Failure of the Apple-Crop in Nciv England. 355 



Again : if the soil is too much exhausted to produce one fruit, is it rea- 

 sonable to suppose that it will produce another that requires a similar soil ? 

 Then, if the soil is too much exhausted, \Yhy may it not be restored by the 

 liberal application of such manures as are adapted to strengthen the tree, and 

 promote its fruitfulness ? Can it not be done, so that even what are called, 

 by the writer before named, worn-out soils, will produce good crops of other 

 fruits ? The fact is, that, on some of these very soils so denominated, ma- 

 nure is yearly applied to the value of four, and, in some instances, even 

 six hundred dollars to the acre ; and the land produces enormous crops of 

 the small fruits or vegetables, and yet the few apple-trees that may be grow- 

 ing in the same fields have continued barren. With these facts before us, 

 we must look farther for the true cause of failure. It is a well-known fact 

 that the forests have been stripped off, leaving the country quite open, giv- 

 ing the cold, rough winds a wider sweep \ so that the orchards of New 

 England do not have the natural protection they once had from the rigor 

 of the winters. Some years ago, we remember, that, during a season fol- 

 lowing a hard winter, there was a short crop of pears ; and yet in an or- 

 chard that we visited, that was well protected by buildings, and a high fence, 

 on the west, north, and east sides, there was a good crop of excellent fair 

 fruit. There was no doubt in our mind at the time that this was one of 

 the good results of protection. What was true here is more or less true 

 all over the country. 



But there is another and stronger reason that we have to assign for the 

 failure of the apple-crop during the past three or four years. It will be 

 well remembered that we had two extremely dry seasons in succession, — 

 severe droughts, — so that many of the forest-trees died ; while every tree 

 and plant suffered for moisture. During these excessive droughts, the 

 apple-trees generally suffered severely, and had all they could do to sus- 

 tain themselves, without making much wood even ; and, the next year, were 

 in no condition to carry a crop, if they blossomed at all. It was noticed 

 that the bloom seemed feeble, and not at all like former times, and dropped 

 off and perished. To sustain this theory, we will give a fact that came 

 under observation during the second dry season. In a sheltered nook of 

 a large orchard stood some Hubbardston Nonesuch apple-trees, that en- 

 joyed the best of protection during the whole year. These trees were 



