98 state pomoloqical society- 



Renovating an Orchaed. 

 By ''M,*' Brunswick, (in Maine Fanner.) 



In the discussions before the jNIaine Pomological Society, at 

 their late meeting held at Winthrop, on the renovation of old 

 orchards, I notice that no allusion is made to a method which 

 has been adopted in this vicinity with good success ; and I 

 take the liberty by the permission of the editor of the Farmer 

 (whose columns I sometimes fear I am taxing more than is 

 beneficial to its readers), to give them the process which has 

 renovated some of our old orchards. 



In my neighborhood was an orchard which had been set for 

 nearly one hundred 3'ears. The old farm on which it was 

 located had not been cultivated for many years, and the only 

 use made of it was for pasturage, and cutting hay on the low 

 land. The old orchard on the place, yielded but very little 

 of the poorest kind of native fruit, and the trees were full of 

 dead limbs and moss. The land was purchased by a working 

 farmer, who built him a house and commenced renovating the 

 nearly exhausted land, most of which was a clay soil. The 

 farm lying near the sea shore, he had facilities for obtaining 

 sea dressing in abundance at small expense in labor, and that 

 at a leisure season of the year. Around his old apple trees 

 he spread a lil)eral coat of rock-weed, in the fall, and in the 

 winter applied another coat of muscle mud, at the same sea- 

 son pruning off all the dead limbs, and also a large part of 

 those still possessing a small share of vitality. In the spring 

 the dressing was turned under by shallow plowing. During 

 the f(;lIowing two years, these old trees threw out new and 

 thrifty branches, a few of which were permitted to mature, 

 and after growing two seasons they were of sufficient size to 

 be grafted into, which w\as done with scions of choice varie- 

 ties of fruit adapted to the locality. The old trees have 

 formed new tops ; the native bearing limbs were cut oflf the 

 winter following the insertion of the scions, and for the last 

 few years these trees have yielded a liberal supply of excel- 

 lent fruit, and besides, the land yields a heavy crop of hay 

 annually. 



