66 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
pile dirt free from chips, or molds richer than the 
surface soil, use it around the roots. Nothing 
out loose friable earth should be placed near 
them, as the dirt must fill up every cavity, and 
press against the surface of each root. If plant¬ 
ed in the Fall, they do not so much require this 
attention, as freezing and thawing will bring the 
earth in contact with them. 
If you have nothing better, throw the mold, 
without the sod, around the roots and a top dress¬ 
ing of a little coarse manure, or any substance that 
will keep the ground moist during the summer, 
will be of great service. By no means allow 
grass, weeds, or any kind of grain but buckwheat 
or com, to come near young trees.” Upon my 
asking if he had a rule about the height bran¬ 
ches should be allowed to grow, he replied, 
“ People differ greatly in this respect. In the 
rich regions of the West, where trees arrive at 
maturity in a few years, they may be allowed to 
start a few feet from the ground. Where 
trees grow luxuriantly, the branches shoot up 
strong, more like a cherry tree ; but with us, in 
the vicinity of New York, the branches would 
soon stretch out horizontally, so that w T e could 
not come near them with a plow, and even 
droop upon the ground when bearing.” A nursery¬ 
man from Maine advised me never to let them 
branch higher than four feet, and another experi¬ 
enced fruit grower said seven feet was the pro¬ 
per height. So we differ, and varieties differ too. 
Some will grow with low heads in spite of all our 
care. Young orchards should always be kept 
plowed, or the ground dug about the trees. As to 
crops, potatoes, turnips, &c., are undoubtedly the 
best, but who can have a lot of ten acres 
covered every year with such crops 1 It takes too 
much time and labor to tend them properly. 
Buckwheat is perhaps the best sowed crop, as the 
ground is stirred when the roots require it most, 
and the quick growth of the plant soon shades the 
surface from the burning rays of the sun. But 
corn, manuring the ground every year, keeps the 
earth loose by the repeated plowings it requires, 
and upon the whole suits me best. If the trees 
are quite small plant a row or two of potatoes 
near them to prevent shading by tiie corn, and 
when large, only plant outside of the limbs.” 
Now, neighbor, I want to know what kinds to set 
out 1 “ Ah, that is a difficult question. There are 
a few kinds like Rhode Island Greenings that are 
good in almost every locality, while others, are 
much better in the neighborhood where they ori¬ 
ginate. I was told when I set out my orchard to 
plant but very few kinds, but I don’t believe that 
doctrine. I want three sorts of apples to con¬ 
tinue through the year. First, sweet apples, for 
those that like them best, and for baking; acid 
apples of large size for culinary purposes ; and 
high-flavored sub-acid, of medium size, for des¬ 
sert. To have plenty of these ripening in suc- 
cussion through the season requires several va¬ 
rieties, especially as our tastes vary. I would re¬ 
commend for this vicinity early Harvest, sweet 
Bough, and Summer rose, as early apples, fol¬ 
lowed by Summer Queen, Golden Sweeting, and 
American Summer Pearmain. For Autumn, Fall 
Bough, Willis, and Jersey Sweet, Cream apple 
for dessert, and Fall Pippin for cooking. The 
Willis Sweeting (or pear tree lot), and Cream- 
apple, originated near here, some 75 or 100 years 
ago, and I have yet to see them equaled for 
their respective uses. For winter dessert, the 
Marigold, Golden Apple, Hubbardstons Nonsuch, 
Rhode Island Greening, and Spitzenburg, Ladies, 
Moores, Tolman Sweeting for sweet apples, and 
for culinary purposes, Titus and Red Pippin, L. I. 
and Roxbury Russet, Baldwin and Green Seek- 
no further. The Fall Pippin is a splendid old 
variety, but has been a shy bearer for several 
years, and perhaps the Gravenstein will take its 
place. The Newtown Pippin, although a native 
of Long Island, scarcely pays. It should be 
planted only on rich soil. The yellow 
Bellflower, Vatidervere and Swaar are uncertain 
bearers at present. 1 find that early ripening 
apple, as well as pear trees, require, from the ra¬ 
pidity with which the tree forces its fruit to per¬ 
fection, a better attention and a richer soil than 
late ripening sorts. I would always like to dig 
up my trees if I could, for where many thousands 
are sent away every year from the nurseries, it 
cannot be expected they will take as much pains 
as is necessary. In taking up trees, first dig a 
trench a good distance from them, with the spade 
facing the tree, to cut off the large roots then turn 
the edge of the spade to the tree and lift the earth 
carefully cutting the small fibrous roots as little 
as possible. We want a larger root for bracing 
trees against the wind, while the smaller ones 
gather moisture and substance from the earth. 
In the Spring the head should be thinned out, but 
I do not approve of shortening in the branches all 
around. The strongest and best buds, which pro¬ 
duce the largest leaves, are on the limbs of last 
year’s growth, and if these are removed the infe¬ 
rior ones remainingproduce small sickly leaves in¬ 
sufficient for that design in nature’s economy, for 
which leaves aj arunoed. 
. To avoid the ugly wounds, which the most 
careful sometimes make while plowing orchards 
with horses, the two or three furrows nearest the 
trees should be completed, either by oxen or with 
a one horse plough with a short swiveltree. 
People differ greatly as to the distance of plant¬ 
ing trees apart. If we want to shade the ground 
so that it will not require plowing when the trees 
arrive at maturity, 20 feet is the least distance, 
and then some of the large spreading varieties 
will be too close to yield good fruit. It would be 
well when planting out an orchard, to set these 
thrifty growing, spreading varieties by them¬ 
selves, and much further apart than upright early 
kinds. Forty feet is the extreme distance for 
those who wish to raise crops, and pasture the 
ground among trees. Almost every fruit-grower 
has a notion of his own about fruit, and I can 
give no better advice than to ask the counsel of 
the best informed among your neighbors and pe¬ 
ruse good works on fruit trees.” 
I noticed a fine row of cherry trees growing by 
the road, and queried his mode of raising them. 
“ The mazzard cherry grows abundantly in our 
vicinity about the fences and in the woods. These 
are transplanted when about ten feet high, and 
from one or two inches in diameter, and when 
they become well rooted, generally In two years, 
they are grafted. It is considered a difficult 
thing to make grafts on large cherry trees live, 
but with proper care, they are nearly as certain as 
other kinds of fruit trees. 
I cut the grafts before the buds swell, and place 
them where they will keep moist. When the 
sap has started and the buds commence swelling, 
saw off the top, or the limbs as the case may be, 
taking care that the stock is not too large, and 
cut the edge of the stock, so as to make a smooth 
cut. A jagged edge will heal over badly on any 
tree. Then with a thin-bladed knife, keen as a 
razor, made a slit down the stock an inch and a- 
half long, cutting through the bark, and only 
reaching the wood. * Make a downwaid cut a lit¬ 
tle below the top of the stock across this slit, 
after the manner of tongue grafting. Next slope 
one side of a graft to fit in length the first cut 
upon the stock, and after making a cross slit to 
match the one on the stock, insert it in the cut 
against the wood, sliding it down until the tongues 
of the two shall unite. If the-stock is large, 
place two or ijiore grafts around it, allowing the 
bark to remain, to keep the graft in its place, un¬ 
til ready to tie. They may be tied by cotton 
cord or any other string, if care be taken to cut 
the string when the scions are firmly knit, but it is 
better to wind round a strip of paper or old thin 
muslin covered with grafting wax, so that Urn 
growing graft may rupture its bandage. 
There are two necessary things to success in 
grafting cherry trees, viz , a thin and sharp knife 
and a perfect exclusion of air from the point ol 
union. Where the bark is exposed by incision, 
mortar is the most effectual, tied on with cloth or 
rags. It may be covered one-eight of an inch in 
thickness, with grafting wax put on while warm, 
but it must be well done and wrapped around with 
paper or cloth to prevent the sun melting it off 
$ 
Queen's Co., L I. 
CULTIVATION OF THE PEACH. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
Perhaps nowhere in the State of New-Jersey 
are there more good peaches produced than in 
the county of Morris. Her gravely hills and red 
shale elevations, with railroad facilities to two of 
the best markets on the seaboard, offer extraor¬ 
dinary inducements to cultivators. New-York is 
reached, during the picking season, in three or 
four hours from Morristown (including stoppages), 
by an express train on purpose for the accommo¬ 
dation of this business. 
All along the line are myriads ol baskets await¬ 
ing transportation. They are picked by hand the 
afternoon before, and put up in baskets of about, 
three pecks each, (some baskets fall short of this 
quantity), covered with muslin, and delivered next 
morning on spring wagons to the various depots. 
In the matter of growing, picking and putting 
up for market, many of our Jersey peach growers 
have acquired good proficiency, and are de¬ 
serving of much credit. At the same time; in 
the matter of peach growing, as in every other 
business, there have been signal failures. I have 
no faith in those writers that fill the public ear 
continually with the bright side of things only, 
and that oftentimes greatly magnified. I say, 
therefore, that we have failures. It is not every 
well planted orchard that arrives to a perfect 
bearing state. Mortifying failures and losses 
often occur, and this is one of the principal points 
I propose to discuss, hoping, as I proceed, some 
useful information may be given that will in¬ 
terest, if not instruct, the many readers of my 
friend the Agriculturist. 
I have purposely commenced this subject, per 
haps at the very point where some would natu¬ 
rally suppose me to leave off. But not so. The 
orchard is the place to test the value of fruit 
grown for market. Some varieties of fruit, arc 
excellent for the table, and yet not a profitable 
crop for market. Thus the novice in fruit culture 
is often led into gross errors. Take one single 
example. The Morris White, in our locality, is a 
well-known and popular variety—white, as its 
name purports, very delicious, and excellent for 
the table. Yet this peach is not much grown or 
relied upon for market. There are objections to 
it that preclude the possibility of its becoming 
profitable in market culture. It is oftentimes a 
shy bearer, more easily affected by the extremes 
of weather or unknown causes, and will not bear 
transportation as well as many other varieties. 
Its beautiful white appearance, when fresh, is 
“ too pretty to last,” the least bruise giving it an 
unsightly appearance which injures its sale. The 
diseases of the peach tree are, with many culti- 
