148 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
MANAGEMENT OF FRUIT TREES. 
Messiis. Editors — The art cle in the June 
Bumber of tlie present volume of your paper, 
headed the Peach Tree, requires some notice 
andpiobably a much more extended one than 
mv time will admit of at present. In the first 
place, allow me to say, that the disease ol the 
peach tree, called and known as the yellows, is 
not contagious, and I will hold myself ready to 
prove, not theoretically or speculatively, but 
practically, that there Is no such thing as a 
Eealihy peach tree being infected by another 
standing adjacent and having yellows. 1 
will not sav that this or any other disease can- 
not be inndculated; but if it can, 1 have not been 
able to do it in several experiments made lor the 
^'^I^vviU endeavor to detail some of my experi- 
ments and observations in regard to the yellows, 
Sr and believe that 1 can show it to be the re- 
sult of error in their culture. 
upon it in 1836, a small apple orchard, the trees 
striding at distances ol 32 '> 
rows ofapple trees, peach trees were planted at 
distances oT 16 leet, tree Irom tree. 1 he peach 
trees were in a very unhealthy condition some 
of them being in the last stage ol the disease 
called the yellows, ceased to live alter that year, 
mhers no7so bad,’ but having the disease in its 
worst form every part of the tree being affected, 
mcdved my cJ and attention. My first desi.e 
was to get rid of the peach worm, whicii I read- 
ily accomplished by the use ol salt and saltpetre 
around the trunks of the trees, &c., and at the 
same time I gave to those trees producing good 
fruit, a top-dressing ol manure. In 1838- 3y, 
sny orchard was entirely tree from the worm, 
^ r.nnr^itinn. With the 
cure by rest, with a top-dressing of stable-ma- 
nure and ashes. 
I deem it unnecessary to say anything more 
about my orchard at pieseni, but beg your in- 
dulgence to permit me to ask attention to the 
effect produced irom ploughing orchards. A 
person living within two miles of me has an 
apple orchard that was, to within the last three 
years, a most prolific orchard, but in conse- 
quence of some of the trees putting on the ap- 
pearance of decay, he thought that to manure it 
and plough it would it would be of service; this 
he did three years ago, and the orchard produ- 
cin'T no fruit the nexi year, and the tree^ appear- 
ing° more unhealthy, he manured and ploughed 
acrain; but still he has no fruit, and his trees are 
growing worse instead of btlier. Another pei- 
son about se'^en miles dis'ant, has an apple or- 
chard that he had worked m corn three years 
a<^o- one of his people being at my house the 
following year, I inquired if there vyasany run 
on the trees: “No! the frost has killed all the 
apples.” 1 then asked him about trees standing 
in different parts of the orchard, where 1 knew 
they could not plough, and was told that the.se 
tre4 were lull of fruit and that the “Inistdid 
not hurt them.” I desired him to say, the next 
time he was asked why these trees were lull ol 
fruit and the others not, that they could not in- 
iure them with the plough. I could give very 
many instances ol this kind, but my object be- 
ino- to call attention to this matter, I will ash 
every one to make his own observations ami 
comparisons; let every farmer look into ms 
neighbor’s orchard and his own, and see what 
hing is when compared with 
the effect of plougw... ft — ^ 
the un ploughed orchard adjacent to thatplough- 
Biy orchard was entirety tree iro.u o.c wu*-, , ^ jef^i^call to recollection the fine orchard 
Sfd appeared in a healthy f Inled by his father, that is going into decay, 
loss ol only three trees out of about forty that hiimself the cause, and he will receive 
tko Trollnws- _ 1 iir^/-\r» thic than could 
^^The orchard being in good health, I resolved 
to test my then theoretical view's ; havmg plant- 
ed rtertrees to supply me with fruit, in case 
these should be destroyed, I went rnoie cheer- 
fully to work and selected eight trees standing 
in a^row had the ground manured lor about ten 
or3v7fSt on ?ach side of the row of trees; 
it was then ploughed, and potatoes were planted 
in every third furrow, this furrow receiving an 
additional quantity of manure. 1 he balance 
Strorchid wai ploughed during the montn 
ofSentember; apart thereof received a diess- 
ing of manure and w'as ploughed in ; 
part was manured after being ploughed, and a 
Fhird part without manure; the whole orchard 
was sLn with wheat, and the following spring 
with clover. The effect was that a large ma- 
ioritv of the peach Ireesshow'cd some symptoms 
of disease, but more perceptible on those where 
there was no manure, where the manure was 
turned under, and where the potatoes were plan- 
ted Of the eight trees where the potatoes were 
rnouiit ui injury j y w. ^ 
thought differently upon the subject since,) yet 
in this case tl.e injuiy filled my fullest expecta- 
tion. and the four trees unattended to had the 
vellows and were about to die, when Mr. J. L. 
McKnight and a friend of his, both living in or 
near Bordentown, New Jersey, and both peac^h 
growers, came to see my orchard; these gentle- 
men, pointing to three of the.se trees asked il I 
could cure them , I told them it might be possi- 
ble, but they were very far gone ; their remar 
was that they thought these trees could not be 
restored to health. The middle one of these 
three trees being most diseased, was selected by 
me to be cured, and if Mr. McKnight and his 
friend will call and see me in September next, 
I will promise to give them some perfectly 
sound fruit, to be gathered from this tree, tho 
the fruit is not of a very good kind. The other 
two trees died for want of attention, and were 
cut down this spring. Now this is one instance, 
of which I have ample testirnony, of ^dis- 
ease being curable; though it is not the first 
instance of cure with ™ 
disease was produced by the plough, and the 
more knowledge upon this subject than could 
be derived from volumes written upon orchards, 
though I would strongly recommend the peru- 
sal of all works written upori the subject of our 
business, the avocations of life are alwa 3 's pro- 
moted by a proper and strict inquiry alter truth, 
and no agent should be neglected to the advance- 
ment of so desirable an end. t j .v. 
My system is to work a tree just as I do the 
corn plant ; the one is an annual, the other is a 
perennial; give the tree all the cultivation it is 
to have while young, and before a set of organs 
are wanted for the perdurable formation ol fruit 
and when the tiee puts on the appearance of 
premature decay, 1 give to it a coat of manure 
spread upon the surlace of the ground; this 1 
apply in the fall of the year, always preferring 
long to short manure, and when a.^hesare deem- 
ed necessary, I have put them on in the spring. 
Shall 1 sa\ a word here about peach trees 3U 
or 40 years ago, which Mr. Downing represents 
to have grown anywhere m the United -^ifs, 
south ol forty-three degrees of latitude. Well, 
ibrty years ago there was but little demand for 
peaches as a market fruit, and f bey were lor the 
most part converted into pork and brandy. F or 
these purposes it did not answer at that Period 
of time, to pick them off the trees by hpd, but 
a neat grass lay wms considered as indispensa- 
ble to facilitate their collection, as step-ladders 
are at the present day. The peaches then were 
shook off the trees, and the best selected either 
tor drying or the still, and hogs disposed of the 
^^'There were several reasons why orchards 
were not destroyed at the time by tillage and 
perhaps the most prominent one wa.s, that a 
grain crop in the orchard would Prevent or re- 
gard the gathering of the peache.s, which, by the 
bv were worth more than any gram crop that 
could be grown in the orchard; but w^en^ver 
an old peach orchard was plo,^&bed a few tim . , 
anewinehad to bs planted, or at least such 
was the case 30 years ago, on some farms, to 
my certain knowledge. I do not wish to be un- 
derstood that the peach tree can be grown at 
the present time with the same facility it couid 
then^ for I have no doubt that the pabulum ne- 
cessary for the support of this tree has become 
in a great measure exhausted from the soil, but 
1 presume it can be restored ; if so, we must get 
“the neighbors” to resuscitate their soils, and 
to form a good stock by proper tillage ; but when 
the trees come into full bearing, we must fhen 
leel satisfied with whatever nature may be 
pleased to do in the premises, for any stirring 
of the soil after this period of growth is obtain- 
ed has a tendency to bring the orchard into de- 
cay, of which I can show hundreds of surviving 
\vi tI16SS0S» 
A careful inquiry will show that the peach 
tree began to decline about the close of our last 
war with England ; grain commanding a very 
high price at that time, peaches were only con- 
sidered in a secondary point of vie w; and orch- 
ards that probably had not been disturbed with 
the plough for 15 or 20 years previous, were 
then put in wheat, corn, &c. This soon bi ought 
the orchard into decay, and in many instances 
they were not replaced; and when replanted, 
they have been treated very differently from the 
original. We must now have a crop ol gram, 
grass or roots, but in former times such ttiings 
were not expecied from a peach orchard, alter 
it began to produce full crops of fruit. 
You have told us how to plough, manure, 
work and embellish our lane, s, to gainer and 
.secure our crops, with a long list ol etceteras, 
but there is one matter that I think is overlook- 
ed and requires more attention than appears 
at ’first view— and it not the base of Mr. Com- 
stock’s proposed system for his million ot dol- 
lars, is and has been mine for years ; and that 
is how long a plant can be cultivated without 
injury to the growing crop, or at w’bat stage of 
growth should we cease to work a plant to ob- 
tain its greatest yield. . . 
I have heretofore given my views m legard 
to Indian corn, and I will now give some ex- 
periments made several years ago for my own 
satisfaction ; but there has been no repetition of 
these experiments, as they fully corresponded 
with my views before making them. 1st. Iwo 
double rows (25 yards in length) of peas were 
planted, with an alley of three feet between the 
row’s ; they were all hoed when the pea-yme 
was about eight inches high, and at this time 
supports were placed to one of the rows. 1 he 
other row was left without supports till the first 
blossoms made their appearance, wnen it was 
hoed again and then stuck. The pea-vme in 
the first row attained the height of 
feet six inches, and bore abundantly. 1 he row 
hoed, when coming into bloom, attained the 
height of about twenty-eight 
crop was not equal to one-fouiTh of tbefiisl ro . 
2d Two double rows of bush beans were se- 
lected and treated with the hoe in like manner, 
but here the result was somewhat different ; the 
hoed, when coming into bloom, 
in growth ; but in a few days new branches be- 
gan to push forth, and upon these branches the 
Lans were good, but on the first blanches the 
So fwre short a’nd defective, and the crop not 
?qual to the first row. The roots ot some of 
these vines were carefully examined, but to 
sp^k of this part of the plant in this commu- 
nmaiion would not only extend this article to a 
creat length, but would be out of 
will conclude this exposition by J 
^milar effect was pUuced in the yield of he 
Sop, upon two row? of potatoes treated in like 
laid by (to use a common phrase) a 
vomS peach orchard ol over 600 trees I may 
bourse o, .i.e 
^"Ar!rat Farm, Md., June 28^J^^3. 
Tomato sI^-Take ripe tomatoes cut 
them in two, press out the pulp and separate the 
seeds; then put them into ^ f 
savory sauce and a little salt. When ol 
the thickness of pea soup, rub it » c^rse 
cloth boil it to the consistence of marmalade, 
put it’ into jars, and in a day alt^r it ponr over 
it lard or butler, and tie down with oiled paper. 
