Winter Meetins:. ■ 183 



'ii 



Now what is to be done to recover such an irreparable loss which 

 is so discouraging. Necessarily we must renew ; the sooner this is 

 <lone the sooner we shall have surmounted these difficulties. Often- 

 times we see very rapid growths that give excellent fruit products, 

 •and old trees can and will re'build by proper care and attention. First 

 rub off the old rough bark and then apply a wash made of assafoetida 

 dissolved in milk, thickened with lime and sulphur; also wash all the 

 large limbs, and repeat the wash on the bodies, as the rain may wash 

 it off. Then cultivate by spading and hoeing close up to the trees. 

 Scatter old rotted manure thickly on the ground. Nothing for general 

 use is equal to stable manure. It gives the most satisfactory results. 

 Leached ashes prove very successful. Plowing with repeated har- 

 rowing will give excellent fruits. If the ground is heavily set in 

 Ijlue grass or timothy, plow it all under shallow, but close up to the 

 trees ; use a disc harrow, and thoroughly pulverize the soil, and to 

 •encourage cultivation plant pumpkins the first two years, then sow to 

 buckwheat or clover, which will help to rebuild the ground and make 

 a good mulching; replant if any have died and secure them from 

 danger of any kind. Next to good cultivation, nothing contributes 

 more to bring out the excellent qualities of fruit and to give a hand- 

 some appearance than the attention to thinning out ; fruit will be larger 

 and of a finer flavor. Whenever it becomes necessary to replant, the 

 voung trees are dug from the ground, any bruised roots should be re- 

 moved, the tree then transplanted with much care. 



Can man fail to enjoy a beautiful orchard? The blooming or 

 loaded trees, the work of his own hand, who has carefully sought what 

 and where to plant, prune and cultivate. The home work should not 

 be neglected^ because so great good can be realized from such small 

 efforts. What abundant success soon follows ! Then are we not 

 doubl}^ repaid for renewing our orchards? 



VARIETIES OF APPLES— GOOD, BAD AND INDIFFERENT. 



(By G. P. Turner, Aleadville, Mo.) 



In planting an orchard the variety of fruit planted is of immense 

 importance. One may have an ideal site for an orchard, may select his 

 trees with great care, may cultivate and care for them according to the 

 most approved methods, but if the variety is not a proper one or one 

 not adapted to his special market, all of his time and labor are worse 

 than wasted. No doubt, man}- such experiences have come under the 



