1034 
grower. Just before winter set in this 
grower hauled manure to the orchard, 
but instead of scattering it beneath the 
trees in the usual way he banked a very 
few forkfuls immediately around the stem 
of the tree. When the supply of manure 
ran out peat or earth was hauled into the 
orchard and banked around the stems of 
the tree in the same manner. 
“The results from the use of these ma- 
terials were uniform, and, surprising as 
it may seem, every tree that received this 
simple treatment survived the winter 
without the least injury from cold, while 
the few trees and sections of rows left 
here and there unbanked and serving as 
‘checks’ in the experiment died almost to 
a tree.” Another orchard of some 500 
trees a little farther to the west of this 
orchard, “which had received the same 
high culture and good care, with the ex- 
ception of the simple banking process, 
was almost a total loss.” The trees in 
these orchards were extremely vigorous 
and had made a rank growth, which made 
them peculiarly susceptible to injury by 
freezing. 
Orchards in Sod 
On the same farm trees on a piece of 
ground which was so stony that it could 
not be cultivated and which was kept in 
bluegrass sod, with a heavy mulch of 
coarse material, such as cornstalks, barn- 
yard manure, etc., about the stems, accord- 
ing to the true “sod-and-mulch” method, 
came through the winter without injury. 
These investigations bring out striking- 
ly the necessity of such continuous and 
thorough cultural practices in the orchard 
as shall maintain the trees at all times in 
a vigorous, healthy condition. The fer- 
tility and vegetable matter of the soil 
must be maintained by the addition of 
manure or the growing of cover crops. 
Spraying to control insect pests and fun- 
gus diseases must be thorough and un- 
remittent. Trees on undrained or very 
rich soil, trees weakened by over bearing 
or by borers, all alike invite winter in- 
jury. Cover crops and mulches protect 
the ground from deep freezing and re- 
Sultant winter injury. Sod serves the 
same purpose Banking up the trunks 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
with a few shovelfuls of manure or earth 
appears to have a marked favorable in- 
fluence. 
Fruit as Food 
Edible fruits show the greatest range 
in form, color, and appearance and are 
found in almost countless varieties; yet 
from the botanist’s standpoint all our 
fruits are the seed-bearing portion of the 
plant. The edible fruits of temperate 
regions fall into a few groups—stone- 
fruits, like cherries and plums; pome 
fruits, like apples and pears; grapes; 
and berries, like strawberries, blackber- 
ries, and currants. There are several prod- 
ucts, such as muskmelons, cantaloupes, 
and watermelons, sometimes classed as 
fruits and sometimes as vegetables, which, 
of course, would not belong to any one 
of these groups. Tropical fruits are not 
so easily classified, though the citrus 
family (oranges, lemons, etc.) includes 
many of the more common sorts. 
There are a few vegetable products 
which are not fruits in any botanical 
sense, but which by common consent are 
included in this class of food products 
since their place in the diet is the same. 
The most common of these products is 
rhubarb, and there are few uses of fruit 
which the acid rhubarb stalk does not 
serve. Angelica stalks, which are candied 
and used for making cakes and confec- 
tionery, are much less common, though 
the total amount used is large. It is cer- 
tainly more natural to include preserved, 
candied, and crystallized ginger root with 
candied pineapple, candied cumquats and 
similar products than with any other 
class of food materials, and old-fashioned 
candied sweet flag root may also be men- 
tioned in this connection. 
Wild and Cultivated Fruits 
In an account of the first Virginia col- 
ony it is stated that the Indians ate wild 
mulberries, crab apples, and huckleber- 
ries, but nothing is said of their cultivat- 
ing fruits, though they raised corn and 
other vegetables. Wild fruits have been 
part of the diet of primitive man when- 
ever obtainable, and no one can say with 
certainty when wild varieties were first 
cultivated, but it must have been early 
