Ill 



OSAGE ORANGE. 



L. B. C., Missouri. I write to ask if you can tell me of a way to destroy the osage 

 orange hedge fence. This is becoming unpopular among the best farmers on account 

 of the cost of trimming, making it hog-proof, and its taking the substance of the 

 ground for such a wide space each side of it. Cutting it, letting it dry, and then 

 burning will not do, as it will sprout again from the old roots. 



Answer. The best method of destroying the hedge is to cut the tops of the plants 

 so that the remaining stock and roots can l>e grubbed out, and the more effectually 

 these are removed the less trouble will result with sue kers ; but when these do ap- 

 pear they should be hoed out as other weeds are destroyed. Plowing the ground 

 deeply for several feet on each side of the original hedge line will break and bring to 

 the surface some of the roots, every fragment of which should be removed. It will 

 not be practicable to get rid of every piece of root at once, but if timely attention is 

 given to the removal of such growths as may appear, the whole will eventually be 

 eradicated. 



WELL-KIPENBD WOOD. 



This is a technical phrase much used by fruit-growers to indicate a 

 favorable condition of fruit-bearing plants, and as indicating the basis 

 of success for fruit production and healthy vitality of the plant. No 

 plant can long remain in a state of health if placed under conditions 

 where its yearly growths do not mature, and it can not be too vividly 

 impressed upon the mind of the cultivator of fruits that full and com- 

 plete maturity of the seasonal growths of his trees and plants is the 

 foundation of success. Without it, so far as fruit production is con- 

 cerned, failure is inevitable. 



The amount of cold which plants can endure without injury depends 

 greatly upon the degree of maturity of their growths. Too much im- 

 portance can not be placed upon the recognition of the fact that what- 

 ever tends to render plant tissue moist increases the susceptibility of 

 the plant to injury from cold, and whatever tends to reduce humidity 

 and hasten the conversion of fluid matter into woody fiber increases its 

 power of resisting cold, and it is clearly within the province of the cul- 

 tivator to largely control this power of resistance in plants so far that 

 failures or successes will in many cases depend upon his perception of 

 the application of principles influencing vegetable growth. 



It would be no easy task to determine how much of the disappoint- 

 ments and failures in fruit culture are due to luxuriant late growths which 

 have been struck by cold, and growth arrested before reaching maturity. 



The amount of cold that plants can resist without being injured can 

 not be definitely answered, because a plant will sometimes be destroyed 

 by a degree of cold that it previously encountered without harm. This 

 simply shows that the resisting powers of plants are not constant, but 

 that they are dependent upon the condition of growth with reference 

 to its maturity. 



Future investigation will undoubtedly determine that most of the 

 so-called diseases of plants originate from injuries received from sudden 

 checks of growth, and it will likely be found that the results, although 



