I have some trouble with tent-caterpillars, roundheaded borers, fall web-worm, and curculio. I spray with London purple, first when the bloom falls, then every ten days until three times, with a spray pump, using London purple. I do not know whether I have reduced the codling-moth any or not. I treat the borers with penknife and probe, others with rough handling--eternal, vigilant destruction. I pick from step-ladders into pails; place in sack to haul to the barn or shed. We sort into two classes--first, all sound and marketable, second for cider. I sort by hand from the pile, three or four bushels at a time. We pack in bushel-and-a-half sacks, filled from the half-bushel measure, mark with the name of variety, and haul to market in spring wagon. I retail and peddle them, making the culls into cider and vinegar. My best market is our nearest town; tried distant market last fall and it paid. We dry some, pack into tight boxes as soon as dried and store in dark place, and find a ready market at the stores at six cents per pound. It does not pay very well, but saves waste. I only store for family use, in headless barrels; generally keep well. Ben Davis keeps the best. We lose from one-fourth to one-half. I believe irrigation would be a good thing. Prices have been from thirty-five cents to seventy-five cents per bushel. Use only home help.
M. D. WELTNER, Westmoreland, Pottawatomie county: Have been in Kansas eighteen years. Planted 800 apple trees ten years ago. I do not own this orchard at present. I planted Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Winesap, Jonathan, and Maiden's Blush. I prefer sandy or black loam, with clay subsoil, bottom land or gentle slope to the north. I set good, thrifty, clean, two-year-old trees. I thoroughly plow my ground, then run a lister for the row, and throw out with spade or shovel where the trees are to go. I cultivate with potatoes and corn, using the plow, harrow, and five-tooth cultivator, until ten or twelve years old, then sow to clover. I use no windbreaks. For rabbits I wrap with building paper or wire screen. I believe it pays to prune with the knife and saw a little each year, to train the tree to grace, beauty, and profit. I never tried thinning fruit. Would fertilize with a little stable litter spread over the ground. Never would pasture an orchard. Had some canker-worm and curculio, but never tried spraying. I pick from a step-ladder into a shoulder sack.