a
bearing orchard. Windbreaks are essential; would make them of Osage
orange and box-elder on both south and west sides of the orchard. I trap
and shoot the rabbits. I prune very little; only cut out the branches
that interfere. I fertilize my orchard with barn-yard litter; I think it
beneficial. I do not pasture my orchard; do not think it advisable. Do
not spray. Sort into two classes: good and bad.

* * * * *

J. L. STEELE, Minneapolis, Ottawa county: Have lived in Kansas fourteen
years. Have 200 apple trees from six to twelve years old. I prefer
bottom land with sandy loam and similar subsoil, north slope. I plant
two-year-old trees branched near the ground, in deep furrows made by
plow. Have tried root grafts with good success. I cultivate with corn
and potatoes, using disc and harrow all the time; plant nothing in
bearing orchard; cease cropping when about eight or ten years old.
Windbreaks are essential, on the south; would make them of honey-locust,
two or three feet apart in the row. I wrap the tree with corn-stalks to
protect from rabbits. Have not been troubled with borers. I only prune
out the limbs that interfere with others. Never thin apples. I fertilize
with stable litter, and think it beneficial; would advise its use on
all soils. I do not pasture my orchard; it does not pay. My trees are
troubled with canker-worm. I spray with London purple when the worms
first begin their work, to kill leaf-eating insects; do not think I have
reduced the codling-moth. I irrigate with a 4-1/2-inch-cylinder pump and
well.

* * * * *

J. C. CAMPBELL, Campbell, Washington county: Have lived in Kansas
fifteen years; have 250 trees from three to fourteen years old, eight to
twelve inches in diameter. I prefer for family orchard Ben Davis,
Missouri Pippin, Winesap, and Rawle's Janet. I prefer hilltop with deep
soil and red subsoil, and an eastern slope. I prefer three-year-old
trees, set 24x30 feet, as deep as they were in the nursery. I cultivate
in buckwheat for eight years with the plow; after that plant nothing.
Windbreaks are essential on the southwest or north and south; would make
them of Osage orange; plant them forty feet distant and do not trim. For
rabbits I wrap with corn-stalks and leave them on summer and winter. I
prune with a saw; then cover the wound with wax; I think it beneficial.
Have never thinned fruit. Never use fertilizer; do not think