92 ORCHARDS. 



to remove the rough bark that curls up and is ready to peel 

 off; and which is the hiding place for insects. Besides these 

 advantages, the soapsuds (which must not he too thick or too 

 strong for very young trees) is diluted by the rains and grad- 

 ually washed off, nourishing the roots and leaving the young 

 stems smooth and green. This stimulating process is so highly 

 beneficial to the luxuriant growth of young trees, that the 

 farmer or orchardist should not fail to practice it. The old 

 and the grown up trees of the orchard may receive the same 

 treatment, and with the same satisfactory results ; and the 

 size, flavor and quality of the fruit will be greatly improved. 



In illustration of our ideas on this subject, we append the 

 following extract from an article on Fruit, by J. S. Skinner, 

 of the "Farmers' Cabinet," written about twenty-three years 

 ago: 



"From some facts which I have seen but lately, apparently 

 on good authority, I am inclined to think that, like some ani- 

 mals, fruit trees become hide bound, and that like them, also, 

 a good scrubbing and cleaning, to open the pores and promote 

 free perspiration, would grcatl}^ contribute to their health. I 

 have lately met with the following statement, which seems 

 highly worthy of attention. It is known to all who know 

 anything of botany, that the bark of a tree when divided 

 horizontally, presents three parts ; liher^ or inner bark, which 

 lies next to the wood; the cellular tissue, or iKirenchyma^ 

 distinguished in the bark of a tree by its fine color, but color- 

 less in the bark of the roots ; and lastly, the ejndermis, or 

 outward bark, which is the universal covering of every part 

 of a tree. _ Now the experiment to which I refer, to ascertain 

 the effect of removing this rough, hardened epidermis^ or out- 

 side coating, from the trunk and limbs of a very large and 

 aged pear tree, was this : the limbs, or branches of the tree, 

 as is often the case in Europe, were trained espalier fashion, 

 or horizontally along the west wall, the branches extending 

 in the most perfect order on each side of the large trunk. 

 The stem or body of the tree was cleared of the rough- ei[>\- 

 dermis entirely, and the branches on one side also were treated 

 in like manner. The branches which extend on the other 



