IDIo. 
T H JrC RUKA L, NEW-YORKER 
ia43 
DYNAMITE AND TREE FEEDING. 
We recently spoke of a much-vaunt¬ 
ed plan for fertilizing trees. It was 
: aid to be practiced in France, and 
consisted in punching holes around the 
tree, using a crowbar for the purpose. 
In these holes was to be placed a mix¬ 
ture of nitrate of soda, acid phosphate 
and muriate of potash, the theory be¬ 
ing that if the chemicals were put in 
these holes the trees would have a 
better chance to take hold of them. 
We have been talking with a number 
of experts in tree culture about this. 
They all agree that this system of 
feeding trees through holes is not at 
all practical under average conditions. 
Cases have been reported where, in a 
very dry time, gardeners have punched 
these crowbar holes into the ground by 
the side of tomato plants or hills of 
melons, and poured water into them. 
This has watered the plants effectively, 
and in a dry time has proved econom¬ 
ical of water. As for putting fertiliz¬ 
er into the holes, however, it is a bet¬ 
ter plan to scatter such fertilizer thor¬ 
oughly all over the surface, and work 
it in with hoe or cultivator. The feed¬ 
ing roots of the plant are generally 
near the surface, and not down at the 
bottom of the holes, and an even dis¬ 
tribution on top with fair culture will 
take care of the roots. 
Now comes a man who claims that in 
addition to putting the fertilizer info 
these holes we should also add a small 
quantity of dynamite, and explode it, 
so as to bring up the soil beneath the 
surface. There has been a good deal 
said about this use of dynamite in 
plowing or draining the land, and the 
question does not seem to have been 
fully settled. Fruit experts who have 
given it a fair trial say that dynamite 
can be used to some advantage in 
loosening the soil in apple orchards, 
which have been in sod for a number of 
years. Such orchards are generally sod 
bound, and there is often a hardpan 
of soil below the surface, and quite 
close to it. In other cases this sod 
ground through lack of lime, or by 
reason of continued drought, has baked 
hard. In such cases the explosion of 
dynamite in such holes under ground 
will often help the old apple trees. 
We find, however, that most disin¬ 
terested parties think that dynamiting 
will never take the place of thorough 
cultivation in conserving moisture in 
the orchard. It certainly has its use 
under some conditions, but cannot be 
said to entirely take the place of 
thorough cultivation on the surface. 
The fairest experiments with dynamite 
that we can find show considerable 
increase in the wood growth of peach 
or apple trees for the first season. This 
growth we should judge is chiefly con¬ 
fined to the length of the wood on 
twigs and limbs, and does not appear 
to increase the actual size or circum¬ 
ference of the trunk. We do not think 
the plan of exploding dynamite in 
those crowbar holes to distribute the 
fertilizer in them, would be of practical 
value. 
BACK TO THE ORCHARD. 
Two years ago I thought to give 
up my old profession of fruit growing 
ami tilling the soil, which I had fol¬ 
lowed for more than 25 years in this 
great western country. So I drafted 
out a number of my old friends who 
had been with me all these years. It 
was rather a trying time to make such 
a change for other lines of business, 
and I have not been at all pleased 
with the change, have longed for my 
old business and old friends. So I 
have taken on my old business in a 
new field, and with it 1 am taking back 
my old friends. The It. X.-Y. and other 
papers that instructed and advised me 
during those amateur years and in 
* Wr > •— 
WJSAL «**><**,£* 
Mvmlmn <M.V 
NOTHING DOING FOR THE GOLD BRICK AGENT. 
Fig. 531. 
A LIMB OF WESTERN X. Y. SP1TZENBURG. 
(See Page 1347.) 
Fig. 532. 
later years, but the old R. N.-Y. comes 
hack to me as a special friend. I ap¬ 
preciate its instructive pages more than 
ever. It has been largely the means of 
opening up to me this new field of 
fruit growing in that good Old tried 
State of Western New York, where I 
have recently purchased a fruit farm. 
That country is a marvel to me, the 
story of its fruit possibilities are as 
yet untold. If those people will take 
on the new and tried methods of the 
western fruit growing, it will astonish 
the best of them. Had I put my ex¬ 
perience. time, energy and money in 
the fruit business in Western New 
York that I have used up in the busi¬ 
ness in this western country, I might 
lie a stock holder in some good com¬ 
pany or have a bank account that any¬ 
one might be proud of. Just about the 
time your apple trees on the western 
prairies begin to bear their vitality is 
weakened and they begin to die; 15 
to 25 years is the life of an apple tree 
in the West, pear trees about the same; 
peach 15 to 20 years and cherry 10 to 
15 years. In the East the apple lives 
from 50 to 100 years, the pear about 
the same, the cherry 50 years, but the 
peach about the same as in the West, 
15 to 20 years. The Eastern fruit 
grower has kept his light under a 
bushel until it has put him back many 
years, but during the past few years 
their light is burning out, and I pre¬ 
dict that in the next 10 years their light 
will shine so bright, extending far into 
the great western fruit belt, on which 
they will see written the signs of the 
times. Go East I 
Oklahoma. frank iiorsEiiOLDER. 
RESEEDING AN OLD MEADOW. 
I plowed up 15 acres of meadow (two 
year old) limed and worked up as best 
I could without tearing up the sod too 
much ; sowed Timothy and Alsike clover, 
six quarts Timothy, four quarts Alsike to 
acre The cover did not come up well; a 
fairly good stand of Timothy, but much 
water-cress and wild onions (garlic), 
also sheep sorrel. Do you thing plowing 
up a meadow in this way and putting 
right back in grass for meadow again a 
good plan i Last Spring I thought the 
water-cress and other weeds would take 
a piece of meadow that was put in last 
rail, but I put a mowing machine on this 
ground and cut it off twice fairly close. 
Some places one could scarcely see any 
stand of Timothy or clover. After I cut 
ofl the second time the grass started, and 
a piettier stand of Timothy I never saw. 
I cut 2(4 tons to the acre and now there 
does not appear any water-cress or other 
weeds. I never have been able to un¬ 
derstand where this grass came from. 
Aow it is fine sod of Timothy and clover, 
low do you advise getting rid of wild 
onions or garlic? My land is high, well- 
drained. some sand with a little gravel. 
Well subsoiled with a red clav, and all 
works up nicely. \ v v v 
Maryland. 
We never knew a satisfactory re¬ 
seeding of an old meadow by such a 
method as you followed. Y*ou must in 
some way kill out tlig weeds and old 
grass in the meadow, or they will sure¬ 
ly take possession. This was the theory 
ot the "(_ lark system of grass culture. 
Instead of plowing Clark used a disk or 
Cutaway which chopped and tossed up 
the old sod. By thorough working in 
this way the sun and air killed out. the 
old growth and then the new seeding 
had a chance. You turned the sod over 
and worked up the bottom of the fur¬ 
row slice for a seed bed. The old 
grass and weeds were not killed. After 
a time they grew up and being strong¬ 
er than the young grass plants mas¬ 
tered them. This always happens, un¬ 
der such conditions. Yhe only prac¬ 
tical way to kill out wild onion and 
similar weeds is to keep tops contin¬ 
uously cut off or dig out the roots. 
Tills is what Clark did with his “in¬ 
tense culture.” A much better plan 
than the one you adopted is to plow 
the sod and plant to potatoes or corn 
in hills and give thorough culture both 
ways. This will clean out the Fall 
seeding. Your grass may turn out bet¬ 
ter than you think next Spring. We 
think it will pay to cut once and then 
the sod may be well fitted for Alfalfa. 
