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 AGRICULTURE 
 
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Agricultural Experiment Station 
 
 URBANA, APRIL, 1900. 
 
 BULLETIN No. 59. 
 
 ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 
 
 The Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Illinois 
 has been closely studying the fruit interests of the state, and especially 
 during the last three years attention has been directed to the actual 
 needs and conditions of orchards and other fruit plantations of the com- 
 monwealth. During this time visits have been made to many fruit 
 plantations in 64 of the 102 counties of Illinois. During the past year 
 a representative of this Station personally visited a number of fruit areas 
 in ten counties of southern Illinois; seven in central and western Illinois; 
 and seven in northern Illinois. The apple received more thought and 
 study than any of the other Illinois fruits, for in the southern third of 
 the state it is the main fruit crop, while in central and northern Illinois 
 it has a large and increasing place with the landholding class. Not 
 only is the apple the leading fruit of the state, but no crop, whether 
 grown by farmer or commercial orchardist is so universally uncated for 
 as is this king of fruits. This fact is due in great measure to negligence, 
 yet in many instances to lack of proper knowledge of the fundamental 
 principles of orcharding. This bulletin has therefore been written for 
 the Illinois farmers and fruit growers with the hope that its contents 
 may awaken and encourage a new interest in this subject, and also with 
 the purpose of presenting the latest and best teaching on the different 
 phases of orchard management. 
 
372 BULLETIN NO. 59. \April, 
 
 Soil and climatic conditions vary so greatly in the state, and some- 
 times even within the same county that no attempt will be made to lay 
 down specific and definite rules. General principles will therefore be 
 discussed, the operator being left to apply them with such modifications 
 as are necessary to meet his own peculiar or local conditions. 
 
 REASONS FOR UNPRODUCTIVE ORCHARDS. 
 
 Observations and studies carried on in these many fruit plantations 
 above referred to, and also on the Experiment Station grounds at 
 Champaign leads the Station to offer the following as some of the many 
 reasons why the Illinois orchards are often unproductive. 
 
 (1) Too many growers are expecting a crop to be given them with- 
 out putting forth any efforts themselves after the trees have been set. 
 The apple trees require the same careful attention as do other farm crops. 
 
 (2) Lack of moisture is a common cause of failure 10 the apple 
 grower in this state, especially in southern Illinois. This is because 
 grass and other crops are allowed to compete with the trees for the 
 moisture supplied by rains. Water is just as essential to the apple tree 
 on a hot summer's day as it is to the laborer in the harvest field. 
 
 (3) Injuries resulting from attacks of insects or of fungous diseases 
 are a very common cause of failure. These depredators will probably 
 always consider that they have as much right to the products of the 
 farm as does the farmer himself. For this reason he must get his artil- 
 lery and ammunition and fight the enemy. 
 
 (4) Lack of fertility is a very common cause of failure in southern, 
 western, and some sections of northern, Illinois. The apple orchard can 
 not produce a profitable crop unless provided with an ample supply of 
 nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. 
 
 (5) Some orchards in this state which have come to the notice of 
 this Station are unprofitable because of improper pruning or lack of 
 pruning. Light and air are essential for the development and ripening 
 of the apple. 
 
 (6) Many varieties of apple trees have been planted without any 
 thought given to their adaptability to the particular soil or climate. 
 Loss in apple growing is often wholly a matter of varieties. 
 
 (7) Trees propagated from unproductive stock have been respon- 
 sible for many failures. Scions should be selected from bearing trees 
 or those which have demonstrated their ability for productiveness. 
 
 (8) Sterility as a result of planting an orchard of only one variety 
 is a common cause of failure, in part at least. Cross fertilization is de- 
 sirable with all fruits. 
 
 (9) Excessive climatic conditions, as the February freeze of 1899, 
 or the killing of the blossoms by frost, are oftentimes responsible for 
 unproductiveness. 
 
ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 375 
 
 ORCHARD CULTIVATION. 
 
 The orchardist should cultivate his orchard for the same reason 
 that the dairyman feeds and waters his herd. This is because all forms 
 of life are fundamentally of one character. In other words there is a 
 common basis of life existing among all living beings and this common 
 unity is found to exist in the protoplasm (the living active principle) of 
 the cells which make up these beings. All work, therefore, whether it 
 be the developing of an apple or the secreting of milk, implies waste 
 and this waste is directly or indirectly that of protoplasm. The proto- 
 plasm of plants is made out of mineral compounds while protoplasm of 
 animals is made from plants. This then is a difference between the two, 
 yet their composition is alike. All this is only another way of saying 
 that all labor expended, even in maintaining life, means a loss of vital 
 force which must be supplied. The dairyman's herd would not be pro- 
 ductive were not this waste supplied in the form of food and water. 
 Left to themselves as were the buffalos, they doubtless could maintain 
 life. So with the orchard; if left to itself, as is often the case, it may 
 live and even produce fruit. But if it is to be productive in a commer- 
 cial sense, it must be liberally fed and watered. This is best and most 
 economically done by good cultivation. Cultivation, then, is the first 
 and fundamental principle which needs not even the exception to prove 
 it a positive rule for successful orcharding. 
 
 All intelligent cultivation of the orchard rests upon the fact that 
 the soil is a storehouse of plant food and also a reservoir for catching 
 and holding water. If the orchard is not cultivated the root system of 
 the trees can not penetrate deeply into the soil for its food and water 
 supply. The first great benefit, therefore, coming from this operation 
 is the pulverizing of the soil, thus giving a greater root-feeding area an^ 
 at the same time deepening the soil itself. All of this implies an early 
 warming and drying of the soil in the springtime, because when the 
 texture of the soil is poor, that is, when the soil particles become 
 cemented together as the result of heavy rains or injudicious plowing^ 
 the land is cold and the root system can not penetrate it or even appro- 
 priate the plant food within reach. This pulverizing of the soil also- 
 means a lessening of the extremes of temperature and moisture. The 
 first great office of tillage then is that of improving the mechanical con- 
 dition or the texture of the soil. For this reason this Station is opposed 
 to the application of fertilizers to orchard soils until the land has been 
 so improved in its physical condition that the plant can use what is al- 
 ready in the soil. 
 
 The second great office of cultivation is that of supplying or saving 
 the moisture which is needed in such large quantities by orchard fruits. 
 Nature annually supplies the Illinois farmer with an abundance of water 
 for his crops, but the trouble seems to be that the supply comes at a 
 
374 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 59. 
 
 {April. 
 
IQOO. J 
 
 ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 
 
 375 
 
376 BULLETIN NO. 59. [April, 
 
 time when least needed. A little investigation, however, readily shows 
 us that this supply should come mainly when the plants are inactive. 
 Further, that because of its physical possibilities the soil can be made 
 to retain this water until needed during the dry summer months. It is a 
 fact that the soil particles hold water in the form of a film on their sur- 
 face. The surface area of these particles depends on their number or 
 the fineness of the soil. This is readily seen by comparing a cubic foot 
 of marbles i inch in diameter with a cubic foot composed of particles 
 t^so of an inch in diameter. In the first we have an aggregate surface 
 area, according to King, of 27.7 square feet, in the latter instance of 
 37,700 square feet. This fining of the soil is secured by thorough 
 drainage, hand in hand with judicious and careful cultivation of the 
 soil. If the soil is not well drained naturally, it should be tile- 
 drained, as this is the greatest corrective of hard, impervious soils. 
 It is this removal of superfluous water that prevents the soil particles 
 from cementing together in wet weather and that allows the moisture 
 to come from greater depths to the surface where plants may use it 
 during the dry months. 
 
 But this increasing of the water-holding capacity of the soil must 
 be supplemented by a retentive force which will check capillarity at the 
 surface of the soil. The water moves by capillary attraction to the sur- 
 face where it is evaporated explained in the same manner as the upward 
 movement of oil in the lamp-wick, or of ink in the blotting-pad. By 
 the breaking up of these capillary spaces next the surface, evaporation 
 will be checked. In the same way a mulching of the surface prevents 
 evaporation. No mulch is so good and economical as a dust mulch 
 procured by cultivation. This same operation having broken up the 
 -capillary pores conserves the moisture by checking the evaporation. 
 But it is useless to commence this checking process late in the season 
 when drought is already apparent. No amount of cultivation at this 
 time can correct the fault which should have been prevented weeks be- 
 fore. The careful orchardist will cultivate early in the spring or as 
 soon as the land will permit it repeating the operation at least once a 
 week, unless frequent rains should make such an operation needless. 
 As soon as a shower has passed and the land has become crusted and 
 dry on top the harrow should be put to work remaking this dust 
 mulch. Cultivation should commence early in the season, but can 
 usually be stopped early in August, at which time the trees have com- 
 pleted their growth and have commenced to ripen up their wood and 
 fruit prior to the inactivity of winter. At this time much will be gained 
 by a cover crop the cow pea, vetch, or clover being used as a rule. 
 These cover crops are valuable because they hold the soil in the best 
 physical condition and prevent some of the plant food from escaping, 
 AS well as add positive fertility to the soil when plowed under in the 
 
ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 377 
 
 spring. Such crops serve to catch and retain the snow an important 
 winter protection. 
 
 There is still another benefit derived from orchard cultivation 
 that of increasing the chemical activities of the soil. Air and warmth 
 are just as essential to the chemical processes going on within the soil 
 as is water. The soil is full of minute organisms increasing the neces- 
 sary nitrates and other food materials required by the plant. Such 
 activities are greatly decreased and sometimes prevented because of lack 
 of cultivation. Cultivation would have supplied the air and warmth and 
 consequent food supply for the plant. 
 
 If these statements are true and both science and practice prove 
 they are what then is the proper treatment of the soil for the Illinois 
 orchard during its lifetime ? The ground should be in a thorough state 
 of cultivation at the time the trees are set, and during the first year no 
 crop should come within three feet of the young tree this space to 
 widen each year. If the soil has been subsoiled and deeply pulverized 
 the root system will go far down; at least the tendency will be in that 
 direction. On the intervening spaces between these trees should be 
 grown some secondary crop and one which admits of cultivation. This 
 method allows the orchardist to get a paying return from his land while 
 the trees are establishing themselves. But in no instance should a crop 
 for the crop's sake be taken from the orchard after the trees have come 
 into bearing. The greatest difficulty in fruit growing in Illinois has 
 arisen from the fact that these annual returns have enticed the orchardist 
 away from the primary object of the plantation, which is fruit growing. 
 The yearly growing of corn or grain or of a hay crop (Fig. i) forgetting to 
 care for the trees themselves, would cause an ultimate loss in fruit produc- 
 tion ten times greater than the gain derived from the annual secondary 
 crops. But you say the corn plant shades the ground and therefore 
 prevents evaporation of soil moisture. Did you ever stop to think that 
 the transpiration of moisture from the leaf surface of the corn is greater 
 twice over than that lost by evaporation, from the soil, with the poorest 
 system of cultivation? Now soil, in order to do its best work, that is 
 supply the paying quantities of plant food, must be within 40 % to 50 % 
 of saturation. Or to state the point another way the normal soil to the 
 depth of one foot in good state of cultivation contains about 4000 barrels 
 of water per acre. The corn transpires from its leaf surface about 200 
 tons of water for each ton of dry matter produced. This means a loss 
 of more than 100 gallons of water a day per acre during the corn grow- 
 ing season. The apple tree on the other hand, according to carefully 
 conducted experiments by Anders and Dr. Burrill, transpires 250 gal- 
 lons, or if there are 35 trees per acre, which is 35 feet apart each way, 
 8750 gallons in 24 hours from every acre. The enormous quantity of 
 water taken up and given off by our apple trees requires a careful con- 
 
378 
 
 BULLKT1N NO. 59. 
 
i goo.'} 
 
 ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 
 
 379 
 
380 BULLETIN NO. 59. {April, 
 
 serving or retaining of the water which nature furnishes early in the 
 season. If then we grow corn in the orchard expecting thereby to aid 
 in this supply we are deceiving ourselves and robbing the trees and con- 
 sequently robbing our bank deposits as well. 
 
 But the fact should be emphasized that the success of the orchard 
 or the degree of profit returned from the investment will be measured 
 more accurately by the thoroughness of the early treatment of the orchard 
 than by anything else. These arguments are not intended for the dairy- 
 man or stock raiser who uses his land primarily for pasture or hay and 
 whose orchard is simply a secondary or catch-crop consideration. If 
 such a man secures paying returns by these other avenues of production, 
 certainly he is entitled to what fruit may be produced as a secondary 
 crop. But the great number of Illinois orchards are unprofitable be- 
 cause we have been deceived by annual returns gathered, or by second- 
 ary crops, and have therefore neglected such treatment as would make 
 profitable returns from the trees themselves. If the orchardist is grow- 
 ing apples for the money there is in the business, he cannot afford to 
 excuse his negligence and loss by saying that Mr. Brown or Mr. Smith 
 got paying returns from orchard fruits in cropped or sod lands. Be- 
 cause an orchard has done well in sod does not say that it would not 
 have done better in cultivation. Finally, speaking one word to the 
 man with the unprofitable old orchard: If you are satisfied with the 
 returns from the same, continue as you are doing; otherwise give culti- 
 vation which is the basis of successful orchard management, and follow 
 it up with pruning, spraying, and the other necessary means to success. 
 
 The actual cultivation of the orchard is neither a hard nor compli- 
 cated operation. The tools used are such as are found, or at least 
 should be found, on every well-managed farm. The plough, which is 
 the greatest and most economic pulverizer of the soil, should be used 
 for the first spring cultivation, especially in the young orchard. Any of 
 the ordinary breaking plows will be found entirely satisfactory. This 
 implement is usually followed by the disc and spring-tooth harrows. 
 Even in orchards not plowed, especially old ones, the disc harrow will 
 be found entirely satisfactory. It can be made to cut even stiff blue- 
 grass sod and should always be used for reducing the lumps resulting 
 from fresh plowing. Its action, however, is such as to leave the soil 
 in small ridges, thus increasing the surface area exposed to evaporation 
 by wind and sun. It should therefore be followed with some smoothing 
 harrow which gives a more even and more finely pulverized surface. 
 Most lands, especially those having a tendency to cement together dur- 
 ing heavy rains, will require a thorough discing as soon as the land be- 
 comes sufficiently dry. This followed by the smoothing harrow and the 
 operation repeated at intervals of one week during the period of no rain, 
 or drouth, will thoroughly conserve the soil water by forming a blanket 
 
ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 381 
 
 or dust layer which is the best kind of mulch. The most important tool, 
 therefore, after the early operations which have deeply pulverized the 
 soil, is the fine-toothed smoothing harrow. The spring-tooth harrow is 
 a very desirable implement for breaking the crust after heavy rains, 
 answering the purpose as well if not better than the disc harrow besides 
 being much easier on the team. 
 
 The cultivation should be carried as near to the trunks of trees as 
 is possible. The tools mentioned above allow of working close to the 
 trees provided they are not headed below three or four feet. Even in 
 such a case, especially with some varieties, overhanging tops interfere 
 unless the harness used has no projecting hames or terrets. According 
 to the experience of this Station the Sherwood harness is one of the most 
 satisfactory for this kind of work. It has no whiffletrees with which to 
 scar or bruise the trees and no other projections of any kind. 
 
 The cost of cultivation is a most important consideration and 
 should not be overlooked in this discussion. Our best growers in this 
 state have found that the cultivation of an orchard costs less than that 
 required by corn or any other farm crop. The exact expenditure, how- 
 ever, will be governed entirely by the conditions existing in each or- 
 chard and by the weather conditions. It has been found at this Station 
 (Fig. 6) that $16 per acre covers the cost of discing three times, and 
 harrowing three times with the spring-tooth harrow and seven times 
 with the smoothing harrow. This may seem high indeed for a single 
 season's outlay, but when it is remembered that there are fifty trees to 
 the acre in this orchard it will be seen that the cost per tree was but 
 thirty-two cents for the season. Moreover, these trees bore heavily, 
 kept a luxuriant foliage to the end of a very dry season, made an excel- 
 lent growth, and went into the winter in first-class condition with plenty 
 of fruit buds for next season's crop; all of which emphasizes the fact 
 that the actual cost was comparatively low when compared with the 
 benefit derived therefrom. 
 
 PRUNING ORCHARDS. 
 
 During several years the Illinois Experiment Station has been con- 
 du.cting experiments in pruning fruit trees. Results of these experiments 
 will appear in detail in a separate publication. These investigations 
 convince us that the practice of pruning apple trees is one too often 
 neglected in this state. It seems well, therefore, to say a few words on 
 the subject at the present time. 
 
 Pruning is the removal of superfluous branches, thus allowing a 
 free circulation of air in the tree tops; and admitting light to the remain- 
 ing inner branches of the tree. Its object is simply that of securing 
 more and better fruit. When trees are leftto themselves the branches 
 crowd one another and do not give sufficient room and sunlight and air 
 
382 BULLETIN NO. 59. 
 
 for the developing of fruit on the inner branches. Moreover, fruit 
 which is developed on unpruned trees can not be readily protected from 
 apple scab and codling moth, as well as other diseases and insects. The 
 cost of spraying is much less in point of time and material saved on trees 
 which are judiciously pruned. Cultivation, too, is carried on with 
 greater ease and effectiveness in the pruned orchard. Harvesting of 
 fruit also is greatly facilitated in those trees which are properly pruned. 
 
 The ideal pruning is that which commences in the nursery rows 
 when the trees are a year old and continued each year until the trees 
 have served their usefulness in the orchard where they have borne fruit 
 for many years. It is therefore an operation which commences with the 
 nurseryman, and it is his office to see that the trees are symmetrical and 
 with the limbs at the proper distance from the ground. The best and 
 in fact the common way with the majority of nurserymen is to remove, 
 just after they have started, the buds which are found below the point 
 where the head of the tree is to be and other undesirable places. This 
 is readily and quickly done by rubbing off these young shoots or buds 
 with the hands. It may be necessary to repeat this operation during 
 the first one or two seasons. The second season when the trees are 
 transplanted remove all superfluous limbs close to the body of the tree 
 with a sharp knife, cutting back the remaining three to six fully one-half 
 of the previous year's growth. This is the time when the orchardist 
 should receive the tree, yet it is common practice to wait until the plant 
 has attained its second or third year. In any case, the year the trees 
 are finally set in the orchard they should be well headed in, cutting to a 
 bud, which on upright varieties will be left on the outside and on the 
 more straggling varieties, as the Minkler, is left on the inside. This 
 bud is to form the new limb and take its place with its fellows in form- 
 ing the main branches of the tree. If one desires higher headed trees 
 than those which the nurseryman has to furnish he simply needs to take 
 up a leader, starting the head at the desired point and removing the 
 lower branches. Each year after the trees are planted they should be 
 gone over carefully, and a limb removed here or there, the object being to 
 prevent rubbing of branches and to allow the top to be free and open. 
 (Fig. 8.) The best time to do this, all things considered, is, for Illinois, 
 during the months of March and April. The orchardist has more leisure 
 at this time, the limbs can be clearly seen against the sky and the tree 
 does not suffer as it does when wounded during the colder months. 
 
 As stated above the best pruning is that which is done with the 
 hand by rubbing off the buds before the undesirable limbs have had an 
 opportunity to develop to any great extent. If the operation is repeated 
 each year there will never be any large limbs to remove ; at least a saw 
 will rarely be required. Wherever possible the pruning knife or the 
 pruning shears should be used instead of the saw. Try to make as 
 
ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 383 
 
 smooth a cut as possible. After the orchard has been gone over with 
 respect to pruning, all wounds left thereby should receive a coat of white 
 lead paint which has been mixed with linseed oil. There are many 
 other materials used for this purpose, but our experiments here seem to 
 show that white lead paint is the most desirable from the point of ex- 
 pense and efficiency. 
 
 In concluding these brief remarks on the subject of pruning the 
 fact expressed above must be reiterated, that this is an operation too 
 commonly neglected by the Illinois orchardists. 
 
 ORCHARD FERTILITY. 
 
 The notion prevails in the minds of many apple growers that apple 
 trees do not require as much plant food proportionately as do other 
 crops. That this notion is wholly erroneous is shown by the result of 
 carefully conducted experiments by Roberts published in Bulletin 103 
 of the Cornell University Experiment Station. These show that the 
 growing of thirty-five apple trees per acre, which makes the distances 
 between trees thirty-five feet, in twenty years production of foliage and 
 fruit, averaging ten bushels per tree, requires plant food in the form of 
 nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid in value amounting to $207.45. 
 This twenty years commences with the time the trees are thirteen years 
 of age, continuing until they are thirty-three years old and it is assumed 
 that during the five years from thirteen to eighteen they would average 
 five bushels per tree per year, ten bushels per tree per year during the 
 next five and fifteen bushels per tree per year during the remaining ten 
 years. This, however, does not take into account the enormous amount 
 of fertility which was required to develop the great amount of wood rep- 
 resented by thirty-five trees per acre. Compare this with the amount 
 of fertility removed by a wheat crop. In twenty years cropping with an 
 average yield of fifteen bushels per acre and seven pounds of straw to 
 three pounds of grain, the total value is $128.23 removed in the shape of 
 nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid, or $79.22 less than that required 
 to supply the waste in fruit and leaves of the apple orchard. 
 
 No intelligent farmer would expect to grow wheat on the same area 
 for twenty years without the best of cultivation and fertilizing ; yet 
 everywhere we find apple growers asking their soil to support a much 
 greater drain than wheat would cause. It is known that some fruit 
 growers are asking their land to support apple trees for forty years in 
 addition to annual secondary crops, and this, too, without giving 
 manures or even cultivation. (See Fig. 3.) 
 
 The question of the fertility of orchard soil is one which has hith- 
 erto received little or no attention from Illinois fruit growers. This is 
 largely because of the fact that throughout a large portion of the state 
 the soil is exceedingly rich in plant food. In fact, a considerable area, 
 
384 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 59. 
 
 {April, 
 
1900.] 
 
 ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 
 
386 BULLETIN NO. 59. [April, 
 
 especially the central portion, is so rich in the elements of plant food as 
 often to cause an excessive growth of the woody portion of the tree, 
 thereby diminishing its fruit production. On this account few growers 
 of orchard fruits in what is termed the corn belt of the state would think 
 for a moment of applying fertilizers to their orchard soil. This, how- 
 ever, is no reason why the fruit growers in the southern third of the 
 state or in parts of northern Illinois should think that their soil can be 
 uniformly productive without the application of some of the elements of 
 fertility either in the form of applied manures or by the growing of 
 green crops. After' a careful study of the question we are thoroughly 
 convinced that there are hundreds of apple orchards in this state which 
 are literally starving to death. In other words, these orchards are on 
 soils whose fertility has either been exhausted or made unavailable by 
 injudicious management. 
 
 At this point it is necessary to define what is meant by the word 
 fertility. In its broadest sense fertility is a word used to designate the 
 productive power of the soil. This productive power may be due in 
 large measure to the physical condition of the soil rather than to a 
 liberal supply of the chemical constituents necessary, for great produc- 
 tivity. Or on the other hand a soil may be wholly unproductive yet 
 contain excessive quantities of plant food, because of the poor physical 
 condition of the soil. All this means that the plant food within the soil 
 counts for nothing if the plant can not get it. We have already em- 
 phasized the importance of thorough tillage for making available what 
 plant food there is within the soil. Yet as above stated, even with the 
 best management of the soil in this particular, it may still lose so much 
 plant food that it is necessary to supply commercial fertilizers or other 
 manures. 
 
 Of the thirteen elements which the soil may contain and which may 
 be used by plants only three are ever lost in such quantities as to make 
 their restoration necessary. These are nitrogen, potassium, and phos- 
 phorus. Of these three the one most readily lost is nitrogen. This 
 element, which comprises four-fifths of the air, combined with other 
 elements becomes available to the plant. It is the element which is 
 responsible for the rapid development and early formation of our apple 
 trees and other plants. Phosphorus, in the form of phosphoric acid, 
 is necessary in order to give strength and firmness to plants and, next 
 to nitrogen, is, all things considered, the most important element of 
 plant food. While needed only in relatively small quantities by plants 
 it is lacking in many soils. Potash comes next to phosphorus in im- 
 portance and is the most important constituent for fruiting plants, at 
 least those that are expending their energies in that direction. 
 
 Nitrogen. -The yellowing of the foliage and stunted appearance of 
 the tree is a pretty sure indication that the soil is deficient in nitrogen. 
 
ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 387 
 
 An insufficient supply of nitrogen tends to dwarf plants. Good stable 
 manure, if well taken care of, that is, not allowed to leach by rains, will 
 supply to the soil liberal quantities of this plant food. Other sources 
 of nitrogen for plants are the various nitrates, ammonia, and some ani- 
 mal or plant compounds. Sodium nitrate is the most important com- 
 mercial fertilizer containing nitrogen. A hundred and twenty-five 
 pounds of this salt would probably be the minimum amount per acre. 
 But its use is advisable only after other means have failed. This might 
 also be said of barn-yard manure. By all means the cheapest way of 
 securing nitrogen is by thorough tillage, which increases or hastens nitri- 
 fication, and by green manuring. If these two latter methods are prac- 
 ticed there will rarely ever be occasion to resort to commercial fer- 
 tilizers. 
 
 By green manuring is meant the growing of some crop in the orchard, 
 especially those leguminous or nitrogen forming plants, which, when 
 turned under and decomposed, add nitrogen and other food material to 
 the soil. The greatest good, however, derived from this operation is 
 the addition to the soil of large quantities of humus or decaying vege- 
 table matter which greatly improves the physical condition of the soil,. 
 thereby increasing its power to hold plant food and moisture. What 
 crops are most advisable for this purpose depends almost entirely upon 
 soil and climatic conditions. They are usually confined to some of the 
 clovers, peas, beans, vetches, or lupines. Wherever clovers or vetches 
 succeed well they should be used. In the greater portion of Illinois, 
 however, especially in the southern part, cow peas and soy beans are in 
 greatest favor. 
 
 These leguminous plants are enabled to take up the free nitrogen of 
 the air by virtue of small nodules or tubercles formed on their roots as 
 a result of the activity of microscopic forms of life known as bacteria. 
 It is now clearly known that if these organisms are not present in the 
 soil the leguminous plants are unable to use the nitrogen of the air. As 
 a result of this, soil inoculation is often resorted to. This simply con- 
 sists of taking soil where these plants are found to grow luxuriantly, and 
 have an abundance of the tubercles above referred to, and sowing the 
 same on a new area, a few handfuls of soil often sufficing for an acre of 
 ground. The exact physiological processes gone through with by plants 
 in securing this free nitrogen is not definitely known. 
 
 Phosphorus. Phosphoric acid is applied to the soil as a direct fer- 
 tilizer in the form of superphosphates, bone compounds, etc. Dissolved 
 South Carolina rock is a common commercial form of this manure. 
 Usually, however, if soils are well cared for this element will not be 
 lacking. 
 
 Potash. Potash may be secured in the form of muriate of potash, 
 which is probably the most reliable. Kainit or German potash salts 
 
388 BULLETIN NO. 59. [April, 
 
 and wood ashes are other forms of this commercial fertilizer, for the 
 bearing orchard at least. Five hundred to seven hundred pounds of 
 muriate of potash, or forty or fifty bushels of wood ashes, is a liberal 
 dressing per acre for orchards. 
 
 The following formula is suggested for Illinois orchard lands located 
 outside of the "black soil" areas: 
 
 Ground bone 100 pounds. 
 
 Acid phosphate 100 pounds. 
 
 Muriate of potash 100 pounds. 
 
 Nitrate of soda 125 pounds. 
 
 This amount per acre applied in the springtime and either plowed 
 under or disced into the soil will be found sufficient for those orchards 
 bearing annual crops of fruit. The above formula, however, should be 
 supplemented by special fertilizers or otherwise varied to suit any par- 
 ticular orchard whose soil conditions are peculiar to itself. 
 
 It should be understood that this discussion does not encourage the 
 use of commercial fertilizers. There are instances, however, where 
 these must be resorted to. Illinois orchardists should largely confine 
 themselves to cultivation and green manuring for supplying the neces- 
 sary plant foods. 
 
 SPRAYING. 
 
 The spraying of horticultural plants with solutions to protect them 
 from their many enemies is an operation with which the fruit growers all 
 over the country are now more or less acquainted. It is, however, an 
 operation coming at a season of the year when the farmer is busiest. 
 This, together with the fact that it is attended with many disagreeable 
 features, makes it necessary that the most accurate and condensed in- 
 formation shall be given on the subject. For this reason the Illinois 
 Experiment Station, as well as nearly all other State Experiment Sta- 
 tions, is constantly experimenting with the new insecticides and fungi- 
 cides which are put upon the market and at the same time getting the 
 most accurate information on why, when, and how spraying should be 
 done. 
 
 If attention be limited to the spraying of apple trees for the pur- 
 pose of protecting them from the ravages of the apple-scab fungus and 
 the codling moth, the two most common and most destructive enemies 
 to the apple growing industry of Illinois, the following is the best infor- 
 mation that can be given upon that subject at the present time: 
 
 APPLICATIONS. 
 
 (i) Use always, excepting perhaps for first application, the com- 
 bined mixtures of Bordeaux and Paris green. The former is for the apple- 
 scab fungus, while the latter is for the insect, codling moth. They are 
 both just as effective when applied together and time and money are 
 saved thereby. Make these solutions according to formulas given below. 
 
igOO.~\ ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 389 
 
 (2) The first application of the Bordeaux mixture (i, page 391) 
 should be made to the trees after the leaf buds have commenced to ex- 
 pand and may be continued until the flower buds open. This space of 
 time will vary greatly with different varieties. 
 
 (3) The second application of the Bordeaux-Paris green solution 
 (4, page 393) should be made immediately after the blossoms fall and 
 may be continued indefinitely. Do not under any circumstances delay 
 this second application. The sooner it can be done after the blossoms 
 have fallen the greater will be the results obtained. The blossoming 
 period, therefore, governs the operator and he should not depend upon 
 anything or anybody else, but allow the tree to determine when he should 
 commence. From fifty to ninety per cent, of the fruit that would other- 
 wise be ruined by the codling moth can be saved by spraying at this time. 
 Not only that, but the apple scab fungus which is in the height of its de- 
 velopment at this time is greatly and sometimes almost entirely checked 
 at this period. The point then is to be ready with spraying apparatus and 
 solutions to attack these two enemies at this critical moment; in a few days 
 the young larvae will have entered the forming apple and be beyond our 
 reach with Paris green ; in a few days, too, the apple scab fungus may 
 have reached so far in its development as already to attack the young 
 apples or their stems, in which case the food supply would be cut off 
 and the fruit fall prematurely, as was the case in 1898. A loss of more 
 than $3,000,000 to the fruit growing industry of this state would have 
 been saved had the Illinois orchardists sprayed their trees during that 
 season. This was abundantly proved by experiments conducted at this 
 Station and by the fact that several orchards in this state which were so 
 treated gave handsome returns to their owners. 
 
 (4) A third application of this Bordeaux-Paris green mixture will 
 be advisable and in fact necessary should the season prove a wet one. 
 The more moisture, other things being equal, the more readily will the 
 apple scab fungus develop. This mea\is that as soon as the shower has 
 passed the spraying machines are started and kept going until again pre- 
 vented by rain. Patience and persistency are the things which count 
 for most in this work. It is a question, too, of dollars and cents with 
 the grower, and where in Illinois is there a man attempting to grow 
 apples who would not gladly spend from seven to fifteen cents per tree 
 when thereby he would get from one hundred to five hundred per cent, 
 more fruit? This spraying then is simply a business proposition, for the 
 fruit grower who is growing the fruit for the income it brings him. With- 
 out perfect fruit there is no money in the business, and the only way to 
 secure perfect fruit is to spray in a businesslike and systematic way. 
 But as we have already said spraying is not only necessary in order to 
 secure perfect fruit, but quite often even any fruit, as was the case 
 in 1898. 
 
39 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 59. 
 
 \_Apl U, 
 
igOO.~\ ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 39! 
 
 (5) A fourth application during some seasons will be found advis- 
 able and may be made in one or two weeks after the third application. 
 The third one following in a week or ten days after the second. 
 
 (6) These applications above referred to will be found sufficient to 
 keep in check other forms of fungus and insect enemies, but in the case 
 of the rots attacking mainly the fruit, later applications will be necessary. 
 This is also true of the canker worm and other leaf-eating insects which 
 may make their appearance. In such cases, however, special solutions 
 other than those above referred to will doubtless be needed. 
 
 SOLUTIONS, How MADE. 
 
 (1) Normal Bordeaux mixture has its ingredients in this propor- 
 tion : Copper sulphate, 6 Ib. ; quick lime, 4 Ib.; water, 45 or 50 
 gallons. 
 
 This mixture should be made fresh as it is needed, for it loses its 
 fungicidal value in a day or two after mixing. It is therefore convenient 
 to make up stock solutions of the copper sulphate and lime separately. 
 This is done by dissolving the copper sulphate or blue vitriol, as it is 
 commonly called, in water at the rate of one Ib. to the gallon. The 
 quick lime may also be prepared at the rate of one Ib. to the gallon. 
 As the copper sulphate dissolves slowly in cold water it should be sus- 
 pended near the surface of the same, otherwise hot water would be nec- 
 essary. The following detailed directions maybe found helpful: Weigh 
 out 50 Ib. of copper sulphate. Put this in a grain sack and suspend 
 in the top of a fifty gallon barrel of water. As the crystals dissolve the 
 solution settles to the bottom. This will require twelve or fifteen hours. 
 Stir up the solution and take six gallons of the liquid, which gives 
 the six Ib. of copper sulphate. Pour this into the fifty gallon barrel to 
 which is attached the spray pump. If a larger vessel is used take out a 
 proportionate amount. Next slack fifty Ib. of stone or quick lime in 
 fifty gallons of water. When the slacking is complete add four gallons 
 of this solution to the six gallons of copper sulphate already put into 
 the spraying "barrel. Now add sufficient water to make up the fifty gal- 
 lons, stirring while doing this. If two or three teams are to be kept 
 going several such vessels of stock solutions may be preparing, or larger 
 vessels used. 
 
 (2) A weaker Bordeaux solution may be made by using 4 Ib. of 
 copper sulphate, 4 Ib. of lime and 50 gallons of water. This solution 
 is to be used for the third and fourth applications and where No. i is 
 found to burn the foliage. 
 
 (3) Paris green, i Ib.; 150-250 gals, of water. 
 
 Do not put the dry Paris green powder into water expecting to mix 
 it thoroughly therein. Put one pound of this powder into a gallon jug 
 then fill the same two-thirds full of water. Cork and churn the jug 
 
39 2 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 59. 
 
 \_April, 
 
IQOO.~\ ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 393 
 
 violently for a few minutes when every particle of the powder will be 
 brought in contact with the water. Add this concentrated solution in 
 such proportion as to give the desired amount to the larger quantity of 
 liquid, with which it will readily and thoroughly mix. In other words, 
 after thoroughly mixing, fill the jug, then pour out one quart of the 
 solution which will contain four ounces of the powder in suspension. 
 This four ounces is the quantity required for the fifty gallons of Bor- 
 deaux already made. 
 
 (4) Bordeaux-Paris green solution: 
 
 Copper sulphate, 4 to 6 Ib. 
 Quick lime, 4 Ib. 
 Paris green, 4 oz. 
 Water, 50 gallons. 
 
 (5) Arsenite of lime solution: 
 
 White arsenic, i Ib. 
 
 Quick lime, 2 Ib. 
 
 Water, 4 gallons. 
 
 This latter is a stock solution which should be kept in a closed 
 vessel. It should be boiled forty-five minutes and a small quantity of 
 iron tannic* added to give it a black color, thus making its poisonous 
 nature apparent or at least calling attention to that fact. Three quarts 
 of this concentrated solution will be sufficient for each fifty gallons of 
 spraying solution and may take the place of the four ounces of Paris 
 green in No. 4 above. Being much more effective than the Paris green 
 and only one-third as expensive it is to be recommended. The greatest 
 care, however, should be exercised in its preparation and in cleaning all 
 vessels which have contained the same, thus avoiding danger from 
 poison. Because of the danger resulting from its use in careless hands 
 it is to be hoped that all drug stores may prepare the concentrated solu- 
 tion, selling the same in preference to the unmixed materials. 
 
 (6) Various substitutes for Paris green, other than the arsenite of 
 lime, are upon the market, but so far we do not feel warranted in recom- 
 mending them. 
 
 MACHINERY. 
 
 Never buy a cheap iron pump for spraying purposes. It rarely 
 lasts long and, moreover, is attacked by the copper sulphate or Bor- 
 deaux solutions. The desirable points in a pump may be summed up as 
 -follows: All working parts should be made of brass. There should be 
 no leather or rubber valves. There should be no stuffing-box nor should 
 the parts be fastened together with iron bolts or screws. In fact, the 
 brass or alloy pumps are in the end the cheapest, since they are in every 
 
 *Iron tannic may be made by dissolving 15 grains tannic acid in 6 oz. water then 
 adding i dram of tincture of iron. This will color several gallons of the arsenite of 
 Jime. 
 
394 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 59. 
 
 [April, 
 
igOO.~\ ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 395 
 
 way more durable, and are not corroded by the liquids used or by sim- 
 ple exposure. A pump that stands above the barrel or has any projec- 
 tion whatever is unsteady, especially when there is little solution in the 
 barrel; and moreover it is likely to catch on the limbs and be a nuisance 
 generally. 
 
 The Eclipse pump, manufactured by Morrill & Morley, of Benton 
 Harbor, Michigan, has been found at this station to be one of the best 
 pumps on the market. Those parts of the machine coming in contact 
 with the liquid are brass. 
 
 The pump should be mounted on a fifty gallon oil cask or a wooden 
 tank especially prepared for the purpose. Each pump should be pro- 
 vided with two leads of hose with brass shut-offs at the pump and also 
 at the base of the bamboo rod. The bamboo extensions or rods are for 
 the purpose of carrying the nozzle up into the tops of the trees, thereby 
 insuring a more thorough job than could be otherwise done. They are 
 light, durable, and an indispensable acquisition to spraying apparatus. 
 The nozzle used may be the double Vermorel nozzle, which gives a 
 fine misty spray and is without doubt the best nozzle in the market. 
 Rubber tubing of hose y% inch or ^ inch, three or four ply, is necessary 
 and can be bought for from twelve to twenty cents per foot. The 
 cheaper grade of hose should never be used for spraying purposes. The 
 other accessories in the way of apparatus are brass couplings and hose 
 clamps, reducers and pipe tongs, monkey wrench, hammer, etc. 
 
 Another very important acquisition is the copper strainer, twelve 
 inches in diameter with brass wire cloth mesh, through which all spray- 
 ing solutions should be strained to prevent particles of dirt, lime or 
 other material from entering the pump and clogging the nozzles. Bur- 
 lap or other cloth strainers should not be depended upon. 
 
 In order to make the work as agreeable and expeditious as possible 
 all of these accessories above described and perhaps others should be 
 provided without fail. When this is done and the operator goes about 
 his work knowingly, that is knowing what he is spraying for the work 
 is simple and an actual pleasure because of the ten-fold benefits derived 
 therefrom. 
 
 In this brief description no attempt has been made to tell how to 
 combat all of the many nuisances with which the fruit grower has to 
 contend. Having confined our attention to the two most destructive 
 enemies of the apple orchard the way will have been made easier for a 
 clear understanding of the operations necessary in contending with other 
 diseases and insects; information concerning which will be given gladly 
 
 upon application. 
 
 JOSEPH CULLEN BLAIR, 
 
 Assistant Horticulturist. 
 
3 9 & BULLETIN NO. 59. [April, igoo. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 
 
 Figure No. i is a photograph taken in July, 1899, showing a six-year old Illinois 
 orchard. The trees were small and very unhealthy looking. With the exception of 
 small circles around the trees no cultivation has been given; heavy crops of bay have 
 been taken off annually. Note the weeds at the left which are nearly as high as the 
 trees themselves. Compare this view with photograph No. 2. 
 
 Figure No. 2. This is a photograph taken in July, 1899, in the seven-year old 
 orchard at the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Illinois. The 
 trees had an abundance of green, luxuriant and healthy looking foliage. Note the 
 absence of grass and weeds. This orchard has been given clean cultivation con- 
 stantly and has been sprayed. Compare this view with Figure No. i. 
 
 Figure No. 3. A view in an Illinois orchard where the land has been overcrowded, 
 being obliged to support apple trees thirty feet each way, with pears, peaches, 
 small fruit, grass and weeds besides. Such overcrowding is asking too much of any 
 soil unless thoroughly cultivated and manured, and even then the advisability of such 
 a practice is questionable. 
 
 Figure No. 4. A photograph taken last September in Mr. Aldrich's old apple 
 orchard at Neoga, Illinois. Note the fine healthy appearance of these old trees due 
 to thorough cultivation, spraying and pruning. This orchard produces annually 
 heavy crops of fruit. Compare this view with Figure No. 3 and Figure No. 5. 
 
 Figure No. 5. A photograph taken last September in an Illinois orchard. This 
 shows defoliated trees and small sized inferior fruit resulting from lack of cultivation 
 and spraying. Compare with Figures No. 4 and No. 6. 
 
 Figure No. 6. A photograph taken in September in the old orchard at the Uni- 
 versity of Illinois. This view shows the result of careful cultivation, spraying and 
 pruning. Compare with Figure No. 5. 
 
 Figure No. 7. A photograph of an Illinois orchard showing the difference in 
 size of trees resulting from a difference in method of treatment. The trees on the 
 right are stunted and are much inferior to those on the left, which are the same age. 
 This dwarfing is due to the injudicious cropping of the land with oats and for one 
 season only. 
 
 Figure No. 8. This photograph shows a renovated old apple tree in Mr. 
 Aldrich's orchard. Note the healthy foliage and good supply of excellent fruit 
 resulting from careful pruning together with cultivation and spraying. 
 
 Figure No. 9. This photograph shows, at the left, nine Winesap apples which 
 were the best to be found on unsprayed trees; at the right are shown nine of the best 
 fruit of the same variety taken from adjoining rows which were sprayed. Three each 
 of these sets were selected independently by the three gentlemen, Mr. Jolly, Mr. 
 Aldrich and Mr. R. A Simpson, while visiting the latter's orchard in Richland 
 county, Illinois, last July. These well illustrate the character of fruit produced upon 
 the sprayed and unsprayed portion of Mr. Simpson's orchard. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA