Hints for Planters 
3 
Hints for Planters 
Preparation of the Soil. The most desirable soil for 
fruit trees is a rich loam, naturally dry or made so by drain¬ 
age. Before planting, prepare the land by thoroughly plow¬ 
ing and subsoiling, first using a two-horse plow, followed 
by a subsoil plow. Lay off the rows at required distances, 
and dig holes at least two feet wide and two feet deep; fill 
the holes by breaking in the sides, commencing at the bottom 
and going upward. Use surface soil in filling up. and with 
this mix one or two shovelfuls of thoroughly decomposed 
barnyard manure; or use one or two pounds of good bone 
meal. All the fertilizers should be thoroughly incorporated 
with the soil. Avoid the contact of the roots with heating 
manures. 
Selection of Trees. For this climate, experience has 
taught us that one- and two-year-old trees of thrifty growth 
are the most desirable. Purchasers should bear in mind that 
such trees can be removed from the nursery with all their 
roots, whereas a four- or five-year-old tree cannot be taken 
up without cutting away a large portion of them. Success 
in transplanting is increased according as attention is paid 
in selecting well-rooted trees, instead of heavily-branched 
ones. Give as many sound roots, and as little head to a tree 
as possible. 
Preparation of Trees. Before planting, remove the broken 
roots, cut back one-year peach, aople, pear, cherry and plum 
trees to a naked stem i to 2 feet high, leaving no side 
branches. Two-year-old trees should have their branches 
cut back to half their length, or less; the lower limbs less than 
those above, cutting in shorter as you go upward, leaving 
the leader the longest. (For pruning peach trees, see page 7.) 
The tree should be set in the hole about two inches deeper 
than it originally stood in the nursery row. 
Time for Planting. In this climate, vegetation, although 
inactive in winter for the formation of leaves and new wood, 
is never so as to new roots. A tree transplanted in November 
or December will, by the ensuing spring, have formed suf¬ 
ficient new roots to give it a firm hold in the ground, and 
will grow off rapidly when active vegetation commences. 
Plant as early after the first killing frost as practicable, al¬ 
though hardy stock can be safely transplanted any time 
during the winter months when the ground is not too wet 
or frozen. 
Cultivation. If you expect to get good results from your 
trees, keep them well cultivated. Stir the soil frequently 
during the summer. Remove all suckers and branches which 
start below the head of the tree. For the first two years, 
cultivate the orchard in some hoed crop suited to the location, 
such as cotton, vegetables, melons, peas, or any similar crop. 
Cultivate frequently Never plant com or small grain in 
your orchard if the soil is of light character, but for stiff 
soils devoid of humus, sow rye, clover, or barley in fall, using 
a suitable fertilizer. Turn under this cover crop in spring, 
and drill in peas If soil is devoid of lime and potash, supply 
the deficiency with bone meal, hard wood-ashes, or a good 
commercial fertilizer. You cannot get a healthy growth on 
your trees unless the orchard is supplied with the proper plant- 
food. 
Care of Trees on Arrival. If not ready to plant on arrival, 
unpack without exposing the roots to cold or air, dig a trench, 
and heel-in by carefully covering the roots with earth, and 
give a copious watering. Trees thus treated can remain in 
the trenches until ready for their permanent places in the or¬ 
chard. If frozen when received, do not open the boxes, but 
place them in a cellar or some cool, dark room that is free 
from frost and let them remain until all frost is drawn out. 
If no cellar or frost-proof room, bury the box in saw-dust or 
dirt until thawed. The point is to get the frost entirely out 
without sudden exposure of stock to heat, light or air. Even 
if frozen solid, the stock will not be injured if handled in this 
manner. 
Injurious Insects 
The rapid increase of insects injurious to fruit and fruit trees necessarily compels the horticulturist to obtain a knowledge 
of their habits, that he may provide means to oppose their ravages; otherwise he must remain at their mercy, and find that 
paying crops become more and more uncertain. The limits of this catalogue allow only space for the enumeration of the most 
destructive and abundant species which infest the orchards and vineyards, and the best remedies as suggested by leading ento¬ 
mologists. The following remedies are compiled from the latest recommendations of the most prominent entomologists and 
pathologists. 
APPLES 
Apple Worm ( Carbocapsa pnmonella, or Codling Moth). 
Spray with arsenate of lead at the rate of two pounds to fifty 
gallons of water, and Bordeaux mixture (six pounds lime, three 
pounds bluestone), after the blossoms have fallen, and before 
the calyx lobes close. Repeat in one week. It is generally 
conceded that earlier or later sprayings than mentioned 
above are of no value against the first brood, when dealing 
with the codling-moth. It is necessary, therefore, to spray 
just after the petals fall and before the calyx lobes close, in 
order to fill this cup with poison at the only time it is possible 
to do so. A second brood of apple-worms appear from the 
middle to the last of June, in Georgia—later farther north— 
and spraying for this brood is advisable in many cases. As 
a general rule, spray the last week in June, and again two 
weeks later, with Bordeaux-arsenate of lead mixture. Bor¬ 
deaux, not being strictly an insecticide, does not act against 
the codling moth, but it is always well to use it with arsenate 
of lead to prevent apple scab or other fungous diseases. 
Borer ( Saperda Candida). Examine trees in spring and 
again in June and dig out the grubs with a wire. Then wash 
the collar of roots and parts of the body with a mixture of 
lime and sulphur. 
Caterpillar ( Clisiocampa Americana). Destroy nests as 
soon as they appear in spring by burning, or spray with 
Paris green eight ounces, lime one pound, water 50 gallons. 
Spring Canker Worm ( Paleacrila vernala) . Encircle the 
tree with a canvas belt coated thoroughly with tar or train 
oil; or spray with six ounces Paris green and one pound lime to 
fifty gallons Bordeaux or water. 
Woolly Aphis ( Schizoneura lanigera) . For above-ground 
colonies, wash trees with solution of whale-oil soap or kero¬ 
sene emulsion. For root-inhabiting colonies, remove the 
soil to a depth of about three inches, or sufficient to partially 
expose the roots; open a circle from four to eight feet in diam¬ 
eter. depending on the spread of the roots, distribute three 
to eight pounds of tobacco dust or use 15 per cent kerosene 
emulsion. Enough emulsion should be used to saturate the 
soil to a depth of three or four inches. Recent experiments 
have shown that kerosene emulsion may be used with success. 
Tobacco dust is of more value as a preventive and fer¬ 
tilizer. Badly infested trees should receive kerosene treatment. 
PEACHES AND PLUMS 
Curculio ( Conotrachleus nenuphar) . Spray the trees before 
the blossoms open, with a solution of arsenate of lead, three I 
pounds; lime, two pounds to fifty gallons of water. Use Bor¬ 
deaux with arsenate of lead when the blossoms have fallen; 
ten days later. Bordeaux and arsenate of lead. If peach and 
plum trees are in foliage, use three pounds copper sulphate, 
nine pounds lime and fifty gallons of water; a stronger mixture 
will burn the foliage. Then follow with a large hopper made 
of sheeting and having a spread of ten to fifteen feet, having 
a slit in same, so that the tree can be encircled; give the trunk 
a quick blow with a padded club; this causes the curculio to 
fall. Dump the insects into a jar of kerosene. Jarring should 
be done daily, beginning at daylight and continuing until 
8 or 9 o'clock. It will hardly pay to jar the trees at any other 
time. Continue the jarring until the orchard is rid of the 
insects 
Peach Tree Borer (S anninoidea exitiosa) . The old method 
of worming peach trees during winter has been found ineffec¬ 
tive, principally because the worms cause too much damage 
before being removed. The best method is as follows: 
Supposing that we start with an infested orchard; worm the 
trees in the spring; this will lessen the number of worms that 
will reach maturity. About July t apply a wash to a height 
of eighteen to twenty inches, allowing it to go well down 
on the roots. Immediately afterward draw up the earth to 
the trees, forming a cone six to eight inches above the level. 
This will force the borer moths to deposit eggs up above the 
mound of earth. The wash previously applied will help to 
repel the moths. A second application of deterrent wash, 
during August, should be applied if the first wash gets thin; 
that is, keep the bark coated. 
The following is an excellent wash for peach trees: One 
bushel of quicklime, twenty pounds of sulphur, one gallon of 
coal tar fifty gallons of water. Mix tar and sulphur in ten gal¬ 
lons of water in barrel, add lime, keep well stirred. When en¬ 
tirely slaked, dilute to fifty gallons. 
During the last of October, remove the mound from around 
the trees and thoroughly scrape and clean the bark. This will 
kill many young worms and probably some eggs. Now apply 
the wash again as it may kill many little borers that may 
be exposed but not actually killed by the scraping process. 
Worm the trees in the spring for the few worms that inay es¬ 
cape the treatment just suggested. 
San Jose Scale (Asptdtolus perniciosus) . This attacks 
each, pear, apple, quince, cherry, raspberry, rose and a num- 
er of other trees and shrubs. For winter treatment, we would 
recommend spraying with lime-sulphur solution. Spray in 
December and again late in February or early March. For 
summer treatment would suggest spraying with kerosene 
emulsion, one part of emulsion to five of water, or use the regu- 
ar strength of lime-sulphur solution, applying this with a 
