1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



297 



most highly flavored ; sweet apples, most nutri- 

 tious. But, as with grapes, we should choose 

 those varieties that have proved remunerative— 

 and most satisfactory in localities similar to that 

 which we intend to occupy. This is a safe rule 

 for a woman to follow. She thus gets all the bene- 

 fit of the numberless experiments that cost some- 

 body a good deal of time and money. When 

 setting your trees be sure to give them room 

 enough, — apple-trees should be six or eight yards 

 apart ; pear, four or five, if standard ; dwarf pear 

 trees may be nearer. Remember that they need a 

 plenty of air as well as sun to perfect fruit. 



Pears, by their greater delicacy of pulp and fla- 

 vor, stand higher in estimation of many than 

 apples ; but, although healthful, they are .want- 

 ing in the substantial qualities of that fruit. 

 Still, the cultivation^of so many choice varieties 

 upon quince stocks, which from their small size 

 are very convenient for the garden, has brought 

 the pear into very general use. The best way to 

 apply fertilizers to these trees is to spread a gener- 

 ous coating from the compost-heap upon the 

 surface of the ground; this should be done in the 

 autumn. Spring is the best time to set out the 

 new trees. They need air at their roots, and 

 moisture, so the soil must be kept open by stirring 

 it frequently with a fork. To promote this, it is a 

 good plan to raise vegetables in the mould around 

 them. Both apples and pears should be taken 

 from the tree when the fruit-stem separates easily 

 from the branch. They gain higher color and fla- 

 vor by being placed away from the light and air 

 after gathering. Italy is said to have originated 

 the pear; — thi Romans had many varieties, and 

 modern Italy and France excel in the culture of 

 this fruit. The apple is also probably a native of 

 Italy. 



Heap wood-ashes around the trunk of apple and 

 pear-trees (a foot high at least) to keep ofi"the 

 borer. "Washing the trunk and limbs with whale 

 oil soap-suds, using a stifi" brush, prevents the ac- 

 cumulation of moss and destroys small insects. 

 Old trees are much benefitted by scraping their 

 bark and afterward washing. Caterpillars and 

 cankcr-wonns may be prevented in a great meas- 

 ure h y surroundmg the trunks with small zinc or 

 tin troughs filled with whale oil, or strips of can- 

 vass or thick paper . frequently tarred. Watch 

 your trees for caterpillar's nests and remove with 

 a brush immediately, or cut ofi'the twigs on which 

 they rest and burn them. 



The Peach comes from Persia. This tree has 

 such a delicate nature that it is extremely difiicult 

 to keep it thrifty in New England, but in the 

 Middle and Western States it flourishes well. The 

 tree needs a light, rich soil, and a situation shel- 

 tered from wintiy winds, — yet not so much ex- 

 posed to the sun as to cause the fruit-buds to open 

 too early in the spring, when there is danger from 

 late frosts. Keep wood-ashes at the base of the 

 tree, for a fertilizer, and also to destroy insects. 



The peach-tree needs no trimming except to re- 

 move decayed branches. The lower limbs produce 

 the most fruit ; no matter how low they are, only 

 keep them from injuring the tree by trailing with 

 their weight. Peaches need great care in hand- 

 ling ; after gathering, keep them in cotton or soft 

 paper till used. As it is comparatively a small 

 tree, and its fruit of superior beauty — exceedingly 

 agreeable both to the eye and the palate— wher- 

 ever there is any probability of its flourishing, it 

 should have a place in the garden. 



Cherries are of easy culture and generally pro- 

 lific. They are from Asia Minor, so also are most 

 of our cultivated plums, but there are many wild 

 plums in our Western states that would no doubt 

 well repay careful cultivation. To kill the cur- 

 cuUos, that are very injurious to the fruit, some 

 persons shake powdered brimstone, others slaked 

 lime and wood-ashes over the tree, after the fruit 

 is set. Something of the kind should be done 

 three or four times a week for a month. The 

 black knots that form on plum-trees should be cut 

 ofif with a pruning knife, and spirits of turpen- 

 tine applied to the wound. If wood-ashes are 

 heaped about the base of the trunk of cherry and 

 plum-trees, through the winter, they grow more 

 healthy. Apricots are an early variety of peach — 

 the name comes from the same root as our word 

 precocious. Nectarines, so called from their deli- 

 cious flavor, in allusion to the drink of the gods, 

 are also a variety of peach. Both, were well- 

 known to the ancients, but are not common with 

 us. Quinces are only suitable for cooking, — if 

 you have low, wet land they will flourish there. 

 Probably every one knows that a seedling fruit- 

 tree is not likely to resemble its parent. The pro- 

 cess of budding, or of grafting, by which it is 

 made to produce choice fruit, ought perhaps to be 

 given here, but we have not spaf e ; for the same 

 reason many interestmg facts relating to fruit- 

 trees and their culture must be omitted. 



Of the smaller fruits all gardens should have at 

 least one specimen — either of currants, gooseber- 

 ries, raspberries, blackberries or strawberries. 

 Mulberries are delicious, but the leaves are of 

 more value as food for the silk worm, so we seldom 

 find the tree in gardens ; perhaps, however, on ac- 

 count of its rapid exhaustion of the soil and its 

 enormous size in comparison with its fruit. Goose- 

 berries, either native or English, also currants, 

 are best raised from cuttings. They will flourish 

 trained against a fence,— but yield more abun- 

 dantly, and ripen their fruit more quickly, if 

 placed where they receive the full benefit of 'the 

 sun and air, and are trimmed into a tree form ; they 

 thus make an elegant appearance. Wood ashes 

 mixed with decayed vegetable matter should be 

 laid upon their roots in the autumn. Raspberries 

 need a rich, loamy soil and a plenty of sun. The 

 beai-ing stalks should be cut down every two years, 

 and all superfluous suckers removed every spring. 

 Blackberries, as rich, but a moister soil, and sim- 



