644 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[November 



cutting off roots in old orchards, in the pro- 

 cess of renovation, it should be carefully 

 avoided in grounds properly prepared, and 

 where the trees are in a healthy or bearing 

 condition. From experiment and observa- 

 tion, I am persuaded that working the soil 

 among fruit trees, to the depth of more than 

 three or four inches, should be carefully 

 avoided. The surface should only be worked 

 with a hoe, or scarifier, for the purpose of 

 stirring the soil, and keeping out the weeds. 

 Thus we avail ourselves of the advantages 

 of what, in farming, is called flat-culture, at 

 present so popular. For the same reason, 

 manure should not be dug in to any con- 

 siderable depth, and some of our wisest cul- 

 tivators now recommend its application on 

 the surface. So favorably impressed with 

 this practice is the Massachusetts Board of 

 Agriculture, that it has ordered a series of 

 experiments with cereal grains and other 

 products in the application of manures on 

 the surface as compared with specified 

 depths beneath it. 



The practice of surface manuring is no 

 novelty of our day. An eminent cultivator 

 of fruits, nearly two hundred years ago, 

 said, " Manures should be applied to fruit 

 trees in the autumn upon the surface, that 

 the rains, snow, and frosts may convey the 

 elements of fertility to the roots;" and 

 "that, by this method, one load will do 

 more good than two used in the common 

 way of trenching in to the depth of one foot." 

 Other distinguished cultivators and scien- 

 tific gentlemen recommend the same practice. 

 Hence we are of opinion that our orchards 

 and gardens should be manured in the 

 autumn, and on the surface, so t" at the 

 manures may be thoroughly decomposed, 

 made soluble during the fall and winter, and 

 suitable for the nourishment of the tree 

 early in the spring. 



In the history of this art, as of most 

 others, it is wonderful how human opinions 

 change. What were once considered as 

 fundamental, are now rejected as unphiloso- 

 phical or injurious, and those once^rejected 

 are now adopted as wise maxims. The 

 doctrine has prevailed, from the time of 

 Columella and Varro, that manures should 

 not be exposed to the air, but should be in- 

 corporated with the soil as soon as laid out; 

 whereas, we have now the opinion of culti- 

 vators and chemists in favor of exposure to 

 the air and other external agents of decom- 

 position, and that it is not a source of nu- 



trition to the plant until it is thoroughly de- 

 composed. This opinion is certainly cor- 

 roborated by the practice of skilful gardeners 

 in ail past time, who will never use green 

 manure in the potting or cultivation of 

 plants, and only that which has become old 

 and fine. 



NEW NATIVE FRUITS. 



Changes of opinion have also taken place 

 in regard to the acquisition of new sorts of 

 fruits. Formerly we looked to other coun- 

 tries; now we rely more especially on our 

 own seedlings for the best results. When 

 we reflect upon the great number of new 

 varieties which have, in our time, been rais- 

 ed from seed, and the progress which has 

 thereby been made, no apology need be of- 

 fered for repeating what has been said in 

 former addresses in commendation of this 

 branch of pomology. It was my first, so it 

 shall be my continual and last advice : 

 u Plant the most mature and perfect seed of 

 the most hardy, vigorous, and vcduable vari- 

 \ dies, and, as a shorter process, e.isuring more 

 ■certain and happy results, cross or hybridize 

 your best fruits." 



What wonders this art has already accom- 

 plished in the production of new and im- 

 proved varieties in the vegetable kingdou: ! 

 How much it has done for the potato, the 

 turnip, and other vegetables, — producing, 

 from a parent stock of inferior grade, num- 

 berless varieties of great excellence ! How 

 it has brought forth, from ^the hard, acrid, 

 and foxy grape of the woods, the delicious 

 varieties that are now obtaining notoriety 

 and extension ; from the bitter almond, the 

 luscious peach and nectarine ; from the aus- 

 tere button-pear of the forest, the splendid 

 varieties^ that command our admiration; 

 from the" sour crab, the magnificent apples 

 which now constitute the dessert of our 

 tables; from the wild raspberry and black- 

 berry of the hedge, from the native straw- 

 berries of the pasture, those superb varie- 

 ties which crown the tables at our exhibi- 

 tions. We believe it is now admitted that 

 our native varieties are more hardy, vigo- 

 rous, productive, and free from disease than 

 most foreign sorts. Thus we have seedling- 

 gooseberries free from mildew, and pears 

 that never crack. Why can we not breed 

 out the black wart from the plum ? It has 

 been suggested, by a gentleman of great 

 knowledge, that, by taking the common 

 wild plum, the Primus Americana, of which 



