SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
161 
TREATMENT OF FRUIT TREES. 
A CORRESPONDENT of the GerMcintown Telegraph writes 
as follows. He is speaking particularly of the Peach and 
Plum : 
The following treatment of fruit trees was communicat- 
ed to me, by a lover of good fruit, who has taken great 
pains to have plenty of fruit, and that which is good. In 
the beginning of the month of April, [February, in the 
Southf take a handful of rock salt, and put around the 
roots, close to the trunk of the trees. Then leave the trees 
until the first of May, [March] when a good coat of lime 
should be applied to the bodies of the trees.* At the same 
time make a strong decoction of hickoiy wood ashes and 
water, by boiling them together, and apply this plentifully 
to the roots of the trees, by pouring it around them while 
in a boiling state. This will kill the worms and insects, 
or prevent them from injuring the trees. After trees have 
been acted on a few times in this manner, the bark be- 
comes smoother, and the knots of young trees, which are 
found particularly on the plum, will disappear. The trees 
grow more thriftily , and bear double the quantity of fruit 
they would without the application. 
It is often a complaint among many farmers, that their 
peach and plum trees will not do any good, but if they 
will try this simple application, their complaints will cease. 
One of my neighbors who had several plum and peach 
trees, and who had tried various ways to make them bear, 
without effect, determined on cutting them down ; but af- 
ter some persuasion, last spring, he was induced to give 
this mode a fair trial. The result was that his trees were 
loaded with good fruit, and instead of having to buy, he 
had considerable to sell. 
Let each of your readers try it, and see if it does not 
produce the desired effect. Arborist. 
^Remarks. — We are not informed how the lime is to be 
applied, whether as a liquid wash, or rubbed dry. Such 
directions are too common in agricultural papers, and too 
vague, to be of any use. — Eds. 
THE OSAGE ORANGE. 
The following history of the first introduction of this well 
known hedge and ornamental plant, will be read with 
interest. It is from the pen of David Landreth, the seeds- 
man, of Philadelphia, and was published in the German- 
tovm Telegraph: 
In the report of the last meeting of our Agricultural So- 
ciety, it is stated I expressed the opinion that the Madura 
or Osage Orange, pruned with the severity recommended 
by Dr. Warder, of Cincinnati, in his address on that occa- 
sion, would not be long-lived. My opinion, founded on 
the experience of many years, is precisely the reverse ; I 
believe it to be in a remarkable degree, adapted to hedg- 
ing purposes— perhaps more so than any other plant. The 
doubt I did express, imperfectly heard by the reporter, 
was whether the Honey Locust was of similar value, and 
I do very much doubt its adaptation to hedges, to which 
it has been applied ; while on the contrary the Madura 
has every good quality to commend it — hardiness, vigor- 
ous growth, endurance of the shears without disease or 
morbid growth being induced, acrid juice which protects 
it against the attacks of insects, pungent spines, and dis- 
position to branch when “cut in” — these and other quali- 
ties indicate it as a plant which, it might almost be said, 
nature had designed for protecting the labors of the hus- 
bandman. 
While on this subject, will you indulge me with space 
for a few incidental remarks, on the original application 
of the Madura to hedging purposes ? During the admin- 
istration of Mr. Jefferson, the Western Exploring Expe- 
dition, known historically as Lewis & Clark’s, was made, 
and resulted, among other things then considered vastly 
more importance, in the discovery of this tree, in the 
Osage country, which from its use by the Indians, they 
named bow-U'ood — a few seeds collected by them reached 
Philadelphia, and from one of those seeds was produced 
the noble specimen, still standing in the rear of my father’s 
old homestead, on Federal street. Its pendant branches, 
and deep green, glossy foliage, which no insect would 
approach, was for many years the admiration of all 
who visited the nurseries. For some considerable time 
the only mode of its increase was by cuttings of the root, 
placed in pots under glass, and in that way some thou- 
sands were produced, which from their great rarity were 
deemed of sufficient importance to be exported to Europe 
in charge of a special agent sent out by the late D. & C» 
Landreth, who disposed of them in London, and they now 
doubtless decorate the pleasure grounds of our aristocratic 
cousins. The parent tree in course of time flowered and 
produced abundance of fruit, which, from the circum- 
stance of the specimen being pistiliferous, was imperfect. 
At a later period, another tree of similar origin, planted at 
the seed grounds on Fifth street, produced staminiferoiis 
flowers, which as an experiment, were cut off with 
branches attached, carefully wrapped in sheets, and con- 
veyed to the female tree, a distance of two miles, when, 
greatly to the delight of all made acquainted with the fact,, 
many bushels of “oranges,” each with perfect seed, was 
the result ! ’ About the same time, trees at M’Mahon’s 
nursery, also produced seed, and the supply of plants 
rapidly increased, faster than the demand for ornamental 
purposes, to which they had hitherto been solely devoted.. 
My father, perceiving the promise of the Madura as a 
hedge plant, used some hundreds of surplus ones, to fill 
open spaces in hedges of English hawthorn, which he had 
set out, in accordance with his early tastes, many years 
previously. As he had anticipated, they formed an im- 
penetrable mass, and established it in his opinion, as the 
best of all plants for hedges. Many thousands were pro- 
duced with a view to their sale for that purpose, and at- 
tention was called to them in various ways, among others 
I (then a youth,) wrote several articles on the subject, 
which were widely republished, especially in the West,, 
where the means of enclosing prairie lands were of primary 
interest. This may have been about 1828. 
Since then the Madura has been slowly gaining in 
popular favor, and the seeds and plants have become ar- 
ticles of considerable trade. The former are now annual- 
ly collected in Arkansas and Texas, to the extent, it is 
said, of thousands of bushels, and from reliable statements 
it is supposed two hundred thousand dollars are yearly ex- 
pended in this country, principally in the West, for the 
seed alone. The plants are also raised in large quanti- 
ties, and set out and trained at a stipulated sum per rod, 
by parties who travel from farm to farm. The attention 
of Europeans is also directed to it, and it is presumed for 
the same purpose, as within a few weeks I have filled an 
order from the “continent,” for a considerable quantity of 
seed. 
Thus, Mr. Editor, from an accidental circumstance has 
important results ensued, and we may in reference to it, 
apply one of the early lessons, 
“Big oaks from little acorns grow.” 
David Landreth. 
Bloomsdale, March, 1855. 
An Enormous Crop. — Elijah Moore, a Virginia farm- 
er, who removed to Iowa, took the premium for corn at 
the Washington county fair. He raised one hundred and 
twenty bushels to- the acre. 
