Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 January 1875 — The Apple Orchard. [ARTICLE]

The Apple Orchard.

There are many farms in our pioneer settlements upon w’hich no apple or fruit trees have as yet been planted, while in - the older States new' orchards are annually set out to take the place of those past their prime and going to decay. Here we have two natural causes for a constant demand for fruit trees, and there is another also more potent than either, which is the increase in population. Twenty years ago many of our nurserymen and dealers in fruit trees predicted that the country w’ould soon be fully supplied because so many trees were annually propagated and planted; but time has shown that the demand for fruit has kept pace with the supply, and in some favorable localities has even exceeded it. We can well remember the time when the very best of winter apples, such as Rhode Island greenings, Spitzenburgs, and fall pippins would not bring fifty cents per barrel in any of the Central or Western New York markets, and farmers in those regions did not count their apples as a cash crop at any price. But the increase in our population, accompanied by increased facilities for shipping to a distant market, has changed all this, and orchards havq been renovated and thousands of new ones planted. The same thing is likely to occur in all localities, and should there be any at the present time where choice fruit is not in sufficient demand to warrant extended culture it must not be considered the rule for all time to come. Making selections of varieties is probably one of the most difficult questions to settle connected with fruit culture. In the first place it-is well known that certain varieties succeed much better in one locality and soil than they do in others;.in fact, there are few- or no varieties of- the apple that succeed well in all localities. Knowing this, our nurserymen who expect to do an extensive business propagate sorts adapted to a great variety of localities; hence the long array of names to be found in their catalogues. The man who only desires a dozen sorts is frequently puzzled to select them from a list of several hundred, all of which are described, and perhaps correctly, as excellent and desirable. The novice in these matters must bear in mind that the description of varieties as given in the catalogues must necessarily be very brief, the details in regard td’cultivation and adaptation to climates and soils being left out in great part or altogether. The best apples for the Middle States may not be the best for the Southern or extreme Northern, specific information on these points having to be determined by experiments with the varieties themselves. We must look into our standard pomological works for this information, or to the reports of lodSl societies in order to learn which are the best varieties to plant in any particular locality. A farmer in Minnesota or Wisconsin would be very foolish to purchase and plant the same varieties that he may have known to be excellent in Kentucky or Maryland. Still there are hundreds who have done sd, and been much disappointed in the result of the venture. This is one good reason why a man should always endeavor to obtain his trees of trustworthy dealers, and then if he does not know the merits of particular sorts himself he can leave the selection to the nurseryman. In extreqie northern localities none but the Russian and Siberian apples can'Tie depended upon, and pf these there are at present a goodly number of sorts in cultivation ; consequently in all the essential qualities, except perhaps size, the residents in the colder regions of our country may with proper care obtain an abundance of good apples. Without attempting to name the sprts known to succeed in any particular locality or region of country, we would say to every farmer who reads the WeMy Sun, do not purchase or give an order for appß or other trees without first consulting some good authority on the subject, unless you know positively from experience that the varieties about to be purchased are likely to succeed. There is scarcely a State or Territory at the present time in which there are not one or more local horticultural or agricultural societies, organized for the very purpose of obtaining and disseminating just the information needed by the novice in thesematters. If there are no such sources of specific information near at hand then a man. had better apply to the Secretary of the American Pomological Society, pr to the editor of some agricultural or horticultural journal fox a list.

There are thousands of farmers who to save a dollar or two as membership fee to some horticultural society or perhaps subscription to a newspaper have lost hundreds of dollars by being swindled in tne purchase of trees and plants entirely unsuited to their wants or the climate iiTwhich they reside. The most successful orchardists are those who have sought and obtained the best information on the subject.— N. Y. Sun.