V 
Spring: pruning- of Blackberries that were prop¬ 
erly pinched back in summer. 
A Few Hints. 
PLANTING. Cut off broken roots and cut the ends of large roots smooth. Dig a wide hole, deep enough to 
let the tree stand the same depth as in the nursery. Spread the roots out and pack the soil firmly around them. 
PRUmNG-Blackberries and Blackcaps. Cut back to near the ground when planted. Cut off the 
tops of the young shoots in summer when 2 feet high. This will make them branch, produce more fruit, and 
stand up better. Do not neglect this pruning until the canes are 6 feet high. Allow but 4 to 6 canes per hill. 
Remove the old canes after fruiting, and the following spring shorten in the side branches. In a small garden 
tie to a wire, trellis or stakes. 
Red Raspberries. Prune same as above excepting the summer pruning.’ 
Currants and Gooseberries need but little pruning; merely remove the branches [over two or three 
years old. 
Apple, Pear, Cherry, Peach, Plum and Quince. When planting, prune as shown in the illustrations, 
thereby reducing the top by one half or three-quarters. Cut just above a strong bud. Do not leave opposite 
branches, that form crotches to be easily broken. 
Later Pruning;. Thin out the inside of the tree by removing weak branches, water sprouts or suckers, 
and branches that cross and rub. Some cut back one-half of each year’s growth of the peach, on rich soil. If 
the flower buds are partly winter-killed, omit this cutting back, as it reduces the flowers and fruit. 
Cut all branches close, even if the wound is larger, and paint all wounds over two inches in diameter with 
coal tar or thick paint. Old decayed cavities should be cleaned out to sound wood, painted and filled with 
cement. Split crotches should be bolted together at or above the break. 
Grapes. Cut grape vines back to two buds when planting. Train the two shoots from these buds to a 
trellis or building, and the shoots from them will bear the following year. The next winter these shoots may 
be cut back to spurs of one or two buds, or the whole arm cut off to the trunk of the vine, and the new canes tied 
to the wire as before. During the summer, bearing shoots may be allowed to hang down, or tied to upper wires. 
Time to Prune. Most severe pruning should be done between October and April, when the plant is 
dormant. 
Headi ng-back too vigorous shoots, and removing undesirable branches, may be done at any time during 
the summer. Storm-damaged trees and decayed wounds may be repaired whenever necessary. 
CUIjTIV ATION and FEEDING (Fertilizing). All young fruit plantations should be kept cultivated the 
same as corn or potatoes ; in fact, vegetables may be profitably grown in young orchards. Cultivate once in two 
weeks or oftener, and especially the day following a heavy rain. This will make a mulch of about three inches 
of fine earth or dust, that prevents evaporation from the soil. Feed 
annually with stable manure or complete fertilizers, or both. Trees 
need a fertilizer rich in potash and phosphoric acid, rather than an 
excess of nitrogen ; therefore, muriate of potash, unleached hard-wood 
ashes, bone-flour and dissolved South Carolina rock are good special 
fertilizers. Crimson clover is valuable as a green manure, sown in Au¬ 
gust, before the last cultivating, and plowed under the following spring. 
Borers in the trunks of trees should be dug out. Leaf-eating insects 
are killed by spray of Paris green, 1 lb. to 100 gallons of water. Cur¬ 
rant worms are quickly killed by hellebore powder. Leaf-sucking 
insects and scale insects are destroyed by spraying or washing with 
whale oil soap or kerosene emulsion. Mildew and other fungous dis¬ 
eases of grapes and fruit trees are prevented by spraying with Bor¬ 
deaux mixture or amoniacal solution of carbonate of copper. 
DISTANCES TO PLANT TREES AND PLANTS. 
" Dwarf. 
Peaches, Plum 
Grapes 
Well pruned tree at bearing age. 
Currants and G 
Raspberries and 
Strawberries . . 
Blackberries 
30 x 30 feet 
48 trees 
25 x 25 “ 
70 “ 
12 x 12 “ 
3 co “ 
18x18 “ 
135 
20 x 20 “ 
no “ 
10x16 “ 
275 vines 
2x5 ** 
4,250 plants 
2x4“ 
5,450 bushes 
3x6“ 
2,420 plants 
1x3“ 
14.500 “ 
per acre. 
