42 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[March, 



TRANSPLANTING OF TREES. 



As the season is approaching for the setting 

 of fruit-trees, I have tal<en up my pen to re- 

 cord a little of an old man's experience and 

 observation. 



Fir.st the selection of soil, and situation. If 

 possible select sloping land, east or south, 

 where the trees will be protected from the 

 cold northwest winds. If tlie ground is too 

 moist it sliould be underdrained, for the trees 

 wilj not thrive if tlieir roots are continually 

 soaked in water. All s;!ndy plains should be 

 discarded, when hilly land can beliad. Bould- 

 ers will have no disadvantage if the soil is 

 deep and strong, for I have seen some as pro- 

 ductive orchards on land of this description 

 as I ever saw in my life, and the land suitable 

 for no other purpose but grazing. The land 

 should be well plowed and planted with some 

 crop for one j'ear; and if new '.and, or where 

 there has never been an orchard before, it will 

 want but very little if any stable manure; a 

 few bushels of wood-aslies, plaster and lime 

 are all that will be necessary. 



Distance trom thirty-five to forty feet will 

 will be near enough. Holes need not be over 

 a foot deep, but four or five feet broad; if a 

 hard-pan underneath it should not be broken, 

 for it will make a pond of water under the 

 tree and be sure death to it. When setting 

 the tree, raise a pyramid in the centre of the 

 hole, sloping gradually to the outer edge, 

 high enough'to set on the heel of the tree at 

 the depth it stood in the nursery. Afterwards 

 remove all the wounded roots by cutting; cut 

 back one-half the top in tlie crown and leave 

 what laterals that are not wounded. Set in 

 the tree, spread out the lateral rooots, put in 

 fine earth and fill up level; don't tread down 

 too hard about the roots of the tree, for it 

 will get full hard enough. I have found 

 loose "stones the best muMi, for they will pre- 

 vent the tree from blowing out and keep the 

 ground cool. 



From my observation thousands of trees 

 are destroyed every year through the igno- 

 rauce and stupidity of the planters in select- 

 ing the soil. In no case would I water a 

 tree, for 1 have never watered one in my life 

 and I have set out thousands. 



iSituation of trees and varieties. Buy good 

 trees and pay a good price for them; they are 

 tlie cheapest in the end. In no case set a 

 root-graft, for they are worthless. If you can 

 get tlie trees near home it is as well to do it, 

 if not I think it matters but little if the soil 

 and planting are all right, provided you get 

 good seedling stocks, not hide-bound things; 

 but the planter must remember that tlie best 

 of trees will do nothing on pom-, uncongenial 

 soil; it will only be a vexation and loss of time 

 and money. 



Varieties. The Baldwin stands fir.st as 

 among apples in New Englaud. I have had 

 a hundred varieties on my farms and only six 

 or seven are worth the ground they stand on 

 for making money. For Rockingham countj', 

 N. H., I would set ten Baldwins to one of any 

 other variety. 1 would begin witli the Bed 

 Astrachan, Porter, Gravenstein, Pound 

 Sweet, Dauvers Sweet and Baldwin. All 

 these have been successful with me. — German- 

 town Tclc(jrapli. 



SHOULD WE ABOLISH OXEN. 



Tlie following answer to this question was 

 made at the January meeting of tlie Eastern 

 experimental farm club by Tliomas Wood, of 

 West Marlborough : 



The first part of this question had been for- 

 merly referred to me and answered against 

 laying aside the good and faithful ox and 

 substituting the expensive horse or the treach- 

 erous mule. In the first place the cost of a 

 good pair of horses or mules will lie about 

 twice as much as a good pair of oxen, and 

 will cost more than twice as much to keep in 

 harness, and nearly twice as much for feed. 

 Horses and mules must be regularly fed with 

 grain, while working oxen generally keep in 

 fair condition with hay or grass, and to do 

 many kinds of work on a farm are handier 

 than horses. They can be geared or ungeared 



in about half the time, and less than half the 

 time is taken in currying and otherwise car- 

 ing for oxen that is spent witli horses and 

 mules. Furthermore when oxen have worked 

 a few years they may be fattened and sold for 

 what they cost and with this we can buy a 

 younger pair and continue to keep up the team 

 without an additional cost, as oxen often 

 bring enough when fattened to pay not only 

 first cost, iiut interest on it also, and can be 

 made fat for market with less than half the 

 amount of grain fed to the working horse or 

 mule during the time the oxen were worked. 

 The horse not only costs twice as much as the 

 ox and is more expensive whilst working, but 

 is a total loss when he gets too old to be 

 serviceable and the money paid for it is 

 gone. I am not advocating the disuse of 

 horses and mules, as horses are a sort of ne- 

 cessity for driving and tbv many purposes on 

 a farm, but as a matter of economy every 

 farmer having more work on the farm than a 

 pair of horses can do .should have oxen, 

 unless we could adopt the French rule to eat 

 our horses when they get too old for work. 

 As to the other part of the question I don't 

 feel qualified to suggest an improvement or 

 condemn the present ox yoke. 



Our Local Organizations. 



LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- 

 RAL AND HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The recular mdntlily mee'ing of the Lancaster 

 County Airricultural and Horticultural Society wae 

 held Monday afternoon, March let, in the Society's 

 rooms. 



The meeting: was called to order by the Vice Pres- 

 ident, Henry M. Engle. 



Tlie following members were in attendance : Joseph 

 F. Witiner, Paradise; Calvin Cooper, Bird-in-Hand; 

 Simon P. Eby, city; Henry Kurtz, Mount Joy; Casper 

 Hiller, Conestoga; Christ. A. Gast, city; Martin D. 

 Kendig, Creswell; J. M. Johnston, city; F. K. Diffen- 

 derffer.city; J. C. Linville, Salisbury; Daniel Smeyeh, 

 city; John Huber, Warwick; Henry M. En^le, Mari- 

 etta; Elias Hershey, Paradise; John B. Erb, Stras- 

 burg; Kobert Dysart, city; Samuel Binliley, Warwick; 

 Webster L. Hershey, Landisville; Washington L. 

 Hershey, Chickies; C. L. Hunsecker, Manlieim; W. 

 H. Brosius, Drumore; Dr. C. A. Greene, city; Levi 

 S. Reist, Mauheim; John H. Landis, Manor; Peter 

 S. P.eist, Lititz; E. S. Hoover, Manheim; William 

 McComsey, city; Dr. S. S. Rathvon, city; Peter S. 

 Hershey, city; Jacob B. Garber, Columbia; Johnson 

 Miller, Warwick; Israel L. Landis, city; Enos B. 

 Engle, Marietta; Simon E. Hershey, West Hemp- 

 field. 



The reading of the minutes of the previous meet- 

 ing was, on motion, dispensed with. 

 Crop Reports. 



Henry Kurtz reported wheat as looking very well. 

 It seems to have continued growing all winter 

 Grass is not so good. Has himself plowed under 

 some clover. Tobacco is nearly all sold. 



J. C. Linville reported wheat as very good. Fruit 

 buds are pushing rapidly, maples are in bloom and 

 the bees are at work on them. Sheep have done 

 well: feeders of cattle have also been successi'ul. 

 Resolutions of Respect. 



Calvin Cooper reported the following : 

 - Whereas, It is with deep regret that we have 

 lost one of our late associates, Christian M. Hostet 

 ter; therefore, 



Resoh'ecl, That while we bow in submission to the 

 work of an overruling Providence, we liave lost an 

 active co-laborer in the cause of agriculture. 



Resolved, That it is with sorrow we tliink of his 

 removal while yet in the prime of life, and tender 

 the friends of the deceased our sincere regrets, 

 tiURting that our loss has been his gain. 



/iesoli'cd, That a copy of these resolutions be sent 

 to his fiiends. 



The resolutions were spoken on by Mr. Eby and 

 unanimously adopted. 



Apple Culture. 



Mr. Casper Hiller read the following essay : 

 The day was, in the recollection of many yet liv 

 ing, that Lancaster county was one of the greatest 

 apple growing sections in the country. Then apples 

 rarely ever failed. Every other year was called the 

 apple year, though the off-year a-iually produced 

 fruit in abundance for home use. Well I know 

 that we picked wagon beds full of apples and hauled 

 them to the distillei-y to have them convei-ted into 

 apple-jack, to keep them from spoiling (?). The 

 hogs reveled in the orchards and got fat, and the 

 cellars were filled with winter apples, that were 

 free to every comer, and in the spring there was 



often such a surplus that they had to be carried out 

 to the hogs. In those days there was no available 

 distant market for apples. 



Then twenty-five cents a bushel was a fair price 

 for winter apples, ^ud they were often sold as low 

 as ten cents a bushel. But a change has come over 

 these things. For many years the apple crop has 

 been uncertain, sometimes failing altogether, but 

 frequently plentiful enough, but defective and ripen- 

 ing before its proper season, so that often we have 

 no fruit about the holidays. 



The result of this is that our five or ten acre 

 orchards have disappeared, and in their place we see 

 half acre or acre orchards, and in many places no 

 orchard at all. 



But with all these discouragements in apple cul- 

 ture, are not these very orchards after all paying 

 better averages than the rest of the acres of the 

 farm? They generally supply the family with all 

 the fruit needed during summer, fall .and early 

 winter, supply all the dried fruit, applebutter and 

 vinegar needed during the year. 



It must not be forgotten that fruit is necessary to 

 health. If it is not grown at home, the household 

 will be often short of a supply, especially in the 

 summer season. 



If a supply is to be kept up by purchases, the bills 

 during the year could not be paid by the profits of 

 an acre of wheat or corn. These things should be 

 sufficient inducement for us to attempt to grow 

 fruit. 



It is a question, too, worthy of our consideration, 

 whether we have been doing all we could to grow 

 better fruit and more of it. 



The most careless observer, no doubt, has noted 

 occasionally a tree of some well known variety pro- 

 duce a much better fruit than its fellows; or, some- 

 times an orchard thiit from some cause is much 

 better than the average. If these trees or orchards 

 have received different treatment from others, we 

 should learn what it is and imitate the treatment. 

 If they are caused by location, influence of soil, 

 water supply, shelter, &c., why then by all means 

 let us select, if possible, just such conditions. 



My own observation of late years has made me a 

 great believer in water supply, not necessarily run- 

 ning water, but a soil retentive of moisture. 



Deep clay loams, or swamps so drained as to take 

 away surface water, would he my first choice for 

 orchard location. A northern slope, where the sun 

 has little influence on the ground, is also good. All 

 good corn land is adapted for growing trees, hut the 

 tendency in many of these to dry to the depth of 

 several feet in our scorching dry summers, that 

 have become the rule of late years, is the cause, 

 perliaps, more than all others combined, to produce 

 our premature ripening of apples. To counteract 

 this dryness, to imitate the natural moisture that 

 we flud in some clay soils, requires our best efforts. 

 To effect this, much can be done by frequent and 

 thorough cultivation and by mulching. 



Mr. Meechan, editor of the Gnedener's Monthly, 

 one of the best authorities on horticulture in the 

 country, thinks stirring of the soil unnecessary. He 

 advocates the sowing of grass and the making of one 

 or two crops of hay annually, with a good dressing 

 of manure also every year. Some of our Lancaster 

 county hill sides are entirely too washy to permit 

 thorough and continued cultivation. Here the grass 

 system will answer a good purpose if we leave every 

 second crop, and occasionally every crop, spread 

 over the surface as a mulch, and be sure not to for- 

 get the manure. 



Our winter varieties of apples could be much im- 

 proved by mulching around the trees with straw, 

 leaves, tan-bark or even stones. Stones are excel- 

 lent for retaining moisture in the ground, and where 

 they are plenty it would be worthy of trial to cover 

 the ground under the trees with them. 



What varieties shall we plant? This is a difficult 

 question to answer. Some kindb do well in a cer- 

 tain locality, or soil, while they fail in others. If 

 the fruit is wanted principally for home use, con- 

 siderable variety is required to keep up a rotation 

 during the summer, fall and winter. If a home 

 market is to be supplied, summer and fall apples 

 should be planted. 



• If for distant markets, or a winter supply, the 

 varieties should he few. Every planter, to he suc- 

 cessfnl, should know what kinds are adapted to his 

 soil, and should plant them almost exclusively. 



I have seen the Smokehouse for several years past 

 growing in a rich clay loam, where the roots could 

 dip into running water, the fruit coming to perfec- 

 tion, and keeping in prime condition until after the 

 holidays. If anyone hassuch a soil and situation he 

 may plant the Smokehouse, to any number of trees, 

 with a great prospect of success. • 



But in such situations many other varieties would 

 flourish. The Baldwin would do well, and even the 

 Newtown Pippin and BellHower could be grown 

 profitably. 



On higher ground the varieties that are reliable 

 winter apples are not plentiful. Smith's Cider is 

 promising, and the York Imperial is one of the most 

 reliable varieties we have. 



I would not be understood to say that no other va- 

 rieties are worthy of being planted, but, as I said 



