32 Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



Fameuse, Tallman Sweet and Golden Russett. For crab apples, 

 plant as many as you wish of Transcendent, Hislop, Montreal 

 Beauty, Whitney's No. 20, Lake Winter, Briar Sweet, etc. The 

 Pewaukee, Walbridge, Wealthy, Wolf River and others are grow- 

 ing, but have not fruited much yet. The Ben Davis we have 

 tried and discarded, as of too poor quality for anybody to eat. 



The care, culture, and pruning of an orchard are subjects upon 

 which fruitgrowers differ, and no positive rules can be laid down 

 to govern all cases. I have been of the opinion that the orchard 

 should be cultivated to some hoed crop till coming into bearing, 

 but others think it should always be in grass, or if cropped at all, 

 with buckwheat, occasionally. There is great danger of injur 

 ing the roots by too close or too deep plowing, and bru'sing and 

 barking the tree with the whiffletrees. A common whiffltree 

 should never be used in an orchard. I use oae eighteen inches 

 long, with tug hooked on back side some four or five inches from 

 the end, the tug passing around the end, which is made flat to fit 

 the tug. This never barks the tree, no matter how close you 

 drive. I am experimenting with an acre of young trees in grass, 

 keeping them mulched to kill the grass. I think it may do ; they 

 are looking and growing well. 



I have lost large trees by faulty pruning when small, which no 

 after-care could remedy. There must be some calculation as to 

 growth and how the tree will look when large. I think no 

 branches should be left directly or nearly opposite each other, for 

 they are apt to crowd the central or leading shoot. Neither 

 should they grow nearly upright, or at too acute an angle, for they 

 are likely to become false, than which nothing is worse ; more 

 trees are ruined from this cause than from any other. We have 

 many trees sent to us from the nursery in very bad shape in this 

 particular. Many a farmer sees nothing wrong, supposing the 

 nurseryman knows better how to prune than he does, and so the 

 tree grows to bearing size and splits to pieces. For this reason I 

 should never order large trees. Small trees lose less roots when 

 dug; have smaller branches to support, and the freight is much 

 less. 



The farmer who intends to grow a good orchard —and all should 



