24 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[Febbtjary, 



fie jiut (fill* 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Theoretically, trees should not he pruned 

 before severe cold weather is past, as it is 

 supposed that the fresh wounds do not heal 

 readily during freezing temperature, causing 

 disease and decay. Practical orchardists and 

 nurserymen, however, pay little attention 

 to this precept, and "prune when the knife 

 is sharp," as the old adage says. We have 

 pruned a great number of trees, old and 

 young, during mild January and February 

 days, without having found any injurious 

 effects to follow. 



Pruning Fruit-Trecs. — There is no opera- 

 tion connected with fruit growing about 

 which there exists so much misapprehension 

 and diversity of opinion as about pruning. 

 Many prune too much, others too little, and 

 very few just right. Every owner of fruit- 

 trees should understand the object and prin- 

 ciples of pruning, so that, if he does not do 

 the work himself, he may direct and super- 

 vise those who do it for him. Ordinary hired 

 men,, competent to prune trees and vines 

 judiciously, are exceedingly scarce ; and in 

 many cases the trees and their proprietor 

 would derive more benefit by paying the 

 primers for staying away, rather than to 

 admit them to the grounds and permit their 

 mutilations. We have seen so-called " pro- 

 fessionals " divest strong, thrifty Pear trees 

 of nearly every one of their fruit-spurs which 

 had been many years in forming. They 

 were ignorant of the fact that trees required 

 bearing-buds to produce fruit. Pruning, 

 without a thorough understanding of its 

 objects and purposes, is like "blind-man's- 

 buff," — you may hit the right one, but gener- 

 ally it is the other way. 



Old Trees which have remained uncared-for 

 during many years, and present a dense, in- 

 congruous mass of dead and living branches, 

 have to be handled with considerable cau- 

 tion. It will not do to cut out all the badly 

 placed and superfluous branches the first 

 year. All dead wood should be removed at 

 once ; but to remodel an old tree completely 

 requires several years, cutting out annually 

 only the most crowding and ill-shaped limbs. 

 In the majority of cases, old orchards need 

 manuring more than pruning. Although old 

 trees may sometimes be" renovated, and 

 brought back to fruitfulness, the wisest plan 

 to pursue for those who have declining or- 

 chards is to plant young trees, and with these 

 to be sure to start right from the beginning. 



Young Trees are pruned with a view to 

 divert the sap from the end of the terminal 

 branches and direct its flow to the weaker 

 side-buds, r so as to produce a well-propor- 

 tioned, symmetrically-shaped form. At a 

 height of four to six feet from the ground, 

 according to the desired length of the body, 

 the main stem is cut off, and three equally 

 diverging buds are allowed to grow, while 

 all others are rubbed off. The following 

 year the three shoots of the previous season's 

 growth, which are to form the frame-work of 

 the top, are cut back to about one-half, di- 

 rectly above a point where there are two side- 

 wise diverging buds. The following years a 

 uniform growth of these six branches should 

 be maintained and the side branches thinned 

 out so as to produce an open and well- 

 balanced vase-shaped head. 



THE KIEFFER PEAR. 



Of the many new fruits introduced within 

 the past few years, none have been watched 

 with more anxiety than the Kieffer Pear. 

 The claims for it by its introducers were so 

 extraordinary, and the reports of those who 

 had tried it so variable, that naturally there 

 is considerable inquiry as to "the truth 

 about it." 



At the recent meeting of the New Jersey 

 State Horticultural Society we had occasion 

 to taste several specimens, and to hear some 

 of the most experienced fruit-growers of the 

 State express their opinions, as the result of 

 which we arrived at the conclusion that, al- 

 though possessing some very desirable prop- 

 erties, it is deficient in the essential quali- 

 fications of an eating Pear. The report of 

 the fruit committee gives, perhaps, as exact 

 and concise a description of it as can well be 

 given in an equal space : 



" This unique Pear was raised by Peter 

 Kieffer, near Philadelphia, from seed of the 

 Chinese Sand Pear, accidentally crossed 

 with one of the finer cultivated varieties. 

 The trees are remarkably vigorous, early 

 bearers, and very prolific ; fruit of good 

 size, color orange-yellow, with rosy blush at 

 maturity, if grown in the sun ; flesh white, 

 coarse, flavor variable." 



The samples on exhibition, however, had i 

 no claim to " variable flavor "; the quality of. 

 all of them was so poor that they were en- 

 tirely unfit for eating. Still, the last season 

 was unusually unfavorable for Pears of all 

 kinds, and it was stated that even the best 

 varieties had not been as high-flavored as ! 

 usual. This is unquestionably true ; and 

 when, the day following, Mr. Charles Down- 

 ing assured us that he had eaten Kieffer Pears 

 of "good quality," we could not doubt their 

 " variable quality " in varying seasons. But ! 

 as even its most ardent admirers do not 

 recommend it for table use, — not their own, 

 at least, — the quality question may as well be 

 passed in silence. 



As a market Pear it is claimed to be supe- 

 rior to any other on account of its great pro- 

 ductiveness, good keeping quality, large size, 

 and attractive appearance ; and in a market 

 where the eating quality of a fruit is of no 

 consideration whatever, it will no doubt sell 

 well. It is also recommended for cooking 

 and canning. 



The claim that the tree is proof against 

 fire-blight is not sustained by experience. 

 As an ornamental tree it has much in its 

 favor; it is a vigorous, rapid grower, has 

 large, dark, glossy leaves ; bears early, some- 

 times in two years from the graft. The 

 Pears hang on the tree remarkably well, 

 and a tree laden with its large, bright, rosy- 

 cheeked fruit, peeping from between the 

 dark green, shining foliage, is a beautiful 

 sight indeed, so that those who make a trial 

 with it cannot be disappointed in this re- 

 spect, even if the fruit should range low in 

 the quality of scale. 



SOIL FOR GRAPEVINES. 



" A vineyard is situated on the top of a 

 ridge fifty feet above bottom lands on both 

 sides, with not more than one hundred feet 

 of level ground on the crest; remainder 

 sloping to the north, with fall of four feet to 

 the hundred. Soil, red clay and gravel, with 

 paving-stones sufficient to ditch three feet 



deep and fill one-half the depth with them ; 

 oak leaves sufficient to cover the stones 

 packed to the depth of six inches ; one foot of 

 the best top soil to complete them, and this 

 at a distance of fifteen or twenty feet apart, 

 across the slope, not up and down the same. 



"Now, the question is, will such arrange- 

 ment be detrimental to the vineyard, the 

 ditches being blind ? i. e., having no outlets. 

 Will they be better than none at all, or will 

 it be necessary to intersect them by one or 

 more, running up and down the slope, with 

 open outlets — which will be difficult, as the 

 opening must be in the gutter of a public 

 street?" 



This inquiry comes from Washington, D. C. 



Without having any further details about 

 the nature and depth of the soil, we should 

 suppose the location to be highly favorable 

 for a vineyard, and unless the sub-soil is very 

 retentive, draining will be of no benefit 

 whatever. Longitudinal drains without out- 

 lets will be positively injurious. The impor- 

 tance of draining and high manuring for all 

 vineyards have been so much overestimated 

 as to seriously retard the progress of Grape- 

 culture. Of course, where the sub-soil is very 

 heavy, and where water stands on the sur- 

 face long after rains, draining becomes a 

 necessity, but in gravelly or shaly soils it is 

 entirely useless. Many vineyards have cost 

 more for draining and fertilizers than their 

 crops can ever return. 



In moderately fertile soil no manure is 

 required for Grapes at planting ; and when 

 afterward the vines show lack of vigor, the 

 entire ground should be manured, not a 

 small circle around the stem. Over-manur- 

 ing produces too much wood-growth, at the 

 expense of fruit. In soils adapted to Grape- 

 culture, proper pruning and thorough culti- 

 vation are of more importance than manure. 

 Stones on the surfaces are no detriment. In 

 many of the famous Hudson River vineyards 

 the ground is composed of more stones than 

 soil. 



CANNING ORANGES. 



By a process similar to that used for pre- 

 serving other fruits, Oranges have recently 

 been successfully canned and shipped. The 

 fruit is peeled and broken into its natural 

 sections before canning, and when taken out 

 is just ready for use. This is likely to be- 

 come an important industry in the Orange- 

 growing districts of California and Florida. 



SOUTHERN GRAPES. 



To an inquiry why there are not more 

 Grapes grown in the South, Mr. C. W. Idell, 

 a prominent produce commission merchant 

 of this city, replies, that the great obstacle 

 in the way of Southern growers is the heat 

 they are compelled to pick and pack in. The 

 fruit is kept confined in close cars, so that, 

 in many cases, it arrives in bad condition. 

 The three principal varieties grown South 

 are Concord, Ives, and Delaware. The Ives 

 ripens thoroughly, and carries well. In 

 Delaware, if I mistake not, the growing 

 of grapes as a market crop has been aban- 

 doned. 



Another feature that operates unfavorably 

 to the Southern Grape-growers is the pres- 

 ence of large quantities of various other 

 fruits in our markets at the time their crop 

 comes to maturity. 



