ORCHARDS. 477 



ferred to, might be remedied by timely attention. Trees may 

 be kept free from insects by washing them with soap suds be- 

 fore the insects have left those places where they have passed 

 the winter, and before the eggs which were deposited under 

 the loose bark, and beneath limbs, &c. are hatched. By early 

 washing trees and vines, with strong soap suds, or with lime- 

 water, not only are innumerable eggs and insects destroyed, 

 but the young plants and seeds of many varieties of mosses 

 which infest or injure trees and vines, are destroyed also. 

 Trees that are annually washed, have a more healthy appear- 

 ance than those that are not, when growing side by side. 



The application of lime has been known to restore old and 

 apparently worn out trees, to renewed health. A gentleman 

 in Essex, England, having in his orchard many old supposed 

 worn out apple trees, which produced fruit scarcely larger than 

 a walnut, last winter took fresh made lime from the kiln, 

 slaked it in water, and (without allowing time for its caustic 

 quality to be injured by imbibing fixed air) well dressed the 

 trees, applying the lime with a brush. The result was, that 

 the insects and moss were completely destroyed, the outer rind 

 fell off, and a new, smooth, clear one formed; and the trees, 

 although some twenty years old, have now a most healthy ap- 

 pearance. The same treatment may be extended to other 

 fruit-bearing trees, and probably with similar beneficial results. 



Mr. WHEELER, of Framingham, (Mass.) recommends to 

 wash trees with a solution of potash. He says, 



"Dissolve two pounds of potash of the first quality, in seven 

 quarts of water, for the bodies of the trees. If the limbs are 

 covered with moss or lice, I take a painter's brush, and apply 

 the solution to the moss, .c. , with care not to touch the leaves 

 or buds. It may be done at any time of the year when we 

 are most at leisure. Once in two or four years is generally 

 sufficient. I have no general rule, however, but wash them as 

 often as they appear to need it which is always when the 

 bark is not smooth. 



"No person need be afraid of this application injuring fruit 

 trees; but it may be applied with the utmost confidence. I 

 have used it for nearly twenty years with great effect. I have 

 recommended it to a great many gentlemen, but only a few 

 have used it. Those who have tried it, are much pleased with 

 its operation. The reason that it has not been more generally 

 used is, that it has been fashionable to daub the trees with lime, 

 clay, manure, and other compositions, which take two or three 

 years to wash off, before the trees will look natural. When 

 this solution of potash is applied, it has the desired effect im- 

 mediately. It kills moss and lice at oncej and the first rain 



