MISCELLANEOUS. 



Ill 



It is rather curious that \ve girdle a tree to kill it, and 

 girdle it to make it live and be useful. 



But in the one case we cut deep through outer and inner 

 bark ; in the other, ^^^e carefully remove a ring of the outer 

 bark only, from one to three-eighths of an inch wide, cutting 

 entirely around the tree, or branch, if we only desire to try the 

 experiment on the latter. 



A knife or small saw, with the teeth set wide, will do the 

 work effectually. 



There is an apple orchard out West where alternate rows of 

 young, unbearing trees were girdled, and two years after they 

 were loaded to the ground with the finest fruit, while the rows 

 between them, of the same age, not girdled, had not a single 

 apple on them. 



This practice of girdling is both rational and effective, and 

 is destined to give the intelligent fruit grower considerable com- 

 mand over his trees. 



When early bearing is desired the ring of bark should be 

 removed, while the tree is growing, during the previous year. 

 For early ripening and increased size of fruit, girdle just after 

 the fruit has set. 



Another Avay of girdling, Avhich we prefer, consists in wind- 

 ing wire two or three times tightly around the tree, so that the 

 return flow of sap will be retarded. 



Still another way of inducing barren trees to bear, is to 

 drive into the trunk a circle of nails, close together ; this has 

 the double effect of girdling the bark sufficiently to retard the 

 sap (which always leads to the formation of fruit), and of intro- 

 ducing into the body of the tree an element which is as needful 

 to vegetable health as it is to human — namely, iron. 



Yet another method of inducing fruit was discovered in 

 rather an amusing way some years ago : A high-tempered man 

 became angered at two of his neighbors, and as they would, in 

 all probability, have objected to his relieving his feelings by 

 beating them, he went into his garden, where stood two thrifty 

 old plum or pear trees that had never borne fruit. These trees 

 he named as his obnoxious neighbors, and taking up a club, 



