THE STATE, BY DISTRICTS. (continued 5)

F. F. Hansberry, Larned, Pawnee county: Have resided in Kansas twenty-three years. Have 1400 apple trees nine years planted. For market, Ben Davis, Winesap, Red Edgar (?), Haas, and for family orchard Ben Davis, Winesap, Maiden's Blush, and Whitney (crab) No. 20. I have discarded the Missouri Pippin, as the tree is too short-lived. I prefer second bottom, with sandy soil and clay subsoil; always choose north or northeast aspect. I always plant good one-year-old trees, twenty by thirty feet apart, putting Missouri Pippins between the wide way, to be cut out later on. I grow and graft all my trees. Cultivate with a disc cultivator until the trees come into full bearing; after that every second year. I grow no crop in the orchard. I believe windbreaks are essential on south side; I think mulberry trees best, and would plant a double row two feet apart, in rows four feet apart, the nearest row forty feet away from apple trees. I shoot and trap the rabbits. I only prune enough to keep the tree well balanced. I often thin Winesaps on the tree because I think they need it, and it pays. I believe in mixed plantings, and therefore plant Ben Davis among all the others. I spread stable litter among my trees after they come into bearing; sandy soil, I think, requires the most fertilizer. I pasture in a small way, putting my little calves in, in the spring. Am only bothered with a few codling-moth and flat-headed borers. I do not spray, but I make way with all the fallen fruit. I hunt borers and kill with a wire. Pick by hand as soon as well colored; sort into two classes; the best is first, and all sound smaller fruit second. We pack in barrels by hand, marking with the variety and class. We sell ours all at home; usually they are engaged before they are picked. Our second grade we keep at home; culls are made into cider. Our apples are sold in Dodge City and Larned. Have never shipped any; have never dried any. I store some second grade in barrels and bulk in the cellar, and find that Missouri Pippins, Ben Davis, and Winesaps keep the best, and I do not lose over three per cent. Some seasons I irrigate, with windmills. Prices vary from 75 cents to $1.25 per bushel.

L. G. Morgan, Richfield, Morton county: I have lived in Kansas forty-three years; have an apple orchard of 125 trees, medium size, ten years old. For all purposes I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer black loam bottom, with clay subsoil, northern slope. I plant two-year-old trees with small tops, well rooted, in large holes, and filled in with well-worked soil. I cultivate my orchard to vines, using a stirring plow and hoe, and cease cropping after six years, but keep cultivating, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees planted in hit-and-miss rows around the orchard. Am not troubled with rabbits and borers. I prune with a saw and knife to give shape; think it beneficial. I thin apples on the trees as soon as large enough. My trees are in mixed plantings; Maiden's Blush are surrounded by Pippins and Rambos. I think they are more fruitful. I do not fertilize. I pasture my orchard with chickens and turkeys; I think it advisable, to keep out bugs. Trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar. I pick my apples by hand into baskets from step-ladders, and sort into three classes, choice, common, and culls, while gathering. I pack in barrels, placing a layer in the bottom, mark with paint, and haul to market on a wagon. I sell apples in the orchard, also retail to merchants; make cider of culls. Richfield is my best market. Do not dry any. Am successful in storing apples for winter in boxes and barrels in cellar; find Missouri Pippin and Winesap keep best. Lose about two per cent. of the stored apples. I irrigate my trees direct from a well, in ditches running close to the trees. Price has been one dollar per bushel.

E. Morgan, Hutchinson, Reno county: I have lived in Kansas seventeen years; have sixty acres of apples, from four to sixteen years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap; and for family orchard Early Harvest, Cooper's Early White, Maiden's Blush, Jonathan, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and discarded Snow and Early Pennock on account of blight. I prefer river bottom with a clay subsoil. I plant two-year-old, large, thrifty trees, at the crossings of furrows made with a lister, twenty by thirty feet. I cultivate for the first four years to corn and garden-truck, using a Planet jr. cultivator, then use a one-horse plow for two years, and cease cropping when bearing begins heavily, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of one row of Osage orange, on the west side of orchard. For rabbits I use tree paint and wood veneers. I prune my trees in the winter, to produce health and give good form; think it beneficial, and that it pays. I do not thin my fruit while on the trees, but think it would pay. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial; would advise its use on sandy land. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my fruit with codling-moth and curculio. I do not spray. I pick my apples from ladders; pile those taken from eight trees together and cover with hay. Sort into three classes: First, sound and large; second, sound and small; third, spotted. I sell apples in the orchard, also wholesale and retail; pack my best in bushel boxes and sell to grocers. Sell my second and third grades to peddlers and farmers from the west. My best market is at home. Have tried distant markets and found they paid. Am successful in storing apples in bulk in a bank cellar, Winesap and Missouri Pippin keeping the best. Do not irrigate. Good apples sold here this winter for one dollar per bushel. I employ farm hands at farm wages.

C. H. Longstreth, Lakin, Kearny county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-nine years. I have 3400 apple trees—500 eleven years old, 1200 eight years old, 700 six years old, and 1000 set this spring. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. For family use I would advise Early Harvest, Red June, Maiden's Blush, Chenango Strawberry, Smith's Cider, Huntsman's Favorite, Rome Beauty, Jonathan, Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin. Have discarded the Red Astrachan, Willow Twig, and Cooper's Early White, as they will not bear. I prefer second bottom, not too high or too low; sandy loam, with loose clay subsoil; any slope is good, north preferred. I prefer small-sized, well rooted, two-year-old trees, planted with a spade, in deeply plowed, thoroughly prepared ground, and would cultivate until they die of old age. I use a sixteen-inch disc, Acme harrow, Thomas's smoothing harrow, and Barnes's weeder. I grow small fruit and vegetables among the trees until of bearing age. Would plant windbreaks of six or eight rows of North Carolina poplars, honey and black locust, Russian mulberry, white ash, and box-elder, one-year seedlings, two feet apart, in rows four feet apart, on the north and south side of orchard. For rabbits, I wrap my trees as soon as possible after planting. I prune with a knife to admit sun and air, and to keep down suckers and limbs that rub each other. I thin all through the season, taking out imperfect fruit as far as possible, and it pays. I don't think it necessary to mix varieties to insure fruitfulness, yet this spring I planted 1000 Missouri Pippins, filling every sixth row with Winesaps for a test. The varieties I have discarded as not bearing were thoroughly mixed in with other kinds. I would use no fertilizers unless on very thin soil, and then would prefer to use before planting. I use fertilizers after the trees come into bearing, but up to bearing age good, thorough cultivation in the early part of the season is all that I would give. I do not pasture orchards; it might be advisable to turn hogs in to eat up windfalls affected with codling-moth, but never any other stock.

Am troubled only with root aphis, codling-moth, and curculio. I spray right after the blossoms fall with London purple, for codling-moth, and have reduced them to a great extent. Have prevented borers by wrapping. I contemplate using kerosene emulsion on curculio and insects that I cannot reach with poison. I pick in canvas lined half-bushel baskets, and sort into firsts, seconds, and culls, carefully, by hand. I pack in boxes, if I can get them; have used barrels well shaken and pressed down, marked with stencil, and shipped by rail. Denver has been our best market thus far; sometimes I have sold most of my apples in the orchard; never have to peddle any. I feed the culls to my hogs. Never dry any, but think I will try it in the near future, as there is a good home market for a large part of them. Have stored a good many in cellar in barrels and in bulk; some I have buried. I don't like either plan, and am figuring to put up some kind of cold-storage building for future use. Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis, in the order named, have kept best for me, my losses being about one-fifth. I irrigate by flooding the ground all over thoroughly when necessary. Prices have ranged from 75 cents to $1.25 per bushel; from $2.50 to $3 per barrel. I use the best men I can get, and pay $1 a day and board, or $1.50 per day without board.

A. W. Switzer, Hutchinson, Reno county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-six years; have 2000 apple trees twelve, fifteen and eighteen years old. Winesap, Missouri Pippin and Ben Davis for market purposes; Maiden's Blush, Rambo and Roman Stem added for family use. Have discarded Limber Twig and Willow Twig, both subject to blight. I prefer bottom land, sandy loam soil, and sandy subsoil; north slope is best. Plant two-year-old, low-headed trees, in holes large enough to receive all the roots without crowding, one inch deeper than in the nursery. Plant to corn until five or six years of age; then nothing. Plow and cultivate both ways to kill the weeds. I believe windbreaks are a necessity, and should be made of trees planted two or three rods wide, four feet apart, on the south side. Wrap the trees with straw or hay to protect from rabbits and borers. I prune with a saw to thin out where too thick, and to keep down the watersprouts; it certainly pays. I use stable litter and old hay in the orchard for fertilizer. Do not think it pays or is advisable to pasture orchard. I spray when the bloom begins to fall, three times for codling-moth, with London purple and Paris green, and I am satisfied I have reduced them. For the borer I use a knife and a wire. I pick in baskets, and pile in long rows in the orchard. I sort into two classes, and sell the best in the orchard to men who haul them west. The culls go for cider. I do not irrigate, and I do not dry or store any apples. Prices have varied from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel. I use common farm labor at fifteen to eighteen dollars per month.

J. C. Curran, Curran, Harper county. I have lived in Kansas fifteen years. Have fifty apple trees eleven years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and York Imperial, and for family orchard add some summer and fall varieties. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet, on account of slow growth. Bellflower is a fall apple here; and Jonathan is too small. I prefer bottom land, sandy loam, subirrigated, water at six feet. I prefer good two-year-old trees, head twenty-eight inches from the ground, planted in spring, after March winds. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a disc drawn by four horses. I plant no crop. Have some weeds and rabbits. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of mulberries planted not closer than forty feet to the first row of trees; would buy the mulberry sprouts from the nursery. I keep the rabbits down with dogs and shot-guns; dig borers out. I never thin my apples; the wind does it for me. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter, but think it injurious to the trees. Do not pasture my orchard. Trees are troubled with canker-worm and tent-caterpillar, and fruit with curculio. I do not spray. Pick apples by hand. Never dry apples; it does not pay. Do not irrigate. Prices have been fifty cents per bushel in the fall, and one dollar per bushel in the winter.

John H. Gosch, Norwich, Kingman county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have an apple orchard of 100 trees eighteen years old. I prefer a bottom having dark soil. I plant two-year-old trees in large holes, well watered. I cultivate my orchard shallow, and mulch, using a disc. Never plant anything among the trees. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of two or three rows of mulberries, on the north and south sides of the orchard. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, but do not put it near the trees; think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all southwestern Kansas soil. Am not bothered with insects. Do not spray. Apples have been one dollar per bushel.

L. W. Leach, Kingman, Kingman county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have an apple orchard of about 300 trees, from fourteen to eighteen years old. Those that do the best here are Red June, Maiden's Blush, and Cooper's Early White.

H. E. Jesseph, Danville, Harper county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five years; have an apple orchard of 800 trees, 100 of them but one year old and the other 700 are fourteen years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for a family orchard Grimes's Golden Pippin, Stark, and Cooper's Early White. Have tried and discarded the Nonesuch. I prefer bottom land with a deep loam that goes to water, with a north aspect. I prefer two-year-old trees set sixteen feet apart. I plant my orchard to corn for about eight years, using a disc harrow; and cease cropping at the end of that time. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of Osage orange, Russian mulberries, or cottonwood, by planting all around the orchard, making it the heaviest on the south side. For rabbits I wrap the young trees with corn-stalks, and borers I dig out. I prune with pruning-shears and a chisel to increase the fruit; I think it pays. I thin my fruit while on the trees in June and July, and find it pays. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard, but would advise it on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my fruit with codling-moth. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples in a sack, one corner of which is tied up to the top, it has a strap eighteen inches long to put over the shoulder; spread the top of the sack and pick with both hands. Sort my apples into two classes: first and second. I pick the best first, letting the inferior ones stay on the trees; I afterwards shake these off and send to the cider mill. I sell apples in the orchard. Make cider and vinegar of the second and third grades and culls. My best market is at home in the orchard. Never tried distant markets. Do not dry any; cannot find a ready market for them and it does not pay. Am successful in storing apples for winter use in bulk, in an outside cave; find the Little Red Romanite and Missouri Pippin keep best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from sixty to seventy-five cents per bushel. I employ careful young men at one dollar per day or twenty-five dollars per month.

Sam Jones, Springfield, Seward county: I have lived in Kansas thirteen years. Have an apple orchard of fifty trees. I am not keeping them for the fruit, but for the pleasure of the birds—to build nests and sing their sweet songs in. I cultivate my orchard all the time to keep the weeds down; plant it to vines, such as squashes, pumpkins, melons, etc. Do not pasture my orchard. I do not know of anybody that ever irrigated. In regard to "the Kansas Apple," in this part of the state, they are no good. I will say there never was ten bushels of apples grown in Seward county. I planted out two acres of apple trees ten years ago; they grew, and looked very well. I took good care of them, but they never would bear; and that is the experience of every one else. I cannot tell the cause, unless it gets too dry and hot, with hot winds. [Such things were said of the whole state of Kansas by many intelligent men thirty years ago. Mr. Jones does not tell what varieties he tried, and his remarks need not discourage any whose lot is cast in Seward county. While there are only 1034 apple trees reported in the whole county, yet the low price of trees should encourage every farmer to plant a few of the hardier varieties, if only as an experiment.—Secretary.]

Joseph Bainum, Langdon, Reno county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five years. Have an apple orchard of twenty trees, most of them ten years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Winesap, and for family would add Early Pennock and Maiden's Blush. Ben Davis would not do any good for me. I prefer bottom or table land with a heavy subsoil and a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees with low heads, set in a ditch. I cultivate my orchard to corn as long as I can get in with a plow; I also use a disc and harrow. I cease cropping when the trees need all the moisture; do not plant anything in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of mulberry trees, set thirty or forty feet away from the orchard. For rabbits I use axle grease and sulphur mixed. I prune, leaving the tops low, and thin out the branches so as to give air and produce larger fruit; it has paid me. 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 have pastured my orchard with cattle and hogs; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. Trees are troubled with flathead borer and leaf-roller, and my apples with codling-moth. I have sprayed, but not lately, with London purple for codling-moth, just after the blossoms fell; it did not pay—did not reduce the codling-moth any. I go after insects not affected by spraying with a small wire. I pick my apples by hand in half-bushel baskets; sort into three classes—largest and sound, second best, and cider. I wholesale, retail, and peddle, and make the culls into cider and vinegar. Never have tried distant markets. I dry some with a Stutzman dryer; it is satisfactory. I pack them in cracker boxes and find a ready market for them at times; it does not pay. Am successful in storing apples two feet deep in bins, one above another, in a cellar walled up with rock; never tried any excepting Missouri Pippin and Winesap. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about five per cent. I irrigate my orchard with water pumped into a reservoir 80×120 feet, and three feet deep. Prices have been from 50 cents to $1.25 per bushel; dried apples, ten cents per pound. I employ women at fifty cents per day.

A. S. Drake, Bucklin, Ford county: Have lived in Kansas twenty years, and have 330 apple trees from three to eleven years old, part of them ten inches in diameter. I prefer good keeping apples for family use. I prefer bottom land, subirrigated, with a north and east slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, set the same depth as they grow in the nursery. I cultivate my orchard from three to eight years, in potatoes, with a plow and harrow; I plant nothing in a bearing orchard, and cease cropping when they shade the ground. Windbreaks are essential where orchards are exposed. I would make them of forest-trees. I protect from rabbits by wrapping with poultry wire. I dig borers out. I prune very little, just enough to stop top growth; I think it has been beneficial. I thin my apples when the limbs are unable to support them. I mulch only to hold back the bloom. I do not pasture my orchard. Borers trouble my trees. My apples are not troubled with insects. I pick my apples by hand, and put them carefully into a basket. I sort into two classes: first, sound and smooth; second, unsound. I do this work by hand. I pack in barrels, pressed full. My best market is at home; we eat and cook the best, and the culls I donate to the children. I never dry any. I store some in barrels, and am successful. I find those I keep from the family keep best. [?] The prevailing price has been one dollar per bushel. I employ men by the month.

Fred Moore, Great Bend, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years. Have 200 apple trees from one to sixteen years old. For family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer bottom land, with north slope. I cultivate every year with stirring plow and harrow; plant nothing; think windbreaks essential, made of forest-trees. I wrap my trees with rags to protect from rabbits. I prune with a saw to thin the branches. I never thin apples. I fertilize with stable litter. My trees are troubled with flathead borers. Worms trouble my apples. I do not spray. I dig borers out with a knife, in August and September. Price has been fifty cents per bushel.

W. G. Osborne, Medicine Lodge, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas since 1865. Have 150 apple trees, from two to fourteen years planted. I prefer root grafts, and plant in rows twenty to twenty-five feet each way. I cultivate in corn, using a plow. Keep rabbits down with hounds. I prune with a knife. I fertilize with barn-yard litter. Do not spray or irrigate.

Joseph Lewis, Bluff City, Harper county: I have been in Kansas twenty-two years; have an orchard of 1000 trees; the first were set in 1881. The varieties are Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Winesap for market, and Duchess of Oldenburg, Maiden's Blush and English Rambo for family use. I prefer bottom land, of level, sandy loam. I plant two-year-old thrifty trees in rows two rods apart. I grow nothing in the orchard, and never cease cultivating with a stirring plow, disc, and harrow. I believe windbreaks are essential in this county, and would make them of any thrifty forest-tree; Russian mulberry is good. I would put double rows around the orchard. I prune with shears and saw to thin the tops. I never use any fertilizer, and never allow stock in the orchard. Am troubled some with the flat-headed borer, which I remove with a knife. I spray with London purple just as the bloom begins to fall. I pick by hand, and sell in the orchard and otherwise; never dried any. I store for winter market in a cave in bulk, and am successful. The best keepers I find are Limber Twig, Striped Vandevere, and Ben Davis. Prices prevailing have been fifty cents per bushel; dried apples, from five to seven cents per pound.

John Pimm, Enon, Barber county: I have lived in Kansas sixteen years. Have an apple orchard of 2250 trees from four to twelve years old. For commercial purposes I prefer York Imperial, Ben Davis, Mammoth Black Twig, and Nero, also Shackleford; and for family orchard Jonathan, Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded White Winter Pearmain, Red Astrachan, and Mann. I prefer bottom land with a northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees planted in a deep dead furrow. I cultivate my orchard to corn and garden-truck; cultivate four or five times during a season, the more the better; I use a disc; believe an orchard should always be cultivated. I cease cropping after six or seven years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of two rows of mulberries. For rabbits I use wrappers of wood veneer. I prune to shape the tree and to get rid of all surplus wood, and think it beneficial. I do not thin my fruit on the trees; the insects and wind do it for me. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with flathead borer and twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth. I have sprayed with London purple.

L. L. Lovette, Toronto, Woodson county: I have lived in Kansas thirty-two years; have an apple orchard of thirty trees twelve to twenty years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Winesap, and for family use would add Early Harvest and Smith's Cider. Have tried and discarded Fall Pippin, Northern Spy, and Rambo. I prefer level prairie land well enriched, with black limestone soil and a sandy subsoil, northern aspect, to hold the trees back in the spring. I prefer large, smooth trees with good roots, planted in large holes with rotten chip manure. I cultivate my orchard to hoed crops, using a diamond plow. I plant bearing orchard to white beans, peanuts, etc., and cease cropping when well in bearing. Windbreaks are essential; I use soft maple four feet apart, in four rows around the orchard. For rabbits I wrap my trees with slough grass. I pasture my orchard with hogs, and think it advisable. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and borers, and my apples with curculio. I sprayed once with Bordeaux mixture; have no faith in it; I may possibly have reduced the codling-moth a little. I now watch and burn the insects. [?] I pick my apples in a sack over the left shoulder, from a step-ladder wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Sort into three classes: first take out all inferior for cider, then put the sound ones in the barn until late in the fall, when I sort, keeping No. 1's for spring, No. 2's for winter, and use all the rest for cider. I sell some apples in the orchard to neighbors, and some to grocerymen. I haul my best apples to market in a spring wagon with hay under them. We use many culls and give some away. My best market is at home. I dry some for market, then put them in sacks and keep in a cool place; find a ready market for them, but it does not pay. I store apples for winter market in a pit; am successful; find Winesap, Rawle's Janet and Missouri Pippin keep best. We have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about ten per cent. of them. I water my trees artificially. Prices have been from $1 to $1.50 per bushel. I employ young men at one dollar per day and board.

B. F. Cox, Fowler, Meade county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years; have an apple orchard of 125 trees ten years old, six to ten inches in diameter. For family orchard I prefer Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Ben Davis, Gennetting, and Rawle's Janet. I prefer hill land, with a northeast slope, having a clay subsoil. I prefer two-year-old trees, set at crossing of furrows run both ways. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a plow and harrow; it is too dry in this climate to let weeds grow. Do not plant any crop. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of African tamarix, set in three or four rows around the orchard. For rabbits I grease lightly in the fall and wash off in the spring. I prune my young orchard with a knife, to balance the tree properly. I think it pays. Never have thinned the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter. I think it has been beneficial, and would advise its use on all clay soils. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar and roundhead borer, and my apples with worms. I spray when in bloom, and again after blooming, with London purple. Do not think I have reduced the codling-moth any. I pick my apples by hand, and sort into two classes—family apples and hog apples. Am successful in storing apples for winter use in boxes in a cellar. I find Ben Davis and Rawle's Janet keep best. I irrigate my orchard, using a windmill and pump with a four-inch cylinder. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

Dr. James Myers, Hutchinson, Reno county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-nine years. Have about 3000 apple trees eight years old, six to eight inches in diameter; fine, large trees. For market I prefer Winesap, Missouri Pippin, and Ben Davis; for home use, Early Harvest, Northern Spy, and Maiden's Blush. Most other varieties that are a success in the East are a failure here. I am satisfied with a few of the best varieties. In this county lowland is the best. I prefer a sandy land, on a clay subsoil, and a north slope, every time. I plant two- and three-year-old, clean, thrifty trees. I mark the ground in squares of one rod and plant in every other crossing, mismatching to make the trees zigzag. I will cultivate the orchard for forty years in this county if they live so long. I would grow corn amongst them for the first three or four years; after that, nothing; the less crop the better. I believe windbreaks are essential in small orchards, but in large orchards the trees will protect each other. For windbreaks I would plant maple or mulberry, at least two rods away from the apple trees. For protection against rabbits and borers, take lime and Portland cement, equal parts, mix with sweet milk to the consistency of paint; add one tablespoonful of Paris green, and apply with a brush; it will never fail. I prune while the tree is young; then the wound does not affect them so much; it pays, and is very necessary. I have never thinned, but think it necessary, just before the apples are half grown. I use no fertilizer whatever. I do not pasture my orchard much, but when I do it is with hogs, and I think it advisable when the fruit is wormy and falling off. I have some insects, but have never sprayed. For borers I use a knife. I pick in baskets, just as late as possible.

J. O. Emery, Cimarron, Gray county: Have lived in Kansas twelve years; have 400 apple trees four years planted, of the following varieties: Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Arkansas Black, Mammoth Black Twig, Rawle's Janet, and a few Yellow Transparent. Prefer bottom land in this county; plant only fifteen feet apart each way on account of the wind. Grow no crop in the orchard, and cultivate every two weeks until the 1st of August with a five-tooth cultivator. Have a double row of locusts and Osage-orange hedge all around the orchard, and consider windbreaks a necessity. I prune out the inside branches, leaving only four or five limbs, so they will not grow scrubby, and think it beneficial. I plowed under forty loads of stable litter to the acre before planting. I would not pasture an orchard. Am troubled some with web-worm and twig-borer, and have used a spray in June and August of concentrated lye and cold water; also, some Paris green and London purple for worms. I irrigate my orchard once every two weeks, from a reservoir 70×140 feet, and have apple trees that made 4¹/₂ feet of growth last year. My reservoir is supplied by two windmills running four- and six-inch pumps.

Ben. McCullogh, Ellinwood, Barton county: Have been in Kansas twenty-two years; have the biggest grove in Comanche township, Barton county, covering twenty acres, most of it in fruit of all kinds. Have 300 apple trees, planted from five to fourteen years, from eight to sixteen inches in diameter; varieties, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Rawle's Janet. Have discarded the Nonesuch. My orchard is second bottom, black, sandy soil, and perfectly level. I planted two-year-old trees in rows both ways. I grow corn and potatoes in the orchard until the trees shade the ground pretty well, and then I grow nothing, but cultivate the ground until they get big and old enough to go without it. I believe windbreaks are essential in this country; mine is composed of three rows around the orchard, of box-elder and cottonwood. I wrap my trees while small to protect from the rabbits. Wash with lye for borers. While small I prune out the middle of the tree with knife and saw, but let the lower limbs grow to protect the trunk. I believe stable litter beneficial in an orchard, and use plenty of it. I do not believe in pasturing an orchard. I never spray. I always sell my fruit in the orchard; some wagons come forty miles for it, and pay me from fifty to seventy-five cents per bushel.

B. Leonhart, Kiowa, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas thirteen years. Have 300 apple trees, planted from nine to ten years. Am uncertain as to best varieties. Plant in low ground or a "draw"; advise any loose soil, but no clay subsoil (?); like east or northern slope. Plant fresh one-year-old trees, in "deep subsoil trenched." Have planted root grafts eighteen inches long, where they are now growing, and are the pride of my orchard. Hot sun and wind make the fruit woody and sapless. Plant no crop in orchard, but plow yearly and harrow all summer. Believe in windbreaks made of locust or anything that will grow, planted in deep subsoiled furrows on south and west of orchard. For rabbits I use, in summer, lime, grass, and cow-dung, mixed. In winter I use clay with dead rabbit pounded into it. Prune to keep limbs from rubbing, and shorten in for bearing; not sure that either pays. Plant permanent orchard, and fill between with early-bearing varieties like Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, etc. [presumably to cut out afterward]. Use no fertilizers. Never let stock run in orchard. Encourage the birds, and spray some years with London purple and Bordeaux mixture before and after leafing out. Think I have reduced codling-moth. Thrifty trees never contain borers.

J. L. Liggitt, Belpre, Edwards county: Has resided in Kansas thirty years; has a family orchard of 125 trees, planted from three to thirteen years, and advises Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, and Jefferis. For commerce he recommends Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin. Prefers valley land sloping east or west, with sandy soil and clay subsoil. Plants sixteen feet east and west, and thirty-two feet north and south, after a lister. Plants to corn and beans for fifteen years, lessening the number of rows as the trees grow; uses a one-horse cultivator. Thinks a windbreak a necessity, and would make of evergreens, if possible; next, of box-elder, planted four feet each way after deep listing. Uses axle grease against rabbits. Prunes sparingly for shape, and says it certainly pays. Thinks thinning should frequently be done when trees appear to be overloaded. Believes trees should be in mixed plantings to produce best. Uses barn-yard litter to fertilize, and says it will pay, if scattered over the entire surface. Believes that pasturing with hogs is advisable, and makes the trees more productive. Has never sprayed, and is seldom troubled with leaf-eating insects. Removes borers with a wire or some pointed instrument twice a year. Picks from step-ladder by hand into baskets or buckets. Makes three classes—first, perfect in form and color; second, sound but not so regular in size; third, culls. Packs in three-bushel barrels carefully by hand, marked with name of variety and quality or class. Sells any way possible. Has shipped successfully to Missouri river cities.

H. Clay Hodgson, Little River, Rice county: Has been in the state twenty-six years. Has an orchard of 5000 trees, planted from five to twenty years. Uses Winesap, Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin for both commercial and family orchard. Has tried and discarded Willow Twig, Lawver and Smith's Cider on account of blight. Says bottom land of black loam, with clay subsoil, is preferable in this section. Plants two-year-old trees, in trenches made with plow and subsoiler. Cultivates with disc and harrow, from one to twelve years, growing corn for first five to eight years, afterward nothing. Thinks windbreaks made of several rows of Osage orange or box-elder on south side a great help. Prunes while young to make a more open head. Advises the use of manure on all orchards. Does not allow stock in the orchard. As soon as the leaves appear he sprays with London purple for canker-worms, and believes he has reduced codling-moth by it. Picks in sacks, with corners tied together and hung over the shoulder. Makes two classes, market and culls. Piles his apples as picked in the orchard, and sorts out for market from the piles, leaving the culls for cider. Sells mostly in orchard. Best market is home towns; never shipped any. Stores some in a cave, in bulk, for winter, and makes a success of it. Winesaps keep best. Sold last fall (1897) at 75 cents per bushel; during winter, at $1 to $1.25. Uses ordinary farm help at twenty dollars per month and board.

A. S. Huff, Sharon, Barber county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-eight years; have an apple orchard of 130 trees ten years old. For commercial purposes I prefer Ben Davis, Large Romanite, and Missouri Pippin, and for family orchard Missouri Pippin, Little Romanite, Limber Twig, and Winesap. I prefer level land with sand as deep as I can get it, with [natural] subirrigation. I use strong, thrifty trees, set in furrows plowed as deeply as possible, and then dug out. I cultivate my young orchard to corn with one-horse, five-tooth cultivator, as long as I can get in the orchard, and cease cropping only when they commence bearing, and plant nothing after that. Windbreaks are essential, and I would make them of Russian mulberry or box-elder, set six feet apart in rows running east and west, on the north and south sides. I protect from rabbits by wrapping with corn-stalks, and use lye for borers. I prune very little with a saw to keep out watersprouts, hardly enough to pay here in Kansas. Do not thin the fruit on my trees; it thins itself. I do not need to fertilize; would advise it on clay soil. I never pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable, unless you wish to destroy your trees. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my apples with curculio. Never have sprayed; insects not affected by spraying I gouge out with a wire, and apply concentrated lye in April and August. I pick my apples from ladders set up around the trees, one with four legs made solid, with steps on one side and a broad board on top to set baskets on. I sort into four classes, keeping those of a uniform size separate from the small ones. I keep my apples in an apple house. I generally sell in the orchard; always get $1.50 for my best, packed in boxes and sold at the nearest towns, at retail. I make cider for vinegar of the culls. My best market is at home; never tried distant markets. Never dry any; it does not pay. I store all I do not sell in orchard, in a cellar 12×16 feet, six feet in the ground, with earth on top; they do not freeze. I find the Winesap, Limber Twig and Little Romanite keep best. We do not have to repack stored apples before marketing; only lose about one per cent. I do not irrigate. Prices have been $1.25 per bushel. I hire no help; my own family does the work.

E. F. Reeve, Greensburg, Kiowa county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years; I prefer Missouri Pippins for a commercial orchard. I like a sandy bottom with a north slope. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees having bright bark; plant them by throwing out a deep furrow, and then making large holes in the furrow. I cultivate my orchard with a one-horse cultivator, planting no crop, and keep the orchard clean, never stopping cultivation. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of Russian mulberry or Osage orange, on the north, west and south sides of the orchard, especially on the south. I do not prune my trees, nor thin my apples. I do not fertilize my orchard, and would not advise it in this section. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar. Have not sprayed. Sort my apples into one class, cut out the rot, and make into apple dumplings [?]. Never sell apples in the orchard; keep them all for home use; my best market is at home. I do not dry any for market; they sometimes dry on the trees, the effect of hot winds. This is not very satisfactory, and does not pay. I do not store any for market. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from seventy-five cents to one dollar per bushel; dried apples, eight and one-third cents per pound.

G. W. Hollenback, Coldwater, Comanche county: I have resided in the state thirty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees from six to nine years old, four to eight inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Winesap, and for family orchard Maiden's Blush, Smith's Cider, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet on account of poor quality, and Willow Twig on account of shy bearing. I prefer a northeast slope, with sandy loam and clay subsoil; bottom causes the trees to grow too rank. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees with low, well-balanced tops, set thirty feet each way. I give my orchard thorough cultivation, on account of lack of moisture; I will continue indefinitely using a plow and corn cultivator, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of double row of peach trees on south side, to keep the trees in shape. I prune to give form; I think it pays, as they would become too dense if not pruned. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees, but think some varieties would be better if they were. My trees are planted with each variety in a separate row. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial, but would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. Flathead borers are in my trees, but if they are kept thrifty the borers will give little trouble. My apples are troubled with codling-moths. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand and sell in bulk in the local market. I do not dry any. I am quite successful in storing apples in pits for winter use; the Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Winesap keep the best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from $1 to $1.25 per bushel.

J. J. Ablard, Lawndale, Pratt county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees from three to six years old. For family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, Nickajack, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer second bottom, sandy loam, with clay subsoil, and an eastern or northern slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, four feet high, branched low, planted 24×24 feet, in a furrow plowed very deeply, north and south. I plant my orchard to corn, using a cultivator, plow, and cutaway harrow, and cease cropping when the trees need all the support. Windbreaks are a benefit; I would make them of white or green ash and mulberry, by planting and cultivating three or four rows on the south and west. For rabbits I wrap the trees with rags, long straw, or grass. I prune just enough to balance the head; I think it pays and that it is beneficial. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize, and would not advise its use. I do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with flathead borer and grasshoppers, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray, and I dig the borers out. I do not dry any.

D. E. Bradstreet, Dighton, Lane county: I have lived in Kansas nineteen years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees; my oldest are nine years. I think Jonathan a good family apple; I have not discarded any. I prefer bottom with a loam, porous subsoil, and a southern slope. I prefer two-year-old whole-root trees, set twenty feet east and west and thirty feet north and south. I cultivate my orchard to garden vegetables, such as cabbage, tomatoes, etc., using a one-horse cultivator; have not ceased cropping yet. Windbreaks are essential, and I would make them of two rows of locusts, close together, all around, excepting on the east side of the orchard. I prune with a saw to thin the top; I think it has paid. I never thin fruit on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings, and think it best. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it is beneficial in keeping the weeds down, but would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. I do not spray. I never dry any apples. Never store any. Do not irrigate. Prices have been one dollar per bushel. Do not hire any help; myself and boys do the work.

C. L. Gunn, Heizer, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 110 trees, from ten to twenty-five years old; the largest ones are fifteen inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Maiden's Blush, and Duchess of Oldenburg, and for family orchard Early Harvest and White Winter Pearmain. I prefer creek bottom with a loose and porous soil and subsoil. Young trees should not be headed too low, as the lower limbs will lay on the ground when the tree gets older and begins to bear. I cultivate my trees until too large, using a disc harrow. I do not plant any crop; do not think it advisable in this dry climate. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees, on the north and south. I prune my trees, but have not had enough experience to tell whether it is beneficial or not. I thin my fruit while on the trees to prevent the limbs from breaking. I do not fertilize; it is not needed here. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. My apples are troubled with codling-moth and curculio. I spray with London purple about the time the blossoms fall. I do not dry any apples nor irrigate. Price has been seventy-five cents per bushel.

John Simon, Garden City, Finney county: I have lived in the state eighteen years; have an apple orchard of 150 trees, from two to fifteen years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap; and for family orchard Early Harvest, Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded Russet and Willow Twig. I prefer second bottom, sandy soil, with clay subsoil. I prefer one- or two-year-old trees, set twenty-five to forty feet apart. I plant my orchard to garden-truck, using a disc harrow, and cease cropping when they begin to bear. I plant nothing in a bearing orchard, but keep up the cultivation to keep the ground clean and loose. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of cottonwood, box-elder, and Osage orange, putting a belt of timber around the orchard. For rabbits I wrap with corn-stalks in the fall. I prune with knife and shears to keep the tree in shape; I think it pays. I never have thinned the fruit while on the tree, but think it would pay on some varieties. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter while I am cropping the ground; but would not advise its use unless you have plenty of water. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with twig-borer, canker-worm, and leaf-roller, and my fruit with codling-moth. I spray when the bloom falls, and ten days later, with London purple, for codling-moth; and I think I have reduced them. Borers do not trouble my trees when they have plenty of water. I hand-pick my apples; sort into three classes—first, second, and refuse. I sell some apples in the orchard, but retail most of them to the stores; make cider of the third grade and culls. My best market is at home. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing apples in bulk in a cellar; find the Missouri Pippin, Winesap and Arkansas Black keep best. I irrigate thoroughly in the winter, early spring, and again before the fruit begins to ripen. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

Dr. G. Bohrer, Chase, Rice county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-five years. Have an apple orchard of 700 trees from nineteen to twenty-two years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, and for family use I add Smith's Cider, Wagener, and White Pippin. Have tried and discarded Missouri Pippin and Winesap; they require more moisture than the others mentioned above. I prefer a bottom, with black loam and a porous subsoil; an eastern slope. I prefer well-grown one-year-old trees, set thirty-four feet east and west, and twenty feet north and south. I plant my orchard to corn for ten years, using a plow and harrow; think a disc would be as good. I cease cropping after ten years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential on the south and west sides of the orchard, and I would make them of Osage orange or box-elder, planted ten feet apart. For rabbits I wrap the trees with slough grass until six years old. I prune lightly, taking out the limbs which rub each other and balancing the trees. I think it pays. I do not thin the apples while on the tree. I do not fertilize my orchard; it is not needed in this locality. I pasture my orchard with horses and pigs, and think it advisable. I find it does not injure the trees. My apples are troubled with codling-moth. I do not spray. I pick by hand for storing, and sort into two classes, the good and the bad ones; the bad I make cider of and feed to hogs. I generally sell my best apples in the orchard on the trees, or any way I can. We sun-dry some apples, and find a ready market for them. It pays. I am fairly successful in keeping apples in bulk in a cave, and find Ben Davis and Rawle's Janet keep best. I irrigate a few trees. Prices have been from twenty cents to one dollar per bushel, and dried apples six to seven cents per pound.

J. T. Everhart, Pratt, Pratt county: I have lived in the state twenty years. For a family orchard I prefer Missouri Pippin, on sandy bottom land, with a north slope. I plant two-year-old trees, deeply. I plant my orchard to potatoes for five years, using a plow. Plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of rows of Russian mulberries planted every six feet. I prune only to keep the tree in shape. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. Cannot see any difference whether the trees are in blocks of a kind or in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize; would not advise its use on the soil here. I pasture my orchard with hogs; think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled with borers and sun-scald. I spray my trees when in bloom, and after it has fallen, with London purple only. My best market is at home; never have tried distant markets. I irrigate my trees on the upland four or five months. Prices have been from 75 cents to $1.50 per bushel.

James Craig, Garden City, Finney county: Have been in Kansas nineteen years. Have an orchard of 1300 trees, planted twelve years, trees running from twelve to eighteen feet high. Cultivate up to this time with twenty-inch disc harrow, and grow no crop. Windbreaks are essential in this county. I would not allow stock in my orchard. I dig out the borers, and intend to try spraying this year. I pick by hand, and sell largely in the orchard. My best market is Garden City. I make cider and vinegar of the culls. I have never dried any. I store in bulk for winter, and am successful in keeping the Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Ben Davis. I irrigate by flooding. The average price has been about sixty cents per bushel.

John Bailey, Harper, Harper county: I have resided in Kansas twenty years. Have an apple orchard of 400 trees, set sixteen years, eight to twelve inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Rawle's Janet, because the fruit cracks open, Snow, because they are poor, and White Winter Pearmain, because the tree is subject to disease. I prefer good, sandy soil, with a northeast slope. I prefer healthy two-year-old trees, with good roots, planted twenty-eight feet apart each way. I cultivate my orchard every year with a cultivator and harrow, to keep the ground loose and mellow, and plant nothing. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I wash the tree with weak lye and sulphur; have found no remedy for borers, excepting to keep the trees healthy and growing. I prune, to let in sun and keep the limbs from rubbing; I think it pays, and that it has been beneficial. I thin my fruit by pulling it off when small; I think it pays; it keeps the trees from breaking. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; I do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, woolly aphis, and twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I spray after the blossoms fall, and once a week for three or four weeks after that, with London purple, for all insects. I dig borers out with a fine wire. I sort my apples into three classes—first, second, and cider. I sell my apples in the orchard, wholesale, retail, and peddle. Sell the best ones in barrels. Make cider and vinegar of the culls. My best markets are at home and Oklahoma territory. I do not dry any. I am successful in storing apples in bulk; find the Missouri Pippin keeps best. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.

Jacob Rediger, Maherville, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twelve years. Have an apple orchard of 200 trees eighteen years old. I prefer sandy bottom land near the river, with a north slope. I cultivate my orchard all the time with a disc and harrow, planting no crop. Windbreaks are not essential. I prune with a saw and knife, and think it pays. Never have thinned my apples, but if it were necessary would do it before they begin to hang down. My trees are in mixed plantings. I mulch my orchard with stable litter and straw; would not advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard, but think it would be advisable, as they would eat insects. My trees are troubled with flathead borer, and my apples with curculio. The first of June I dig the borers out with a penknife and cut their heads off. I pick my apples by hand. I sell apples in the orchard at retail; feed the culls to hogs. My best market is among the neighbors. I store apples for my own use by burying, and find the Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis and Romanite keep best. I do not irrigate, but ought to. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel at picking time.

N. Mayrath, Dodge, Ford county: I have lived in Kansas twenty years. Have 250 apple trees eight to twelve years old, six to ten inches in diameter. I prefer upland for fruit, a sandy loam, with a northern aspect. I prefer two-year-old grafts, planted thirty by thirty feet east and west. Have tried root grafts with success. I cultivate my orchard to garden-truck and hoed crops, using plow in spring, then the disc or Acme harrow. I keep the ground clear of weeds and mellow up to the middle of July. I cease cropping after four or five years, planting nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential here in western Kansas, and I would make them of Russian mulberry, in one or more rows, north and south of the orchard.

M. M. Wilson, Zionville, Grant county: I have resided in Kansas fourteen years; have an apple orchard of 300 trees ten years old, four to six inches in diameter. I prefer sandy bottom land.

Thomas E. Hockett, Hugoton, Stevens county: I have lived in the state thirteen years; have an apple orchard of sixty trees eight years old, eight to twelve feet high. I prefer dark, sandy loam. I dig large holes, set one-year-old trees, putting top soil around the roots. I cultivate my orchard with a stirring plow and hoe, and plant nothing; am still cultivating. Windbreaks are essential. I would make them of two or three rows of mulberry trees. For protection from rabbits I rub dead rabbit on the tree, and repeat if necessary when we have much rain. I prune very little. Do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted in blocks. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard. I do not spray; am not troubled with insects. I hand-pick my apples. I do not dry or store any for market. I do not irrigate.

Geo. T. Elliott, Great Bend, Barton county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 800 trees from two to ten years old, and three to seven inches in diameter. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and Jonathan. I prefer a sandy bottom, with a northeast aspect. I prefer three-year-old trees set twenty feet apart, in land which has been plowed deeply and subsoiled. I cultivate my orchard as long as I can get among the trees, with a disc that throws dirt out first, and one that throws dirt in second. I cease cropping after the first year; plant nothing in a bearing orchard. I have a windbreak made of black locust and mulberries. I prune with pruning-knife and shears to form the tops. I think it pays. I do not thin my apples while on the trees. I believe all orchards should be set in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think it beneficial on sandy soil. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with flathead borers and tent-caterpillars, and my apples with curculio. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples. I do not irrigate; but think a windmill and a good pond would pay.

J. B. Schlichter, Sterling, Rice county: I have lived in Kansas since 1871. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Willow Twig, and Rawle's Janet, and for a family orchard Maiden's Blush and Early Harvest. I have tried and discarded Ben Davis because they died when eighteen or twenty years old; they are no good here. I prefer a northeast slope, with a sandy loam and a clay subsoil. I prefer small two-year-old trees, set 16×24 feet, rows running north and south. I plant my orchard to corn up to bearing age, using the plow and harrow, and plant nothing after they begin to bear, but keep up the cultivation. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of two or three rows of Russian mulberries, on the south side of the orchard. I do not prune my trees; it does not pay. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. I do not spray. I pick my apples by hand, the old way; sort into two classes. I dry some.

FRUIT DISTRICT No. 4.

Following is the fourth district, composed of twenty-four counties in southeast 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 fourth district, as compiled from the statistics of 1897. Many thousands were added in the spring of 1898.

Bearing.Not bearing.Total.

Allen122,01564,449186,464

Anderson111,37246,719158,091

Bourbon175,96140,570216,531

Butler182,82753,966236,793

Chase46,76225,19169,953

Chautauqua96,86522,853119,718

Cherokee238,33192,067330,398

Coffey167,25568,247235,502

Cowley172,64850,767223,415

Crawford143,08934,798177,887

Elk101,60134,343135,944

Greenwood117,84070,224188,064

Harvey85,47130,613116,084

Labette257,91583,345341,260

Linn108,65445,285153,939

Lyon161,295116,176277,471

Marion86,83864,359151,197

McPherson122,53838,498161,036

Montgomery121,28235,572156,854

Neosho159,44361,754221,197

Sedgwick182,36374,742257,105

Sumner140,61336,961177,574

Wilson139,86947,876187,745

Woodson72,81524,48597,300

Total in district No. 43,315,8621,163,6604,479,522

Estimated acreage650,000220,000870,000

Wm. Snyder, Towanda, Butler county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years; have an orchard of 1200 trees—200 twenty-six years old, diameter twelve to fifteen inches, thirty feet high; 700 twelve years old, eight to ten inches in diameter at base, twelve to fifteen feet high; 300 eight years old, five to six inches in diameter at the ground, eight to ten feet high. For all purposes I prefer Summer Rose, Early Harvest, Duchess of Oldenburg, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Ben Davis. Bottom land is best for Ben Davis and Winesap; other varieties named will do better on high ground. Northeast slope is preferable; black loam with clay subsoil. I plant healthy three-year-old trees, branching three feet from ground, in deep furrows, crossmarked with plow; stand trees erect, and tramp earth firmly about the roots. I cultivate my orchard five years with plow and cultivator, and grow corn in young orchard. I cease after five years, and grow nothing in bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of peach, Russian mulberry, or cedar, by planting several rows on south of orchard. For rabbits, fence with two-foot poultry netting; for borers, whitewash and cultivate. I prune just a little with saw or shears to remove interlocking branches only; it pays. Never have thinned my fruit; believe it does not pay. Can distinguish no difference whether trees are in blocks of one kind or mixed plantings. I do not fertilize my orchard. Stable litter would, I think, benefit thin soil. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay.

My apple trees are troubled with canker-worm, root aphis, and fall web-worm. Have sprayed for fifteen years, for canker-worm and codling-moth. Have used London purple and arsenate of lime. I spray for canker-worm as soon as they hatch and the buds begin to open, and again before bloom opens; for codling-moth, at time the bloom drops. I have reduced the codling-moth very much. I pick my apples by hand, from a ladder, into baskets, and sort into two classes usually; first class, for market, picked by hand; second class, for cider, shaken off. Have never used packages of any kind. Usually deliver in wagon. I sell apples in the orchard, wholesale and retail. Sell best to my neighbors, in orchard. Second and third grades I sell cheap and convert into cider and vinegar. The culls I feed to cattle and hogs. My best market is in the orchard and at Wichita; never have tried distant markets. Never dry any. Sometimes I store apples for winter market in a cellar, but prefer a cave; store in boxes and bulk. Am fairly successful; have apples in cellar at this time (May 1), Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Ben Davis, and Grimes's Golden Pippin, in the order named. Never have tried artificial cold storage; have to repack stored apples, if late, losing from ten to fifteen per cent. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 50 cents to $1.50 per bushel. I employ the best help I can get, and pay seventy-five cents per day and board.

R. O. Graham, Altoona, Wilson county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of forty trees from five to eight years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Willow Twig, Rawle's Janet, and Grimes's Golden Pippin; and for family orchard I would add Maiden's Blush, Red Astrachan, and Red June. I have tried and discarded Belleflower, Limber Twig, and King of Tompkins County; they are no good. I prefer a clay bottom, with a north or northeast slope. I prefer two-year-old, round-top trees, with whole roots, set in dug holes, in the fall or spring, as deeply as they stood in the nursery. I cultivate my orchard five to eight years, with a hoed crop, or just keep the ground clean, and sow oats and sometimes red clover in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of Osage orange. I prune to give shape, and to keep limbs from crossing; I think it beneficial, and that it pays. I seldom thin my fruit while on the trees; I pick them off when the size of walnuts. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with well-rotted stable litter; put it between the rows; it has proven very beneficial; I would advise it on all soils, but less of it on bottom land. I never pasture my orchard, excepting with pigs, to eat the oats or clover, which I think advisable, and that it pays.

My trees are troubled with bark-louse, twig-borer, web-worm, tent-caterpillar, and canker-worm, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I spray my trees while in bloom, and two or three times afterward, with London purple and some Paris green; have greatly reduced the codling-moth. For rabbits I wrap the trees with corn-stalks and tie with a string. Borers I dig out, and then with a goose-quill or a spray nozzle I blow insecticides into the hole. I pick my apples by hand into sacks or pails from a step-ladder; sort into three classes; pack very closely into two and one-half bushel barrels, and mark with variety and grade; haul to market on wagon. I have sold apples in the orchard; I dispose of them any way I can; I feed culls to the hogs. My best markets are Kansas City, Denver, and Western points; have tried distant markets, and found it paid; but better sell at home. I do not dry many apples; it does not pay for good apples. I am fairly successful in storing apples in boxes, barrels and bulk in a cellar. I find Ben Davis, Jonathan and Rawle's Janet keep best. Never tried artificial cold storage. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about ten per cent. of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from 75 cents to $1.25 per bushel for winter apples. I employ men at one dollar per day.

Fred. Wahlenmaier, Arkansas City, Cowley county: I have resided in the state thirty-five years. Have an apple orchard of five acres, twenty-four years old. I prefer Maiden's Blush for a family orchard. I prefer a sandy loam, hilltop, with a north slope. I prefer two-year-old trees, planted thirty feet apart. I plant my young orchard to corn, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. I prune my trees, to produce better and more fruit. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter. I pasture my orchard with calves. My trees are troubled with canker-worms and roundhead borers. I sprayed last year for canker-worms, with coal-oil and water, when the leaves were coming out. I wholesale my apples. Make cider of the culls. My best market is Arkansas City. We sun-dry some apples for our own use. I have stored some apples in the cellar; never have tried artificial cold storage. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five to sixty cents per bushel.

C. R. Davidson, Yates Center, Woodson county: I have lived in Kansas fifteen years; have an apple orchard with trees from five to twenty years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, Winesap, and Maiden's Blush, and for family orchard add Early Harvest. Have tried and discarded Yellow Bellflower; it will not bear. I prefer bottom land with a northern slope which has a black loam. I prefer two- or three-year-old trees, set in rows thirty feet east and west, and sixteen feet north and south. I plant my orchard with corn four or five years, using a cultivator, and cease cropping after six or eight years; Kafir-corn does well in a bearing orchard. For rabbits I think wire screening is best. I prune my trees to let in air; think it beneficial, and that it pays. Do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter; it strengthens and invigorates the trees; would advise its use on all soils unless very rich. I pasture my orchard with calves, because they do not hurt the trees; I think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled with web-worm, and my apples with curculio. I spray with London purple, one tablespoonful to two gallons of water, to destroy the curculio. I think I have reduced the codling-moth. For borers I use ashes; throw them around the tree, or make a lye of them, and wash the tree and throw some around the roots. I pick my apples from a ladder into baskets.

G. K. Ayers, Furley, Sedgwick county: I have lived in the state twenty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of 300 trees, twenty-one years planted, eight to fourteen inches in diameter. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, and Winesap, and for family orchard Sweet June, Duchess of Oldenburg, Maiden's Blush, Baldwin, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded Red Astrachan and Rambo for unproductiveness; White Winter Pearmain as unproductive, short-lived, and a poor seller. I prefer for an apple orchard the best corn land, in a bottom. I prefer two-year-old trees, with good roots not mangled, set in squares thirty feet each way. I cultivate my orchard to corn or vines, using a plow, harrow and cultivator eight or ten years in the orchard, and cease cropping after ten years. I plant a bearing orchard to orchard-grass and timothy (blue-grass is injurious). Windbreaks would be an advantage on the south and west; would make them of live trees; plant Osage orange next to orchard and forest-trees outside of it. For rabbits I wrap the young trees; also shoot and trap them, especially the jacks.

I prune very cautiously, and mostly on the north side, using a saw and knife, to give symmetry and keep limbs from crowding; I think it beneficial. I fertilize portions of my orchard with stable litter; would not advise it on all soils, as I think an orchard can be overstimulated. I have pastured the orchard with calves and hogs, but do not now; it does not pay; do not think it advisable. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, flathead borer, and fall web-worm, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio. I spray April 15 and May 10, on later date, with London purple, for insects. Think I have reduced the codling-moth. For insects not affected by spraying, I keep the tree in a healthy condition. Pick my apples by hand; sort into three classes—market, cooking, and cider. I sell apples in the orchard, wholesale, retail, or peddle; sell the best apples in the orchard or to dealers; peddle the second and third grades; make cider of the culls. I find the nearest markets to be the best; never have tried distant markets. Do not dry any. Do not store any, but think I shall. Do not irrigate, but would if I had the water. Prices have been fifty cents to one dollar per bushel for best winter apples.

H. A. Condra, Longton, Elk county: I have resided in Kansas twenty-one years; have an apple orchard of seventy-five trees, twenty years old, ten to sixteen inches in diameter, twenty to twenty-five feet high. I have thirty more which are but two years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Winesap, Jonathan, and Missouri Pippin; and for family orchard Red Astrachan, Maiden's Blush, Rawle's Janet, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. I prefer a bottom which has a rich loam, with a gravel subsoil and a north or east slope. I prefer two-year-old trees having but two limbs, both starting from the same place, set in holes four to six feet in diameter, two feet deep, filled in with good dirt. I cultivate my orchard to corn—so as to keep weeds down and hold moisture—use a disc harrow and cultivator so as to keep the soil loose and fine two or three inches down. I cease cropping after eight or ten years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I use tin from the roofs of burned buildings or building paper. I prune with a saw and an ax to thin the tops and keep the limbs above my head; think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. My trees are planted in blocks [of same kind]. I fertilize my orchard with any well-rotted manure; I think it beneficial, and would advise its use on all soils, especially on old orchards. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay.

My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, leaf-roller, and leaf-crumpler, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray when the leaves first come out, when in blossom, and once or twice afterwards, ten days apart, with London purple and Bordeaux mixture for codling-moth and leaf-eating worms. Think I have reduced the codling-moth some. I stand on a step ladder and pick my apples by hand in a small basket, then pour them into a wagon. I sort into three classes—sound, blemished, and rotten. Sound ones are put in crates, blemished are made into cider, and the rotten ones go to the hogs. I pack in crates, for convenience, and then store in the cellar. They are made of lath and 1×12 boxing lumber. The lath are sawed across in the middle, the lumber into lengths of fourteen inches. The bottom and sides are lath one-half inch apart. This makes an airy crate, easy to handle, two feet long, fourteen inches wide and twelve inches deep, which when rounded up will hold one and one-half bushels of apples. I sell apples in the orchard; also retail and peddle. My best apples are usually sold in the orchard. Of the second and third grades we make cider, apple-butter, and vinegar. The hogs get the culls. My best market is at home. I do not dry; cannot find a ready market, and it does not pay.

I am successful in storing apples in crates in a cellar which has a wareroom overhead; the walls are of sandstone two feet thick, with six inches of dry sand between the ceiling of the cellar and the floor of the wareroom. A door is in the south end, and a window in the north, with screens so the outside shutter is open all the time except at noonday sun, and when raining or freezing. There is an air-shaft through ceiling to roof. The racks or shelves are made of 1×4 lumber, and there is one inch of space between the crates when slipped in, thus allowing the air to circulate around them. I have apples in the cellar now (April 25) while my neighbors who stored in bulk have none fit to eat; all are rotten. I find Rawle's Janet and Winesap keep best. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing about one-tenth of them. I do not irrigate. Prices have averaged thirty-five cents per bushel. Dried apples have been four cents for sun-dried and eight cents for evaporated.

T. H. Guest, Grafton, Chautauqua county: I have lived in this county twenty years. Have an apple orchard of 3000 trees ten years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, White Winter Pearmain, and Little Romanite; and for family orchard Red June, Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, Early Harvest, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and discarded Bellflower and Willow Twig on account of blight. I prefer bottom land, with a black, sandy loam, clay subsoil, and northern aspect. I prefer one-year-old trees—switches—planted with a lister. I cultivate my orchard to corn eight years, then use a disc harrow, running both ways, keeping a dust mulch; I cease cropping at bearing age and plant nothing. Never put alfalfa in an orchard. Windbreaks are not essential here. For rabbits I use lath and woven wire, and concentrated lye for borers. I prune with a saw and shears, to increase the size and color of the fruit; I think it beneficial, and that it pays. I never thin the fruit while on the trees, but believe it would pay. My trees are in mixed plantings; I have Gilpin or Little Romanite growing beside Missouri Pippins; they blossom the same time. At picking time in the fall I have noticed a very marked difference in the Gilpin, it having the peculiarities of the Missouri Pippin: the increase in size, with the white specks and oblong shape peculiar to the Missouri Pippin. I also noticed a difference in the Romanite for two rows in; I tried keeping some of them until spring; some were quite mellow, and the flavor was much superior to that of the Romanites not near the Missouri Pippins. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, but would not advise its use on heavy soils. Do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable, and does not pay. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, root aphis, flathead borer, fall web-worm, and leaf-roller; and my apples with codling-moth, curculio, and gouger. I spray successfully when the fruit buds appear in the spring, with Paris green, London purple and Bordeaux mixture for canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, and curculio. I hand-pick my apples in sacks and baskets from step-ladders, and sort into two classes—first and second—as we pick them; put them into two different vessels, and let the culls drop. I pack my apples in two-bushel packages, with blossom end down, mark with the grower's and consignee's names, and haul to market on a heavy truck. I sell some apples in the orchard to buyers from the territory. I make cider and vinegar of the culls, but do not dry, store nor irrigate any. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.

G. W. Rhodes, Lowe, Chautauqua county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-two years. Have an orchard of 500 apple trees from five to twenty years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis and Jonathan, and for family orchard Ben Davis, Ortley, Maiden's Blush, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. Have tried and discarded Lawver, King and Baldwin on account of shy bearing. I prefer hilltop, with deep loam, limestone soil, and clay subsoil, with northeast slope. I prefer straight one-year-old trees, with plenty of roots, set in squares of twenty-five feet. I cultivate my orchard to corn or potatoes while the trees are small, using a plow and cultivator, and cease cropping after ten years; plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are not essential, but would be beneficial; would make them of evergreens. For borers I wash the trunks of small trees with carbolic acid and strong soap-suds. I prune to thin the tops, so I can get in to gather the apples; it pays. I have thinned the fruit while on the trees, but not lately; haven't time; but think it pays. My trees are planted in rows, each variety by itself. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter while I am cultivating; when the trees get larger I mow the grass and weeds and let lay as a mulch, and afterwards as a manure; this is all needed. Never have pastured the orchard, but think hogs with rings in their noses would be a benefit. My apples are troubled with codling-moth. I spray after the blossom falls with arsenates, for all kinds of insects that come early, especially the codling-moth; think I have reduced them. I pick my apples by hand from a ladder, bench, or get into the tree. We sort into two grades, large and small; sell them in the orchard to people from the west and Oklahoma, who haul them off in wagons. We have a great many dried apples, dried by the neighbors on shares; we find a ready market for them. I am quite successful in storing apples in bulk in a cave arched over with stone. Ben Davis, Winesap and Missouri Pippin keep best. Prices have been from twenty-five to sixty cents per bushel in the fall, and from $1 to $1.50 in the winter.

Jason Helmick, Cloverdale, Chautauqua county: Has lived in Kansas twenty-seven years. For all commercial purposes he prefers Missouri Pippin and Winesap, and adds a few summer and fall varieties for family use. Has tried and discarded Bellflower, because the fruit drops off, and Ben Davis, because it cannot stand heat and drought—the trees decay early. He prefers north or northeast slope, bottom land, with a deep, porous soil, the more porous the better. He pastures his orchard with horses, cattle, and hogs, and thinks it advisable if done with care; it pays. His trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar, flat-headed borer, and leaf-roller, which do little damage. His greatest drawback is drought and heat. He does not spray, and cuts borers out in August or earlier, and kills the caterpillars. Picks his apples by hand. Never sells them in the orchard; raises mostly for home use. Stores some in boxes in a cellar. Does not irrigate. Marketable apples usually sell for twenty-five cents per bushel.

J. W. Goodell, Sedan, Chautauqua county: Have lived in Kansas fifteen years; have an orchard of 200 trees, which are nine years old. For a commercial orchard I would plant Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin; and for a family orchard would add Early Harvest. Have tried and discarded Lowell and Yellow Bellflower as too tender for the climate. I prefer bottom land having a black, sandy loam, and a northern slope, and plant one-year-old trees, thirty by thirty feet. I cultivate with a disc, and am still cultivating, growing corn in the orchard for nine or ten years. Windbreaks are essential. I would make them of natural oak if possible. For borers and rabbits I use concentrated lye and lath jackets. I prune my trees with a saw and shears, and think it pays and is beneficial. I never thin apples while on the trees, and have never fertilized. Do not pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, root aphis, fall web-worm, and leaf-roller, and my apples with codling-moth and gouger. I spray for canker-worm and all other insects before and after the foliage appears, and think I have reduced the codling-moth. I dig the borers out with a wire and wash the tree with lye. Pick my apples into baskets, and sort into firsts, seconds, and culls. I sell in the orchard, and make cider of the culls. Do not dry any. I store some for winter market in a cave. Do not irrigate. Prices have been from forty cents to one dollar per bushel.

A. D. Chambers, Hartford, Lyon county: Have been in Kansas thirty-two years. Have 3500 apple trees; 1500 of them have been planted twenty-five years; 2000 of them six years. I prefer for market Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap, and for family orchard would add Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, Maiden's Blush, and Rambo. Have discarded Yellow Bellflower because it won't bear; Milam, because it is too small; Rawle's Janet, off on color. Only a few varieties should be in a commercial orchard. I prefer bottom land; mine slopes to the north. Any soil is good, either clay or loam. I would set thrifty two-year-old trees in furrows. I have raised thousands of root grafts in the nursery, growing my own seedlings to graft on. I cultivate in corn until they begin to show fruit, then in millet twice; I have never cultivated the orchard without a crop. When the ground gets bad, break it up and put in millet to shade the ground. I have never used any windbreaks; plant my trees close, to protect each other from the wind. I use axle grease for rabbits, and have had very little trouble with borers. I prune in the early years to shape the tree; later, to remove surplus wood, and think it increases the size of the apple. I believe stable litter is beneficial; I have applied it only on heavy clay soil. I pasture my orchard to a slight extent with horses and cows. I do not gather the down apples, but let my stock gather them. I have sprayed with London purple for canker-worm and tent-caterpillar; I use a barrel and a wagon, from first of May on, and am only partially successful; I think I have reduced the codling-moth some. I pick with baskets and wagons, and pile the apples in the orchard. I sort into three classes—first, shipping; third, culls; second, betweens. As I sell to shippers at wholesale, I put in the first class as small ones as the contract will allow; the second class includes all that look salable, and I sell them in the home markets; I sell what culls I can, and make cider of the others. I do not ship any. My apples mostly go south. I tried shipping once, but it did not pay. I do not dry any, nor store any for winter. Have never irrigated. Prices vary from 20 cents to $1.25 per bushel, according to variety, time of year, etc. I use men and women for picking, and pay three cents per bushel.

B. Roney, Benedict, Wilson county: Have lived in Kansas since the fall of 1869; have 1400 apple trees, planted from six to twenty-seven years. For market I prefer Baldwin, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Jonathan, Ben Davis; for family, Red June, Maiden's Blush, Winesap, Rawle's Janet, and Jonathan. I have discarded the Russets (the fruit is inferior), and Bellflower (the trees are not hardy). I prefer north-slope upland with deep limestone soil and clay subsoil. I plant thrifty three-year-old, not overgrown trees with good heads, thirty feet east and west, twenty feet north and south, to protect from the wind. I set in the spring, in a rye-field or stubble ground, running out furrows and putting in with a spade. I cultivate with a small stirring plow with one horse, for the furrows next the tree. I grow corn until the trees should bear, and then change to red clover, and mow to keep the weeds down. I believe windbreaks are essential, but care should be taken not to have many soft-wood trees near the orchard to breed insects. An elevation on the south or southwest will be found beneficial. For rabbits, wrap in the winter; for borers, wash with lime in the spring. Keep out all watersprouts; thin the top of the tree, so that the sun may penetrate; balance the top; cut out the center shoot—it pays. After trees begin to bear I would fertilize with stable litter. Hogs are good in the orchard in the spring to destroy insects, but should not be allowed to root much. I spray with London purple and Paris green when in full bloom [how about bees?], and again in ten days, and give a third spray a few days after, if any insects are on the trees. We have a good home market. For winter I find that Rawle's Janet and Romanite keep the best. Prices have ranged from forty to seventy-five cents per bushel.

Geo. Hildreth, Altamont, Labette county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-nine years; have an orchard of 1225 trees, from ten to twenty-seven years old. For commercial orchard prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin and Jonathan for winter, and Early Harvest and Red June for summer; for family use I prefer Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Rambo, Missouri Pippin, and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Golden Russet and many others. I prefer a porous or well-drained soil, north by northeast slope; it is too hot in bottom, and too dry on hilltop. I plant two-year-old trees in rows running north and south, trees twelve to sixteen feet apart in the row; have grown very few seedlings. I cultivate with corn while young, and rye or wheat and keep it pastured down when bearing. I plow between rows once in fore part of July. I have a tall hedge for windbreak. I prune to keep the top balanced, and do not allow it to get too thick; I think it has been beneficial. Have never thinned apples on the trees. My trees are in mixed plantings, the varieties are Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, and others. I fertilize sometimes, I think it beneficial and would advise it on poor land. I pasture my orchard with hogs and sheep, and think it advisable; it pays. Have some insects but not in great quantity. I spray with London purple after the bloom falls off—one pound of London purple in from 50 to 100 gallons of water. Think I have reduced the number of codling-moth. In picking I use a sack swung over the shoulder, and a light ladder. I classify to suit the purchaser, doing the sorting in a cool place and usually packing the best in barrels, and sell at wholesale, often in the orchard; feed the culls to hogs; never tried distant markets. I sometimes store for winter market in barrels and keep in cave surrounded with hay; am not always successful. I find those that keep best are Little Romanite, Rawle's Janet, Ben Davis, and Missouri Pippin; never tried artificial cold-storage. Seldom have to repack stored apples before marketing; lose about one-fourth. The prevailing price this year has been fifty to seventy-five cents per bushel.

A. S. Dennison, Columbus, Cherokee county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-one years; have an apple orchard of 200 trees, fourteen years old. I prefer for commercial purpose Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin; and for family use Red June and Early Harvest. I prefer bottom land, with black loam, gravel subsoil, and northeast slope. I prefer one-year-old trees, set sixteen feet at first; thin to thirty-two feet. I cultivate my young orchard with potatoes and strawberries for ten years, then sow to clover, plowing again in two years; I never cease cropping; cultivate with plow, disc, and harrow. I wrap the trees for rabbits. I prune with a saw and knife, and think it beneficial. I never thin apples. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, but would not advise it on all soils. I pasture my orchard with hogs and calves, and think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled with tent-caterpillar, and my apples with codling-moth. I spray for codling-moth with London purple and Paris green immediately after the blossoms fall, and again in ten days. I think I have reduced the codling-moth. I dig borers out. I pick my apples from a ladder in a basket. I sort into three classes—sound, medium, and small and unsound. I pack in barrels carefully, and haul to shipping point in spring wagon. I sell in orchard; also wholesale, retail, and peddle; market most of them at home; make vinegar of the culls. My best market is home. Never dry any. I store some for winter in barrels in cellar; am not always successful; Ben Davis keeps best. I have to repack stored apples before marketing, and lose about ten per cent. Do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel. I employ men at one dollar per day.

D. C. Seibert, Columbus, Cherokee county: Has been in Kansas twenty-two years, and has an orchard from five to twenty years old. For commercial purposes he prefers Ben Davis and Limber Twig, and for the family adds Maiden's Blush. Prefers dark soil with a low southern slope, if not wet. Prefers two-year-old trees set about thirty feet apart. Cultivates with a disc harrow until four or five years old. Grows corn for five or six years. Thinks windbreaks essential; would make them of Osage orange all around the orchard. Prunes his trees, and thinks it beneficial, and that it pays. Does not thin apples on the trees; says the wind does that for him. Fertilizes his trees while young with stable litter, and would advise it on all soils. Pastures his orchard with calves and hogs, and thinks it advisable, and that with the hogs it pays. His trees are troubled with bark-louse and leaf-roller, and his apples with codling-moth. He sprays his trees with London purple, and thinks he has reduced the codling-moth; for borers, and other insects not affected by spraying, he throws salt over the roots of the trees. Picks his apples by hand. Wholesales, retails and peddles them. His best markets are in his county; has never tried distant markets. Does not dry any. Is successful in storing apples in bulk in a cave for winter markets, the Limber Twig and Rawle's Janet keeping best; has never tried artificial cold storage. Does not irrigate. Prices have been from forty to sixty-five cents per bushel.

Johnson Keller, Arkansas City, Cowley county: Have lived in Kansas for twenty-one years. Have 2000 apple trees fourteen years old. I grow for market Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Smith's Cider. For family orchard I prefer Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Cooper's Early White, Ben Davis, and Missouri Pippin. I have discarded Gennetting, Winesap, Rambo, Red Astrachan, and many others that were worthless in this locality. I prefer second bottom, dark sandy loam, with north and east aspect. I plant two-year-old trees thirty feet apart, in holes four feet square, dug one foot too deep, and filled up with surface soil. I cultivate thoroughly as long as the orchard lives, with stirring plow and disc, and crop with corn as long as it will even make fodder, or until the trees shade the ground too much to raise anything. For small orchards I would recommend a windbreak of Osage orange set far enough apart on the south to grow in the shape of trees. For rabbits I use nothing but corn-stalks tied around the trees. I prune in moderation to keep the trees low; much pruning will kill trees in this locality. I thin apples some on the trees, at any time after they are the size of hickory-nuts. I find the best pollinators are a good apiary of bees. I believe in using plenty of stable litter well mixed with potash, but in moderation near the trees. Nothing except hogs should be allowed in an orchard. They destroy nearly all the insects. I spray for canker-worm as soon as they begin to hatch, and believe I reduced the codling-moth fifty per cent. last spring. For borers I wash the bodies of the trees early in spring and twice in May with soft soap and lime. For picking I use a long-handled device of my own invention, and sort into two classes: No. 1, best and largest; No. 2, medium. One week after they are put in the packing-house we pack in barrels, with hay or straw between the layers. We market our best apples and sell our second and third grades at home, and make all culls into cider and vinegar. Have tried distant markets, but did not generally pay. Never dried any. We store for winter in a fruit house and cave, in barrels, and are successful. Our best keepers have been Missouri Pippin and Winesap. Our loss on winter apples runs from three to five per cent. Prices in the fall, twenty-five to forty cents; in winter, 75 cents to $1.25 per bushel. For help we use common laborers at from seventy-five cents to one dollar per day.