86 



The Apple. 



Vol. X. 



The Apple. 



The apple is the world renowned fruit of 

 temperate climates. From the most remote 

 periods it has been the subject of praise among 

 writers and poets, and the old mythologies 

 all endow its fruit with wonderful virtues. 

 The allegorical tree of knowledge bore ap- 

 ples, and the celebrated golden fi-uit of the 

 orchards of Hesperus, guarded by the sleep- 

 less dragon which it was one of the triumphs 

 of Hercules to slay, were also apples accord- 

 ing to the old legends. Among the heathen 

 gods of the north, there were apples said to 

 possess the power of conferring immortality, 

 which were watched over by the goddess 

 Iduna, and kept for the dessert of the gods 

 who felt themselves growing old. As the 

 mistletoe grew chiefly on the apple and the 

 oak, the former was looked upon with great 

 respect by the ancient Druids of Britain, 

 and even to this day in some parts of Eng- 

 land, the antique custom of saluting the 

 apple trees in the orchard in the hope of ob- 

 taining a good crop the next year, still lin- 

 gers among the farmers of portions of De- 

 vonshire and Hampshire. This odd ceremony 

 consists in saluting the tree with a portion 

 of the contents of a wassail bowl of cider, 

 with a toast in it, by pouring a little of the 

 cider about the roots, and even hanging a 

 bit of the toast on the branches of the most 

 barren, the farmer and his men dancing in 

 a circle round the tree, and singing rude 

 songs like the following : — 



" Here's to thee, old apple tree. 

 Whence thou mayst bud, and whence thou inayst blow. 

 And whence thou mavst bear apples eijpw; 

 Hats full— caps full- 

 Bushels and sacks full — 

 Huzaa!" 



Propagation. — The apple for propagation 

 is usually raised from seeds obtained from 

 the pomace of the cider mills, and a prefer- 

 ence is always given to that from thrifty 

 young orchards. These are sown in au- 

 tumn, in broad drills, in good mellow soil, 

 and they remain in the seed buds, attention 

 being paid to keeping the soil loose and free 

 from weeds, from one to three years, accord- 

 ing to the richness of the soil. When the 

 seedlings are a little more than a fourth of 

 an inch in diameter, they should be taken 

 up in the spring or autumn, tlieir tap roots 

 shortened, and then planted in nursery rows, 

 one foot apart and three to four feet between 

 the rows. If the plants are thrifty and the 

 soil good, they may be budded the following 

 autumn, within three or four inches of the 

 ground, and this is the mosi speedy mode of 

 obtaining strong, straight, thrifty plants. 

 Grafting is generally performed when the 

 stocks are half an inch thick. 



Apple trees for transplanting to orchards, 

 should be at least two years budded, and six 

 or seven feet high, and they should have a 

 proper balance of head or side branches. 



Soil and sitiiaiion. — The apple will grow 

 on a great variety of soils, but it seldom 

 thrives on very dry sands, or soils satu- 

 rated with moisture. Its favourite soil, in 

 all countries, is a strong loam of a calcare- 

 ous or limestone nature. A deep, strong, 

 gravelly, marley or clayey loam, or a strong 

 sandy loam on a gravelly subsoil, produces 

 the greatest crops, and the highest flavored 

 fruit, as well as the utmost longevity of the 

 trees. Such a soil is moist rather than dry, 

 the most fevourable condition for this fruit. 

 Too damp soils may often be rendered fit for 

 the apple by a thorough draining, and too dry 

 ones by deep subsoil ploughing, or trenching, 

 where the subsoil is of a heavier te.xture. 

 And many apple orchards in New England 

 are very productive and flourishing on soils 

 so stony — though naturally fertile — as to be 

 unfit for any other crop. 



As regards site, apple orchards flourish 

 best in southern and middle portions of the 

 country, on north slopes, and often even on 

 the steep north sides of hills where the cli- 

 mate is hot and dry. Farther north a south- 

 ern or south-eastern aspect is preferable, to 

 ripen the crop and the wood perfectly. 



Planting and cultivation of orchards. — 

 With the exception of a few early and very 

 choice sorts in the fruit garden, the orchard 

 is tiie place for this tree, and indeed when 

 we consider the great value and usefulness 

 of apples, it is easy to see that no farm is 

 complete without a large and well selected 

 orchard. 



The distance at which the trees should be 

 planted in an orchard, depends on the mode 

 in which they are to be treated. When it 

 is desired finally to cover and devote the 

 whole of the ground to the trees, SO feet 

 apart is the proper interval, but where the 

 farmer wishes to keep the land between the 

 trees in grain and grass, 50 feet is not too 

 great a distance in strong soils. Forty feet 

 apart, however, is the usual distance at 

 which the trees are planted in apple or- 

 chards. 



Before transplanting, the ground should 

 be well prepared for the trees, and vigorous 

 healthy young trees should be selected from 

 the nurseries. 



As there is a great difference in the natu- 

 ral growth, shape and size of the various 

 sorts of apple trees, those of the same kind 

 should be put in a row together, or near 

 each other, this will not only facilitate cul- 

 ture and gathenng of the fruit, but will add 

 to the orderly appearance of the orchard. 



