310 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[.July, 
Summer Treatment of Fruit Trees. 
Much of the work of the pruning knife can 
be anticipated by a little care during the grow¬ 
ing season. Dwarf fruit trees, especially, can be 
kept iu such a condition that they will rarely 
require much cutting. Buds tending to develop 
into superfluous branches may be removed al¬ 
together, and branches making too vigorous 
growth of wood may be shortened and induced 
to form fruit buds. If in the Spring we exam¬ 
ine a shoot of a pear tree for instance, we shall 
find a strong terminal bud with lateral buds at 
intervals, and that those lateral buds are largest 
and best developed near the end of the shoot 
and that those lower down are gradually small¬ 
er. In the Spring the terminal bud starts to 
grow and prolong the stem; a few of the upper 
side buds produce shoots while the lower ones 
do not start at all. The buds near the extremi¬ 
ties are the strongest and appropriate all the 
nourishment, while those below are starved. 
If in the Summer, while this shoot is forming, 
we pinch off the point of it, the supply of food 
which would have gone to continue its growth 
and form the strong upper buds, is directed 
elsewhere: the lower buds receive nourish¬ 
ment which they would not otherwise have 
had, and some of them will be likely to form 
fruit-buds. This pinching off the shoots to in¬ 
duce the formation of fruit-buds, is practised by 
all good cultivators upon their dwarf trees. 
They are thrown into bearing much earlier, and 
are made much more fruitful than when this is 
neglected. The time at which it is done will 
be determined by the season; whenever the 
shoot has made a growth of three to six inches, 
according to the vigor of the variety, it is pinch¬ 
ed off by means of the thumb and finger, at the 
sixth leaf, counting from below. It often hap¬ 
pens that a shoot stopped in this way, pushes 
again from the upper bud. In this case the sec¬ 
ond growth should be pinched back to three 
leaves. Summer pinching should be practised 
on young trees, to cause them to grow into 
proper shape. The upper branches of a young 
nursery tree, which has been cut back often, make 
such a vigorous growth as to overtop the lead¬ 
er: by pinching back these shoots, in time the 
free may be brought into a proper conical shape. 
By timely pinching, the tree may not only be 
shaped at will, but be induced to bear fruit sev¬ 
eral years earlier than it otherwise would, and 
all cutting out of large branches be obviated. 
Treatment of Orchards. 
Many a farmer plants an orchard, and con¬ 
ceiving that he has done all that is required of 
him, takes no farther trouble with it until, in the 
course of years, there is fruit which needs 
gathering. Perhaps by the time his trees come 
into bearing, he has been induced to take an ag¬ 
ricultural journal, and there learns that trees 
are pruned to render them more productive. 
Pleased with the little fruit he already has, he 
admits the necessity for pruning, and goes forth 
with knife, saw, and axe, and makes an indis¬ 
criminate cutting, and thinks he has pruned his 
orchard. Next year the trees bear less than the 
year before and he sets down all pruning as use¬ 
less, and all agricultural publications as hum¬ 
bugs. It is for the benefit of just such people 
that this article is written—those who catch at 
a fragment and think they have the whole. To 
all who this season begin to give attention to 
their orchards we say : Never cut a limb un¬ 
less you see clearly that something is to be 
gained by the operation. Look carefully at the 
tree and decide whether it will be better for any 
cutting, or if left alone. Do not cut unless the 
tree will be the better for it. If a limb grows 
in the center of the tree, where the fruit can not 
receive the influence of the sun and air, cut it 
out. If two limbs cross one another so that 
both will be chafed by the action of the wind, 
cut off one of them. Does a limb grow in such 
a direction that the tree will be thrown out of 
balance and grow lop-sided—off with it. Un¬ 
less a limb is evidently useless or in some way in¬ 
jurious, it need not be removed. There are two 
extremes: one is to let the tree grow without any 
care, and the other is excessive and injudicious 
pruning—both are to be avoided. If the tree is 
doing well, let it alone; if disposed to make a 
too rampant growth of wood, more than can 
be thoroughly ripened, cut it back; but as a 
general rule be sparing of the pruning tools. If 
au orchard has been properly cared for from the 
beginning , the amount of annual pruning required 
will be very small; no tree ought to get so far 
out of bounds as to require anything more than 
the knife. Still there are many who have neg¬ 
lected their orchards, or who come into posses¬ 
sion of old and neglected ones, where a severe 
pruning must be practised. This is the proper 
month in which to do it. The trees are now in 
full vigor, and an attempt will be made to heal 
over any wound made in pruning. If the limb 
to be removed is large, use a saw, set rather 
wide, and be careful that the limb in falling 
does not tear off a portion of the bark and leave 
a ragged wound. To prevent this, it is well to 
make an incision with the knife, quite through 
the bark at the place where the limb is to be 
sawed off. Do not leave long stubs, but saw 
close to the base of the limb. It is advantage¬ 
ous to cover the wound with a solution of shel¬ 
lac in alcohol; this may be made of the consist¬ 
ence of paste, and applied to the wound by 
means of a brush. In going over the orchard, 
remove all suckers and all those sucker-like 
limbs which in old trees are apt to spring from 
the larger branches. Apple trees will, where 
the Winter is severe, be benefitted by a summer 
pinching of the vigorous shoots; see article on 
summer pinching, on the opposite column. 
Introduction of Fruit to England. 
A book of the olden time published in Lon¬ 
don, in 1604, gives the following account of the 
improvement of the stock of fruit in England. 
“ One Richard Harris, of London, borne in 
Ireland, Fruiterer to King Henry the eight, 
fetched out of Fraunce great store of graftes, 
especially pippins: before which time there was 
no right pippins in England. He fetched also, 
out of the Lowe Countries, Cherrie grafts, & 
Peare grafts, of diuers sorts: Then tooke a 
peece of ground belonging to the King, in the 
parrisli of Tenham in Kent, being about the 
quantitie of seauen score acres; whereof he 
made an Orchard, planting therein all those for- 
aigue grafts. Which Orchard is, and hath 
been from time to time, the chiefe Mother of all 
other orchards for those kindes of fruites in 
Kent, and of diuers other places. And afore 
that these said grafts were fetched out of Fraunce 
and the Lowe Countries, although that there 
was some store of fruite iu England, yet there 
wanted both rare fruit, and lasting fine fruite. 
The Dutch & French, finding it to be so scarce, 
especially in these countries neere London, 
commonly plyed Billings-gate, & diuers other 
places with such kinde of fruite. But now 
(thankes bee to God) diuers Gentlemen and oth¬ 
ers, taking delight in grafting (being a matter so 
necessary and beneficial in a Comon-wealth) 
bane planted many Orchards; fetching their 
grafts out of that Orchard, which Harris plant¬ 
ed called the New-garden. And by reason of 
the great increase that now is growing in diuers 
parts of this Land, of such fine & seruiceable 
fruit, there is no need of any foraigne fruite, but 
we are able to serue (serve) other places.” 
Labels on Fruit Trees. 
No one who has many fruit trees, should trust 
to labels for their identification, as they are lia¬ 
ble to be defaced or lost altogether. Make a 
plan of the orchard or fruit garden, and mark 
the place of each tree, writing down its name. 
This, if kept where it can be readily referred 
to, will save a deal of trouble in ascertain¬ 
ing names when the tree comes into bearing. 
Our special object is to call attention to the 
trees planted this year. When the trees are 
labeled in the nursery, the wire by which the 
tag is attached, is usually bound closely around 
a limb or the body of the tree. If it was not 
loosened at the time of planting, it is probable 
that the growth of the tree has caused the wire 
to become so tight as to seriously interfere with 
the health of the tree. We have frequently seen 
young trees with the copper wire of the label 
completely imbedded in the bark. The trees 
should be looked over to see that no injury re¬ 
sults from this cause. Where very small wire 
is used, the expansion of the tree breaks it and 
the label is lost. Use rather large wire and give 
plenty of room for growth. Lead wire is pref¬ 
erable to copper; it is very cheap, and will 
yield to the enlarging growth of the limb. 
Summer Pruning of Hedges. 
After hedges have reached nearly their intend¬ 
ed bight, it is necessary to prune them in mid¬ 
summer, in order to check their too vigorous 
growth. Yet this should be done with care. 
Too harsh use of the shears at this time stunts 
and often kills plants. Nature must have an 
outlet somewhere, and if forbidden, she rebels. 
And then, both as a matter of taste and expe¬ 
diency, it is unwise to give the hedge an abso¬ 
lutely smooth shearing. Better is it to leave 
some freedom and flow in the outline of plants, 
than to crop them very close. Better to clip in 
here and there, checking the strong growths for 
one year, and leaving the weak a chance to ex¬ 
tend themselves a little. This will give the 
hedges something of the wavy outline of a sym¬ 
metrical shrub, rather than the stiff appearance 
of a primly shorn wall. And, not least im¬ 
portant, such a hedge will last much longer than 
one which has been too closely pruned. 
-- 
The Chinese Wistaria. 
To the lovers of flowers our city streets do 
not present many attractions, yet in the month 
of May we have walked through many streets 
to enjoy the Wistaria. It seems to be the favor¬ 
ite climber of the New-York people. It climbs 
along walls, hangs over balconies, mounts to 
the roofs, and sometimes to the very chimneys 
and hangs its great grape-like clusters every¬ 
where. The plant often iuproperly called Wist¬ 
eria and Glycine ) is named in honor of Dr. Cas¬ 
par Wistar, a late celebrated physician of Phil¬ 
adelphia. A native species is found in Penn- 
