78 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[March, 



a clean cultured orchard which does very well, 

 and another one where it does not at all. Possi- 

 bly the one lies to the full sun, the former on a 

 shady slope. So one has an English gooseberry 

 which never mildews, while with another it is 

 good for nothing, — neither knowing that a goose- 

 berry never mildews when the soil is not too 

 warm. 



But we must to more practical hints, and 

 would say that in choosing a site for an orchard, 

 always, if possible, get a position where the 

 ground is not exposed to the full midday sun if 

 you are living in any warm place. Of course as 

 our readers get towards the north pole they will 

 invite rather than shun the sunny rays. 



Besides orchard trees, small fruits in many 

 cases like cool soil. People often complain that 

 their currants drop their leaves early, in which 

 case they don't mature a very large crop the 

 next season. The currant is a native of cool re- 

 gions, and the coolest ground should always be 

 devoted to it. The leaves do not fall early then. 

 In this section the currant borer is the worst in- 

 sect pest. About this season the larvse will be 

 found in the pith, and the shoots containing 

 them should be cut off and burned. If the shoots 

 look weak and starved, like on plants, which 

 have some of them very strong and vigorous, it 

 is quite likely they have the larvae of these 

 borers in the weak ones. This can then be de- 

 termined by examination. 



In setting out raspberries and blackberries, 

 remember the hints we have before given, not to 

 set out deeper than the plant grew before. A 

 currant or gooseberry set deep will loot from 

 the cane, but a raspberry will not. The new 

 buds have to come up from the roots. Thou- 

 sands of these plants die every year. In nurse- 

 ries there are two kinds of plants, — plants which 

 are simply suckers, taken off in winter, and plants 

 taken up as they sprout during summer and set 

 out to grow awhile before fall. These are called 

 transplanted plants, and are worth much more 

 than others. Transplanted plants seldom die. 

 Both raspberries and blackberries should be cut 

 down within six inches or a foot before planting. 

 Transplanted plants may be left longer, and be 

 allowed to bear a little ; but if these plants are 

 allowed to produce much the first year after set- 

 ting out, the suckers for next year are very weak 

 Little is gained by having fruit the first year. 



Strawberries, like raspberries, are often de- 

 stroyed by planting. Only the fibrous roots 

 should be set under the ground, — never the bud. 



Sometimes the excuse is that the plant will not 

 set firm in the ground without ; in this case, 

 make the ground firm by rolling or beating down 

 before planting. 



Grape vines in the open air, on arbors and 

 trellisses, should have their pruning finished be- 

 fore warm spring days set in, or they will bleed. 

 It does not injure them much, but it looks bad. 

 The pruning must be regulated by the condition 

 of the vine. If the vines are young and the 

 shoots weak, cut them all back, to make a new 

 and vigorous growth. If already a fair quantity 

 of strong shoots of last season's growth exists, 

 cut out the weaker ones, so as to leave enough 

 of stronger ones. The cane system, slightly 

 modified, is best for arbors and trellisses in the 

 hands of amateurs generally. This implies a 

 new set of canes every year or two. If, as fre- 

 quently happens from bad management, all the 

 young and strong-bearing wood exists only at 

 the end of the vines, and these latter have be- 

 come nothing but long, ropy-looking apologies 

 for what a vine should be, the whole cane may 

 be buried down in the soil to where the strong 

 shoots spring from, and the young wood of last 

 season trained up from this. The plant will 

 then recover its good appearance quite as well 

 as by cutting down, with the advantage of not 

 sacrificing a year's growth of fruit. Grapes that 

 have become weak from age maybe renewed by 

 layering down a branch some feet just under the 

 surface, and then cut back, so that one good eye 

 only be left at the surface of the soil. 



Apple trees in orchards are often so thickly 

 matted with branches, that none of the leaves 

 get their full share of light and air. This should 

 never have been permitted, but as it is, a vigor- 

 ous thinning out should be effected, though the 

 axe and saw be called in to effect it. Sprouts 

 will come out thick next summer after such 

 pruning, but they should be torn out while green. 



Peaches, it is said, grow too strong generally, 

 and should not be pruned ; but the same rule 

 holds good as with apples. Thin out all weak 

 or crowded shoots. Our experience is that if a 

 peach tree's constitution is not impaired by bad 

 treatment, it seldom grows too strong for its own 

 good. 



This is a busy season south of Pennsylvania in 

 the vegetable garden. Here we must wait till 

 the end of the month, and northward still later. 

 The crops noted will, of course, be dependent on 

 the arrival of the season, which is rather indicated 

 by the ground becoming warm and dry, than by 



