Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1912 — Scientific Treatment of Orchards. [ARTICLE]

Scientific Treatment of Orchards.

J. V." Keiper of near Plymouth, who came here last week to attend the marriage of his brother Tony and Miss Kathryn Kolhoff, returned home Monday. Mr. Keiper raiseS\ quite a good deal of fruit, such as apples, peaches and pears on his farm, and by scientific care his orchard brings him good returns? He thinks the farmers here are making a mistake in not giving more attention to their orchards. They will spend money for fruit trees, stick them in the ground almost any old way, and then pay no more attention to them. The stock will be allowed to run in the orchard, breaking down the young trees and ruining them. The ground in the orchards is seldom cultivated and the trees seldom if ever sprayed, and the farmer wonders why he don’t get nice perfect fruit and lots of it. . « - A few years ago, while Mr. Keiper thought he knew something about fruit growing, he attended a demonstration lecture by a state expert, and found that there were many things that he didn’t know. After going home he made up his mind he would treat a couple of trees that never bore at all; that he couldn’t hurt them any and the treatment might do some good. He gave them some good strong doses of the spraying compound and that year these two trees bore the finest and most perfect apples he had in his whole orchard. It is needless to say that Mir. Keiper is now a firm believer in the scientific treatment of fruit trees.