ORCHARDS. 93 



5. Tend your trees carefully. For the first few years it is 

 advantageous to keep the ground in cultivation, at least occa- 

 sionally. Trim judiciously, not severely, unless the grape is an 

 exception to the rule. The small branches can be taken off at 

 any time of tlie year. The large branches seem more readily 

 to harden and to be kept from decay until grown over, when 

 trimmed in the winter. A strong soap suds or a very weak 

 solution of potash applied to the body of certain trees, like the 

 apple and pear, is recommended for giving them a smooth bark. 

 Keep cattle away, but let in pigs and poultry, when it can con- 

 veniently be done, as it may sometimes. Our limits will not 

 allow us to point out the various modes of defending them from 

 their insect enemies. We will venture to suggest a repetition 

 of a series of experiments, tried by one of our number ten or 

 fifteen years since, which appeared to be eminently efiicacious 

 in destroying insect life. Sulphur intimately mingled with 

 quicklime or with saleratus, appeared to be efficacious in de- 

 stroying the worm in the root of peach trees, and tlie grubs 

 and worms in garden beds. Would not these mixtures, thrown 

 in powder upon trees, be a preservative against insects like the 

 curculio, and the caterpillar, and canker-worm ? The experi- 

 ment is worth trying. If this should not succeed, are there not 

 certain mineral poisons which might be proved by experiment 

 to be efficacious in protecting vegetable life from insects ? As 

 the enemies to fruit increase, let your vigilance increase. 



The motives for the cultivation of fruit may be found in its 

 relation to beauty, health, comfort, and profit. Fruit trees in 

 leaf, in flower, and in fruit, are eminently beautiful. Some of 

 them are shapely and graceful in their forms. Certain pear 

 trees and cherry trees are almost as regular and symmetrical 

 as the evergreens. Besides being ornamental, they, like other 

 trees, protect the house from the intense heat of summer and 

 the intense cold of winter, by their shade or by breaking the 

 force of the winds. Fruit is wholesome. Bonaparte, on a 

 certain occasion, cured his army of the dysentery by sending 

 them into the vineyards to eat ripe grapes. Moreover, the 

 cultivation of fruit can be made profitable, even when conducted 

 on a great scale. Witness the peach orchards of New Jersey 

 and the apple orchards of New York, Fruit trees make home 



