THE 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



Dcbotefc to m&vimlWW, fflMtititltuvz, mx^ the SmtseftolK Mvts. 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. — 

 Xenophon. 



FRANK: Gr. RUFFIN, Editor. 



Vol. XIV. 



For the Southern Planter. 



MINUTES OF AGRICULTURAL FACTS AND 

 OBSERVATIONS, 



Collected and noted by the Agricultural Commissioner, 

 and, ordered to be published by the Executive Com- 

 mittee of the Virginia State Agricultural Society. 



[Continued from page 291.] 



Fruit and Fruit Trees. 



85. Mr. R. T. Lacy, of New Kent, has been suc- 

 cessful in rearing and growing peach trees. His 

 orchard contains nearly forty fine varieties, and 

 several of them of new and valuable kinds, all 

 produced from seeds planted by himself. Some 

 persons rely with confidence on the seeds of choice 

 peaches producing trees of like fruit. Others dis- 

 trust the seeds altogether for continuing the kind, 

 and rely only on grafting or inoculating for that 

 object. Mr. L. has found that in a great majority 

 of cases, the seeds of the best peaches have pro- 

 duced like kinds, without any diminution of size, 

 flavor, or other value. In the cases of exception 

 from this general result, the products of seeds have 

 been other kinds of peaches, generally inferior, if 

 not worthless. But in a small number of such 

 cases of variation of the product from the parent! 

 fruit, he has obtained new and al^> improved and 

 very fine kinds. 



3G. Mr. Lacy has practised, with entire success, 

 a similar mode (which he saw recommended in a 

 Tennessee paper) guarding against the worms which 

 injure peach trees, and destroy so many entire or- 

 chards, by boring into the tender bark, just at the 

 junction of the stem and the roots, or at the surface 

 of the earth. The remedy is simply to raise a hill 

 or mound of earth around the lower part of the 

 body of each tree, about 12 or 18 inches high, (or 

 as large as a sweet potato hill.) This covering 

 kills the worms already in the tree, by excluding 

 air — and the earth covers the tender bark, which 

 is all at or below the former surface of the earth, 

 so that there is not, in the harder bark above, a 

 suitable place for the boring of the parent insect, i 

 The hills may be raised at any time. They have : 

 not been removed, nor have they required any fur- 

 ther change. For some years of trial, the plan has i 

 been found entirely successful. i 



[Query. Where marl is plenty, would it not be ' 



well to make the hill of marl, instead of common \ 



earth? A thick and hard covering of the earth ] 



below stone fruit trees has been found greatly be- 1 

 Vol. XIV.— 11. 



Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the 

 State.— Sully. 



P. D. BERNARD, Publisher. 



No. 11. 



neficial in preventing the boring into the ground of 

 curculio, which breeds the worms that injure stone 

 fruit.— E. R.] 



37. Mr. Th. M. Crowell, of Halifax county, North 

 Carolina, informed me that the smearing a very 

 little tar, by rubbing over with a slightly tarred 

 piece of cloth, will effectually prevent young fruit 

 trees being barked by hares in winter. It is not 

 necessary, and would be injurious to the young 

 trees, to cover the exposed part with tar. A slight 

 touch of the soft tar, here and there, from the earth 

 to as high as the hares can reach, is sufficient, as 

 the strong odor of the tar deters them from eating 

 any bark so contaminated. Of course, such an ap- 

 plication, and so acting, will require renewal at the 

 beginning of every winter. As very young and 

 small trees with tender bark only are exposed to 

 this common and great injury and destruction, such 

 young trees are very easily treated as advised. 



38. If a valuable young apple tree should have 

 the bark eaten around by hares, it may be saved. 

 Mr. Julian C. Ruffin, of Prince George county, had 

 a young tree, then about an inch in diameter, of 

 which the bark was thus eaten off all around, the 

 irregular ring so skinned being from one to three 

 inches wide. This injury occurred some time in 



! the winter. The next spring, at the proper time 

 for grafting, (1850) two apple twigs (which had 

 been before cut for grafting) were grafted into the 

 remaining and living bark, both above and below 

 the skinned wood — one graft on each side of the 

 tree. The grafts united well with the tree, and grew 

 rapidty, the whole sap passing through them. The 

 skinned portion of the young tree soon died, and 

 the grafts now make double stems, of sufficient 

 size and strength, and which will in time meet and 

 unite. If, in such a case, there had been one or 

 more sprouts growing from below the wound, it 

 would be still better to ingraft above. 



39. Another fact and matter of trial may be use- 

 ful. It is the universal understanding that grafting 

 only can be done in spring, and budding late in 

 sun mer. But if for any reason, apple twigs de- 

 signed for grafting, cannot be so used, their buds 

 may be used for budding. Being kept buried in 

 the earth, the sap will move in such twigs, the buds 

 swell, and the bark will then slip. As soon as this 

 condition occurs, buds from the twigs may be 

 inserted in the bark, and will live as well as if at 

 the usual and much later time — as Mr. R. has tried 

 and proved in practice, as to apple grafts. He has 

 not tried in this manner the buds of any stone- 

 fruit. If they can be thus propagated, by spring- 



RICHMOND, NOVEMBER, 1854. 



