70 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



June 



For tlie Western Pomologist. 

 Fruit Culture. 



BY WALTER ELDER, LANDSCAPE GARDENER, PHILA- 

 DELPHIA, Fa. 



Many men are brmie to "go into the thing," 

 but iu the culture of fruits prudence is far 

 preferable to bravery. Certain species and 

 varieties of fruits are profitable in certain 

 soils and localities; therefore, it renuires 

 considurotion as to what species will thrive 

 upon individual farms, and when the right 

 kinds are set out no other crop will bring in 

 half the profit that fruits will. The pear is 

 very shy in some localities and soils, and 

 most profitable in others. Dwarf pear trees, 

 upon quince stocks, have proved universally 

 failures, so standards must be relied upon. 

 The roots of the pear tree strike deep into 

 the ground, and if the subsoil is of the right 

 texture, success is certain. But it is well to 

 try the jstar upon all soils and localities, as 

 by tliat we may find out the true secret of 

 general success. The apple does well everv- 

 where ; but some varieties do better in some 

 localities, and upon certain soils, than others. 

 So }hese freaks can only be learned by set- 

 tihg out many varieties, and watch which do 

 best ; then plant them most largely. Peach 

 and plum, being perishable fruits, require an 

 immediate sale, and the many conveyances 

 to markets by railways will suit those at 

 great distaoces from markets, as well as those 

 in clese proximity thereto. When trees are 

 transplanted, they go through a surgical 

 operation, by having some of their roots 

 cut, and their branches should be shortened, 

 to prevent too great a draught of sap from 

 the roots, until they have had time to make 

 a new set of fibres to sustain themselves. 

 The holes should be dug wider than the 

 spread of the tree roots ; the soil should bo 

 broken fine with spade or hoes, and left to 

 aerate a few days before the trees are plant- 

 ed. If the trees are to come from a distance 

 dig the holes a few days before the trees 

 arrive, and when the}' come, set them out at 

 once. Let every tree planter consider that 

 a plant out of the ground is like a fish out of 

 the water, it is suffering. Upon flat, un- 

 drained lands, spring planting is best, when 

 the soil gets dry enough to dig well; but 

 upon rolling lands, fall planting is the best 

 time. Mulching is better than watering. 

 The soil should be well fertilized and tilled, 

 before the trees are set out, and be well cul- 

 tivated for two years afterwards, so as to 

 give a lively growth of wood ; after tliat the 

 lands may be seeded down with wheat and 

 grass, and lie for five years ; then the sod 

 broken up, and a cultivated crop, say, pota. 

 toes or Indian corn one year ; then, in fall, to 

 seed down again with wheat and grass, to lie 

 for five or six years; by that, the trees 

 will flourish and bear well. 



At the National Pomological Convention, 

 held last autumn in Philadelphia, the gallant 

 and loy(d State of Kansas carried off the palm 



for fine tree fruits, aijd may not loyal Iowa 

 do the same next autuniii ? We have got lo 

 understand that Iowa has the best climate 

 and soil for tree fruits in the nation, and no 

 doubt, she will soon outstrip all others iu 

 that department ; and in a few years, her 

 vineyards may surpass those of Italy and 

 France. Only let her citizens be enterpris- 

 ing, and not daunted by slight failures, as 

 we all gain more wisdom by our failures 

 than by our successess. It is to the Western 

 states that we now look for superior fruits. 

 Our Eastern states have been so long severely 

 cropped with grains, and so poorly tilled and 

 fertilized, that our farmers say their lands 

 are "worn out," so they are rapidly selling 

 out to go to Iowa and.her neighboring states 

 to " get lauds worth tillage ; " so it is those 

 gallant yeomen, with long experience, who 

 will make a " Paradise " of the Western 

 states. But why do we call them Western 

 states ? They will soon be the Middle states 

 The great railway is now finished; and 

 numerous states beyond Iowa will spring 

 into existence ; and who knows but the 

 national capitol will, ere long, be established 



in Des Moines, never to be removed there- 

 from ? 



Remarks. — Fall planting may do for 

 Pennsylvania, as recommended, but not for 

 this prairie country. 



For the Western Pomologist. 



The Cherry Question. 



I have been an interested observer of the 

 discussion going on in the horticultural 

 journals for several years on the subject of 

 cherry tree stocks for the West. All agree 

 the Mazzand stock is out of the question, it 

 is too tender and winter kills. This narrows 

 the discussion down to the Morello and 

 Mahaleb stock, upon which to work the 

 cherry. I do not propose to go into review 

 of the discussion, but only to say that I have 

 had some experience in the matter, extending 

 over a period of the past ten or twelve years, 

 and that experience and observation favors 

 the Mahaleb for a stock for every variety of 

 cherry worthy of cultivation in the West, 

 the Early Richmond as well as others. 

 I regard the top-grafted Morello sprouts, 

 taken up from the fields and fence-corners, 

 where they have grown from the broken roots 

 of old Morello seedling-trees, as nothing short 

 of a nuisance. True, the Early Richmond 

 top-grafted upon them will bear early, but 

 they will bear nearly as early on the Maha- 

 leb, and the clierries are invariably larger, 

 more perfect, and better developed. This I 

 know from positive observation for a period 

 of at least ten years, and the stock is thor- 

 oughly hardy and vigorous, and don't sprout 

 from the roots at all. 



I admit that the Early Richmond on 

 the Mahaleb stock will not bear as full at 

 three or four j'ears as on the Morello stock, 

 but after from four to six years, if there is 



any difference in the bearing qualities of the 

 two stocks, it is iu tavor of the Mahaleb, and 

 the English Morello at least bears quite as 

 early aud full on one as the other. I have 

 an Early Richmond tree on my grounds 

 worked on Mahaleb stock, planted some 

 twelve years ago at two years from the bud. 

 This tree at first bore moderately, but for the 

 past four or five years, has borne wonderful 

 crops of the largest and most perfect Early 

 May cherries I ever saw. My foreman, Mr 

 Sharp, who gathered the cherries from this 

 tree last year, for his family use, informed me 

 he believed he had taken nearly three bush- 

 els of cherries from this single tree, which is 

 a marvel of healthy vigor aud beauty. I 

 have so much fiiith in the Mahaleb cherry as 

 a stock, and what I believe will be the pre- 

 vailing sentiment of cherry-tree planters on 

 this subject after a very few years, that I am 

 this spring importing forty tliousand Mahaleb 

 stocks, every one of which I expect to plant 

 and work on my own grounds, to supply the 

 wants and demands of Iowa and Missouri 

 tree planters hereafter, when they become 

 thoroughly disgusted with the Morello 

 sprouts now being scattered over the country. 



To sum up the matter, then, the Mahaleb 

 is thoroughly hardy and vigorous, don't 

 sprout from the root, with the Early Rich- 

 mond does not bear so many cherries for the 

 first four or five years, but what cherries are 

 borne are unusually large and perfect, and 

 after that length of time, bears regularly and 

 most bountifully of larger and more perfect 

 cherries than on the Morello stock. 



W. Bird. 



Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. 



For the Western Pomologipt. 



Grimes' Golden. 



Friknd Miller : — I was very much inter- 

 ested in Mr. Hanua's history of this apple. 

 I can add a paragraph to its history in this 

 State, but Greenbury Wood, of Cedar county, 

 could tell us a good deal more about it than 

 any other one up in this part of our State. I 

 believe he is a son of Samuel Wood, of 

 Smithfield, Ohio, and he brought the cions 

 from his father's orchard at a very early time 

 iu the historj- of nurseries in Cedar county, 

 and now the orchard trees of those cions are 

 bearing, and the fruit of those trees was on 

 exhibition at the West Liberty fair last fall. 

 Mr. Budlong also brought some of Dr. Hol- 

 ingsworth's specimens of Grimes' Golden up 

 from the State fair. 



I observed on a fruit stand where apples 

 were for sale, at this fair, some beautiful 

 golden yellow apples; their peculiar cylin- 

 drical form was like the Grimes. I bought 

 some, and the flavor was so identical with 

 that of the Grimes, that Mr. Henry Strolim, 

 Isaac Negus, Mr. Budlong, Dr. Kimball, my- 

 self and others, decided that they were 

 Grimes' Golden, which the owner said he 

 bought by the barrel in Davenport. We 



