;^IGHT^s?SOCIETIES 



ReinqMatter TqAT Deserves 



To BE WIDELY KNOWN/ 



Pruning Peaches for Low 

 Heads. — The peach has a habit 

 of bearing at the extremity 

 of its branches. The fruit soon 

 gets beyond reach, thinning 

 becomes difficult and the weight 

 is apt to break tlie branches. 

 Colonel Pearson's method, as de- 

 scribed before the New Jersey Horticultural Society, is 

 to cut off the main branches within one and a half to 

 two feet of the trunk after leaf-growth has fairly start- 

 ed. Trees stood such severe treatment well and soon 

 made a new top, which furnished finer and better fruit 

 the next season. If this pruning was done befoi-r growth 

 commenced, while the tree was dormant, it would be in- 

 jured. Mr. Jones said he had practiced this way success- 

 fully. President Blackwell told of a successful grower 

 who cut off his entire orchard after one year's growth to 

 within one foot of the ground, to give the roots the ad- 

 vantage at the start. Trees thus treated branched low 

 and produced fruit which sold at outside prices. 



Crops in Orchards. — Three crops of rye will ruin an 

 orchard. From the time of planting till the death of 

 the trees, not a single crop of either rye, wheat or oats 

 should be taken from the land. The orchard will not 

 stand these crops and at the same time produce apples. 

 It is by no means necessary that we should lose the use 

 of the soil altogether, as we can raise roots, corn, peas, 

 buckwheat, hay, pasture, and even an occasional crop of 

 barley, not only without hurting the young orchard, but 

 actually to its benefit, if accompanied with a judicious 

 use of manure. As potash is the main element with- 

 drawn from the soil by a crop of apples, in the applica- 

 tion of manure we should govern ourselves accordingly. — 

 Proceedings of Ontario Fruit-Crozvcrs' Association- 



Preparing Potting-Soil. — When stacking turf intend- 

 ed to be used as potting- material the heap should not 

 be made more than three or four feet wide. If of greater 

 breadth the air cannot act freely on all parts of the mass, 

 and consequently it is more likely to become sour. A 

 week or so previous to being wanted is long enough be- 

 forehand to subject turfy materials to the preparatory 

 process of chopping and turning and mixing the other in- 

 gredients thought desirable or necessary to the welfare of 

 the particular kind of plant for which the compost is 

 in preparation. For all plants requiring peat soil to 

 grow in, I am in favor of its being fresh. All soils in- 

 tended to enter into composts for potting should be col- 

 lected in dry or frosty weather. — W'm. Crai^r, before 

 the Hawick (E>2gland) Gardeno-s' J/ntiiat Improi'c- 

 ment Association . 



Local Fruit Districts. — Within a few years the east- 

 ern shores of Lake Michigan, particularly south of Grand 

 Haven, have become famous for peaches. On the 



western shore of the same lake the peach tree scarcely 

 survives the winter and rarely yields fruit, while a few 

 miles further to the westward the psach tree cannot sur- 

 vive, and only the more hardy varieties of the apple can 

 be successfully fruited. On the east shore of the lake, 

 however, apples and even peaches are said to succeed 

 as far north as Mackinac, which is a degree north of the 

 northern boundry of New York and Vermont. — E. S. 

 Goff, before the Americayi Pomological Society. 



Trees for Arbor-Day Planting. — From long experi- 

 ence we have found that nursery-grown trees, or those 

 which have once or twice been transplanted, are prefer- 

 able. But if not convenient to get nursery trees, do not 

 hesitate to go to the woods and dig elm, hard maple, 

 basswood or linden, and ash. We would not recom- 

 mend taking evergreens from the forest unless very small, 

 and these are not desirable. — Wisconsin State Horti- 

 cultural Society. 



New Markets for California Fruits.— The time will 

 soon be here that California must have another outlet 

 besides the markets of the United States for her increas- 

 ing crop. This is the case already with Florida, and to 

 meet this state of affairs commencing with next season 

 steamers will be chartered and a direct line of boats run 

 between Jacksonville and London, carrying the surplus 

 of Florida's early crop of oranges. This outlet will in 

 time become a valuable one for California's products 

 also. From September i to December 15 there is no 

 Mediterranean fruit in the English market, and the 

 oranges from Florida just fill the gap. Then the people 

 have suddenly acquired a taste for our fruit. The prices 

 obtained are far in advance of what the same would have 

 brought in the American market or the Mediterranean 

 fruit in the English market. In addition to the demand 

 in England, Germany, France, Belgium and Russia will 

 will take large quantities. Russia is the greatest con- 

 sumer of oranges among the European nations, and she 

 likes them sour, too. 



Impress upon your people the necessity of growing 

 more lemons. It will surprise many to learn that there 

 are more lemons consumed than oranges, but such is the 

 fact. No country on earth can produce finer lemons than 

 San Diego county, and if I had a train-load of your Bon- 

 nie Braes in New York Friday I could sell the entire lot 

 in less than an hour for $5 a box, provided the fruit 

 was in sound condition. However, they are too fine to 

 stand shipping. Experiment a little in the way of graft- 

 ing until that difficulty is overcome, and you will have a 

 fruit that will astonish the east. — California State Hor- 

 ticultural Society. 



Irrigation in Market Gardens. — W. W. Rawson told 

 the Boston Market-Gardeners' Association that he finds 

 field irrigation to pay with certain crops, such as early 

 cabbage, celery and cauliflower. The labor costs $5 per 

 acre, if a suitable irrigation plant is at hand. On 10 

 acres the cost of such a plant would be about $1,000 and 

 would consist of a windmill and steam-pump, tank and 

 piping. Irrigation is indispensable in hotbed and green- 

 house culture, but may be had by simply a windmill 

 and tank for storage of water, costing $roo. Varnum 



