THE FAILURE OF ORCHARDS, AND ITS REMEDY. 197 



other crop. Large sprouts have been allowed to grow from 

 the collar, and the trees have received such ruinous treat- 

 ment that they are nearly worthless. Let the reader com- 

 pare these ruined trees with the fine-appearing illustration 

 on p. 117. An axe is no more suitable for trimming apple- 

 trees than such an edge-tool is for cutting one's finger-nails 

 or his hair. 



5. Four-score years ago, noxious insects, grubs, beetles, 

 curculios, borers, caterpillars, worms, and aphides, seldom 

 injured bearing fruit-trees more than enough to thin out 

 the superabundant crops. But now, if a man plants an 

 orchard of the very best and hardiest varieties of apples, 

 he must watch for grubs in the roots, for borers in the 

 bodies of the trees, dispute his title to the fruit with innu- 

 merable caterpillars, with army-worms, canker-worms, and 

 many other worms, with untold numbers of the codling, 

 moth, the irrepressible curculio, in a hand-to-hand contest, 

 and with uncounted numbers of aphides, which are ready 

 to suck.the last drop of sap from every growing tree. 



From the foregoing suggestions, every intelligent pomol- 

 ogist will perceive what difficult influences and formidable 

 enemies of both the apple-trees and the fruit must be en- 

 countered when an effort is made to produce a crop of 

 apples. 



We well recollect, when a small lad, that the father of 

 the writer, and most people in that vicinity, had their or- 

 chards cut to pieces in the most stupid and wanton man- 

 ner, by men who knew no more about training and pruning 

 fruit-trees than the verdant son of Erin who cut down a 

 young orchard when he was directed to prune the trees. 

 We have seen many large and prolific apple-trees, after the 

 bodies had literally decayed to the heart, in consequence 

 of the large wounds, standing on two prongs before the 

 trees died. None of those orchards that were hacked so 



