Address delivered before the Fruit Growers' Society. 299 



we find such a supply, except in tbe commouest sorts of the winter apples, and 

 occasionally a few rare specimens of pears? How many, among all the members 

 of this Society, who may be well supposed to stand at the head of information 

 and intelligence on this Eul'ject. among a numerous people in an unexcelled fruit- 

 growing district, have ever seen a single barrel of well-ripened winter pears on 

 the opening of spring ".' Where then are the hundreds of thousands of people 

 embraced within our district, to procure anything like a supply of the long keep- 

 ing varieties of this delicious fruit ? How long, at the present rate will it be, 

 before the market will be overstocked by such sorts as the Lawrence, Prince's^ St. 

 Germain, Doyenne d-Hiver. and Emfer Beurre ? We might as well attempt to dip 

 all the water out of the Genesee river with an egg shell, as to think cf filling up 

 the demand of onr wide counti-y and populous cities, which would be created, 

 were they only known, for these delicious and wholesome luxuries, with the few 

 trees that are already planted. 



But there is another reason why we have so limited a supply of fruit, notwith- 

 standing the millions of trees that have been set out. This reason is the bad 

 treatment which they afterwards receive. The subject is a most interesting one 

 to fruit-growei's. Doubtless a gi-eat many perish by careless transplanting, — by 

 mutilating the roots in digging them up, by exposure of the roots to the sun, air 

 and frost, and l»y hasty and imperfect setting out. But the gi'eatest of all losses, 

 — nay, that which causes more loss than everything else together, is the neglected 

 and deficient culture vSubsequently received. — Much has been said on this subject : 

 but a great deal more will be needed, I fear, before the evil is corrected. Five 

 million trees are set out annually from the nurseries here ; yet I am satisfied from 

 observation, that if instead of the five million as now treated, — if only half a mil- 

 lion were set out annually and treated in the best manner, this half million would 

 produce more and better fruit in ten years, than the five million, two to one. No 

 one can appreciate the importance of good cultivation who has not seen trees 

 managed in both ways standing side by side. I have just cut these two shoots 

 from young bearing peach trees, planted out at the same time, of the same varie- 

 ty, on land precisely alike. One of them stands on grass land and has received 

 no cultivation, and as a consequence the growth the past season has been only 

 eight inches. The other grew beside a piece of ground kept clear of weeds and 

 grass on one side by a coating of old straw and manure, the manure not mixed 

 with the soil, and the growth is lour feet eight inches. [The shoots described 

 wete here exhibited.] This aftbrds a most striking contrast ; but I can assure you 

 I have often seen as great a difference in trees allowed simply to grow in grass on 

 one band, and with a soil kept clean and mellow by tillage on the other, and with 

 no other difference. The question is perhaps more easily asked than answered, 

 why it is that while no farmer would think of planting a field of corn to grow 

 among the grass of a meadow, there are so many who will place valualile young 

 trees, which have cost them more than a hundi-ed times as much as the corn they 

 have planted, in the midst of a dense grass sod? Or, who, having once planted 

 them in good soil wholly abandoned them to weeds? However, dear-bought ex- 

 perience is enforcing its lessons, and good cultivation is becoming more frequent 

 and better under.stood. 



In connection with tills subject, allow me to point out one error which prevails 

 with some who do not forget the want of theii" yoimg orchards. This is the prac- 

 tice, not uncommon, of working the soil well at the foot of the trunk, but not ex- 

 tending the operation far enough off. The distance that the roots of trees extend, 

 is found to be about equal to the ^vhole height of the stem and branches. As a 

 single proof of this, now at hand, I have cut from a tree in a young peach or- 

 chard, which stood in grass without cultivation, seven feet from the bed of straw 

 and manui'e already spoken of, one of its shoots which measures 2 feet 5 inches 

 long ; and from another tree, 15 feet distant, this shoot which measui'es 14 inches 

 long ; while from the trees more remote, the growth is only 8 inches. [The shoots 

 were here exhibited.] The trees are about ten feet high, and this example shows 

 that they throw off their roots to a distance ot lifteeu feet, and are benefited by 

 good soil there. Hence the great error of attempting good culture in a small 

 circle around each tree. 



