of 2080 trees from three to thirty-six years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, York Imperial, Jonathan, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Stark, and on rich, moist soil, Winesap; and for a family orchard Early Margaret, Early June, Early Harvest, Cooper's Early White, Sweet Bough, Keswick Codlin, Maiden's Blush, Red Astrachan, Autumn and Summer Pearmain, Rambo, Fulton, Smith's Cider, and Newtown Pippin (if given extra care). Have tried and discarded Tompkins County King—the borers kill it on all soils—and Willow Twig on account of blight. I prefer upland with a black sandy or gravelly loam and a good limestone soil, with a porous subsoil as a necessity, and a northeast slope. I prefer thrifty one-year-old trees, set in plowed furrows and covered with a spade; "hill up" rather than "dig down." I cultivate my orchard to corn or any cultivated crop for eight years, using a plow and harrow, and cease cropping at the end of this time, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard; it does not pay. Windbreaks are essential, especially on upland. I would make them of red cedar, soft maple, or Osage orange, by planting in rows and cultivating four to six years. For rabbits I use tarred paper, and wood ashes for borers. I prune my trees with a saw and shears to produce fruit and shape; I think it pays, but the Ben Davis and Jonathan grow into handsomer shapes if left alone. If a tree is growing too rapidly to set fruit, prune in June. I thin the fruit while on the trees by picking off the wormy and defective ones. I keep this up until nearly grown; it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings, and believe they are more fruitful.

I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter, ashes, salt, and lime, and would advise it on all excepting rich soils, where it ought not to be used until after the trees have fruited five to eight years. Probably the cheapest and best fertilizer on upland is clover mowed and left to decay where it fell. Weeds are also good if mowed when two feet high and left on the ground. I pasture my orchard with pigs, calves, and horses, but it does not pay. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillars and round-headed borers, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray with a two-horse wagon sprayer, also a hand sprayer, when the blossom falls, with Paris green, and think I have reduced the codling-moth. I burn tent-caterpillars with a coal-oil lamp or torch. I pick my apples by hand into half-bushel baskets, from ladders. I sell my apples in the orchard. I sell, feed to the stock, and make cider of the culls. I do not dry any, but think it would pay. I have stored apples in barrels, and found the Winesap, Rawle's Janet, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Stark and Baldwin keep best. I am not always successful; will not store any more until I build a fruit house. I do not irrigate, but intend to. Prices have been from 75 cents to $1.75 per barrel. I employ men and boys, and pay two cents per bushel for picking.

Ed. Sandy, Linn, Washington county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees, fifteen years old. I prefer a north slope. I plant my orchard to corn, using a cultivator; and continue cultivating bearing orchard. I prune my trees. Do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter, and think it beneficial; I would advise its use only on upland. I do not pasture my orchard. My apples are troubled with codling-moth and curculio. I have sprayed with Paris green for worms, and am not very successful.

J. A. Courter, Barnes, Washington county: Have lived in Kansas since 1869; have an apple orchard of 150 trees, set from nine to twenty-five years. I prefer bottom land with a northeast slope. I cultivate my orchard to corn all the time. Windbreaks are not essential. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; my trees grew fine, but for the last three or four years they have blighted badly. I do not spray. I store some apples for winter use in boxes in a cave.

Thomas Brown, Palmer, Washington county: I have resided in the state twenty-eight years. Have an apple orchard of 500 trees from three to twenty years old. For a commercial orchard I prefer Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis, and for family orchard Cooper's Early White, Maiden's Blush, and Jonathan. I prefer sandy land on an east slope. I plant trees in rows sixteen by twenty-one feet. I mulch my orchard with straw, and plow every three or four years. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of maple or box-elders, planted around the orchard. I prune some, but it does not pay. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I pasture my orchard some with swine, but it is not advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with fall web-worms. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand. I sometimes sell the apples in the orchard at retail. My best market is at home; I never tried distant markets. I do not dry any. Am successful in storing apples in boxes and barrels in a cellar. Winesap and Missouri Pippin keep best. I never tried cold storage. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about one-third of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been about fifty cents per bushel.

D. J. Fraser, Peabody, Marion county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-three years; have 380 apple trees ten inches in diameter, twenty-two years planted. I prefer for commercial purposes Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Grimes's Golden Pippin, and Maiden's Blush; and for family use would add Early Harvest, Sweet June, and Winesap; have tried and discarded about thirty other varieties, because they did not yield or were subject to disease. I prefer bottom land, with north slope, made land. I plow out deep, dead furrow; set trees and plow the earth back to the trees. I prefer two- or three-year-old strong trees. Have tried root grafts and seedlings with good success. I cultivate the trees the first ten years with the plow and harrow. I grow nothing in a young orchard, and seed the old orchard to clover. I think windbreaks are essential on the south, and would make them of Osage orange or mulberry, planted in double rows, a few feet apart. Wrap trees for rabbits, and for borers keep trees thrifty. I prune some to keep the top balanced, and think it beneficial. I have thinned fruit some, but do not think it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings, and I keep bees. I have used fertilizer, but could not see much benefit; would advise it only on thin soils. I have pastured my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable; it pays. My trees are bothered with canker-worm, root aphis, flathead borer, and twig-borer; the codling-moth troubles my apples. I have sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, London purple, and Paris green; could not see much good; have reduced the codling-moth some. I pick my apples the old-fashioned way—with a sack. Practically, the crop has been so light that very few have been sold, and they were fall apples. Have never dried any; have never stored any. Do not irrigate. Prices have been unsatisfactory.

J. B. Mosher, Lawrenceburg, Cloud county: I have lived in Kansas seventeen years. Have an orchard of 150 trees, planted from one to seventeen years. For family orchard would plant Early Harvest, Cooper's Early, Duchess of Oldenburg, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Winesap, Rawle's Janet, and Ben Davis. Medium elevation, with northern or northeastern slope, and clay-loam soil with clay subsoil, is preferable. When planting, I dig a hole large enough to receive the roots, and plant healthy two-year-old trees, trained to a switch, so that I can train the top to suit. Have tried root grafts and seedlings; both have done well. I cultivate while the trees are young, and use only harrow and mowing-machine after they begin to bear. I plant any hoed crop among the trees while young, and cease when the trees begin to bear. I think windbreaks essential, and use maple, box-elder, and Scotch pine. For rabbits I use traps and shot-gun. I use a knife for the borers. I prune when the tree needs it; use the saw on large trees and the knife on small trees. I thin the fruit sometimes when it sets too thickly, as soon as it shows, and it pays most emphatically. I cannot see any difference in trees whether set in blocks or mixed up. I use some barn-yard fertilizer, and think it beneficial; would advise its use as the trees begin to bear. I pasture my orchard with pigs and poultry; think it advisable, and think it pays.

My trees are troubled with bud moth, flathead borer, and twig-borer; some seasons I also have leaf-roller and leaf-crumpler. The codling-moth troubles my apples. I spray some to destroy these insects, with indigo and London purple, using a pump. I do not know that I have reduced the codling-moth any. For borer I form a basin around the tree and fill with water, repeating several times; I sometimes pick them. I use an ordinary fruit ladder, and sack with ends tied together and swung over the shoulder. I make but one class, viz., market all the perfect apples. I carefully put in a fruit-house and let stay a week or so, then carefully sort over by removing all unsound or faulty ones. I do not ship. I have a good market at home. I never sell in the orchard; usually market in bushel boxes. I usually feed second- or third-class fruit to hogs. My best market is Concordia. Have never tried distant markets. I have never dried any apples. I store some for winter use in an ordinary cellar; am successful, and find Winesap, Rawle's Janet and Missouri Pippin keep the best. We have to repack after storing, and lose about one-third. I do not irrigate. Winesap, Missouri Pippin and Rawle's Janet usually sell at one dollar per bushel; Ben Davis, at seventy-five cents per bushel.

C. C. Gardiner, Bradford, Wabaunsee county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-nine years, in this county fourteen years; have 750 apple trees ten years planted. For commercial orchard I would plant Ben Davis, Winesap and Missouri Pippin; for family use, add Jonathan and Maiden's Blush. Have tried and discarded Keswick Codlin; tree is tender. I prefer hilltop, north and west or northeast slope, black loam with a yellowish clay subsoil. I plant thirty feet apart, using one- and two-year-old, low-headed trees. Have tried root grafts; had good success. I cultivate until the trees are six or seven years old with the plow and cultivator. I grow corn in a young orchard, and clover in a bearing orchard; cease cropping when six or seven years old. Windbreaks are beneficial on the south and west; they should be made of quick-growing trees. I wrap the trees with paper to protect against rabbits. I prune but little to thin top; am doubtful if it pays. Never thin apples on trees. I fertilize the land with well-rotted manure, but not close the trees; I would advise its use on all soils; I think it beneficial; I sometimes pasture my orchard with hogs; do not think it advisable; pays only in getting rid of wormy fruit. My trees are troubled with leaf-roller, and my apples with codling-moth. Do not spray. Gather my apples by hand, and sort into two classes, first, second and culls.

Isaac E. Wolf, Longford, Clay county: Have been in Kansas twenty-one years; have 200 apple trees nineteen years old, and 100 apple trees six years old. Prefer Ben Davis, Winesap and Missouri Pippin for market, and Maiden's Blush, Duchess of Oldenburg and Smith Cider for family orchard. The Red Astrachan and Early Harvest are shy bearers. My orchard is on sandy soil with clay subsoil; the trees look healthy. I prefer two-year-old trees, and lay the ground off in squares, making large holes. In young orchard I plant corn for ten years, cultivating both ways; after that I grow nothing, but cultivate with the disc as long as I can get through it. Am cultivating my old orchard. I think windbreaks are a necessity on the south, west, and north, and would make them of walnut and box-elder. For rabbits I rub on strong grease. I prune with shears such limbs as rub one another, and am sure it pays. I don't think it pays to thin fruit on the trees. I believe in fertilizing the ground, but not too close to the trees; it won't hurt any soil. Allow no stock in the orchard. The twig-borer is the worst insect in my orchard. I tried spraying on some trees, and some I did not, and my apples were all alike. I watch for borers closely, and cut them out. I pick in a grain sack, and make three classes. The best I keep for spring, the second class for winter, and the culls I turn into cider. I peddle my apples out at home. We dry some apples and have a good market at home. We store for winter in the cellar in bulk, and find that Winesap, Rawle's Janet and Missouri Pippin are the best keepers.

FRUIT DISTRICT No. 2.

Following is the second fruit district, comprising twenty-three counties, in the northwest quarter of state. Reports, or rather experiences, from each of these counties will be found immediately following. We give first the number of apple trees in this district, compiled from statistics for 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.

Bearing.Not bearing.Total.

Cheyenne2111,7081,919

Decatur3,9254,9908,915

Ellis3,8461,3215,167

Ellsworth17,49112,47429,965

Gove2141,2021,416

Graham5083,6364,144

Jewell120,50956,550177,059

Lincoln19,61918,84638,465

Logan4681,4651,933

Mitchell55,80620,62476,430

Morton264171435

Norton7,2206,80314,023

Osborne21,64715,04336,690

Phillips16,7659,48626,251

Rawlins8062,0652,871

Rooks8,1276,81514,942

Russell6,7885,04511,833

Sheridan2181,1481,366

Sherman1691,4771,646

Smith41,91922,98864,907

Thomas509470979

Trego7451,4092,154

Wallace2231,3431,566

Total in district327,997197,079525,076

Estimate in acreage60,00035,000105,000

William Baird, Vesper, Lincoln county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 300 trees, from one to fifteen years old; the old ones measuring twelve inches in diameter. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Huntsman's Favorite; and for family orchard Maiden's Blush, Ben Davis, and Missouri Pippin. Think I shall discard Red Astrachan and Red Betigheimer on account of shy bearing. I prefer bottom, sandy soil, clay subsoil, and a northwest slope. I prefer good, stocky, low-headed, yearling trees set from twenty-five to thirty feet in the row; have tried root grafts; that is the only successful way to grow trees here. I cultivate my orchard to potatoes for the first two or three years, after that to any kind of vines. I use a stirring plow, plowing very shallow near the trees and deeper near the center. I grow nothing in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping after five years. I think windbreaks are essential, and would make them of seedling peach, Russian mulberry or any quick-growing trees, in three or four rows on the south side of the orchard. I trap the rabbits, and use my knife on the borers; am not troubled with them very much. I prune trees while young to give the proper shape to the top, and later to remove the crossed limbs and cause them to spread out and shade the trunk and as much space as possible. I have thinned the fruit on trees to a limited extent; it should be done when about the size of quail eggs. Think it makes little difference whether trees are planted in block or mixed up.

I do not fertilize my orchard; the soil is rich enough; water is what it needs. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable, as they eat all the wormy fruit and destroy many insects by rooting; I find it pays. My trees are troubled with root aphis; my apples are bothered by codling-moth, gouger, and blue jays. I spray with London purple and lime, about 100 gallons of water to one pound of purple and six pounds of lime. I think Paris green would be better. I spray for canker-worm as soon as I see them, and am of the opinion that one application is enough, but do not think spraying of any use for codling-moth, as the moth itself does not eat anything but the honey from the base of the bloom, and not enough of the poison reaches them to amount to anything. My method of fighting them is, as soon as the moth appears in the spring, to put old fruit cans in the trees filled with sweet water. This attracts the moths and they drown in it. I also burn torches in the orchard at night. Another way is to hang a lantern over a tub of water that has a little coal-oil in it; this will kill a great many insects.

I hand-pick my fruit into sacks slung over the shoulder; I use a step-ladder for those I cannot reach. I sell apples in orchard; also retail; sell best ones to best customers; I dry second and third grades; of culls I make cider and vinegar and feed to pigs. My best market is at home. I dry some apples; use a Victor evaporator, and one that I made; after drying we heat in an oven, and put in double paper bags, and find a ready market; but it does not pay. I store apples in five-bushel boxes, in a tunnel-like cellar, dug in solid sand-rock; it is fifty feet long, five feet wide, and six and one-half feet deep, with rooms on each side; it is perfectly dry and the temperature even, but it is too warm for winter; I find it is excellent for summer and fall apples. Those that keep best are Rawle's Janet and Missouri Pippin. We have to repack stored apples before marketing; I do not lose many. I use or sell as soon as fit. I irrigate my orchard from a small creek fed by springs. I have two large dams, with ditches running along the hillside, with gates to let the water into the ditches; from the main ditch I have laterals, also provided with gates; the surplus and seepage goes back into the creek below the main dam; the creek below the dam has small dams in it to hold the seepage water at the desired height—which serves for subirrigation, the best irrigation in the world. The water should not stand nearer than five feet of the surface for apples. I run the water between the rows in wide, shallow ditches, any time from March to September. It is not necessary to have a creek to irrigate an orchard. A good, big ditch along the hillside above the orchard will catch enough melted snow and rain to pay for its construction; this should run into a reservoir. Prices have been from seventy-five cents to one dollar, and dried apples from five to twelve and one-half cents per pound.

Peter Noon, Vesper, Lincoln county: I have lived in Kansas thirty years. Have forty apple trees eleven years old, eight to ten inches in diameter, twelve to fifteen feet high. I prefer for all purposes Winesap and Ben Davis. I prefer bottom land with a black soil and sandy subsoil. I plant young trees in rows twenty-five feet each way. I cultivate my orchard for seven years with plow and harrow, raising no crop. Windbreaks are essential; I use cottonwood trees, planted in three rows, around my orchard. I prune with a saw to make the trees bear better and keep them from getting top-heavy; I think it beneficial. I thin my fruit on the trees by hand in July. I never pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with bud moth. I do not spray. I pick by hand. Never dry any. Do not store any. Do not irrigate. Prices have been from seventy-five to eighty cents per bushel, and dried apples eight cents per pound.

Jacob Weidman, Lincoln, Lincoln county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years. Have an apple orchard of about 1000 trees, nineteen years old. For commercial purposes I prefer Winesap, Ben Davis, Rawle's Janet, Huntsman's Favorite, Jonathan, Maiden's Blush, Early Harvest, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Duchess of Oldenburg, Autumn Strawberry, Rambo, and Gano. For family orchard would prefer Winesap, Huntsman's Favorite, Gilpin, Milam, Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Red June, and Limber Twig, the last one being a very good keeper. Have tried and discarded Red Astrachan, Lawver, Golden Russet, Yellow Bellflower, Willow Twig and Smith's Cider on account of blight. I prefer bottom land with rich soil and loose subsoil, with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old stocky trees planted in a furrow. I have tried root grafts with the best success; the best trees in this county were grown by me. I cultivate my orchard to corn, using a stirring plow; I cease cropping after six years, but keep cultivating until the trees smother the weeds. Windbreaks are essential. I have native timber on three sides, the south, west, and north; and a hill on the east. For rabbits I wrap the trees with corn-stalks, which also protects them from sun-scald. Am never troubled with borers. I prune moderately to give shape to young trees, and to let the sun and air to the fruit on old trees; many trees are injured by heavy pruning. I never thin.

Mixed plantings of trees are best; my Jonathan do well; all do well that bloom at the same time. I do not fertilize. I never pasture my orchard; would not advise it. My trees are troubled with woolly aphis and root-louse. I have sprayed with London purple; last year I sprayed with Paris green and my apples were free from worms; if London purple is used without lime it burns the leaves; Paris green does not mix well, and has to be stirred all the time. I am going to use carbonate of soda and white arsenic this year; four parts carbonate of soda to two parts of white arsenic, and one gallon of water; boil for fifteen minutes, then add another gallon of water and use two quarts of this to fifty gallons of water. I pick my apples in a sack from a ladder. I sell apples in the orchard; have regular customers for the winter apples. I supply some stores with early and fall apples; never peddle any. I put my second-grade apples in piles of about thirty bushels each, and cover lightly with dirt until cold weather comes. A little freezing will not hurt them. In March or April I market them, and get as much for them as I get for the first-class ones in the fall. Those that keep best are: Ben Davis, Winesap, Rawle's Janet, Gilpin, and Milam. We dry some apples for home use. We put them on frames in a spent hotbed under glass, to keep flies off. I have a large cellar in which I store apples; have never packed them in barrels. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 35 cents to $1.50 per bushel. Have help of my own.

L. P. Ashcroft, Shibboleth, Decatur county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-two years. Have 100 apple trees, eight to twelve years old, four to ten inches in diameter. I prefer for commercial purposes Ben Davis, Winesap, and Willow Twig. I prefer upland with a south slope. I plant two-year-old, low, bushy, stout-top trees. To set, I plow deep and dig deep holes, in the fall. I cultivate my orchard every year from May 1 to July 1, and late in the fall. I use the harrow in the spring, disc and harrow later on, and lister in the fall. I think windbreaks would be beneficial on the south, and would make them of buildings and sheds of all kinds. I am troubled with small borers in the limbs. I prune out the inside of trees to let sun and air through. I think it beneficial, and that it pays. I never thin apples; the wind does the thinning. My trees are in mixed plantings, and I believe would bear every year if they did not freeze. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter on top of heavy snows. I think it beneficial, if not too close to the trees. I would advise its use on all soils if applied at the right time and in the right manner. I do not pasture my orchard; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with small borers, and my fruit with some insects. I do not spray. I have used coal-oil for borers, but do nothing now. We pick our own fruit.

W. D. Street, Oberlin, Decatur county: I have resided in the state thirty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of fifty trees seven or eight years old, about six inches in diameter. My orchard is situated on low, bottom land. I prefer two-year-old trees, set in plowed land and dug holes. I plant my orchard to garden crops, corn, and potatoes. I plow shallow, and use a harrow and weed-cutter. I plant the same crops in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; mine are natural timber along the creek. I prune a little with knife and saw, to preserve shape; cannot say that it has been beneficial, or that it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees; it would probably benefit. I fertilize my orchard some with stable litter. I think it beneficial, as the land is heavily cropped with truck. I would not advise it on all soils. I pasture my orchard with cattle, horses, and hogs, but do not think it advisable. I have not sprayed yet, but intend to when my orchard is older. I pick my apples by hand. I store apples for home use. With a dam across a creek, I raise water into a pond, and irrigate. Seepage, percolation and capillary attraction do the rest.

James L. Williams, McDonald, Rawlins county: I have resided in Kansas nineteen years. Have an apple orchard of sixty trees, planted eight years; planted ten acres in 1895. I prefer for family orchard Jonathan, Rambo, Senator, Rawle's Janet, and Gano. I planted my orchard on a hillside; the small orchard is in the bottom; they have a clay subsoil, and slope in every direction, but would prefer a northern slope. I prefer three-year-old trees, set in holes dug four feet deep, five feet wide, filled in the bottom with soil hauled from the creek. [?] I cultivate my trees with a cultivator and harrow; I think the life of the tree depends on the cultivation, and that we will have to keep it up as long as the tree lives. I plant potatoes and turnips in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks would be a benefit, and should be made of Russian mulberry or red cedar, set in four or five rows around the orchard. For rabbits I rub axle grease on the trees. I commence pruning when I set the trees out, using a knife and saw, to keep the tops from getting too heavy and to give shape; I think it pays. Never have thinned the fruit while on the trees, but would if my trees should ever be overloaded; I think it would pay. I fertilize my orchard from the sheep corral; it keeps the ground moist and is food for the trees. Would not advise its use on bottom land, as the growth would be too rapid. I pasture my orchard with hogs, but do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with grasshoppers and flathead borers. I dig borers out in the spring, then wash the tree with strong soap-suds, which I think eradicates all lice and insects that may be in the bark of the tree; it gives the tree a hearty, vigorous growth. I do not irrigate, but cultivate instead.

J. R. Caldwell, Oberlin, Decatur county: I have lived in Kansas thirteen years. Have an apple orchard of 110 trees, thirteen years old, six inches in diameter. For fall or winter market I prefer Winesap, Ben Davis, and Jonathan, and for summer, Cooper's Early White, Maiden's Blush, Red June, Winesap, Ben Davis, and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet; it is not a good bearer in this locality. I prefer upland, with a deep, rich loam, and an eastern slope. I prefer three-year-old trees, with lengthy bodies and not much top, set in holes dug three by three, one and one-half to two feet deep; fill the bottom with some of the same dirt. I cultivate my orchard to corn and potatoes ten or twelve years, using a cultivator and stirring plow; cease cropping after ten or twelve years. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees, by planting or transplanting them. For rabbits I wrap the trees with corn-stalks. I prune to keep the limbs from rubbing; for any other reason it does not pay. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted in rows. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter; think it beneficial, and that it would be good for all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with flathead borer and tent-caterpillar, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples and sell them in our home market. I do not dry or store any. Do not irrigate. Price has been one dollar per bushel. Dried apples have been from five to six cents per pound.

B. F. Campbell, St. Francis, Cheyenne county: I have lived in Kansas since 1885. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees, from two to seven years planted. I prefer bottom land, subirrigated, that is sandy, with a northern aspect. I prefer one-year-old trees planted in rows twenty feet apart. I cultivate my orchard to vegetables as long and as often as I can, using a harrow; cultivate after every rain if possible, and the drier the ground, the oftener the better. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of cottonwood, as they make the finest growth with us. For rabbits I wrap the trees with cloth; have not been able to catch or poison the gophers yet. I prune to maintain low heads and to make shapely trees without forks, and think it beneficial. I never thin my fruit. Do not think it makes any difference whether trees are planted in blocks of one variety, or mixed up. I mulch my orchard to retain moisture; would not advise it on all soils, as the moles make their home in it and soon kill the trees. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. The gophers have done more damage by cutting off the roots than all the other pests. Am also troubled with grasshoppers. Never have sprayed, but am going to this spring; will use the same chemicals as are used at the experiment station. I irrigate [sub]; can flood the ground, but don't need to; it is wet enough without.

J. W. Somer, Wilson, Ellsworth county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-two years; have an apple orchard of seventy-five trees. For all purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, and Smith's Cider. Have tried and discarded Arkansas Black, Lawver, Jonathan, and Rawle's Janet. I prefer limestone bottom land with southeast slope. I prefer two-year-old trees three to five feet tall. I cultivate my orchard two or three years with a common stirring plow and cultivator, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees, walls, or Osage hedge. They ought to be planted before starting the orchard. For rabbits I wrap my trees with corn-stalks. I prune only to make trees symmetrical. Do not thin my apples. I mulch my trees; think it beneficial, but would not advise it on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard. Trees are troubled with twig-borer.

J. D. Griffiths, Kanopolis, Ellsworth county: Have lived in Kansas eighteen years; have an apple orchard of thirty trees. Have some trees planted on bottom land. I cultivate my orchard to sweet corn as long as the trees will admit, using a plow and a one-horse, five-tooth cultivator. I prune to give trees good shape. I fertilize my orchard with well-rotted stable litter. Do not pasture my orchard. Am troubled with no insect but borers. I spray the trees when leafing out, and once a week for five or six weeks after that time, to ward off the insects. I probe for insects not affected by spraying. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel. Dried apples have been about eight cents per pound.

M. E. Wells, Athol, Smith county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-six years; have an orchard of twelve acres, from five to fourteen years. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin; and for family orchard Early Harvest and Winesap. I prefer hilltop of thin clay, resting on yellow silt, with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old, stocky trees planted in dead furrows. I cultivate my orchard to corn as long as there is space enough between the rows; use two five-tooth cultivators lashed together, and cease cropping after twelve years. Windbreaks are not essential. I protect against rabbits and borers by eternal vigilance in hunting them. I prune by cutting out limbs, so they will not crowd each other; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard; I think shallow cultivation is better. I do not pasture my orchard with anything excepting chickens. Trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar; some worm affects my apples. I sometimes spray with lime and copperas, and have not been very successful. Insects not affected by spraying I dig out with penknife and wire. I pick my apples by hand from a common ladder; sort into three classes—first, smooth and free from worms; second, free from worms; the balance in the third grade. I sell apples in the orchard; also retail them. I handle the best apples very carefully, one at a time, and place in crates. Keep the second and third-grade apples at home; feed the culls to hogs. My best market is in the orchard; never tried distant markets. Never dry any. I store apples for winter in a cellar on shelves, one layer of fruit on each shelf—am successful; Ben Davis keeps best. Never tried artificial cold storage. Do not irrigate. Price has been fifty cents per bushel. I employ women, because they handle the fruit with more care than men do; I pay one dollar per day.

Isaac Clark, Oberlin, Decatur county: I have lived in Kansas ten years. I have 1250 apple trees, eight years planted, as fine as they can be. My market varieties are: Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Rawle's Janet, and Ben Davis, and for family I added Maiden's Blush, Red Astrachan, and Sweet June. I prefer clay soil, on hilltop; any slope is good. Plant trees in good condition and fine appearance, on ground plowed deep and disced just as deeply. I cultivate very often with five-tooth cultivator, and never quit. Every third year I plow with a one-horse diamond plow. I raised melons for the first three years; after that nothing. I have no use for windbreaks. I tie with corn-stalks, to protect against rabbits. I prune very little, to form the top, with knife and saw; keep straggling branches out. I use very little fertilizer; only on thin soil. I never pasture the orchard. Have some twig-borers and leaf-crumplers. I have never sprayed yet; it may soon be necessary. I have kept my trees tied up with corn-stalks for six years; the bodies are healthy; no sun-scald and no borers. My best market is at home. I have stored some for winter, in barrels in a cave, and find that the Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Rawle's Janet keep best, the latter keeping until July. I have been able to sell in the spring at fifty cents per peck.

John M. C. Kroenlin, Lincoln, Lincoln county: I have resided in Kansas twenty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 178 trees, from four to fourteen years old, three to twelve inches in diameter. For market I prefer Winesap and Missouri Pippin, and for family use Missouri Pippin, Cooper's Early White, and Winesap. I prefer bottom land, with a black loam soil and sandy subsoil; I believe a level location best. For planting I prefer two-year-old trees, set in holes dug three feet square and one and one-half feet deep; throw out all soil and use good surface soil; never apply water to the roots. I cultivate my orchard until the trees are seven years old, using a disc, and then a harrow to level the ground, and plant no crop. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Russian mulberries, on south and west sides. I have cottonwood windbreaks on the east and north of my orchard; those on the east protect the trees from the morning sun, thereby lessening the danger when there is frost on the buds, and those on the north I keep trimmed high, so as to admit of a free circulation of air, which is a protection against frost. For rabbits I wrap my trees with corn-stalks, which I think the best way. I prune with an ax, knife, and saw, and think it beneficial and that it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with well-rotted cow-stable litter, which I think has been beneficial. I do not pasture my orchard; I do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, but not bad, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray after the blossoms fall, with London purple (which will kill every time), for canker-worm. I stand on step-ladder and pick my apples by hand. I sell them in the orchard, at retail, and feed the culls to the chickens. Lincoln is my best market. Have never tried distant markets. Don't dry any; it does not pay. I am successful in storing apples in bulk in a cellar, and find Winesap and Missouri Pippin keep best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from ten cents to two dollars per bushel, the same season; dried apples four cents per pound.

J. H. Sayles & Son, Norcatur, Decatur county: Have been in Kansas fifteen years; have 300 apple trees, eight years planted, six inches in diameter. For market I planted Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Winter Duchess (?), and I added for family use Jonathan, Duchess of Oldenburg, and Red June. I have tried and discarded the Mann, Walbridge, Baldwin, Northern Spy, and Red Astrachan. I have black, northwest Kansas prairie soil, with northeast slope. Our well is seventeen feet deep, and fruit never fails. Plant low, healthy, two-year-old trees, in deep furrows, plowed parallel with the slope, putting the trees twenty by thirty feet. I have raised some splendid seedlings. I draw on large quantities of stable litter. I grow nothing in the orchard; cultivate with double shovel, drag, and hoe, keeping the ground flat. I believe windbreaks are essential, and would make them of Russian mulberry and white elm, set one row of elm one year old, twelve to twenty-four inches, then two rows of Russian mulberry six feet apart, alternating. For rabbits I fence with wire. I prune with knife and saw, thinning out the tops, and think it pays. I believe in thinning the fruit as soon as it is large enough, and would plant mixed varieties. Our Jonathan never bore until the Ben Davis near by bloomed. I scatter stable litter as for grain, and it is beneficial, as trees not fertilized die out here; it is good on all kinds of soil. Never pasture the orchard. We have some leaf-roller, fall web-worm, and codling-moth, but have never sprayed any. We dig borers out with a wire. We pick by hand, and sort into three grades: numbers 1 and 2, and cider stock. We never sell in the orchard, but retail our best in one-bushel crates. Our culls we feed out to farm stock early. Our best market is at home and west; never tried distant markets. Have never tried drying or storing for winter. Do not irrigate, but cultivate often. Prices range from 60 cents to $1.25 per bushel. We use some farm help at fifteen to eighteen dollars per month.

W. J. Brumage, Beloit, Mitchell county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-four years; have an orchard of 1000 very large apple trees, from twelve to twenty years old. For commercial purposes would prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Duchess of Oldenburg, Early Harvest, Red June, Willow Twig, Maiden's Blush, Cooper's Early White, and Pewaukee, and for family orchard Ben Davis, Winesap, Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, and Duchess of Oldenburg. I prefer hilltop, clay loam, with northeast slope. I plow a ditch and set two-year-old trees a little deeper than they were in the nursery. Have tried root-grafts and seedlings; were no good. I cultivate with garden-truck until twelve or fourteen years old, using a plow to stir the ground, and seed bearing orchard to grass. I use no windbreaks. I prune to keep the tree from getting bushy; I think it beneficial. I never thin my fruit. Cannot see any difference in trees whether planted in blocks or mixed up. Use no fertilizer, and would not advise its use. Do not pasture orchard; do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, flathead borers, twig-borer, and leaf roller. Codling-moth and curculio trouble my fruit. I spray with London purple, using a pump, just after the blossom falls, for the codling-moth, and think I have reduced them. I pick my fruit by hand, and pack in barrels. I sort into two classes, good and bad. Have sold them in the orchard; sometimes retail; my best market is home; have never tried distant markets. I make vinegar of the culls. Never dry any. Store some for winter market in bulk in a cave; am successful; Winesap, Willow Twig and Ben Davis keep the best. Have never tried artificial cold storage. Have to repack stored apples before marketing; we lose about one-fourth. Do not irrigate. Prices average about fifty cents per bushel.

John E. David, Winona, Logan county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years; have an apple orchard of ninety trees from seven to ten years old. I prefer level land, black loam with a clay subsoil, and an eastern slope. I prefer thrifty, healthy trees, set in holes three feet deep. I cultivate my orchard to beans and melons, using a cultivator and plow for six years; then cease cropping. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of honey-locust, planted in rows on north [?] and south. For protection from rabbits I use wire screening, and dig the borers out. I prune my trees with a knife to give big growth, and think it beneficial. I never thin my apples while on the trees. My trees are planted in blocks. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial and would advise it out here. I never pasture my orchard. Am not troubled with insects. Do not spray. Do not irrigate.

P. F. Johnson, Oberlin, Decatur county: Have lived in Kansas seven years; Have 200 apple trees, four to eight years old, and seven to fifteen feet high. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis. For family use, Red June, Winesap, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Jonathan, and Ben Davis. I prefer bottom land, with deep, black loam and clay subsoil, north slope. I plant two-year-old trees, in rows north and south, as close as the different varieties will allow. I cultivate as long as the trees live, with plow and cultivator, allowing them to go no deeper than three inches. I plant the young orchard to beans, pumpkins, and squashes; the same in a bearing orchard, and never cease cropping. Windbreaks are essential. I would make them of Russian mulberry and ash, and keep them cultivated. I tie dry corn-stalks around young trees to protect from rabbits. Never prune. Never thin. I use stable litter as a fertilizer and mulch; I think it advisable in this latitude. I pasture my orchard in fall and winter with hogs, and think it advisable. My trees are troubled with roundhead borer, twig-borer, and grasshoppers. I do not spray. Have never irrigated, but intend to soon. Prices have been from $1 to $1.50 per bushel.

W. B. Stockard, Beloit, Mitchell county: I have lived in the state since 1871. Have an apple orchard of 800 trees. For all purposes I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Jonathan, and Jefferis. Have tried and discarded Ben Davis and Limber Twig. I prefer bottom land with a clay subsoil; southeast slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, planted twenty-four feet apart, then thin them out when they crowd. I cultivate my orchard to corn and potatoes, using a cultivator and drop harrow, and cease cropping when about six years old; plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are not essential. To protect the trees from rabbits I rub with rabbits' blood, and whitewash for borers. I prune very little; remove dead limbs, and clip the others; think it beneficial if not too severe. I do not thin my fruit while on the trees; it does not pay. It is not necessary to set trees in mixed plantings when you keep bees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think corn-stalks best, it has proven beneficial; would advise its use on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard; is not advisable; does not pay. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar, bud moth, root aphis, bag-worm, roundhead borer, woolly aphis, twig-borer, oyster-shell bark-louse, and my apples with curculio. I spray just before the bud swells, and after they bloom, with white arsenic; sal soda and lime for canker-worms and moths; think I have reduced the codling-moth. I hand-pick my apples; sort into two classes. Sell in the orchard, wholesale, retail, and peddle; keep the best apples at home; make vinegar of the second and third grades, and culls. Never tried distant markets. Find a ready market for dried apples; but it does not pay. I store apples for winter use in a circular arched cave, in barrels; find Winesap and Missouri Pippin keep best. I do not irrigate. Price has been fifty cents per bushel.

P. Wagner, Dresden, Decatur county: I have lived in the state twelve years. Have an apple orchard of fifty trees, planted last spring. I prefer hilltop, with an east or north aspect. I cultivate my orchard with a cultivator and harrow, growing no crop. Would make windbreaks of locust trees. For rabbits I use barrel staves. I do not prune, or thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. I do not spray. I water my orchard. Apples have been one dollar per bushel; dried apples, five cents per pound.

John Elder, Glen Elder, Mitchell county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 280 trees, from twelve to twenty-six years planted. For family orchard I prefer Cooper's Early White, Early Harvest, Chenango Strawberry, Maiden's Blush, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis. Have tried and discarded Willow Twig, Lowell, and White Winter Pearmain, on account of blight and sun-scald. I prefer hill land, with black loam soil and clay subsoil; a northeast slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, planted in dead furrows. I cultivate my orchard to corn for a number of years, using a lister, while the trees are young, and a disc when they get older. I cease cropping after six or eight years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. When windbreaks are close enough to do good they sap the ground too much. I wrap the trees to protect them from rabbits, and keep them growing and healthy, for borers. I prune my trees, and think it beneficial. I do not thin the fruit on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think it keeps a tree healthy and growing, which will protect it from borers and other insects. Do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. My apples are troubled with curculio and gouger. I have sprayed after the blossom fell, with Paris green, London purple, and blue vitriol; don't know that I reduced the codling-moth any. For insects not affected by spraying I bored a one-half inch hole in the trees this spring and filled it with sulphur; then plugged it up. [?????] I sell apples in the orchard; also retail. I do not dry any. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.

C. A. Perdue, Beloit, Mitchell county: Have lived in Kansas eighteen years. Have an apple orchard of about 250 trees. I prefer the Missouri Pippin for commercial purposes. I prefer a black loam soil with a clay subsoil; north slope. In planting trees, I would set them thirty feet apart; mine are twenty feet and are too close. I have cultivated my orchard, but think I did not do it right. A light culture to keep the soil loose on top, to act as a mulch, would, I think, be beneficial. Think it best to grow no crop in the orchard. I think windbreaks would be beneficial. For rabbits I use woven wire. I prune to lessen the tops; I think it ought to be done every year, so as never to cut any large limbs; I think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees, but think it would be an advantage. I have put stable litter in my orchard two or three times during the last fifteen years, but do not think it necessary; the land is rich enough without; would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, bud moth, and flathead borer. I do not spray. Always sell in the local market. I do not dry any. I store some for winter use, in a cellar in boxes, barrels, and bins. We have to repack stored apples before marketing. Prices for winter apples have been from fifty to seventy-five cents.

Chas. Vail, Colby, Thomas county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years; have an apple orchard of 150 trees seven years old, from seven to eleven feet. I plant my orchard to corn and potatoes for two or three years, then nothing; use a common cultivator. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I use tar paper. I prune very little, and rub off young sprouts. Can see no difference whether trees are in blocks of a kind or mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard; it is very injurious here. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tobacco worms [?] and grasshoppers. I do not spray. Do not irrigate.

Hudson Bros., Kanopolis, Ellsworth county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-four years; have an apple orchard of fifty trees, six to thirty years old, from four to eighteen inches in diameter. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap, and for family use would add Duchess of Oldenburg. I prefer sandy bottom land. I plant three-year-old trees thirty feet apart each way, in well-plowed land. I cultivate my orchard to corn or potatoes till the trees are ten years old; sow rye in bearing orchard; mow in June, and then plow; never have ceased cropping. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees planted in a belt around the orchard. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter; think it beneficial; would advise its use to a certain extent on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable. My trees are troubled with flathead borers. I do not spray.

E. W. O'Toole, Collyer, Trego county: I have resided in Kansas nineteen years. Have an apple orchard of sixty-four trees, twenty-two of which are fourteen years old, and thirty-seven inches in circumference. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, and for family Early Harvest and Winesap. I prefer black loam with sandy bottom, south slope. I plant two-year-old trees, in rows eighteen feet apart. I do not cultivate my orchard, but mulch it with hay for four years. Windbreaks are essential here; would make them of cottonwood trees, planted in rows around the orchard. For protection against rabbits I use whitewash and tar paper. I prune to thin the tops; think it beneficial. The wind thins my apples for me. I fertilize my orchard with hay; think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard. I shall spray this year after the bloom falls with London purple and lime water. I peddle my apples. This is the best market, because they are scarce. I am successful in keeping a few bushels in a pit; the Missouri Pippin keeps best. I do not irrigate. I am located on bottom land. Price has been one dollar per bushel.

M. A. Wilson, Atwood, Rawlins county: I have resided in the state nineteen years; have an apple orchard of fifty trees ten years old, six inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Winesap and Ben Davis. I prefer bottom land with a dark loam and a clay subsoil, with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees with good tops and stocky bodies, set in early spring, sixteen to twenty feet apart. I plant my orchard to corn, potatoes, and garden-truck, using a hoe and cultivator; have never ceased cropping. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Russian mulberries planted twelve feet apart each way; trim and cultivate them. For rabbits I wrap the trees with rags or burlap cut in strips three or four inches wide; begin at the bottom and wind up; if the limbs are near the ground, wrap them, too. I prune with a small keyhole saw and shears to keep the tree hardy, and think it pays. I thin my apples when they are about half grown; it pays. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it has been beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard. Trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and flathead borer. I do not spray. I stand on a step-ladder and pick my apples, laying them in the baskets as carefully as though they were eggs. I sort into two classes—best, and second grade. I sell apples in the orchard; retail the best, second and third grades; use and sell the culls. Home is my best market. I do not dry or store any for winter market. I irrigate, lifting the water twenty feet by an elevator and horse power from creek. Prices have been from $1 to $1.60 per bushel. Dried apples, sixteen pounds for one dollar. I employ hands at from fifteen dollars to eighteen dollars per month.

F. T. M. Dutcher, Phillipsburg, Phillips county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-six years; have an apple orchard of 100 trees from eight to ten years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for family orchard Ben Davis and Winesap. I prefer a bottom which has a sandy soil and a clay subsoil, with a northeast slope. I set two-year-old trees in listed ditches. I plant my orchard to potatoes as long as possible; use a five-tooth cultivator; cease cropping when the trees shade the ground, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I tie corn-stalks around the tree, leaving them on the year round. I prune my trees with a knife; think it beneficial, and that it pays. I thin apples, if necessary, as soon as established. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and would advise its use on all soils. I never pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with borers, and my apples with curculio. I do not spray. I dig borers out. I make only one grade of my apples, and feed the culls to pigs, and use all the rest at home. I do not dry any. I irrigate a little; have a pond around the trees.

D. E. Stevens, Norton, Norton county: I have resided in the State eighteen years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees from ten to fifteen years old, three to six inches in diameter. My orchard should be composed of Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Pewaukee, Jonathan, Willow Twig, Maiden's Blush, Snow and two kinds of Russets (and I haven't a Russet in the orchard!!), Early Harvest, one or two sweets (and I haven't a sweet in the orchard!), which proves to me that an agent will sell you any variety you want, and ship what they happen to have. I prefer bottom land with a loamy soil and a clay subsoil, with a northern slope. I prefer three-year-old, low-top trees, cut back, set in a furrow made with a lister and dug out with a spade. I plant my orchard to corn, using a stirring plow and harrow, and am still cultivating; would plant corn or clover in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Russian mulberries. For rabbits I wrap with fine meshed wire. I prune my trees with a saw and knife to give sunlight, and make larger fruit; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I mulch my orchard late in the fall with coarse manure; would advise it on all soils, unless very rich. Feed your soil if you would have thrifty trees. I pasture my orchard with hogs; I think it advisable, and that it pays because they keep the soil loose. Trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, and borers; and my apples with worms. I do not spray, but ought to. I hand-pick my apples. I dry some for family use. I do not irrigate, but am confident we need more water.

Jesse Royer, Gove, Gove county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years. I have four apple trees seven years old. I prefer upland with an eastern or northeast slope. For planting, I prefer good two-year-old trees. I cultivate my orchard all the time; would plant corn, and cultivate with any tool that would do good work and kill the weeds; would not plant any crop in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of any kind of forest-trees excepting walnut; plant two or three rows of them all around the orchard. I prune some to give shape to trees and take out all dead branches, and think it pays. I think a good rich [?] mulching would be beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. Do not pasture my orchard. I would spray if it was necessary; insects are not very bad here. I do not dry any.

FRUIT DISTRICT No. 3.

Following is the third fruit district, comprised of thirty-one counties in the southwest quarter of the state. Reports, or rather experiences, from each of these counties will be found immediately following. We give below the number of apple trees in the third district, compiled from the statistics of 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.

Bearing.Not bearing.Total.

Barber12,90116,38429,285

Barton25,14624,19649,342

Clark7351,9422,677

Comanche1,0101,5122,522

Edwards3,3786,67210,050

Finney6,13910,55916,698

Ford2,2814,1786,459

Grant8523001,152

Gray4102,7153,125

Greeley10402412

Hamilton7412,2422,983

Harper36,29620,50856,804

Haskell328141469

Hodgeman4156751,090

Kearny4,4057,31211,717

Kingman39,24923,41662,765

Kiowa1,6832,2123,895

Lane1,6472,5244,171

Meade1,3402,2003,540

Ness1,1881,6302,818

Pawnee11,1377,80018,937

Pratt12,89412,96325,857

Reno141,460280,713422,173

Rice65,06945,133110,202

Rush2,1182,6294,747

Scott2291,9362,165

Seward4326021,034

Stafford22,91427,37750,291

Stanton10150160

Stevens8971,6512,548

Wichita909591,049

Total in district397,304513,633910,937

Estimated acreage60,000100,000160,000

D. J. McNeal, Scott, Scott county: I have lived in Kansas ten years; have an apple orchard of sixty-five trees five years old, seven feet high. I prefer a clay soil with a north aspect. I plant two-year-old trees in ground that has been plowed for two years before planting. I cultivate my orchard with a disc harrow and cultivator, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of cottonwoods. I rub rabbits' blood on the trees to protect them from other rabbits. I prune my trees with a knife and a fine saw; I think it beneficial. I have fertilized my orchard with stable litter, but it causes a too rapid growth; I would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable; it does not pay. I am not troubled with insects, and do not spray. I do not irrigate, but think it would pay.

G. O. Vick, Fowler, Meade county: Have lived in Kansas fourteen years. I planted an apple orchard twelve years ago; have about fifty Missouri Pippins, that have not failed to give us a crop for seven or eight years; last fall we got three bushels from a single tree—the most ever taken from one tree by us. They are fine keepers, and are said to be much better, both in color and flavor, than those grown farther east. We have kept them in fine condition until July following, and then the supply gave out. Have no trees where they can be irrigated, but hope to put out an orchard next spring that can be irrigated. I have the finest location [for irrigation] in the West, and will do my best. I prefer valley land, with a southeast slope. Prices have been two dollars per bushel.

C. A. Blackmore, Sharon, Barber county: I have lived in the state about five years; have an orchard of 1100 apple trees, three years old, two inches in diameter, seven feet high. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Early Harvest, Benoni, and Maiden's Blush. When planting a family orchard select varieties from the earliest to the latest, that they may be well supplied. In planting a commercial orchard I would study the wants and demands of the people, also the varieties best adapted to our soil and climate. Do not be like an experiment station and plant all varieties catalogued. A mongrel orchard, like mongrel stock, is not good property. The man who has a hundred bushels of some one good variety of apples can always get the best price for them; but if the hundred bushels consisted of ten or a dozen varieties there would not be enough of any one variety to attract a buyer, and consequently he must take what he can get for them. Select such varieties as the market demands, and then confine your planting to as few varieties as possible, and your commercial orchard will attract buyers. I prefer a bottom, with a dark, sandy or red land, with a reddish clay subsoil, north or northeast slope. I plant thrifty two-year-old trees, in ground plowed deeply and marked off with a lister sixteen by thirty feet; then set the trees four to six inches deeper than they stood in the nursery, in holes dug at the crossings. I haul my trees to the field in a barrel two-thirds full of water, take them out one at a time and trim all the broken and long roots, arranging them in natural positions and turning the ends down in the hole, leaning the tree toward the two P. M. sun; then I fill the hole, using a rammer while a boy shovels the dirt in. If the soil is dry pour two or three gallons of water on the roots. When the water has soaked away finish filling the hole, and tramp the soil lightly around the tree. When they are all set, cut them well back.

I cultivate my orchard from early spring to the 1st of September, using a plow, cultivator, and disc; I plant corn in a young orchard, and cease cropping after eight years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south and west, and I would make them of Russian mulberries. For rabbits I rub rabbits' blood on the trees twice during the winter. Borers I cut out the first year; after that I drown them out by cultivation. I prune my trees while they are small, to give shape. I think it pays, as you do not have to cut off large branches when grown. Do not have to thin fruit here in Kansas. I do not plant a solid block of any one kind of trees; I intermingle the varieties in alternate rows, and insure more perfect pollination. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it pays especially well on sandy soil, and I would advise its use on all soils. Don't expect your trees to produce something for nothing; feed them. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, bud moth, root aphis, bag-worm, flathead borer, roundhead borer, woolly aphis, twig-borer, and oyster-shell bark-louse, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. Hunt the insect eggs and nests in your trees, and destroy the source of much loss to your fruit this season. In picking, I use a ladder to reach the apples in the top of the trees; put them in a grain sack over my shoulder with a stick in the mouth; have gathered sixty bushels per day for weeks at a time in this way. Prices have been from one dollar to two dollars per bushel, and dried apples five to eight cents per pound.

A. D. Einsel, Greensburg, Kiowa county: I have lived in the state twelve years. I plant thrifty one-year-old trees, in holes large enough to receive the roots, cover the roots with earth, and then pour in a pail of water. When this is soaked away fill the hole nearly full of earth. I cultivated my orchard to corn, using a spring-tooth harrow, to keep the soil loose and kill the weeds. Am going to plant another apple orchard. I think western Kansas will yet grow apples.

A. N. Patterson, Ford, Ford county: I have lived in Kansas seventeen years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees five years old. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter. Do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. I do not irrigate.

John Hinds, Olcott, Reno county: I have resided in the state thirteen years. Have an apple orchard of 500 trees; 375 of them are three years old, and the balance eight years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Rawle's Janet, and Grimes's Golden Pippin; and for family orchard Early Harvest and Maiden's Blush. I have tried and discarded Greening, Baldwin, and Missouri Keeper. I prefer a sandy bottom with a clay subsoil, and eastern aspect. I prefer three-year-old trees, set in the spring. I prune the roots and tops when setting. I plant my orchard to corn or potatoes for six or eight years; plow shallow; cease cropping after eight years, and plant nothing but clover and orchard-grass in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of mulberries planted one or two feet apart all around the orchard. For rabbits I make a varnish and apply to the trees in the fall. I prune my trees in June when they are large, so as to let in light and sun; I use a tree pruner; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, but do not put it close to the trees; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs; I think it pays. My trees are troubled with fall web-worm and leaf-roller. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand; sort into three classes from piles. Pack them in barrels and haul to market on wagon. I sell apples in the orchard at retail. Make vinegar of the culls. I store some apples for home use. Price has been one dollar per bushel.

Henry Miller, Ulysses, Grant county: Have lived in Kansas fifteen years. I have 256 apple trees, nine and ten years planted, from three to five inches in diameter. I grow for market Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Ben Davis, adding for family use Maiden's Blush and Grimes's Golden Pippin. I prefer bottom land, northeast slope, sandy soil, and gypsum subsoil. I plant in squares twenty-four by twenty-four feet. I have cultivated up to date with stirring plow and cultivator. I grow garden-truck among my trees until seven years old; after that nothing. I believe windbreaks essential in this county, and would make them of Russian mulberry, cottonwood, and locust. I would plant on the outside a row of mulberry four feet apart; next, a row of cottonwood or locust eight feet apart. To prevent destruction by rabbits I rub with fresh blood. I prune with a knife to prevent watersprouts from getting too thick; I am sure it pays, and lets sunshine into the center of the trees. I use stable litter, straw or rotted hay for fertilizer. I do not pasture my orchard, and have no insects but grasshoppers. Our crop has been light, owing to dry weather. I sell largely in the orchard. Our best market is at home. We dry a few for home use. I keep some for winter use, in a cave dug out and covered with earth. I do not irrigate. The prevailing price for apples is one dollar per bushel, and of dried apples, six cents per pound.

E. T. Daniels, Kiowa, Barber county: I have lived in the state twenty-five years. Have an apple orchard of 150 trees, from ten to sixteen years old, four to eight inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Jonathan, Twenty-ounce Pippin, Maiden's Blush, and Rawle's Janet. Would plant the same varieties for a family orchard. Have tried and discarded Ben Davis, Early Harvest, Smith's Cider, Lawver, Fink, Walbridge, and McAfee; they will not stand the heat and drought. I prefer bottom land, with heavy loam and red subsoil, southeast slope, sheltered from north and south winds. I prefer a good yearling tree, planted in a dead furrow; after planting, plow two furrows to the tree, and then harrow. I plant my orchard to corn for two years only, using a twelve-inch plow, cultivator, and harrow. I cultivate my orchard as long as it lives, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south and north; would make them of a belt of deciduous trees, six rods wide on the north, and one-half as wide on the south; would make this of native trees—elm, ash, or mulberry. For rabbits I wrap the trees with hay. I prune my young trees with the thumb and finger mostly, forming low heads; bearing trees I prune very little, except to take out the blighted limbs. I thin my apples when too full, when about the size of marbles; believe it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter and ashes, but cannot see any benefit; think it would do no harm, unless heavy coats of coarse manure are plowed under. Never have pastured my orchard, but am going to very soon; am fencing now, so I can turn in hogs. My trees are troubled with twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. I sell apples in the orchard, and peddle the best second and third grades; give the culls to the hogs. My best market is in Oklahoma; never have tried distant markets. I am successful in keeping apples for family use in bulk in a cyclone cellar dug in the red rock. Missouri Pippin keep the best for me. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

D. D. White, Enon, Harper county: Have lived in Kansas twenty years; have 500 apple trees planted from three to eighteen years. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. For family orchard I would add Maiden's Blush and Grimes's Golden Pippin. I prefer sandy bottom with an eastern slope. I would plant yearling trees, with every limb cut off, in rows twenty feet north and south, and forty feet east and west. Cultivate with double-shovel plow until they get too big to get among them, and grow nothing near them. I believe in a windbreak of mulberry, or any trees planted thickly, on the south. I prune only so that I can get under the trees. I use plenty of barn-yard litter, for it pays in the orchard. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable, as it pays. I have sprayed, but never saw any good in it. I dig the borers out with a wire, unless they are in the heart of the tree, and then there is no help for the tree. I pick from a step-ladder, and sort into three classes: windfalls, wormy, and perfect. In picking we drop the decayed and gnarly to the ground, carry the rest in baskets to the barrel, put the perfect ones in one barrel, and the others in another. Do not disturb the best ones until you sell; the others should be sorted again before you sell. I sell some in the orchard, but peddle mostly; my best I sell to the stores in the spring; of the culls I make cider. My best market is the towns in the "Strip." I dry some satisfactorily on a cook-stove evaporator, pack in flour sacks, and find a ready and profitable market for them in the spring. I store successfully for winter in bulk and in barrels in a cave with eighteen-inch wall arched over from the bottom. I find that Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin and Winesap keep the best. We lose, perhaps, one-sixteenth. I do not irrigate. Prices range from 50 cents to $1.50 per bushel, and dried apples from five to twelve cents per pound. I use only farm hands at fifteen dollars per month and board.

Amos Johnson, Ellinwood, Barton county: Have been in Kansas twenty-three years; have an orchard of 2000 apple trees, planted from three to twelve years. Varieties for market: Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Smith's Cider, and Northern Spy; for family use, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Smith's Cider, Maiden's Blush, and Red June. Have no use whatever for Ben Davis. Prefer bottom land, with black, sandy soil and a southern aspect. Plant good, thrifty two-year-old trees 25×25 feet. I plant corn or potatoes for three or four years, and after that nothing; thoroughly cultivate with the plow, disc, and harrow. I think a windbreak on the south side very essential, and would make it of cottonwood and Russian mulberry, in five rows, alternating, six feet apart. I use soap and turpentine for the borers, and hounds for the rabbits. I believe pruning pays, and makes the fruit much nicer. I use common pruning shears, and prune so that the sun can get in. Never have thinned apples on the trees, but believe it would be a good thing. I believe in fertilizing with stable litter; think it keeps the orchard thrifty and more fruitful. I have never kept any stock in the orchard, but believe it would be advisable and no detriment to pasture with hogs in June and July. Have never sprayed any. I pick from step-ladders into baskets, and sort into three classes: No. 1 are sold in barrels, No. 2 in bulk, and No. 3 go for cider. I have sold a few wagon-loads in the orchard, but I sell my best apples by the bushel late in winter; I usually sell the second-grade apples first, and make the culls into cider. My best market is in the counties north and west of us; have never tried a distant market. Never dried any. For winter we store in barrels, and are successful. The Missouri Pippin and Willow Twig keep best. I irrigate on a small scale. Prices average about one dollar per bushel.

S. S. Dickinson, Larned, Pawnee county: Has lived in Kansas thirty-three years, and has an apple orchard of 1800 trees, planted from seven to fifteen years. For commercial purposes he prefers Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Willow Twig, Ben Davis, and Rome Beauty, and for family use adds early apples. Has tried and discarded Red Winter Pearmain, because of blight. He is located in river bottom, with sandy soil, and a blue clay subsoil. Prefers a north and east slope. Plants two-year-old trees, with heads two feet from the ground, in deep dead furrows. Cultivates until the middle of July with a disc harrow, plow, and weeder. Never ceases cultivation. In the young orchard he plants corn, potatoes, and garden-truck, and would plant the same in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping when the trees got too large. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of any fast growing timber, by planting two rows, six to eight feet apart, and three feet in the row. For borers and rabbits he uses paint, whitewash, and poison. He prunes his trees with a knife and shears, and thins out the tops to let the sun in, and thinks it pays, and is beneficial. He thins the fruit as soon as he sees that it is too thick. His trees are in mixed plantings, and fertilized with all the stable litter he can get. He finds it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. Does not pasture his orchard, excepting in late fall and early winter, when he lets the calves run in to tramp the ground, and thinks it advisable. His trees are troubled with canker-worm, bark-louse, and some other insects; and his fruit with codling-moth. He sprays his trees twice before the buds open, with Bordeaux mixture and arsenical solution, for blight; thinks he has reduced the codling-moth. Picks his apples from the trees into sacks, and hauls in a padded wagon box. Sorts them from tables into three classes—extra, good, and medium. Never sells apples in the orchard; wholesales, retails and peddles them. His best market is at home, but he has not enough to fill it. Does not dry any. Is successful in keeping a few apples for winter market in barrels and boxes in a cellar, as near air-tight as possible. They keep well until May 25, and he does not find it necessary to repack stored apples before marketing. He does not irrigate. Prices have been: Wholesale, 60 cents to $1.20 per bushel; retail, 80 cents, $1.40 to $1.60 per bushel. He employs good help at one dollar per day and board.