NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



561 



is not wholly from the atmosphere, and hence, 

 from circumstances above enumerated, the fruit is 

 sometimes affected by the stock. I know of a gen- 

 tleman who had a seedling pear which he has nev- 

 er been able to produce on any other stock. I 

 have seen it stated in some back number of the 

 New England Farmer, of a gentleman who graft- 

 ed the Greening (I think) into one of the small 

 branches of a thrifty tree, when its fruit gradual- 

 ly lost its original character and became identical 

 with that of the original stock. Many pears are 

 said to improve in flavor on the quince. 



Cole says theSeckel grows larger, but poorer on 

 the apple. A nurseryman once told the writer, 

 that the Bartlett pear was not so good on the 

 quince — which will be generally denied. The Red 

 Russet, frequently alluded to in this journal, was 

 grown on a Baldwin scion. 



Being reminded of the utility of brevity, I will 

 just observe, that though the stock does affect the 

 fruit in a degree, under some circumstances, with 

 the least care there is no danger of any fruit be- 

 coming merged or exterminated by continued re- 

 grafting, d. w. h. 



Roxbury, Oct., 1852. 



jjgp See article in another column entitled Red 

 Russet. — Ed. 



OLD APPLE TREES. 



Apple trees, when very aged, are generally 

 "hewn down and cast into the fire" as worthless 

 "cumberers of the ground." The longevity, how- 

 ever, which is characteristic of this tree, prevents 

 the necessity of extirpating it very often, and it is, 

 indeed, extremely questionable whether in most 

 cases it might not be perpetuated, like the olive 

 trees of Athens, and the celebrated mulberry at 

 Strat ford-on- Avon, till its duration should be com- 

 puted by centuries, rather than by years. Of this 

 longevity we have a very interesting illustration 

 in the case of the apple tree planted by Peregrine 

 White, in the town of Marshfield, in this State, 

 and of which a drawing, said to be very accurate, 

 was published not long since in this paper. Mr. 

 White was the first male child, of English paren- 

 tage, born in New England, and died in Marshfield, 

 in 1704, aged 83. The tree was planted probably 

 about the year 1648, consequently is now two hun- 

 dred and four years old, but still vigorous, and has 

 produced "fruit every year without interruption" 

 as far as the memory of the present owner — one 

 of Mr. W.'s descendants of the fifth generation, 

 extends. 



In resucitating old trees, or those which have 

 become unfruitful from the combined effects of 

 age and disease, it is proper in the first place thor- 

 oughly to cleanse the bark, especially in the vicin- 

 ity of the ground, for it is at that point that the 

 borer commits his depredations, and there also 

 many other insects seek and find their hybernacu- 

 lar, or winter quarters. If the bark is very rough, 

 as is most commonly the case in trees that are 

 verging to senility, it is well to obtain some ap- 



propriate instrument and remove it, taking care 

 not to injure the alburnum, or to trespass upon 

 the healthy parts of the bark beneath the scaly 

 surface on the outside, which alone should be de- 

 tached. This decortication must be performed 

 with a nice hand, for although some orchardists 

 advocate the entire denuding of the trunks of old 

 trees, it is found that scarification is a most seri- 

 ous injury, especially where the system is weak and 

 relaxed. 



The coarse, mossy bark on the limbs should al- 

 sobe removed, and the whole washed and scrubbed 

 vigorously with ashes and water till the surface as- 

 sumes a smooth and fresh appearance. If there 

 are any decayed places on the trunk, resulting 

 from internal or external wounds, they should be 

 cleansed, and the rotten matter removed, and the 

 orifice filled with a composition of fresh cow dung, 

 one part ; clay, one part ; leached house ashes, 

 one part ; and a little salt and plaster — the whole 

 moistened with urine, and worked till it can be 

 spread easily, and is sufficiently plastic to adhere 

 to the place where it is applied. All old limbs 

 should be removed by sawing ; the stump must 

 then be made perfectly smooth, and covered with 

 a thin wafer of grafting cement. In no case should 

 the amputation be at a distance from the point of 

 junction, but as close thereto as the saw can be 

 made to run. 



As to the tops, it is better, perhaps, to remove 

 a portion of the limbs, as the energy of the roots 

 and trunk may not be adequate to secure the ne- 

 cessary support : but we would by no means ad- 

 vise the removal of many of the limbs, especially 

 those of the larger size near the base of the top. 

 By cutting out mostly the vertical shoots, and re- 

 taining the horizontal ones — thus giving the top a 

 shape in some degree resembling an umbrella re- 

 versed, the sun-light will be let in, and new wood 

 will be developed more rapidly and vigorously than 

 if an opposite course of pruning should be adopted. 

 As the new wood progresses, the older limbs may 

 be removed, till the top presents wholly a new 

 growth. 



Where there is a single tree, or there are a few 

 trees valued for their particular location or kind of 

 fruit, the roots should be laid bare for at least six 

 feet from the trunk, by a careful removal of the 

 soil to the depth of one foot. The excavation must 

 then be filled in with the very best and richest de- 

 scription of garden loam, mixed with compost in 

 which lime and wood ashes — leached or unleached 

 — constitute a large share, and the surface covered 

 with manure, the best that can be procured. 



In this way, an old tree may be resuscitated, 

 and, if desirable, grafted with any variety of im- 

 proved fruit, or left to produce its own, as the ope- 

 rator may see fit to direct. One thing against 

 which we think too much cannot be said, is the 

 practice — now quite prevalent — of plowing among 



