184 STATE hortichltueal society. 



As it now is, a tree is alternately deprived of necessary moisture and 

 surcharged therewith. In other words, it is now starved and again 

 surfeited, though more often the former. 



Physiology teaches that irregularity and excess in diet and drink 

 causes man's decay. Surely the same law applies to plant life. During 

 the past wet summer many complaints were heard of pear trees dying 

 from some unaccountable cause. We lost a few, and I found that such 

 stood in cultivated, level or in low ground, where the water had little 

 chance to run off. Was it not a case of excessive surfeit, or gorging, 

 with resultant fatal effect? Is it not reasonable to suppose that if a 

 tree can be kept in a condition in which it is neither under nor overfed 

 — in other words, if it has a regular and sufficient supply of food and 

 moisture — not only during its growing season, but the year round 

 (because a tree can be injured by starvation in winter as well as in 

 summer ), it can resist to a far greater extent injurious climatic con- 

 ditions ? This granted, cannot we put a tree in this condition ? In 

 part, I think it can be done, and that by liberal mulching. 



Our Gregg raspberries have suffered severely for the past two 

 years during the summer, although on rich soil and cultivated, except- 

 ing a few bushes found under the protecting shade of an apple-tree, 

 which were sound and bore well. A neighbor's Gregg patch on similar 

 soil, but mulched with straw, was in good condition and bore well. 

 Another neighbor has in his front yard an old Janeton apple-tree which 

 three years ago was on a decline and bore worthless fruit, so that he 

 spoke of cutting it down. Being forced to place a hydrant near it, 

 the earth about this tree was saturated daily with water wasted in 

 drawing. As a consequence, the tree has renewed its youth and is now 

 as vigorous as in its palmiest days. In our south hillside peach orchard 

 of near 300 trees, four years planted, those which stand on the lowest 

 and richest soil have been cultivated every year, and made a very 

 strong growth from the start, while the others on poorer soil, not cul- 

 tivated, made but little growth the first year. During the second and 

 third years we put a heavy mulch about the latter, and sowed the 

 ground to clover, from which we took half of the first crop of hay, 

 using the other half for additional mulch. The second crop was allowed 

 to fall. The result was astonishing. These trees, although two years 

 ago but half the size of those we cultivated, are now nearly as large, 

 and when the cultivated trees had dropped their leaves this fall, the 

 mulched trees were yet in full leaf. Some may think this late growth 

 will be more liable to injury by a severe winterthan early ripened wood. 

 But we know that late growth canes of raspberries often come out all 

 right in spring, while the early growth succumbs. 



