1848. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
85 
those not to be in immediate contact with the roots, 
filled beforehand, if convenient, with a mixture of old 
rotted manure with soil. This will give the young trees 
a vigorous start until they come into bearing ; and in 
the meantime the ground should be gradually enriched 
around them by manuring the crops. It would be still 
better, if the ground for the young orchard could be 
for two years previously well prepared for trees, as fol¬ 
lows:—First, run the subsoil plow as deeply as possi¬ 
ble, to loosen the soil for the entrance of the common 
plow for trench-plowing, the latter operation for the 
purpose of working manure deeply below the surface, 
and for intermixing thoroughly the surface soil, sub¬ 
soil and manure. Two years of such cultivation, with 
carrots and other roots, will bring land to the finest 
order, and even one year would be eminently useful: 
Cultivation of the Apple, 
Having been practically acquainted with the Apple 
tree for more than thirty years, and being anxious to 
see this tree more successfully cultivated, I am con¬ 
strained to give publicity to my observations, experi¬ 
ence, and mode of culture, hoping that some may be 
instructed, and the attention of others awakened to this 
interesting subject. 
The apple tree is the most valuable fruit tree that 
grows in this part of the world—is naturally very long 
lived, very productive, and easily cultivated, requiring 
but little more attention every year than a hill of corn ,• 
and yet, strange as it is, there are not half enough 
good apples produced for family use. 
Trees may be procured of the nurserymen, or be 
raised on your own premises. If the latter course is 
taken, procure as many seeds as you want from the 
kind of apples you wish to produce. They will not all 
of them produce the same kinds—a few will be the 
same or similar, and others new varieties—nearly all 
will be very good, if the seeds were of good kinds. 
Plant your seeds as soon in the spring as the frost is 
out, in good mellow ground, about a quarter of an inch 
deep, in rows about two feet apart, and about six in¬ 
ches apart in the rows. Keep the ground mellow and 
clean, and in about three years they will do to set in 
their abiding place, or to graft. 
Trees of natural growth generally last the longest. 
In the selections of the kinds you prefer to graft, do 
not disregard those that are uniformly good bearers; 
and prefer grafts from young healthy trees. Cut the 
last year’s growth with an inch or so of the year be¬ 
fore, if you wish to keep them awhile. If you cut at all 
from an old tree, take a last year’s sprout, well ma¬ 
tured. The nearer the time of running of the sap the 
better, but if most convenient, they may be cut and 
kept in a moist place some weeks. As soon as the 
sap runs, remove the soil from around the tree about an 
inch deep, insert your graft smoothly, and bring the 
soil around it about an inch above the insertion. In 
about two years your trees will do to set. in their abid¬ 
ing place. 
In selecting a place for an orchard, prefer upland or 
hill-sides. The fruit will be richer, higher flavored, 
and more abundant, than on low, flat lands. Almost 
all kinds of soil will do, if they are deep, rich, and well 
cultivated. In this vicinity, the soil called iron-stone 
is lately the most productive. It is believed by some 
that an eastern exposure is liable to blast; but I have 
not found it so. 
Dig the holes for your trees a little larger than the 
extension of the roots, and about eight or ten inches 
deep. Take up your trees carefully, without breaking 
the roots, and the sooner they are set in their places 
the better. Set them just about as deep as they were 
an the nursery, filling the holes with just what was 
taken out and nothing else. Many trees are greatly 
injured by being set too deep. Set a stake about afoot 
from the tree, leaning to it, of equal height, and tie 
the tr.ee loosely- to the stake. Plow or dig the soil 
mellow, around the tree, two or three feet from it at 
least, in the spring of every year, to the depth of three 
or four inches, but not to injure the roots. 
In cultivating your orchard, a good arrangement, is 
to plow one or two years, and leave the ground one or 
two years in clover—keeping the soil rich with manure. 
This mode is much better than to put heaps around the 
tree, and bury the roots too deep. Just before the sap 
runs, every spring, prune, but in doing this, be careful 
not to prune too much. I have seen a great many or¬ 
chards nearly ruined by pruning too much. The sup¬ 
position that more sap and nutriment is obtained by 
the remaining branches when some are removed, is a 
mistake. The branches constitute a part of the tree, 
and do their office in furnishing nourishment just as 
much as the roots. The lower limbs of the top should 
be about four and a half feet from the ground; and 
here let a full and natural top be commenced. I have 
never known a very large tree, nor a good bearing tree, 
among those that had high tops, either by cutting off 
the lower branches, or by trimming them up high. 
A great many apples are lost by leaving them too 
long on the trees. Winter apples, as soon as the seeds 
are ripe, should be picked, and taken to a cool, dry, 
shady place, spread thin, and lay without cover, until 
there is danger of freezing. When there is danger of 
this, remove them to their winter quarters, which 
.should also be cool, just so as to avoid freezing. Put 
them on shelves, not more than two or three courses 
thick, and if put in a cellar, the shelves should be at 
least three feet high from the bottom. Leave them 
uncovered, and remove the decayed ones, as occasion 
requires^ and in all that you do, be careful not to bruise 
them in the least. I have kept Newtown Pippins in 
this way until August. R. K. Tuttle. Morristown, 
N. /., February 4th, 1848. 
Productiveness of Strawberries. 
In all the long discussions about barren and fertile 
strawberries, the actual amount which each variety will 
yield per acre, which is of great importance, appears 
to be entirely forgotten. To one who raises for mar¬ 
ket, it is quite essential to select such a variety as wifl 
yield a surplus of a hundred per cent, above the cost of 
raising, rather than one that will yield no such surplus 
at all; and the home cultivator wishes to get as much 
from his labor and land as practicable. Only a few 
statements of the amount per acre have ever been made. 
Hovey’s Seedling, it is said, has yielded 2,000 quarts, 
or more that 62 bushels per acre. The Old Hudson, 
(of Cincinnati,) which is probably the most productive 
of all strawberries as yet much cultivated, has pro¬ 
duced, according to Nicholas Longworth, at the rate 
of 5,000 quarts, or 156 bushels per acre. Burr’s Late 
Prolific, a new variety lately originated at Columbus, 
Ohio, it is stated yielded 35 quarts on a bed 6 feet by 
20, which is about 240 bushels per acre; it doubtless 
received the best possible culture. It would be very 
interesting and of great value, to know the compara¬ 
tive productiveness of such varieties as Hovey’s Seed¬ 
ling, Large Early Scarlet, Ross’ Phoenix, Swainstones* 
Seedling, Black Prince, and others, raised side by side, 
and treated precisely alike. Such experiments would 
greatly facilitate the selection of the best sorts, for 
each different part of the country. 
Moss on Fruit Trees, may be removed by soap¬ 
suds, thin whitewash, or a mixture of cow-dung, urine 
and soap-suds. 
