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FARM, ORCHARD, DAIRY AND GARDEN. 



This object is attained by causing them 

 to branch low, and by curbing the upper 

 limbs, at both the summer and winter 

 pruning, thinning them out and shorten- 

 ing them in such a manner as to keep the 

 lower branches always the longest; the 

 result will be the desired conical tree, 

 which shall have all of its twigs, fruit and 

 foliage well exposed to the sun and air. 



Culture and Pruning. — The pear or- 

 chards may be treated like those of the 

 apple, excepting that the general habit of 

 the former is pyramidal, and of the latter 

 globular, so that the pruning will require 

 some modification, though conducted 

 upon the same principles. While young, 

 the ground among the trees should be 

 well cultivated, but after they have at- 

 tained some size, after six or eight years, 

 they are found to do better in grass than 

 if the cultivation be continued. These 

 remarks apply to the pear on free-stalks, 

 but those trees that are dwarfed upon the 

 quince, or by severe and continued root- 

 pruning will reqiure high culture and even 

 manure. 



Peaches are always acceptable, easily 

 grown, and they come into fruiting at an 

 early age, generally the third year. Un- 

 fortunately they are not constant bearers, 

 as the flower buds are often injured by 

 the severity of winter or by spring frosts. 

 Peach trees will grow on almost any soil, 

 but light sandy or gravelly lands and ele- 

 vated situations seem best adapted to 

 them. The trees should be one year old 

 from the bud, cut back to a bare stem 

 about two feet long before planting. 

 They should be set from fifteen to twenty 

 feet apart in the orchard, planted in the 

 spring, and the ground must be cultivated 

 continually to secure the best results. 

 Mounding the tree has been advocated, 

 but it is an expensive operation, the merits 

 of which have not yet been fully demon- 

 strated. There is a great variety of this 

 fruit, both in its color, flavor, consistence, 

 and season. There are clings and free- 

 stones of all colors. The former are the 

 best, the latter are most popular. The 

 season extends from the first of August 

 until the middle of October in this lati- 

 tude. Those which ripen earlier or later 

 are of less value. 



Plums are so sadly affected by the Cur- 

 culio that few of us know how excellent a 

 fruit this is. Occasionally the rascals 



stand back, and thus we get a crop ; and 

 some cultivators have succeeded in coun- 

 terworking the enemy so as to preserve 

 their fruit. Trees planted in trodden 

 places near houses have escaped the at- 

 tacks of these insects, and have borne 

 crops for many years, so that farmers are 

 urged to continue planting plum trees in 

 such situations. There are some varie- 

 ties, however, which appear to escape 

 these invaders, among them the little 

 Damson, which is well worth cultivating, 

 as it makes good preserves. 



Cherries. — This delicious fruit appears 

 to be more fastidious as to soil than any 

 other; for though it will grow almost 

 anywhere, it does not stand well on our 

 rich limestone lands. Those soils that 

 are natural to the chesnut appear to be 

 the most suitable for cherries. 



There are some very hardy varieties 

 that seem to do equally well on any kind 

 of land ; these are called the Dukes and 

 Morellos, they are mostly sour, and are. 

 chiefly valuable for cooking cherries; 

 may be planted ten, fifteen or twenty feet 

 apart, according to their class, as Morel- 

 los, Dukes, or Hearts and Bigarreaus, the 

 last being the largest. The trees should 

 not be too old when planted, two or three 

 years from the bud or graft is enough. 

 They should be headed back, so as to 

 branch low, and should be grown as pyr- 

 amids. All the pruning should be done 

 while they are young, as they do not 

 readily heal over the stump of a large 

 limb. These trees are very apt to split 

 and burst their bark, especially where the 

 stems are exposed to the sun by trimming 

 them up as standards; hence the impor- 

 tance of low heads. This accident is 

 most common in the free growing kinds 

 and in rich soils. 



Quinces have been too much overlooked 

 by our farmers, who could not present 

 their families with a more acceptable 

 offering than the fruit from a few trees 

 planted in some low spot of rich, moist 

 soil, such as that which receives the slops 

 and drainage from the dwelling house. 



These trees are rather hardy, and will 

 occupy little space, as they never grow 

 large, and can be planted eight or ten. 

 feet apart. They should be trained to- 

 one stem, branched about three or four 

 feet from the ground,, and kept trimmed 

 to open heads. 



