1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



17 



LEGISLATIVES AGRICULTURAL MEET- 

 INGS. 



Seventh MEETiiiO— Tcesd* y Evenino, March. 1, 1853. 



The seventh meeting of the season was held at 

 the State House on Tuesday evening. The meet- 

 ing was called to order by Jlr. pRENcn, of Brain- 

 tree, and John C. Gray, of Boston, was called to 

 the chair. 



The subject for discussion was ' ' The Cultivation 

 ■and Prtservation of Fruit Trees.''' 



Mr. Gray, upon taking the chair, submitted 

 some excellent practical remarks in regard to the 

 cultivation of fruits. The plum, he said, was very 

 •difficult to raise good crops of, from year to year, 

 and they are very subject to the ravages of the 

 curculio. In respect to icaris upon plum trees, he 

 said it had been recommended as the best method 

 to get rid of them, to cut them off in the early 

 stages of their development, and rub the wound 

 with salt. 



In the cultivation of peach trees, pruning is ab- 

 solutely necessary. The last yeixr's growth of bear- 

 ing branches, which may be known by a red color, 

 should be cut down one-half to two-thirds, and the 

 whole tree should be kept down. It is subject to 

 a borer distinct from the apple borer, an effectual 

 remedy for which is to dig around the tree in 

 March and put in unleaehed ashes. They should 

 be planted twenty feet apart, and a large portion 

 of the fruit should be removed. Two men can re- 

 move the surplus fruit and search for borers, at 

 the rate of sixty trees per day. As a remetly for 

 the curling of the leaves, cutting them off was 

 recommended ; the leaves will put out a new set 

 which will te exempt from this defect. The soil 

 should not be over rich — such as would be rather 

 poor for apples — and cultivating vegetables in the 

 orcliard is f.jund to be of great advantage.. 



Prof. Nash, of Amherst College, said he had no- 

 ticed two years ago that some peach trees which 

 etood in clusters, bore bountifully, while trees 

 which were isolated produced scarcely any. He 

 desired to know the reason for this. 



JIajor Wheeler, of Framingham, said it was 

 owing to the location of the trees, and not in their 

 being placed in clusters. Peaches will not flourish 

 in cold, low lands, but require warm soils, which 

 are found only upon elevated situations. In his 

 opinion, we have as favorable a climate as any in 

 the country for peaches. He had lately visited 

 New Jersey, and from the information gathered 

 there, he was convinced that our climate was more 

 favorable, in some respects, than that enjoyed 

 there. In New Jersey, owing to the earliness of 

 the season, they are subject to frosts after the 

 fruit is set, — a thing which seldom occurs among 

 us. The highest hills are the best for peaches,, 

 from being Avarmest. He knew of some hills in 

 Framingham where crops had not failed for thirty 

 years. He con.'jidered success certain, if peaches 



were cultivated on elevated land. It is important, 

 too, to remove a large portion of the blossoms, ns 

 a tree brings forth six times as many blows as can 

 come to maturity. To kill the borer, he used ley, 

 and did not believe it would injui-e the trees in the 

 least. He had, for experiment, used two pounds 

 of potash to a gallon of water, and discovered not 

 the least injury in applying it to young trees in 

 his nursery. Nothing he considered se eSective 

 for desti-oying the borer. Generally puts two 

 pounds of pota-sh into nine or ten quarts of water, 

 which he thought strong enough. 



In setting out trees, his rule was to dig a hole 

 six feet over and two deep, pulverizing the soil 

 well, and putting the best at tlie bottom, and then 

 plowing the ground with a subsoil plow. He nev- 

 er "mulched" his trees. If the ground is well 

 pulverized and cultivated through the summer, 

 there is no danger of tbe trees suffering from 

 drought. 



In regard to trimming trees, it is very important 

 that the apple should be well trimmed. He 

 trimmed his trees to the shape of an inverted um- 

 brella, » 



Mr. Adams, of Newbury, remarked tliat a great 

 many trees were ruined from a want of care in 

 taking them from the nursery. The roots should 

 be taken up as whole as possible, and a spade 

 should never be used if it can be dispensed with. 

 His method was for one or two to take hold of a 

 tree and pull it up. Every root of any size should 

 be cut off where broken with a sharp knife. Dig 

 the hole six inches larger than the roots spread, 

 and set the tree so that when the ground settles 

 the trees may stand as they did in the nursery. 

 If the land is in a good state, no manure is neces- 

 sary, but the soil should be well pulverized, the 

 roots placed in a natural position, sifting the soil 

 in around the roots and fibres, and the earth left 

 free and loose about the tree, without being trod- 

 den. He had set a large number of trees in this 

 manner, and on comparing them with those which 

 remained in the nurserj', could not perceive that 

 they had been checked the least in their growth ; 

 the land, however, was in a. little better condition 

 than the nursery land. The soil was a gravelly 

 loam. If orchard land is tilled there is no danger 

 from drought. Orchards need as much care as 

 green-houses. He should plant his trees twenty- 

 five feet apart. 



In regard to trimming, he thought that a young 

 orchard needed looking after every year, and some 

 limbs taken out. They grow too thick, and re- 

 quire strict attention to shape them before they 

 get too large. Many are in the habit of using 

 saws in pruning their trees, and leaving the end 

 of the limb rough, which should be trimmed 

 smooth with a knife, and then it will heal over. 



The speaker also made some remarks in relation 

 to the running out of fruit, the reclamation of old 



