]^52 STATE POMOLOaiCAL SOCIETY. 



ing and thriving in any soil, perfectly hardy, a rapid grower, 

 grows denser every year, and making in a short time when planted 

 in hedge row, about five feet apart, an almost impervious mass 

 of green foliage, highly ornamental and an effectual protection 

 against driving storms and high winds. We allude of course to 

 the Norwaj'^ Spruce, (Abies excelsa.) We have such a row, about 

 one hundred feet long, on the north side of our garden, and have 

 had full experience of its advantages ; our forcing frames for 

 vegetables are on the south side of it, and we think the tempera- 

 ture, owing to its proximity, is several degrees warmer than forty 

 to fifty feet distant. A third remedy within our resources, would 

 appear to be an effective mulching, under pear trees at least, 

 apples and some others being not so much affected by the atmos- 

 pheric changes alluded to. This mulch keeps the soil damp, at 

 an even temperature, and greatly contributes to health and fruit- 

 fulness. The material for mulching is not important, whether 

 hay, weeds, chips, shavings ; the cheapest and best being that 

 which is most accessible. We have seen the very best results 

 from mulching, and in one case, two large pear trees which had 

 not borne for several years, bore a plentiful crop after being 

 mulched within a space of about five feet diameter, with such 

 stones as could be gathered from the fields." 



Pruning. — *" Pruning should never be attempted by the inex- 

 perienced, except under the direction of a practical teacher, for 

 otherwise they are more likely to do harm than good. We some- 

 times see in suburban gardens, fruit trees, especially pear trees, 

 which have made good healthy shoots from one to three feet in 

 length, headed down as squarely as if the pruner had been trim- 

 ming a hedge ; and as a consequence, a thick, bushy head of 

 young wood, instead of a well shaped head formed by thinning 

 regularly, cutting out some of the shoots altogether, and shorten- 

 ing those left according to their strength. An experienced pruner, 

 by taking a glance at a young tree, can easily see what buds 

 should be removed and what should be left, and can, in a few min- 

 utes, prune it with his thumb-nail, so that the tree will require 

 little more care for the season. Trees thus managed will have few 

 large limbs requiring to be cut away. Many trees are pruned too 

 severely, even by practical men, while others are left almost in a 

 state of nature by the inexperienced. 



• Paper on Tree Culture, by James Cruickshanks, — Transactions Mass. Horticultural 

 Society, Part I, 1874. 



