98 



TSE WESTERI^ POMOLOGIST. 



1871 



a trunk longer, from the ground to the first branch- 

 es, than 18 inches, and were I planting a new orchard 

 ■with it I would not plant a tree with a trunk longer 

 than one foot. Why? In my small orchard of this 

 variety, consisting of 80 to 100 trees, the trees with 

 trunks under two feet have produced from four to 

 five times as much fruit, of better quality, as the 

 trees have with trunks two to four and a half feet 

 in length, on the same soil and with exactly th: 

 same treatment. No, not exactly the same, for if 

 we had not given a vast amount of extra care and 

 labor to the high headed trees they would all have 

 been dead long ere this. The extra labor was in 

 tlie way of keeping them free of borers, sprout.s 

 from around their collars, and protecting their 

 trunks from the sun on the .^oulhside. The maiori- 

 t}' of my high headed trees are now dead, killed 

 outright by an over burdensome (for the season) 

 crop of fruit last j'car — that is, by the crop of fruit 

 and tlie great drouth combined. My low headed 

 trees are perfectly liealtliy and sound as yet, give 

 yearly crops of magnificent fruit, and will from all 

 appearances continue to do so for years to come. 

 To show clearly why a low headed Wagoner tree is 

 the one capable of bearing the most fruit, I give the 

 following measurements of trees now growing in my 

 orchard, both planted thu spring of 18G1, standing 

 side by side, and treated in the same way: 



The one with Its trunk 43>^ feet long is the best 

 high headed tree in the whole lot, trunk 15 inches 

 in circumference at the ground, height of tree 12 

 feet, diameter of base of head 8 feet, whicli multi- 

 plied by height of head equals 60. The other 

 with trunk one foot in length has it 19 inches in 

 circumference at the ground, height of tree 15 feet, 

 diameterof the ba.se of head 14 feet, multiplied by 

 height ofhead equals 196. 196 to60,theone havingthe 

 capacity to bear three barrels of apples to the otliers 

 one, and it does it every time, and the fruit is larger, 

 higher colored and of better flavor than that of the 

 the other; besides the tree Is a perfect model of 

 health, vigor and of undoubted longevity, while the 

 other, though only ten years planted is an old de- 

 crepit failing tree. 



■ We have other varieties of apple trees, such as 

 Primate, Summer Pearmain, Early Harvest, Red 

 June, Red Astrachan, &c., trees of dwarfish habit, 

 that to give reasonably good sticcess must have low 

 heads. Their real value as profitable varieties has 

 been but little known, for the reason that they have 

 almost invariably been forced by trimming them up 

 to form their heads at the same height as stronger 

 growing varieties, wliieh throws tliem entirely (Uit 

 of balance, and it is impossible for tliem ever to bear 

 a tithe of the fruit they should, and what they do is 

 of poor quality. 



Yes, the Wagoner is my favorite apple. When 

 properly treated it is of the brighest red color, just 



the proper size, of the best quality for both cooking 

 and eating, comes into use for cooking in August, 

 keeps usually without loss until February, and is the 

 easiest apple to sell at a liigh price I know of. 



WHAT IS A LOW HEADED TREE? 



What I call a low headed tree is one with the 

 branches starting out at tliat height from the ground 

 which nature alwaj's indicates, as we see in an apple 

 tree two years from the root graft, or a strong- 

 branching one year dwarf pear from the bud, and 

 never trimmed up any whatever, and that has had 

 its shoots shortened back each year to 18 inches, and 

 has never had any sub-branches cut from the base 

 of its main branches ; and not a tree that has had its 

 branches started low and then had them trimmed 

 up two, four and six feet, making the most abomi- 

 nable of all abominations, five or six very higli 

 headed trees growing from one stump. I hope that 

 all wlio have occasion to plant fruit trees this spring 

 wdl procure a few trees of Primate, Summer Pear- 

 main, Summer Peunock, and Early Harvest, the 

 lowest, scrubbiest, though healthy, trees they can 

 find, and plant them at tlie same time with trees of 

 tlie same varieties witli heads tliree to five feet high, 

 and mark the result, heading the scrubs back as 

 above. 



Tbo Butcher Bird versus Frogs. 



By J. Stadffer, Lancastpr, Pa. 



Ed. Pomologist: I highly appreciate Mr. C. V. 

 Riley, and have great respect for his opinion on 

 matters connected with his specialty, but do not 

 agree with him in the matter of your article on 

 page 24 (current volume for 1871) — -"Frogs Spitted 

 on to Thorns," in a portion of your nursery grounds, 

 on the thorns of the seedling trees, and also lodged 

 in the sharp forks of .small limbs. Had you care- 

 fully examined, you would also have discovered 

 these little frogs on the ground. I have myself 

 witnessed showers of frogs, and on one occasion 

 having taken shelter under a locust tree during a 

 sudden sliower, was an actual eye witness, not only 

 to seeing small frogs spitted and lodged as you fig- 

 ure them, but actually alive, where they lodged in 

 the deep dust of the roadway, saturated with water. 

 This fact is no doubt known to many younger men 

 than I, although of not very frequent occurrence. 



I lately read an account of a shower of herrings 

 that fell, if I mistake not, in the State of Delaware, 

 but such cases not being new to me, I made no 

 special note of it. I am aware, too, that fads of this 

 nature have given rise to long debates; that i.s, the 

 compulsory migrations by means of showers, of 

 "toads and frogs." Modern observations have dem- 

 onstrated the actual existence of this phenomenen, 

 which is explained now-a-days in a very rational 

 manner. 



