26 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



Feb. 



For the Western Pomologist. 



Scraping the Bark off Trees. 



So far as my observations extend, the prac- 

 tice of divesting fruit and other trees of their 

 outer bark, sufl'ers little or no abatement. 

 Only a few years ago, the city authorities 

 here, ordered that the large trees in some of 

 the streets, and in the public square, should 

 be scraped clean of their outer integument, 

 and as high as a man could conveniently 

 reach ; assigning as a reason for the venture 

 that it would very much improve them in 

 appearance, if not in health and vigor. So, 

 likewise, have we seen the experiment tried 

 upon apple and pear trees, when an eflbrt at 

 rejuvenation has been deemed expedient. 

 The motive in each and every case, no doubt, 

 originating in the belief and hope that much 

 good would be the result, but, withal, and 

 admitting there may be some unobjectionable 

 features in the system, it may be reasonably 

 questioned as to whether o-r not, in any case, 

 " the game is worth the candle." 



We are opposed to the practice, chiefly and 

 emphatically, because the epidermus, or outer 

 bark of trees, is the covering provided by 

 nature for their protection against the adverse 

 influences of climate, and for maintaining in 

 even balance that degree of warmth most fa- 

 vorable to the healthy exercise of their vital 

 functions. And, perhaps, the fact is not yet 

 sufliciently realized how admirably suited 

 this external covering is for such a purpose 

 It is only the other day, a learned Physicist 

 when experimenting upon the conductility 

 of various bodies, ascertained that wood, 

 cross-ways, is a non-conductor of heat in an 

 eminent degree, and the outer layers of bark 

 even greatly more so ; facts, these, which show 

 that in the vegetable economy, the iitting 

 of means to ends is so close and intimate as 

 not to be safely disturbed, while, at the same 

 time, they seem to indicate that the practice 

 we oppose is out of harmony with the plans 

 and purposes of nature. 



It may be assumed, the chief reason urged 

 in support of the practice, is that it lightens 

 the trees of a load of dead and useless matter 

 which cannot be of further benefit ; but, on 

 the contrary, when allowed to remain, is only 

 a harbor and encouragement for insect ene- 

 mies, and for the growth of moss and lichens 

 It may be true the depredations of insects 

 have been lessened by the process ; but we 

 question if in any instance to be appreciable. 

 And as for lichens, we are at a loss to under- 

 stand how they can be hurtful to trees, for, 

 although growing upon them, they live ex- 

 exclusively upon food drawn from the atmos- 

 phere. We do not claim that trees derive 

 any benefit from those epiphytes, unless in 

 bleak and exposed situations they supplement 

 the bark in affording protection. But when 

 found in excess upon on apple or pear trees, 

 of immature age, they may be accepted as a 

 sign that, from some cause or other, those 

 trees are not in such a satisfactory condition 



as could be desired. Want of thriftiness in 

 trees favor the growth of lichens, and this 

 may be induced by a variety of causes, either 

 singly or in combination, such as impover- 

 ishment of the soil, want of drainage, or ex- 

 posure to the rigors of a severe and variable 

 climate. With these, and other opposing 

 agencies the cultivator has to contend, and 

 by wise and well directed effort, some of 

 them, at least, can be partially overcome ; in 

 no supposable case, however, need he hope 

 to better his prospects by the use of the scra- 

 ping knife ; for, from whatever cause trees 

 cease to increase perceptibly in diameter, out- 

 side appliances can no more impart fresh 

 vigor to them, than the under-fed and over- 

 driven roadster, all of whose "bones stick 

 out," can be made sleek and fat by the use 

 of the curry-comb. 



In cases, therefore, where the preliminary 

 duty of properly preparing the ground before 

 planting, has either been in part or wholly 

 neglected, fresh life and vigor can only be 

 communicated to trees, whicli exhibit signs of 

 going down in the " struggle for life," by dig- 

 ging about and under them, so far as practi- 

 cable, at the same time working in about the 

 roots a proper quantity of suitable compost. 

 We have seen such dressings produce the 

 most beneficial results, and. as a consequence 

 of improvement, the outer bark, with the 

 objectionable lichen, falling off in shreds and 

 patches, in nature's own time and way. 



A. Vbitch, New Haven, Conn. 



*—* 



For the WeBtern PomologiBt. 



What is Mildew? 



BY WALTER ELDER, LANDSCAPE GAEDENEB. 



In former ages it was supposed to be beyond 

 the comprehension of man to discover what 

 mildew was, from whence it came,the causes of 

 its presence, and how to prevent its injurious 

 effects; but now, scientific investigations by 

 powerful microscopes, it is found to be a 

 world of parasitic plants, of various genera 

 and species, whose spores or seeds float in the 

 air, and are omnipresent, and take root upon 

 all decomposing bodies, both in aridity and 

 moisture. Yet practical cultivators disagree 

 about the causes of its attacks upon living 

 plants ; some assert that dry air is the cause ; 

 others maintain that too great a moisture is 

 the cause ; a third class declare that a plant 

 must first becoms deranged in its organization 

 before mildew can take effect upon it ; or, in other 

 words, a plant in a thrifty state of growth is 

 never aftectcd with mildew. We have always 

 adhered to this last theory, and the more we 

 have watched its presence, the more we are 

 convinced that this theory is the true one. 

 Wherever we find it upon the fruit, foliage, 

 or body of a plant, we at once know that an 

 unhealthy action has taken place in its once 

 healthy system, and at once use the means to 

 restore the health of the plants by such ap- 

 plications as we think will prove eflective. 

 The gooseberry, grapevine, and pear tree, 

 growing upon dry soils, and fully exposed to 



the rays of the sun, all become languid by 

 the drouth ; hence, sj'ricging them on even- 

 ings with water, and giving them a plentiful 

 supply at their roots, will either effect a cure 

 or mitigate the malady, and the destructive 

 eft'ects of mildew will be checked. Where 

 too much moisture is the cause, we use means 

 to lessen it, by withholding water, draining, 

 &c. So we look upon mildew as a messen- 

 ger of mercy, to tell us when our plants are 

 sickly, and urge us to do something for their 

 relief 



Pine trees, growing in marshes, are often 

 destroyed by " dry rot ; " the interior becomes 

 as hollow as a .sponge, and is full of mildew ; 

 but they are never so affected upon high and 

 dry lands. Foreign grapevines and peach 

 trees, grown in glass houses and in very 

 moist atmospheres, are affected with mildew ; 

 but the peach tree growing in the open fields, 

 even in the burniug sands of New Jersey and 

 Delaware are never troubled with mil- 

 dew. Foreign grapevines in glass houses^ 

 are generally free from mildew, where the 

 atmosphere is neither kept too dry nor too 

 moist, and a free circulation of fresh air is 

 kept up ; so, in these cases, a superabundance 

 of moisture is the cause. Every observing 

 cultivator can readily notice, that whatever is 

 hurtful to the thrift of plants, will be the cjiuse 

 of the presence of mildew upon them. Mil- 

 dew is what causes plums to rot upon the 

 trees, when they lack moisture at their roots, 

 and the fruit of pear trees to crack and dry 

 up. So pear and plum trees succeed best 

 upon lands whose sub-subsoils have a strong 

 power of retaining moisture. Salt sown 

 around plum trees is a good safeguard, and 

 so is mulcli of litter, in summer, a safeguard 

 to pear trees. 



One genus of mildew is named Oidium, and 

 it is some of its species that injures the grape- 

 vine, gooseberry, lilac bushes, &c. Another 

 genus is named Ereciphe, and it is its species 

 that destroys the garden pea, cabbage, chrys- 

 anthemum, &o. The species found upon old 

 bread, is different from the species upon wall- 

 papers, when the walls are damp. The must 

 upon grains and in flour, when long kept, is 

 mildew. lu short, the spores, or seeds, are 

 everywhere, and soon tell us of our negli- 

 gence in all departments of life. 



It would take up too much space, and tire 

 the reader, to make any more statements 

 about mildew, at present. 



Philaddpliia, Jan. 10, 1870, 



StTNSHrNE AND Clouds. — All! this beau- 

 tiful world ! I know not what to think of it. 

 Sometimes it is all sunshine and gladness, 

 and heaven itself lies not far ofi", and then it 

 suddenly (flanges, and is dark and sorrowful, 

 and tlie clouds sliut out the day. In the 

 lives of the saddest of us, there are briglit 

 days like this, when we feel as we could take 

 the great world in our arms. Then come 

 gloomy hours, wlien the fire will not burn in 

 hearths, and all without and within is dismal, 

 cold and dark. Believe me, every heart has 

 its secret sorrows, which the world knows 

 not, and oftentimes we call a man cold when 

 he is only sad. — Longfellow. 



