RURAL LIFE IN LITCHFIELD COUNTY 



anything so good for my apple trees as top-tow laid on 

 the land near the trees." What "top-tow" is can only 

 be conjectured from the knowledge of the fact that flax 

 was grown and retted on nearly every farm, and the 

 fiber was commonly called "tow." The coarse bark of 

 the plant was of little value for cloth and it seems most 

 probable that this got the name of "top-tow," and being 

 a waste product, could be used as a mulch around small 

 trees. 



In a long list of questions submitted for answer in the 

 "Transactions of the State Agricultural Society," pub- 

 lished in 1802, the following will indicate the trend of 

 thought relating to apples in those days: 



"What kind of apples afford the best cyder?" 



"What is the best management of apples to prepare 

 them for cyder?" 



"Is it beneficial to house them in heaps until mel- 

 lowed, and will this method better the quality of the 

 cyder?" 



"Are grafting and innoculation [budding] of fruit 

 trees in general use and the best method known?" 



"Have any means or methods been found successful 

 in destroying the worms that annoy the trees or pre- 

 venting the miliars from ascending the trees?" 



The ravages of insects are not confined to recent ex- 

 perience. One of the worst periodic pests was the 

 canker worm. In the "History of Ancient Woodbury" 



15»1 



