1852. THE CULTIVATOR. 221 
Horticultural Items. 
Liqtjid Manure for Fruit Trees.—A correspondent 
of Moore’s New-Yorker, strongly recommends from his 
own experience, the application of the liquid portions 
of manure, (which are commonly wasted,) to fruit trees, 
more especially in very dry weather, and to those which 
have begun to be injured by drouth. He digs a cavity 
round the tree, pours in the odorous liquid, and imme¬ 
diately replaces the earth. “ An extraordinary growth 
immediately commences, and shoots are forced out in a 
few weeks truly astonishing both in length and size.” 
Soap suds he finds good; but not at all equal to liquid 
manure. 
Stealing Fruit. —One of the best things for the pros¬ 
perity of the country is planting plenty of fine fruit; the 
incentives are heavy crops of delicious luxuries; the dis¬ 
couragements are fire blight, black knot, caterpillars, 
curculios, borers, yellows, cherry birds, and bad culture, 
and when all these have been surmounted, then comes 
the fruit-thief for plunder. Some have endeavored to 
plant enough for all; the result has been that the thieves 
have taken the very best, the first pick, and left the rest 
for the owner. Where they cannot get good fruit, how¬ 
ever, they will take bad, wretchedly bad, rather than 
lose their booty. The Prairie Farmer says, “ We are 
called on yearly to mourn the loss of some villainously 
hard green winter apples, poached in August.” He 
seems to feel some apprehensions that they may get the 
cholera. 
Securing Passing Advantages. —We once had the 
very beautiful present of a bunch of a dozen plums of a 
new variety sent us from a distance, consisting of a branch 
so closely covered as to form a cylinder of solid fruit. 
The shoot on which they grew afforded a few nice buds, 
from which we now have some young trees growing, in¬ 
fallibly correct. 
Garden Walks. —The growth of weeds in gravel 
walks has been securely prevented, by forming a solid 
bottom beneath the gravel, of marl and coarse gravel or 
small stones, rammed down hard, and through which no 
weeds nor grass can penetrate. 
Destroying Mildew.—Marshall P. Wilder, in a 
communication to the Journal of Agriculture, speaking 
of mildew on grapes, green-house plants, and elsewhere, 
says. u We have for more than fifteen years used sul¬ 
phur for this purpose, and in no instance has it failed to 
effect a speedy cure. We have known instances where 
mildew, in the space of a few days, would spread itsspo- 
rules over a large rose-house, destroying nearly all the 
foliage of the plants, and this, by the use of sulphur 
spread on the walks and over the plants, was extirpated 
in a short period.” 
The Baldwin Apple at the West. —We observe a 
statement in the Michigan Farmer, on the authority of 
James Dougal, a skilful fruit raiser in Canada, near De¬ 
troit, that the liability of the Baldwin to rot, may be 
counteracted or avoided by gathering two weeks before 
ripening; and that it will then possess fully those good 
qualities to which it is indebted for its popularity in its 
native place. 
Some fruits attain perfection when ripened on the tree 
only; and others are sure to be spoiled if left till that 
period. This matter is becoming understood by good 
culturists. Some good sorts have been denounced as 
worthless by those who have not been aware of the treat¬ 
ment they require—the Ribston Pippin for example, 
which, except far north, must be picked before full ma¬ 
turity. 
The Apple Market. —Some fear the apple market 
will be glutted, although population and facilities for 
transportation are rapidly increasing, and the economy 
of using fruit becoming better understood. The New 
England Farmer says, u A gentlemen in New Hampshire 
informs us that when his orchard came into bearing some 
30 years ago, the best market he found for his apples was 
at Portland. This year he refured $425 for the product 
of less than acre and three-fourths, to be taken on the 
trees.” The editor estimates about 200,000 families in 
Massachusetts—and if five barrels, on an average, were 
consumed in each family per annum, it would require 
one million barrels yearly for home consumption in that 
state, far exceeding the amount now raised—and saying 
nothing about exportation. 
The Curculio. —Corroborating facts are always in¬ 
teresting. The editor of the Prairie Farmer, on a visit 
to the orchards of E. Harkness of central Illinois, says, 
“ Mr. H. has a piece of ground of which he proposes to 
make at the same time a plum orchard and a hog-pasture. 
The idea of the thing was got from a neighbor who had 
an orchard of this fruit where the swine ran, and who 
eat of the fruit abundantly for seven years; though none 
standing out of the enclosure bore; but on changing the 
tenants to another part of the farm, every plum was 
stung.” This method has been often described for the 
last twenty years or more, but we are always glad to see 
new proofs of its successful working. 
Best Method of Applying Guano. 
I am satisfied from experience and observation in the 
use of Guano, for the past twelve years, that the best 
method, decidedly, of applying it to crops in our dry 
climate is, to plow or spade it into the ground; and autumn 
is the best season fur doing this, as it gives time for the 
pungent salts contained in the guano, to get thoroughly 
mixed with the soil before spring planting. Do not fear 
to lose the guano by plowing it in as deep as you please 
—it will not run away , depend upon it. At the south, 
it loses half its virtue if not plowed in at least three inch¬ 
es deep; six to twelve inches would be still better. 
Spread broadcast on grass land, late in the fall or very 
early in the spring. If not plowed in before sowing buck¬ 
wheat, rye, or wheat, then spread it broadcast after 
sowing the grain, and harrow well and roll the land. 
This last operation is quite important. • 
Caution. —Never put guano in the hill with corn, no 
matter if covered two or three inches deep; for the roots 
will be certain to find it, and so sure as they touch the 
guano, so caustic is it, that it will certainly kill the corn; 
the same with peas, beans, melon vines, in fact most 
vegetable crops. Wheat and other small grains have so 
many roots, and litter so well, there is no danger 
of guano killing them when sown directly with the seed. 
