Gardening/Apples
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APPLES thrive over a wider range of territory and under more varied conditions than any other tree fruit. This means that they are easy to grow. In fact they are so easy to grow that they are usually neglected.
Apples do best on a strong, sandy loam soil, or a light clay loam. While a soil very rich in organic matter is not desirable, good results cannot be secured unless it contains a fair amount of vegetable matter. A clover sod is particularly desirable for this as well as for other fruits.
For a commercial orchard, most varieties should be from 35 to 40 feet apart; but the slow-growing and long-lived sorts may be at 40 feet, and, halfway between in both directions, some of the short-lived, early-bearing varieties may be placed, to be removed after they begin to crowd. In home grounds the trees may be placed somewhat closer than 35 to 40 feet, especially if they are planted on the boundaries, so that the limbs may project freely in one direction.
It is ordinarily advisable, especially in the humid climates east of the Great Lakes, to have the body of the tree 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 feet long. The limbs should be trimmed up to this point when the tree is set. From three to five main branches may be left to form the framework of the top. These should be shortened back one-fourth or one-half when the tree is set. (Figs. 142-145) Subsequent pruning should keep the top of the tree open and maintain it in more or less symmetrical form. West of the Great Lakes, particularly on the plains and in the semi-arid regions, the top may be started much nearer the ground.
In orchard conditions, the trees should be kept in clean culture, especially for the first few years; but this is not always possible in home yards. In lieu of tillage, the sward may be mulched each fall with stable manure, and commercial fertilizer may be applied each fall or spring. If fruit is wanted rather than foliage and shade, care should be taken not to make ground too rich, but to keep it in such condition that the tree is making a fairly vigorous growth, with good strong foliage, but is not overgrowing. An apple tree in full bearing is usually in good condition if the twigs grow 10 to 18 inches each season.
Apple trees should begin to bear when three to five years planted, and at ten years should be bearing good crops. With good treatment, they should continue to bear for thirty or more years in the northeastern states.
[Illustration: XXI. The king of fruits. Newtown as grown in the Pacific country.]
_Insects and diseases of the apple._
Among the insects most commonly found on the apple tree are the codlin-moth, canker-worm, and tent-caterpillar. The codlin-moth lays its egg on the fruit soon after the blossoms fall, and the larvae, on hatching, eat their way inside. A thorough spraying of the trees with arsenites within a week after the blossoms fall will do much toward destroying them; and a second application, in about three weeks, will be essential. The canker-worm (Fig. 217) and tent-caterpillars feed on the leaves, and can also be destroyed by means of arsenites. To be effective against the former, however, the applications must be made soon after they hatch, and very thoroughly.
A close watch should be kept for borers. Whenever the bark appears to be dead or sunken in patches, remove it and search for the cause. A borer will usually be found underneath the bark. About the base of the tree the most serious injury occurs from borers, since the insect which enters there bores into the hard wood. His presence can be determined by the chips that are cast from his burrows. If the trees are well cultivated and in a thrifty growing condition, the injury will be greatly reduced. It will be well to wash the trunks and larger branches with soft soap, thinned with water so that it can be applied with a brush or broom, during the spring. The addition of an ounce of Paris green in each five gallons of the wash will be of value. The only real remedy, however, is to dig the borers out.
The most troublesome disease of the apple is the apple-scab, which disfigures the fruit as well as lessens its size. It also often does much harm to the foliage, and thus checks the growth of the trees (Fig. 214). The Baldwin, Fameuse, Northern Spy and Red Canada are particularly subject to this disease, and it is much more troublesome in moist seasons than when the weather is dry. The use of fungicides will do much to lessen the injury from this disease.
_Varieties of apple._
The selection of varieties of apples for home use is, to a large extent, a personal matter; and no one may say what to plant. A variety that is successfully grown in one section may prove disappointing in another. One should study the locality in which he wishes to plant and choose those varieties which are the most successfully grown there,--choosing from amongst the successful kinds those which he likes best and which seem best to meet the purposes for which he is to grow them.
For the northern and eastern states, the following varieties will generally be found valuable:--
[The varieties marked with (A) are particularly valuable for market purposes as well as for home use; the others are chiefly desirable for home use.]
_Early._--Yellow Transparent, Early Harvest, Early Strawberry, Primate, Dyer, Summer Rose, Early Joe, Red Astrachan, Golden Sweet, Oldenburg,(A) Summer Pearmain, Williams (Favorite), Chenango, Bough (Sweet), Summer Queen, Gravenstein,(A) Jefferis, Porter, Maiden Blush.
_Autumn._--Bailey (Sweet), Fameuse,(A) Jersey Sweet, Fall Pippin, Wealthy,(A) Mother, Twenty Ounce, Magnate.
[Illustration: Fig. 271. The Jonathan.]
_Winter._--Jonathan(A) (Fig. 271), Hubbardston,(A) Grimes,(A) Tompkins King,(A) Wagener(A) (Fig. 272), Baldwin,(A) Yellow Bellflower, Tolman (Sweet), Northern Spy,(A) Red Canada,(A) Roxbury, McIntosh,(A) Yellow Newtown (Plate XXI), Golden Russet, Belmont, Melon, Lady, Rambo, York Imperial, Pomme Gris, Esopus (Spitzenburgh), Swaar, Peck (Pleasant), Rhode Island Greening, Sutton, Delicious, Stayman Winesap, Westfield (Seek-no-further).
For the South and Southwest the varieties named in the following list are of value:--
_Early._--Red June, Yellow Transparent, Red Astrachan, Summer Queen, Benoni, Oldenburg, Gravenstein, Maiden Blush, Earlyripe,(A) Williams,(A) Early Cooper,(A) Horse.
[Illustration: Fig. 272. The Wagener.]
_Autumn._--Haas, Late Strawberry, Oconee, Rambo, Peck (Peck Pleasant), Carter Blue, Bonum,(A) Smokehouse,(A) Hoover.
[Illustration: Fig. 273. Pewaukee Apple.]
_Winter._--Shockley, Rome Beauty,(A) Smith Cider, Grimes, Buckingham, Jonathan,(A) Winesap, Kinnard, York Imperial, Gilpiri (Romanite), Ralls (Genet), Limbertwig, Royal Lumbertwig, Stayman Winesap,(A) Milam, Virginia Beauty,(A) Terry,(A) Ingram.(A)
In the Northwest only such varieties as are extremely hardy will be satisfactory, and among those likely to succeed we may mention:--
_Early._--Yellow Transparent, Tetofski, Oldenburg.(A)
_Autumn._--Fameuse, Longfield, Wealthy, McMahan,(A) McIntosh,(A) Shiawassee.
_Winter._--Wolf River,(A) Hibernal, Northwestern (Greening), Pewaukee (Fig. 273), Switzer, Golden Russet, Patten (Greening).(A)
