AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
10*2 
here, will save one or two years’ growth of 
the trees, and a life-long difference in the 
health, vigor and productiveness of the orchard. 
The Best Age at which to Set Trees is 
probably, two or three years, depending some¬ 
what upon their growth in the nursery. Ordi¬ 
narily I like three-year-old trees best, if proper 
Pig. 1.—MILO. 
care is exercised in taking them up, so as to get 
a sufficiency of roots. Now, having the trees 
at homo, you are prepared to take advantage of 
time and circumstances in setting. Let the 
work be done as early as a suitable condition of 
the soil will admit. One of the manifold ad¬ 
vantages of early setting is, that the tree is in a 
dormant or sleeping state, and is better able to 
withstand uninjured, the unnatural shock of re¬ 
moval, exposure, and rough handling. Select, 
if practicable, a cloudy, damp day for setting. 
Have a bucket of water along, and give the roots 
a good drenching after they have been put in 
position, and covered with a few inches of well 
pulverized soil. Be careful that the roots lie 
naturally in their places, and that the earth be 
thoroughly filled in among them; and finally, 
that the earth at the last filling up be tightly 
pressed down upon them, covering about two 
inches deeper than the}' stood in the nursery. 
TnE Proper Distance to set Trees. —It is 
very evident that they should be set much closer 
here on our prairies than at the East, for the 
purpose of mutual protection. My own prac¬ 
tice is to set from twenty to twenty-five feet 
apart, depending upon the habit of the tree. 
Say twenty feet for such varieties as the North¬ 
ern Spy, and Red June, and twenty-five feet for 
those with wide-spreading tops like the Yellow 
Bellflower. By close planting, the trees protect 
each other, both against wind and sun, both of 
which are very severe upon newly set trees on 
our immense stretches of prairie. But in addi¬ 
tion to this mutual protection, it is also neces¬ 
sary that the orchard be enclosed on all sides 
but the south, by some effectual 
Wind-breaks, at least forty 
feet from the outside rows. I find 
for this purpose, the White Wil¬ 
low, and Cotton-w r ood admirably 
adapted. Norway Spruce, when 
it can be had, is still better; but 
those first named answer a very 
good purpose. The more pro¬ 
tection on the north and west of 
the orchard, the better. It mat¬ 
ters little whether it be hill or 
grove. If we had hills, or hill¬ 
sides iu the West, as plentifully 
as our neighbors have in New 
England, I would by all means 
recommend them for orchard 
plats; but not having them, we 
must resort to artificial means to 
secure their benefits; one of 
which has been considered; the other is 
Drainage. —It is useless to talk about “ fruit 
in a frog pond.” We might as well expect our 
children to be healthy with wet, cold feet, the 
year round, as to expect it of our apple, or other 
fruit trees. Drainage, either natural or arti¬ 
ficial, and protection, are indispensable requisites 
of a healthy and productive orchard. By 
following out the plan of ridging up, herein 
indicated, and giving a sufficient outlet to the 
dead furrows, surface drainage may be secured, 
which, on level ground, answers a good purpose. 
Notes on New or Little Known Apples. 
BY CHARLES DOWNING. 
9 . _•_ 
Milo. —Syn., The Doctor.—Col. E. C. Frost, 
of Watkins, N. Y., who kindly sent us speci¬ 
mens of this new apple, says: “It originated 
with Jonathan Bailey, of Milo, Yates Co., N. 
Y., and is known as ‘ The Doctor.’ Tree, a 
very strong, upright grower, both in the nur¬ 
sery and orchard, and a pro¬ 
fuse bearer every year; it 
ripens here in Sept, and the 
forepart of Oct,” As there 
is already a Doctor apple, 
the local name, “ The Doc¬ 
tor,” is likely to lead to con¬ 
fusion, and it is thought best 
to adopt the name of the 
town in which it originated. 
Fruit medium or above, 
oblate; skin whitish, shaded, 
striped, broken splashes of 
light and dark-rich red, 
and moderately sprinkled 
with light dots, a few of 
which have a brown center; 
stalk very short and small, 
inserted in a large, deep cav¬ 
ity, yellowish; calyx half 
open; segments short, erect, 
the ends sometimes slightly 
recurved; basin large, deep, 
very slightly corrugated; 
flesh quite white, crisp, tender, juic 3 r , with a 
pleasant vinous, subacid flavor; quality “very 
good;” core medium. September and October. 
Lord Suffield. —This new English apple is 
briefly described in the revised edition of the 
Fruits and Fruit Trees of America; the fruit¬ 
ing of the tree here last summer, allows me to 
make a more extended description. It is a prom¬ 
ising variety for market, and for culinary pur¬ 
poses. Tree vigorous, somewhat spreading, 
an abundant bearer; fruit large, roundish, slight¬ 
ly conic, obscurely ribbed; skin whitish yel- 
low, with sometimes a shade of red in the sun, 
sprinkled with a few gray dots, and many rather 
obscure light ones; stalk short and small, in¬ 
serted in large, uneven cavity; calyx closed; 
segments short, to a point; basin small, corru¬ 
gated; flesh white, crisp, juicy, brisk sub-acid ; 
core rather large. Ripens all of September. 
Somerset. —The origin of this is unknown to 
me, but it is supposed to have originated in the 
town of Somerset, Niagara Co., N. Y. Speci¬ 
mens were given me this season, and also a few 
years previous, by C. L. Hoag, of Lockport, N. 
Y., who values it highly as an amateur fruit, and 
for family use. It may be some old variety un¬ 
der another name, but I do not recollect to have 
seen it elsewhere. It is a delicious eating apple, 
ripening the last of September and first of Octo¬ 
ber. Tree vigorous and very productive; fruit 
below medium, roundish, conical; skin whitish 
yellow, with sometimes a few nettings of russet, 
and sparsely sprinkled with brown dots; stalk 
of medium length, slender, often with bracts in¬ 
serted in a moderate cavity; calyx closed; seg¬ 
ments long, narrow, and slightly recurved; 
basin very small, corrugated; flesh quite white, 
tender, juicy, with a rich aromatic flavor ; qual¬ 
ity very good, or best; core rather large. 
- -—o » » -■ 
How to Lay Out a Flower Garden. 
SECOND ARTICLE. 
In the article last month we gave some sim¬ 
ple examples of beds cut in the lawn. This 
style of gardening can be carried out in a most 
elaborate manner. In England, in places where 
expense is not a consideration, the beds are 
replanted three or four times a year, so that 
each season, winter included, has its appropri¬ 
ate plants. But few among us will care to at¬ 
tempt this elaborate work. We will not oc¬ 
cupy space with plans, giving only two simple 
ones, to illustrate the principles followed in de¬ 
signing them. Whatever the form of the gar¬ 
den or that of the beds composing it, the two 
sides must be symmetrical in form, and in plant¬ 
ing the colors must be so arranged that a bed 
of one color will be balanced by another of the 
same color. It will be seen that these rules are 
observed in the circular design, fig. 1, where 1 
is planted with rose color; 2, 2, 4, 4, and 8, 8, are 
white; 3, 3, dark lilac; 5, 5, blueish lilac; 6 , 8 , 
