1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



543 



KON-BEARIUG APPLE THEES- 

 INQ. 



-PRUN- 



Letter from a corre- 

 - spondent at Taunton, 

 ^' "W.H R.," makes sev- 

 eral inquiries in regard 

 to the management of 

 apple trees, which seem 

 to require more space 

 than is usually devoted 

 to notices under our 

 head of "Extracts and 

 ^ Replies." We give it, there- 

 ^^^ fore, a position somewhat more 

 ■? ^ conspicuous. 



Our correspondent desires to 

 be informed in the first place, 

 "how to make apple trees bear that 

 are standing in grass ground, and 

 thdt have not been manured for 

 several years." 

 To this query we reply, that W3 consider it 

 the most effei tual, and the cheapest way in the 

 end, to plough the whole surface this fall, if 

 practicable, manure with compost or fresh ma- 

 nure, and harrow it thoroughly in. Plough 

 carefully, so as not to wound the stems of the 

 trees, and five or six inches deep. If the soil 

 below six inches is ordinarily light, the roots 

 will mostly be under that and will receive but 

 little harm from the plough. If a few small 

 roots are dis^turbed the damage will be quit€^ 

 trilling. This course will not only enrich the 

 whole soil, but will render it light and porous, 

 and suitable for the roots of the trees to ex- 

 tend themsf Ives and find nourishment in it. 



Top dressing will not answer ; its eflfect will 

 be to enrich the surface, stimulate the net-wofk 

 of grass roots that lie near the top of the 

 ground, cover it with an accumulated growth, 

 and thus rob the trees of the nutriment which 

 you are aiming to supply them with. 



It will be best to cultivate the orchard with 

 some hotd tcrop for a year or two, and ma- 

 nure moderately each season. In this way 

 the soil will soon become light, the atmosphere 

 will have a decided influence upon it, and a 

 paying crop may be the result for several 

 years, and the trees receive much benefit at the 

 same time. These crops may be barley, po- 

 tatoes, or mangolds. The ground may then be 

 stocked with grass, and a ton to the acre cut 



to the trees. Th*^y will have an avt>rage 

 growth in the extension of their branches of 

 about eight inches annually, and their foliage 

 will be vigorous and of a dark green color. 

 If apple trees do not bear under such treat- 

 ment — and sometimes they will not- the cause 

 of such barrenness, and the remedy for it, are 

 alike unknown to us. On very rich land, trees 

 occasionally make so much wood that they do 

 not fruit ; cropping the land with potatoes or 

 grain has a tendency to check the growth of 

 wood, and induce the trees to bear fruit. 



We have very little faith in the efficacy of 

 digging up the earth about fruit trees in a cir- 

 cle whose diameter is only si.x or e>ght feet. 

 It is probably better than no digging, but is 

 not, we think, an economical cJ|)eration. 



Our corret-pondent continues as follows : — 



"I have one apple tree that bears one-half one 

 year and the other half the next. I should like to 

 know if it cannot be made to bear every year ?" 



There are no means in our knowledge of 

 making a "tree bear all over every year," ex- 

 cepting a generous soil and a judicious man- 

 agement of the tree in every respect. It is 

 rarely the case that an apple tree does bear 

 every year. A fair crop of apples exhausts 

 the tree and the soil in a considerable degree, 

 so that both soil and tree must have rest and 

 time to recuperate their exhausted powers. If a 

 tree bears a moderate crop every year, whether 

 it be on one-half or the whole tree, it seems to 

 us that it would be about as much as we can 

 reasonably expect. He continues : — 



"I would also like it if you would give some di- 

 rections about trimming, as to time, and about 

 how a tree ought to be trimmed." 



We are glad to find that an interest is still 

 felt in the apple crop, although it has been so 

 sadly deficient for several years past. It may 

 flourish again, and afford us a large surplus 

 for foreign markets. Wholesome, nutritious 

 and palatable as the apple is, thousands of fam- 

 ilies among us have undoubtedly been without 

 it, — unless in the most limited quantity, — for 

 four or five years past. During this period, less 

 attention has been paid to the setting new or- 

 chards ; those of middle age have been greatly 

 neglected, and old trees have been cut down 

 by hundreds and given to the flames. 



Another and prime cause of rapid decay and 

 loss li^s been occasioned by thoughtless, care- 

 less and injudicious pruning. Few of the du- 



for five or six years without special detriment I ties of the farm are so badly performed — bad 



