66 



horned cattle. The hog may be a good renovator for the 

 old turf bound orchard, but as an ornament among a good 

 thrifty lot of fruit trees, he is not a success. 



In the matter of pruning, good surgery demands that 

 every amputation shall be dressed. Many cultivators ad- 

 vise you to prune in the winter time, while you have plenty 

 of leisure time, and the stump will get hard before the sap 

 begins to flow. We would advise pruning when the sap is 

 circulating freely, and all wounds brushed over with shel- 

 lac in alcohol, coal tar, or a coat of thick oil paint. Shel- 

 lac is apt to crack, we give preference to coal tar, it being 

 much cheaper and would be used freely, and is sufficiently 

 pungent to keep insects at a respectful distance. 



We would advise pruning so as to keep the branches as 

 near the ground as consistent with cultivation, giving less 

 exposure to strong winds when laden with fruit in summer, 

 or ice in winter, and materially aiding in the gathering of 

 the fruit. 



It must not be supposed that when the orchard begins to 

 bear, and the land has been laid down to grass, no fertili- 

 zer is required, but bear in mind that it takes one kind of 

 fertilizer to grow a tree and another to grow the fruit. 



All bearing trees must have more or less potash, whether 

 it is supplied by wood ashes or in a more concentrated 

 form with compost and spread broad cast, it matters not, 

 but the potash must precede the fruit. 



In raising fruit we find the enemy omnipresent, and dili- 

 gent in season. These are the codling moth, canker worm 

 and the tent caterpillar. The former two are vanquished 

 by the tarred paper on the trunk, and sponging the branch- 

 es with solution of London purple before the young fruit is 

 heavy enough to fall over, thereby giving the young worm 

 a dose of poison before it enters the fruit. 



The caterpillar is a later visitor, but appears to be in- 

 creasing, as the canker worm decreases. We have found 

 the political torch the most efficient, attached to a long 

 pole; regulate the stick so as to give a broad blaze, and pass 



