Growing Hardy Fruits 
1 
By F. W. Bateman/'^ New York. 
T has often struck me what a pity it is that so iiiauy 
gardeners conduct their fruit gardens in such a half- 
hearted manner — no method — no science — no en- 
thusiasm. More often one hears, "We have no time to 
attend to that branch of the garden." Yet fruit should 
be grown, and grown well, in ever\- garden, no matter how 
small. Everyone having a garden will grow flowers or 
vegetables, or possibly both, but it is not everyone that 
grows and partakes of his own fruit. It certainly does 
provide a great deal of interest and pleasure to watch the 
wonderful development and progress from blossom to 
maturity, and is it possible to picture a more beautiful 
and pleasing sight than a fruit garden in blossom ? Fur- 
thermore, what is most desirable of all, the fruit is an 
article of food. 
Of course, fruits are distinguished according to their 
mode of production from seed. For instance. Apples and 
Pears and all fruit whose seeds consist of what are known 
as pi])s form one class. On the other hand. Peaches, 
Cherries, Plums, Nectarines, etc., are stone fruits con- 
taining" hard stones which are the actual seed of the tree. 
Again, there are the bush^ruits, principally the Goose- 
berries, Raspberries and Currants, whose small hard 
seeds are enclosed within the fleshy capsules of the fruit, 
and the Strawberries which are a ground fruit, bearing, 
as they do, their small hard seeds on the exterior of the 
berry. 
It seems hardly possible to bring all fruits under the 
same classification, for, take the Mulberry, the fruit of 
this resembles the Raspberry, yet what a contrast be- 
tween an erect cane of the Raspberry and the umbrageous 
Mulberry tree. So does it not show how vastly interest- 
ing and wonderful are the peculiarities of fruit trees and 
bushes generally ? 
In coming to the practical culture, the first step is the 
situation, or proper position, for planting. There are, 
of course, varied opinions on this point, yet there is fruit 
grown in some measure or another in nearly all sectioi's 
throughout the country, particularly the apple. 
Perhaps in the north a southern aspect is really es- 
sential, but not so in the south, ^^'hen referring to north 
and south it almost makes one pause in wonder when 
realizing what a vast area there is between Canada and 
Florida, but to inspect a finished product of fruit from 
either territory would hardly reveal any difference. Af- 
ter the location is selected for planting, one must bear in 
mind that varieties play a very important part, some do- 
ing remarkably well in one district while in another dis- 
trict altogether different results are obtained. 
As to the most suitable soil, in all cases a good sound 
loam is to be preferred, but for stone fruit a certain 
amount of lime is absolutely essential to assist them in 
their stoning period. It is now an established fact that 
grass growing over the roots of fruit trees is detrimental 
to their well being; this being very marked in the re- 
duction of crops. 
Most growers plant fruit trees to get returns at once, 
generally apples or pears on the quince stock, at four or 
five years, and on the paradise stock fruiting at three 
years old. The natural form of the apple tree is the 
standard on the crab, or free stock, which is usually used 
in orchards with Gooseberries in between and Damsons as 
a wind break. Pears as standards on the free stock are 
very long lived, although there is such a long time of 
•Extract from the second prize es'iay in the assistant gardeners' contest 
for ex-President Craig's gold prizes. 
207 
waiting for results, that the adage, "He who plants Pears 
plants for his heirs," is well applied. The most useful 
forms for Apples and Pears are the bush and pyramid; 
also for Peaches, Plums, Cherries and Apricots. 
The next question is. When is the best period to plant ? 
We often hear and read that planting may be carried on 
from October to the end of March whenever weather 
permits, although the fall and spring in most cases pre- 
sent the most favorable opportunities, as winter brings 
so much frost and snow. The wise grower would un- 
doubtedly make an effort to finish operations in the fall, 
and the earlier done the better, as by November the soil 
diminishes the warmth gained by the summer and autumn 
sun. Even to a novice it must sound simple enough that 
to plant while the soil retains the warmth is a material 
advantage, for it encourages root action at once whereby 
the trees will stand the winter so much better. How 
often does one see fruit trees and bushes heeled in the 
groimd when climatic conditions are unfavorable, which 
is a bad plan, although it cannot always be avoided. 
Therefore an early fall planting is beneficial to the tree 
itself. 
In dealing with the method of planting, I may safely 
state this is one of the most important points within the 
culture, for it is known that a great many mistakes and 
failures are attributed to the way planting is done. 
For most fruits drainage is most essential. Many 
growers prepare their land a season or so previous to 
planting by growing special crops to get the soil rich and 
in heart. When considering cover crops one should un- 
derstand what condition the soil is in. If already planted 
and the trees be poor in growth, nitrogenous foods are 
necessary. All the leguminous crops would greatly help 
the land, although on hard and dry land great difficulty 
would be found in growing these. The practice is gen- 
eral to sow these crops in July, depending, of course, on 
the locality to be plowed under the following spring. 
L. H. Bailey in the "Principles of Fruit Growing" 
gives twelve reasons relating to the importance of cover 
crops. Perusal of the same will show one in doubt their 
practical value. 
In planting on a small scale, make a hole si.x feet in 
diameter or even more if the soil is at all heavy; make 
sure drainage is alright by using bricks and clinkers to a 
good thickness. Most gardeners do not add manure, 
preferring to deeply work the soil and get it in as good a 
cultivated condition as possible, which will help the young 
trees to build up strong, healthy growths ; once estab- 
lished, surface dressings of manure will tend to keep the 
roots at the surface, the desired point. 
Very much care must be exercised not to plant too 
deep ; spread the roots out to their fullest extent, tread- 
ing the soil firmly as possible as the ojieration proceeds. 
This, of course, applies to most tree fruits, while for 
P)lack Currants, Gooseberries, etc., a stronger soil would 
be necessary. 
In dealing with planting on a large scale it depends to 
what extent the planting is carried. Rectangular is the 
usual form and this system is well adapted to fillers. Of 
course, on hillv ground it is much more difficult, espe- 
cially in arranging trees to avoid washing out from heavy 
rains. In any and every case to get the row accurate 
would involve much preparation and care ; furrowing 
greatly facilitates planting. 
In the treatment after planting, the first step should be 
staking. In sheltered positions this is not alwaj's nee- 
