<£!)c J^avmcv's ittcmtljhj bfsitor. 



35 



termed the balance of power between these is 

 still iiiaintuineil. On the contrary, it' you prune 

 only in the winter, the roots are, in consequence, 

 hut little affected, their increase lor the season 

 having been completed in the previous summer; 

 and in the following season the whole amount of 

 force exerted by the full complement oi' nun.- is 

 brought to hear on a top limited by winter 

 pruning, and tins force i.- evinced bj over-lux- 



iii i ii , which some remedy by root pruning, 



Will, regard to young spray springing from 

 tin' ends oi' previously shortened shoots, ii may 

 be cut bach to two eyes, in -ill cases. — I/mdlei). 



The following, among the interesting proi il- 



ings at the Legislative Agricultural discussions 



in the Massachusetts State house, presents the 



beat experience of the best practical men — 



worthy perhaps to be regarded in relation to 



what must become a must profitable, branch of 



Nevt England culture : 



Eleventh Agricultural Meeting at the Mate 

 House, .11 in cli 'Z7. 



Subject — Fruit and Fruit Trees. 



Hon. Mr. Brooks ol Braintree, said, lie did not 

 make mi much pretension to a knowledge of 

 Horticulture as he did to Agriculture. The ex- 

 tensive raising of fruit is a new thing in this 

 section nl the country. He thought that farm- 

 ers engaging in the husinees should start right. 

 The nursery was l lie place to begin ; the tanner 

 should raise Ins own trees, and not make his 

 iiursery^iroitnds much richer than the land 

 vt mild lie n here he intended to plant his orchard. 

 Trees taken froth highly manured nurseries, 

 with a luxuriant ami forced growth, would mil 

 do well on land of a poorer quality ; the trees 

 wotdd soon fail, lie did not think, for an or- 

 chard, ii was necessary to trench or subsoil the 

 land, or Ml' any advantage to put straw or other 

 similar materials about routs of newly planted 

 ir.es; it uuulil tend in keep the roots too near 

 the surface ; roots of trees strike downwards, to 

 obtain potash, lime and other inorganic matter 

 from the subsoil. Fruit front moderately rich 

 soil, was better to keep, belter flavored, and not 

 so watery and mawkish, as that from highlj cul- 

 tivated ground. It took a great many years to 

 get an orchard from the seed, and farmers could 

 not well afford to purchase trees from the regu- 

 lar nurseries. 



Mr. Dexter of Plymouth, observed, that he 

 feared the remarks of the gentleman last Up, 

 would deter the ureal body of farmers from at- 

 tempting to grow fruit, lie knew a man some- 

 what adv. meed in life, thai planted an orchard 

 and lived m realize large quantities of fruit and 

 profit. Mr. Rice, at our last meeting, spoke of 

 Several kinds of insects that annoyed our fruit 

 and trees, hut said nothing of a kind of lice that 

 hud, within a few years, appeared i:i great num- 

 bers in his vicinity, attacked the under side ol 

 the Is if and the ends of t lie tender shoots, and 

 did much damage. Col. Wilder thought that 

 whale oil soap dissolved in water and forcibly 

 applied with a syringe, would destroy them. 



Mr. Mice of Newton, hoped gentlemen would 

 not be discoMraged in planting fruit trees from 

 his remark ut a former meeting, that it look as 

 long to raise an orchard as it did a hoy; he 

 meant, from the seed of the apple; hut several 

 years might lie gained in raising fruit, by obtain- 

 ing thrifty trees from nursesies. VVe now had 

 nurseries upon many different kinds of soil, and 1 

 .hi kinds of cultivation, from very hijh 

 in \"ii low, so I hat a proper selection could be 

 made, lie thought there should be a special 

 law lor the otection of small birds, as they 

 destroyed myriads of insects, and he thought 

 thai even the crows, as n general thing, did the 

 farmer mot e goi il than e\ il. 



Col. Wilder said he had great respect for the 

 opinions of the gentleman from Princeton, on 

 agricultural matters; hut he had known sev- 

 eral! istances in which mm bad, at a late period 

 in life, pi inled fruit trees and lived to enjoy the 

 ml ;' ■ profits. One, at the age ol sovi n- 

 i;. years, planted an orchard, and then lived tiil 



■ ivas more than one hundred and seven years 



of age. 



Mr. Brooks remarked, that it would take twen- 

 i\ years to raise apple trees from the seed, to a 



hearing state. Farmers could not afford to buy 

 trees from the nurseries; besides, they ure too 

 highly manured to be lasting, healthy trees. A 

 farmer might force a few trees by high cultiva- 

 tion. 



Mr. Wm. Parker said, he had long practised 

 packing his winter apples in oat chaff He pick- 

 ed his apples and packed them in barrels wiih 

 chaff, let them remain out doors until there was 

 danger of freezing, then placed them in his cel- 

 lar. Within ten days pasl, he had opened and 

 picked over four barrels of Baldwin apple.- thus 

 stored last I ill, and there was not half a peek ol' 

 decayed apples to a barrel, lie had plained Oul 

 one hundred and filly trees; had always prac- 

 tised covering a lew feet of the ground about 

 the base of the newly-planted trees the first 

 season. 



Air. Junes of Waylaml, said he had grafted 

 within the past twenty years many old trees with 

 Lire at success and profit. One old tree In- graft- 

 ed some years ago; in 1844 and '46 h< picked 

 twelve barrels of market apples each year; last 

 season, ten barrels, and four barrels of bruiseil 

 fruit. Il w ill nut take a man's life lime to raise an 

 orchard. Pour years rgo, lie grafted an old ap- 

 ple tree ; ibis year he sold six dollars worth of 

 fruit from ii. He has found it a good plan lo 

 graft sweet apple scions on trees that naturally 

 grow sweet apples, lias found the cultivation 

 of the pear very profitable, having realized over 

 fifty dollars in cash from one tree in four years. 



Col. Uuhbel of Berkshire, said he had suc- 

 ceeded remarkably well in preserving winter 

 fruit in layers of oat chaff and air-slaked lime; 

 he places the apples stem upwards in the bar- 

 rels, and mixes the chaff and lime in among ihe 

 fruits; in this way he keeps fall apples sound in 

 [rood flavor till March, Winter apples kept in 

 ibis way, preserve their freshness and flavor bet- 

 ter than any other that he had ever tried. 



Air. Mci lam said, he came into possession of a 

 farm ten years ago, upon which there was no 

 good fruit, lie had set over three thousand 

 scions in one year. His practice hail been to 

 remove ihe whole top of an old tree at once, and 

 graft. This was in accordance with Col. Phin- 

 ney's experience. We can, in tins way, obtain 

 fruit much sooner than fiom young trees. He 

 had been very successful in planting apple trees 

 in grass ground, by digging a large and deep 

 hole, and putting in small stones at the bottom, 

 covering iliem with the inverted sod, and filling 

 in about the toots of the trees with the excava- 

 ted earth. By hoeing about his trees, he kept a 

 circle of four feel in diameter free from grass, 

 and his trees grew well. In this way he had 

 been successful in planting about one hundred 

 trees, as lale as the first of June. 



Mr. Sheldon thought there was no branch of 

 farming that needed encouragement more than 

 it/at of fruit-culture. Twenty-five years ago, he 

 set out one hundred and fifty apple trees ; they 

 were more profit to the owner now. than all tin- 

 iest of the farm. Trees when well set out, cost 

 a dollar each, and one dollar each for the next 

 ten years; Ihe next ten, they will pay hack all 

 the expense. The soil should he dry where 

 trees are planted. There was a great difference 

 in the quality of laud lor fruit trees; land that 

 naturally produced walnut trees, he had found 

 favorable for the growth of the apple tree. He 

 thought it the duty of every farmer to graft, 

 plant and cultivate trees the same as if he was 

 going to live here a thousand years. Those that 

 have preceded, have planted for us ; we should 

 plant fiir those lli.n are lo succeed us. 



Mr. Cole thought we should go hack to the 

 beginning— select our seed for the nursery. The 

 seed of ordinary apples are better for the nurse- 

 ry than those from good grafted fruit, lie 

 thought the last ol Sepleinber ami early part of 

 October, the best season for transplanting fruit 

 trees Trees thus earlj planted, sent out new 

 fibrous roots, ami were prepared to groweailv 

 the next spring, lb- did mil believe it was the 

 extreme cold of our winters that killed ihe blos- 

 som buds of our peach trees, but alternations 

 from cold lo warm, or vice versa. 



Subject for next meeting— Darning, Draining, 

 and the Growth of Forest Trees. 



Every action in company ought to be with 

 some sign of respect to those present. 



Pruning Stone Fruit Trees. 



If has been but a few years since ihe cultiva- 

 tors of fruit have been in the habit of pruning 

 peach trees at the extremities of the branches, 

 instead of culling off hmbs at the Hunk. This 

 system of shortening-iu, as it is called, is gaining 

 ground, ami ii is a great improvement. The 

 reasons lor ibis mode of pruning are evident on 

 examination. Most kinds of stone fruit grow 

 rapidly, and hear the greater part of their fruit 

 ou new wood, which is, of course, near the ends 

 of Ihe limbs. In this way a Iree spreads over 

 much land, and has naked branches near the 

 trunk; and pruning at the trunk causes the gum 

 io ooze out, which sometimes endangers the 

 health or lite of the tree. 



On the contrary, by pruning at the ends of the 

 branches, the tree is confined to a small space, 

 the wounds have no unfavorable effect, or only 

 affect the twigs, and mil the trunk, and much 

 new wood is produced for the production of 

 fruit. 



We might say much more in favor of the 

 shortening-iu system ; hut we prefer offering a 

 valuable communication from the " Working 

 Farmer," remarking, in regard to the time of 

 pruning, that it may be done at any time from 

 the fill — nearly the close of vegetation — to the 

 time vegetation commences in the spring. — JVew 

 England Farmer. 



Shortening in Peach Ttees, &c. — At a 

 meeting of farmers, which is held weekly at 

 Lynns Farms, the following facts were eliciied : 



Several of (he persons present gave evidence 

 of tint propriety of shortening-in the limbs of 

 the peach, plum, nectarine, and other rapid 

 growing trees. The effect of this practice has 

 been to render them not only more durable, hut 

 to increase the quantity ami quality of Ihe fruit. 



The peach tree, in common with others Haul- 

 ed above, is short-lived in our climate : and in 

 addition to the ravages of the peach worm, and 

 ihe disease called the yellows, the following may 

 be given as the cause : 



The tree grows more prolifically here than in 

 Europe, and in each year's growth exlends its 

 branches many feet ; the new wood always 

 growing on the ends of the previous year's 

 growth, and ihe fruit ill all eases occurring ou 

 the new wood. The weight of the crop, in con- 

 sequence, is so far removed from the body of the 

 tree, as to render each limb a lever ; and the re- 

 sult is either to split oft" the branch, or, from its 

 extreme pressure at the point of its insertion at 

 the tree, to compress the capillary tubes of the 

 main trunk, and thus destroy Us organism. 



The fruit, by this means, is robbed of its ne- 

 cessary pabulum, and prematurely ripens or fills 

 off. The number of fruit-hearing .-hoots at the 

 same time increase to so fearful an extent, that 

 the roots are unable to supply the whole number 

 with sufficient nutriment, and our markets are 

 flooded with half-grown and prematurely ripen- 

 ed peaches. 



If however, when the tree is young, the shoots 

 are shortened-in one-half their length each year, 

 the new shoots will occur nearer the parent 

 stock, and with less leverage for its destruction ; 

 the crop of fruit may safely be greater in weight, 

 although less numerous, as the fruit will be 

 larger, ami both the health and beauty of the, 

 lice will be preserved. . 



A dispute arose as to the proper time am! 

 manner of performing tins shorieiiing-in or 

 (rimming process, and the result was as fol- 

 lows : 



Time. — During winter, ihe firmer has most 

 leisure, and the branches cut are of so small a 

 size, that no harm will ensue from the effect of 

 frost, nor will \\ iU trimming cause any prema- 

 ture swelling of buds, lo be injured by spring 

 frosts. 



Manner. — With a very sharp knife, first head 

 down the tree lo the required height, so as io be 

 convenient for the gathering of the fruit ; then 

 trim all protruding branches, to improve the 

 symmetrical appearance of ihe head; cut out all 

 centre-inclining shoots which crowd the tree and 

 cannot get the sun ; these should be cut close to 

 the Hunk; then shorten-in all other new growth 

 one half, and if excessive, two thirds, culling 

 next beyond a wood bud, avoiding the fruit buds ; 

 and by this means the new shoot, starting from 

 that bud, will cover and heal the wound perfect- 



