My Apple Orchard

Written for Missouri Ruralist

By A.J. Wilder, Rock Ridge Farm, Mansfield, Mo.

How a “Tenderfoot” Knowing Nothing About Orcharding Learned the Business in Missouri-Quail As Insect Destroyers

This week the Ruralist’s front cover illustration shows a 12-year-old apple tree with Mr. Wilder, the writer of this article, standing beside it. There was gathered from this tree at one time 5 barrels of No.1 and 3 barrels of No.2 apples as a result of his cultural methods.-Editor

When I bought my farm in fall, some years ago, there were 800 apple trees growing on it in nursery rows. Two hundred had been set out the spring before, in an old wornout field, where the land was so poor it would not raise a stalk of corn over 4 feet high. This field was all the land cleared on the place; the rest of the farm was covered with oak timber

I have always though it must have been a good agent who persuaded the man of the place to mortgage it for 1,000 apple trees when the ground was not even cleared on which to set them. However he unloaded his blunder onto me and I knew nothing about an orchard; did not even know one apple from another. I did know though that apple trees, or indeed trees of any kind could not be expected to thrive in land too poor to raise corn-fodder, so whenever I made a trip to town I brought back a load of wood ashes from the mill and a load of manure from the livery barn and put it around those trees that were already set out in the field.

I cleared enough land that winter on which to set out trees from the nursery broke it the next spring and put in the trees after I had worked it as smooth as I could. The trees already set out were 25 feet apart in the rows and 32 feet between the rows so I set the others the same way. I dug the holes for the trees large and deep, making the dirt fine in the bottom and mixing some wood ashes with it.

The trees I handled very carefully, not to injure the roots and spread the roots out as nearly as possible in a natural manner, when setting the trees. Fine dirt was put over the roots at first and pressed down firmly, then dirt was shoveled in to fill the hole. Some more wood ashes was mixed with the dirt when it was being shoveled in. I did not hill the dirt up around the tree, but left a little cupping for conserving moisture. All trash was raked away, leaving it clean and smooth, and again I used some wood ashes, scattering them around the tree, but being careful that none touched it to injure the bark. The ashes were used altogether with the idea of fertilizing the soil and with no idea of any other benefit, but I think they may have saved my orchard.

It is confessing to a colossal ignorance, but I found out later that I had planted woolly aphis on nearly every one of my apple tree roots. At the time I thought that for some reason they were a little moldy. I read afterward in an orchard paper that lye from the wood ashes would destroy the woolly aphis and save the tree and as the use of wood ashes was kept up for several years I give them the credit for saving my trees.

As I never allowed hunting on the farm, the quail were thick in the orchard and used to wallow and dust themselves like chickens in the fine dirt close to the tree. I wish this fact to be particularly noted in connection with the other fact that I had no borers in my trees for years.

A near neighbor set out 2,000 trees about the same time and lost seven eights of them because of borers. He used every possible means to rid his trees of them except the simple one of letting the quail and other birds live in his orchard. Instead he allowed his boys to kill every bird they saw.

My apples were sound and smooth, not wormy, which I also credit to the birds for catching insects of all kinds, as I never sprayed the trees. Within the last few years the hunters, both boys and men, have been so active that it has been impossible to save my quail and so I have had to begin the eternal round of spraying, and cutting the trees to get the borers out.

When I set the trees I trimmed them back a good deal. While I knew nothing of the science of trimming I knew that I did not want a forked tree, so I trimmed to one stem with a few little branches left at the top. I watched the trees as they grew and trimmed away while they were very small all the branches that would interlock or rub against another branch.

In the fall I always whitewashed the trees to keep the rabbits from gnawing the bark and if the storms washed it off I whitewashed them again. Every spring they were whitewashed in April as sort of house-cleaning and to make the bark smooth, so it would not harbor insects, for I found that if there was a rough place there was where the eggs of insects were deposited.

Between the trees I raised corn, potatoes and gardened until the trees were 8 years old, when I seeded the land down to timothy and clover. Of course when I raised crops I fertilized them enough to make them grow and the trees always got there share. As a result I get a good hay crop out of the orchard making two good crops from the land. I think that one thing that has made my orchard a success is that I took individual care of each tree. What that particular tree needed, it got. Wife and I were so well acquainted with the trees that if I wished to mention one to her I would say “that tree with the large branch to the south,” or “the tree that leans to the north,” etc. The tree that leaned was gently taught to stand straight so that the sun would not burn the bark. This was done by tying it to a stake, firmly driven into the ground on the south side of the tree and from time to time shortening the string which held it.

The trees came into bearing at 7 years old and the apples were extra well colored and smooth skinned. I have had apple buyers and nursery men tell me that my orchard was the prettiest they ever saw, and my Ben Davis are different than any I have ever seen in being better colored and flavored and in the texture of the flesh. People even refuse to believe that they are Ben Davis, at times. My orchard is mostly Ben Davis and the rest is Missouri Pippin. If I were to start another orchard I would plow and cultivate the land for several seasons to prepare it for the trees. The wildness and roughness would be worked out in order to give the little trees a fair chance. Then I should plant apple seed where I wanted the trees to stand, and then but, onto the sprout, the variety I wished to raise. In this way the tap rood would not be disturbed as it is by moving the tree, but would run straight down. This makes a longer-lived, stronger tree.

A. J. Wilder (byline). "My Apple Orchard'." Missouri Ruralist, (June 1, 1912): cover, 1, 5. The cover photograph is of Almanzo Wilder, with the text: "From this 12 year old apple tree in the Ozark country of Missouri were gathered at one time five barrels of No.1, and three barrels of No.2. apples. There were highly colored and of most excellent flavor, This tree is a sample of the trees on the hundred-acre orchard farm of A.J. Wilder, who is shown standing at the side of the tree. After a fruitless struggle on the plains of Dakota, Mr. Wilder came to Missouri, settling at Mansfield. He purchased 40 acres of undeveloped land by going in debt for it and went to work. Mother Nature rewarded his well meant if not well directed efforts-he knew nothing of orcharding at the time. Mr. Wilder has since added another 60 acres. He is out of debt, his land has more than doubled in value and his orchard is regarded by nurserymen and apple buyers as one of the best in the Ozark country."  This photo was reprinted in William Anderson's Laura Ingalls Wilder Country, page 103. --- Two photographs appear on page 5: the first is of "sprayed trees on left, unsprayed on right, after first frosts appear." The second photograph shows two piles of apples, with the caption: "Crop from sprayed tree. 1,032 sound apples on left, 93 scabby apples on right. 91.7% sound apples."

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