522 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
one-sided fruit. A mellow, fertile soil is necessary, which should be 
deep enough to allow the roots to extend, and be dry and well drained, to 
prevent injury from stagnant water below the surface; firm, and not 
peaty or spongy, to preclude disaster from frost, mildew, or rust. The 
only trees that will not bear a high fertility are those brought originally 
from warmer countries, and liable to suffer from frosts, as the peach, 
nectarine, and apricot, which would be stimulated to a late growth, and 
the immature wood be injured in winter. Granite soils are among the best 
for apples, as this rock abounds in feldspar and mica, both of which 
contain potash. As these rocks disintegrate and enter into the com- 
position of the soil, they supply one of the most necessary elements for - 
the formation of good trees and apples. 
In regard to the proper time for pruning there is great diversity of 
opinion among pomologists, their recommendations ranging from mid- 
winter to midsummer. Some, implying that to do the work well is 
more important than to do it at any particular season, say it should be 
done “‘ whenever one’s knife is sharp.” After mentioning the diverse 
and sometimes obscure views of writers on this question, Mr. Todd 
Says it is best to begin to lead and direct i» the bud, and in early spring 
_to pinch off certain buds that would grow into branches which must 
ultimately be cut off. Ina word, the true secret of scientific pruning and 
training is to pinch off a bud that would make a branch that must be 
cut off. An experienced pruner, by a glance at a young tree, can see 
the proper buds to be removed, and in three minutes prune it with his 
thumb-nail, so that the tree may need no more care for the season. Trees 
thus managed will never need the cutting away of large limbs, 
except when injured by teams, or broken by snow or wind. While 
there is no uncertainty as to the expediency of top-pruning, Mr. Todd 
is skeptical as to any advantage in root-pruning; and this, after investi- 
gating the subject thoroughly, and having been on the watch for many 
years for a single instance or experiment affording an argument in fayor 
of the practice. Where there is danger of the growth of wood being 
extended so late in the autumn that the new growth would be killed 
in winter, the true remedy is to pinch off the terminal buds, instead of 
severing the roots. This will check the lateral and upward growth of 
the branches, and the sap and cambium will at once begin to develop 
the buds, thus inducing fruitfulness and promoting the maturity of the 
green wood and tender branches, so that before cold weather every 
twig and shoot will be fully ripened and prepared to withstand the rig- 
ors of winter. By pinching or clipping the terminal twigs late in sum- 
mer on some trees, and late in September on others, the pruner will 
have complete control of the growth and development of the branches. 
If the twigs commence growing a second time, they should be clipped 
again. By such management for one or two seasons this rampant 
growth can be so controlled that the great flow of sap will promote 
abundant fruitfulness, rather than surplus wood. 
The practice of scraping old trees so thoroughly as to remove all the 
shaggy, dead bark is pronounced worse than useless labor, except where 
it is evident that the bark conceals insects or their eggs. In that case 
the denuded parts should be protected with a coat of pitch and tallow. 
This rough bark is provided by nature as a protection against the 
adverse influences of climate, and for maintaining in even balance that 
degree of warmth favorable to the healthy exercise of the functions of 
gréwth and productiveness. Wood, particularly in the direction across 
the grain, is a non-conductor of heat in an eminent degree. This prac- 
tice of scraping off the rough bark promotes no good end. Even the 
