APPLE ORCHARD BURNED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9912, 29 July 1910, Page 2

APPLE ORCHARD BURNED.

The Wolihouse apple orchard, on the main line of the Santa Fo railroad, in Osage County, near Wakarusa, the second largest orchard in the State, has been destroyed. The act, says the Topcka (Kansas) correspondent of the "New York Herald," was done with premeditation and malice aforethought. The guilty parties were the owners. Twenty vears ago Fred. Wolihouse, the apple king of Kansas, set out the orchard. It contained 800 acres. Nearly 05,000 trees were required. The trees grew fairly well for the first few years,"but when it came time for them to bear they bucked. Investigation developed that the soil was not adapted to apple-growing. For fifteen years Mr Well house and'his son held on to the orchard in the hope that the elements might produce a change. Occasionally tho orchard would yield a light crop. "One vcar it did manage to turn out oOOOdcf worth of fruit. But, on the whole, tho orchard was a.failure. Mr Wolihouse. sold the orchard last year. It was divided up among two or three purchasers. The new owners decided not to. fool with the orchard any longer. So one day recently, when th'-Twind was strong and vegetation all dry, they set fire to the orchard and burned it up. It is estimated that more than 45,000 live apple trees were burned. Thousands of trees were burned up entirely. Others were burned, off at tho trunks. The owners will clear up the ground, and put it into grass, corn and other crops. "It made' me feel badly to see that orchard destroyed." said Secretary Wolihouse, of the State Horticultural Society. '•I helped to set it out, and I had great hopes of large returns on my money when the trees were planted. Bui, as everybody the orchard was a failure. 'Vvo didn't examine the subsoil close enough when wo selected tho land for apple-growing."