ISS 



THE -POMOLOGIST. 



November 



For the Western Pomologist. 



"Hardy Offspring." 



In the September number of the Pomolo- 

 gist, Dr. Stayraan says : " For as we im- 

 prove the quality of the fruit v>-e weaken 

 and debilitate the constitution, as strong 

 continued mental effort weakens and debili- 

 tates the bod}'." 



This is a very important suggestion, and 

 ought to be candidly, carefully, and cautious- 

 ly discussed, I am free to acknowledge 

 that mucli of the practice of improvment has 

 been so erroneously managed as to weaken 

 the constitution, both of vegetable and ani- 

 mal ; but I fully believe it could have been 

 otherwise. When Mr. Harrington proves 

 tbat a seedling of the Delaware grape is more 

 vigorous and hardy than its parent, Dr. S. 

 says that i^robably some ancestor was more 

 healthy and hardy. This opens the question 

 of how far back we ought to go towards the 

 first creation ? I am of opinion that some of 

 our varieties of grapes and apples are now 

 as healthy and hardy as their parentage ever 

 were, excepting in some jgolated case, in the 

 roll of ages and generations, we might have 

 exceeded. The Catawba grape is generally 

 admitted to be a native wildliug, and many of 

 its offspring are more healthy and hardy than 

 the parent. The class of Russian apples we 

 must believe, are as healthy and hardy as 

 tlieir original type. My l?iberian Crab 

 trees are not as healthj' as many of larger 

 fruited European and American varieties. 

 Downing says apple trees in New Eng- 

 land more than 100 years old, more than 12 

 feet in circumference and have borne in a 

 single year more than 100 bushels of apples. 

 I do not believe the native nor European 

 crabs are as healthy and hardy as that, nor 

 are they as large and productive. What is 

 health? If it is not size ought it not to be 

 agef 



" So the untutored Indian." I am of the 

 opinion that neither the Indian nor African 

 can endure as hard and constant labor as 

 our own white men. Take the hardships of 

 the army, the uncultivated men fail first, 

 provided, always, that cultivation has been 

 attended with a care for their physical culli- 

 vaiion as well as mental. 



The above is the .secret of so much phj'sic- 

 al decay. Well has Dr. S. suggested that 

 this balance of improvement ought to be 

 kept up. Im])rove the tree as well as the 

 fruit, — improve the body as well as the 

 mind. Breeders of animals begin to under- 

 stand this importance and give it proper 

 attention. But of the propngating of new 

 varieties of fruit, we know but little about 

 the laws of health in reproduction. Who 

 has attempted to raise a healthy and hardy 

 apple tree by .'cicntiflcar.d intelligent repro- 

 dnction ? 



But shall we decline in health and become 

 extinct by improving the mind? I believe 

 not those who are educated at our horticul- 



tural colleges! Dr. Stayman says, "why 

 have the many extinct specimens which 

 geology iiroves, ceased to exist ? " An.swer : 

 for the want of the cultivated and wise di- 

 rected hand of man to prolong their exis- 

 tence. Who does not believe with me, that 

 where man will fully investigate the subject, 

 he can give essential aid to the laws of nature 

 in improving the health, and prolonging the 

 life of both animal and vegetable beings 

 which the kind Creator has intrustid to his 

 care. And to nothing does this remark ap- 

 ply with so much force and consequence as 

 to himself. Suel Fuster. 



Muscatine 



For tlie Western Pomologist : 



High Cultivation for Trees. 



Formerly the belief was entertained by the 

 foremost fruit growers, that a high state of 

 cultivation was necessary to produce thrifty 

 trees and a desirable quality of apples. Re- 

 cently, that belief has been assailed fiercely, 

 and, perhajis, under some circumstances, 

 justly. We lost some very valuable trees by 

 winter killing, a few years ago, which we 

 attriljuted to the late growth produced by 

 high cultivation. Our orehard soil was rich 

 in all the natural elements of the drift peri- 

 od, to whicli was ad.lcd a liberal dressing of 

 barn-yard manure. No other orchard of 

 young trees snfl'ered to the same extent in 

 this vicinit}', and their freulom from injury 

 was assigned to negligent care through the 

 summer. Hence, this isolated case has been 

 cited as proof irositive against cultivation. 

 But this one case should not establish a fact. 



By careful attention, we are prepared to 

 believe young trees, before fruiting, should 

 have but little manure about their roots, 

 unless on very light soil; but bear- 

 ing ones will require a considerable 

 quantity, if properly applied. Not thrown 

 up round the trunk of the tree, for the 

 escaping amonia to lixiviate the bark, but 

 scattered, so as to nourish the feeder roots. 



The past winter was severe on all kinds of 

 trees. Our trees, which were well cultivated, 

 received less injury than those growing in 

 sod, which may offset against our former 

 case. The Yellow Bellflower and Siberians 

 snfl'ered most severely. Trees we cultivated 

 bj' planting between rows in potatoes, came 

 through the winter unscathed. We have 

 succeeded best by planting a crop among trees 

 that required a good share of attention in 

 the early part of the season. Plowing and 

 hoeing should not be permitted later than 

 the first of July ; then the fall growth will 

 not be greater than a tree of healthy vigor 

 will require. 



The general failure of fruit in this section 

 makes one feel sombre,but is re-assured when 

 he reflects that this is the first time in twen- 

 ty five years. 



Observer. 

 Urhana City, Appanoose Co., Iowa. 



Early Peaches— The '"May Beauty" and 

 " Yellow St. John." 



A correspondent of the South Lund writ 

 iug from Baton Rouge, La., believes the 

 earliest and finest peaches in the New Or- 

 leans market the past season, were what is 

 known as the "May Beauty," and wi.shes to 

 know where the trees may be obtained. — 

 The same writer finds " Hale s Early" some 

 fifteen days later in ripening with him than 

 "Eariy Tillotson." Would like to hear 

 from others who have fruited" Halt's Early " 

 at the South, as it has generally been re- 

 garded the earliest of the two at the North, 

 and has been so with Mr. Bercksmans of Ga. 

 Thinks if this peach is adapted to the ex- 

 treme South, a spurious variety has been 

 disseminated in his section. To these que- 

 ries the editor of the Suxith Land replies by 

 saying:— 



" The " May Beauty " can be obtained pure 

 from any of our leading nurserymen in Mis- 

 sissippi and Louisiana — also, the "Yellow 

 St. Jolm," a variety supposed to be more 

 productive than the first named peach; as 

 early, and of equal quality. " Hale's Early^' 

 thus far, has not given our fruit growers sat- 

 isfaction. In eastern Louisiana and central 

 Mississippi it ripens with the " Tillotson "-- 

 no earlier — and is not equal to that really 

 fine varict}'. lu many parts of the North 

 and West, it rots badly on the tree, and has 

 rather fallen into disfavor. We have great 

 confidence in the opinion of our friend 

 Berckmans, on everything connected with 

 pomolog_v, and fully believe all he says about 

 the ILale in Georgia — but our observation 

 and experience in the country bordering on 

 the Gulf changes the status of Hale's Early 

 materially. Oflatcwehave seen and pub- 

 lished something about the benefit of treating 

 this particular peach with a " wholesome 

 neglect" — allowing the lands around the 

 trees to grow up in grass, weeds, etc. ; with 

 the view of forcing the trees iuto full and 

 healthful productiveness. This system may 

 do with this variety; it is very easily tried ; 

 and we recommend it to those who have 

 failed of success through over manuring and 

 extra culture — the number of which, we im- 

 agine, is not very great throughout the 

 country generally." 



The Peach Crop.— Kdniund Morris of 

 Burlington, N. J., writes in Tilton's Journal 

 of Horticulture, that, the present abundant 

 season, over 500 bushels of fruit have been 

 picked from a hundred and fifiy trees of 

 Troth's Early. He thinks five million bas- 

 kets will be shipped from L)i laware. "The 

 Messrs. Corliitis, with 350 acres, will shi|) 

 90,000 ba-kets of three peeks each. Mr. Fen- 

 nimore will ship 30,000. Last year this gen- 

 tleman was the onl}' one who had any 

 peaches, and his crop of 4,200 baskets aver- 

 aged him six dollars." He states that the 

 orchards which die out early, or in five or 

 six years, are neglected and nceive little or 

 uo cultivation, the want of wliieli is certain 

 to ruin a peach orchard. Wlu're the owm r 

 does his duty by his trees, they bear from 

 fifteen to twenty years. 



