W. J. ALBRIGHT, Julia, Kingman county: Have lived in Kansas eighteen years; have an apple orchard of 500 trees, six to seventeen years old, four to ten inches in diameter, I prefer bottom land for an orchard. I cultivate my orchard by subsoiling and shallow cultivation, using a disc and Acme harrow; I grow nothing in a bearing orchard, not even weeds.

Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Osage orange or Russian mulberries. Am not troubled with rabbits or borers. I prune some; it makes better trees. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I fertilize my orchard with cow-stable litter, but do not think it beneficial. I do not pasture my orchard. My apples are troubled with codling-moth. I sprayed five years with Paris green and London purple, and was not successful. I gather my fruit off the ground. My best market is at home. We dry apples for home use, and do not store any. I irrigate with a windmill and earth reservoir; it makes big trees.

L. J. HAINES, Galena, Cherokee county: Has been in Kansas nineteen years. Has an orchard of 2500 trees, fourteen years planted, averaging eighteen inches in diameter, planted for commercial purposes, and comprising Willow Twig, Ben Davis, and Winesap, which varieties he would also recommend for family orchard. Has tried and discarded Snow and Missouri Pippin, as they would not bear fruit; cannot tell why. Prefers alluvial soil, with clay subsoil susceptible of good drainage, south slope preferred. Cultivates always with plow, leaving a deep center furrow. Tries to eradicate all growth between the trees in a bearing orchard. Believes windbreaks are essential; uses maple. Prunes, to stimulate trunk and fruit growth. Fertilizes with wood ashes, and says they should be used on all soils that lack potash. Pastures his orchard in spring with calves and hogs, and believes it pays. Sprays April 1, April 30, and June 1, with London purple, copperas, Paris green, and Bordeaux mixture. Not fully successful, but believes he reduces the codling-moth. For borers he lixiviates the ground. This, he claims, kills by contact under the ground. Plow in fall in time to let the rains settle in, and too late to keep it from freezing; freeze them out. Sorts into three cla.s.ses: Middling [fair], bad, and worse. Hand packed in barrels, stem down, best on top, and marked "First cla.s.s." He sells at wholesale, sometimes in orchard. Feeds culls to stock. Has found Kansas City, Omaha and Denver to be the best markets. Dries apples on Fay drier, made in Cincinnati, for home use only, and not satisfactory.

Stores apples for winter in bulk in cave, and finds Ben Davis the best keeper. For help he uses boys at fifty cents per day, and men at one dollar per day.

A. J. SALTZMAN, Burrton, Harvey county: I have lived in Kansas thirty-one years. Have an apple orchard of 500 trees from one to twelve inches in diameter. For commercial orchard I would prefer Early Harvest, Maiden's Blush, Ben Davis, Cooper's Early White, and Jonathan; and for family orchard Early Harvest, Lawver, Jonathan, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded Willow Twig and Large Romanite on account of blight, and the fruit rots and specks. I prefer hilltop, with sandy loam and clay subsoil, and a north or northwest aspect. Prefer two-year-old trees, with good, thrifty roots, planted thirty feet apart each way. I cultivate my orchard to corn, potatoes, Kafir-corn and cane for five or six years, with plow and cultivator, and cease cropping when the orchard begins to bear. I plant bearing orchard to rye, oats, and artichokes, and then turn in hogs. Windbreaks are essential; would makes them of evergreens or Russian mulberries, planted four feet apart. I prune with a saw, pruning-hook, knife, and sometimes an ax, to give proper shape to the tree, and to let in air and light; I think it pays. I do not thin the fruit on the trees, but think it should be done. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter, and think it beneficial; I would advise its use on all soils. I pasture my orchard after five or six years with hogs, and think it advisable and that it pays. My trees are troubled with root aphis, but not bad, and my apples with codling-moth. I do not spray. I hand-pick my apples, in baskets, or in a sack over the shoulder, and put them in barrels, boxes, or wagon. I sort into two cla.s.ses: first, sound, for market or home use; second, for vinegar. I sort them as I pick, and drop the vinegar ones on the ground, and gather afterwards. I pack my apples in bushel boxes (that is the best way) while picking. I sell apples in the orchard; also wholesale, retail, and peddle. I make second- and third-grade apples into vinegar, or feed them to hogs. My best market is at home. Have tried distant markets, and found it sometimes paid. I do not dry any, and am successful at storing apples in bulk in a cellar; sometimes I bury them; I find Winesap, Limber Twig and Little Romanite keep best. We have to repack stored apples before marketing, losing from ten to fifteen per cent. of them. I do not irrigate, but think it would pay. Prices have been from forty cents to one dollar per bushel; dried apples from five to six cents per pound.

J. B. SAXE, Fort Scott, Bourbon county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-nine years. Have an apple orchard of 800 trees from fifteen to twenty-seven years old. For commercial orchard I prefer Ben Davis and Willow Twig, and for family orchard would add Winesap and Jonathan. Have tried and discarded Baldwin, Yellow Bellflower, Maiden's Blush, Early Harvest, Sweet Bough, Bailey's Sweet, Roxberry Russet, Fall Strawberry, King of Tompkins County, and several Russian varieties; all are worthless. I prefer hilly land, with loam soil and clay subsoil, northeast slope. I prefer one- or two-year-old medium-sized trees, set twenty to thirty feet apart. Plant my orchard to corn, raspberries, and blackberries, using a plow and cultivator--a one-horse cultivator between the rows, for five or six years; cease cropping when the trees begin to bear.

Windbreaks are not essential. I poison the rabbits, and am not bothered with borers. Prune a little with a pruning knife to keep the head open; think it pays, and is beneficial. Have never thinned apples while on the trees. I do not fertilize; our soil is rich enough; ashes or potash might be beneficial. I think hogs beneficial in an orchard. My trees are troubled with root aphis, and my apples with codling-moth and curculio.

Pick apples by hand from a ladder into a bag. Sort into two cla.s.ses, perfect and imperfect, from piles on the gra.s.s or ground. Pack my apples in barrels by hand, mark with my name, and haul to market in a spring wagon. Generally sell apples in the orchard, also wholesale; peddle the second and third grades, and make culls into cider for vinegar. Never dry any. I stored some in boxes in the cellar last fall, also buried some in the ground, and was successful. Found Limber Twig and Rawle's Janet kept best. We had to repack stored apples before marketing; lost about one-half of those in the cellar, but very few of those buried in the ground. Do not irrigate. Prices were about forty cents per bushel at wholesale in the fall on the trees.

S. F. C. GARRISON, El Dorado, Butler county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years; have an apple orchard of 1000 trees, twenty to twenty-five years old, ten to twelve inches in diameter. I prefer for commercial purposes Ben Davis, Winesap, King of Tompkins County, and Rawle's Janet; and for family orchard Maiden's Blush, Milam, Jonathan, and Sweet Bough. Have tried and discarded Keswick Codlin, Willow Twig and Dominie on account of blight. I prefer second bottom, reddish soil, with liver-red subsoil, and a north slope. I prefer two-year-old, short-trunk, smooth and round trees. In planting, plow both ways with a coulter and subsoiler, then dig out. I cultivate my orchard to corn for three or four years, using a plow; I cease cropping after eight years, and plant nothing in a bearing orchard. I use sulphur mixed with axle grease to protect against rabbits. For borers I use fish oil spurted in with sewing-machine oiler. I prune the under limbs to prevent hanging on the ground. It does not pay, and is not very beneficial. I thin Rawle's Janet apples when the smallest ones are as large as marbles. My trees are in mixed plantings. I fertilize with stable litter, and think it beneficial; but would not advise its use on all soils. Never pasture my orchard. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, root aphis, twig-borer, leaf-roller, and bark-louse, and my apples with curculio. I spray with London purple and strychnine when the leaves are small; think I have reduced the codling-moth. I pick my apples (from step-ladders where high) into baskets. Sort into three cla.s.ses: cider, specked, and sound.

We leave them in piles until they sweat, then dry and sort. I prefer two-and-one-half bushel barrels, packed with a nice layer on the bottom (this will be top when opened), then mark with the name of fruit, and haul to market by rail or wagon. I sell in orchard, wholesale, retail, and peddle, and make cider of the culls. My best markets are Wichita, Pueblo, Leadville, the Strip, and Eldorado. Have tried distant markets, but it does not pay.

I never dry any for market. I store some apples for winter market in bulk; am not very successful; find Winesap keeps the best. Have to repack stored apples before marketing; lose about ten per cent. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel; dried apples, four and one-half cents per pound. I employ young men, at from seventy-five cents to one dollar per day. I have sprayed carefully for three years, and am glad to report no worms this year [1898]. Winesap not full--too full and dry last year, Maiden's Blush full, Rawle's Janet very full, Sweet Bough full, Limber Twig full, Milam full, Ben Davis fair, Northern Spy fair, Little Romanite light, Jonathan light, Willow Twig and King (of Tompkins county) full, Talman Sweet full, and Pound Sweet full.

Trees must not be trimmed up too high, as is too much the practice. A low, broad top will hold the least sprinkle of rain longer, and the wind will not have much chance to dry the earth under the trees. There are millions of hair roots just at the surface, in the compost, or loose earth, to immediately absorb the moisture if wind and sun are kept off.

The buds set better when the trunks are short, and kept as cool as possible, so that the sap can run freely to the terminal buds, and also make buds, when, if high and dry, no bud formation can occur. Trees should be short in trunk, broad top, and limbs nearly to the ground. No hogs nor calves should be allowed in the orchard, but all the chickens possible. Cut off all dead branches, and fill up vacancies. Trees should be two or three years old when set. When setting make a good large hole, and in the center make a hill or cone of earth. Then spread the roots out in their natural position, and after this fill in some earth and press lightly. Set two or three inches deeper than they grew in the nursery, trim close, and leave no acute forks. Compel the limbs to start at obtuse or right angles from the trunk; if they bend over to the north, anchor with string and stake. The art and science of horticulture are little studied in Kansas. It takes good judgment and a scientific turn of mind to be successful in orcharding. Chemistry, botany and physiology are especially necessary to make it a delightful work in life. We must run back to the original, which was no doubt far beyond anything we as yet have, or we could not improve at all. The beauty ran down as man did, and it will be a long time before perfection is reached.

D. M. ADAMS, Rome, Sumner county: I have lived in Kansas fourteen years; have an apple orchard of 140 trees from eight to twelve years old. For market I prefer Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, and Winesap. I prefer bottom land for an orchard. I prefer three-year-old trees set fifteen by thirty feet; mine are planted thirty by thirty. I plant my orchard to corn for four years, using a cultivator and harrow, and cease cropping after four or five years. I plant nothing in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential here. For rabbits I use a gun and traps, and for borers I wash with soap-suds. I should thin my apples if there was a heavy crop. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter, and think it beneficial. I do not pasture my orchard; it is not advisable. My trees are troubled with borers. I do not spray.

WILLIAM PRICE, El Dorado, Butler county: Have lived in Kansas thirty-five years; have 1200 apple trees, planted twelve to eighteen years, running from eight to twelve inches in diameter. My market varieties are Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Ben Davis, Large Romanite, and Jonathan; for family I have added Early Harvest, Red June, Red Astrachan, and Maiden's Blush. I have discarded Rawle's Janet, as they grow in cl.u.s.ters and rot on the trees. My location is on hilltop, with a loose clay soil, and a north aspect. I plant two-year-old upright trees, with good roots, in deep furrows thrown out each way, and subsoiled. I cultivate same as corn, and grow corn as a crop, for small grains and millet breed insects. In the bearing orchard I grow nothing. I cultivate with the disc harrow, cultivator, and plow, until the trees cover the ground, from twelve to fifteen years from planting. I wash the trees three times a year with a solution of soft-soap suds and crude carbolic acid. I believe windbreaks are essential, and would make them of rapid, dense-growing trees; I use Russian mulberry, planted in three rows, twelve feet apart, mismatched. For rabbits I rub the trees with sulphur and grease. If trees are washed with carbolic acid and soap-suds, no borer will ever attack them. I trim very slightly to keep down watersprouts; to trim as they do in the East does not pay here. I do not thin, but believe fruit would sometimes be larger and better for it. I believe in fertilizing, and prefer cow-yard litter, sheep litter, and hay; on rich bottom land I would use hay mulching. Mulching should be removed from around the trees for hoeing, and then replaced. I never pasture an orchard.

Am troubled some with canker-worm, twig-borer, and codling-moth. I spray three or four times in a season, from eight to ten days apart, according to the weather, beginning as soon as the blossoms appear, with a large force-pump, and a rod with double nozzle, for canker-worm, web-worm, and codling-moth. I have lessened the codling-moth by using copper sulphate solution very early [?]. For borers I use London purple, copper sulphate, Bordeaux, and Paris green [?]. We pick by hand, and sort into two cla.s.ses: First, the finest fruit; third, the culls, and second, betweens. Sell some in the orchard, from a bushel to wagon-loads. Sell my best apples on orders from merchants and citizens. The second grade same as the first, if desired. The culls I make into vinegar, which I sell in the home market. Our best market is at home. I tried shipping, but transportation charges were too high; have not tried drying. I store for winter outdoors, covered with hay and dirt, so as not to freeze. The Romanite keeps best. I make my piles of twenty bushels, and lose perhaps one-twentieth. Do not irrigate. Prices of late: First cla.s.s, fifty cents; second cla.s.s, thirty-five cents per bushel. I use young men and boys at from fifty cents to one dollar per day and board. I have one of the best small orchards in the state. Have been successful in planting and growing trees.

R. E. LAWRENCE, Wichita, Sedgwick county: I have resided in the state twenty-eight years; have an apple orchard of 300 trees from twenty to twenty-four years old. For market I prefer Missouri Pippin and Ben Davis, and for family orchard would add Winesap, Early June, and Grimes's Golden Pippin. I prefer bottom land with a sandy loam soil and porous subsoil. I prefer two-year-old trees set thirty feet apart each way. I cultivate my orchard to corn or potatoes for several years, using a common cultivator; cease cropping when they begin to bear, and sow to orchard-gra.s.s. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of forest-trees. I prune to thin the branches; think it beneficial. 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. Codling-moth troubles my apples; have not sprayed. Pick my apples by hand; sort into two cla.s.ses--marketable and cider. I sell some apples while in the orchard at retail. Sell my best apples in home market, and make cider of culls. Never tried distant markets. Do not dry any. Don't store any. Do not irrigate. Prices have been from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.

S. S. WEATHERBY, Le Roy, Coffey county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years. Have 500 apple trees, twelve years planted, six inches in diameter. Grow only Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin.

Have discarded Willow Twig on account of blight. My location is in the bottom, with rich loam and sandy subsoil. I have planted in rows thirty-two feet distant; cultivate in corn for four years after planting, and use the disc harrow as much as possible. In a bearing orchard I would put clover. Believe windbreaks are essential, made of any kind of forest-trees, planted thickly, in two or three rows around the orchard, and cultivated while small. Protect from rabbits with a dog and gun, and also by wrapping the trees. Prune very little; simply keep down sprouts and remove crossed limbs. Have never thinned on the tree, and believe barn-yard litter useful as a fertilizer. I pasture with a few calves, but think it does not pay. Am troubled with some insect, and spray moderately in May with London purple, for web-worm and leaf-crumpler. Pick from the wagon, driving under the trees. Sell at both wholesale and retail, and my best market is the commercial buyer.

Feed my culls mostly to the pigs. Never have dried any, nor stored any for winter. Have a pipe running from my water-tank, by which means have watered a few trees for a number of years, and these trees are very large and yield very fine fruit. If I were to start again, instead of planting 500 apple trees I would plant sixty, and dig a well and put a windmill in the midst of them; and I am confident I would get more satisfactory returns.

J. A. MULLINEAUX, Cherryvale, Montgomery county: I have been in Kansas twenty-nine years. Have 350 apple trees of various ages and sizes, mainly Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin. Have tried and discarded the Romanite as too small. I prefer bottom or second-bottom land, red soil, with sandy subsoil, and a south slope. I plant two-year-old trees in the spring, 3232 feet; cultivate for four years, growing oats as a crop; also grow oats in a bearing orchard. Believe windbreaks or an Osage-orange hedge are beneficial. I tie corn-stalks around my trees to keep off the rabbits. I never prune at all. Do not thin fruit on the trees. I fertilize with stable litter while trees are young. Believe it pays to pasture orchards with hogs, as they destroy worms. I am troubled some with borers, web-worms, and codling-moth, but have never practiced spraying. I pick by hand, and sort into first and second cla.s.ses, and pack in bushel boxes, selling at wholesale; haul to market on a rack; make my culls into cider. My best market is Cherryvale. Never have dried any. Do not irrigate. I store for winter in bulk in the cellar, and am successful in keeping Missouri Pippin and Ben Davis. Price here is $1.50 per bushel.

O. M. RECORD, Thayer, Neosho county: Have lived in Kansas twenty-one years; have 400 apple trees eight years old. My land is eastern slope, clay subsoil; I plant 2028, first subsoiling the row. Cultivate to corn and potatoes with a plow, common cultivator, and five-tooth cultivator, until eight years old; then sow to clover. I believe a windbreak is essential, and like Russian mulberry planted on the south and west. To protect from rabbits and borers I use a wash made of soap, lime, and crude coal-oil. I prune with the shears to balance the top properly, and think it pays. I think varieties that grow in cl.u.s.ters like Rawle's Janet should be thinned to a single specimen. I use stable litter, as my land is a light, sandy loam and needs it. I pasture my orchard with hogs, but not too many; if they run short of feed they will sometimes bark the trees. I am troubled some with canker-worm, tent-caterpillar, leaf-roller, and codling-moth. I spray as soon as the bloom is off and twice afterwards with lime and crude oil, to kill the leaf eaters and fungus, and have probably reduced the codling-moth. I look for borers in the fall and dig them out with a knife. My orchard is yet too young to describe picking, sorting, etc. I intend to build a pond and try wetting the ground when the trees need it.

CHAS. DIEMURT, Murdock, Butler county: I have been in Kansas thirty years; have 400 apple trees eight years old. I have Ben Davis, Winesap, Missouri Pippin, Dominie, Grimes's Golden Pippen, Rome Beauty, Rambo, Early Harvest, Bellflower, Rawle's Janet, Willow Twig, Red June, Maiden's Blush, and d.u.c.h.ess of Oldenburg. I prefer hilltop, with sandy soil, and a red, sandy subsoil, with western slope. I plant two-year-old, low, stocky trees, two rods apart each way. I cultivate with plow and cultivator. I whitewash with lime and blood to keep the rabbits off, and lime to keep off borers and other insects. I prune, taking off only surplus limbs, and think it beneficial. I never thin apples. I fertilize to improve the tree; I think it advisable. Am troubled with canker-worm, leaf-crumplers, and codling-moth. I spray when the leaves are just out with London purple for canker-worm, and think I have reduced the codling-moth. For insects that are not affected by spraying, I wash the trees with lime during the fall, and in the spring with strong soap suds. I pick my apples by hand, and sort into two cla.s.ses--best for eating, second for cider. For packing I prefer boxes made of slats [lath?], two feet wide by four feet long, and one foot deep. I sell some in the orchard, make cider of the culls, and store some in boxes, and am successful. I find the Missouri Pippin and Winesap keep best. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel.

F. M. SAVAGE, Burden, Cowley county: Have been in Kansas twenty-seven years; have a small orchard of 375 trees that have been set from four to twenty-two years. I would recommend for all purposes Ben Davis, Winesap, and Missouri Pippin. Tried Northern Spy, but it did not do well. My location is on hilltop, north slope, with a black loam soil and clay subsoil. I plant two-year-old thrifty trees with a spade, in large, deep holes. Would cultivate as long as they live, with a plow, and grow no crop among the trees. I think a windbreak of several rows of Osage orange on the south side is a necessity. For borers and rabbits wash with whale-oil soap, digging out any borers that may be in with a knife.

I prune with a knife, saw, and ax, and believe it pays. I use stable litter in my orchard. Tried pasturing my orchard once with hogs, but do not think it advisable. Have some borers, tent-caterpillars, and codling-moth, but have never sprayed any. Pick in baskets, buckets, and sacks, and sort into two cla.s.ses--first, to sell or put away; second, culls. Prefer large boxes, with the fruit laid in carefully, each kind by itself. I wholesale as many as possible, sell some in the orchard, and make cider of culls. My best market is at home. Have never tried drying. Keep them successfully over winter in bulk in the cellar for family use; Winesap keeps best. Prices have run from twenty-five cents to one dollar per bushel.

S. B. BROWN, Waverly, Coffey county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-six years. Have 1100 apple trees from three to twenty-five years old. My market varieties are Winesap and Missouri Pippin; for family orchard I add Yellow Transparent and Grimes's Golden Pippin. My location is hilltop, with a northern slope. I plant two-year-old trees by running a furrow with a plow and opening holes with a shovel. I cultivate with a plow and cultivator from ten to twelve years, growing corn for ten years; after that, nothing. I believe windbreaks are essential, and would make them of Osage orange or maples, on the east, north, and northwest. For rabbits I wrap the trees; for borers I wash with soft soap. I prune to make the apples larger. I use stable litter between the rows. I do not think it advisable to pasture the orchard. I do not spray, and am troubled with canker-worm, flat-headed borer, and curculio. We hand-pick into sacks, and sort into four grades--No. 1, No.

2, No. 3, and culls. I peddle my best apples; make culls into cider. My best market is Waverly; never tried distant markets. I have dried apples on the Zimmerman drier with satisfaction. I box the dried product and find a ready market for it, and think it pays. I do not store any apples. The prevailing price for apples is fifty cents per bushel, and for dried apples twelve cents per pound. I use men for help, and pay one dollar per day.

d.i.c.k MAY, Elk, Chase county: Have lived in Kansas since 1860. Have a family apple orchard of sixty trees eighteen years old. I prefer Ben Davis and Winesap, on bottom land with a second slope. I cultivate my orchard fourteen years, using a cultivator, and plant corn in a young orchard and orchard-gra.s.s in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; I would make them of timber by planting in groves. For rabbits I wrap the trees; and use soap-suds for borers. I prune with a pruning-knife, and think it pays. I do not thin the fruit while on the trees. I would advise the use of fertilizers on all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable; it does not pay. My trees are troubled with roundhead borer, and tent-caterpillar. I do not spray.

I pick by hand and sort into two cla.s.ses. I haul to market in a wagon and wholesale them. I have put apples in cold storage and find Winesap and Missouri Pippin keep best and satisfactorily. I have to repack stored apples before marketing. I do not irrigate. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel, and dried apples six cents per pound.

E. O. BEAVERS, Ottumwa, Lyon county: Have been in Kansas twenty-three years. Have 2000 apple trees, from one to twenty-three years planted.

Prefer for market Winesap, Mammoth Black Twig, Gano, Ben Davis, and Missouri Pippin; and for family use Winesap, Mammoth Black Twig, Gano, Ben Davis, Jonathan, and Early Harvest. Have tried and discarded Lawver, because they do not hang on until maturity. I prefer a north slope of high, level, bottom land, with black soil and clay subsoil. Plant two-year-old, whole-root, round-topped trees, in large holes dug two feet deep and filled for six inches with surface soil, packed well. Have now in bearing some good seedlings. Grow corn in orchard from eight to ten years, and cultivate the tree rows well with shallow plowing, and harrow and cultivator. After ten years sow to red clover. Want a windbreak of timber on south. Shoot the rabbits. Prune with saw and axe to "get nicer apples," and think it pays exceedingly well. Prefer to plant in blocks of a kind, as they are more fruitful. Use stable litter, but not close up to the trees. Believe it pays to pasture with hogs, if not overstocked. Have canker-worm and codling-moth; spray three times, the first before blooming, for canker-worm. Have surely reduced codling-moth by spraying. Borers never bother any. Pick by hand from common ladders, with sack over shoulder. Sort into three cla.s.ses: No. 1 perfect, No. 2, and culls. Have a different man to pick out each grade.

Use eleven-peck barrels; face two layers, then fill, shake, and press.

Usually sell marketable fruit in orchard to shippers. Sell culls by wagon-loads in orchard. My best near-by market is Emporia, Kan. Have shipped to a distant market and made it pay. I have stored some in barrels in cellar, and all kept well, Winesap perhaps a little the better. Prices range from forty to sixty cents per bushel. I employ the best experienced men I can get, and pay one dollar per day of ten hours.

J. ELLISON, Chautauqua, Chautauqua county: Has lived thirty-two years in Kansas. Has an orchard of 800 trees--300 fifteen years, and 500 twelve years planted. Prefers Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Rawle's Janet and Jonathan for market, and for family use adds Maiden's Blush. Has discarded every other kind; the above are the only profitable ones.

Prefers sandy loam with clay subsoil, high eastern slope, protected on north. Sets three-foot yearling trees in spring, marking out with fourteen-inch plow, thirty-five feet apart each way, and set at crossing. Cultivates with stubble plow in April, then keeps harrow going until August 1. Uses hoe around trees. Grows corn in orchard until ten years old; then keeps ground well cultivated. Does not desire windbreaks. Feeds the rabbits poisoned fruit. Says borers are not troublesome if cultivation is kept up every two weeks through June and July. Prunes any time from January to June, to improve the fruit and prolong the life of the tree. Says stable litter on all sandy loam, not nearer than three feet from the tree, will make the fruit larger, crisper, and better flavor. Allows no stock but poultry in the orchard.

Sprays with London purple, on April 10, 20, 30, and May 10, for canker-worms, and destroys them completely. Has cleaned out the codling-moth, too. For borers he washes his trees in June and September with carbolic acid ten pounds, sulphur forty pounds, lime enough to make a thick whitewash. On picking he sorts into three grades: No. 1, select, large, sound, smooth; No. 2, small and sound; No. 3, knotty and specked.

Uses for marketing one-bushel baskets packed full. His best market is in the orchard, selling by wagon-loads. He uses some culls for vinegar and gives many to his neighbors. Does not dry any. Stores some for winter in trenches in bulk, in the soil, covered with pure earth, and they keep as follows: Missouri Pippin, first; Rawle's Janet, second; Ben Davis, third. Prices vary from forty cents to one dollar per bushel. Uses common farm help at sixty cents to eighty cents per day.

N. SANFORD, Oswego, Labette county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-seven years. Have an apple orchard of 150 trees, twenty-four years old, ten inches in diameter. For all purposes I prefer Red June, Jonathan, Grimes's Golden Pippin, Rome Beauty, and Winesap. Have tried and discarded Ben Davis, White Winter Pearmain, Red Winter Pearmain, and Missouri Pippin; they don't do well here. I prefer clay bottom land with north aspect. I prefer well-grown two-year-old trees, set a little deeper than nurserymen recommend. I cultivate my orchard to corn or potatoes four years, using a five-tooth cultivator, and cease cropping after six years. I plant nothing but raspberries and blackberries in a bearing orchard. Windbreaks are not essential. For rabbits I wrap the young trees with cloth. I prune the tree while young to give shape and get rid of dead branches; I think it pays. I do not thin my apples while on the trees; it does not pay. I fertilize my orchard with stable litter and ashes; would advise their use on all soils. I pasture my orchard in early spring and during the fall and winter with horses and cattle; think it advisable, and that it pays. My trees are troubled with canker-worm, bud moth, root aphis, and twig-borer, and my apples with codling-moth, curculio, and gouger. I spray with a force-pump; use Paris green, London purple and Bordeaux mixture for canker-worms and all other pests. I pick my apples from ladders with care; sort into two cla.s.ses--first, all large and sound; second, small and sound; pack them in eleven-peck barrels as we pick them; fill the barrels full with a little pressure; mark with variety and grade. I wholesale, retail and peddle my apples; I evaporate the second and third grades and culls. My best market is Colorado; I have tried distant markets and found they paid. I dry apples with a home-made drier, which is quite satisfactory; after they are dry we pack in fifty-pound boxes, but do not find a ready market; they pay some years if the quality is good. Am successful in storing apples in barrels in a stone cellar, and find Winesaps keep best. I have to repack stored apples, losing about one-sixth or one-eighth of them. Do not irrigate. Prices have been from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel; dried apples from five to nine cents, if fancy. I employ women at fifty cents per day for preparing the evaporated apples.

C. G. WICKERSHAM, Parsons, Labette county: I have lived in Kansas twenty-six years. Have an apple orchard, the oldest of which are twenty-seven years. For all purposes I prefer Jonathan, Grimes's Golden Pippin, and Winesap. I prefer hilltop, with the very best of black soil, having a north or northwest slope. I prefer two- or three-year-old medium-sized trees, set in holes dug for them. I cultivate my orchard to potatoes, using a common cultivator, and cease cropping after ten or fifteen years; nothing should be planted in a bearing orchard.

Windbreaks are essential; would make them of three to six rows of elms.

We destroy all the rabbits we can. I prune the trees when first set out to shorten in the limbs; then keep it up every year; it pays big. I do not thin the fruit on the trees; the wind does it for me; it pays to not have the trees too full. Makes no material difference whether the trees are in block of one variety or mixed plantings. I fertilize my orchard with slightly rotted stable litter, and think it pays, and is beneficial. I would advise its use on all soils, but not as extensively on rich soils. I pasture my orchard with chickens only; they are a benefit and pay well. My apples are troubled with codling-moth, curculio, and bud moth. I spray with London purple, Paris green, and Bordeaux mixture. I pick my apples by hand, sort in from three to six grades, and put them on hay in the shade. Pack in one- and one-and-a-half-bushel packages. I wholesale, retail and peddle a very little. Give the culls to neighbors who have no apples. Have tried distant markets, but it did not pay. Home market is best. I do not dry any. I store some in a frost-proof house. Have to repack stored apples.

I water my orchard frequently.