;-NRLF

117 OftO

THE

OR

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CULTURE AND MANAGE- MENT OF

APPLE AND OTHER FRUIT TREES,

WITH

OBSERVATIONS ON THE DISEASES TO WHICH THEY ARE LIABLE, AND THEIR REMEDIES.

TO WHICH IS ADDED

THE MOST APPROVED METHOD

MANUFACTURING AND PRESERVING CIDER.

COMPILED

4 uo.tt rilJE LATEST AND MOST APPROVED AUTHORITIES, AND ADAPT- ED TO THE USE OF AMERICAN FARMERS.

BY JAMES THACHER, M. D,

•* lion of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Massachusetts Medical Society, &c. &c.

• Nature, in her teaching, speaks in very intelligible language, and that language is con- .-veil by experience and observation."

BOSTON :

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH W. INGRAHAM. 1822.

»•*•• ».*

DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT t

BE it remembered, That on the third day of January, A. D. 1822, and in the forty-sixth year of the Independence of the United States of Ame- rica, Joseph W. Ingraham, of the said district, has deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit :

u The American Orchardist ; or a practical treatise on the culture and management of apple and other fruit trees, with observations on the diseases to which they are liable, and their remedies. To which is added the most approved method of manufacturing and preserving cider. Compiled from the latest and most approved authorities, and adapted to the use of Ameri- can farmers. By James Thacher, M. D. Fellow of the American Aca- demy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Massachusetts Medical Society, &c. £c. l Nature in her teaching, speaks in very intelligible language, and that language is conveyed by experience and observation.' "

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, u An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" and also to an act, entitled " An act sup- plementary to an act, entitled, An act for the encouragement of learn- ing, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned ; and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of Designing, Engraving, and Etching, Historical, and other Prints."

JNO. W. DAVIS, Clerk of the District of Massachusetts,

TO THE

PRESIDENT AND OTHER OFFICERS OF THE MASSACHU- SETTS AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

GENTLEMEN

JL RESUMING upon your acquiescence, I introduce to your no- tice this little practical treatise upon one of the most interesting and pleasing branches pertaining to the science of agriculture. The utility of a cheap publication of this kind, for the information and encouragement of our farmers, is unquestionable. If this humble attempt should meet your approbation, and be found to possess a degree of merit calculated to co-operate with your zea- lous efforts to promote agricultural pursuits and improvements in our country, a knowledge of your character is an ample pledge that you will not withhold your patronage and favour. If, how- ever, it shall appear that I have subjected myself to the accusa- tion of having stepped beyond the limits, within which rny ac- tual knowledge should be confined, then will a consciousness of laudable motives, of assiduity and fidelity in the collection of ex- perimental facts, remain as my only consolation. I am not unap- prized of the almost invincible prejudice, which prevails among our farmers, against what they term " book-farming," " book- knowledge/* &c. &c. ; and the anecdote is fresh in my memory, of an honest farmer, who, on being inquired of Why his neigh-

667819

ir DEDICATION.

hour's farm was not more productive, replied, " because he has booked it to death." These prejudices exist chiefly among those, whose minds are unenlightened, and views unexpanded by that useful knowledge, which is only to be acquired by reading. It must be conceded that almost all improvements are derived from the records of practice and observation ; and when we have rea- son and experience to support, and plain facts to confirm, we may become less tenacious of the rules of our fathers, believing that it may be the reserved privilege of the children, to acquire the skill of producing two spires of grass where their fathers pro- duced but one. It is a remarkable fact that the first planters bequeathed to their posterity a greater number of orchards, in proportion to their population, than ate now to be found in the old colony ; and it is no less notorious that the children have substituted a poisonous liquor for the salutary beverage, which al- most exclusively cheered the hearts of their virtuous ancestors. The views of men are often materially affected through mere in- dolence of temper, no less than through the cloud of prejudice. Averse to the labour of reading and inquiry, they adhere perti- naciously to the routine of their predecessors, and treat with equal contempt the lessons of experience, and all suggestions of im- provement. It is not, however, desirable that former modes ot practice in husbandry should be abandoned until it shall be incontestably proved, that a system more adapted to our circum- stances, and in all respects of superiour utility, can be found- ed on the surest basis. It is not to be required of our farmers to subject themselves to the expense and uncertainty of novel expe- riments ; but he who possesses capital and leisure, and who, in the spirit of investigation, shall put in execution a hundred new projects, although in ten only shall he be successful in the acqui- sition of useful knowledge, will be entitled to publick praise and respect. These pages contain no speculative or visionary pro- jects, nor recommend any untried experiments. Although a por-

DEDICATION. V

tion of information is derived from European authors, no inconsi- derable part of it has been collected from the practical experi- ments and observations of our own countrymen. There is, there- fore, no part of this production but what may be adopted as'ap- plicable to our climate, and calculated to promote the interests of the cultivators of our soil. The knowledge respecting the proper management of fruit trees is contained in numerous vo- lumes, and in incidental papers, published in periodical works. My object has been to collate and embrace all the principal cir- cumstances relative to the subject, and condense the whole into a small compass, that shall be accessible both to the pecuniary means of all, and to the intellectual powers of the most ordinary capacity. The authorities to which I am chiefly indebted, ,are the several encyclopedias, Forsyth on Fruit Trees, and the valua- ble periodical publications of your society, and various other si- milar productions. If, in a few instances, it shall appear that f have employed borrowed language without marks of quotation, my apology is, that I have copied from minutes collected at va- rious times, without reference to the source whence derived; not that I would wittingly pilfer the cultivated fruit of others, and impose it upon my guests as the result of my own industry.

Nothing can be more irksome to a reflecting mind than a state of inactivity and idleness. I have devoted some of my leisure hours to the subject of this treatise, and have derived from the employ- ment both recreation and improvement. Should the book share the fate of many others, and pass into neglect and oblivion, it will not be a cause of chagrin ; but if it should be so fortunate as to rise into popularity, and arrest the attention of our farmers, who may be assured that a little " book-knowledge'' will do them no barm, it will be a source of the highest gratification.

VI DEDICATION.

The Massachusetts Agricultural Society, through your agency, gentlemen, has already exerted a happy influence, tending to eradicate former prejudices, and greatly to ameliorate the condi- tion of our husbandry in its various branches.

With the view of encouraging a familiarity with agricultural books among our farmers, permit me to suggest the expediency of supplying our several county societies with the Massachusetts Agricultural Repository, on the most favourable terms for distri- bution ; and also of paying, in certain proportions, your annual

premiums in cheap books on agricultural subjects.

i

That you may long continue to enjoy the satisfaction to be de- rived from your patriotick labours, is the fervent desire of Your humble and obedient servant,

JAMES THACHER. PLYMOUTH, July, 1821.

RECOMMENDATION.

THE gentlemen who sign the following Recommendation are officers of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society, although they do not sub- scribe as such ; but cheerfully consent, as individuals, to honour the publica- tion with the following testimony of their approbation.

Boston, September 10, 1821.

W E have perused, at the request of Dr. Thacher, his Treatise on the Culture of Fruit Trees, and the Art of Making Cider ; and, although we cannot hope that our opinions will have any great weight with the publick, yet, as the author is desirous that we should express them, we have no hesi- tation in saying, that it appears to us an excellent compendium of all that has been written on the subject — comprising, within a moderate compass, the result of the observations of the experienced cultivators of Europe, and of this country — with many original suggestions of his own — and we believe that such a work will be of great value to those, who wish to obtain a knowledge of this branch of agriculture, but who cannot have access to the original sources, from which, with great labour, and, as we believe, good judgment, this compilation has been formed.

[Names of the gentlemen who, as individuals, sign the above recom- mendation ; with the addition of their titles, as copied from the Massa- chusetts Agricultural Journal.]

AARON DEXTER, M. D., President.

SAMUEL W. POMEROY, Esq., First Vice-President.

THOMAS L. WINTHROP, Esq., Second Vice-President.

JOHN PRINCE, Esq., Treasurer.

JOHN LOWELL, Esq., Corresponding Secretary.

Hon. RICHARD SULLIVAN, Recording Secretary.

Hon. PETER C. BROOKS, ~]

PIon.JOHN WELLES,

Hon.JOSIAH QUINCY,

S. G. PERKINS, Esq.,

GORHAM PARSONS, Esq.,

E. HERSEY DERBY, Esq., J

JL HE following valuable remarks by two of the gentlemen whose names are subjoined to the preceding recommendation, were not received till after the printing of the volume was completed.

41 1 REGRET that ( had not seen the MS. as I should have taken the liberty of recommending to the notice of Dr. Thacher, the best of all the cherries — the Black Tartarian, introduced by Prince Potemkin, from Pon- tus to St. Petersburgh, soon after the conquest of the Crimea, and brought to London by a British botanist, in 1796 ; from whence my friend, the late Eben. Preble, Esq. imported a tree some years after, at five times the price of common sorts, which he planted in his garden in Boston, but removing it the second year, to make room for a building, check- ed the bearing, and I was enabled by a cutting he had previously given me» to produce the first dessert of this noble fruit, in the United States. It is a constant, full bearer ; succeeds better by grafting than any other sorts^; is of larger size than any; and may be said to be in eating from the time it is two thirds grown, till some time after fully ripe ; and as evidence of superiour excellence, has generally brought double the price of the best black hearts in the Boston market." S. W. POMEROY.

u PERMIT me to suggest that so far as my experience goes, I have found the first week of feeptember the best time for budding young peach stocks. The bud is not so subject to gum at this as an earlier season. [See page 40.]

" While upon the subject of decortication of apple trees, [See page 80,] you might, I think, add, that the operation may be performed with equal success on old pear trees. Dr. Holyoke, of Salem, informed me a few years since, that he had made the experiment on an old pear tree in his yard that had ceased bearing, and restored to it its wonted fecundity.

44 1 have noted your observations on grafting pears on quince stocks, [pages 33 and 180.] I have a number of trees of this description, arid some of them quite large and extremely vigorous and healthy. They produce annually in great abundance, and some of the largest and finest pears of their kind which I have ever seen are produced on those trees. But the stock should be from what is called the Portugal quince, which grows as fast as the natural or free stock ; and the pears put on them should always be of the soft flesh, or buttery kind; the breaking pears do not answer' so well on this, as on the free stock. In France all their finest pears, of the buttery kind, are raised on the Portugal quince stocks." S. G. PERKIAS.

ERRATA.

Page 60, line 3 and 4, for John Wells, esquire, of Dorchester, read ho- nourable John Welles, of Dorchester, one of the trustees of the Massa- chusetts Agricultural Society.

Page 129, line 15, for Pomone d'Apis, read Pomme d'Apis.

THE

APPLE TREES.

AMONG the numerous varieties of fruit-bearing trees, cultivated in our country, the apple is, con- fessedly, of superiour importance and utility. Whe- ther considered as an esculent for the dessert, as an article for culinary purposes, or as affording a pleasant and wholesome beverage, this fruit is not to be surpassed in excellence. If the productions of tropical climates are valued for their grateful and delicious qualities, the apple, more permanent and durable, and possessing nutritive and salubrious properties, is incomparably of the greatest estima- tion. From a natural and happy gradation, this fruit attains to full growth, in successive order, during summer and autumn ; and, acquiring greater perfection and maturity after gathering, it may, by proper care, be preserved for the table, or for cu- linary use, until the return of the flowering season. The soil and climate of the United States are ad- mirably adapted to the growth of the apple tree, except in certain districts in the south, where the land is level and sandy, and the atmosphere replete with humidity. Even the colder regions of Maine annually furnish excellent apples for the Boston

a

10 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

market. We have an ample variety of apples, many of which are allowed to be of superiour quality as to size, beauty, and flavour. Notwith- standing, however, these advantages, and the im- mense value of apple orchards, their cultivation has received but inadequate attention from the farmers of our country. It must be confessed, as a notorious truth, that an orchard, planted and cul- tivated in the most advantageous manner in point of beauty, profit, and convenience, is scarcely to be found in the sphere of our observation. The most palpable neglect prevails in respect of proper prun- ing, cleaning, and manuring round the roots of trees, and of perpetuating choice fruit, by engrafting from it on other stocks. Old orchards are, in general, in a state of rapid decay; and it is not uncommon to see valuable and thrifty trees exposed to the depredations of cattle and sheep, and their foliage annoyed by caterpillars and other destructive in- sects. In fact, we know of no branch of agricul- ture so unaccountably and so culpably disregarded. If it be objected, that the profit will not remunerate for the labour and expense of cultivation, the obvi- ous reply is, let the experiment be fairly tried, in a few instances, and the result will soon correct the erroneous impression, and stimulate to greater at- tention to the subject. It may, with propriety, be affirmed, that a judiciously-cultivated orchard of select fruit, if situated at a convenient distance from a large town or village, would yield an annual profit equal to any production of the industrious husband- man. An instance has been adduced, in, the town of Dorchester, a few years since, of one hundred and sixty barrels of apples being produced from less than two acres, the estimated value of which, including the grass mowed under the trees, is three hundred dollars per acre. In what branch of cul- ture can the husbandman realize a more ample and gratifying reward for his labour and attention ?

OF FRUIT TREES. 1 1

It is a circumstance encouraging to the cultivator, that, " in addition to the usual markets, a very con- siderable export has taken place lately to Europe, and that the flavour of our apples is highly esti- mated there." In every rural establishment, a fruit orchard should be considered an indispensable ap pendage, as a source of real emolument, and as contributing to health, pleasure, and recreation. It will be conceded, that, in the whole department of rural economy, there is not a more noble, inter- esting, and beautiful exhibition, than a fruit orchard, sytematically arranged, while clothed with nature's foliage, and decorated with variegated blossoms perfuming the air, or when bending under a load of ripe fruit of many varieties. It is among the ex- cellences of a fruit orchard, that it affords a salu- brious beverage, an adequate supply of which would have a happy tendency to diminish, if not supersede, the consumption of ardent spirits, so destructive to the health and moral character of our citizens. " The palate," says Mr. Knight, an English hdrti- culturalist, " which relishes fruit, is seldom pleased with strong fermented liquors; and, as feeble causes, continually acting, ultimately produce extensive ef- fects, the supplying the publick with fruit, at a cheap rate, would have a tendency to operate favourably* both on the physical and moral health of the peo-

Ele." It is presumable, that the period is not ir distant, when the subject of horticulture will receive its merited attention, and the value and utility of fruit orchards be duly appreciated by all ranks of our citizens ; and it will be to me a source of pride and satisfaction, should these pages con- tribute, in any degree, to the promotion of the de- sirable object. The most eligible and approved method of propagating fruit trees, some account of the numerous insects which infest and prey upon their vitals, with the various diseases to which they are liable, and which prove fatal to their existence,

1£ CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

and the best adapted remedies, will constitute the principal topicks of this undertaking. While phi* losophers pride themselves upon vain speculation, the practical farmer will be contented with plain facts, from whatever source derived. Leaving to others, therefore, the task of wandering in the per- plexing mazes of theory, suffice it here to excite, in the orchardist and farmer, the spirit of practical activity, and to stimulate by the lessons of attentive and intelligent men ; for " nature, in her teaching, speaks in very intelligible language, and that lan- guage is conveyed by experience and observation." No apology will be urged for any inelegance of style, as perspicuity and brevity are conceived to be more acceptable requisites, in the view of the respectable cultivators of our soil, for whose use this little work is intended.

« PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF APPLES.

" In diseases of the breast, says Dr. Willich (Dom. Ency.) such as catarrhs, coughs, consumptions, &c. they are of considerable service. For these bene- ficial purposes, however, they ought not to be eaten raw, but either roasted, stewed, or boiled* They may also be usefully employed in decoctions, which, if drank plentifully, tend to abate febrile heat, as well as to relieve painful strictures in pec- toral complaints. With regard to their sensible properties, apples have been divided into spicy, acidulated, and watery. To the first class belong the various species of rennet, which possess a most delicate flavour, contain the least proportion of water, and, on account of their vinous nature, are not apt to excite flatulency. Pippins, on the con- trary, though affording more nutriment than the former, are more fibrous, and, consequently, require a more vigorous stomach to digest them; hence they should be ranked under the second class. Lastly, those sweet and tender apples which are

OP FRUIT TREES. 13

>*&*****..*.

very juicy and palatable, are the least fit to be eaten in a raw state, unless with the addition of bread or biscuit. When baked, or dried in the open air, they make an excellent substitute for rai- sins or plums, in puddings, pies, and other dishes prepared of flour. Sour apples may be much im- proved, both in taste and quality, by either baking or digesting them in a close vessel, by steam, over a slow fire. Thus the saccharine principle is dis- engaged, and they undergo a speedy and complete change." The honourable T. Pickering, in his ad- dress to the agricultural society, Essex county, expresses himself in the following language : " After providing a due proportion of apples for the table and the ordinary purposes of cookery, I do not hesitate to express my opinion, that, for all other uses, sweet apples are entitled to the preference. The best cider I ever tasted, in this country, wag made wholly of sweet apples. They afford also a nourishing food to man and all domestick animals. What furnishes a more delicious repast than a rich sweet apple baked and eaten in milk ? I recollect the observation made to me by an observing farmer, before the American revolution, that nothing would fatten cattle faster than sweet apples. Mentioning this, a few years since, to a gentleman of my ac- quaintance in an adjoining state, he informed me, that he was once advised to give sweet apples to a sick horse. Happening then to have them in plen- ty, the horse was served with them, and he soon got well, and, continuing to be fed with them, he fattened faster than any other horse that he had ever owned that was fed with any other food. Mentioning to the same gentleman, what I had long- before heard, that a good molasses might be made of sweet apples, he confirmed the fact by an in- stance within his own knowledge, &c. &c. The pro- cess is very simple. The apples being ground, and the juice expressed at the cider mills, it is immedi-

14 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

ately boiled; and the scum being taken off, the boiling is continued, until the liquor acquires the consistence of molasses."

Mr. Knight, an English gentleman, in his treatise on the apple and pear, says that the juice of these fruits might be used with great advantage on long voyages. He has frequently reduced it by boiling to the consistence of a weak jelly, and in this state it has remained several years without the slightest apparent change, though it has been intentionally exposed to much variation of temperature. A large quantity of the inspissated juice would occupy but a very small space ; and the addition of a few pounds of it to a hogshead of water would proba- bly at any time form a good liquor similar to cider or perry. It might also, he thinks, be used to sup- ply the place of rob of lemons and oranges, and might be obtained at a much lower price.

I avail myself of the following appropriate sen- tence, in the language of one who has long been eminently distinguished for his numerous patriotick and amiable virtues.*

" When we consider the various manners in which fruits are beneficial; when we recollect the pleasure they afford to the senses, and the chaste and innocent occupation which they give in their cultivation; when we consider the reputation which they communicate to a country in the eye of strangers, especially as affording a test of its climate and industry ; when we remember the importance of improving the beverage which they are intended to supply ; when it is calculated un- der how many solid forms they may be exported (as dried, baked, and preserved, as well as in their natural state ;) and lastly, when we reflect upon

* See a letter on fruit trees, by a member of the Kennebeck agricultural society, published in papers on agriculture. Mass. society, 1804.

"t OF FRUIT TREES. 15

the utility of giving to our rural labours a thought- ful turn, which is the best substitute now left, after having quitted our primeval state; I say, when we consider these things, it will appear that the sub- ject of fruits, which were the first earthly gift of Providence to man in his more favoured state, may well continue to merit both the publick and indi- vidual attention."

ORIGINAL STOCK.

It is the opinion of botanists, " that the wilding, or crab-apple of the woods and hedges, is the origi- nal kind from the seeds of which the apple now cultivated was first obtained. The varieties of this species are multiplied to some hundreds, in different places, all having been first accidentally procured from the seed or kernels of the fruit, and then increased by grafting upon crabs or other kinds of apple stocks." (Dom. Ency.) The crab is still considered as a proper stock to receive the grafts of the more valuable varieties, and is even preferred by some cultivators as being more hardy, better able to endure cold and coarse land; and they also take firmer root, are of more rapid growth, and make larger trees.

This tree may be found in forests, and other un- cultivated places. Its stems and branches are armed with sharp thorns, and its fruit is small, and so extremely acrid and unpleasant, that it is not edible in its natural state. The following descrip- tion, by Mr. William Bartram, is copied from Mease's edition of the domestick encyclopedia. " The pyrus coronaria, or native crab apple of North Jlmerica, is not eaten, except when preserved in sugar, and in this state, they are deservedly esteem- ed as a great delicacy. The fruit is flattish, above one inch in diameter, yellow when ripe, or of the colour of polished brass, and possesses an agreea-

16 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

ble fragrancy. Perhaps no tree presents a more gay appearance in the spring, when dressed in green, and with clusters of flowers of a most pleas- ing blush. The petals may be compared to flakes of white wax, faintly tinged with the finest car- mine ; though some trees have flowers of a damask rose colour." The honourable Timothy Pickering, from long experience, observes, " to bring an orchard as early as possible into profit, plant common wild trees, or what are commonly called crab apples, four or five years old. They should be cut down as soon as planted, and on their young shoots graft or inoculate such fruit as is desired. From this practice, more fruit will be obtained in ten years, than in the usual way in twenty years. The wild tree, if grafted on its own stock, will come much earlier to bearing fruit, and it will be improved both in size and flavour."

CULTIVATED OR SEEDLING STOCKS.

When the crab stock cannot be procured in suf- ficient quantity for the purpose of propagation, it becomes necessary to resort to the expedient of culture from the seeds. Seedling stocks, which have a natural tendency to attain the full height of the species to be grafted on them, are generally denominatedyrce stocks. Every planter who is so- licitous to keep an orchard well stocked with fruit trees, should cultivate in a nursery his own free stocks, and graft for himself, that he may realize all the advantages to be derived from a knowledge of the soil and the peculiar properties of his trees, and thereby avoid many impositions practised by ignorant and artful nursery-men. He will more- over be enabled to select such stocks for grafting, as experience shows to be best adapted to the soil and climate of his plantation, and which meet his own particular views. Trees raised from seed

OF FRUIT TREES. 17

rarely produce the same species of fruit with that from which the kernels were taken, yet they are well adapted as stocks for grafting, and it occasion- ally happens that a new and valuable variety is thus produced, either for cider, or for the dessert. An accurate observer, Mr. Joseph Cooper, of New Jersey, asserts, (Dom. Ency. Mease's edit.) that ex-

Eerience, for more than fifty years, has convinced im, that, although seedlings from apples will scarce- ly ever produce fruit exactly similar to the origi- nal, yet many of them will produce excellent fruit : some will even be superiour to the apples from which the seeds are taken. This fact has led him to plant seeds from the largest and best kinds of fruit, and from trees of a strong and rapid growth, and let all the young trees bear fruit before graft- ing, which produce uncommon strong shoots or a large rich-looking leaf. He has seldom known them fail of bearing fruit having some good quality ; at all events they make a stock to receive the grafts of any good kind which may present itself.

BEST ADAPTED SOIL.

The apple tree will thrive and flourish in many different sorts of soil ; but a dry friable loam should probably be preferred, as too much moisture is known to be injurious to the roots. Such soil as produces good crops of corn or grass will, in general, afford the requisite and best adapted nutriment to apple or pear trees. The soil should not only be rich, but have a good depth, not less perhaps than two or three feet. It has been remarked as a fact, that, in each particular place, certain kinds of apples have been observed to succeed better than other kinds ; and, according to the observations of the ho- nourable Timothy Pickering, many different sorts will flourish on an acre of ground, when the same number of one sort would starve. When, there- 3

*

18 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

fore, the cultivator has discovered the varieties most congenial to the soil and situation he occupies, it should be his endeavour to encourage them, by mul- tiplying the grafts on his unproductive trees, or by forming new additional trees by grafting on other stocks.

PRODUCTION OF NEW VARIETIES.

The apple tree does not enjoy indefinite longevi- ty. Each species has its periods of infancy, youth, maturity, and decrepit age; and, in process of time, it is totally annihilated ; nor is it in the power of art to protract its existence beyond its limited duration. Hence we frequently hear the complaint, that many varieties of apple, formerly held in high estimation, are no longer to be obtained, having entirely run out, as it is termed. The seeds of apples, however, contain the germ of an ibfinite variety of fruit. New vari- eties, and some of excellent quality, are continually produced from seeds. The famous winter pippin was the spontaneous production from a seed at Newtown, Long Island. But there is no dependence upon obtaining a particular variety by planting the seeds. "A hundred seeds of the golden pippin will all produce fine large-leaved apple trees, bearing fruit of considerable size ; but the tastes and colours of the apple from each will be different, and none will be the same in kind with those of the pippin itself. Some will be sweet, some bitter, some sour, some mawkish, some aromatick, some yellow, some green, some red, some streaked." The seeds for planting, should always be selected from the most highly cul- tivated fruit, and the fairest and ripest specimen of such variety. In some instances, a new and valua- ble variety may thus be obtained, and the seedlings will afford some indication of their future produce, even before they attain to their bearing state. The larger and thicker the leaves of a seedling, and the

OP FRUIT TREES. \§

\

more expanded its blossoms, the more it is likely to produce a good variety of fruit. Short-leaved trees should never be selected, for these approach near- er to the original standard ; whereas the other qualities indicate the influence of cultivation. Eve- ry fruit tree must attain to a certain age before it can bear fruit. An apple tree from the seed re- quires to be twelve or fifteen years old before it will produce fruit in perfection ; but a method will be hereafter described by "which particular bran- ches may be forced to produce blossoms and fruit at an earlier period, and their quality sooner ascer- tained.

The following are the sentiments of Mr. Knight, an experienced English horticulturalist, (Edin. Ency. Amer. edit, article horticulture.) All the exten- sions, he observes, by means of grafts and buds, must naturally partake of the qualities of the origi- nal. Where the original is old, there must be in- herent in the derivatives the tendency to decay in- cident to old age. It is not to be understood, how- ever, that a graft cannot survive the trunk from which it was taken : this would be deemed absurd. It may indeed be assumed as a fact, that a variety or kind of fruit , such as the golden pippin or the ribston, is equivalent only to an individual By careful management the health and life of this in- dividual may be prolonged; and grafts placed on vigorous stocks and nursed in favourable situations, may long survive the parent plant or original un- grafted tree. Still there is a progress to extinction, and the only renewal of an individual, the only true reproduction, is by seed. As the production of new varieties of fruit from the seed, is a subject which now very much occupies the attention of horticulturalists, it may be proper here to state the precautions adopted by Mr. Knight and others in conducting their trials. It is in the first place a rule to take the seeds of the finest kinds of fruit,

20 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

and from the ripest, largest and best flavoured spe- cimens of that fruit. "When Mr. K. wished to pro- cure some of the old apples in a healthy and reno- vated state, he adopted the following method : He prepared stocks of the best kind of apple that could be propagated by cuttings, and planted them against a south wall in a very rich soil. These were next year grafted with the stire, golden pippin? or some other fine old kind. In the course of the following winter the young trees were dug up, and the roots being retrenched, they were replanted in the same place. By this mode of treatment they were thrown into bearing at two years old. One or two ap- ples were allowed to remain on each tree : these consequently attained a large size, a more perfect maturity. The seeds from these fruits, Mr. K. then sowed, in the hope of procuring seedlings possessed of good or of promising qualities ; and these hopes have not been disappointed. In order to produce a hybrid variety, possessing perhaps a union of the good properties of two kinds, Mr. K. had recourse to the nice operation of dusting the pollen of one variety upon the pistils of another. He opened the unexpanded blossom, and cut away, with a pair of fine pointed scissors, all the stamina, taking great care to leave the styles and stigmata uninjured. The fruit which resulted from this artificial impreg- nation were the most promising of any, and the seeds of these he did not fail to sow. Every seed, though taken from the same individual fruit, furnishes a distinct variety. These varieties, as might be an- ticipated, prove of very different merits ; but to form a general opinion of their value, it is not ne- cessary to wait till they produce fruit : an esti- mate may be formed, even during the first summer, by the resemblance the leaves bear to those of the highly cultivated or approved trees, or to those of the wild kinds. The more they approach to the former, the better is the prospect. The leaves of

OP FRUIT TREES. 21

good kinds improve in character, becoming thicker, rounder, and more downy every season. The plants whose buds in the annual wood are full and promi- nent, are usually more productive than those whose buds are small and shrunk into the bark. But their future character, as remarked by Mr. K. must de- pend very much on the power the blossoms possess of bearing cold ; and this power is observed to vary in the different varieties, and can only be ascertain- ed by experience. Those which produce their leaves and blossoms early are preferable, because, although more exposed to injury by frosts, they are less liable to the attacks of caterpillars. It is also to be observed, that even after a seedling tree has be- gun to produce fruit, the quality of this has a ten- dency to improve as the tree itself becomes strong- er and approaches maturity ; so that if a fruit pos- sess any promising qualities at first, great improve- ment may be expected in succeeding years.

A precaution is suggested, by the honourable T. Pickering, that apple trees, bearing bad or ordinary fruit, should not be suffered to grow with those which bear fruit of a superiour quality. It is a fact, with which gardeners are familiar, that the blossoms of cucumbers will greatly injure the flavour of me- lons that grow near them ; and it is reasonable to suppose that fruits, while forming on the trees, are liable in like manner to suffer deterioration. The result of the following experiment would seem to strengthen the above conjecture. The experiment, it is said, has in numerous instances succeeded, with- out a single failure. In an orchard, containing a great variety of apple trees, bearing sweet, and some very acrid fruit, and others partaking of both these properties, in the vernal season, when the trees are in full blossom, the pollen (or impregnating dust) was taken from one tree, (for example, where the fruit is very sweet,) and deposited on the flow- ers of a particular branch of another tree, whose

22 CULTURE' AND MANAGEMENT

fruit is extremely acrid. The apples of that par- ticular branch were found to combine these two properties for that season ; and by this simple pro- cess, the experimenter asserts, he can easily provide himself with apples, for that season, perfectly to his taste, which he considers a much more expedi- tious and equally as certain a process as that of grafting.

An account of a singular apple tree, producing fruit of opposite qualities ; a part of the same apple being frequently sour, and the other sweet : in a letter from the reverend Peter Whitney, published in the memoirs of the American academy of arts and sciences, vol. i.

" THERE is now growing, in an orchard lately belonging to my honoured father, the reverend Aaron Whitney, of Petersham, deceased, an apple free very singular with respect to its fruit. The apples are fair, and when fully ripe, of a yellow colour, but evidently of different tastes — sour and sweet. The part which is sour is not very tart, nor the other very sweet. Two apples, growing side by side on the same limb, will be often of these different tastes; the one all sour, and the other all sweet. And, which is more remarkable, the same apple will frequently be sour one side, end, or part, and the other sweet, and that not in any order or uniformity ; nor is there any difference in the appearance of one part from the other. And as to the quantity, some have more of the acid and less of the sweet, and so vice versa. Neither are the apples, so different in their tastes, peculiar to any particular branches, but are found promis- cuously, on every branch of the tree. The tree stands almost in the midst of a large orchard, in a rich and strong soil, and was transplanted there forty years ago. There is no appearance of the trunk, or any of the branches, having been engraft- ed or inoculated. It was a number of years, after it had borne fruit, before these different tastes

OP FRUIT TREES. 23

were noticed ; but, since they were first discover- ed, which is about twenty years, there has been, constantly, the same variety in the apples. For the truth oi'what I have asserted, I can appeal to many persons of distinction, and of nice tastes, who have travelled a great distance to view the tree, and taste the fruit ; but to investigate the cause of an effect, so much out of the common course of na- ture, must, I think, be attended with difficulty. The only solution that I can conceive is, that the corcula, or hearts of two seeds, the one from a sour, the other from a sweet apple, might so in- corporate in the ground as to produce but one plant ; or that farina from blossoms of those oppo- site qualities, might pass into and impregnate the same seed. If you should think the account I have given you of this singular apple tree will be ac- ceptable to the American academy, please to com- municate it.

" I am, &c. PETER WHITNEY."

The above singular phenomenon may now be solved, since it is ascertained that the flowers may be impregnated by the pollen from other trees, and fruit of various qualities is thus obtained. The tree, described by the reverend gentleman, stood " almost in the middle of a large orchard." Will it be deemed an extravagant conjecture, that this tree had acquired a peculiar attachment, or attrac- tive power, by which this curious kind of fecundity was effected ?

ENGRAFTED 'FRUITS NOT PERMANENT.

Mr. Bucknal, an ingenious English writer, has favoured the publick with some highly valuable and interesting observations on the subject of en- grafted fruit trees, of which the following is an ab- itract, from Dom. Ency. Mease's edit. vol. v. p. 192.

.24 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

Engrafted fruits, Mr. Bucknal asserts, are not permanent. Every one, of the least reflection, must see that there is an essential difference be- tween the power and energy of a seedling plant and the tree which is to be raised from cuttings or elongations. The seedling, is endued with the ener- gies of nature, while the graft, or scion, is nothing more than a regular elongation, carried, perhaps, through the several repeatings of the same varie- ty; whereas the seed, from having been placed in the earth, germinates, and becomes a new plant, whenever nature permits like to produce like in vegetation. Engrafted fruits are doomed by na- ture to continue for a time, and then gradually de- cline, till at last the variety is totally lost, and soon forgotten, unless recorded by tradition, or in old publications. From the attention lately paid to the culture of engrafted fruits, we are now enabled to continue a supposed happily acquired tree, for a much longer duration, than if such variety had been left in the state of unassisted nature ; per- haps a duration as long again, or something more. But there is no direct permanency, because the kernels, within the fruit, which are the seed of the plants for forming the next generation of trees, will not produce their like. They may do so, acciden- tally ; but nothing more can be depended on. For example, suppose we take ten kernels, or pips, of any apple raised on an engrafted stock : sow them, and tney will produce ten different varieties, no two of which will be alike, nor will either of them closely resemble the fruit from which the seeds were collected. The leaves also, of those trees raised from the same primogeneous or parent stock, will not actually be a copy of the leaves of any one of the varieties or family, to which each is connected by a vegetable consanguinity. In choos- ing the seed, that apple is likely to produce the

OF FRUIT TREES. 25

clearest and finest plants, whose kernels are firm, large, and well ripened. The size of the fruit is not to be regarded; for large apples do not al- ways ripen well, or rather, for cider, the small fruits are generally preferred, for making the strongest and highest-flavoured liquor. Should no valuable apples be raised from this process, the seedlings will make excellent stocks to engraft upon. In attempting to acquire new varieties, all the young plants, from the bed of apple quick, whose appearance is in the least degree promising, should be selected and planted together, at such a distance, as to allow each to produce its fruit, which will happen in about from twelve to fifteen or eighteen years, though Mr. Knight had two plants bearing fruit at six, and one at five years. Mr. Bucknal mentions one variety of apple, within his knowledge, which he supposes to be one hun- dred and forty years old ; and a pear tree, supposed to be two hundred years old. It is an undoubted fact, and worthy of observation, that all the dif- ferent trees, of the same variety, have a wonderful tendency to similarity of appearance among them- selves ; and that the parent stock, and all engrafted from it, have a greater resemblance to each other, than can be found in any part of the animal crea- tion ; and this habit does not vary to any extent of age. Whatever is said here respecting the apple, is equally applicable to the pear tree. Some years ago, from due investigation and thorough conviction, Mr. B. propagated the principle, that all the grafts, taken from" the first tree or parent stock, or any of the descendants, will for some gene- rations thrive ; but when this first stock shall, by mere diwt of old age, fall into actual decay, a nihility of vegetation, the descendants, however young, or in whatever situation they may be, will gradually decline ; and, from that time, it would be imprudent, in point of profit, to attempt propagat- 4

26 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

ing that variety from any of them. This is the dog- ma which must be received as undoubtedly true. From the time the kernel germinates for apple quick, should the plant be disposed to form a valua- ble variety, there will appear a regular progres- sive change or improvement in the organization of the leaves, until that variety has stood and grown sufficient to blossom and come to full bear- ing; that is, from the state of infancy to maturity ; and it is this and other circumstances, by which the inquisitive eye is enabled to form the selection, among those appearing likely to become valuable fruits. But from that time, the new variety, or se- lect plant, being compared with all the engraftments •which may be taken from it, or any of them, these shall show a most undeviating sameness among them- selves. The different varieties of fruit are easily distinguished from each other by many particulars ; not only their general fertility, and the form, size, shape, and flavour of the fruit, but also the manner of the growth of the tree, the thickness and pro- portion of the twigs, their shooting from the parent stem, the form, colour, and consistence of the leaf, and many other circumstances by which the varie- ty can be identified; and were it possible to engraft each variety upon the same stock, they would still retain their discriminating qualities with the most undeviating certainty. Further, if twenty different varieties were placed together, so that each could receive its nurture from the same stem, they would gradually die off in actual succession, according to the age or state of health of the respective variety at the time the scions were placed in the stock; and a discriminating eye, used to the business, would nearly be able to foretell the order in which each scion would actually decline. Should it also hap- pen that two or three suckers, from the wilding stock, had been permitted to grow among the twen- ty grafts, such suckers, or wilding shoots, would

OF FRUIT TREES. 27

continue, and make a tree after all the rest are gone. A further consequence would result from the ex- periment. Among such a number of varieties, each of the free growers would starve the delicate, and drive them out of existence only so much the soon- er. It must be observed, that this supposed stem is the foster parent to the twenty scions, and real parent to the suckers ; and those least conversant with engrafted fruits know the advantage acquired by this circumstance. By an experiment, says Mr B., we have had in hand for five years, it will ap- pear, that the roots and stem of a large tree, after the first set of scions are exhausted or worn out, may carry another set for many years ; and we sus- pect a third set, provided engrafting is properly done, and the engrafter chooses a new variety. To express the concluding sentiments of Mr. B. in a few words, he maintains, that the different varieties of the apple will, after a certain time, decline and ac- tually die away, and each variety, or all of the same stem* or family, will lose their existence in vegeta- tion ; yet, after the debility of age has actually taken possession of any variety, and the vital principle is nearly exhausted, a superiourcare and warmth will still keep the variety in existence some time longer. This, he observes, is an abstruse subject, very little understood, and requiring at first some degree of faith, observation, and perseverance. Mr. B. is fully convinced that we have the power of multi- plying a single variety, to whatever number we please ; and although these trees may amount to millions, yet, on the death of the primogeneous or parent stock, merely from old agje or nihility of growth, each individual shall decline, in whatever country they may be, or however endued with youth and health. Nothing sublunary, which possesses either animal or vegetable life, is exempt from age and death. To exemplify this point more intelligi- bly, let it be supposed that the Baldwin apple is a

CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

new variety produced from the seed. This, ac the original stock, may continue to live one hundred years. A scion, taken from it when ten years old, may live ninety years ; another, taken ten years af- ter, may enjoy a duration of "eighty years ; and so progressively. At the expiration of one hundred years, the original stock, and all derivatives from it, will become extinct.

METHOD OF FORCING FRUIT TREES TO BLOSSOM AND BEAR FRUIT.

With a sharp knife, cut a ring round the limb or small branch which you wish should bear, near the stem or large bough where it is joined ; let this ring or cut penetrate to the wood. A quarter of an inch from this cut, make a second like the first, en- circling the branch like a ring a quarter of an inch broad between the two cuts. The bark, between these two cuts, must be removed, clean down to the wood ; even the fine inner bark, which lies immedi- ately upon the wood, must be scraped away, until the bare naked wood appears, white and smooth, so that no connexion whatever remains between the two parts of the bark. This barking, or gird- ling, must be made at the precise time when, in all nature, the buds are strongly swelling, or about breaking out into blossoms. In the same year a callus is formed at the edges of the ring, on both sides, and the connexion of the bark is again restor- ed, without any detriment to the tree or the branch operated upon. By this simple operation, the fol- lowing advantages will be obtained : 1. Every young tree, of which you do not know the sort, is compelled to show its fruit, and decide sooner whe- ther it may remain in its present state, or requires to be grafted. 2. You may thereby, with certain- ty, get fruit of a good sort, and reject the more or- dinary. The branches so operated upon, are hung

OF FRUIT TREES. 29

full of fruit, while others, that are not ringed, often have none or very little on them. This effect is explained from the theory of the motion of the sap. As this ascends in the wood and descends in the bark, the above operation will not prevent the sap rising into the upper part of the branch, but it will pre- vent its descending below this cut, by which means it will be retained in and distributed through the upper part of the branch in a greater portion than it could otherwise be, and the branch and fruit will both increase in size much more than those that are not thus treated. The twisting of a wire or tying a strong thread round a branch has been often recommended as a means of making it bear fruit. In this case, as in ringing the bark, the descent of the sap in the bark must be impeded above the ligature, and more nutritive matter is consequently retained, and applied to the expanding parts. The wire or ligature may remain in the bark. Mr. Knight's theory, on the motion of sap in trees, is "that the sap is absorbed from the soil by the bark of the roots, and carried upward by the alburnum of the root, trunk and branches; that it passes through the central vessels into the succulent mat- ter of the annual shoots, the leaf-stalk and leaf; and that it is returned to the bark through certain vessels of the leaf-stalk, and descending through the bark, contributes to the process of forming the wood. A writer in the American Farmer says, he tried the experiment of ringing some apple, peach, pear, and quince trees on small limbs, say from an inch to an inch and a quarter in diameter. The result was, the apples, peaches, and pears were dou- ble the size on those branches, than on any other part of the trees : in the quinces there was no dif- ference. One peach, the heath, measured, on a ringed limb, in circumference 111 inches round, and 1H inches round the ends, and weighed 15 ounces.

30 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

The limbs above the ring have grown much larger than below it.

NURSERY.

It has been a received opinion, that the soil for a nursery should not be made rich, as the plants, when removed to a more fertile soil, will flourish more luxuriantly ; but later observation has decided that the reverse of this will be found correct. There is a close analogy between vegetable and animal life; and it is a dictate of nature that both require a full supply of nutriment from their earliest existence. It would be absurd to suppose that the tender roots of young seedlings are capable of drawing sufficient nutriment from a rank, barren, and uncultivated soil, and those that are barely supported, or nearly starv- ed at first, will never afterwards become vigorous, stately and handsome, though surrounded by the richest mould. Repeated experiments have prov- ed that a strong and vigorous plant, that has grown up quickly, and arrived at a considerable magnitude in a short time, never fails to grow better after transplanting, than another of the same size that is older and stinted in its growth. Where the soil is poor and lean, trees, in every stage of growth, are observed to be languid, weak, and stinted; while those reared in a good mellow soil always assume a free growth, and advance with strength and vigour. It is evident, therefore, that the ground to be occu- pied for a fruit nursery, requires to be made rich and fertile. The soil should also be deep, well pulverized, and cleared of all roots and weeds. The seeds may be sown either in autumn or in April, and in one year after, the young plants may be taken up and replanted in the nursury. It is important that the situation be such as to admit of a free cir- culation of air, and open to the sun, that the plants may be preserved in a healthy condition. Plants

OP FRUIT TREES. 31

reared in a confined and shaded situation in a large town, and removed to an open exposure in the country, will long continue in a debilitated condition ; like a puny city invalid, their growth will be great- ly impeded, and many years will elapse before they attain to a state of vigour, health, and hardihood.

From the observations in the preceding pages, it is obviously important, that the seed, to be planted in nurseries, should be selected from fruit of a su- periour quality. John Kenrick, esquire, of New- ton, Massachusetts, has, however, adopted the following method. Take the pumice from late- made cider, separate the seeds by means of a rid- dle sieve, mix them with a quantity of rich loam sifted fine ; put this into al)ox and expose it to the weather during winter. In April, the earth and seeds are put into a basket, and washed until the seeds are separated, when they are planted in a naturally rich soil, thoroughly pulverized, and well prepared with rotten manure and leached lashes. The seeds are planted in straight, parallel rows, three feet apart, and about two inches deep; the plants, if too thick, may be thinned to about six inches apart, by pulling up the feeblest. The plants should be kept clear of weeds, annually manured, and properly pruned. Young trees should be ef- fectually secured from sheep and horned cattle, in every stage of their growth.

In Marshall's Rural Economy it is directed, that the seedling plants, when taken from the seed bed, be sorted agreeably to the strength of their roots, that they may rise evenly together. The tap, or large bottom root, should be taken off, and the longer side rootlets should be shortened. The young plants should then be set in rows, three feet apart, and from fifteen to eighteen inches asun- der, in the rows ; care being taken not to cramp the roots, but to bed them evenly and horizontally among; the mould. In strictness of management,

32 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

they ought, two years previous to their being trans- ferred to the orchard, to be retransplanted into unmanured double dug ground, four feet every way apart, in order that the feeding fibres may be brought so near the stem, that they may be re- moved with it into the orchard, instead of being, as they generally are, left behind in the nursery, Hence, in this second transplanting, as in the first, the branches of the root should not be left too long, but ought to be shortened in such a manner as to induce them to form a regular globular root, suffi- ciently small to be removed with their plants, yet sufficiently large to give it firmness and vigour in the plantation. It is reported, that the agricultural society of Nova Scotia has found, by experience, that apple trees, raised from seeds, if transplanted from the seed bed, in time, (having the tap root cut off,) may be rendered fit for grafting one or two seasons earlier than if left in the place where the seeds were sown. While in the nursery bed, the young plants require to be frequently hoed; the earth should be kept loose, and entirely free from weeds ; and, in a very dry season, they should be occasionally watered. When two years old, they will be in a proper condition to receive the scions, or buds, which are intended for them, as the ope- ration is then more easy and certain than when the stocks are older.

ENGRAFTING.

The art of engrafting has not, it is believed, been traced to its origin. In a treatise, published by Parkinson, in 1629, both grafting and inoculating are mentioned, but the period when the practice commenced has not been ascertained. The great utility and advantage of the art is, however, uni- versally understood. According to Mr. Yates, (letter published in Forsyth's treatise,) the art was

OF FRUIT TREES. 33

introduced 'into America by Mr. Prince, a native of New- York, who established a nursery in its neigh- bourhood about sixty years ago. Fruit trees, which are grafted or inoculated, come into a bearing state several years sooner than those produced from seed ; besides, grafted or inoculated trees invaria- bly produce the same kind of fruit as the parent tree from which the scion or bud is taken, while that from seedling trees is liable to sport in endless varieties. In the choice of scions for grafting, the first essential requisite is, that they are of the same genus and natural family with the stock which is to become their foster parent, and which is to afford them future nourishment and support. The apple cannot be advantageously engrafted on a pear stock, nor will a pear succeed well on an apple stock: for, although it may flourish and bear fruit for a few years, it will never prove a profitable tree, and will decline and decay sooner than others. Scions from a winter apple tree should not be grafted on a sum- mer apple stock, because the sap in the summer stock is liable to decline and diminish before the winter fruit has become fully ripe. In the memoirs of the American academy of arts and sciences, volume i, page 388, is a communication from the late honourable B. Lincoln, relative to the engraft- ing of fruit trees, &c. in which he says, "I had observed, for a number of years, an apple tree in my orchard, the natural fruit of which was early, having been grafted with a winter scion, producing fruit very like in appearance to the fruit produced by the tree whence the scion was taken, but desti- tute of those qualities inherent in that fruit, and necessary to its keeping through the winter. This led me to call in question the propriety of grafting winter fruit on a summer stock," &c. A pear is occasionally engrafted on a quince, for the purpose of dwarf trees, but it is of smaller growth, and less vigorous and durable than if nourished by its more

i

34 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

natural parent. It is next important, that scions be taken from trees that have attained to the ma- turity of full bearing. Perhaps cultivators, in gene- ral, are not apprized of the fact, that, if a scion be taken from a seedling tree of one or two years old, it will retain the character and undergo the same annual change as the seedling tree itself, whatever be the age of the stock into which it is inserted ; and that it will remain unproductive of fruit, until the seedling tree has acquired its proper age and maturity. It is strongly to be suspected, that nur- sery men, either from ignorance or indifference, have disregarded this circumstance, and imposed upon purchasers trees of this description, by which their just expectations have been disappointed. Scions are directed to be cut in March, before the buds begin to swell ; and in order to preserve them in good condition for grafting, they must be placed, with their lower ends in the ground, in some dry part of the cellar, till wanted. But some expe- rienced operators prefer cutting their scions as near the time they are to be employed as may be con- venient. Scions should always be taken from the extremities of the most thrifty and best bearing trees, and of the last year's growth, except only just enough of the growth of the year before to fix in the earth, to preserve them moist until they are to be used. In the Edinburgh encyclopedia it is advised to cut the scions several weeks before the season for grafting arrives ; the reason is, that experience has shown, that grafting may most suc- cessfully be performed, by allowing the stock to have some advantage over the graft in forwardness of vegetation. It is desirable, that the sap of the stock should be in brisk motion at the time of grafting ; but by this time, the buds of the scion, if left on the tree, would be equally advanced ; whereas the scions, being gathered early, the buds are kept back, and ready only to swell out, when the

OF FRUIT TREES. 35

graft is placed on the stock. The selecting proper scions, the writer observes, is a matter of the great- est importance, if we wish to enjoy the full advan- tage which may be derived from grafting. They should be taken from a healthy tree in full bearing, and from the outer side of the horizontal branches of such a tree, where the wood has freely enjoyed the benefit of sun and air. If the tree be in a lux- uriant state, the grafts are very properly taken from the extremities of bearing branches ; but if it be in a debilitated condition, the most healthy shoots in the centre of the tree should be employed. The extremity of the scion should be cut off, leaving four or five eyes or buds, as the middle part affords the best graft. The most proper season for grafting, in our climate, is from about the twentieth of March, to the twentieth of May, though the operation has succeeded well, as late as the tenth of June, provid- ed the scions have been properly preserved. Prac- tical gardeners, it is said, concur in stating, that the nature of fruit is, to a certain extent, affected by the nature of the stock. Crab stocks, for example, cause apples to be firmer, to keep longer, and to have a sharper flavour. Mr. S. Cooper, of New- Jersey, expresses himself as follows, on this subject : (Dorn. Ency. Mease's edit.) " I have, in numerous instances, seen the stock have great influence on the fruit grafted thereon, in respect to bearing, size, and flavour, and also on the durability of the tree, particularly in the instance of a number of Vande- vere apple trees ; the fruit of which was so subject to the bitter rot as to be of little use. They were engrafted fifty years ago, and ever since those of them having tops cornposedof several different kinds, though they continue to be more productive of fruit than any others in my orchard, yet are subject to the bitter rot, the original and well known affection of the fruit of the primitive stock. I have had frequent opportunities of observing the same circumstance, in

36 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

consequence of receiving many scions from my friends, which, after bearing, I engrafted, and the succeeding fruit uniformly partook, in some degree, of the quali- ties of the former, even in their disposition to bear annually or biennally." Mr. C. has ascertained the fact that early and late apples, by being grafted on the same tree, improved in size and flavour more than if but one kind grew on a tree. It should be observed, as a rule, never to employ suckers from old trees as stocks for grafts, or buds, as they have a constant tendency to generate suckers, and there- by injure the growth of the trees.

MODES OF GRAFTING.

The mode of performing this operation is varied, according to the size and situation of the stock to be employed. The small stocks in the nursery, if of such kind as produce an erect strong stem, are usual- ly grafted within or near the surface of the earth, in which case, the mould is brought round them in the form of a little hillock, and nothing more is re- quired. When the stock is naturally inclined to branch out horizontally, the preferable mode is to insert the bud or graft high enough to form a hand- some head or top. In this mode of operating, it is necessary to employ some kind of composition or covering in order to secure from injury by the weather, or influence of the sun. The following is commonly used : A quantity of clay or stiff loam is to be worked fine and mixed with some chopped hay or coarse horse-dung. It should be prepared a day or two before hand, and be beat up with a little water as needed. This should be applied closely round the parts in the form of a collar, or ball, ta- pering at both ends, the upper end being applied closely to the graft, and the under to the stock. A good substitute for the above is a composition of turpentine, bees-wax and rosin melted together; if

OF FRUIT TREES:

37

it prove too hard, it may be softened with a little hog's lard or tallow. This may be applied with a brush while warm, but not too hot. A common sod, applied with the grass side out, is often em- ployed, and is found to answer every purpose. There are several different methods of performing the operation of grafting, in all which, it should be a general rule to adjust the inner bark of the stock and of the scion in close contact, and to confine them precisely in that situation. If this be accurately effected, all species of grafting will prove successful. In that method which is usually called whip-graft- ing,or tongue-grafting, the top of the stock and the extremity of the graft should be nearly of equal di- ameter. They are both to be sloped of a full inch or more, and then tied closely together. This me- thod may be much improved, by performing what gardeners call tongueing or lipping; that is, by mak- ing an incision in the bare part of the stock, down- wards, and a corresponding slit in the scion, upwards; after which they are to be carefully joined together, so that the barks of both may meet in every part, when a bandage of bass wood is to be tied round the scion, to prevent it from being displaced; and the whole is to be covered over with the composi- tion. When the stocks to be grafted upon are from one to two or more inches in diameter, as branches of trees, cleft-grafting is generally employed. The head of the stock or branch being carefully cut off in a sloping direction, a perpendicular cleft or slit is to be made, about two inches deep, with a knife or chisel, towards the back of the slope, into which a wedge is to be driven, in order to keep it open for the admission of the scion. The latter must now be cut in a perpendicular direction, and in the form of a wedge, so as to fit the incision in the stock. As soon as it is prepared, it should be placed in the cleft in such manner that the inner bark of both the stock and scion mar meet exactly together. It ii

38

CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

then to be tied with a ligature of bass, and clayed over, as is practised in whip-grafting, three or four eyes being left in the scion uncovered. It should be observed, that in making the cleft in the stock, care should be taken not to injure the pith, the sci- ons being inserted in the sap wood of the stock or branch. Old stocks may be grafted in the bark, called crown-grafting, but this cannot be practised successfully till the sap be in full motion, that the bark may be easily raised from the wood. The head of the stock or thick branch is cut off hori- zontally ; a perpendicular slit is made in the bark, as in budding ; a narrow ivory folder is thrust down between the wood and the bark, in the places where the grafts are to be inserted. The graft is cut, at the distance of an inch and a half from its extremi- ty, circularly through the bark, not deeper than the bark on one side, but fully half way through or beyond the pith on the other. The grafts being pointed, and a shoulder left to rest on the bark of the stock, they are inserted into the openings, and either three or four grafts are employed, according to the size of the crown. Side-grafting is some- times employed for supplying vacancies on the lower parts of full-grown fruit trees. The bark arid a little of the wood are sloped off for the space of an inch and a half, or two inches ; a slit is then made downwards, and a graft is cut to fit the part, with a tongue for the slit ; the parts, being properly joined, are tied close and clayed over. When stocks cannot readily be procured, root-grafting may be successfully employed. A piece of the root of a tree of the same genus, well furnished with fibres, is selected, and a graft placed on it, tied and clayed in the ordinary way. Thus united, they are set with care in a trench in the ground, the joining be- ing covered, but the top of the graft being left two inches above ground.

OP FRUIT TREES. 39

" The following new mode of grafting," says Dr. Mease, (Dom. Ency.) " the late Mr. A. C. Du Plaine informed the editor, was long kept a secret in France. A limb of willow, three or four inches thick, was buried in a trench deep enough to re- ceive it, and at the distance of every four or five inches, holes were bored, into which grafts were inserted, care being taken to make the bark of the graft, and the limb into which it was inserted touch ; the lower part of the graft was pointed and the bark shaved off. The limb and the grafts were then covered with earth and kept moist, and about two inches of the latter left above the surface. In process of time the limb rotted, and the grafts took root. The different grafts were then dug up and transplanted." In the same valuable publication, Dr. Mease has communicated an account of the mode of Mr. William Fairman, of " extreme-branch grafting" upon old decayed trees, " which promises to be of a very great acquisition to those who take pleasure in cultivating fruit." The process is as follows: "Cut away all spray wood, and make the tree a perfect skeleton, leaving all the healthy limbs ; then clean the branches, and cut the top of each off, where it would measure in circumference from the size of a shilling to about that of a crown piece. Some of the branches must of course be taken off where they are a little larger, and some smaller, to preserve the canopy or head of the tree ; and it will be necessary to take out the branches which cross others, and observe the arms are left to fork off, so that no considerable opening is to be perceived when you stand under the tree, but that they may represent a uniform head. When pre- paring the tree, leave the branches sufficiently long to allow of two or three inches to be taken off by the saw, that all the splintered parts may be re- moved. The tree being thus prepared, put in one or two grafts at the extremity of each branch, and

*

40 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

put on the cement or composition, and tie with bass? or soft strings. Sever the shoots or suckers from the tree until the succeeding spring. To make good the deficiency in case some grafts do not succeed, additional grafts may be inserted in the sides of the branches, or where they are wanted to form the tree into a handsome shape." !

BUDDING, OR INOCULATING.

By the process of budding, we obtain the same result as in grafting; with this difference, however, the bud being a shoot in embryo, grafted trees usually produce fruit two seasons earlier than bud- ded trees. Each bud may be considered a distinct being, which will form a plant retaining precisely the peculiarities of the parent stock; and five or six species of fruit may be budded on one tree, which, when attained to the maturity of bearing- fruit, exhibit a singular and beautiful spectacle. Buds are formed at the bases of the foot stalks of the leaves, and are of two kinds, those which bear leaves, and those which bear flowers. The leaf buds are small, long, and pointed ; the flower buds are thick, short, and round. Both- leaves and flow- ers are sometimes produced by the same bud, and they are generally employed, in budding, without distinction ; but the bud should always be of the same genus with the tree or branch, which is to receive it. The blossom buds are formed by the first sap between April and June, and are filled by the second sap between July and October. The proper season for budding, is from the begin- ning of July to the end of August, at which period the buds for next year are completely formed in the axilla of the leaf of the* present year, and they are known to be ready, from their easily parting from the wood. The buds preferred, are the shortest observed on the middle of a young shoot,

OF FRUIT TREES. 41

on the outside of a healthy arid fruitful tree ; on no account should an immature tree, or a bad bearer, be resorted to for buds. For gathering the shoots containing the buds, a cloudy day, or an early or late hour, is chosen, it being thought that shoots, gathered in full sunshine, perspire so much as to drain the moisture from the buds. The buds should be used as soon after being gathered as pos- sible, and the whole operation should be quickly performed. In taking off the bud from the twig, the knife is inserted about half an inch above it, and a thin slice of the bark, and wood along with it, taken off, bringing out the knife about an inch and a half below the bud. This lower part is af- terwards shortened and dressed, and the leaf is cut off, the stalk being left about half an inch long. Perhaps it is better to insert the knife three quar- ters of an inch below the bud, and to cut upwards ; at least, this mode is practised in the Scottish nur- series. The portion of wood is then taken out by raising it from the bark, and pulling it downwards or upwards, according as the cut has been made from above or below. If the extraction of the wood occasion a hole at the bud, that bud is spoilt, and another must be prepared in its stead; as gar- deners speak, the root of the bud has gone with the wood, instead of remaining with the bark. For the performance of the operation, provide a sharp budding-knife, with a flat thin haft, of ivory, suitable to open the bark of the stock for the ad- mission of the bud, and also with a quantity of bass strings, or shreds of Russian mats, or woollen yarn, to bind round it when inserted. On a smooth part of the bark of the stock a transverse section is now made through the bark down to the wood ; from this is made a longitudinal cut downward, about an inch and a half long, so that the incision may some- what resemble a Roman T: by means of the flat ivory haft of the budding-knife the bark is raised 6

42 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

a little on each side of the longitudinal incision, so as to receive the bud. The prepared bud is placed in the upper part of the incision so made, and drawn downwards ; the upper part is then cut off transversely, and the bud pushed upwards till the bark of the bud and of the stock join together. It is retained in this situation by means of tying with strands of bass, matting, or woollen yarn, ap- plied in such manner as to defend the whole from the air and sun, but leaving the leaf stalk, and the projecting part of the bark, uncovered. In about a month after the operation, the tying is slacken- ed ; buds, that have taken, appear s\velled, and the foot stalk of the old leaf falls off on being slightly touched. All shoots that spring below the budded part are carefully cut off. The head of the stock is not removed till the following March ; after this, the bud grows vigorously, and, in the course of the summer, makes a considerable shoot. Against the next spring, the shoot is headed down in the man- ner of young grafted trees.

According to the improved mode of Mr. Knight, the operation of budding is thus performed. In the month of June, when the buds are in a proper state, the operation is performed by employing two distinct ligatures to hold the buds in their places ; one ligature is first placed above the bud inserted, and upon the transverse section through the bark ; the other, the only office of which is to secure the bud, is applied in the usual way; as soon as the buds have attached themselves, the lower ligatures are taken off, but the others are suffered to remain. The passage of the sap up- wards, is, in consequence, much obstructed, and the inserted buds begin to vegetate strongly, in July; when these afford shoots about four inches long, the upper ligatures are taken off to permit the ex- cess of sap to pass on ; the wood ripens well, and affords blossoms, sometimes, for the succeeding

OF FRUIT TREES. 43

spring. It will be perceived, that instead of the usual mode of budding, after the commencement of the autumnal flow of sap, and keeping the bud without shooting until the following spring, when the top of the stock is cut off, this improved mode gains a season in point of maturity, if not of growth, and has the effect of grafting the preceding spring, in all cases where the bud sprouts in proper time to form a strong shoot, capable of sustaining, with- out injury, the frost of the ensuing winter.

ANOTHER METHOD OF BUDDING.

The common method of budding fruit trees, is, by cutting crosswise into the bark of the stem, and making a perpendicular cut from thence down" wards : the bud is then made to descend to the po- sition intended for it. The reverse of this ought to happen ; the perpendicular cut should rise up- wards. This last method rarely fails of success. The reason is derived from the fact, that the sap descends by the bark, instead of rising ; whence the bud, if placed above the transverse cut, receives abundance of sap, which it loses, if placed below it. The incision, which is to receive the bud, should resemble the capital, inverted, thus, j,, and the barks should be adjusted accordingly. It is assert- ed by Mr. Forsyth, that whenever an incision is made for budding, or grafting, the parts about the incision are very liable to be affected with the canker. As a preventive and curative remedy, he strongly recommends, as soon as the incision is made, and the bud or graft inserted, to rub in with the finger or brush, some of his composition, before the bass strings are tied on ; then cover the bass strings all over with the composition, as thick as it can be laid on with a brush ; and this, he thinks, is preferable to clay. It should be ob- served as a rule, not to slacken, too soon, the bass

44 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

strings, which are wrapped round the bud ; and if the bark of the stock is found spreading open, the ligature must be carefully tightened, and suffered to remain some time longer. Mr. Yates, of Alba- ny, says, that to satisfy his curiosity, he made the experiment of budding in the spring, when the sap juice is in full motion, and found it to succeed ; but the insertion of the bud is more difficult than to do it in the summer season. A tree thus inoculated, will bear fruit one year sooner than one budded in the next summer season, and as soon as one budded the summer preceding.

NURSERY PRUNING.

Young trees properly pruned in the nursery, will, it is said, come to bearing sooner, and continue in vigour for nearly double the common time. All superfluous or rambling branches should be taken off annually, and only three or four leading shoots be left to every head. Thus managed, the trees will not require to be lopped for a considerable time ; and as they will have no wounds open in the year when transplanted, their growth will be great- ly promoted. The more the range of branches shoots circularly, inclining upwards, the more equal- ly will the sap be distributed, and th£ better the tree bear. Mr. Cooper, a very intelligent cultivator, re- marks, that the side shoots should not be cut close to the stem, as the whole growth is thereby forced to the top, which becomes so weighty as to bend and spoil the tree. A better method is, to cut the ends of the side shoots so as to keep the tree in a spiral form, which will encourage the growth of the trunk, until it acquires strength to support a good top. The side shoots may then be cut close. In forming the top, Mr. C. has found it necessary to lighten the east and northeast sides, as fruit trees generally incline that way; and to encourage the

OF FRUIT TREES. 45

branches on the opposite quarters, to keep the sun from the trunk ; otherwise, the rays of that lumina- ry, when striking at nearly right angles, will kill the bark, bring on canker, and ruin the tree. In Mar- shal's Rural Economy, we have the following di- rections. In pruning the plants, the leading shoot should be particularly attended to. If it shoot double, the weaker of the contending branches should be taken off. If the leader be lost and not easily recoverable, the plant should be cut down to within a hand's breadth of the soil, and a fresh stem trained. Next to the leader, the stem boughs re- quire attention. The undermost boughs should be taken off by degrees ; going over the plants every winter; always cautiously preserving sufficient heads to draw up the sap, thereby giving strength to the stems, and vigour to the roots and branches ; not trimming them up to naked stems, as is the common practice, thereby drawing them up prematurely tali and feeble in the lower part of the stems. T he thickness of the stem ought to be in proportion to its height ; a tall stock therefore requires to remain longer in the nursery than a low one. We have the respectable authority of Mr. T. Pickering, that such trees as are tall should be cut down close to the ground, to prevent their being shaken by the wind, and to promote their growth. It may seem strange, he observes, to advise the cutting down a tall, well-grown plant, yet it is necessary ; for the roots are always hurt and shortened by the remov- al ; it is impossible for those that remain, to nourish the same body ; this is the reason we so often find our trees dead at top and hide-bound. Should my directions, he says, be followed, which are from thirty years experience, such vigorous shoots will spring up, as will in ten years become much larger 4rees than if they had stood uncut for forty years ; and the bark and every appearance of the tree will be like one from the seed, and much trouble will be

46 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

saved in staking, to prevent their ruin from the wind. This method has not, we believe, been very frequently adopted, although recommended by other cultivators beside the venerable author just cited, the result of whose long experience, and the reasons assigned for the practice, must be deemed satisfac- tory. It has been stated by an English author, that when young trees are planted out from the nursery, as soon as they begin to break in the spring, they are to be cut down to three or four eyes, according to their strength, to furnish them with bearing wood. If this were not done, they would run up in long naked branches, and would not produce one quarter of the fruit which they would when this is properly performed.

ORCHARD. PLANTING AND CULTURE.

It is an object of no inconsiderable importance to select the most eligible soil, situation and aspect for laying out a fruit orchard. With respect to soil, it should be of a rich loamy nature, neither too wet or heavy, nor too light or dry. Those fertile fields or pastures which produce abundant crops of corn, grass, and other vegetables, will in general be found well adapted to the growth of fruit trees. But in all cases, the soil should be suited to the particular kind of fruit. In Herefordshire, a celebrated cider county, in England, it is said to be a fact well ascer- tained, that scions from the same tree, grafted upon similar stocks, and planted in different soils, will produce cider of different qualities. It is also found that the early fruits obtain the greatest perfection in a sandy soil, and that the late fruits succeed best when planted in a strong clay. The best cider or- chards are on a strong clayey soil ; for it seems to be admitted that the cider from trees in clay is stronger, and will keep better, than cider made from trees on a sandy soil. But again, as applicable to

OF FRUIT TREES. 47

our own country. " The choice of a proper soil and exposure," says Dr. Mease, (Dom. Ency.) "is not sufficiently attended to in the United States. Mr. Riley, of Marcus Hook, whose experience in cider is inferiour to none, assures the editor, that apples growing in a good loose soil, produce much more rich and generous liquor than those that grow in a stiff clayey land." An orchard, says an English writer, should rather be derated than low, as on a gentle declivity open to the south and southeast, to give free admission to the air and rays of the sun, as well as to dry up the damp, and dissipate fogs, in order to render the trees healthy, and give a fine flavour to the fruit It should likewise be well sheltered from the east, north, and westerly winds. The blossoms of apple trees are liable to be injured by spring frosts, when the trees are planted in the lowest parts of a confined valley. In the domestick encyclopedia, Dr. Mease has inserted an excellent paper on the climate of the United States, by colonel Tatham, from which I extract as follows. " It is a fact that in those western parts of the United States, which have a high exposure to the winter's blast, the northern sides of a ridge or mountain arrive sooner and more certainly at a state of perfect vegetation, than the south sides, which are laid open to the power of the sun. I account for this phenomenon as follows : I suppose that the southern exposure to the vehement rays of the sun, during the infant stages of vegetation, puts the sap in motion at too early a period of the spring, before the season has become sufficiently steady to afford nurture and protection to the vege- tating plant, blossom or leaf; and when in this state, the first efforts of vegetation are checked by the chilling influence of cold nights, and such changeable weather as the contest between winter and spring is ever ready to produce, in their apparent strug- gles to govern the season. On the contrary, the

48 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

northern exposures, which are not so early present- ed to the vivifying influence of the sun, remain, as it were, in a torpid state until the more advanced period of the spring, when all danger of vegetation being checked, is over." I have long entertained the opinion, says Mr. Yates, that an orchard, expos- ed to the north, where the ground in the spring of the year continues longer bound by frost, which re- tards the vegetation, would be preferable to one bearing an easterly or southern aspect, where the sap-juice is sooner in motion, and accelerated by the rays of the sun. The rows of trees in an or- chard ought to incline to a point of compass towards the east ; because the sun will shine upon them early in the forenoon, and thus dissipate the vapours which arise during the vernal nights, and stint the fruit in the earlier stages of its growth. The trees should be arranged in uniform straight rows, as be- ing most convenient to the husbandman, and at the same time exhibiting the most pleasing view to the tasteful eye. The distance in the rows or squares, \v 11 depend on the size and form of the full grown tree, and on various other circumstances connected with the future intentions and views of the proprie- tor. In every instance, however, the distance should be such as to prevent the extreme branches from locking into each other when attained to full matu- rity of growth. Miller, an experienced English horticulturalist, says, when the soil is good, the dis- tance should be fifty or sixty feet, and where the soil is not so good, forty feet may be sufficient. Lawson, who wrote in 1626, observes, that in a good soil and under proper management, apple trees will, in forty or fifty years, spread twelve yards on each side ; and the adjoining tree spreading as much, gives twenty-four yards, or seventy-two feet, and the roots will extend still further. He therefore recommends that apple trees be set at the distance of eighty feet from each other. The

OP FRUIT TREES, 49

advantages of thin planting are said to be : 1. The sun refreshes every tree, the roots, body, and bran- ches, with the blossoms and fruit, whereby the trees are morn productive, and the fruit larger, fairer and better flavoured. 2. The trees grow larger, and are more healthy and durable, 3. When trees are planted too near, the lower branches are smother- ed for want of sun and air, the fruit is never well flavoured, and always small. The object is fruit, and we are not to expect that the quantity will be in proportion to the number of trees in an orchard, for a few trees of a large size will produce more and better fruit, than six or eight times the number of those which grow near and crowd one another. Again, apples are not to be estimated according to their number only, but their size and weight, as well as their superiour flavour, Another advantage is the profit of cultivating the ground tinder and about the trees. The intervening spaces may be culti- vated with various vegetables, or if preferred, they may be filled with some temporary trees of small growth, as dwarfs, which may be removed when the principal standards have attained to a large size. Many apple trees have borne fruit for more than a century ; and when trees show signs of decay at the age of thirty or forty years, it is in general to be attributed to mismanagement, and probably to close planting, Every cultivator must have ex- perienced the great inconvenience occasioned by narrow and crowded intervals. When apple trees stand at the distance of twenty-five or thirty feet only, their horizontal branches will, as we frequent- ly see, in fifteen or twenty years interlope each other, and almost entirely obstruct the intervals be- tween them. Taking into view, therefore, the fore- going particulars, the cultivator, in planting a young orchard, will determine for himself the most con- venient and suitable width of the intervals between his trees. The most generally approved distance 7

CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

is forty feet in all directions, and this gives twenty- seven trees to an acre, while at thirty feet apart, an acre will contain forty-eight trees, and at thirty- five feet distance, thirty-five trees occupy an acre. With respect to the most proper season for planting apple trees in the United States, different opinions prevail. According to Dr. Mease, no general rule can be given, owing to the immense variety of climates with which we are favoured. In some states, the autumn may be best, while in others, in Pennsylvania, it is probable that early in the spring answers best. Indeed, in a comparative experiment of spring and autumn planting, made near Philadelphia, in 1802-3, the advantage was considerably in favour of those put down in the spring. Some, planted in autumn, were from a nur- sery near the city, and nearly all died ; another par- cel, from the excellent nursery of Mr. Prince, of Flushing, Long Island, arrived late in April, and all survived. There was no reason to suspect any difference in the soil, or the care with which both parcels were planted. E. Preble, esquire, of Bos- ton, is decided in preferring autumn to spring, for planting apple trees, as the ground will settle round the roots before frost, and the trees prepar- ed to shoot in the spring, aided by the rains which prevail at that season. If planted in spring, he ob- serves, the drought and heat of summer will in- jure, if not destroy them, before the roots find their place. He is in the practice of transplanting them as soon as the foliage is off in autumn, and farmers have more leisure at that season of the

year.

• a !**••• i^..r.

PREPARATION OF THE LAND, AND PLANTING.

WHEN the ground is in pasture, it should be ploughed to a considerable depth, and well sum- mer fallowed, till the grass be killed. But, if

OP FRUIT TREES. 51

trenching should be preferred, the spade must be carried to the full depth of the soil; and if it be gravelly, a considerable portion of this should be removed, and its place supplied by a due quantity of rich mould. The quality of the soil should ap- proach as nearly as possible to that of the nursery, in which the trees were reared. If it be poorer, the trees will certainly be impeded in their growth. The trenches should be well dug, about five or six feet wide, that the holes to receive the roots may be made sufficiently large. Much of the future prosperity of the orchard depends upon a judicious selection of the trees. Mr. Bucknal advises, that they be chosen the year before they are intended to be planted, particular care being taken to obtain young, vigorous and healthy trees ; for cankered plants emit a vapour that is very detrimental to such as are sound. In taking up the trees irom the nursery, the roots should be preserved of the full length, if possible ; the surface earth should be removed, and the running roots carefully traced and raised. If they must be cut, let it be done with a sharp instrument, and not hacked with a dull spade. The tap root, or that which pene- trates straight down, may be shortened to the length of about one foot, and all broken or bruised parts should be removed. The small matted fibres should be cut off, as they are apt to mould and de- cay, and prevent new ones from shooting. The remaining side roots should be spread out to give them a horizontal direction under the surface, that they may be more immediately influenced by the sun, and their sap will become richer, and produce the sweetest and most beautiful fruit. Some well- rotted manure, mixed with mould, may be advan- tageously placed round the roots, the earth care- fully pressed down, so as to come in contact with the roots in every part, and the trees placed the same side to the sun as they stood before. In

52

CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

transplanting trees, it may be observed, that thej should not be replanted deep in the soil, since the most nutritive or salubrious parts of the earth are those within the reach of the sun's warmth, of the descending moisture, and of the air. And as .the root fibres of trees, like those of seeds, always grow toward the purest air and brightest light, it follows, that the root fibres seldom rise higher in the ground than they were originally set, and seldom elongate themselves perfectly horizontally ; so that when a fruit tree is planted too deep in the earth, it seldom grows in healthy vigour, either in respect to its leaf buds or flower buds. For a more particular descrip- tion of the method of planting fruit trees, I quote the language of Mr. Marshall, as follows : " De- scribe a circle about five or six feet diameter for the hole. If the ground be in grass, remove the sward in shallow spits, placing the sods on one side of the hole ; the best of the loose mould placed by itself on another side, and the dead earth, from the bottom of the hole, in another heap. The depth of the holes should be regulated by the nature of the sub-soil. Where this is cold and retentive, the holes should not be made much deeper than the cultivated soil. To go lower, is to form a recepta- cle for the water, which, by standing among the roots, is very injurious to the plants. On the con- trary, in a dry, light soil, the holes should be made considerable deeper ; as well to obtain a degree of coolness and moisture, as to be able to establish the plants firmly in the soil. In soils of a middle quality, the hole should be of such depth, that when the sods are thrown to the bottom of it, the plant will stand at the same depth in the orchard as it did in the nursery. Each hole, therefore, should be of a depth adapted to the particular root planted in it. The holes ought, however, for va- rious reasons, to be made previous to the day of

OP FRUIT TREES. 53

planting. If the season of planting be spring, and the ground and the weather be dry, the holes should be watered the evening before the day of planting, by throwing two or three pails full of water into each ; a new but eligible practice. In planting, the sods should be thrown to the bottom of the hole, chopt with the spade, and covered with some of the finest of the mould. If the hole be so deep, that with this advantage the bottom will not be raised high enough for the plant, some of the worst of the mould should be returned be- fore the sod be thrown down. The bottom of the hole being raised to a proper height and adjusted, the lowest tier of roots is to be spread out upon it ; drawing them out horizontally, and spreading them in different directions, drawing out with the hand the rootlets and fibres which severally belong to them, spreading them out as a feather, pressing them evenly into the soil, and covering them, by hand, with some of the finest of the mould ; the other tiers of roots are then to be spread out and bedded in the same manner. Great care is to be taken to work the mould well in, by hand, that no hollowness be left ; to prevent which, the mould is to be trodden hard with the foot. The remainder of the mould should be raised into ? ^hillock, round the stem, for the triple use of affording coolness, moisture, and stability to the plant. A little dish should be made on the top of the hillock, and from the rim of this the slope should be gentle to the circumference of the hole, where the broken ground should sink some few inches below the level of the orchard. All this detail may be deemed unnecessary ; by those, I mean, who have been ac- customed to bury the roots of plants in the grave- digger's manner ; but I can recommend every part of it to those who wish to insure success, from my own practice. Plants which have been transplant- ed in the manner here recommended, whose heads

54 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

have been judiciously lessened,^ and which have been planted in the manner here described, seldom require any other stay than their own roots. If, however, the stems be tall, and the roots few and short, they should be supported in the usual mari- ner, with stakes, or rather, in the following manner, which is at once simple, strong, and most agreeable to the eye. Take a large post, and slit it with a saw, and place the parts fiat-way with the faces to the plant, one on each side of it, and two feet apart, and nail your rails upon the edges of the posts.

It seems to be a well-founded opinion, that young apple trees will not flourish advantageously ]f planted on the site of an old orchard, or near the place where old trees have died. William Coxe, esquire, of New Jersey, the most expe- rienced orchardist in the United States, has expe- rimented with the view of ascertaining this fact ; and the result has demonstrated the correctness of it in the clearest manner. He planted young trees in the middle space between the old rows, and sometimes near the stumps of old trees, which had been for many years cut down and decayed ; he removed the old soil in digging the holes, and re- placed it witfc- ^ich earth mixed with manure, and gave to his trees all the advantage of high cultiva- tion, yet they were manifestly inferiour in point of growth and vigour to those which were planted at the same season in his adjoining lots.

Having progressed thus far, the husbandman is now presented with a valuable orchard, planted and arranged in complete systematick order; and it may, if he please, be considered as the work of his own hands, from which he may anticipate high expectations of profit and amusement. Thus the value of a farm is greatly augmented, and the pro- prietor enjoys the satisfaction of bequeathing a rich inheritance to future generations. But his

OP FRUIT TREES. 55

labour is not yet at an end; it will still require his fostering care, and unremitted attention. In vain do we plant, labour, and toil, if through neglect in a single point, we suffer our harvest to be wrested from our hands. Nor are we less culpable if we suffer a young orchard to be destroyed by the de- predations of cattle, the annoyance of insects, and the corroding canker, without applying the appro- priate remedies. We suppose, then, of course, that the orchard is properly enclosed by a strong and close fence. We next proceed to cultivate the soil beneath, and between the trees, until they ar- rive at their complete size, as the quality, excel- lence, and maturity of the fruit will, in a great mea- sure, depend upon its proper culture. This pro- cess may be performed either with the plough, if due care be taken not to injure the roots, or with the spade around the trunks, and by these means both the fertility and health of the trees are pro- moted, and the soil itself improved for the purpose of raising potatoes, turnips, or other vegetables, which do not tend too much to impoverish the land. If, however, it is intended to cultivate clo- ver, or other meadow grass for mowing, still it will be advisable to reserve a circuit round each tree, as extensive as the roots, to be kept open by tillage, that by frequent hoeing the fertilizing pro- perties of rain, air, and dew, may more easily pene- trate into the earth, and produce beneficial effects on the roots. The opinion prevails among some farmers, that, clover has a tendency to retard the growth of fruit trees. If this be true of clover more than of any other grass, it may probably be explained from its luxuriant foliage secluding the influence of warmth, air, and light, from their roots. Mr. Kenrick, of Newton, observes, that he has found herds grass the most injurious to his trees*

56 CULTURE AND

. ,.

MARRING.

It is well known to every farmer, that young fruit trees will flourish luxuriantly, while the ground is cultivated with various vegetable crops, and that the same tillage and manuring, which is required for the latter, will prove highly conducive to the growth and fertility of the former. In fact, it has been ascertained by experience and observation, that apples, pears, peaches, &c. attain to their highest perfection only when the soil about the roots is kept open, and frequently manured. It is by the chemical combination of air, warmth, and moisture, that the growth and vigour of plants and trees are essentially promoted and maintained. The process of nature is greatly assisted by such substances as cause the greatest degree of fermentation, when buried in the earth. Hence, all animal substances, from the great degree of fer- mentation created by their dissolution, will be found productive of the greatest utility. Among these, are dead animal bodies, horns, hoofs, bones, when reduced to fragments or powder, leather, shells, &c. To which may be added hair, wool, and woollen rags. These, applied to the roots, and a top dressing of swamp or pond mud, chip or compost manure, annually, or once in two years, will produce surprising effects, and the farmer will realize ample compensation by the increased quan- tity and improved quality of his crop. As an ex- traordinary instance of resuscitating an old worth- less apple tree, by the application of manure, I quote from the Dom. Encj. a statement, which ap- peared in the Salem Register, of May, 1802, "In my garden is an apple tree, which, about the year 1763, sprouted from the root of a former tree: it now girts three feet six inches. From 1784 to 1790,1 observed it to be barren, and a cumberer

OP FRUIT TREES. 57

©f the ground ; year after year, being the prey of caterpillars, and exhibiting the constant appearance of innumerable warts within the outside bark, which, at the time, I suspected was natural instinct in the insect for the propagation of its kind. In the spring of 1793, 1 tried an experiment for giving it new life, as follows : very early in the season, I directed my gardener with a hoe to cleanse the outside bark of such excrescences as might bear the operation with little difficulty. In the next place, I directed him to raise a wall of small stones round the tree, at the distance of one foot, and per- haps nine inches high, and then to fill the cavity with manure from the resource of compost. The effect in the succeeding season was truly worthy of notice. The warts disappeared, the bark clean and thrifty, and the tree so loaded with fruit as that about one third of the boughs broke and came to the ground with the cumbersome weight. Com- paratively no caterpillars since, and, on an average, a very plentiful crop of fruit yearly. I was led to the experiment by taking notice of a pear tree that had been in a very similar situation, and had been resuscitated in a similar manner."

There is not, perhaps, in nature a more fertiliz- ing application than the liquid substance which is left at the bottom of stercoraries arid barn-yards, after the more solid substance has been removed. This effervescing mixture contains the very essence of the food of plants, and it might be carried out in tight carts or casks, especially in a dry season, and emptied about the trunks and roots, in the cool hours of morning and evening, .but on no ac- count during the heat of a summer's day. The planter, however, ought to be apprized, that the process of manuring must not be carried to excess, as too great a stimulus applied to trees, facilitates the luxuriant growth of wood, and renders the branches less productive of fruit: or the trees may

58 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

be stimulated to a preternatural exertion for a few years, when their prolifick powers will be exhaust- ed, and a premature decay induced. Fresh stable manure is supposed to be injurious to fruit trees.

There is another expedient, which is understood to have produced favourable effects in promoting the growth of young fruit trees, especially in grass land. The method was published some years ago by a German clergyman, and simply consists in spreading flax-shaws, or the refuse of flax after it has been dressed, on the soil contiguous to the trunks of the trees, as far as the roots extend : by which means their size, as well as their fertility, is remarkably increased. In the vicinity of the sea- coas*, a valuable substitute for refuse flax, may be found in fresh sea weed. I have employed this article with considerable advantage. Being laid thick round the trunk, it prevents the growth of grass and weeds, keeps the earth open and loose, and, I am disposed to believe, prevents field mice from injuring the bark of the trees in winter, as the salt with which this substance is impregnated is supposed to be obnoxious to those vermin. It occurs to me as highly probable, that a quantity of sea weed pressed round the trunks of fruit trees, extending three or four feet, would prove a reme- dy against the canker worm, by forming a compact substance, through which both the canker moth and worm would be unable to penetrate. It might also serve as a protection against the destructive worm, which bores into the tree near the surface of the earth.

Engrafted apple trees sometimes put forth blos- soms and bear fruit when two or three years old ; but if this premature produce be permitted, the prolifick powers will be greatly impaired, and the trees will suffer irreparable injury. If, therefore, the blossoms appear abundant, the fruit should be taken off as soon as formed, leaving only four or

OF FRUIT TREES. 59

five apples on each tree, to ascertain their size and quality. Even at a more advanced stage of growth, if part of the apples are taken off in season, the remainder will be much improved in all respects, and the trees will not only produce fruit in higher perfection, but the bearing branches will every year become more vigorous and fruitful. It has been observed, that trees, which begin their bear- ing gradually, are, in general, more disposed to afford an annual crop,

It is not to be expected, that the systematick plan and particular rules described in the foregoing pages, will accord with the views and circumstan- ces of every agriculturalist. It may, in some in- stances, interrupt a course of field culture which the farmer has prescribed for himself, or his farm may not afford an eligible situation for a regular plantation of fruit trees. In such dilemma it may be convenient to plant trees in various parts of the farm, not otherwise occupied, as on the borders and corners of fields contiguous to roads, lanes, &c. In some instances, it is deemed a preferable method to set trees on the sides of a square field, the centre of which is left open for pasture or tillage; and such arrangement is not without its advantages. It has been observed, that apple trees produce a more abundant crop when the ground is trodden and manured by cattle in the winter; but they should by no means be suffered to browse on the branches. We are not, indeed, without examples of scattered trees, of spontaneous growth, occupy- ing land which has never been broken by the plough, nor subjected to the hand of culture. From these, tolerable crops of fruit are occasionally ob- tained, which, although of inferiour quality, are nevertheless capable of being converted to useful purposes. With the view of showing the facility with which many natural disadvantages may be overcome, and an orchard reared in the most un-

60 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

promising situation, I shall introduce here an ex- tract from a valuable paper, published in the Ag- ricultural Repository, No. i. vol. 6, by John Wells, esquire, of Dorchester. Mr. W. relates two in- stances of cultivating apple trees successfully in unfavourable situations. In the one, a low piece of strong stony land was taken. " As it was rather fiat, it was ploughed in strips or dug in spaces about four feet square. As it was necessary to plough a furrow between each row, the mode of ploughing in strips was found the best, as by turn- ing the furrow towards the tree, the land was bet- ter drained. Besides raising the ground a little from the surrounding soil, half a buck load of loam was added, to raise the ground on which the tree was set. After this was done, the strips or squares, as the case might be, were appropriated to the culture of potatoes and garden vegetables. In a few places only, the trees failed from the in- sufficiency of the drain. But by opening the drain, and raising the ground by half a buck load of loam, I found, o?i setting out a new tree, it flourished equally with the rest. This orchard, now in eight years, is a most valuable one, and most of the trees would give half a barrel of apples. From this and other circumstances which have fallen within my observation, it appears that low land, if strong soil, an^ well drained, will give a fine orchard, and pro- "bably sooner than any other.9'

The next effort was made under totally opposite circumstances. " The object was to have an or- chard on a particular spot, where the soil was thin and lighty upon a plain or flat The holes were dutr four feet over. The two upper strata of black and yellow loam, were placed aside the tree. After this, about ten inches in depth of the gravel- ly, or poorer earth, was taken out aod carted oft] and a horse cart load of stones tipset into the kole ; upon these, a part of the upper stratum, or

OF FRUIT TREES. 61

some dirt from the side of the road was scattered so as to fill up the interstices; since which the spots near the trees have been cultivated by planting four hills of potatoes round each tree. The result has been tolerably favourable with all ; but the trees having the stones placed at the roots have exceedingly outstripped the others. The dimen- sions of the trees in the first experiment — a rich, low, black, stony soil, drained — were, at the expi- ration of eight years, fifteen to seventeen inches in circumference, one foot from the ground. This may be considered (the tree being small when set out) as a growth of about two inches a year. The growth in the second experiment, for six years, was twelve to fourteen inches, in the holes in which the stones were put, one foot from the ground. Where no stones were put, nine inches was the growth. It will thus be perceived, that the vegetation was most powerful under circumstan- ces by nature least favourable. If, then, thus much can be done to counteract such disadvantages, it surely offers much encouragement to our efforts, and leads us to hope, that not only in this, but in other objects, they may be beneficially extended."

ORCHARD PRUNING.

It has been remarked, that the management of orchards is capable of being reduced to a system, under a lew general heads, connected in the prin- ciple of making all trees in an orchard healthy, round, large and beautiful. There is no part of this* management, perhaps, so important, and which requires more skill, and at the same time is so lit- tle understood, as the process of orchard pruning. The necessity of commencing, and annually repeat- ing this operation in the nursery, has already been inculcated. When, this discipline is properly put in practice, at that early period of growth, ther«

62 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

will be less employment for the pruning knife at all future periods ; it will nevertheless be found indispensably necessary to retrench redundant or superfluous shoots and branches in every successive year of their existence. " To the neglect of prun- ing fruit trees in due season," says Mr. Fates, " and the unskilful manner of performing it, may, in a, great measure, be ascribed the bad and unfruitful state of some of the orchards in America. This inattention and mismanagement, and, especially, the not amputating dead limbs, and extirpating ail infected parts of fruit trees, subjects them to dis- ease, mortification, and death. An unpruned tree, left in a natural state, will bear fruit sooner than one that is pruned ; for by pruning, the parts below the lopped or amputated branches become vivipa- rous, and produce new leaf buds, which require several years before they will acquire sufficient maturity to generate flower buds, to produce an oviparous progeny; but unpruned trees grow and look irregular and unsightly ; nor is their fruit to be compared to that of trees properly pruned and managed, in order to afford them a more equal ad- vantage of the sun and air, by means whereof they will produce fruit better in size and quality."

The two great practical errours which have hitherto prevailed, and by which fruit trees have suffered irreparable injury, are, 1. The season of the year; and 2. The awkward and unskilful man- ner in which the operation has been performed. In general, the months of February and March have been considered as the preferable season for pruning, and not unfrequently the executioner is sent into the tree with his exterminating axe, where he commences an almost indiscriminate slaughter, leaving long projecting stumps, and dis- regarding equally the form and beauty of the tree, and the particular branches and spurs upon which the future crop principally depend* In March,

OF FRUIT TREES. 63

.the sap is retained in the roots, and the bark ad- heres closely to the wood; consequently, the wounds occasioned by the amputation of branches being exposed to the cold, penetrating winds and frosts, before the circulation of the sap, become dry, rotten, and cankered, and often crack open nearly to the main trunk. In old orchards, par- ticularly, if limbs of any considerable size are lop ped off, several inches from the trunk, before the sap is in active motion, the fresh bark round t he- wood becomes dry, large cavities are formed, which rapidly extend towards the trunk and heart, and the tree is soon deprived of its health and vigour. This unskilful procedure has so long been in practice, that it need excite no surprise, that a large proportion of our old orchards exhibit a mor- tifying, disgusting spectacle of dead branches, rotten stumps and hollow trunks, verging to total ruin. The greatest cause for surprise is that our intelli- gent farmers should suffer tlieir valuable land, year after year, to be encumbered with such worthless lumber, fit only for the resort of vermin and in- sects ; for it may be observed, that the more deli- cate feathered tribe disdain to occupy such detes- table ruins for the purpose of rearing their brood. The long life of different orchards, soil and situa- tion being equal, will depend, it is said, more on judicious pruning than on any other circumstance. Young trees differ much in their natural form and tendency, and the mode of pruning should vary accordingly. The peculiarity of growth, which characterizes each kind, is easily discovered when from four to five or six years old ; arid this is the most favourable period to complete what was begun in the nursery, for the purpose of correcting any natural defects in their form, and giving the proper direction in their future growth. The most pro- per season for pruning fruit trees, unquestionably is when the sap-juice is in active motion toward the

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extreme branches. In our New England climate, we have the clearest indications that the sap com- mences its circulation about the 10th of April. From this period to about the last of May, whether the buds are just opening, or the blossoms fully ex- panded, the pruning should be accomplished. It would, for certain reasons, however, seem advisa- ble not to delay the operation after the first week in May, as the branches are then so charged with a full flow of sap, that the bark would be apt to peel, whereby unseemly wounds might be left, and canker induced : and besides, the undergrowth, whether grass or grain, might be so far advanced as to suffer injury by being trampled upon. For the purpose of performing this operation in a pro- per manner, a saw, chisel, and pruning knife, must be provided. It will next be requisite to have at hand some suitable composition to apply to the wounded parts, to defend against wet, cold air, or the scorching sun. It is immaterial whether we employ Forsyth's composition, or the clay as pre- pared for grafting, or an ointment composed of rosin, beeswax, and turpentine. Some prefer a composition of tar with a little beeswax, simmered together, to which some red ochre is added. This composition, or the abovementioned ointment, should be of a proper consistence to be applied to the wound with a knife or smooth stick, and they will ad- here, and last two years without requiring to be re- newed. With respect to the proper method of pruning, no particular unexceptionable rules can be prescribed ; much must depend on experience and attentive observation. It is among the most im- portant rules, however, not to amputate a large limb, close to the main trunk of a full grown tree, nor indeed a branch, which is too large at the place of excision to heal or to close over again, a* you may give the tree its death-wound, by opening an avenue to the air and water, which induce rot-

OP FRUIT TREES. 65

tenness, and, in course of time, the limb or trunk becomes hollow, frequently to the roots. In prun- -ing, some regard must be had to soil and climate, If the situation be wet and cold, trees should be pruned more open for the benefit of sun and air, which are less essential in a dry sandy soil, where the fruit ripens better. Winter fruit trees should have their branches left wider asunder than sum- mer fruit, as they require more warmtn of the sun than the latter. The general shape .of old trees should be left substantially the same, that the ascending juices may continue, as much as possible, in their established channels. Care must be taken not to cut away too many large limbs at a time, lest too large a portion of the sap should remain inac- tive, and thus occasion mischief. Always prune at a fork, arid remove the lower branch, that the wound may be on the lower side rather than the upper side. All large limbs should be cut first at some distance from the place where they are to be pruned, as the weight may peel the bark, and leave a bad wound ; and in order to prevent the same accident, the bark, on the under side, should be cut through before the limb is amputat- ed. In every instance, after sawing off the branch, let the bark and edges of the stump be pared close and smooth with a sharp knife, and irnmediatly ap- ply the composition so as to cover the whole sur- face of the wound. This is more especially neces- sary when the operation is performed in a cold season, before the sap is in circulation. By this procedure the new growth or healing process im- mediately commences, and instead of an unseemly rotten cavity, as in the old method, the wound will, during the season, if not large, be completely heal- ed over, and the tree remain sound and flourishing. It is to be observed, that the fruit of the apple tree is produced on short, thick, side, or terminal shoots or spurs, from one to two or three inches 9

66 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

long. These spurs naturally proceed from branches two, three, or four years old, and as these branches increase in length, the fruit spurs increase in num- ber, and they continue to be fruitful for several years. Mr. Forsyth always leaves the branches of three different years on the tree, and thus keeps them in a constant bearing state ; whereas, if left to nature, they would only produce a crop of fruit once in two or three years. All old ragged spurs, and useless snags and twigs, should be taken off close to the trunk; no dead limbs should be suffer- ed to remain, nor even thrifty branches that have an irregular tendency, running inwards, and rubbing against each other. Such branches as intersect or cross each other, and thus occasion confusion in the crown of the tree, ought to be removed, and all others cleared of suckers to their very extremities ; and indeed it will be necessary to prune out a good proportion of the top branches, in order to spread open the crown of the tree, to admit a free circu- lation of air and the rays of the sun, which are es- sentially necessary to mature and ripen the fruit. Those superfluous lateral branches which grow irregularly, and all dead wood, should be annually extirpated, to give the proper bearing branches suffi- cient room without injuring the beauty of the tree, leaving the fruit branches as nearly equidistant as possible. Such branches as have received any material injury ought to be removed. If the tree in its first or second sap tend to shoot abundance of wood, the young shoots should be pinched off while tender, but never cut while the sap is flow- ing, because the tree, by cutting at that time, is apt to run into wood, and the blossom buds liable to be injured by being deprived of sap. Never suffer a sucker to remain near the root, from one year to another, nor by any means upon the body or trunk, which is not intended to be permanent. Those vigorous young shoots, which often spring

OP FRUIT TREES. 67

from old arms, near the trunk, and incline to grow up into the head, must be annually extirpated, lest they fill the tree with too much wood. A suffi- cient portion of fertile wood should be left in every part, but leave no useless branches, to exhaust the nutritive powers, and thereby accelerate the decay of the tree. Mr. Marshall, in his Rural Economy, observes, that " a redundancy of wood is the cause of numerous evils. The roots, or rather the pas- turage which supports them, is exhausted unpro- fitably ; the bearing wood robbed of part of its sustenance, and the natural life of the tree unneces- sarily shortened; while the superfluous wood, which is the cause of this mischief, places the tree in perpetual danger, by giving the winds additional power over it, and is injurious to the bearing wood, by retaining the damps, and preventing a due cir- culation of air. The underhanging boughs weigh down, especially when loaded with leaves, the fruit bearing branches they are preying upon, giving them a drooping habit, or at least preventing their taking, as they ought and otherwise would, an as- cending direction ; while those which grow within the head are equally injurious in crossing and chaf- ing the profitable branches. The outer surface only is able to mature fruit properly. Every in- ward and every underling branch ought therefore to be removed. It is no uncommon sight to see two or three tiers of boughs pressing down hard, one upon another, with their twigs so intimately interwoven, that, even when their leaves are off, a small bird can scarcely creep in among them. Trees thus neglected acquire, through a want of ventilation and exercise, a runty, stinted habit, and the fruit they bear becomes of a rude, inferiour quality. By some, we are advised never to suffer apple trees to begin to head short of six or eight feet, for the convenience of passing under them in ploughing, and to admit the warming and fertilizing

68 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

influence of the sun and air to the undergrowth. But the horizontal and drooping branches are al- ways the most productive of fruit, and this is less liable to be shaken off by the wind, and is more conveniently gathered by hand. Those who culti- vate an orchard for the benefit of the fruit, must make the undergrowth a secondary consideration*

HEADING DOWN OLD DECAYED APPLE TREES.

According to Mr. Forsyth, when the tops of the branches of apple trees begin to die from old age or other cause, they ought immediately to be re- generated by giving them a new top. This is done by cutting off a few feet of their extremities over the whole tree, so as to leave it in a proper form. If the trunk is yet tolerably sound, the new branches will grow thriftily, and bear luxuriantly; and if you wish to vary your fruit, the sprouts, after one year's growth, and most frequently the same year, will be fit for inoculating, which suc- ceeds equally well in the old as in the young trees. In heading down old decayed apple trees for the sake of symmetry, it will be necessary to cut at the forked branches as near as can be to the upper side of the fork, cutting them in a sloping mariner to carry off the wet, and at the same time rounding the edges ; and if any of the branches should have the canker, all the infected parts must be cut out. The composition must be immediately applied, to prevent the sun and air from injuring the naked inner bark. This operation should be performed in April or May, and, in the course of the summer, long thrifty shoots will be thrown out ; these should not be shortened the first year, but in the following spring they may be cut to six or eight inches long, according to their strength. In the next spring, after the first branches are headed, the remaining old branches may be cut out, and these

OF FRUIT TREES. 69

will soon fill the head of the tree with fine bearing wood. In three years, if properly managed, trees so headed will produce more and finer fruit than a maiden tree that has been planted upwards of twenty years. The method above detailed should be adopted with some caution, for it has been found, that trees will not survive the loss of all their branches, if lopped off in one season ; it is preferable, therefore, to cut and graft them partially every season until the whole is accomplished.

DIRECTIONS

For making a composition for curing diseases, defects, and inju- ries in all kinds of fruit and forest trees, and the method of preparing the trees, and la/ing on the composition, by Wil- liam Forsyth.

Take one bushel of fresh cow-dung, half a bush- el of lime rubbish of old buildings, (that from the ceilings of rooms is preferable) half a bushel of wood-ashes, and a sixteenth part of a bushel of pit or river sand : the three last articles are to be sift- ed fine before they are mixed : then work them well together with a spade, and afterwards with a wooden beater, until the stuff is very smooth, like fine plaster used for the ceiling of rooms. — The composition being thus made, care must be taken to prepare the tree properly for its applica- tion, by cutting away all the dead, decayed, and in- jured parts, till you come to the fresh sound wood, leaving the surface of the wood very smooth, and rounding off the edges of the bark, with a draw- knife, or other instrument, perfectly smooth, which must be particularly attended to : then lay on the plaster about one eighth of an inch thick all over the part where the wood or bark has been so cut away, finishing off the edges as thin as possible : then take a quantity of dry powder of wood-ashes, mixed with a sixth part of the same quantity of the ashes of burnt bones : put it into a tin box, with holes in the top, and shake the powder on

70 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

the surface of the plaster till the whole is covered over with it, letting it remain for half an hour to absorb the moisture ; then apply more powder, rubbing it on gently with the hand, and repeating the application of the powder till the whole plaster becomes a dry and smooth surface. Where lime rubbish of old buildings cannot be easily got, take pounded chalk, or common lime, after having been slacked a month at least.

As the best way of using the composition is found by experience to be in a liquid form, it must there- fore be reduced to the consistence of pretty thick paint, by mixing it up with a sufficient quantity of urine and soap suds, and laid on with a painter's brush. The powder of wood ashes and burnt bones is to be applied as before directed, patting it down with the hand.

When trees are become hollow, you must scoop out all the rotten, loose, and dead parts of the trunk till you come to the solid wood, leaving the surface smooth; then cover the hollow, and every part where the canker has been cut out, or branches lop- ped off, with the composition, and as the edges grow, take care not to let the new wood come in contact with the dead, part of which it may be sometimes necessary to leave; but cut out the old dead wood as the new advances, keeping a hollow between them, to allow the new wood room to extend itself, and thereby fill up the cavity, which it will do in time, so as to make, as it were, a new tree. If the cavity be large, you may cut away as much at one operation as will be sufficient for three years. But in this you are to be guided by the size of the wood and other circumstances. When the new wood, ad- vancing from both sides of the wound, has almost met, cut off the bark from both the edges, that the solid wood may join, which, if properly managed, it will do, leaving only a slight seam in the bark. If the tree be very much decayed, do not cut away

OP FRUIT TREES. 71

all the dead wood at once, which would weaken the tree too much and endanger its being blown down by the wind. It will, therefore, be necessary to leave part of the dead wood at first to strengthen the tree, and to cut it out by degrees as the new wood is formed. If there be any canker or gum oozing, the infected parts must be pared off or cut with a proper instrument. When the stem is very much decayed and hollow, it will be necessary to open the ground and examine the roots ; then proceed as directed for hollow peach trees.

By using the composition in a liquid state, more than three fourths of the time and labour is saved ; and I find it is not so liable to be thrown off as the lips grow, as when laid on in the consistence of plaster : it adheres firmly to the naked part of the wound, and yet easily gives way as the new wood and bark advance.

In his introduction to the American edition of Forsyth, Mr. W. Cobbett says, "During the last summer, (1801,) I went with a party of friends to be an eye-witness of the effects (of which I had heard such wonders related) of this gentleman's mode of cultivating and curing trees ; and though my mind had received a strong prepossession in its favour, what I saw very far surpassed my expecta- tions. Mr. Forsyth, whose book was not then pub- lished, did us the favour to show us the manuscript of it, and also the drawings for the plates, which are now to be found at the end of the work. After having read those parts of the manuscript which more immediately referred to the drawings, we went into the gardens, and there saw every tree which the drawings were intended to represent, and of which we found them to be a most exact repre- sentation. We examined these trees from the ground to the topmost branches; we counted the joints in the wood ; ascertained the time and extent of its growth : and, in short, verified every fact that the

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book related. To raise fine, flourishing wood from an old, cankered, gummy, decayed stem; to raise as much wood on that stem in three years as could have been raised on the finest young tree in twelve years; to take the rotten wood from the trunk ; to replace it with sound wood, actually to fill up the hollow, and of a mere shell to make a full, round, and solid trunk ; all this seems incredible, but of all this we saw indubitable proof." In the work just referred to, we have the valuable observations of Peter W. Yates, esquire, of Albany, respecting For- syth's treatise, as follow : " Mr. Forsyth's treatise is well calculated to rouse the care and attention of gentlemen on this side the Atlantick, to the cultiva- tion and management of fruit trees. The perusal of his pamphlet, London edition, 1791, afforded him both satisfaction and astonishment. To renovate diseased trees fast hastening to decay, and to in- crease the quantity and meliorate the quality of the fruit, in the way prescribed by him, seemed almost incredible." But Mr. Y. was induced to make the experiment. Accordingly in May, 1796, he adopt- ed the mode of process prescribed by Forsyth, on a young bearing (bonecretien) pear tree, the bark of which, as well as the alburnum or sapwood, and the heart wood, were dead from the ground up- wards about five feet. He cut away all the dead part, leaving nothing but the bark on the opposite side, and applied the composition. The effects were soon visible : the external part of the wound, which composed about one third part of the trunk, was in a few days surrounded by a callus or lip, which continued to increase until the sap-flow was obstruct- ed and stagnated by the next autumnal frost ; but by the subsequent annual flow of the juices, the callus increased so as to fill the wounded part with new wood. The old and new wood united, and is covered with new bark. In many other instances, he made similar experiments on various kinds of

OF FRUIT TREES. 73

fruit trees with satisfactory success. He is, there- fore, of opinion, that Forsyth's remedy affords a radi- cal cure for diseases, defects, and injuries in all kinds of fruit trees, and that in pruning, especially where large amputations are made, the composition ought always to be applied, as it prevents the exuding of the vegetable juices through the wounded parts, aids and precipitates the healing of the wounds, promotes the vigour and health of the trees, and adds to the size and flavour of the fruit.

The composition of Mr. Forsyth does not, at this day, sustain such high reputation as formerly. It is not supposed to possess great efficacy as a medica- ment when applied to diseased trees ; and for the purpose of defence against wet and heat, it is not perhaps preferable to an ointment composed of ro- sin, beeswax, and turpentine. It is probable, that a composition consisting of clay, tempered with horse dung and urine, would be found of equal utili- ty. We are not unacquainted with instances of surgeons acquiring great celebrity by the applica- tion of certain medicaments to old ulcers, when in verity the cure was effected by the efforts of na-

ture.

MEANS OF PRESERVING THE HEALTH AND VIGOUR OF FRUIT TREES.

To promote the health and vigour of fruit trees, Mr. Forsyth recommends the following method, and it has been practised in our country with the most decided advantage. Take any quantity of urine and soap suds, and add fresh cow dung, and a little slack- ed lime, sufficient to bring it to the consistence of very thick white-wash or paint. After having removed all cankery parts, and scraped off the rough bark or moss from the trees, this mixture is to be applied to the stems and branches with a brush, in the same manner as the ceiling or walls of 10

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CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

a room are white-washed. This, if done in March or April annually, will effectually destroy the eggs of insects, and prevent moss from growing on the trunk and branches ; it will also contribute to the sourishment of the tree, and render the bark heal- thy, so that in the course of the first or second sum- mer, a fine new bark of a fresh and green ap- pearance, takes the place of the old one. If this application be repeated in autumn, after the fall of tne leaves, it will have a salutary tendency in de- stroying the eggs of numerous insects that natch in autumn and winter. For the same purpose of For- syth's mixture, white-washing with lime has been practised, and found very beneficial in producing similar good effects. The application of strong, undiluted soft soap is employed by Mr. Ogden, of Flushing, Long Island. The soap applied by means of a brush, destroys the moss and softens the bark, and, when washed off by rain, acts as a manure to the roots. When Mr. 0. began this process, his trees were covered with moss and old scaly bark, and uore bad crops ; but in two years all the old bark dropped off, and the trunks became as smooth as a young poplar. The soaping may be done ?t any season, and repeated, if necessary.

A correspondent of the Caledonian horticultural society, (Scotland,) recommends clay paint for the destruction of insects, and the mildew on fruit trees. The instructions are, that you take a quantity of the most tenacious brown clay that can be obtained; diffuse among it as much soft water as will bring it to the consistence of soft cream or paint ; pass it through a fine sieve, so that it may be made per- fectly smooth and unctuous, and freed from any gritty particles. With a painter's brush dipped in the clay paint, go carefully over the whole tree, not excepting the young shoots. This layer, when it becomes dry, forms a hard crust, which, envelop-

OP FRUIT TREES. 75

ing the insects closely, completely destroys them without doing the smallest injury either to the bark or buds.

Whatever promotes a free circulation of the sap, as cleaning the bark from scales, and scraping it to make it tender and yielding; and whatever helps to perfect the maturation of the sap in the leaves of the tree, by giving them a full exposure to the sun and air, as by cutting out the central branches when the head is too bushy, and giving it an expanded form, pi motes the growth, general health, and productiveness of the tree.

In case the trees are observed to be hide-bound, as it is termed, when the bark cracks by reason of the stem growing faster than the bark, it will be necessary to pass the point of a knife perpendicu- larly through the outer bark only, from the ground as high as the branches, taking care not to injure the inner bark. It not unfrequently happens, that from the intense rays of the sun of summer, striking nearly at right angles, the sap on the south side of the trees becomes so coagulated as to occasion the death of the bark; canker ensues, and finally, the tree itself is entirely destroyed. As a remedy for this serious evil, a coat of the abovementioned clay paint, or Forsyth's composition, it is presumed will prove effectual.

MEANS OF PREVENTING THE FLOWERS AND FRUIT FALL- ING OFF, AND OF RETARDING THEIR OPENING.

The means proposed to retard the opening of flowers, consist in making, in the autumn, a ligature on the stems of the young trees ; that compression slackens the motion of the sap's rising, and the tree blossoms the later. Fruits are also liable to fall off as well as flowers. We see trees, which, after hav- ing had a great abundance of flowers, are covered with young fruit, that promises the most plentiful

76 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

crop; but it sometimes happens that they almost all drop off. This accident is too frequent with apple and pear trees. The way to remedy this inconve- nience, is, to sprinkle the root or foot of the trees, when they are in blossom, with five or six buckets of water; and to preserve the humidity, the bottom must be covered with straw, which prevents too hasty an evaporation of the water : by these means the flowers and buds are preserved from falling off.

DISEASES AND OTHER INCIDENTS WHICH RENDER FRUIT TREES UNPRODUCTIVE.

All the maxims relative to fruit trees, it is said, centre in the word health. The great object of the fruit farmer, says Marshall, is to produce a crop every year; and nothing is more likely to obtain it, than keeping the trees in perfect health, and en- deavouring to prevent their bearing beyond their strength, in a general fruit year. The enemies of fruit trees, says the author, are a redundancy of wood, moss, spring frosts, blights, insects, an excess of fruit, old age. To these should be added canker. Some of them are beyond human reach, but most of them are within the control of art. The term blight is of vague signification. Black blighting winds are talked of every where, but no definite idea is any where affixed to the expression. That corn and fruit become unproductive without any visible cause, and that fruit trees are liable to be infected with insects, are certainly facts. But whether in- sects be the cause or the effect of blights, does not appear to be yet settled. With respect to blights, all the assistance which art can render, is to keep the trees in a state of healthfulness, and prevent, as much as possible, an excess of fruit. As old age cannot be prevented, we have only to consider how the productiveness of trees may be protracted. I have seen, says he, healthy bearing apple trees

OF FRUIT TREES. 77

which now wear their second top. The first tops being worn out, were cut off, and the stumps saw- grafted. Sometimes we see trees so far gone in , decay, that their productiveness no longer repays their incumbrance of the soil. How injudicious, in such case, is the conduct of the proprietor, who permits such trees to remain year after year, im- bibing and wasting the substance of his soil! Moss is chiefly, perhaps, owing to the nature of the soil, and cannot be altogether prevented ; but it may in most cases, be checked, and its evil effects in a great measure avoided. " I have seen several orchards," observes our author, " in which the trees were al- most entirely subdued by this vegetable vermin. Some of the trees with, perhaps, only one bough left alive, and others entirely killed, and yet suffer- ed to remain, an incumbrance to the ground, and a disgrace to the country." It would appear, by the above observations of Mr. M., that the same culpa- ble neglect in the management of fruit trees prevails in England as in our own country.

Blight, says another writer, means, the effects of cold winds, or hoar-frosts on the foliage and blos- soms of trees. Easterly winds, accompanied with fogs, often produce blights; the buds are nipped, and the tender vessels burst, innumerable insects soon appear, and the branches become withered. " By accident," says Dr. Mease, " Mr. Cooper of New Jersey, discovered some years since, that a tree upon which a number of iron hoops and other articles of iron had been hung, remained free from blight, while all the rest suffered severely. Since that year he has constantly encircled two or three branches of every tree with an iron hoop, and with uniform success. As a proof, he pointed out one tree with a withered limb near the top, and ob- served, that he had neglected to defend it last year. Philosophers may speculate as to the theory of the operation of the iron, and cause of the blast, but

78 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

practical men will be contented with a knowledge of the important fact, which comes from a man of judgment and of an observing disposition, who has again and again satisfied himself that no deception or accidental circumstance occurred, by reference to which the preservation of his hooped trees could be accounted for."

CANKER.

Apple trees are very liable to be affected with the canker. This disease occasions the bark to grow rough and scabby, and turns the wood affect- ed to a rusty brown colour ; and if no remedy be applied, will in time kill the tree. It is by some described as a sort of gangrene, which usually be- gins at the extremities of the branches, and pro- ceeds towards the trunk, killing the tree in two or three years. Peter Yates, esquire, of Albany, ob- serves, that his fruit trees became affected with the canker, generally appearing on the southwest side of the body or trunk of the tree. The bark of the infected part at first appeared dark, and at length rough, wrinkled, cracked, and dead. The in- fection annually increased; it communicated to the alburnum or sap wood ; the circulation of the sap- juice was obstructed; it gradually diminished; it stagnated ; and the tree perished. The general opi- nion respecting the cause of this disease is, that it proceeds chiefly from the nature of the soil. Mr. Forsyth, however, proves from experience, that it originates from the following circumstances, name- ly: injudicious pruning; leaving the footstalks of fruit on trees after it has been gathered; bruises, arising from the use of ladders in collecting fruit ; and dead shoots, left on trees during the summer. But, says Mr. Yates, " it seems extraordinary, that the fruit trees in this climate are almost invariably affected on the southwest side of the trunk or body

OF FRUIT TREES. 79

®f the trees. There it generally commences, and continues to increase annually, until the infection is communicated to the limbs. If I might be per- mitted to hazard an opinion, I would account for it as follows : That it is caused by the hot rays of the meridian sun, which in that direction is most powerful, and strikes the tree nearly at right an- gles. The south side of trees grows faster, for there the vegetation is more rapid, than the north: this may be seen by the concentrick rings of a tree when cut or sawed into logs. Fruit trees gene- rally incline to the northeast, which exposes their trunks to the influence of that luminary in the spring, when the sap-juice is subject to alternate freezing and thawing. The motion of the sap (which ascends in the vernal months in all deci- duous trees) is accelerated by the hot rays of the sun at southwest. It is retarded and stagnated in the cool of the nights, whereby the irritability of the vegetable vessels is decreased for want of a sufficient stimulus of heat ; and by this alternate thawing and freezing of the sap-juice, and particu- larly on the southwest side of the tree, where the sun's rays are most powerful, the vegetation is at last destroyed, and mortification ensues." It fre- quently happens, that scions for grafting are taken from infected trees ; and the young trees produced in this way are, as might be expected, peculiarly obnoxious to the disease. From whatever cause the canker may arise, Mr. Forsyth directs all the diseased parts to be cut out with a sharp instru- ment ; and if the inner white bark be affected, this also must be cut away, until no appearance of in- fection remains. The composition must then be applied. This method Mr. Yates has found by experience to prove effectual. (See directions for making and laying on the composition, page 69.) Mr. Cooper, of New Jersey, has found the best

80 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

remedy for canker to be a composition of rosin, tallow, and beeswax, of a proper consistence to stick, after taking off all the dead parts.

M05S, AND SCALY BARK, AND DECORTICATION.

Fruit trees, in all soils, and in all situations, are liable to have their trunks covered with moss, and their bark rough and scaly. Besides the unseemly appearance, fruit trees suffer much injury by these causes, if suffered to continue without a remedy. The moss is easily removed by scraping with the back of a knife, and rubbing with a cloth, after a rain, or in damp weather ; and the scaly bark may with equal facility be scraped off with a hoe or knife. This operation should be performed every spring, and immediately after, the trunks and larger branches should receive a proper coat of some of the compositions already mentioned. Either the washing with the liquids, or the application of un- diluted soap, (see page 74) will effectually remove any remains of moss, and, if occasionally repeated, the health and vigour of the trees will be re- stored, and in two years the bark will appear fresh and smooth. In some diseased condition of the bark of apple trees, the experiment of disbarking the whole trunk from the ground to the branches, has been successfully practised. Dr. S. L. Mitchell, of New York, in the summer of 1799, deprived the whole body of one of his apple trees of the bark, without injury to its leaves or fruit; and in two months an entire new coat of bark was found surrounding the wood on every side. Dr. M., however, observes, that .though he has several times been witness of the harrnlessness of the prac- tice, it looked to him still like a very violent and hazardous remedy. This sort of decortication is by no means a novelty. Many ancient writers have observed, that in cases where the outer bark

OF FRUIT TREES. 81

has become rough and full of chinks, so that small insects deposit their eggs and produce their larva? below this bark, it is a good practice entirely to re- move it. Of late years, Mr. Knight practised de- cortication on some old fruit trees, particularly red- streak apples, and found the new growth thus pro- duced quite surprising, so that the growth of some trees, deprived of their bark in 1801, exceeded in the summer of 1802 the increase of fhe five pre- ceding years taken together. This method has been adopted in various parts of New England, some- times with complete success, and again, the result has been the entire destruction of the trees. This failure is attributed, by an ingenious writer in the Massachusetts Agricultural Repository, to a want of skill in the operator ; observing, that he has seen a young apple tree in the town of Hallowell, which, on account of some defect, was stripped of its bark about ten years prior to his writing, the longest day of June, and which still lives and bears fruit. Much of its success, it is said, depends on the proper time and manner of performing the ope- ration. It should be done while the tree is in the full flow of sap, about the middle of June, or on the longest day of that month, and the bark should be peeled off entirely smooth to the alburnum. It is scarcely probable, however, that our farmers will be disposed to resort to this troublesome and uncertain expedient, when the milder methods above described will answer every purpose.

Fruit trees are liable to have their bark torn off by field mice, sheep, and various accidents : to re- medy which, take some strips of bark from a tree of the same species, about two or three inches in width, and place four or five of them, according to the size of the wound, perpendicularly round the naked part. The edges of the torn bark being cut smooth, the sound bark should be a little raised, and the slips inserted beneath it to promote the 11

82 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

circulation of the sap. The slips are next to be bound quite tight with rope-yarn, and the compo- sition of Forsyth, or a mixture of loam and cow- dung, must be applied, and this covered with a coarse cloth. This method of treatment has been successfully practised ; the slips adhere closely, and, being full of sap, soon become firm and smooth. Instead of bark slips, small twigs may be success- fully applied in a similar manner.

SPRING FROSTS, AND OTHER CAUSES AFFECTING THE BLOSSOMS.

Every cultivator of fruit trees has experienced more or less disappointment in his expected crop of apple, pear, and other fruit, trees, after having ex- hibited the fairest prospect in the vernal season. While in full blossom, and the fruit just beginning to form, the petals are cast off, like the dead leaves in autumn. This incident is said to be occasioned by warm and drying winds, by which the vigour of the trees is diminished. In one instance it appears that a remedy has been successfully applied, and the loss and inconvenience prevented. J. Sowerby, esquire, in the spring of 1815, observed that the drying winds generally succeeded the blossoming of his fruit trees ; the whole used to be blown off about the time of the setting of the young fruit. Deem- ing it probable that a good dose of water at the roots would strengthen the tree, and save the fruit, the experiment was tried, and the good effect was perceived in twenty-four hours; the young fruit then resisted the attack of the winds, and a large crop was produced. Not only were the trees ena- bled to produce their fruit in abundance, but also to increase them in size to nearly double. The blos- soms of apple trees are liable to be injured or de- stroyed by various other causes; as severe cold, a hazy state of the atmosphere, frosts, and insects of

OP FRUIT TREES. 83

various kinds ; and Mr. Knight has remarked, that they also fail frequently from want of impregnation when the weather is unusually hot and dry, or when cold winds prevail, as he often observed the farina to wither and die on the anthers in such seasons.

Spring frosts are an enemy, against which per- haps it is most difficult to guard orchard trees. " Dry frosts," says Marshall, " are observed to have no other effects than keeping the blossoms back ; con- sequently, are frequently serviceable to fruit trees. But wet frosts, namely, frosts after a rain, or a fog- gy air, and before the trees have had time to dry, are very injurious even to the buds. An instance is mentioned, in which a flying hazy shower in the evening was succeeded by a smart frost ; that side of the trees, against which the haze drove, was en- tirely cut off, while the opposite side, which had escaped the moisture, likewise escaped the effect of the frost. Much, however, may depend on the strength of the blossoms. When the buds form, and the blossoms break forth with unusual vigour, they are enabled by their own strength to set com- mon enemies at defiance. But, on the contrary, when the blossoms sicken in the bud, and those which open are weak and languid, scarcely an ap- ple will be produced. The assistance, therefore, required from art, in this case, is by keeping the trees in a healthy, vigorous state, to enable them to throw out a strength of bud and blossom; and by keeping them thin of wood, to give them an oppor- tunity of drying quickly before the frost sets in." Apple blossoms are, in some seasons, injured by the devastations of an uncommon number of insects pro- duced from a species of black flies, which deposit their eggs in the bud at its first opening, and which, by feeding on the heart of the bud, soon occasion it to contract and drop. To remedy this fatal effect, we are advised to collect heaps of long dung, wet straw, weeds, &c., to dispose them in different parts

84 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

of the orchard, and set fire to the heaps in that quarter from which the wind blows, so that the smoke may thoroughly fumigate all the trees. Thus the insects, which are supposed to be brought by the wind, will be prevented from depositing their

CANKER WORM.

Of all the numerous tribes of insects which in- fest fruit trees, and disappoint the hopes of the cul- tivator, the canker worm, during the years of its prevalence, is the most to be dreaded. This de- structive insect has, therefore, baffled the efforts of man, and, in despite of all means of prevention as yet devised, commits its depredations, and deprives whole orchards of foliage and fruit. The miller, or moth, rises from the earth in the spring, conceals itself during the day in holes and crevices under the loose bark of apple trees, and may be easily found by searching. The male has wings, but the female appears to have none ; they are enabled, however, to ascend the trunk of the tree, and crawl towards the extremities of the twigs, where they deposit their eggs, and as soon as the leaves unfold arid sprout forth, the worm bursts from the egg and commences its ravages. The worms soon spin for themselves long threads, similar to those of spiders, by which they are suspended in the air, and wafted by the wind from tree to tree, and from one ad- joining orchard to another, preying voraciously upon the foliage, and giving the trees the appearance of being burnt. Professor Peck, of Cambridge, has favoured the publick with the most satisfactory history of this insect, which has yet appeared. Ac- cording to him, the worms descend by the trunks of the trees in June, and immure themselves in the earth near the trunks, and rarely, if ever, more than three to four feet distant ; in grass land from

OP FRUIT TREES. 85

one to four inches deep, and in ploughed land not more than to the depth of seven or eight inches. He has also ascertained that a part of the canker moths rise in the autumn and deposit their eggs. They are such as were an inch or two below the surface ; those which lie deeper are not affected by the transient changes of the atmosphere in Novem- ber, and do not rise till the spring. The chrysalis state comes in twenty-four hours after the larvae has penetrated the earth, and it appears that the insects are soon perfect, since a course of warm weather has been found to raise some of them from the earth in November. Those which rise in No- vember are, not very numerous, compared with those which rise in the spring, but being very pro- lifick, are exceedingly injurious, if no means are taken to prevent their ascending the trees ; as the winter's frost does not kill the eggs. The warmth of the season at the time of the descent into the soil is favourable to the perfect development of the insect in the chrysalis, particularly those which m* nearest the surface, while those at the depth of six or seven inches are longer in coming to maturi- ty. The first are perfect in September, and re- quire only to be excited to burst from their con- finement ; but they cannot be excited until they have passed through a degree of cold sufficient to make them sensible of the mild temperature of the atmosphere which occurs in November. The ex- citability of such as lie deeper, and are not accessi- ble by cold till a later period of the season, is not so soon accumulated, nor are they sensible of slight changes of temperature, which affect only the sur- face ; they, therefore, do not leave the earth till the spring, when the warmth of the air is longer continued, and penetrates to the depth at which they lie. To prevent the dreadful ravages of the canker worm, the great object is to keep the female from ascending the trees. For this purpose van-

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ous methods have been proposed. A writer IB Carey's American Museum, August, 1792, says, "Canker worms never destroy apple trees which stand on a stiff clay, or in low ground, where water stands long in the spring. The reason for this is obvious. The canker worm, about the 10th of June, descends into the earth, there to lie till the next spring, when the miller rises and ascends the trees. This worm is not strong, nor furnished with the necessary implements for digging into a hard stiff clay ; of course it cannot bury itself in clay, and is not fond of gravel. The writer therefore pro- poses to lay a covering of stiff clay round trees which stand on sand or other light earth. This covering or layer may be thrown upon the top of the natural soil, which may be removed to the depth of a few inches. If the clay be laid on in summer, after the descent of the worm, it may prevent the miller from rising in the spring; if when the worm is upon the tree, it may prevent its finding a lodging; but as in the latter case, the worm might travel some dis- tance beyond the limits of the layer, it might be bet- ter to form the layer round the tree after the de- scent of the worm in June."

According to Dr. Dean's New England Farmer, it is now about eighty years since New England was first visited by these destructive insects. He observes, if any person could invent some easy, cheap, and effectual method of subduing them, he would merit the thanks of the publick, and more especially of every owner of an orchard. Several methods have been tried with some degree of suc- cess. 1. Tarring. A strip of canvass is put round the body of the tree, before the ground is open in the spring, and well smeared with tar. The fe- males, in attempting to pass over it, stick fast and perish. But unless the tarring be renewed very frequently, it will become hard, and permit the in- sects to pass safely over it. And renewing the

OF FRUIT TREES. 87

tar in season is too apt to be neglected, through hurry of business and forgetfulness. The insects are so amazingly prolifick, that if ever so few of them get up, a tree is ruined, at least for the en- suing season. 2. The pasturing of swine in an or- chard Dr. Dean supposes to be an excellent me- thod, where it can conveniently be done. With their snouts and their feet they will destroy many of the insects before they come out of the ground ; and he has never known any orchard constantly used as a hog-pasture, wholly destroyed, or even made wholly unfruitful by worms. But this me- thod cannot always be taken ; and if it could, he does not suppose it would be quite effectual. He considers tarring as the preferable antidote, and gives the following directions for applying the arti- cle in the most effectual manner.

In the first place, it is necessary to begin the ope- ration very early in the year. Not observing this caution has occasioned the want of success which many have complained of; for it is certain that the bugs will begin to pass up as soon as the ground is so much thawed, that they can extricate them- selves ; which is, in some years, as early as Feb- ruary. Therefore, to make sure work, it is best to begin as soon as the ground is bare of snow in that month, that the first thawing of the ground may not happen before the trees are prepared; for beginning after ever so few of the insects have gone up, the labour will all be lost. Another thing to be observed is, to fill the crevices of the bark with clay mortar before the strip of linen or canvass is put on, that the insects may not find any passages for them under it. Having put on the strip, which should be at least three inches wide, drawn it close, and strongly fastened the ends to- gether, a thumb-rope of tow should be tied round the tree, close to the lower edge of the strip. The design of doing this is, that the tar may not

88 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

drip, nor run down on the bark of the tree, which would injure it. When all the trees of an orchard are thus prepared, let the strips be plentifully smeared with cold tar, put on with a brush. It should be renewed once a day without fail. The best time is soon after sun-set, because the insects are wont to pass up in the evening, and the tar will not harden so much in the night as in the day, because of the dampness of the air. The daily task must be renewed, and performed with the greatest care, till the latter end of May, or till the time when the hatching of the worms is commonly over, which will be earlier or later, according to the difference of climate.

Another mode of tarring, and which bids fair to be preferred to the foregoing, is as follows : Take two pretty wide pieces of board ; plane them ; make semicircular notches in each, fitting them to the stem or body of the tree ; and fasten them to- gether securely at the ends, so that the most vio- lent winds aftd storms may not displace nor stir them. The crevices betwixt the boards and the tree may be easily stopped with rags or tow : then smear the under sides of the boards with tar. The tar being defended from the direct rays of the sun, will hold its tenacity the longer, and, therefore, will not need to be frequently renewed ; and the trees may be secured more in this way from the dripping of the tar, as a margin of two <or three inches, next to the tree, may be left un- ^smeared.

" The remedy of tarring." says professor Peck, " was probably first suggested by the structure of the female insect, which, happily for man, has no wings. If this remedy were diligently and univer- sally used, it would very likely rid us of this pest ; it must, indeed, be granted, at a considerable ex- pense. But the negligence of many will counter- act the vigilance of a few, whatever remedy may

OF FRUIT TREES. 89

be proposed or discovered. Mr. P. recommends, 1st. Turning up the ground carefully in October, as far as the branches of a tree extend, to half a spade's depth or five inches, so as completely to invert the surface. A great number of chrysalids would thus be exposed to the air and sun, and of course be destroyed. 2dly. Breaking the clods and smoothing the surface with a rake, and passing a heavy roller over it, so as to make it very hard, and without cracks. By these two operations eve- ry vestige of their downward path would be com- pletely obliterated, and if any remained undisturb- ed below the stratum of earth which has been turned up, they must remain there, as it is utterly impossible for them to force their way in the moth or miller state, through such an obstruction as this layer of earth would oppose to them. In grass grounds the sods should be turned with the grass side down, and placed side by side, so as to be roll- ed ; the earth from which they were taken should be loosed and rolled also. It is probable, that with this treatment no moths would rise in the fall. The winter's frosts would heave and crack the smooth surface, but it might be smoothed and hardened by the roller or other means, in March, with much less trouble, time, and expense, than the long course of tarring requires. As lime, when slacked, is reduced to an impalpable powder, and is thus well adapted to close the least openings in the surface to which it may be washed by rains, Mr. P. is inclined to think its good effects are produced in this way as well as by its caustick quality."

Mr. Kenrick's method of destroying the Canker Worm.

John Kenrick, esquire, of Newton, proposes as follows : From any time in June, after the worms have entirely disappeared, until the 20th of Octo- ber, let the whole of the soil surrounding the trees, 12

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to the extent at least of four feet from the trunkj and to a suitable depth, be dug up and carted away to a distance from any trees the canker worms are in the habit of feeding upon ; and let there be re- turned an equal quantity of compost, or rich earth intermixed with manure. The earth taken from the trees, will make a substantial ingredient in compost. If a few straggling canker worms appear on any of the trees the spring following, let such trees be marked, that the operation may be repeat- ed the succeeding summer. The process proposed will not only accelerate the growth, and increase the fruitfulness of the trees, but will prove a con- siderable guard to them against the depredations of moles in the winter following; advantages which will abundantly outweigh the whole expense. But the pre-eminent advantage obtained, will be to have captured those destructive invaders, broken up and completely destroyed their encampments. Annual tarring, the only remedy in general use, instead of being beneficial to the trees, is allowed on all hands to be injurious. The seasons being variable, it requires considerable care and skill to know when to begin ; if one day too late, some of the canker moths will have ascended the trees ; if four days too early, so much labour and tar are lost. The same difficulty occurs in knowing when to cease tarring. The business must be attended to exactly in the right time, whether it rain or shine, and the operation repeated considerably more than twenty times in every season ; and the average of various estimates of the annual expense of tarring each tree amounts to full ten cents. The method I have proposed, says Mr. K., appears to be perfectly adapted to the convenience of the practical farmer. He will avoid the trouble and expense of purchasing and applying tar, lime, or any other article ; he can perform the operation when most at leisure, and

OP FRUIT TREES. 91

with a certain prospect of ample reward for his labour, even if no damage were apprehended from the canker worm ; and if the operation is perform- ed in June, he can raise a crop of potatoes round the trees the first season. Hence it is obvious, that several very important advantages will be ob- tained in addition to the prime object ; and the prudent farmer, who adopts this method, will nave in view the most, if not the whole, of the fol- lowing distinct objects :

1. Extermination of the canker worms.

2. Growth of the tree?.

3. Fruitfulness of the trees.

4. Defence against the moles.

5. Several crops of potatoes.

6. Manufacture of compost.

Mr. Kenrick never having had any canker wormi on his farm, could not personally prove the efficacy of the method proposed, by actual experiment. But it should be strongly recommended to the attention of cultivators of orchards, and it is hoped the pub- lick may be made acquainted with the result of every trial.

John Lowell, esquire, (Mass. Agricul. Repos.) observes, that " the expense of tarring an orchard for several years, together with the injury sustain- ed by the trees in the common mode of doing it, will be nearly equivalent to a total loss. The im- provements, introduced by Mr. Parsons, and other cultivators, of surrounding the trees with canvass and rope-yarn, and stopping the descent of the tar by a bandage of coarse hemp, together with the mixture of the tar with oil, so as to keep it longer in a soft state, have very much diminished the in- convenience of the old practice. Still much re- mains to be desired. The process is imperfect, un- less performed as faithfully in the fall as in the spring. If your neighbours are inattentive, you may be subjected to this labour for ten or twenty

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years, and your orchards will scarcely pay the con- tinued and accumulated expense. Something fur- ther seems to be desirable ; some mode more sim- ple, less expensive, more effectual. In the southern states, I perceive, some persons are still ignorant of the natural history of this insect, and regret that it has not been examined and described by scientifick men. We have nothing left to be desired on this head. The description of the canker worm, by professor Peck, is very satisfactory, and only leaves us to regret that the same ingenuity could not have devised some speedy, simple mode of extirpating or checking them. Until some effectual mode is dis- covered, I think we should make constant experi- ments, and communicate fully the results, in the hope that if our trials shall not prove in every case successful, they may stimulate others to more hap- py ones.

" I had understood that Mr. Josiah Knapp, of Bos- ton, was induced to try the effect of air-slacked lime. He put it round one of his trees in the spring of 1814, and I have been assured, not only by him, but by another respectable friend who examined it, that it was fully successful. The tree was in a small garden in Boston, surrounded with other trees, which were filled with the worms, and this one wholly escaped, except that a few appeared to have attacked its extremities, where they were interlock- ed with the other trees. I mentioned this fact to a Rhode Island gentleman, who informed me that, in that state, they had used the rubbish collected from the breaking of flax, and it had effectually pre- vented the rise of the insect. I resolved to make the experiment of lime on an extensive scale. As the insects rise in the fall, I determined to put the lime on in autumn. For this purpose I had the turf dug in around sixty apple trees, and the earth laid smooth. I then took three hogsheads of effete or air-slacked lime, and strewed it an inch thick

WF FRUIT TREES. 93

round my trees, to the extent of about two or three feet from the roots, so that the whole diameter of the opening was from four to six feet. I tarred these trees as well as the others, and although I had worms or grubs on most that were not limed, I did not catch a single grub where the trees were limed. I do not mean to speak with confidence ; I am, however, strongly encouraged to believe the remedy perfect. It was ascertained by professor Peck, that the insect seldom descended into the ground at a greater distance than three or four feet from the trunk, and to the depth of four inches, or that the greater part come within that distance. The lime is known to be destructive to all animal substances, and I have little doubt that it actually decomposes and destroys the insect in the chrysalis state ; at least, I hope this is the case. There are many reasons which should encourage the repeti- tion of this experiment. The digging round the trees is highly useful to them, while tarring is very injurious. The expense is not great ; a man can dig round fifty large trees in one day. The lime is a most salutary manure to the trees. After the spot has been once opened and limed, the labour of keeping it open will not be great. Three hogsheads of air-slacked lime, or sweepings of a lime store, will suffice for fifty trees, and will cost three dollars. As it is done but once a year, I think it cannot be half so expensive as tarring. I repeat it, sir, that I mention ray experiment with great dif- fidence, as being the first of my own knowledge. It may induce several persons to try it in different places, and where trees are surrounded with others which are treated differently. All I pray is, that it may prove to be successful, and relieve us from this dreadful scourge, which defaces our country, while it impoverishes and disappoints the farmer. If it should succeed, Mr. Knapp will merit the thanks of the publick for his ingenious experiment.-1

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The foregoing valuable communication from one so highly deserving of confidence, it is hoped will have its proper influence, and encourage every pro- prietor of an orchard to make the experiment, whenever the canker worm shall again menace us with its ravages. The application of lime appears to be by far the most eligible remedy that has heretofore been proposed. It forms, after being exposed to rain, a hard crust impenetrable to moths or worms. If it should be generally adopted, it is very probable that these pernicious insects will be finally exterminated. It might be profitable to make the experiment upon a small scale, by con- fining some of the moths or worms, in their differ- ent states, in a box of earth, and applying the lime, so as to ascertain how far they will be able to pro- gress through it, and whether the lime will have the effect of decomposing them. It has already been intimated, (page 58,) that flax-rubbish and sea- weed, might be laid round orchard trees so as to prove a remedy against these insects. Those sub- stances, when beaten down by rains, soon become so firm and solid, as to prevent the growth of grass, and I should judge it would be impossible for the insects to penetrate through them.

It was recommended by Dr. Dean, to endeavour to effect the destruction of canker worms through the agency of swine. These animals appear to possess a natural instinct directing to search with their snouts for vermin and insects, which conceal themselves in the earth. They should, when cir- cumstances permit, be suffered to run unrestrained, in orchards, during autumn and spring, for that pur- pose. I am authorized to say, that in several in- stances in this vicinity, the experiment has been made, and proved in a great degree effectual. A general resort to this expedient, might have a hap- py tendency in preventing the annoyance of these, and other insects, in our orchards.

OF FRUIT TREES. 95

It is well known, that several species of birds feed voraciously upon the canker worm, and other tribes of insects ; it would be advantageous, there- fore, to encourage -the increase of the feathered tribe, by all the means in our power.

CATERPILLARS.

These vermin are so truly disgusting in their na- ture and appearance, and so injurious by their de- vastations, that every farmer should consider it dis- graceful, to suffer his orchard to be infested by them; yet it is not uncommon to see numerous branches of valuable fruit trees entwined with nests, filled with these industrious reptiles, by which the foliage and fruit are destroyed. During an excur- sion this season, I have witnessed the disgustful sight of more than twenty large caterpillars' nests on a single tree, and almost every green leaf devoured. It would consist more with the interest and credit of the proprietor, were such neglected trees no longer permitted to encumber the ground.

The eggs from which caterpillars are produced, are attached in clusters to the small twigs by a brownish coloured miller, in the month of August, and are securely covered with a gummy substance, unsus- ceptible of injury by the weather during winter. The young brood is hatched by the warmth of the sun, just in time to prey upon the fresh leaves as they appear in the spring. The numerous family from each cluster of eggs, immediately unite in the labour of constructing a nest of strong web, which affords them a shelter from the inclemency of the weather, and a secure retreat from the dews at night. They continue to feed upon the leaves until about the last of June, when they abandon their habitation, and stroll to some dry, secure place, where they envelop themselves in a close covering of an egg- shaped, roundish ball, very similar to the cocoon of

96 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

the silk worm. In this chrysalis state, they con- tinue a few weeks, and in the month of August they burst forth in the form of a brownish coloured mil- ler, the female of which soon wings her way to the apple trees, and deposits her eggs on the twigs, in the same manner as her progenitor, in the preceding year. Thus is an annual progeny generated, and in this manner is the species perpetuated. It will therefore appear evident, that if proper care be taken to destroy these vermin annually, and if all proprietors of orchards will act in concert with this view, the species may be entirely annihilated. The clusters of eggs which contain the young brood, very nearly resemble in colour the bark of the tree, but by a vigilant search they may be detected, and at any leisure time after the month of August, the twigs to which they are attached, should be cut off, and burnt, or the eggs otherwise destroyed. But when this is omitted, and the caterpillars are hatch- ed, and have constructed their nests, and are ram- bling among the branches for food, a different me- thod must be adopted. The trees daring the spring and first part of summer should be carefully search- ed every two or three days, in the morning or even- ing, while the insects are enclosed in their tents, when they are easily crushed with the fingers, or some instrument, or the branch mav be cut off and

J

destroyed. It is asserted that spirit of turpentine, or common fish oil, applied to the nest will pene- trate through, and kill every caterpillar within it ; and it is also said, that soap suds will answer the same purpose. Mr. Yates, of Albany, says, he has formerly, and for several successive years, early in the morning while the caterpillars were confined to their nest or web, taken them off and destroyed them. By a repetition of this practice two or three times a weok, for two or three weeks successively, they were totally destroyed ; but of late he has dis- covered a more easy and expeditious method,* and

OF FRUIT TREES. 97

which effectually answers the purpose. Take a handful of wormwood, one of rue, and two of Virginia tobacco ; (a sufficient quantity of tobacco alone will do, but not so well ;) boil these together in about two pails full of rain water, for nearly half an hour ; strain it through a cloth, and with this liquor sprin- kle the trees. He performs this with a barrow en- gine ; but the operation should be performed when the caterpillars or worms have left their nocturnal nest or web, and are dispersed on the trees. Re- peat the operation two or three times ; they will drop down and expire.

An eligible method of exterminating the cater- pillar, will be found in the follow ing communication, from the honourable Mr. Pickering, to the corres- ponding secretary of the Massachusetts agricultural society. (Vol. iv. p. 326. Agricul. Repos.)

Description of a Brush for destroying Caterpillar's Nests.

Wenham, May 26, 1817.

DEAR SIR, — For the last three or four years we have had very few caterpillars. Last week I ob- served an increased number, though not many, on my young apple trees. How to destroy them most easily, was a question which had occurred as often as I had seen orchards infested with them : while I always considered it disgraceful to a farmer »to suffer his trees to be stripped of their leaves, and their fruit, for that season at least, to be destroyed; seeing it was very practicable to get rid of them, and without much trouble, by crushing them, when small, with the fingers. This was my father's mode when I was a boy. The same long, light ladders, which served in autumn in gathering his winter fruit by hand, enabled one to come at most of the caterpillars' nests in the spring. On this effectual example I have myself practised, since I became a farmer. Some over delicate persons 13

98 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

might object to this mode ; but it is really far less offensive than the bare sight of large and numerous nests with which apple trees are sometimes filled. And if the operation be performed early, when the caterpillars are only from a quarter to half an inch long, the operator (man or boy) will feel no repug- nance to the process. But in full grown trees, some nests, towards the extremities of their small limbs, would escape, because not accessible by ladders. A narrow brush, formed with small bunches of bris- tles, in a single row, I once thought would reach and destroy them ; but it was not found effectual nor convenient. Last Saturday morning the idea of the proper kind of brush occurred to me, and in the forenoon I tried it with complete success.

I presume every farmer has observed, that the clusters of eggs, producing caterpillars, are laid round the slender twigs of the apple tree and wild cherry, and effectually guarded by a gummy cover- ing, until vegetation commences in the ensuing spring. When first hatched, the worms appear about the eighth of an inch long. The same warmth in the air, which opens the buds, hatches the caterpillars to feed on the embryo leaves. Their first object is to provide for themselves a tent for shelter, in their new state, against the in- clemencies of the weather. For this purpose, they crawl to a small fork of a limb, where the branches form a sharp angle, and there spin t and weave a web, with which they surround it, and where they are secure against undue cold, and heat, and rain. By this small white web they are discovered, and are then most easily destroyed. But the clusters of eggs are not all hatched at the same time. Ac- cording to their situation for warmth or coolness, they are hatched some days earlier or later. At a distance, therefore, of a week or ten days after the first visit, an orchard should be again inspected, and all the latter broods destroyed. If neglected

OF FRUIT TREES. 99

in this first state, they soon, by their growth, be- come straitened for room ; and, having also con- sumed the nearest forage, they march and take a new station, and there form a new, but more am- ple tent. By such neglect the mischief of their ravages is increased, and they are with more diffi- culty destroyed.

The efficient and convenient instrument above mentioned, for this work, is nothing more than a common bottle brush fastened on the end of a pole. Having an old one in my house, I was enabled to make the experiment on the day when the idea of so applying it occurred to me. This brush is made of hog's bristles, introduced between two stiff wires closely twisted, and, being convenient in cleansing the insides of bottles, is probably familiarly known wherever liquors are bottled. For the information of others, I will mention, that a piece of wire, full one tenth of an inch in diameter, about three feet long, doubled, and leaving a small loop in the mid-, die, is closely twisted for the length of about eight or ten inches from the loop ; and then the bristles, being introduced between the remainder of the two branches of the wire, and these closely twisted upon them, the bristles are immoveably fixed, and thus form (after being uniformly sheared,) a cylin- drical brush, about six inches long, and two inches and a half in diameter. To fasten this conveniently to a pole, with a small gouge, I made a groove about seven or eight inches long at the small end of the pole, in which nearly all the handle (the naked por- tion of the twisted wire) of the brush was laid, and bound on with three strings.

In using the brush, press it on the small nest, and turning the pole in the hand, the web is entangled with the bristles and removed ; otherwise you rub the fork of the limb, inside and outside, with the brush, when" nest and worms are surely killed or brought down. That the experimenter may see

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its mode of operation, he may apply the brush with his hand to a nest within his reach. Spruce poles are eligible, because that wood is light and stiff. For my small trees, I found a common bean pole (used for running beans to climb on,) six or seven feet long, sufficient ; and for them a larger pole would be inconvenient. For taller trees, poles pro- portionably long must be provided.

If you are satisfied, by my account, of the utility of this simple instrument for destroying caterpillars, you may think it proper immediately to make it publickly known. Should the description be more minute than is requisite for communicating a clear idea of it, and of its application, you will abridge it.

With respect and esteem, &c.

TIMOTHY PICKERING.

THE WORM CALLED THE BORER.

An interesting paper by W. Denning, Esq. on the subject of the alarming decay of apple trees, is in- serted in the first volume of the transactions of the New York agricultural society; from which it ap- pears, that on cutting down some apple trees, which were far decayed, he discovered two worm holes running perpendicularly, from the tap root, through the heart. These holes were large enough to ad- mit a pipe stem, and reached about fourteen inches above the surface ; and from each hole a worm was taken. In some trees eight or ten holes were found. Mr. Denning proposes no remedy ; but Dr. Mease, editor of the domestick encyclopedia, observes, that the worm must be searched for with a wire, and bored out. The publick are particu- larly indebted to J. Prince, Esq. and to Mr. E. Her- sey, of Roxbury, for their mode of destroying this pernicious insect.

OF FRUIT

From the Massachusetts Agricultural Repository, volume ir. On a worm which attacks the apple tree. By John Prince, Esq.

Jamaica Plains, July, 1819.

DEAR SIR, — I have, within a few years past, lost a number of apple trees of from ten to fifteen years old, and was not able to account for it. My young trees also, that were beginning to bear, produced chiefly wormy and knurly fruit. The last year I found what I supposed to be the cause, which was a small, white, ringed worm, about three quarters of an inch long, with a dark coloured head, (I be- lieve the same that attacks the peach tree,) attack- ing them at and just below the surface of the ground. I mentioned the subject to professor Peck, yourself, and several other gentlemen, who had never heard of this destroyer of the apple tree. I feared much the loss of all my trees, of which I have near one thousand, and mostly of my own planting. This spring, a man, who was grafting for me some old trees, told me he had trees that had been affected in the same way, and that they were very easily got rid of, by digging round the trees, and clearing away the earth to the roots, and then, with a sharp pointed knife, a chisel, or gouge, (and a small wire to probe, if they were deep in the tree,) they were easily destroyed. I employed him in June for this purpose. I believe there was not an apple tree on my farm but had some worms ; and from some of them twenty-four were taken ; and the trees almost entirely girdled, and would not, probably, have lived through the year. After taking out all that could be found, the wounds were covered over with grafting clay, and a large pro- portion of dry wood ashes, mixed, arid the earth then returned to the tree. I shall have them again examined this fall, and looked at every spring. The trouble is much less than would be imagined, till tried. One capable man will dig round and

102 ^CULTUlitf AND MANAGEMENT

turn the sods, two or three feet from the tree, (and which is also extremely beneficial to young trees in grass ground,) and examine at least thirty trees in one day ; and in garden, or ploughed ground, one hundred.

When it is found how little expense is required to extract these destructive little worms, I do hope those persons who have young trees particularly, would examine them as soon as possible. They are soon discovered by the worm casts, or saw-dust borings, which should be followed, and wholly ex- tracted.

I have also lost several mountain ash and quince trees by, I believe, the same destroyer.

Report of a committee to whom was referred the application of Mr: E. Kersey.

The committee appointed by the trustees of the Massachusetts agricultural society, to inquire into the facts relative to the destruction of the worm called the borer, which has of laj;e years been so in- jurious to the apple trees in this neighbourhood ; and to ascertain whether any thing be due to the exer- tions and adroitness of Mr. Ebenezer Hersey, of Roxbury, housewright, and generally known as a successful grafter, in destroying this troublesome and voracious insect, beg leave to report :— That they find, although it be uncertain whether Mr. Hersey was the first person who discovered the easy mode now practised by him, in taking the insect from the body of the tree, yet they are satisfied that the £reat advantage which the publick are like to de- rive from the extirpation of this worm, is principal- ly owing to the exertions and cleverness of Mr. Hersey in this branch of his profession; and they recommend that a premium be awarded him of twenty-five dollars.

Your committee feel it incumbent on them to state, for your information, that Mr. Hersey has ex-

OP FRUIT TREES. 103

tirpated the insect in at least a thousand apple trees on one farm in Roxbury; that he has probably sav- ed many thousands in other parts of that town, and its neighbourhood, either by his personal attendance and labour, or by the information which he has giv- en to others on the subject ; that he has restored to vigour and soundness many valuable peach trees that were gummy, and rapidly declining, from the effects produced by this, or a similar worm ; that he has traced them to the mountain ash, and saved many of those beautiful trees from perishing : and your committee have no doubt, if, from his example, the farmers of this commonwealth will examine their orchards, and cut out those insects from their trees, wherever found, they will, in a short time, feel the benefit of their attention to the increased and improved quality of their fruit.

Your committee feel it their duty also to add, that from their own experience, they feel assured, that all those who can command the services of Mr. Hersey, will find it more economical to employ him to perform this work, than to undertake it themselves ; as his experience and original profes- sion of housewright, acquainted with the use of tools, enables him to do it hot only more thorough- ly, but very much quicker than any one can who has not been in the practice of the art.

The seasons when, this operation is performed with most effect, arc the spring and fall ; and if in the spring, before the month of June, as the perfect insects escape before that time. In apple and mountain ash trees, the existence of the animal in the tree may generally be known, by the mossy appearance on the bark ; and it may be traced by removing a little earth from the body of the tree, next above the insertion of the great roots. Al- though the hole at which the insect enters, is, in many instances, very small, yet it is easily discover- ed by an appearance of powdered wood, or fine

CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

saw dust, which is thrown out by the worm; — here you may introduce your chisel, and follow his track. Cut the bark smooth, and when you have cleansed the tree of all the insects, (of which there are some- times as many as twenty to be found,) plaster the wounds over with a little clay, and when it is dry, restore the earth to its place. The operation should be renewed the succeeding season, to make the work complete. In peach trees the ins^ \& traced by the gum ; but as this is also produced y bruises, it is not infallible.

SAMUEL G. PERKINS, ) ^

JOHN PRINCE, \ Committee.

Note. — If the frost be out of the ground, we re- commend to farmers to perform the spring cleans- ing as early as March and April.

Boston, April 16.

Having so happily discovered a method of de- stroying this pernicious reptile, it still remains ex- tremely desirable to devise some means by which its successful attack upon the tree may be prevent- ed. We are unacquainted with the natural history of this worm, but it is highly probable that is the progeny of the fly which deposits its eggs in the bark of the peach tree. Whether this be the fact, or whether it derive its existence from some source in the earth, it is reasonable, from its habit, to sup- pose that the soil or mould is congenial to its nature, and that native instinct directs it to enter the tree, for its future residence and support. The most ob- vious mode of prevention, therefore, which reflec- tion has suggested, is the following. Early in the spring, let the soil from around the trunk of the tree be removed, down to the roots, and fill up the vacant place with some substance that would prove obnoxious to the fly or worm, or that would infalli- bly resist its powers to penetrate the bark. Among the substances which appear most likely to prove

OP FRUIT TREES* 105

successful, I will mention the flax rubbish and sea- weed, page 58 of this volume. The next which occur, are ashes, lime, sea-shells, sea-sand, mortar- rubbish from old buildings, clay, tanner's bark, frag- ments of leather from the tanner's and shoemaker's shops, &c. Some, or perhaps any of the abovemen- tioned substances, if pressed closely round the trunk of the tree, must inevitably prevent the fly or worm from having access to the bark, and of course prove an effectual remedy. Should it be the case, that the worm advances from some distant part in search of the tree, it is possible, on meeting foreign sub- stances^ to which it has not been habituated, its in- stinctive faculties may be baffled, or it may die be- fore it can effect its object. Besides the expedient just described, another remains to be mentioned ; it is the application of the clay paint, page 74, or the following composition, which is preferable. Take equal parts of quick lime, cow dung and clay, which by the addition of soap suds and urine, should be reduced to the consistence of common paint. To make it more adhesive, add a little hair. Let the whole stem, from the roots to the branches, be en- veloped with a coating of this composition, and oc- casionally repeated, and it will scarcely be possible for the fly or worm, or insects, to injure the trunk of the tree ; and it will at the same time prove con- ducive to its health and vigour. It might even b£ recommended to make this application to all young- trees, at the time of transplanting, especially in places where the worm is known to prevail.

It appears that this destructive worm is rapidly extending its ravages among our orchard trees. In attending to the examination of my own trees since writing the above, (September 4th,) I was aston- ished to find that more than half of them were suf- fering injury by the borer, in considerable numbers, fifteen being taken out of a single tree ; I was struck with the remark of the workman, that those trees 14

106 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

which were surrounded by a cluster of root suckers, were in particular the greatest sufferers; and when a tree had suckers on one side only, the worms were found on that side of the tree. It is not improbable that the suckers and leaves facilitate the operation of depositing the eggs by affording a convenient shel- ter for the fly or moth; but we are destitute of the natural history of this insect. The suckers and worms all being removed, I directed the wounds made in the trees, and also the whole trunk near the surface of the earth, to be covered with a mix- ture of clay and cow dung, with a little hair to ren- der it more adhesive ; and afterwards a circuit of about three feet round each tree, to be covered with tanner's bark, or refuse leather.

SLUG WORM, OR NAKED SNAIL.

It is from the accurate observation of professor Peck, that we are enabled to present the reader with the history of the slug worm, by which, of late years, our fruit trees have been infested. These reptiles make their appearance upon the leaves of fruit trees, in the month of July, and our ingenious professor has discovered, that they are the proge- ny of a small black fly, which deposits its eggs in the leaf in the months of May and June, and in fourteen days after the deposit, the perfect slug is found adhering and feeding on the leaves. It is of an olive colour, with a slimy coat, and in the course of twenty days, it throws off four skins, at nearly equal periods; it remains in the fifth, or last vis- cous skin, six days, and acquires its full growth ; it then quits this fifth skin, which is left adhering to the leaf, and appears in a clean yellow one, entirely free from vicidity, and has so different an aspect that it would not be supposed to be the same larva1. After resting some hours, it proceeds slowly down the tree to the earth, into which it enters to the depth

OF FRUIT TREES. 107

of from one to four inches ; and in about eighteen days they again ascend from the earth, in the form of flies, and these again deposit their eggs in the leaf; so that they produce two hatchings in a year.

It is happy for the fruit planter, that a simple method is discovered, by which these destructive in- sects may be effectually destroyed. This is done by means of lime sprinkled over the leaves in the form of powder. For this purpose, a wooden box, of convenient size, having its bottom perforated with numerous small holes, is to be filled with lime. This being mounted on a pole, by shaking over the tree, distributes the lime among the leaves, and the slugs are immediately destroyed. The la- bour is very trivial ; a man may cover a large tree in three or four minutes ; and the desired effect is certain. Fine earth shaken through a basket or perforated box, will answer equally well.

Another remedy, it is said, will prove equally ef- fectual. It is a strong infusion of tar, made by pour- ing water on tar, and suffering it to stand two or three days, when it becomes strongly impregnated. This, if sprinkled over the leaves by means of an engine, will kill these vermin instantaneously. Tan- ners bark put round fruit trees, will destroy the slug worm.

The following Tetter from E. Perley, esquire, is extracted from the Massachusetts Agricultural Re- pository, vol. 3, page 144.

LICE, INFESTING YOUNG ORCHARDS, IN THE DISTRICT OF MAINE-MODE OF DESTROYING THEM.

" This insect, called lice, is in form like half a kernel of rye, (but not more than one twentieth part so large,) with the flat side sticking to the smooth bark of the tree. They resemble blisters ; and are near the colour of the bark of the tree. These blisters contain from ten to thirty nits or

108 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

eggs each, in form like a snake's egg; which, in a common season, begin to hatch about the 25th of May, and finish about the 10th of June. These nits produce a white animalcule, resembling a louse, so small they are hardly perceptible by the naked eye; which, immediately after they are hatched, open the passage at the end of the blister, and crawl out on the bark of the tree ; and there re- main, with but little motion about ten days ; when they stick themselves fast to the bark of the tree, and die. From this little