CHOICE FRUITS. 
Fruit-bearing 1 Trees and Bushes may be planted as well for shade and ornament 
as for the flavor of their products. This department, therefore, receives a large part, of our 
attention, and we endeavor, by a thorough system of pruning, carried on from infancy, to 
present to our customers handsome and healthy specimens. 
Treatment of Fruit Trees. We cannot attempt here to give complete directions 
on all points connected with the treatment of Fruit Trees and Bushes. This information, 
with full descriptions, is given in detail in “ Downing’s Fruit Book,” or any of the numerous 
works on the subject. In the absence of these, the following simple operations will be found 
most essential:— 
Apple Trees, when standard, should be planted thirty or forty feet apart; when 
dwarf, eight or ten feet apart. 
Pear and Cherry Trees, when standard, should be planted twenty to thirty feet 
apart; when dwarf, ten to fifteen feet apart. 
Peach, Plum, Apricot, and Nectarine Trees should be planted twenty to 
twenty-five feet apart. The ground around them requires to be clean and mellow, with an 
occasional dressing of wood ashes. The head must be kept low, with only three or four feet 
of trunk, the shoots of the previous year shortened every spring, and all diseased and super¬ 
fluous branches removed. Plums and Apricots need a heavy soil and moderate pruning ; 
Peaches and Nectarines a light soil and heavy pruning. 
Peach Trees have to be examined twice a year for the Borer, a worm that attacks 
them at or just below the surface of the ground, causing gum to exude and gradually 
destroying the tree. When found, these should be cut out with a sharp knife. Slacked 
lime or leached ashes placed about the tree assists to keep them away. 
Plum, and some kinds of Cherry Trees, are frequently attacked by the “Black- 
knot ” on the limbs, which, if left to itself, will gradually spread and destroy the tree. To 
prevent this, the trees should be carefully looked over twice a year, and the branches with 
knots cut off some distance below the excrescence and burned. If the knot is on the body, 
or a very large limb, it may be cut out. taking care to remove every appearance of disease. 
Quince Bushes should be planted ten or twelve feet apart, and pruned to a single 
stem two or three feet high. 
Grapes differ widely in different soils and climates. As a general rule, they succeed 
best in a dry, slaty, or stony soil, well exposed to the sun, and perfectly underdrained. In 
this climate they will not bear the close pruning giving in Europe, and for the best modes we 
would refer to the American works on the Grape. They should be planted eight feet apart. 
Blackberry and Raspberry Bushes, when planted, must have the tops cut off to 
within three or four inches of the ground, and may be tied either to a stake or wire trellis. 
The wood which has borne should be cut out immediately after bearing, leaving only the new 
shoots for the following season. Many of the finer sorts of Raspberries have tender wood, 
which requires to be laid down and covered with an inch or two of earth during winter. 
They should be planted four or five feet apart, and Blackberries six or eight feet apart. 
Currant and Goosebury Bushes should be planted four or five feet apart. The 
old dead branches must be cut out in early spring, and about one-third of the new growth in 
June. To destroy the currant worm, sprinkle the bushes with powdered white hellebore. 
Strawberries should be planted fifteen inches apart, and not more than three rows in 
a bed, for convenience of picking. Runners should be carefully cut off and the ground kept 
covered with clean straw or other mulching, to protect the roots from freezing and the fruit 
against dirt. For the winter, mulching with manure is beneficial. 
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