46 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



"I see this matter discussed in the Farmers* Club; in fact, it is a 

 subject of no small solicitude, for the apple is the standard fruit of the 

 people, rich as well as poor. The general cause of deteri()ratit)n is want 

 of vip;or or vitality, which may arise from several minor causes, such as 

 cropping: the soil until it becomes exhausted. This jiraclicc is quite 

 g'eneral, and the wonder is that the trees maintain their vi^or as Ion-;' as 

 they do, training the tree too higli, making- of it a weakly couriumptive 

 spindle-shanked concern, so tiiat the sap has too far to travel, and the 

 natural efl'orts of the tree to prepare itself, f<ir sudden climatic changes for 

 which America is noted, are slow and feeble, causing what many term 

 "frozen sap blight." The borer surely follows; it never attacks a healthy 

 tree. More top than the long feeble body and exhausted soil aforesaid can 

 maintain, and so thick that the sun-light and air cannot |)enetrate. I would 

 add that high wiiidt, injure such trees very imu li. .\ very good remedy 

 for old orchards is re-grafting; this gives a new and vigorous top, and re- 

 invigorates the whole tree. Yet sour, wet land will not give healthy 

 nourishment to a tree, it must ultimately sicken and die. All of tliese 

 causes contribute to deterioration and early decay of apple trees, and are 

 applicable more or less to other fruit trees. 



How TO Grow a Healthy Orchard. 



Go to tlie nursery and get one-year-old trees of such varieties as are not 

 affected by scab or bitter rot, set tiiem out on any dry land, not nearer 

 than thirty feet apart, and if the land is rich, thirty-five feet. I am not in 

 favor of digging holes if the subsoil is stiff clay; it makes a deep hole for 

 the water to stand in. Spread the roots straight, as near as they were in 

 the nursery as possible, fill in with fine top soil, then send for "Barry's 

 Fruit Garden," and follow his instructions for training dwarf jiear trees, 

 which are something like this: Keep a straight stem in the middle, let the 

 branches grow out from this main stem, commencing low — if two feet from 

 the ground the better, let them alternate and never grt)W one opposite the 

 other. The limbs or horizontal branches must be far enough apart on the 

 main stem so that the tree will never need trimming, and so as to give 

 plenty of sun-light and air to the fruit and branches. Your trees will not 

 overbear; altnost every specimen will be ])erfect. The way evergreens arc 

 trained will illustrate what I intend. If the orchard is cultivateil in beans 

 and jtotatoes, as much must be put on as is taken (»ff. The best manure is 

 S'jil from th(,' roadside and well rotted manure. Every farmer (Might to 

 make use of the wast«.' soil along the highway; he has a perfect right to 

 it, and ought to make use of it, even if it spoils a little poor pasturage for 

 the poor man's cow. 



Fruit Gardens for Women. 



Every farmer whose wife desires it ought ti» give her a fruit gartlen of a 

 quarter, a half, or even one acre, to plant to grapes, blackberri«'s, rasp- 

 berries, or strawberries. It would afford more pleasure in many ways 

 than the CJiltivatioii of flowers. It would be a good |>lacc to leave nervous 

 headaches, &c., caused by too much indoor work. ]}ut, say many, I have 

 as much to do as I can, to drag myself around and do my housework ; 



