VOL. XX VI. No. 33 
WHOLE No. 1323. 
PRICE SIX CENTS, 
82.03 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
grow very tall ami slender, und if not headed 
back, one will need to climb high for fruit, 
provided it is not all blown oil by winds be¬ 
fore maturity. Other sorts branch low and 
form a wide spreading head, which will be in 
the way when cultivating the ground be¬ 
neath, and these may require an entirely 
different system of pruning from the t ill- 
growing sorts. Then again, there are vari¬ 
eties which produce a dense, compact head, 
with a great number of small, slender 
branches, excluding the light and air from 
the center, very little fruit being produced 
in consequence, except upon the outermost 
branches. Such as these require almost an 
annual thinning out of the central shoots, 
while those of an opposite character may be 
benefited by ^shortening - in of the leading 
shoots, which tends to force out laterals. 
If a tree grows just right, then pruning is 
unnecessary ; but perfection of form without 
artificial aid is a rare quality among culti¬ 
vated fruit trees. We also prune to induce 
fruitfulness, as well as to retard it, and we 
may increase or deter rapid growth by the 
same aid, but the one who performs the 
operation should know why and wherefore 
he prunes, to insure the fulfillment of his 
object. A little forethought, accompanied 
with a careful study of the natural habit of 
each specimen, will usually enable a man to 
avoid making any serious mistake In pruning 
his fruit trees. 
CULTURE OF THE ORCHARD. 
Young orchards will grow more rapidly 
and the trees be more healthy if the ground 
is cultivated ; but wheat, oats, rye and simi 
lar crops are very likely to absorb too much 
of the moisture from the ground at the very 
season the trees need it most. Still, grain 
may be grown in young orchards without 
doing any considerable injury to the trees, 
If a few feet in diameter about them i3 kept 
clear and hoed once or twice during the 
summer. 
If the laud is seeded down to grass or 
clover, the same system should.be followed, 
if the trees are worth growing at all. We 
have frequently noticed that farmers, in 
breaking up meadowB in their orchards, 
would leave a large balk of sward about 
each tree, this remaining undisturbed all 
summer, although every hill of corn or pota¬ 
toes lu the same field was hoed very care¬ 
fully. A tree worth all the way from $5 to 
♦50 would be left to be choked with grass 
and weeds, but a hill of corn worth 5 cents 
received special attention. Breaking up 
sward in orchards and planting it with corn 
is quite a common practice, but cleuning 
away that wnich remains about the stems 
aud cutting off the sprouts therefrom is less 
frequent than good, common sense would 
seem to dictate. We have seen some fine 
old orchards this spring left in this slovenly 
condition, and they can usually be found, if 
looked for, every summer, and among what 
are called good farmers and fruit growers. 
Newly-planted trees are usually benefited 
by an application of Home coarse litter on 
the surface of the soil above the roots ; this 
will assist in keeping the ground moist un¬ 
derneath. If the land is rich enough natu¬ 
rally to insure a vigorous growth without 
additional fertilizers, then tan bark, saw¬ 
dust, pine leaves, or some Bimilar material, 
may be used as a mulch ; but on old land 
coarse barnyard manure is best. 
INSECTS IN ORCHAROS. 
In spring, or about the time ayrple trees 
come into bloom, there are various kinds of 
insects which make their appearance in the 
orchard. The canker worm, tent worm and 
codling moth are well-known destructive 
fiesta. Some of these can be readily destroyed 
by hand and an orchard quickly cleaned, 
while others are more formidable, requiring 
constant and persistent vigilance to keep 
them in check. Those named Infest the 
leaves or fruit, but another class attack the 
wood aud are generally known as borers, 
Thu two most destructive of the apple tree 
borers are the larvae of two distinct species 
of beetle. The female of oue deposits her 
eggs mainly on the stems near the ground, 
while the other drops them in the cracks of 
the rough bark on both stem and larger 
branches. Whitewashing the trees or coat¬ 
ing with soap will not only destroy the eggs 
but the newly - hatched grubs. As these 
beetles appear quite early in the season, it is 
beat to apply preventives about the same 
time—say os soon as the trees bloom, and 
again a month or two later. In addition to 
applying something to prevent the depositing 
of eggs, it is well to examine the trees fre¬ 
quently and dig out and destroy any borers 
which may have found a lodgment in the 
bark or wood. 
Peach trees are also injured by borers, but 
of quite a different kind from those which 
attack other fruits. The peach tree borer is 
the larva of a small moth which deposits her 
egg9 on the stems close down to the ground. 
Wrapping the base of the stems with tar 
paper, coating with lime and similar mate¬ 
rials are frequently employed as preventives 
with good effect; but it will be well to ex¬ 
amine the trees at least twice during the 
season in addition, and wherever gum is 
PROMISING NEW PEARS. 
There are always more or less new fruits 
offered to the public, but it takes time to 
determine their value. The greater part is 
pretty certain of being xere rubbish, scarce¬ 
ly worth cultivating ; but one really veluable 
sort in a huudred satisfies a cultivator for 
the experiment of testing the ninety-nine 
worthless varieties. 
Among the many very promising sorts in¬ 
troduced from abroad during the past half 
dozen years the Souvenir du Congres bids 
fair to bo an acquisition to our list of extra 
large autumn pears. T-is pear originated 
with Mr. Morel of hyon Vaire, and by him 
was dedicated to the Poinoiogical Congress 
of France, hence its name. It was exhibited 
at the Universal Exposition m 1867, and was 
awarded the first prize. It has also been 
shown at several of our horticultural Fairs 
during tho past three years, attracting the 
attention of pomolcxgists, it being one of the 
largest of what may be termed table pears. 
Its size and form is shown in the accompany¬ 
ing illustration. The skin is smooth and 
handsome, of a yellow color at maturity, 
slightly splashed with bright red or carmine 
on i he aide exposed to the sun. The flesh is 
much like the Bartlett, being somewhat 
mus'<y. It commences to ripen in Septem¬ 
ber and continues into October when grown 
in more Northern States. 
Among the very latest novelties in pear? 
perhaps those raised by M. A, Sannier of 
Rouen, France, are most worthy of special 
note, judging from what is said of them in 
our foreign exchanges. The nomenclature 
adopted by Mr. Sannier Is, however, quite 
objectionable, as the names he gives to his 
productions are altogether too long, as short¬ 
er ones would answer better. “ Souvenir du 
Venerable de la Sulle," or ** Souvenir de la 
Rue Mare-au Trou,” is really more name 
than any ordinary good pear can stand in 
America, where time is probably more valu¬ 
able than it is in France. But the above are 
the names which Mr. Sannier has given to 
two of his promising varieties. 
B&rgamatte Arsene Sannier,” and 
“Beurre Henri Courcelle” are two other 
TN THE ORCHARD 
jtkuninq, which may have been neglected 
early .a the season, may be done when the 
eaves have become fully expanded and the 
growth i.f the tree fully under way. Of 
course we cannot say how much of this kind 
° , ! vor “ * 3 neet *cd in the orchard, but it 13 
seldom that trees grow perfectly regular or 
ust in. the form best suited to our conve¬ 
nience. Some varieties of apples and pears 
