182 



California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal, 



nothing but clean earth is placed in con- 

 tact with the roots, as manure or trash 

 of any kind induces a mold or fuugus 

 growth that is poisonous to the tree. 

 What we said last year as to the matter 

 of planting trees we repeat. There are 

 a great many hobbies that are passing 

 current as coin in orchard matters that 

 should be exploded, which are yearly 

 repeated by nurserymen and newspapers 

 about digging immense holes and jmt- 

 ting trash under trees, etc. Don't put 

 manure or other trash under your trees 

 when you plant them. Put no manure 

 or rubbish into the holes about the roots. 

 You can put in lighter, sandier soil, 

 when planting trees on clay land, to 

 good advantage. Plant the tree at about 

 the same depth as it grew, in clean soil, 

 laying the roots in a natural position 

 pointing a little downward. You may 

 put all the manure on the surface, after 

 the tree is planted, that you please, but 

 remember, never put manure next to 

 the roots for fear of rotting them, nor 

 under the tree in our dry climate, as 

 without irrigation it would dry them up. 



A TEEE-PLANTER. 



Usually it takes two men to plant out 

 trees; one to hold the trees in ijosition 

 and one to fill in the soil. It is also 

 found to be difficult to set the tree in the 

 bole exactly where the stake stood before 

 the hole was dug, and the orchard is set 

 out of line in sjjite of all care. A simple 

 implement can be made in a few minutes 

 that will make true work — a triange made 

 of strips of board three or four feet long, 

 solidly fastened at the corners. Place 

 one corner of the triangle at the foot of 

 the stake, and, as it lays on the ground, 

 stick wooden pins at the two other cor- 

 ners. Remove the stake and triangle, 

 and after you dig the hole you will find 

 that you can replace the stake exactly in 

 true line by laying the two corners of 

 the triangle at their respective pins, as 

 at first. A triangle with solid pins a 

 foot long at two corners to hold it fast 

 to the gi-ound, and a clasp or strap to 

 hold the tree in positson at the third 

 corner, can be set in position to the 

 stake and the tree be held while it is 

 planted. In this way the trees can al- 

 ways be planted exactly in row, and 

 with much less labor. 



Tread the soil firmly about the tree, 

 so that the winds shall not shake it 

 loose in the soil, particularly where the 

 soil is light. In dry soil a good watering 

 when planted is good, particularly when 

 the trees are planted late in the season. 

 We advise early planting by all means, 

 when it can be well done. Planting late 

 is better than not to plant at all. 



HANDLING AND SELECTION OF TREES. 



Selecting the trees is a matter of very 

 much importance. Let every tree be of 

 healthy growth and of symmetrical form. 

 Stunted trees, or such as look bad in the 

 nursery, are seldom worth having at any 

 price. Right here we will say that to 

 select fine trees, it is necessary to pur- 

 chase trees early in the season, before 

 the nurseries have been culled over and 

 over again by other purchasers. Even 

 if one does not wish to set the trees out 

 early, it is always best to purchase early, 

 and then heel the trees in on your own 

 place. Nurserymen always find it to 

 their advantage to take the tree up early 

 and heel them in, for their own conven- 

 ience of making sale. It is the best 

 plan— does not injure the trees in the 

 least if well done. 



To heel in the trees, dig a trench 

 inches deep and :iO inches wide, stanil 

 the trees upright in this trench, as close 

 as convenient without crowding the roots 

 too much, and fill in the clean earth 

 among them, shaking them and covering 



the roots thoroughly, so that no air 

 spaces are left among the roots. 



Do not expose the roots to the wind, 

 sun, or drying air any longer than you 

 can help. Careless handling, bruising 

 and exposure is very injurious. Good, 

 healthy, clean roots, not torn to pieces 

 by digging up, will insure a fine healthy 

 growth, under other favorable condi- 

 tions. 



PKCTNING TOPS AND ROOTS. 



Before a tree is planted in orchard the 

 ends of rhe roots, if ragged or bruised, 

 should be smoothly cut ofl' with a sharp 

 knife, that the healing may be rapid and 

 sound. It is advised to delay the trim- 

 ming of the tops of newly transplanted 

 trees until the buds swell' in the spring. 

 Then cut back much or little as you 

 choose, being governed by the form of 

 the tree, and looking to the production 

 of a fine, well formed head. Limbs 

 that run nearly horizontally from the 

 trunk are not liable to split off or break 

 down, but all limbs that are growing 

 crotched with the trunk should be re- 

 moved, or they will some day split down 

 under a load of fruit, to the great injury 

 of the tree. It is best to remove all of 

 the upright shoots and limbs that can be 

 easily split down, while the tree is young, 

 and only strongly jointed horizontal 

 limbs should be encouraged to grow. A 

 single upright leading stalk or stem is 

 enough for a well formed tree. Encour- 

 age the growth of loio spreading limbs 

 but do not allow them to get too long, so 

 as to bend around sideways or obstruct 

 the use of the cultivator. The side 

 limbs the hight that a man can reach 

 will give the main spread to a tree to 

 good advantage. 



ENEMIES OF A YOTJNG ORCHARD. 



The two worst are gophers and borers. 

 It is little use to plant trees in ground 

 badly infested with gophers until the 

 rodents are exterminated. And as long 

 as they are tolerated in an orchard, there 

 can never be success in growing trees or 

 pi-oducing fruits. They naturally in- 

 crease wherever they once get a footing 

 in garden or orchard. Incessant war 

 must be waged against them, with eats, 

 shooting, trapping and poisoning. Trap- 

 ping and poisoning are the sure eradica- 

 tors. 



The best natural preventative against 

 borers is to shade the stem of the trees. 

 This can best be done by winding strips 

 of cloth about the trunk, from the 

 ground up to the limbs. Be sure to 

 cover the base of the tree, as the borers 

 are most likely to attack the tree clo.ss to 

 the ground. Another good way is to 

 put two clapboards on the south and 

 west sides. Set them firmly in the 

 ground; they will shade the trunk for 

 years, and prevent borers as well as keep 

 the bark fresh and healthy. The reason 

 of this is that while the bark of the 

 tree is cool, the borer moth will not lay 

 eggs in the bark, and if it did they ^ 

 would not hatch. It is only upon such 

 trees as get heated by exposure to the 

 sun that the borers are hatched. Even 

 if the borer should not attack the tree, 

 it IS damaging to the tree to have its 

 trunk exposed to the hot sun, as the 

 scalled bark becomes shriveled, the 

 scalled sap is diseased, and the tree be- 

 comes bark-bound and sufl'ers. Until 

 your trees shade their own trunks it is 

 best to shade them by all means. Dr. 

 Strentzel writes us that a thick coating 

 of paint to the stem of a young tree is 

 the cheapest and best application to keep 

 out borers. 



Rabbits of evei-y variety are very de- 

 structive to fruit trees. In districts 

 where they are numerous a good tight 

 fence should bo made so as to exclude 



them. They girdle the trees when other 

 green feed is scarce. 



Ground squirrels will climb the young 

 stalks of trees and eat ofi' every bud, 

 killing the tree to its roots. They also 

 rob the trees of fruit. Kill oft' the 

 squirrels. 



Caterpillars should not be allowed to 

 denude the young trees of foliage. Look 

 out for this with a watchful eye. 



The green aphis, the woolly aphis, and 

 the scale insect are best kept away by 

 washing with strong soapsuds, in which 

 a little kerosene carbolic acid is put. Too 

 much kerosene is injurious to the tree. 

 Dry lime dust is also good for the green 

 louse. 



Allow no horses, cattle, or sheep to 

 run in the orchard. Pigs and chickens 

 will do no harm ordinarily. Only when 

 jiigs can get no other green feed, they 

 may girdle the trees. 



Chickens should be allowed the run of 

 the orchard. There is no better range 

 for them, and they will eat all sorts of 

 destructive insects, also many weeds and 

 seeds. 



The few hints given above are the con- 

 clusions drawn from long experience and 

 deliberate study and thought, and may 

 be depended upon as being reliable ad- 

 vice. 



We will now give a 



LIST OF BEST FRUITS FOR A FAMILY OR- 

 CHARD. 



In this list we have been assisted by 

 some of the best orchardists in this 

 State, and relj' chiefly on the suggestions 

 of Mr. G. W. Tarleton of San Jose, than 

 whom there is not a more careful, thor- 

 ough or better orchardist in California. 

 His word is authority upon this subject. 

 The number and proportion that we give 

 is for a common family orchard. Per- 

 sons planting trees for market should 

 of course be governed by a dift'erent 

 rule. 



Early — Three Red Astrachau; 2 Red 

 June; 2 White Astrachau; 2 Golden Pip- 

 pin; 3 Skinner's Seedling, or Maiden's 

 Blush; 1 Gravenstein; 1 Early Sweet 

 Bow, for baking. The Golden Pippin is 

 a very tart and high flavored apple, mak- 

 ing it desirable for cooking and drying. 

 It does not dry white as some; not so 

 fine for market as for home use. The 

 Gravenstein falls from the tree badly be- 

 fore ripening, but is fine for eating. 

 Skinner's Seedling hangs well to the 

 tree, is an extra eating and cooking ap- 

 ple, and good for drying. 



Early Winter Apples — Six Y'ellow Bell- 

 flower; 2 Jonathan; 1 Smith's Cider. 



The apples that dry white, and are in 

 demand l)y the Alden factories for dessi- 

 cation are Skinner's Seedling, Graven- 

 stein, Smith's Cider, Fall Pippin, Wine 

 Sap, and last but not least, the Y'ellow 

 Bellflower. 



Late Keeping Apple^f — 10 Yellow Newton 

 Pippins; 3 AVhite Winter Pearmain; 1 

 Nickerjack, and 1 late Talman's Sweet. 



This makes 35 apple trees, all extra 

 good kinds for California. There are 

 other sorts, favorites with some. Of 

 course we advise each person to have a 

 tree of !us favorite in addition to this 

 list. 



For an apple orchard for profit where 

 winter apples ripen late, as in Santa 

 Clara county, and keej) well, the Newton 

 I'ippin is the very best one to pl4nt. 

 Some orchardists say the only one from 

 one acre to a hundred acres would bo the 

 Newton Pippin. 



This selection will make a respectable 

 orchard for any farmer for family use. 

 Persons living in the hot interior valhys 

 should consult orchardists there as to 

 what particular early varieties are most 



profitable for early market. For a fam- 

 ily orchard the varieties we have men- 

 tioned are very choice, and succeed each 

 other admirably in the very order in 

 which we have given them. 



PEARS. * 



Early and Late, as they come in suc- 

 cession. — Two Dearborn SeedlinRs; 1 

 Madaline; 2 Buerre Gifford; 4 Bartlett; 

 1 Sickle; 2 Flemish Beauty; 3 Buerre 

 Hardy; 2 White Boyenner; 5 Winter 

 Nellis; 2 Easter Buerre. There is no 

 better flavored pear for drying or can- 

 ning than the Bartlett; but owing to the 

 softness of the core when ripe enough to 

 dry nicely, it will not hold to the fork of 

 a paring machine, and is not so profita- 

 ble for the drying factory as the Flemish 

 Beauty, which is round, smooth, easily 

 worked on a machine, and is one of the 

 verj' nicest drying pears. But for 

 home use the Bartlett is the best, and 

 brings the highest price in market of any 

 dried pear. Last year we named Glout 

 Morceau and Swan's Orange as desirable 

 drying pears. But we find by further 

 investigation, and advice, that it was a 

 mistake, and we no longer recommend 

 them. The Flemish Beauty is an excel- 

 lent drying pear. Its shape is round 

 and sm'ooth, it dries white, has a fine 

 flavor, and for easy working and desira- 

 ble qualities has no equal. Of this there 

 is no mistake. The best shipping pears 

 for Eastern markets are the Winter Nel- 

 lis and Easter Buerre. At one time the 

 Bartlett and Buerre Hardy were thought 

 the best, but they do not keep well, and 

 arrive there when Eastern pears are 

 plentiful, while the winter varieties get 

 there in a sound condition and at a tirne 

 when Eastern pears are not brought into 

 competition to lower prices. 



With pears as well as apples, those 

 varieties that keep longest should be cul- 

 tivated in the greatest quantities. The 

 Bartlett and Flemish Beauty being ex- 

 cellent to dry and can, should give them 

 preference for this purpose. 



The Winter Nellis is the very best fla- 

 vored late pear for home market. The 

 Easter Buerre is chiefly valued for its 

 long keeping qualities. It lasts after all 

 others are gone. 



QUINCES. 



Two Orange variety. Quinces are ex- 

 cellent baking fruit, and for canning, 

 either alone or with pears. The trees 

 should be grown like a shrub, and not 

 be pruned up into a slender tree. 



PLUMS. 



One Cherry Plum; 1 Early Golden 

 Drop; 1 Royal Hative; 1 Jefferson; 2 

 Columbia; 2 Green Gage; 2 Ickworth's 

 Imperatrice; 2 Coe's Late Red. The 

 latter plum will last till Christmas, and 

 is desirable chiefly for its late keeping 

 qualities. Best for canning — Grf en 

 Gage. Best plums for drying, are Jef- 

 ferson, Washington, Ickworth's Impera- 

 trice, Columbia, Rein Claud de Bavey, 

 General Hand and Royal Hative. The 

 Columbia and General Hand ai'e really 

 the best, as the flesh of both is remark- 

 ably firm and substantial. The Royal 

 Hative is a fair drying plum and an im- 

 mense bearer. Soft, mushy plums are 

 not desirable tor drying, but the plum 

 that has a rich flavor, solid jnilp and is 

 easily pitted, is a di'yiug plum. The 

 Quackenboss is called the best shipping 

 ])lum, owing to its beauty and keeping 

 qualities. 



Nurserymen graft or bud a good many 

 peach stocks with plums. The following 

 kinds of plums do as well or better on 

 peach than on phim roots wh<>n jilunted 

 on light, drained soils, (but renu.mbir 

 that for heavy soils, plums do best on 

 plum roots,) viz: Royal Native, Y'ellow 

 Egg, Jefl'erson, Imperial Gage, Duauc's 



'J^^ 



