Published by John B. Russell, at M. 52 JVorth Market 'street, (at the Agricultural M'arehouseJ.-tHOMAS G. F^z^^^^^t^in^, 



vol.. YIL 



BOSTO N, FRn)ATJj^EB{iUAIlY2071lH9r 



No. 31. 



HORTICULTURE. 



FOR THE NEW E.VGLAND FARMER. 



FRUIT TREES. 



Mr Fesse.nden — Jn your FarinLT of tlie 6th 

 inst. there >re one or two articles lelaling to iior- 

 ticuliiire tint are particularly interesting. Tliere 

 are otiiers thai deserve notice ; and one from 

 Bucksport, Maine, that merits the attention of some 

 one hi'tter(iiialilie(l than I am to answer the imini- 

 ries of the writer. But as I have a niomejit's leis- 

 ure, and the author seems fpiite interested in get- 

 ting soirie inforniatioii on the siihject to whieh his 

 article relates, I will, with jour |)ennission, make 

 BOine general remarks upon the points on which 

 he appears most an.\ious, and only regret that I 

 cannot answer his inquiries with as much certain- 

 ty as he desires. 



As fruits of all . kinds are more or less affected 

 by the soil and climate in which they grow— it is 

 difficult to state with |)recision what sons will ans- 

 wer best in couutiies of which we know but httle 

 or nothing, of either. There are, however, gen- 

 eral rules which may be applied to all situations 

 and soils, which may serve to govern the cultiva- 

 tor in some measure, and if I should extend my 

 observations somewhat beyond the limits of his 

 inquiries, I hope they will meet with his indul- 

 gence. 



The article appears to be addressed to nursery- 

 men, and writers on horticultural sirbjects :— and 

 the objects of the inquiries seem to be confined to 

 the qualily of the trees to be taken from the nur- 

 sery ; the kinds of fruits best suited to the coun- 

 trij he inhabits ; what fruits are most prolific in 

 themselves, and will bear best and most abundant- 

 ly ;— their time of ripening, and the best mode of 

 preserving them ;— the trees to be planted, as I 

 understand, in an open orchard. It is, as I have 

 before stated, very difficult to answer all these 

 questions simj.ly and precisely, without knowing 

 more of the climate and soil of the country that 

 Mr Little inhabits, than I do. But I may, per- 

 haps, be able to give him some general hints on 

 the subject, that may serve his purj)ose as we 



under side of the root ; and it is best to cut the 

 ends of all your roots when you plant your trees, 

 with a sharp knife. With respect to the head of 

 the tree, three branches, besides the leader, are 

 enough to leave on, the first year. But if the 

 planting takes place in the fall of the year, it is 

 best to defer the trimming of the trees until the 

 first week in iMay, when the wounds niaile by the 

 knil'c will readily heal. Care should be taken to 

 cut close and smooth, leaving no knobs or parts of 

 limbs behind. 



Before the trees are planted out the earth shoidd 

 be prepared to receive them. This should be 

 done by very deep ploughing and cross ploughing 

 iu the first instance, and then by a severe harrow- 

 ing, so as to break the earth up as fine as possible, j 

 If yon can throw the earth into beds of an undu- 

 lating form of about thirty feet wide, so as to raise 

 the top or centre of each wave a foot or eighteen 

 inches above the intermediate space, or lowest 

 part of the furrow, the trees will grow all the bet- 

 ter for it ; because, in such case the water will not 

 lodge round the roots of the trees, but will be car- 

 ried off when there is a superabundance of it, and 

 the atlditional depth of soil will prevent them from 

 sufl^ering from drought in dry seasons. The trees 



should be planted on the crown of these ridges 



If apple trees, 40 feet apart ; and if pear.s, 30 feet 

 — by which arrangement the ground may be cul- 

 tivated continually during their growth, with 

 great advantage to the trees as well as the crop. 

 In Flanders, where the, finest and most abundant 

 wheat crops are raised, the ground is always 

 thrown into this form, and for grass it is equally 

 advantageous. 



Care must be taken not to plant the trees too 

 deep in the ground ; and they should be .set in the 

 different rows, Quincunx or diamond fashion, and 

 not opposite to each other. This gives more room 

 for the roots and branches to e.\tend themselves 

 without interfering, while it allows each row to 

 get its share of the sun and air. If your trees are 

 planted in the fall of the year, the best mode to 

 preserve them from being blown over by the heavy ' 

 winds of the season, or thrown out of the ground! 



by alternate frosts and thaws in the wiiuer, is to 

 I ^i_ _ .1 1.1 .... . 



,v T ■ ,. J . i" ~ I -I— ' ■— ■•>". as I ,,y u,iBrna\e irosis anu tnaws in tue wiiUer. isto 



If protessed to know more particularly what heap the earth round the stem till it attain the 

 ..ould meet Ins vews. And fir.t I.. ..„ .,t,.„..,„ f^^m of a cone, which may be gently beaten Jitl 



would meet his views. And first, let me observe, 

 that unless the trees are properly planted, and 

 taken care of afterwards, it is of little consequence 

 what their qualities are, or what their fruit is ;— 

 for the finest formed and most healthfid trees, 

 grafted from the best fruits, anil most abundaiU 

 bearers, will disajjpoint the expectations of the 

 cultivator— unless these first principles are attend- 

 ed to. 



The trees selected from a nursery should be not 

 Jess than five fiet high, and if six or seven feet, so 

 much the better. Their stems should he straight, 

 free from wounds and bruises of any kind— of a 

 thrifty, but not too rapid a growth ; clear bark, and 

 well furnished with healthy sound roots. The 

 •oundness of the roots is easily ascertained bycut- 

 tuig off a small |)iece at their ends. If they are 

 •ound, the wood will be white— and such as are 

 Ui any degree ()rown within the bark, are diseased 

 »nd should be cut out till you line to white wood • 

 the cut should b's always a little sloping on the 



a spade to (irevent its being washed away bv rains. 

 By this means the tree may be kept upright, and 

 firm in its jilacc, until its roots begin to shoot, or 

 the weather becomes moderate in the latter part 

 of the spring or early in June, when the earth may 

 be levelle*d again ; and the succeeding winter this 

 process will be unnecessary. This mode is far 

 preferable to staking them. Trees should never 

 be planted in holes dug below the level of the soil 

 into the poor and hard ground, as is practised by 

 many jieople. It prevenis the extension of the 

 ronts, and of course of the branches, and the trees 

 in such case are never healthy, vigorous, and good 

 lieirmg plants. It is by no means unconnuon for 

 fiirners and gardeners too, to dig deep holes in the 

 grrund into which they cram the rootsof the ;ree, 

 wiere they are confined to a narrow space, and 

 corupted by slagnait putrid water, which is con- 

 fin d round thnm in ihe hard pan or gravel which 

 forais the wall of ( < tV priscn. Many trees are 



railed poor bearers from this, and other carelesg 

 habits of the jjlantcrs, and the lun-serymen get tlis 

 bl;uue in many cases which belongs, in fact, to tho 

 gardener or farmer that be siqiplies. 



A f:oud, light, and warm soil is best for fruit 

 trees in general. Wet, heavy land, is sehlom con- 

 J genial to the growth or health of the trees, and 

 never to the quality of the fruit. 



Trees taken from a colder climate than the one 

 they are trans|ilanted to, will thrive and come into 

 a bearing state earlier than when the contrary is 

 the fact. But if these last are well taken care of 

 for a few years, they will accommodate themselves 



to the climate, and in time make good bearers. 



If trees are transplanted from a very rich to a poor 

 soil, they will languish. Nurseries, therefore, 

 should never be manured. 



Apples are better suited to cold regions than 

 any other fJnit. The great varieties of this spe- 

 cies of friiil, many of which are very fine, makes 

 it difficult to select any niunber that can be called 

 emphatically the best — and people differ so much 

 in tlieir not ons on this point that no one man can 

 decide for another. But there are a few kinds of 

 , apples that nil allow to be good, both for their eat- 

 ing and keeping pro|)erties. The Baldwin, for in- 

 I stance, is an excellent table fruit — keeps remark- 

 ably well, end is a great bearer in this neighbor- 

 ' hood. The Roxbury Russet has the two latter 

 , properties iu a remarkable degree. But how far 

 they would nnswer if transjilanted to Bucksport, it 

 is not in my ly.wer to tell. Nor can any one else, 

 ; I apprehend, decide upon this question until they 

 ', be tried. The Newton Pippin, is, in my opinion, 

 the finest api)le known, when raised in the neigh- 

 jborhoodof New York and Philadelphia. But I 

 have never seen any tliat have been raised here 

 ! that were better than Greenings, although the 

 trees have been transplanted from the nurseries on 

 Long Island, where this fruit is supposed to be 

 most perfect. I mention these facts to show how 

 difficult it is to answer Mr Little's (piestion on 

 this point. Whether this aris^es from difference 

 of climate, or soil, I know not, but it may be either, 

 or both. It seems to me that the most secure 

 method for a farmer who wishes to make an or- 

 chard, is to find out the best fruits that his own 

 country affords, and tlio.so that are the best bear- 

 ers. This he can determine for liim.self From 

 these he can engraft a portion of his trees, while 

 the others, which he has introduced into his farm 

 from abroad, and of which he has no knowledge 

 except from report, are coming forward. In this 

 way he will be sure of having some I hat will suit 

 him — and if the others turn out well, he will get 

 a variety from which he can choose, and by re- 

 grafiing from beaiinf^ trees of which he has seen 

 and eaten the fruit, get as many or as few sorts 

 jas he requires for hi.-- permanent .stock. I say re- 

 grafted from bearing- trees, because this is the onlr 

 sure mode of getting good fruit, and avoiding the 

 vexations and disappointments that are ine\itable 

 when we depend on catalogues ; f]r the best in- 

 tenlioned and most honest iiurserytnen, of all coun- 

 tries, are frequently deceived themselves, both as 

 lo the quality and varieties (or kinds) of fruits that 

 they offer fi r sale. This arises sometimes froai 

 mistakes, and sometimes from the carelessness o 



