1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
257 
right to use a sfinilar process with paiot? 
How would you, reader, if you were on a jury 
give a verdict in such a case ? The fact is, our 
patent laws are brought into contempt by al- 
lowing patents for the most trivial and frequently 
absurd things. Now, mostof the patents issued, 
as far as concerns horticulture at least, though 
not so much in agriculture, are for the way of do- 
ingthings. Any one who patents a.process — after 
he has accepted the accumulated experience of 
years,and is unwilling to contribute his small mite 
to the general stock of knowledge, should be 
shut out of the communitv of true horticulturists. 
Crops for the Orchard. 
If a man would sit down to really think about 
his orchard, and study its needs and prospects, 
its expense to him and the returns he may rea- 
sonably expect, he would not be likely to blun- 
der much in its management. The first thought 
might be, do I want fruit, or do I want grass, 
grain, potatoes, etc., the most ? We suppose he 
wants fruit in his 
orchard; if so, he 
may reasonably ask 
if he can afford to 
expend the amount 
of labor necessary to 
maintain his fruit 
trees, and nothing 
else upon the land, 
from the lime they 
are first set out. If 
one does this, plants 
trees only, and keeps 
the ground plowed 
and clean, for surely 
weeds are worse 
than even a corn 
crop — he will, if the 
land is in proper 
taking plant food from the soil at all times, but 
most just when the trees are growing fastest. 
After the trees have attained their growth, if 
the space for several feet around them be kept 
clear, grass does little or no harm if well and 
frequently manured. The moderate check it 
exercises upon the trees making wood may pro- 
mote a tendency to fruit. Even in old apple 
orchards, sward should not be suffered to lie 
many years without breaking up ; at which 
time, lime or ashes should be liberally applied, 
with other manure, a crop of potatoes raised, 
and the land seeded down again wilhout the 
use of any grain crop. The idea that grass seed- 
ing will not do well, unless it be made with 
some small grain crop, is absurd. Grain, of 
whatever kind, is usually an injury to the grass. 
Drying Fruit, Hops, etc. 
The prospect of an abundant supply of fruit 
in most sections of the countiy, has led many 
fruit growers to look "about for means to pre- 
Fig. 1 — LONGITUDINAL SECTION OP DRYING HOUSE. 
condition, have good trees, but at a heavy ex- 
pense for several years. He may rather revolve 
the question, What may I cultivate with least 
injury to the trees, and at most profit to myself, 
and thus make use of the otherwise wasted en- 
ergies of the soil, manure and sunshine? This 
question cannot be answered off-hand, for there 
are many things to be considered. When we 
manure the soil of an orchard, we must apply 
more manure than the trees need, because they 
should find it wherever their roots wander, and 
these do not fill the whole soil. Trees probably 
draw most upon the fertility of the soil at the 
period of their most rapid growth. Hence, if 
we put a crop upon the land to use up the ex- 
cess of manure, it is a poor plan to employ one, 
the roots of which will voraciously wrangle with 
those of the fruit trees for food and moisture, 
during this period. This will lead to the inter- 
diction df corn and all grains, and seed produc- 
ing plants, except buckwheat, for those all make 
their growth when the trees have a prior right 
to the soil. The same principle will allow (he 
use of all root crops which gain considerable 
size only after midsummer, and mature later, 
even after the trees have ripened their fruit. 
Cabbages, etc., are in the same category with 
vegetables. Onions would seem to be an ex- 
ropiion, 1ml, though they require a good soil, 
tinware notan exhausting crop, and maybe used 
in young orchards, before much shade is cast. 
As to grass — permanent grass — while the trees 
are growing, it is doubly injurious, first, in cov- 
ering the ground so as to prevent its being 
worked, and preventing also the action of the 
sun upon it — a very important thing; second, in 
serve their surplus fruit by drying. Several 
have sent requests for plans for drying kilns or 
houses. In June, 1866, we gave plans for a 
small house, of a style much in use at the West. 
Mr. W. H. Wilmot, of Lawn Ridge, 111., finds 
the frame and sash of a common hot bed to an- 
swer excellently. The suggestion is not a receut 
one, hut it may be new to many. He says: 
" Take the frames and glass used for hot beds, 
or ' cold frames,' and place them over a clean 
gravel bed; inside arrange shelves on which to 
place the fruit. After this you ueed not give 
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the fruit a thought, except to take it out when 
dried. It is secure from (lies and other insects, 
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rams or dew, chickens and small children, nor 
can it be burned up. After once trying it I think 
no one would dispense with it." Of course, 
this would answer for a small quantity only. 
Mr. A. W. Decrow, of Bangor, Me., sends us 
an account of .a drying kiln which he built for 
drying hops, but which, he says, answers equal- 
ly well for fruit or other articles that require to 
be dried by artificial heat. His kiln is not pat- 
ented, and as he has taken some pains to give 
detailed plans, we are sure that our readers will 
be glad to see them. Fig. 1, gives a longitudinal 
section of the house ; E F is the kiln, heated by 
the stove, A! The draw- 
ers, H H, hold the ma- 
terial to be dried by the 
hot air, which circulates 
as shown by the ar- 
rows, and finalh^ passes 
off by ventilator, B, The 
platform, J, extends be- 
tween the kiln and the 
store-room, A B, which, 
in the drawing, is ar- 
ranged especially for 
hops, and _ has a mov- 
able platform, IT G, up- 
on which the hops are 
emptied from the draw- 
ers, and passed to the 
room below by tilting. 
In drying hops, ventilators, shown at Z, are 
provided. In figure 2 is shown a ground plan 
of the houses, the store room, A, B, in fig. 1, 
being left out. The stove is shown at A, with 
the manner of arranging the pipe, to save 
all the heat possible. 
Figure 3 gives the framing of the rear end, or 
end of the kiln room, and a similar construct i< mis 
followed on the sides of the building. A, rafters ; 
the outside ones being 4x6, and the others, 
3x6. B, ventilator. O, posts, 4x4. D, studs, 
2x4. E, braces, 2x4. F, sills, 6x9. 67, place 
for exit of pipe, made 
of bricks or sheet iron. 
The drawers, BT, in fig. 
1, are 8 feet square and 
13 inches deep. The 
bottoms of the drawers 
are of slat work, ar- 
ranged as shown in fig. 
4. The slats are 1 inch 
wide, '| a inch thick, and 
are placed 6 inches apart. Over the slats is 
placed a cloth of very open texture. The draw- 
ers, when in place, rest upon cleats, sufficiently 
far apart to allow of a free circulation of air. 
The success of all those houses in which hot 
air is used for drying, depends upon keeping up 
a constaut current of air, heated considerably 
above the ordinary temperature — hence there 
should be free opening for the air to pass, mi, 
and, what is too often neglected, an abundant sup- 
ply of fresh air from without to the stove room. 
Fig. 4. 
WntTF.wAsiiF.D ou White Paintep Uakiif.n 
fences may be neat and attractive in themselves, 
but for that reason they are unsuitable. Any 
surrounding of this kind, that draws attention 
from the living plants, is as impertinent as a 
gaudy bonnet over a pretty face. Carpentry 
and horticulture should not painfully strive for 
mastery. Green, drab, or other unattractive 
color, is suitable, and not abominable; white not. 
to be mentioned. The same idea applies to 
poles, trellises, dr., OSed for supports, and to 
the still greater absurdity o( whitewashing the 
trunks of trees. A tallow candle is a poor 
