UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES LIBRARY STATE NORMAL SCHOOL LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA SAMUEL B. GREEN Late Professor of Horticulture and Forestry, University of Minnesota. POPULAR FRUIT GROWING PREPARED ESPECIALLY FOR BEGINNERS AND AS A TEXT BOOK FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. BY SAMUEL B. GREEN PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE AND FORESTRY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. Author of "Vegetable Gardening," "Amateur Fruit Growing, "Forestry in Minnesota," "Principles of American Forestry," "Farm Wind-Breaks and Shelter Belts," Etc. FOURTH EDITION, Revised Copyright, 1909. 1910 By SAMUEL B. GREEN. Copyright. 1912 By MRS, ALICE H. GREEN. 355 ^p PREFACE. The development of the teaching of Agriculture has made necessary, and has been largely dependent on, the making of text- books of various kinds adapted to the special technical work for which our best agricultural schools stand. When these agricultural colleges started there were no text- books adapted to their special lines of work, and the demand necessitated the hasty preparation of text-books which are now being replaced by those that are more complete and better adapt- ed in every way for teaching purposes. This book is the result of the development of the teaching of Fruit Growing in the University of Minnesota and is, in a way, a compilation of lectures on Fruit Growing: eiven to the students which have been carefully revised and considerably extended. At the end of each chapter are suggestive questions on the mat- ter presented. An appendix is added which contains formulas for fungi- cides, insecticides and grafting waxes, etc.; lists of fruits recom- mended for special typical states and rules for naming fruits. The fruit lists are from the professors of Horticulture of the various Agricultural Colleges and irom secretaries of the var rlous Horticultural Societies. In the preparation of this work I have had the earnest and Intelligent assistance of Miss Jeannette Foster. I am also under obligations to my assistant in Horticulture, Mr. A. R. Kohler, who prepared the pages on Spraying and Spraying machinery; to Mr. Elvin Peterson, student of the College of Agriculture, who has made many of the drawings; to Prof. Frederick Wash- burn for cuts which he has loaned; to Prof. E. M. Freeman for many suggestions embodied in the chapter on Plant Diseases and to Mr. A. G. Ruggles for suggestions in regard to the chapter on Insects Injurious to Fruits. I am also under obligations to those who have assisted by furnishing data for the fruit list and in other ways aided in its preparation. SAMUEL B. GREEN, St. Anthony Part, Minn. March 1, 1910. PREFACE TO THE FOURTH REVISED EDITION. The large use of Popular Fruit Growing in all sections of the country and the ever-changing horticultural conditions have made it seem best to revise some portions of the book before this, the Fourth Edition, goes to press. Some rearrangement of the subject matter has been made in order to conform more closely to the usual plan of teaching fruit growing in American schools and colleges. In a number of cases, additional material has been incorporated where conditions have changed or experi- ence has shown that the subject was not discussed at sufficient length in former editions. It is but fitting at this time to add to this preface a short biography of the teacher and scientist who originally prepared the work. Samuel B. Green was born in 1859 at Chelsea, Mass., and died July 11, 1910, in Itasca Park, Minnesota. In 1S79 he graduated from Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege at a time when agriculture was not looked on very favorably as an occupation for one to follow. The independence of purpose shown in the selection of this course was characteristic of Pro- fessor Green throughout his life. Whenever possible, he did the thing that appeared to him to be right, regardless of what others thought or said. Ten years following graduation were spent in practical nursery and farm work, gradually gaining the experience that would be of value to him in later life. In 1888 he came to Min- nesota as Horticulturist of the Experiment Station and Professor of Horticulture in the University, which positions "he held till his death. There were very few students and practically no equipment in the Department of Horticulture at the time of Pro- fessor Green's coming. He not only built up a strong Horticul- tural Division and very greatly advanced the horticultural inter- ests of the state, but also helped to establish the School and Col- lege of Agriculture on the solid foundation on which they exist in Minnesota today. He also found time to serve the state in many other ways, as a member and for nearly four years as President of the State Horticultural Society, member of the American Pomological Society, Society of American Foresters, and other similar organizations. During the later years of his life he took up work in forestry with enthusiasm, establishing a strong course in forestry in the University and developing a system of summer training for foresters in Itasca Park. Early in 1910 he was made Dean of the College of Forestry. Professor Green was the author of many bulletins and books along horticultural lines. He is perhaps best known as author of Vegetable Gardening, Amateur Fruit Growing, Popular Fruit Growing, Forestry in Minnesota, Principles of American Forestry, and Farm Hedges and Windbreaks. Thus much of his work is preserved in permanent form and will live after him. LE ROY CADY. St. Anthony Park, Minn., November 25, 1911. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Desirable Factors in a Fruit Growing Section. — Accessibility. Location. Soils. Topography. Business Aspect. CHAPTER II. Principles of Plant Growth. — Parts of Plant. Parts of Flower. Pollination. Hybrids. Assimilation. Transpiration. Rest Period. Classification of Plants. Varieties. CHAPTER III. The Planting and Care of the Orchard. — Selection of Varie- ties. Selection of Nursery Stock. Preparation of Land. Laying Out the Orchard. Setting the Trees Cultivation. Mulching. Cover Crops. Plant Food. Manuring. Irrigation. CHAPTER IV. Pruning. — Reasons for Pruning. Effect of Pruning. Pruning the Young Tree. Starting the Head. When to Prune. How to Make the Cuts. Tools. Training the Apple Tree. Renewing Old Trees. CHAPTER V. Orchard Protection. — Injuries. Frost Protection. Foretell- ing Frost. Orchard Heating. CHAPTER VI. Insects Injurious to Fruits. — State Inspection. Chewing In- sects. Sucking Insects. Root Insects. Beneficial Insects. Par- asites. Predaceous Insects. Apple Insects and Remedies. Pear Insects and Remedies. Peach Insects and Remedies. Plum Insects and Remedies. Insect Enemies of the Grape. Insect Enemies of the Bush Fruits. Strawberry Insects and Remedies. CHAPTER VII. Diseases Injurious to Fruits. — Apple Diseases and Remedies. Pear Diseases and Remedies. Quince Diseases and Remedies. Plum Diseases and Remedies. Peach Diseases and Remedies. Cherry Diseases and Remedies. Grape Diseases and Remedies. Strawberry Diseases and Remedies. Blackberry Diseases and Remedies. Raspberry Diseases and Remedies. Gooseberry Dis- eases and Remedies. Currant Diseases and Remedies. CHAPTER VIII. Spraying and Spraying Apparatus.— Dust Spraying. Liquid Spraying. Spraying Apparatus. CHAPTER IX. Harvesting and Marketing.— Picking. Peddling. Associa- tions. Packing. Packages. Package Laws. Barrels. Packing Barrels. Grades of Fruit. Cold Storage. CHAPTER X. Propagation of Fruit Plants.— Seed. Stratification. Offsets. Cuttings. Budding. Grafting. Inarching. CHAPTER XI. Pome Fruits. — Apples: Classes of, Propagation, Apple Or- chards, Trees, Seedlings, Root Grafting, Planting, Heeling In, Cultivation, Pruning, Mulching, Varieties. Pear: Origin, Chi- nese Sand Pear, Standard Pears, Dwarf Pears, Propagation, Soil and Cultivation, Planting, Pruning, Insects and Diseases, Varie- ties, Packing. Quince: Propagation, Planting, Pruning, Insects and Diseases, Varieties. CHAPTER XII. Stone Fruits. — Plum: Origin, Propagation, Stocks, Soil, Planting, Insects, Varieties. Cherry: Origin, Soil, Planting, Time of Planting, Age of Trees, Cultivation, Propagation, Prun- ing, Picking and Marketing, Insects and Diseases, Varieties. Peach: Origin, Groups, Propagation, Planting, Pruning, Soil, Insects and Diseases, Varieties. Nectarine: Origin. Apricot: Origin, Stocks, Planting, Pruning, Insects and Diseases, Varieties. CHAPTER XIII. Grapes.— Origin, Propagation, Soil, Planting, Training and Pruning, Single Post Method, High Renewal Method, Kniffen Method, 4-Cane KnifEen Method, 2-Cane High Renewal Method, Munson Method, Tying Material, Thinning, Manuring, Girdling. CHAPTER XIV. Small Fruits. — Strawberry: Origin, Location, Soil, Manuring, Planting Methods, Trimming, Protection, Renewing, Burning, Picking and Marketing, Varieties. Currant: Origin, Soil and Planting. Pruning, Protection, Marketing, Varieties. Gooseberry: Origin, Propagation, Planting, Pruning, Marketing, Insects, Dis- eases. Raspberry: Origin, Classes, Propagation, Location, Soil, Manuring, Planting, Cultivation, Pruning, Thinning, Mulching, Protection, Picking, Marketing. Blackberry and Dewberry: Groups, Propagation, Soils, Planting, Cultivation, Pruning. Cranberry: Location, Soil, Cultivation, Drainage, Planting, Pick- ing. Juneberry: Origin, Propagation, Cultivation, Varieties. Sand Cherry: Distribution, Propagation. Bullberry or Buffalo Berry: Distribution, Propagation. Mulberries: Origin, Propa- gation, Varieties. Persimmon: American Persimmon, Where Found, Value of Fruit, Method of Propagation, Japanese Per- simmon, Value of Fruit, Propagation. CHAPTER XV. Nuts. — Pecan: Origin, Soil, Harvesting, Marketing, Insects, Grafting. Chestnut: Groups. Chinquapins: Propagation, Plant- ing, Insects, Diseases. English Walnut: Propagation, Harvest- ing, Marketing. Japanese Walnut. Black Walnut. Almond: Soil, Planting, Propagation, Marketing. Hazel: Origin, Flower. APPENDIX. Appendix. — Spraying Calendar. Fungicides. Insecticides. Grafting Waxes. Rules for Naming Fruits. Lists of Fruit Rec- ommended for Different States. Distances Apart for Planting Fruits. List of Horticultural Books, Periodicals and Bulletins. Popular Fruit Growing. 2.3' CHAPTER I. FACTORS THAT MAKE UP A GOOD FRUIT-GROWING SEC- TION. Accessibility. — One of the first requisites for success in fruit growing is ready communication with a good market. This may be obtained by nearness to the market itself, or to shipping facili- ties where transportation to the market centers may be had at reasonable rates. Water communication is often better than rail, especially for those kinds of fruits that are easily injured by rough handling. Two or more competing lines of communica- tion generally tend to give the shipper better service than when one road has the monopoly. Accessibility is of the first impor- tance though it will not entirely take the place of suitable soil conditions; however, it may sometimes make it profitable to use an inferior soil. The distance which fruit can be hauled with safety or profit depends largely on the nature of the product itself. The apple grower can afford to be farther from shipping facilities than the peach or berry grower, as his fruit is less likely to be damaged in hauling. Growers of perishable fruit* should not be more than two or three miles from a shipping station. Good wagon roads make it easy to get to market quickly with large loads of produce in good condition and form a very important factor in the development of any fruit section. If the location is so far from the consumer that the produce must be shipped by a common carrier it is important that enough fruit be raised in the section to make the business of handling and shipping it one of sufficient importance to command special attention from the carrier and the buyers, so as to make it a place where buyers will go for fruit. In starting a fruit industry 14 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. in a new place the pioneers often labor under the disadvantage of not having enough of their product to make it worth while to ship it. This difficulty can be overcome in new sections by starting the industry on a large scale so that shipments may be made in carload lots and by co-operation in selling. Soils. — The only sure way of determining the value of a soil for a particular fruit is by field-trial, because so many factors enter into the makeup of a good -fruit soil that it is easy to make mistakes, and yet the best fruit soils have many evident points in common. There is hardly any soil but which under favorable conditions will be found adapted to some class of fruits. For instance, the pear prefers a rather heavy clay soil; the peach and cherry quite open and porous soils. The strawberry and blackberry will often do well on soil too sandy for other fruits although either one suffers from drought on a heavy soil. The currant and gooseberry prefer an open clay loam but will adapt themselves to almost any location. Then there are locations, such as the lands adapted to the Yellow Newtown or Albemarle Pippin apple in Virginia, so wondrously fitted to special fruits that it seems impossible to raise these in perfection elsewhere. In the case of apples and many other tree fruits the condition of the subsoil is generally of more importance than the surface soil, although the condition of the latter must not be overlooked. It is desirable to have a surface soil that can be cultivated easily and will not bake hard after rains. Soil that is extremely rich in plant food is usually undesirable for apples, pears and peaches, especially if too rich in nitrogen. On such land the trees generally grow large and frequently do not bear until quite mature. The unripened buds and wood, common under such con- ditions, kill back in winter and the vigorous growth of early sum- mer seems to be predisposed to fire blight or similar diseases. Loess loam is the name given to an open clay soil which is made up largely of clay and small shells. On such land we generally find in the North a vigorous growth of maple, hack- berry and white oak. It is perhaps the best kind of an all around fruit soil and any of our fruits will do well in it. A limestone soil, where the roots can reach the underlying lime rock or soil and which has much lime in its makeup, is especially favorable for all our fruits and comes next to or may FACTORS IN FRUIT GROWING SECTIONS. 15 equal in value tlie loess loams. In parts of Florida the coral rock and the old shells in the sand help to make good fruit soil. Heavy clay loam may be better adapted to agriculture than to fruit raising, but if such soil is thoroughly underdrained and given a proper rotation of cover crops, manure and general cul- tivation, it will often be found adapted to a goodly number of fruits and especially to apple.s, pears, currants, gooseberries and the sweet cherries. Such a soil requires a very careful manage- ment in order to get the best results from it. Sandy loam underlaid with a good, open clay subsoil is almost ideal for any of the small fruits and grapes. It is the easiest kind of soil to handle and can be cultivated shortly after a rain without becoming lumpy or sticking to the tools, and it easily forms a dust blanket. Implements scour in it very read- ily, which is no small convenience. Altogether, it is the most pleasant kind of soil to cultivate and well adapted to a long list of fruit plants. Sandy soil dries out so quickly that crops on it suffer from drought. This is especially true where the soil particles are gives quick returns from manure applied to it but does not hold soluble manures. In general it is not adapted to any of the fruit crops unless it can be irrigated, or is located where the water table is within the reach of the roots. Under such conditions this soil may, with proper management, give good results with strawberries, blackcap raspberries, plums, sour cherries and peaches, and with many of the subtropical fruits. Mucky soil is not well adapted to fruits of any kind but some kinds of strawberries and blackberries will occasionally yield enormously on such land where it is well drained. When muck is applied to sandy or clay laud, it is often beneficial. Flat, black prairie soil is seldom sufficiently adapted to any kind of fruit to become the foundation of an important fruit industry, although many kinds of fruits may do well enough on it to make them desirable for planting in the home garden. Clay soil, underlaid with gravel at a depth of from two to four feet, may be used for sour cherries, peaches and plums, but crops on it are liable to suffer from dought and such lands 16 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. should generally be avoided for fruits. It dries out easily and yet the surface soil, being of clay, becomes lumpy unless care- fully handled. It has most of the disadvantages of both a stiff clay and sandy soil. Topography. — The topography of a country is the "lay of the land ; " i. e., whether hilly, rolling or flat. A rolling country gives good water drainage and our cultivated fruits, with the exception .of the cranberry, are intolerant of surplus water in the soil. A rolling country also gives many high slopes where there is com- parative immunity from unseasonable frosts. Its various slopes are adapted to a variety of crops. For these reasons good fruit sections are generally located where the land is hilly but land that is quite flat may sometimes prove valuable for fruit when near large water areas so that there is secured comparative immunity from frosts and when sufficiently elevated to secure good drainage. As a rule, however, flat land is not well adapted to fruit growing. The direction of the slope is an important matter, but one which is so influenced by local conditions and by tne class oi fruits which is to be grown that no definite rule can be given In the Northern states, a northeast slope is generally regarded as best for the tree fruits, as it warms up slowly in the spring and the trees are less likely to start early and suffer injury from late spring frosts and the hot, dry winds of summer. Locations near large bodies of water, especially those so situated that the pre- vailing winter winds blow across this water and are tempered by it, are particularly favorable for fruit -growing, as the danger from frost injury is greatly reduced. The peach belt along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, which is as far north as south- ern Minnesota, is a familiar example of the tempering effect of water. It is possible to grow fruit in that locality, owing to the freedom from frosts, which could not be produced some distance farther south, in Indiana and Illinois, in districts where there is no protection from cold northwest winds. ^ BUSINESS ASPECT. Fruit^ Growing as a Business. — Success in any business is largely a personal matter and success in fruit growing likewise FACTORS IN FRUIT GROWING SECTIONS. 17 depends much on the individual and his adaptability. The demand for fruit is on the increase and the consumption of fresh fruits per capita is now greater than a few years ago. With the introduction of improved methods of storing and shipping, fresh fruit is destined to play a more important part in the diet of every American. Comparatively a few years ago fresh fruit was regarded as a luxury but now it is looked upon as a staple article of diet with special hygienic values. Overproduction of Fruit. — There is occasionally an overpro- duction of fruit in some districts, but it is rare that there is an overproduction of good fruit. Our chief trouble is that our methods of distribution are faulty and our people do not get the fruit they want. Fruits that can be readily used for canning or drying purposes are most stable in price because, when low in price, it is easy to dispose of the surplus. Fruits which keep over a considerable period, as winter apples, are more stable in price than thr se that are perishable, as berries or peaches. The tendency is certainly toward cheaper good fruit, but there is also a growing discriminating taste for fruit of the best quality and the number of consumers who are willing and able to pay a fair price for a good article is fast increasing. As wealth increases this discrimination in favor of the best w?ll become even more pronounced than it is today. The successful fruit grower must be well grounded il/. the principles of growing fruit and the many problems that are sure to present themselves in the course of the annual round of duties. Not only is it.. desirable that he know how to grow fruit but he must know how to market it. In other words, he must be a good business man. Some of the most successful fruit growers and horticulturists have been men who were not raised in the work but have taken it up late in life and succeeded largely because of their business training and ability. This is not to ,ay that farmers' sons do not make good farmers, but they often fail to get the most out of their farm practice owing to the lack of business training. In this respect another man may perhaps excel, although he may not understand the practice of "handling the land. The fruit industry is especially suited to the man of 18 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. ready resources who can quickly adapt himself to changes of situation. Choice of Locations. — Most people who are making a spe- cialty of fruit growing, and most farmers who contemplate a change to fruit growing, are held fast by social ties, by land holdings or in other ways, so that they cannot easily change their location even if they wished to do so, therefore the choice of location for them is a settled fact. If they engage in fruit growing at all it must be in their present surroundings. To them it is a selection of crops and methods of management best suited to their conditions. If fruit growing cannot be made profitable where they are they had better devote their land to other purposes. On the other hand, there is a small class of people who wish to grow fruit of certain kinds who do have the opportunity of changing their location. For such, it would be a good plan to visit the principal fruit sections and thoroughly study their conditions and probable future before locating permanently. In making such a study it is not well to be too quick to form an opinion as there are many factors to be considered. Rarely, indeed, is it desirable for a grower to change from a line of fruit growing that he is thoroughly acquainted with to one that is very different. Occasionally it may be desirable or necessary to do so, but in any case the change should be made with great caution. The successful apple grower of Missouri may make a successful California orange grower after he has had experience, but he will have much that is new to learn before he can do this. The man who is starting anew in the growing of fruit of any kind will generally find it best to start in a small way and not risk too much on a single venture. QUESTIONS— CHAPTER I. 1. What is meant by accessibility? 2. What are the characteristics of a good fruit growing section? 3. What soils are best adapted to different fruits? 4. What is the composition of limestone soil? Of clay loam? Of sandy loam? Of sandy soil? Of mucky soil? Of prairie soil? Of clay 'soil? "5. What is meant by the topography of a country? 6. What is the best location for fruit growing? 7. What are some of the things upon which the success of fruit growing depends? 8. What is the result of an overproduction of fruit? 9. What are some of the problems with which a fruit grower has to contend? CHAPTER II. SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PLANT GROWTH. The roots of plants are made up of several distinct parts. The main central root is termed the tap root when it extends directly downward into the earth, as in the roots of Bur Oak and Black Walnut. When a plant has several spreading roots it is said to have surface roots, but such roots may sometimes divide and go deep into the ground; for example, the roots of the Red Oak and White Pine. Root fibres or rootlets is the term used for the smaller division of roots. The foregoing roots have hard bark and do not feed the plant. They do little more than anchor it in place. The roots feed through what are known as the root hairs, which are soft, fresh, young roots, generally white in color. The collar or crown of a plant is that portion where the roots and top unite. It is close to the surface of the ground. This portion of the tree is frequently injured by borers, by ice and in other ways. It is a good plan, especially in the case of young trees, to protect them in winter with a bank of earth around the collar. The stems of plants may be annual, as in the case of many garden plants; biennial, as in the case of the raspberry and blackberry, and perennial, as in the currants, gooseberries and fruit trees. Runners are creeping stems, as in the case of the strawberry. Suckers are stems springing up from roots or underground stems. Thorns are modified branches and live for indefinite periods while prickles, like those on the gooseberry, are modifications of the bark and live but one year. The bark covers the whole exterior of the trunk, branches and roots and serves as a protection. It is made up of two parts, the outer or corky layer which is dead bark, and the in- ner, or live bark. These vary much in appearance and thickness on different kinds of trees. For instance, on the White Birch the corky layer is pure white, very thin and tough, while on' our White Pine it is very dark brown and often an inch or 20 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. more in thickness and quite brittle. This covering of bark is quite impervious to disease where intact, but there are gener- ally many small breaks in its surface through which disease may enter and once inside the bark it is well protected. Cracks in the live bark are most common in early summer when growth is rapid. Diseases may also enter through some wound, and hence the desirability of covering large wounds with some impervious material to keep disease out of the plant. Buds are the portions of plants which always tip new growth. They are often opposite, as in the case of the Maple, or alternate as in the apple, pear, plum or peach. Adventitious buds are those that start apparently without system. Theoreti- cally, botanists say that any cell may grow into a bud so that buds may appear in almost any place on the trunk, roots, or branches, and in the case of the orange a single seed may grow three plants, one of which is the result of ordi- nary sexual union while th» other two may be looked up- on as being adventitious. Buds may produce leaves or flowers. The former are termed leaf buds and the lat- ter flower buds. These are illustrated in Fig. 1. They vary in shape, time of forma- tion and location in different plants. Flower buds are more liable to winter injury than leaf buds. Plants that are growing fast are quite liable to form only leaf buds and often fail to form flower buds. When growth is rather slow naturally or when checked by artificial means, fruit buds are formed. In the case of some trees that do not come into bean Fig. l.-Fruit buds of: a.— Apple, b. — Plum. c. — Peach. The crosses indicate fruit buds. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PLANT GROWTH. 21 ing readily, girdling is sometimes practiced in order to throw the plant into bearing. This may be done in a variety of ways but should not be attempted except in the case of trees that seem hopeless otherwise. Girdling may be done successfully as follows: With an ordinary cross-cut saw, cut in a spiral direction around the trunk or branch to be treated and have the cut end just under where it commenced but several inches below. In this way the circulation of sap is only sufficiently impeded to cause flower buds to form. Such wounds seldom cause serious injury to vigorous trees. This work should be done in June if at all, but is seldom a desirable practice. The leaves of plants are made up of loose, open tissue enclosed in a thin mem- brane. This membrane has openings in it through which the plant takes in carbonic acid gas, i. e. carbon dioxide from the air, and throws off large quantities of water. It is through these openings, called stomata, that diseases frequently enter the plant. Such openings also occur in the young twigs of some plants. It is in its green por- tions that the plant absorbs and assimilates food, and since this green portion is formed almost exclusively in our fruit plants only in the presence of direct sunlight, the im- portance of Igts of sunlight for best develop- ment of these plants is evident. The flower is the portion of the tree designed for the production of seed. All the parts of our fruit plants in a natural state seem to facilitate this object Flow- ers are often imperfect, as in the case ot some forest trees, but in our com- mon cultivated fruit plants the flowers are generally perfect and only such flowers are referred to here. But flowers that are perfect may be self-sterile, that is, may not be fertile to their own pollen but need to be cross fertilized. Fig. 2. — Trunk of apple tree two Inches in diam- eter one year after girdli with girdling 22 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. The parts of the flower and the purpose of each. — The parts of the flower are modified 1-eaves. The outside covering of the flower of our common fruits is termed the calyx. Its purpose is to protect the more tender organs and it is generally green in color. The next row of modified leaves of the flower is called the corolla. This is generally white or of some conspicuous Fig. 3.— Flower of Duchess of Oldenberg apple. color. It serves as a protection and also by its coloring at- tracts insects which assist in pollination. The next row of modified leaves are the stamens. They are of various forms, generally tipped with a small pouch-like vessel in which the male element, known as pollen, is formed. The stem is called the filament and the pouch the anther. The pistils are the fe- male organs made up of ovary or seed pod, style or stem, and stigma, which latter is the part that receives and holds the pollen which grows through it to the seed. The bright colored por- FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PLANT GROWTH. 23 tions and the nectar attract insects that aid in transferring the pollen from one flower to another. The edible portions of the fruit attract birds and other animals, including man, who aid in distributing the seed. Fruit. — A true fruit as defined by botanists is the ripened seed v-essel and its contents. This agrees with the horticul- Fig. 4. — Diagrammatic drawing showing how pollen grains grow down the pistil of the strawberry and unite with the contents of the ovary in the act of fertilization; At the right, cross section through flower of strawberry, showing its parts. turists' definition so far as fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, gooseberries and currants are concerned, but in the case of strawberries, blackberries and mulberries, this definition would allow us to claim only the single grains on the sides of the berries as fruits, while in these fruits, we com- monly consider the fl-eshy center a part of the fruit. These lat- ter fruits are in structure much like an ear of corn with an 24 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. edible cob. The word fruit as used by the fruit grower had a certain definite, well understood significance before the dawn of scientific botany and the botanists should not attempt to change the significance of the word. Pollen. — Pollen grains vary in form but are cell-like in structure and have the power of making a root-like growth into the tissues of the pistil to the ovary where the contents of the pollen grain unites with and fertilizes the ovule. Without this process taking place, seed is not produced and it is seldom that fruit is formed at all. Pollen from one distinct kind of fruit will not fertilize the ovule of another of a different, distinct kind but each is restricted to a very close limit. For instance, the pollen of one variety of the apple will fertilize other apples but will not fertilize the plum. When varieties of the same or nearly allied fruits are fertilized with the pollen from one or another, they are said to be crossed and the operation is termed crossing. The results from this work are seldom well marked in the crossed fruit although the skillful operator may sometimes be able to see it. But the results of the cross will show in the seedlings from the crossed fruit and it must not be expected that the seedlings will partake equally of the nature of each, for we know from much experience that the results of such crosses are uncertain and irregular. Pollination. — Under natural conditions flowers are pollen- Ized in various ways, but chiefly by wind, in the case of plants that have inconspicuous flowers such as corn, pine, spruce and poplar; and by insects in our cultivated fruits and most other plants which have conspicuous flowers. Some flow- ers are probably pollenized in both ways. Hybrids. — Where a cross is made between very unlike forms, as between the sand cherry and the plum, the result is generally termed a hybrid. The difference between crosses and hybrids is only one of degree and of late years there has been a tendency to do away with the use of the term hybrid altogether. There is a very common impression that hybrids are exceedingly rare and of more value than ordinary crosses but such is far from being the case, as they are frequently of little value for any purpose and often fail to form seed and even to set fruit. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PLANT GROWTH. 25 Fruit Plants from Seed.— While our wild plants come nearly true from seed, our cultivated fruits, which have come from them, will not come true but will show a decided tendency to resemble the wild, inferior forms. Although an occasional seed- ling may be a decided improvement over the cultivated kinds there is not one chance in a thousand of getting better fruits than those we now have by saving seed. This comes from the fact that we do not grow our fruits from seed but by grafting, budding, etc. If they were grown for many generations from Fig. ing variation in sizes and shapes of plums grown from the same lot of seed. seed it would undoubtedly be possible to get them to come as true to type as our garden vegetables. It must be noticed that a° there are no two plants exactly alike the strongest ten- dency in plants is to be unlike. Some cultivated fruit plants that come nearly true from seed are a few local varieties of the peach, the Wyant plum and such strawberries as the Alpine and St. Anthony de Padua. The yearly round of life in plants consists of a rapid growth tn the spring, during which time the plant is using up •26 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. the store of food accumulated the year before. After this rapid growth has passed comes a period of slower growth in which the wood is said to ripen. That is, it becomes hard by reason of its cells becoming filled with starch or other plant food which Is used to start growth in the spring. When this is completed active growth stops, but plant food is probably being stored up as long as the leaves still remain green. When we have warm, moist weather late in autumn, active growth sometimes starts again and some of this plant food is changed to unstable comipounds which may result in winter killing. Some varieties are much more liable to start in this way than others. No characteristic of hardiness in plants is more certain than ear- ly maturity of wood. Assimilation. — Plants are made up of various tissues and these are composed of numerous cells. The material of which the cells are composed is largely carbon. This carbon is de- rived from the carbon dioxide of the air which enters the leaves, and, under the action of light, air and water is decom- posed; the oxygen is given off and the carbon is retained and, combining with water obtained from the roots, forms starch, sugar, gum and other plant foods. This process of food mak- ing is called assimilation and can be carried on only in the green parts of the plant and in these, only when exposed to light and air. Hence foliage, air and light are essential elements for plant growth, and the greater the quantity and better the de- velopment of foliage and the more light this foliage has at its disposal for its work the more vigorously will the tree grow. In general, therefore, the growth of the fruit and wood may be reduced either by the removal of foliage, which reduces the working surface, or by shading, which somewhat checks the activity of the foliage by hindering light action. Transpiration. — The flow of sap in trees is not well un- derstood. In a general way it may be said that the sapwood transmits the water from the roots to the leaves, where a part enters into the assimilated sap and goes to build up the plant, and the remainder, which is by far the greater part, passes off as vapor. The amount thus transpired varies greatly with the species, age of the tree, amount of foliage at work, amount of FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OP PLANT GROWTH. 27 light at its disposal, climatic conditions and the condition of tree growth. The amount of water transpired is so large in comparison to the amount retained in the tree that while an acre of forest may store in its trees 1000 pounds of carbon, 15 or 20 pounds of mineral substance and 5000 pounds of water Fig. 6. — Abnormal flower of strawberry with seven petals; not unusual. 28 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. in a year, It may have taken from the soil and given off to the air from 500,000 to 1,500,000 pounds of water or from one- quarter to one-half as much as agricultural crops. It has been es- timated that the leaves of deciduous trees transpire one-sixth to one-third as much water as an equal surface of water. Large deciduous trees undoubtedly give off as much as a barrel of water a day in dry summer weather. Coniferous trees transpire much less water than most deciduous trees, frequently not over one- sixth as much. Mineral substances are taken up by plants in small quanti- ties and consist mostly of lime, magnesia, potash and phos- phorus. They are carried to the leaves where they are used, (perhaps also on their passage through the tree), with a part of the water in food preparation. The main part of the mineral substances taken up remains, as the water transpires in the leaves and young twigs, and is returned to the soil when the leaves are shed. Rest period of plants. — With very few exceptions, all plants require an occasional rest period for their best development. Some species get it naturally by being dried and others by be- ing frozen. Even when plants are kept under growng condi- tions the year round, they have periods of rest and of active growth. During the rest period plants undergo very few changes, and yet there is undoubtedly some growth during mild weather in winter, and as evaporation must be going on most of the time from twigs and buds water must be supplied from the roots. Classification of fruits. — The commercial fruits of the world may be grouped under the following heads, of which only the more important Northern grown fruits are referred to here. Class I. Orchard culture or tree fruit culture. Sub-class I. Pomaceous fruits: Apple, pear, quince. II. Drupaceous or stone fruits: Plums, peach, cherry. III. Citrus fruits: Orange, lemon, lime, etc. IV. Moraceous fruits: Mulberry, fig. V. Anonaceous fruits: Pawpaw. VI. Myrtaceous fruits: Guava. VII. Sapotaceous fruits: Sapodilla. VIII. Anacardiaceous fruits: Mango. IX. Ebenaceous fruits: Persimmon. X. Leguminous fruits: St. Johns bread, tamarind. XI. 'Nut fruits: Nuts of various kinds. XII. Palmaceous fruits: Cocoanut, date. etc. XIII. Miscellaneous tree fruits: Olive, pomegranate. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PLANT GROWTH. 29 Class II. Vine fruit culture. Sub-class I. Viticultural fruits: Grape. II. Passifloraceous fruits: Granadilla. Class III. Small fruit culture. Sub-class I. Bush fruits: Group (a) Rubaceous fruits: Raspberry, blackberry. (b) Ribaceous fruits: Currants and goose- berries. (c) Miscellaneous fruits: Jtmeberry, buffalo- berry. II. Strawberry culture: Strawberry. III. Cranberry culture: Common cranberry. Class IV. Non-woody or herb-like fruits. Sub-class I. Musaceous fruits: Banana. II. Pineapple. III. Cactaceous fruits: Prickly pear. It has been estimated that there are more than ten thou- sand varieties of our commonly cultivated fruits in America. In order to study these satisfactorily some method must be found to classify them. This matter will be found worked out in the various books on systematic pomology. Botanists have found it convenient to group plants under the head of class, or- der, genus, species, varieties. The same classification, of course, applies to the larger groups in horticulture; but the horticultur- ist has gone farther than the botanist with his classification and has divided his plants into varieties. A variety is made up of a group of individuals which differ from the rest of its species in certain recognizable particulars which are transmitted from generation to generation without material modification. The horticulturist makes into groups more or less definite the varieties having certain important traits in common, as, for instance, when he groups certain va- rieties of vegetables or fruits together. New varieties of fruits are being continually offered by the trade, and, although not one in ten of those sent out is as good as those commonly grown, yet from time to time marked improvement is made. QUESTIONS— CHAPTER II. 1. What Is the root system of plants made up of? 2. Of what value are these parts to the plant? 3. What is meant by "collar or crown?" 4. Why does this portion of the tree need protection? 5. When are plants annuals? biennials? perennials? 30 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 6. What are runners? suckers? thorns? prickles? 7. Of what use is the bark? 8. What is it made up of? 9. How do these parts vary in different plants? 10. What are the buds? 11. What are adventitious buds? 12. What are the characteristics of the leaf? flower? bud? 13. How are fruit buds formed? 14. What is meant by girdling? - 15. How is it accomplished? 16. What are leaves made up of? 17. How are they constructed? 18. What functions do the leaves perform for the plant? 19. What functions do the flowers perform for the plant? 20. What are the different parts of the flower? 21. How is each constructed and for what purpose? 22. What is a fruit as defined by botanists? by horticultur- ists? 23. How is it constructed? 24. What is pollen? 25. What are its characteristics? 26. How are plants crossed? 27. What is meant by the term "hybrid?" 28. How are flowers pollinated? 29. To what extent do fruit plants come true from seed? 30. What is the cause of this? 31. What local varieties come true from seed? 32. What course of growth does the plant take throughout the year? 33. What Is meant by the process of assimilation? 34. How is it carried on in plants? 35. What is the result of removing foliage from a plant? 36. What is meant by transpiration? 37. What approximate amounts are transpired from the leaves of deciduous trees? 38. What minerals are taken up from the ground by plants? 39. How is it returned to the soil? 40. What is the need of a rest period for plants? 41. How should they be cared for during this period? 42. How may commercial fruits be grouped? 43. What is the most convenient way of classing fruits? 44. What is a variety? CHAPTER HI. THE PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. Selection of Varieties. — When a decision has been reached as to the kinds of fruits which are to be grown and a location has been selected, it is necessary to choose the particular varieties which are best suited to the purpose in mind. Those which are grown for "home use or for a special nearby market may be quite different from those grown for shipment to a distant market. It often happens that varieties of the very best quality do not carry well or are not of attractive appearance; these should be grown for home use or for the special market where quality is the first consideration, while for the distant market the only varieties which should be grown are those which ship well and are attractive. Quality is rather a secondary matter in a mar- ket fruit, though discriminating buyers are often willing to pay a premium for varieties of particularly good quality. Varieties of fruits to grow. — The varieties of fruits best adapted to a given location cannot be named without special and careful study. Some varieties are very profitable in one local- ity but close by, in another locality, they may be a failure. The matter of selection of varieties for profitable culture is one of the most important subjects the fruit grower has to consider. There are many new varieties of fruit introduced each year and only a few of them are any better than old standard sorts, while the greater part have very serious faults. Among the varieties of fruit in cultivation, we may distin- guish two general classes: (a) Varieties of great vigor and productiveness, adapted for a wide range of country. These are oftentimes somewhat infe- rior to the best in quality but are of good appearance and good enough in quality for the average market. Among such vari- eties may be named the Duchess of Oldenburg, Talman Sweet and Ben Davis apples; Bartlett and Anjou pears; Lombard and Quackenboss plums; Crawford and Elberta peaches; Concord 32 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. and Niagara grapes; King and Marlboro raspberries; Snyder blackberry, and Dunlap, Splendid and Bederwood strawberries. These varieties do well over a large extent of country. Some of them may not bring the highest prices in our markets but they sell well and are the popular standards. (b) Varieties that are very particular about location and are not generally successful, but, where they do well, produce fruit of very superior quality. Among this class of fruits may be mentioned the Yellow Newtown, Gravenstein and Williams apples; Green Gage plum; Bosc pear; Columbia peach; loua grape; Herstine raspberry; Lawton blackberry and Jucunda strawberry. In selecting varieties for growing the fruit grower sliould choose those that are adapted to his market for it is there they are to be finally tested. The fruit grower's success is depend- ent on how the market regards his product, and he should not expect to change the prevailing desires of people very much. There is, however, much in the power of a good example and there is a growing number of people who are particular as to the quality of their food and are willing to pay a fair price for it. The fruit grower should net try to sell white strawberries, raspberries or currants, for the general markets demand that they be red in color and blackberries must be black and not red or white. It is not worth while to attempt to change prevailing opinions in such matters for the sake of pushing some new vari- ety, no matter how good its quality. By this it is not meant that the market will not use the unusual kinds but it does not desire them. In general, the market wants large size, bright, warm colors and at least fair quality in fruits. The fruit grower should not select varieties because they are doing well elsewhere but should become familiar with the expe- rience of fruit growers in his section and get in touch with tho officers of the experiment station of his state and advise with them in these matters. The reports of his local horticultural society should be very helpful and they must be poor indeed if he cannot get some benefit from them. Choose varieties that will pollenize well together. — It should be more generally known that there are some varieties of fruits PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 33 that are self-sterile and will not be productive unless near other similar kinds. The following partial lists show varieties that are both self-sterile and self-fertile but it is quite possible that some of these may be self-sterile at one time and self-fertile at another time or in another locality. Fruit Plums Self-sterile Miner Wild Goose Mariana Itasca Self-fertile Robinson De Soto Forest Garden Cheney Grapes Brighton Wilder Concord Niagara Agawam Delaware Apples Winesap Gravenstein Northern Spy Ben Davis Duchess Baldwin Red Astrakan Pears Bartlett Anjou Nelis Flemish Beauty Clairgeau Kieffer An experiment with the Kieffer pear at the Michigan Agri- cultural College during the summer of 1907 seems to indicate that the Kieffer ought sometimes to go on the self-sterile list. A Kieffer tree was enclosed in a canopy of muslin with one branch left outside the canopy. The air within the canopy was made to circulate daily by artificial means during the blossom- ing period so as to insure pollination of at least some of the flowers. Not a fruit set under the canopy, while the branch that was left outside and was free to receive foreign pollen set fruit freely. Preparing the land. (a) The land on which the fruit plantation is to stand should be in as good condition as possible before the fruit plants 34 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. are set out. Do not leave this work to be done after the plants are set for it costs more to do it then and the 'plants will very likely be injured in the process. (b) New land should be thoroughly cleared of stumps and roots before the orchard is planted, and better results will be obtained if the land is cultivated for a year or two before the trees are set. (c) Old land should be in good physical condition and should contain a good supply of humus. While heavy fertiliza- tion is not necessary, the soil should be rich enough to enable the trees to make a good growth, but must not be too rich in nitrogen. (d) Fall plowing is almost always desirable, whether the trees are to be set in the fall or the spring. If the planting is to be done in the fall, the plowing should be completed several weeks previous, to give the soil time to settle. Deep plowing is usually best, as it is desirable to have the soil mellow and easily penetrated by roots to a considerable depth. If the subsoil is a hardpan clay it is often desirable to explode dynamite in the holes to loosen the lower layers. Time to Plant. (a) In severe locations and with the more tender kinds of fruits early spring is undoubtedly the best time for planting. It is also the best time for the beginner, as there is less liability of failure in spring planting. (b) For the hardy fruits, such as apples, plums and pears, in sections where there is little danger of winter injury, autumn is possibly the best season for planting. (c) It is often desirable to plant in autumn even though extra care is required in order to save the crowding of work in the spring. In severe locations autumn planting may often be practiced successfully, providing the stems of plants are laid flat on the ground after planting and covered with a few inches of earth, and afterwards mulched on the approach of winter. In doing such work the location of the top of the tree should be marked with a stake so that it may be found easily in the spring when it is to be uncovered. Autumn planting is often a convenient practice and may save the necessity of doing such work in the spring when fruit growers are generally crowded. PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 35 Where to Buy. — As nursery stock cannot be fully judged by its appearance as easily as many other lines of merchandise, buyers are very dependent upon the representations made to them by the parties from whom they purchase. As a rule, it is desirable to buy of the nearest reliable man who will furnish what is wanted at a fair price. Purchasers will often find it advantageous to deal directly with the principal instead of through his agent. Expect to pay a fair price and be suspicious of bargain counter nursery stock, for the buyer in any case is greatly dependent upon the honesty of the seller for the genuine- ness of his stock. You cannot, always tell what it is by its appearance. It may not even be true to name. Selecting the Tree Nursery Stock. (a) It is important to secure vigorous, thrifty nursery stock that is free from scale insects, root lice or other injurious insects or diseases. (b) Select trees that have their bark green and smooth and that have made a thrifty growth the year before. (c) In the case of grafted fruits the fruit grower should insist upon having his stock worked on roots adapted to his location. This feature does not need so much attention in the best fruit sections, but in cold, northern climates, in the extreme South and in some other locations it is a matter of first impor- tance. This matter is discussed under the propagation of each fruit. (d) In order to make early autumn delivery it is customary in some nurseries to strip the leaves from the trees. This is not the best practice and such trees should not be selected. Age of Nursery Stock to Buy. As a rule young, thrifty nursery stock is to be preferred. The tendency among beginners is to use stock which is too old. Old plants are much more injured by moving than those that are young and often give poorer results. Shapes of Trees. (a) The general public wants a tree that is of good form and the nurserymen prefer to grow that kind. 36 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. (b) Some of our best varieties are so crooked that they do not look well and hence have not been pushed by our nursery- men. Fig. 7. — Young: apple trees of different forms. (c) The difference in the habits of trees can be easily seen in any orchard of many varieties. The upright form of the Tetof- sky apple is in marked contrast with the spreading form of the Roxbury Russet. The spreading form of the Wild Goose plum is very different from that of the Lombard. A person who is very familiar with the appearance of certain varieties of pears or apples can easily separate them from other kinds by the appearance of the tree even when devoid of foliage. From this the impression should not be taken that all fruit trees may be distinguished from each other by their forms, color of bark and other characteristics, for while a person of much experience in this line may thus distinguish many kinds, it is quite out of the question to separate the members of all our long lists of fruits in this wav. PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 37 Planting the Orchard. There are a number of systems of setting trees. The ones most generally used are the square, quincunx and hexagonal systems. The lay of the land and the size of the orchard will influence to some extent the choice of a system. Trees are more often set too close than too far apart. This, in fact, is the danger in using fillers. (The use of fillers is discussed on page 46.) One does not like to remove a tree, once it is grown, even though it is injuring other trees. It is always important that the rows run straight both ways since the orchard looks better and is cared for more easily. The- first thing to do is to establish a base line and work from this. It is usually safer to have a surveyor establish this line than to trust to a road or fence unless the road is known to be on the proper line. Having the base given, it is an easy matter to establish the two perpendiculars to this and the fourth side par- allel to the base. This gives the outside trees of the orchard. Then, by using the outside trees as sight stakes the other rows may be made straight both ways. If the land is laid off with a marker one way and a plow the other, the trees are quite easily put where they belong by sighting to the trees set at the ends of the rows. Square System. — Of the systems named above the square system is the most often used. It does not permit of so many trees per acre, but is easily laid out, permits of easy cultivation and allows systematic thinning of trees later in its life when the trees crowd. P F P . F P F F P F F P F P F P F F F F F P P P F P P P Square System Square System with Fillers 38 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. Quincunx System. — This system permits of planting many more trees per acre than the square system. It also permits the use of fillers and provides for a well laid out orchard when the fillers are cut out. p p F P F r 7 p p P PFPFP P P F P F P 7 P P P PFPFP Quincunx System Quincunx System with Fillers Hexagonal System. — About 15 per cent more trees are used in planting by the hexagonal than by the square system. It has the advantage of distributing the trees more evenly over the ground than the other systems. Its disadvantage is that cultiva- tion is much more difficult. It does not permit of any satisfac- tory method of thinning out the trees without leaving too large P P P PFPFPF F F F F F P P P F P F P F P F F F F F P P P PFPFPF Hexagonal System Hexagonal System with Fillers Digging the Holes. (a) In digging the holes make them large enough to receive the roots without crowding and deep enough as a rule to bring the union of the stock and cion well below the surface. Trees should generally be planted a little deeper, say from four to PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 39 eight inches, than they grew in the nursery. In severe locations and on gravelly soils they are frequently planted a foot deeper to protect from frost injury. (b) In the case of fruit trees of best planting out size, if the land has been properly plowed and furrowed out only a little digging will be required. (c) In digging holes in shallow .soil put the surface and subsoils separate and then use the surface soil to cover the roots and put the subsoil on top. (d) Firm the soil around the roots of the trees until it is solid. For this purpose it is a good plan to use a packer of wood such as is used to firm the soil around posts. This is espe- cially important on dry soils. Pruning the Trees. (a) Trees may be left until after they are set out Derore pruning but sometimes it may effect quite a saving in freight to prune the trees before they are shipped from the nursery. (b) Severe pruning is often needed for young trees as much depends upon the forming of the tree when young. The subject of pruning is more fully discussed in Chapter IV. (c) Perhaps no question is more important than that of deciding at what height the trees should branch out. This will depend much on location. Trees with long trunks certainly tend to make cultivation methods easy and in very favorable sections they may be safely thus trained. In the Middle states and the Pacific coast states, best results have come from allowing the branches of trees to start within two feet of or close to the ground and thus the trunk is protected against sunscald and other climatic troubles. Fruit may be harvested more easily and cheaply from trees with low, open heads. (d) It is generally advisable to shorten the roots of ordinary two-year-old apple and pear trees and vigorous one-year-old plum and peach trees to about eight inches, where there are sev- eral roots, as such treatment facilitates planting and does not injure the trees. Larger trees should have their roots shortened in the same proportion and the ragged ends of roots should always be cut off before planting. Such pruning as this may easily be done with a sharp hatchet on a block. 40 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. Cultivation of Fruit Plantations. In a state of nature, as in our primeval forests and groves, where trees do well, they generally have the surface soil about their roots covered with a loose accumulation of vegetable mould that is shaded from the sun and wind. The deeper soil is filled with roots more or less decayed and tending to keep the sub- soil porous. This covering protects the soil from baking, drying out and becoming too compact and gives the conditions aimed at in the cultivation of the land. For this kind of treatment, there must be a great accumulation of vegetable mould, which is in- compatible with the light and air needed for the production of cultivated fruit and with the opportunity to get at the trees from all sides for gathering the fruit and for giving the pro- tection that the trees need from noxious insects and diseases. The nearest approach to nature's method of cultivation is ac- complished by mulching the orchard, which is sometimes done to advantage. The reasons for proper cultivation are: (a) To give our favorite plants all the light, air and soil that they can use to advantage by destroying all competitors in the shape of weeds which would ordinarily make their struggle for existence more severe, (b) To protect from drought by keeping the top soil loose. In this way evaporation is prevented and the moisture saved in the soil for the use of the roots. Soil that is compact will transmit water upward to the surface by capillary attraction where it can evaporate, but when the surface soil is loose evapo- ration is prevented and the water thus transmitted from the subsoil is retained near the surface. This is one of the chief reasons for the cultivation of the soil. The extent of this pro- tection is shown in the following table taken from "Soils and Fer- tilizers" by Professor Harry Snyder and giving the result of some examinations made in dry weather: Per cent of Water in Field. With Shallow Surface Without Cultivation. Cultivation. Soil depth 3 to 9 inches 14.21 8.02 Soil depth 9 to 15 inches 17.21 12.38 PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 41 (c) The cultivation of the soil also sets plant food free. It opens the soil up so that the air can get in and assist in the devel- opment of the plant food locked up in an insoluble form. This is an important function of tillage. The soil should be regarded as a great laboratory in which many complex organic and inor- ganic changes are continually taking place. Humus is the decayed organic matter found in soils. It much resembles common charcoal in its physical properties, has great affinity for water and holds fertilizing agents in the soil. Humus makes the soil porous so that the air can readily pene- trate it and also assists in chemical changes. Since it keeps the soil porous it prevents it from baking hard, thus protecting it from drought. It is largely on account of these qualities of humus that stable manure, a large per cent of which is humus, is often so much more effective than commercial fertilizers. The plowing in of green crops adds humus to the soil. The contin- ued cultivation of the soil sometimes affects it injuriously by oxidizing all the humus and leaving it in such a condition that It washes badly and will not hold moisture. A good illustration of this change is shown in the fact that newly cleared land will seldom wash badly until the decayed organic matter in the soil has become so thoroughly oxidized that the humus no longer holds the soil together. After this organic matter has disappeared clay soils lose their loose, porous texture and become hard, com- pact and liable to wash. The value of humus in the soil is well illustrated by experi- ments at the Minnesota Experiment Station. Corn, grown con- tinuously for six years on the same field, yielded an average of 21.4 bushels per acre, while corn in a three-rotation, including wheat and clover, yielded 47.1 bushels per acre. As the plot producing corn continuously has sufficient plant food to mature a normal crop annually, the low yield can only be accounted for by the poor physical condition of the soil produced through the depletion of the humus by frequent cultivation. Growing fruit trees in sod is a practice not to be generally recommended, but where the soil conditions are especially favor- able it may sometimes be done to good advantage. In locations where trees are especially liable to injury from drought it is a 42 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. poor practice. In the retentive soils of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and -elsewhere, apples may be grown to great perfection by spading up the soil about the tree for a distance of three or four feet from the trunk each spring and later in the season mowing the grass and weeds and putting them around the trees. However, such locations are exceptional and the great truth re- mains that, in general, orchards which are kept in sod are sel- dom profitable. When orchards are in a stiff sod the rain water is prevented from soaking into, the land because an old sod on steep hillsides sheds water readily. The grass roots also carry up large amounts of water from the soil, which is evaporated and lost. Mulching. — Growing trees and oth-er plants by mulching may sometimes be successfully practiced. Some of the points to be considered in this connection are: a — There is a great difference in the protective values of different kinds of mulch. A covering of coarse weeds may af- ford little protection, while a mulch of hard-wood sawdust would give excellent results. b — Trees that are grown by mulching generally do best when the soil about them is worked in the spring before the mulch is applied. c — A mulch may often be used to advantage close to trees where the soil near them is hot easily cultivated. In such cases it is a good plan to protect the tree trunks with galvanized iron wire netting from injuries by mice which are especially attracted by the mulch. d — Raspberries, blackberries, currants and gooseberries may be grown by a system of mulching without cultivation but it is seldom desirable to grow them in this way. e — While the cultivation of the soil is not as successful in the conservation of moisture as mulching, yet when the best cultivation is practiced it is far better than mulching as com- monly done. f — Mulching fruit plants the year around without spring work- ing of the soil tends to encourage a development of large surface roots which may later be winter-killed. Large surface roots also interfere with cultivation when mulching is discontinued, PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 43 although the risk of permanent injury from this source is much less than is generally supposed. g — Mulching sometimes causes great danger by fire. h — The mulch about plants may harbor insects, such as cur- culio, etc., which might injure the trees. These are most easily kept in check by clean cultivation; but where fruit trees are mulched, pasturing hogs in the orchard will greatly help in check- ing the spread of such insects as remain in the fruit after it falls. Cover crops is a term used in connection with the growing of crops in orchards. In a general way, the best fruit growers are a unit in believing in the importance of clean cultivation for orchards. However, as we have already noted, this is often impractical on steep hillsides liable to wash badly. Clean cul- tivation also leads finally to a poor condition of the soil which can only be fully remedied by the addition of humus. This humus may be added by the application of coarse stable litter or other organic matter directly to the land. In this case the humus is confined almost entirely to the few upper inches and is not dis- tributed throughout the soil as it is by the growth of clover or similar crops. The decaying roots of a cover crop leave humus both in the sub-soil and in the surface soil, thus rendering the whole mass more porous. Still other advantages of cover crops are (a) they protect the soil to some extent from deep and sudden freezing and thawing; (b) they prevent the snow from blowing away in the winter; (c) such cover crops as clover and peas not only improve the physical conditions of soils on which they grow, but actually leave them richer in nitrogen. On this account plants of this class are especially desirable for orchards, (d) They are some- times helpful in checking the production of the wood in late sum- mer by using up some of the plant food and moisture in the soil. This checking of late growth in the fall ripens up the wood earlier, leaving the tree in better shape to stand the winter. How to combine the advantages of cover crops and cultiva- tion is often an important question for orchardists. In many fruit sections, this may be done by the cultivation of the soil during the summer and seeding down to some cover crop in the 44 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. late summer or early autumn. This may be a crop that will kill out in winter or that will live over and be allowed to grow on the land until late in spring, when it is turned under. Occasionally it may be a good plan to seed an orchard down to clover for a year or two in order to increase the humus in the soil; as, for instance, in the case of soils on steep hillsides where the humus is nearly exhausted. For this purpose the land should preferably be plowed in late autumn and the clover seed sown in early spring without any nurse crop. Examples of practical use of cover crops. — Cover crops are of various kinds, among which may be mentioned the following: (a) Peach growers of Michigan and apple growers and nurserymen in Minnesota use oats in their orchards, sown from the first to the middle of August, to protect the roots from severe freezing. Such a cover holds the leaves in autumn and the snows in winter, thus preventing frequent freezing and thawing as well as deep freezing of the ground. (b) Crimson clover is an excellent cover crop for parts of New York State and south to Alabama. It should be sown in late summer or early autumn in New York but later in Alabama where it grows all winter. (c) Buckwheat is a good cover crop for steep slopes or other places where it may be desirable to use a cover crop in summer. It shades the ground and aids it in holding moisture, thus preventing the soil from drying out. (d) Vetches and cowpeas may sometimes be used to ad- vantage for a cover crop and should be sown in early spring. The cowpea is the great cover crop of the Southern states. (e) The soy bean is a good cover crop. It Is sown in mid- summer in rows. (f) The velvet bean and beggar weed are great cover crops for the extreme Southern states. (g) Mammoth clover and alfalfa may be used as cover crops if plowed under the second or third year. They should be sown in orchards without a nurse crop in the early spring. Sometimes they are sown in the orchard, leaving a space of four feet for cultivation by the side of the rows of trees. Amount of seed of cover crops to sow per acre. — The follow- ing table shows the number of pounds of seed required per acre PLANTING AND CARE, OF THE ORCHARD. ' 45 to obtain a good stand of the cover crops generally used in this country: Nitrogen Collectors. Nitrogen Consumers. Alfalfa 40 Ibs. Rape 9 Ibs. Hairy Vetch 40 Ibs. Turnip 2 Ibs. Cowpeas 90 Ibs. Rye 30 Ibs. Soy Beans 90 Ibs. Oats 2 bu. Velvet Beans 25 Ibs. Barley . 1% bu. Mammoth Clover ....20 Ibs. Buckwheat % bu. Crimson Clover 20 Ibs. Corn y2 bu. Sweet Clover 15 Ibs. Crops in the orchard. — The question of cropping the orchard is an important one. As a rule this should never be done, yet it may often happen that while the trees are young, before they need all the space between them, some other crop can be grown on the land to advantage. In such a case, the soil must be man- ured or it may run down so much that the fruit crop will not be profitable. The best test to apply to this is to see that the young trees make a reasonable growth of wood each year and, with this accomplished, there is no danger in cropping the orchard. A cover crop may permit a fair growth of wood but will so rob the soil of moisture late in the summer that the fruit will fail to fill out properly. The small grains are especially objectionable in the or- chard because they do not permit the cultivation of the soil nor shade it sufficiently to keep it from baking. These crops also take much plant food from the soil. Potatoes and corn require the cultivation of the soil ID summer and consequently are among the best to grow in the- orchard. In the orchard preference should be given to those, crops that do not require the cultivation of the soil in late sum- mer or early autumn, since cultivation seems to encourage late growth of wood. If the orchard is to be cropped care should be taken that the fertility of the soil is not impaired thereby, and ordinarily it will be necessary to add manure to replace tb«j plant food removed. 46 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. Small fruits of various kinds may be used in orchards but must be removed when the trees get large enough to need all the land. It may often be a help to an apple orchard to have the tree trunks shaded by small fruits, such as raspberries and currants. Planting with fillers is the name given to the system of plant- ing whereby an extra number of trees are set out with the pur- pose of cutting them out as soon as they get large enough to crowd the trees that are to grow to maturity. Good examples of this practice are found in the planting of peaches or plums in the intervals between apples, or in planting twice as many peaches or plum trees on the land as can grow to maturity, the intention in each case being to cut out one-half of them as soon as the trees begin to crowd. This is not a bad practice when well carried out but in the hands of the average fruit grower the thinning process is seldom begun soon enough. This may result in serious injury and is always harmful. Fruit Crops and Plant Food. The most important factor in the growing of a fruit or other agricultural crop is the proper preparation of the soil. This should be attended to before anything is attempted in the way of fertilization of the land. Get the soil into the best physi- cal condition and then manure* may be used to best advantage. In the case of orchards in new forest land it is poor practice to plant until the stumps and trash are well subdued, except where mulching is to be practiced, since the soil can be cleaned most economically before the trees are planted out. All agricultural soils contain plant food in two forms: (a) Where the soil is rich in plant food which is easily available to the roots of plants and which they can absorb read- ily. This is the condition of the soils in new fruit growing sec- tions where the land has not yet been cropped extensively. Such soils may also contain a large amount of plant food which is not readily available. (b) Soils also contain plant food in a form which is not readily available to the roots of crops. This is the condition of *As here used, the term "manure" Includes both animal manures and commercial fertilizers. PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 47 the largest amount of plant food in all soils and especially so in the case of soils that have been poorly tilled for long periods. Each year a portion of the insoluble plant food in the soil is made soluble or put into such a condition that the roots of plants can use it. In the soils of the older sections the soluble plant food is largely used up and sometimes only the amount that is set free each year is available to the plants. It is this store of food that we should aim to supplement by the manures which we apply to the soil. There are some new soils so rich in plant food that nothing is gained by manuring them. In fact, fruit trees on such soils are occasionally damaged by the use of manures which encour- ages a late growth in autumn, but such cases are rare. Prac- tically all our fruit lands, especially those in the older fruit growing sections, are greatly improved by the addition of manures. This is especially true of bearing orchards. In manuring the orchard the object is to get the maximum crop. The average crop or one just below the average is sel- dom profitable, being generally inferior in quality as well as in quantity. It comes in competition with the crops of all the poor- est fruit growers and is sold only to people of small means. The application of manure is for the purpose of getting the most profitable crop. It matters not how much money we put into our land providing we can take it out with a good profit. In other words, expensive manuring may be most profitable. It is the best grower that gets the profitable crop. Manure will not take the place of good tillage, insect protection and other similar factors, but the well fed plant, like the well fed animal, will overcome adverse conditions under which the weak, under- fed individual will succumb. The elements that enter into the composition of fruit crops are the same as those that compose our farm crops. They dif- fer largely in the relative proportions in which they enter vari- ous crops, but as our information about the composition of the soils in which our plants grow is indefinite, and as we use manures to supplement the plant food in the soil, we need not be particular about the exact proportions in which we apply it. Each grower should study his own soil conditions and the ef- fects of different manures on it in order to get the best results. 48 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. The chemical elements composing our fruit and agricultural crops are oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorous, suilui, iron, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chlorin and silicon. Nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous are the elements commonly lacking in the soil and it is these that we look for in the so- called commercial fertilizers and manures. These elements each act differently in affecting vegetation. To be used by the plants they must be soluble in the soil solutions. Soil that has an excess of soluble nitrogen in it encourages a vigorous, soft growth of wood and a dark green color in the leaves. Often such plants are unproductive, but when they bear fruit it is gen- erally large in size. On such land trees are liable to grow late in autumn and as a consequence winter-kill. For peaches, such soil is more injurious than for apples and other hardy crops. Nitrogen encourages a growth of wood rather than fruit. Large amounts of potash and phosphoric acid in the soil cause a firm, solid growth of wood, early maturity of plant, high color and extreme fruitfuln-ess but do not increase the size of the fruit like nitrogen. Potash and phosphoric acid, with the proper pro- portions of nitrogen, give the best results, all of these -elements being necessary for healthy plant growth. Amount of plant food in a crop of apples. — It is interest- ing to note the amount of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid taken from the land by a crop of seventy-five barrels of apples — that number being used as it represents a good aver- age crop of apples per acre. TABLE SHOWING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF 75 BARRELS OF APPLES. Water Dry Matter Nitrogen Phos. Acid Potash 9563 Ibs. 1687 Ibs. 4.5 Ibs. 2.25 Ibs. 11.25 Ibs. or 85% or 15% or .04 % or .02% or .1% To raise this crop of apples there are perhaps 50 trees, each one of which is fifteen years old and in its branches, trunk and roots, there are 400 pounds of wood of which 40% is water. It is probably fair to assume that the weight of the new growth of wood of a thrifty apple tree at fifteen years of age is twenty pounds per year, from which the amount of plant food used for the production of wood each year can be readily computed. It is also safe to assume that the amount of plant food yearly set PLANTING AND CARE, OF THE ORCHARD. 49 free in the soil is sufficient to take care of this growth of wood. Th-e leaves are returned to the soil and hence the material in them does not have to be supplied to the soil. Therefore, if we supply enough plant food to put back that taken away from the land in the crop, we will keep our land in good condition. There is nothing exact about such statements, as they may vary as much as different soils do from one another. The following table shows approximately the amount of plant food materials removed in one year from the soil of an acre of land fully stocked with thrifty trees. This includes the amount contained in the new wood, foliage and fruit: PLANT FOOD REMOVED FROM THE SOIL BY ONE ACRE IN ORCHARD. Nitrogen Phos. Acid Potash Lime Magnesium Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Apple 51.5 14 55 57 23 Peach 74.5 18 72 114 35 Pear 29.5 7' 33 38 11 Plum 29.5 8.5 38 41 13 The following table shows the amount of nitrogen, phos- phoric acid and potash found in a good crop of fruit grown on one acre: PLANT FOOD OF MANURIAL VALUE REMOVED FROM THE LAND BY VARIOUS FRUIT CROPS. Fruit Pounds Nitrogen Phos. Acid Potash Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Apples 11,250 4.5 2.25 11.25 Pears 10,000 4 1 12 Plums 7,200 7 3.6 14.4 Peaches 4,950 4 2 9 Quinces 7,200 8 3.6 17.2 Raspberries 4,800 5.6 4.3 12 Blackberries 4,800 9.6 2.4 11 Strawberries 4,000 5.2 2 9.2 Currants 4,000 12 4.8 • 12 Gooseberries 4,000 6 2.8 .8 Grapes 6,000 9 4.2 18 This manurial value may be applied to the land in many forms. Maynard gives the following formulas 50 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. (a) For fruit trees over ten years of age (forty trees), vary- ing in quantity according to the condition of the soil and crop, 250 to 500 pounds of fine ground bone, 100 to 300 pounds of sul- fate of potash, 50 to 150 pounds of nitrate of soda. (b) Unleached hardwood ashes at the rate of one to two tons per acre and 500 pounds of fine ground bone. (c) 400 to 600 pounds of South Carolina rock, ground fine, 100 to 300 pounds of sulfate of potash, 100 to 300 pounds of nitrate of soda. (d) Barnyard manure, 6 tons per acre. No manure needed in some cases. — In the case of some new and extra fertile fruit soils there may be no apparent diminu- tion of fertility of the soil for many years. Such soils may often be maintained in their best condition indefinitely without the addition of manures by the use of nitrogen-gathering cover crops, such as clover, vetches and peas. Time to apply manures to fruit lands. — In the case of fresh animal manure not yet decayed, there is little loss ordinarily in applying it broadcast as soon as removed from the stables or yards. As a rule this is the most economical way to handle it and is the general practice among good farmers, fruit growers and gardeners. However, partly decomposed manures contain so much soluble plant food that the loss might be very serious were the manure applied to the surface of frozen ground. Such manure is most economically applied in the spring and at once covered by a light plowing or harrowing. Such manure should generally be covered at once after applying and not allowed to dry out on the surface of the soil. It is generally best to apply commercial manures to fruit plantations in the early spring or early summer. This is especially true of such soluble, quick acting fertilizers as ni- trate of soda and muriate of potash. These may be applied broad- cast to the soil about the trees. The surface covered should generally be fully as large as the diameter of the top of the tree but in the case of upright trees a larger surface should be cov- ered. When the land is well stocked with mature trees the manure should always be applied to the whole surface of the soil. PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 51 Irrigation of Fruit Crops. — In some fruit sections special care must be taken to provide for the proper irrigation of all crops, while in others water need only be applied in very dry seasons. It is always advisable, if it can be arranged at a reasonable cost, to provide water for such crops as strawberries and blackberries, so that it may be used when needed. In some seasons a failure of the strawberry or raspberry crop may be averted by applying water at the right time. In arid regions where crop growth depends on irrigation a careful study must be made of the needs of the crop and the soil, and the time and manner of applying water. Outside of the irrigated districts thorough cultivation of a crop is better than irrigation, unless water is absolutely needed. Cultivation should always follow irrigation where possible. QUESTIONS— CHAPTER III. 1. How are varieties of fruits adapted to different districts? 2. How may the varieties be classified in regard to their adapta- tion? 3. What general principles should the fruit growers follow in selecting varieties for planting? 4. How and when should land be prepared before planting fruit trees? 5. When i$ the best tinie for planting? 6. How should the fi'uit grower select his nursery stock in ref- erence to the hardiness, age and shape of the trees? 7. What methods may be followed in setting out the trees? 8. How should the holes be dug for the trees? 9. What pruning do the young trees need when set out? 10. What treatment does the soil need in a fruit orchard? 11. What are the reasons for cultivation of the soil? 12. What is humus? Oh what value is it in the soil? 13. How may fruit trees be grown in sod? 14. What are the advantages of a mulch to a fruit crop? What are the disadvantages? 15. What is a cover crop? What are the advantages of a cover crop? 16. How may the advantages of cover crops be combined with cultivation? 17. What field crops are used as cover crops for the orchard? 18. How much seed should be sown per acre in order to get a good cover crop? 19. Is it practicable to raise garden crops in the orchard? What crops are best to grow? 20. How is the orchard planted with fillers? 21. What is the best way to get new fruit growing land into the best physical condition? 22. In what two forms is plant food found in the soil? 23. What is the result of a soil too rich in plant food for fruit growing? 24. What is the purpose of applying manures to the land? 25. What are the elements that enter into the composition of the fruit crop? 52 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 26. What effect does an excess of nitrogen in the soil have upon fruit crops? 27. What effect does an excess of potash and phosphoric acid in the soil have upon the fruit crops? 28. How is- the plant food taken from the soil by the plants returned to it naturally? 29. What are some of the formulas for combining and applying different fertilizers to the soil? 30. When should manures be applied to fruit lands? 31. What is the general practice of applying manures to the land? 32. When should commercial fertilizers be applied and how? 33. When is a supply of water for irrigation desirable? CHAPTER IV. PRUNING. Careful watching, pruning and care are necessary in the handling of a fruit plantation if the best results are to be obtained. The day is past when the successful orchardist can afford to set his trees and let nature take care of them. He must spray and prune. Under natural conditions nature prunes sur- plus branches and trees, but when those trees are grown in an orchard and plenty of room is given for growth and development certain shaping and training must be given to get symmetrical and useful trees. Reasons for Pruning. — Trees are pruned for a variety of reasons, among which are the following: (1) To remove dead and diseased wood. Nearly all trees have dead and diseased limbs some time during the year, which must be removed in order to keep the tree healthy. (2) To allow sunlight and air to get into the branches and aid in keeping the tree healthy. If the branches grow too thick the fruit in the tree will not color up as it should. (3) To aid in the production of first class fruit. Too much wood will form on a tree, thus causing the tree to bear too heav- ily and consequently produce small, poorly-colored fruit. (4) To secure shape and size that will enable spraying, cul- tivating and picking to be easily and economically done. (5) To protect the tree from injurious winds and injuries resulting from climatic conditions, as sunscald, sleet storms, etc. (6) To rebuild and give more vigor to weak trees or weak limbs. It is often best to replace trees of this sort with new ones. (7) To remove bruised or injured branches or roots. (8) To restore the balance between roots and top in the case of setting out young trees. The effect of pruning and the necessity for pruning depend upon climatic conditions to some extent. In a humid district 54 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. the tree should perhaps be more open than in a dryer district to permit more sunlight to enter the top of the tree. Too open a head in some districts might lead to sunscald of tree and fruits. In the irrigated districts much extra wood is cut out and still the fruits of the trees must not be exposed too much. In many districts it is well to prune very little other than to remove dead wood and interlocking branches. Pruning the Young Tree. — Pruning should commence with, the setting of the young tree. When it is received from the nursery all bruised roots should be shortened with a sharp knife. The top should be cut back to correspond to the amount the root has been shortened. If the climatic conditions are moist and the soil rich, not as much wood will need to be removed as in a dry season when the soil and atmosphere are dry. Some growers even advocate very severe root and top pruning as is given by those who follow the Stringfellow method. This system is probably too severe for general planting. Start the Head Low. — If a tree is properly handled from the time it is planted little heavy pruning will be needed. Heavy pruning is always objectionable since the wounds do not heal over as readily as the small ones and are thus more apt to cause permanent injury to the trees. Any branches that interlock or that are giving the tree an unbalanced appearance should be taken out. It is generally conceded that a low-headed tree is the best type to grow because the spraying and picking of the fruit may be more easily and economically done and there is less danger from storms. The head should be started from 18 to 24 inches from the ground. If properly handled this will permit of easy cultivation. Too many branches should not be allowed to make up the head or it will become crowded. Three or four are plenty and with careful attention will form a symmetrical head. When to Prune. — Small limbs may be taken off at any time of the year. Large limbs should be taken when the tree is dor- mant. The best time is in late winter just before growth starts. There is less danger of the wound drying out and cracking if done then than if done early in the fall. Pruning is usually PRUNING. .35 done at any time during the winter when there is no frost in the wood. Pruning tools will break much easier when the wood is frosty. The winter is often the slack season in fruit districts and the work can be done cheaper then. Some pruning may be done at the end of the growing season in late summer, but this is apt to start a late fall growth which is objectionable in the colder districts. Cut Close and Clean. — B First, make a study of the tree to be pruned and then follow some defin- Fig. 8.-Effect of pruning. a.-Scar ite Plan to train that from a limb properly removed, after tree. The best orchard- two years, b. — Stub left from care- . . , . . , , . , , less pruning. >st obtainable should do the work. All cuts should be made with sharp tools and close to the shoulder. Stubs should never be left as they will not heal over and only cause decay in the tree. In making the cut, if it be a large limb, saw from the bottom up a short distance, then take the saw out and saw down so as to meet the under cut. This will prevent the limb splitting off and causing serious injury to the tree. Always make a clean sharp cut. It will heal much quicker than a rough, bruised or jag- ged one. Paint the Cut. — It is a good plan to apply a thick white lead paint to any wounds over an inch in diameter as this keeps the wood from drying out. Paint only the wounded part. Grafting a/. Pig. 9. — Result of cutting too far from trunk, a. — Section showing stub. b. — Decay from long stub penetrat- ing heart of tree. 56 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. wax is an especially good material to use, but is too expensive for ordinary use where many limbs are to be painted. Tools. — Good tools kept in good condition are essential for good pruning work. The common ax and bucksaw do not come under this head. A good saw, light and heavy shears, tree pruner for heading in limbs, ladder and heavy knife are all the tools actually need- Fig. 10. — Methods of cutting, a. — Split ed in the work. The from removal of limb cut from above. b.— Proper method of removing limb, common two-edged prun- ing saw is the one most often used. The swivel saw is much handier, however. The heavy long-handled shears often take the place of the saw, but unless the pruner is careful in handling them stubs will be left on the tree. Forming the Apple Tree. — Figure 13 shows the dif- ferent steps in formative pruning, starting, as is done in some parts of the coun- try, with the one-year-old tree. The numeral 1 repre- sents a tree set; la shows it cut back to 18 to 24 inch- es from the ground and the side branches cut off. This will force out a number of side buds into strong branches. If all of these are allowed to remain we have a tree similar to .? the second year. These should be thinned to three or four, as shown in 2a. Thprp Fig- 11 — Handy method of Heating grafting wax to paint wounds. Fig. 12. — Various styles of pruning tools. 58 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. should be at least three or four inches between each branch to prevent the development of crotches, which are especially objectionable in apple trees. The arrangement around the trunk is shown in figure 14; a, the first year's growth; b, the second year's growth. / it -L **. 3 2^ Fig. 13. — Forms of tree before and after pruning. 1 and 1a, at plant- ing time; 2 and 2a, at beginning of second year; 3 and 3a, begin- ning of third year. In the second year these scaffold branches should be cut back to one-half or two-thirds their length (figs. 13-2a and 14-a). This will cause two or three strong laterals to develop from near the extremity of each stub. With the third season, the laterals which have developed from the previous season's cutting back will again need to be headed in about one-half their growth. Shoots which are growing inward, and those tending to cross or rub, should be removed or corrected. The regulation of a shoot is governed by the position on the tree. Note the designated ones and the position of the buds in figure 14, and the suggestions brought out in figure 13, •? and Sa. How to Make the Cuts. — In all formative pruning the cuts are made slanting and just back of the bud which has been grown on the proper side of the branch to throw the resulting shoot in the desired direction. The uppermost bud left on the PRUNING. 59 stub usually throws the strongest branch. In many instances an atherwise dormant bud can be found to throw a strong shoot to fill up an open space in the top by cutting a notch in the main branch just above the bud in question. The method of cutting back to a bud is shown in figure 15; a and 6 are cut too far above the bud and will leave an excess of dead wood to be pinched off or covered over by the growing callous; c is cut too close to the base of the bud, a proceeding that is liable to cause the bud to be killed by drying: d shows about the right position for making the cut. Fig. 13, 1 and la, show a properly set one-year-old tree and the same tree pruned to start the "head about 18 inches high; in 2 this tree is shown after a summer's thrifty growth, while 2a shows the same tree pruned to form the head; 3 suggests the growth that might result the ensuing season and 3a embodies some suggestions for cutting back to form a desirable head. It should always be borne in mind that that pruning is best which is moderate. The severe cutting back of a tree once or twice in its life-time, as is so often the practice, can scarcely help but have serious results. Pruning should be done yearly from the time the tree is set until it is mature; it will then never be necessary to remove any great amount of wood at one time. Espalier or Cordon. — The espalier method of training and pruning is followed in Europe very largely with the apple, pear and peach. It can be used there to advantage since labor is cheap and land is high in price. In America skilled labor is too expensive to use on this work and with our abundance of land the method would be of no value except for ornamental purposes. Espalier training consists of forming the tree into various gro- tesque shapes, or in training it flat along the side of a building Fig. 14.— a, Dia- gram s h o w i ng limbs of tree at beginning of, sec- ond y e a r *s growth; b. branches pruned before third year's growth starts. 60 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. or fence. It is a common method of growing the pear in Eng- land on the south side of buildings. Renewing Old Trees. — This is a difficult matter and the best method is probably to cut out the trees entirely or else to cut back the tops in winter very severely and train the new growth the same as young trees are handled. If the varieties are not good, top-working with better varieties may often be done to advan- b tage. Trimmings. — 'All trimmings from the or- chard should be burned at once to prevent the spread of insects or disease that may be on them. QUESTIONS— CHAPTER IV. 1. What are the principal reasons for prun- ing orchard trees? 2. When is an open headed tree objectionable? 3. When is an open head desirable? 4. When should the work of pruning com- mence? How severe should the early pruning be? 5. Why is a low head desirable? How far Fig. 15. — Methods from the ground should it be to the first branches? of removing 6. When should pruning be done? buds, a and b, 7. Describe the method of making cuts in re- stubs too long; moving small and large limbs. c, cut too close 8. What is the danger if a long stub is left? to bud; d, prop- 9. Why should the larger wounds be painted? er method of 10. What tools are ordinarily used in pruning? cutting. 11. What is a desirable form for the young tree? 12. How may the growth of the tree be influenced by pruning to certain buds? 13. How may old trees be renewed? CHAPTER V. ORCHARD PROTECTION. Throughout the whole life of fruit plants there is danger of injury from a variety of causes. At no time can we say that our fruit plants are safe, and we must be continually on the lookout to head off some injury. Among the more common of these injuries may be mentioned the following: sunscald, win- ter killing of the twigs, roots and fruit buds; injuries from birds and live stock, from wind, rain and frost in the growing season, from ice on the branches in winter, from girdling by mice and rabbits, from label wires, injuries from cultivation and from insects and diseases. Sunscald is the name given to the condition of the bark of trees which probably comes as a result of exposure to the sun under cer- tain peculiar conditions. Its ef- fect is usually to kill the bark on the south and southwest sides of the tree; later on, this bark peels off, leaving the wood exposed which soon decays and permanent injuries result. It is found that anything which shades the trunk will pre vent this, hence one of the com- mon remedies is to shade the trunk with burlap, corn stalks or simi- sunscaid. " " lar material, especially during the time when the branches are not protected by leaves. Th^ en- couraging of branches on the south side of the tree to protect the trunk from the sun, and the inclining of the trees to the southwest, are also remedies. This injury is most liable to occur during severe droughts and in the early spring or late winter before growth has fairly started. It is supposed to be caused by the warm sun of the Fig.16.— Apple tree injured by V 62 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. middle of the day starting active life in the portion of the trunk exposed to its dir-ect rays. Later, when a cold spell comes, the protoplasm is destroyed and the soluble compounds formed by the renewal of active life are decomposed. The tre-es most liable Fig. 17. — Apple trees in trial orchard protected from sunscald by corn stalks. to this injury are those that are newly set and weak, those with smooth bark such as Hard Maple and Basswood, those trees with the trunks inclining to the northeast and those on dry land. ORCHARD PROTECTION. 63 The philosophy of this disease should come in for more than passing notice. It is well known that one branch or portion of a dormant plant may start into growth independent of the con dition of the rest of the plant. Thus a branch from a grape vine Fig.18. — Apple tree with trunk protected by boxing. Such treatment protects from sunscald, from severe freezing, and from cultiva- tion injuries. or other plant, brought through an opening into the greenhouse in winter, will soon start into growth while the rest of the vine is frozen out doors. So the portion of the trunk of an apple 64 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. tree that is exposed to the direct rays of the midday sun may start into growth independently of the rest of the tree. Injuries from birds. — Birds are often very injurious by eating cherries, raspber- ries and some other fruits. At times they become so exceedingly injurious that it may be necessary to use the shot gun, but as a rule the birds that commit these depre- dations are very helpful in destroying large numbers of injurious insects and the toll they take in fruit is not more than they are justly entitled to. The Yellow-belly Sap- sucker is a bird that often girdles the larg- er branches of our choicest trees. He should be destroyed. Partridges and perhaps quail will sometimes eat the buds of our fruit trees in winter. They may be kept off by giving them a shock of grain to work on instead. Injuries to trees by cattle. — In remote sections deer will browse the twigs off fruit trees and break them down. Farm stock is also occasionally injurious in the same way. Fig. 19. —Bark of ap- Reasonable precautions will prevent this. • pie tree injured by the sap-sucker Injuries from wind. — ^Vmd often causes be'lly^aKuckerr much inJury to trees aeavily loaded with fruit by shaking off the fruit or even break- ing the trees. The remedy is the use of windbreaks, the support- ing of branches by stakes or by tying one branch to another on the opposite side of the tree. Attention to these precau- tions will often prevent serious injury. Young trees in exposed places are often injured by being blown about. This is the case for the first year with trees that are newly set and especially those that are set out in autumn and not properly staked or laid down. Such trees are liable to be blown about very much in windy spring weather when the ground is soft, and the tree is then easily loosened and killed. Autumn-set trees should al- ways be staked if they are large enough to take the wind; a ORCHARD PROTECTION. 65 pile of soil about a foot high around them will often be very helpful in holding them in place. In staking, the method of tying the tree so that it will not be scraped by the stake is very important. It would be better not to use stakes at all than not to tie the tree to them properly. It is generally Lest to tie trees to two stakes, using one on each opposite side. Mice and rabbits.— Mice and rabbits eat the bark off the trees and where this injury is not more than three or four inch- es wide and only extends around a portion of the tree, it will often heal over in one or two seasons. But it will be greatly hastened in healing by covering the wound with grafting wax or, better yet, piling up the soil over it if n-ear the ground. When the injury extends completely around the tree and is wide, the tree may be saved by setting .some cions in the live bark, above and below the wound, which will carry over the sap until the wound is covered. In such a case, however, the wound should be entirely covered with grafting wax or clay after the cions are put in. Cultivation injuries. — Cultivation is frequently done in such a rough way that it results in serious injuries. These can be largely prevented by the use of narrower singletrees and by protecting the ends with leather, or, better yet, using leather traces that go completely around the end of the singletree, so that when a tree is struck it is not injured. The best way of treating wounds of this kind is by cov-ering them with grafting wax or grafting clay and then covering the whole with burlap. Root galls result from the presence of low forms of life known as Nematodes and possibly also from a bacterial disease. Their life history is not well known. They are often exceedingly injurious but some of them do little harm. Prevention is bet- ter than cure and it is a good plan to refuse to receive nursery stock having such blemishes. They are sometimes prevented by using stocks that are resistant to such injuries. Winter killing may be confined to the twigs and roots or flower buds of fruit trees. Any of these injuries may occur in deep valleys, when comparative immunity is secured on the higher land. Winter injury to twigs and trunks.— This is due to the use of POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. Fig.20. — Twigs of young cherry trees that have been pulled out by settling of snow crust which had piled in over them. varieties too tender for the locality and the most successful remedy is to secure hardier sorts if possible. But this is not always possi- ble and the varieties grown may be most profitable if the trunk is protected in winter. Thus, in northern Min- nesota the best authori- ties recomm-end that the trunks of young ap- ple trees be surrounded with a box six inches square up to the branch- es and that the same be filled with soil to furnish protection against winter injury. It is well known that even though the smaller branches may be seriously injur- ed in the winter, they stand a good chance of recovering, pro- viding the trunk is vigorous and uninjured. Such protection also prevents scald, injuries from mice and other animals. In Florida some of the orange growers protect their tree trunks by piling up the soil about them as far as the branches. Winter Injury to the buds of fruit trees. — This is a common source of loss to growers of cherries and peaches at the North. The fruit buds of these trees are liable to start a little in warm winter days and then to be killed by a low temperature, al- though the leaf buds may not be injured at all. Various reme- dies have been tried for this, among the most successful of which is the bending of the trees to the ground in autumn and covering with corn stalks. The tops are sometimes tied to- gether and covered with corn stalks or matting in winter. Ex- periments have also been made in covering the trees with va- rious paint compounds for the purpose of giving an -extra cover- ing to the buds, but without good results. One of the most ORCHARD PROTECTION. 67 ingenious ways of furnishing protection to peach buds has been tried by Prof. Whitten of the Missouri Experiment Station who worked on the well known principle that dark colors absorb Fig. 21. — Protection of young trees . a. — Trunk protected by wooden box. b. — Trunk protected by lath screen, c. — Trunk protected against mice by mound of earth. more heat than the lighter ones. He found that light colored peach twigs were slower about starting into growth and con- ceived the idea of spraying peach trees with lime wash to pre- vent their starting on mild days in winter. He claims to have been very successful in this practice. The roots of fruit trees may be seriously injured in winter. — This may result from the use of a root stock too tender for the section in which the tree is grown. For instance, in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota the best root to use for the plum is the Prunus americana, but when they are scarce the nurserymen there often use the Mariana, Myrobalan or even GS POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. the peach for stocks. The plum takes well on these and they are commonly used in milder sections, but with such roots, trees are often injured or killed out entirely in severe winters in those sections. The same is true of some other trees. It is important to have them on hardy roots in order to prev-ent root killing. •vtos^r -r**r7r-r~ Fig. 22. — Tree gnawed by mice and the wounds bridged over with cions. Heavy mulching about the roots of trees that are on tender roots will often make them safe against winter injury. Deep planting of trees on tender roots bring the roots deep in the ground where they are not injured and the cion above will generally send out hardy roots. As stated above, it is not un- common to have the tender stocks on which trees are worked killed out, and if the cion has rooted the effect is seen in a weakened growth until a new root system has formed. If there are no roots from the cion the tree dies. Protection from frost. — Freezing affects different plants in various ways. We can therefore divide plants into two classes: (a) Frost tender plants, such as the asparagus, ash, oak, spruce and various other plants whose young foliage is easily injured by severe frosts. (b) Frost hardy plants, such as the apple, peach, wiiiow, poplar and birch whose foliage is not destroyed by even a se- vere frost. The flowers of many plants will stand a severe freeze with- out injury providing they are not open when it occurs. This is ORCHARD PROTECTION. 69 the case with the apple, pear, strawberry and most cultivated northern fruits. We also have fruit plants like that of the Buffalo Berry and Juneberry whose flowers are seldom injured by severe frosts, even if fully expanded at the time it occurs. The pistils are the parts of flowers most easily injured. — Thus, in the strawberry, after a severe frost in flowering time, we will often find the pistils ruined but the stamens apparently uninjured. When injurious frosts are most likely to occur. — Injurious frosts are most likely to occur in places where the air is still, especially in low spots where the air is not only still but where the cold air from the surrounding elevations drains in. If the air moves rapidly, the warm air is mixed with the cold air and does not separate. Such frosty places are evident at the time of the first severe autumn frosts, especially if this comes early. It will then be seen that the frosty air fills certain hollows, as water might fill it. In such places, often called warm sheltered nooks, winter killing is frequently serious. A windbreak may also make a frost pocket on the side hill by interfering with the free circulation of the air. The locations where injurious frosts are least likely to oc- cur and hence afford the best location for fruit growing are high elevations tipping to the north or east where growth is rather backward in spring. Other locations that are comparatively exempt from injurious frosts are such as are near lakes or streams which tend to produce an equable climate. Foretelling of frosts. — Frosts may be foretold some hours in advance by means of the wet and dry-bulb thermometers, the readings of which are compared. The difference between the readings is due to the evaporation from the wet bulb ther- mometer which produces a degree of cold in a direct ratio ac- cording to the dryness of the air. If the air is very dry, the wet bulb thermometer may record ten or fifteen degrees lower than the dry bulb. If the air is saturated with moisture they will read exactly alike. The basis for the calculation is the fact that we seldom have injurious early autumn or late spring frosts after the dew begins to fall. By referring the difference ?0 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. between the readings of the two thermometers to a table, the dew point may be determined and if it is several degrees above the freezing point, no injurious frost need be expected. *"T"~^ ~^^e psychrometer is an instrument made up Jr • — L^ of a wet and dry-bulb thermometer attached to a board or frame for determining the humidity L of the air. One adapted for this purpose may be purchased at a reasonable price from instrument dealers or it may be made as* follows: For the frame, take a board eighteen inches long, two inches wide and one-half inch thick with a hole bored in one end to hang the apparatus up with wh-en not in use. Get two all-glass thermometers with cylinder bulbs and the degrees Fahrenheit engraved on the stem. Cover the bulb of one thermometer with a thin piece of cotton cloth, fastening it securely by a thread. When the f cloth covering is wet with water and exposed to evaporation in the air it constitutes the wet bulb thermometer; the other thermometer has no covering on its bulb, is not wet at any time and constitutes the dry bulb thermometer. Fi 23— Psc ro The followinS extract from Bulletin No. 23 meter forbore- of the Weather Bureau, U. S. Department of telling frosts. Agriculture, entitled "Frost," explains the meth- od of using a psychrometer to foretell frost. To make an observation. — The bulb of the so-called wet bulb thermometer is thoroughly saturated with water by soaking it in a small cup or wide mouthed bottle until the covering is thoroughly wet. The thermometers are then whirled rapidly for fifteen or twenty seconds, stopped and quickly read. A mental note of the reading is made when they are again whirled and read. Subtract the reading of the wet thermometer from that of the dry. Find this difference in the column at the side of the following dew point table. Follow the horizontal line under this figure until it intersects the column under the reading of the dry bulb thermometer at the top of the column to the right. The number at the intersection is the dew point ORCHARD PROTECTION. 71 reading. If this comes above thirty-two degrees there Is no danger of a frost, but if below there is danger, although frost may not occur owing to wind, clouds or other phenomena. DEW-POINT TABLE. Difference of reading of dry Temperature of Air In Degrees and wet bulbs. 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 (Fahrenheit). 55 60 65 70 1 . 11 16 22 27 24 21 17 13 7 1 32 30 27 24 20 16 11 6 38 35 33 30 27 24 20 16 11 4 43 41 39 30 27 24 20 16 11 4 48 46 44 42 40 37 34 31 28 25 21 17 11 5 53 52 50 48 46 43 41 39 36 33 30 27 23 18 12 58 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 40 38 35 32 28 24 63 62 60 59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 42 40 37 34 69 67 66 64 62 61 59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 42 2 3 6 12 18 7 14 4 1 10 5 4 6 7 8 g 10 11 . 12 13 14 15 . First Example. Dry bulb thermometer .................... , ....... 60 degrees Wet bulb thermometer ...................... . ..... 47 degrees Difference .............................. . ..... 13 degrees Dew point from table ............................ 32 degrees Probably no frost. Second Example. Dry bulb thermometer ............................ 47 degrees Wet bulb thermometer ............................ 39 degrees Difference .................................... 8 degrees Dew point from table, between 24° and 31° or 27 degrees Probably a severe frost. Protection from injurious spring and autumn frosts may be given in various ways according to circumstances: (a) By covering up the whole plant and thus retarding its period of bloom until danger of frost is past, as may be done with strawberries and other small fruit. For this purpose they may be covered with earth or mulch. Peach trees are some- times covered with corn stalks or hay to retard flowering. They 72 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. may also be laid on the ground and successfully carried through the winter when covered with corn stalks. (b) By smudges which make a cloud of smoke over the land and thus prevent evaporation. This is effective when there is sufficient wind to spread the smoke. The material used for this purpose is wet straw, tar, resin, etc., or a combination of such material. It may be carried about the orchard on a stone boat or the smudges may be located in various places. (c) By heating the air directly by means of fires, as Is done in parts of Florida where wood is piled ready to be set on. fire whenever frost threatens. (d) By cultivating the land; moist soil is exposed, which furnishes considerable protection by the evaporation of the mois- ture from the freshly exposed soil. (e) By spraying the plants; the air is brought near to dew point and also warmed. In order to make this effective the spraying must be repeated during the night when frost is ex- pected. (f) By irrigating the land: the air is brought near to dew point and it is also warmed. This is frequently resorted to in the case of cranberries. (g) By covering with tents, as practiced in Florida and other places and even by using stoves in tents. (h) Covering the flowers with straw mulch at night is practicable in the case of strawberries. Where the mulch is kept between the rows to protect the fruit from dirt, it may be thrown over the plants when frost threatens the flowers. If the weather continues cold, it may remain on the plants for a few days without injury, otherwise it should be promptly re- moved. Protection against frost. — In the Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1907, G. H. Powell has the following to say in regard to frost protection in California, which is of very general application: "There are few districts in the citrus belt of California that may not be visited by frost in December, January, or February. The prevention of injury by frost may be influenced to a large extent by the location of groves on lands over which there is a sufficient air drainage. The new groves established during ORCHARD PROTECTION. 73 the past fev years have been located on the higher lands with this factor prominently in view. To protect them against the extreme cold, many of the groves on the lower lands are equip- ped with wicker coal baskets, briquets of shavings, crude oil, and asphaltum, or sheet-iron stoves in which the same material is burned. Oil smudges (in tin receptacles) or other materials, which are located at definite intervals in the spaces between the trees, are sometimes burned. It is a common practice, also, to run the water in the irrigation furrows between the trees on cold nights, in order to make use of the latent heat in the water Fig-. 24. — Form of smudger for use in protecting orchards from frosts. It is used with a protected stone boat. as a means of frost protection. The materials employed in this protection against frost injury are used to cause a circulation of air over the grove in order to mix together the strata of differ- ent temperatures or for the production of a cloud of smoke over the grove in the morning in order to exclude the direct sunlight and thereby prevent the rapid thawing of the fruit when it has been frozen during the preceding night. It is the rapid thawing, rather than the freezing, of the tissues, that causes most of the injury to citrus fruits that have been subjected to ordinary frost temperatures. 74 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. "A general idea of the operation of frost fighting may be gained from a brief description of the work observed in a grove on a cold night. There were twenty-five perforated sheet-iron stov-es scattered over each acre of grove, one stove being placed in the center of the square between four trees. These stoves were filled with a prepared mixture of shavings, asphaltum, and crude oil. When it was determined to light the fires a force of men appeared, each one carrying a can of oil and a torch. A small quantity of oil was poured over the smudging material and was then quickly lighted with the torch. As soon as all the fires were burning, the men returned home, except one man to about 5 acres, who kept the fires replenished and in good, burning condition. "Just how much benefit is derived from these various devices it is difficult to estimate, as the experience of the growers is conflicting and the experiments that have been conducted have not always been comprehensive. There seems to be no doubt, however, that the judicious use of the various devices used in frost protection has been of great commercial value. One who has had an experience of many years and who has large finan- cial interests involved writes: " 'We have been able to protect against the severest cold we have had since we secured the coal baskets. Several times the temperature has been around 24' or 25° until we got our coal baskets under way, but we were usually able to make a change of from 3° to 5° when our baskets were lighted and were giving off a good heat.' "Aside from the injury to the fruit and the young wood by frost, continued cold weather causes the wood of the lemon trees to mature and the fruit to develop a coarse, rough texture and to ripen prematurely." QUESTIONS — CHAPTER V. 1. What Is sunscald and how can It be prevented? 2. What injuries to trees are caused by birds? By cattle' Ey wind? By mice and rabbits? By cultivation? 3. What are root galls? 4. What effect does winter injury have upon orchard trees? 5. How may twigs, trunks, roots and buds be protected from winter injury? 6. Into what classes may plants be divided, considering their susceptibility to frosts? 7. When are injurious frosts most likely to occur? 8. By what means can frosts be foretold? Explain each. 8. In what ways may trees be protected from frosts * CHAPTER VI. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. The work of the fruit grower is not only one of tillage, prun- ing and fertilizing the crop, but he must be ever on the watch to ward off or kill the insects and diseases that injure or destroy his crop. None of these treatments can be neglected with im- punity, yet if the crop has good cultivation and manuring it will overcome insect injuries and adverse conditions much bet- ter than if neglected. However, spraying will not take the place of manuring, nor manuring of spraying. The great growth and wide specializing in fruit growing has led to the increase of troublesome pests. In some sections where the natural food of the native insects has been destroyed by cleaning the land, they have attacked the introduced plants. Then, too, new and exceedingly injurious insects and diseases have been introduced from other countries and have spread rapidly within recent years and these often need extremely dras- tic measures for their prevention. Good illustrations of the latter are peach yellows and root galls among diseases, and San Jose scale, Gypsy and Brown Tail moths among insects. By the introduction of insects and diseases some of the old standard varieties have been driven out of cultivation, even in sections where they formerly grew, or else can now only be grown when they are given much more care than was former- ly necessary. The presence of these pests and the discovery of methods of checking their injuries has worked for the interests of the careful, painstaking grower who now has a decided ad- vantage over the slovenly cultivator. In other words, it takes more brains and application to raise fruit now than formerly. Comparative exemption from pests is often the case in new fruit areas but this exemption seldom lasts more than a few years, as is shown by the history of the new fruit areas in the Pacific Coast states where exceptional immunity from insect pests was enjoyed for many years, which might have been continued indefinitely had there been a suitable inspection law 76 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. properly enforced. The codlin moth and the plum curculio and other insect pests have come in and are now extremely trouble- some and much care is required to hold them in check. State Inspection. — Much has been said in favor of and against State Inspection laws for the prevention and suppression of insects and diseases. They have accomplished much good in some sections although they have been unquestionably used at times to restrict trade between the states. One of the great- est things that they have accomplished has been to cause peo- ple to think about insect pests and diseases and to impress upon them the importance of subduing them. Laws for the suppression of noxious insects and diseases vary much in the different states but there is a tendency today for all the states to bring their laws to the same standard. These laws generally provide for the appointment of a state entomologist who is required to inspect all nurseries in his state and to furnish a suitable certificate if he finds them worthy. There is also a rule providing that no nursery stock shall be shipped from one state to another without a copy of this, or a similar certificate, being attached to the parcel containing it and that badly infested nurseries and orchards must be prop- erly treated. Suitable penalties are provided for those avoid- ing the provisions of the law. In a few of the states and Canada the law requires that all nursery stock must be fumigated at the destination before its delivery to consignee. It would be hard to say now just what is a fair law for all concerned, and it ought perhaps to vary in different sections of the country ac- cording to crops and climate. A national law is needed to regulate interstate commerce in nursery stock, fruit and other products that might carry noxious insects and diseases from one state to another. The intelligent fruit grower should be familiar with the life habits of the insects in which he is most interested and should not work blindly by "Rule of Thumb." Insects. — Noxious insects are held in check in various ways and from this standpoint we conveniently class them in groups: Chewing insects. — Examples of these are grasshoppers, cat- erpillars, beetles and their grubs, etc. These are quite easily reached by arsenical and other poisons which may be placed INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. 77 on their food. The great problem in dealing with this class is to find something which will hold the poison on the leaves for a reasonable length of time and will at the same time prevent the arsenical poisons from burning the leaves. This is particu- larly true of plants belonging to the plum family, including plums, peaches and apricots, which are easily injured by ar- senious acid even when present in such small quantities that it would not be injurious to the foliage of apple, pear, currant or gooseberry. This burning is especially bad when its application is followed by several days of bright, dry weather. Another Important problem which we have not solved is how to apply these poisons so that they will not wash off from the leaves. Among the insecticides commonly used for this class of insects are Paris Green, arsenate of lead and hellebore. Some of the chewing insects may be destroyed by the acrid or oily applica- tions which are commonly used for the destruction of sucking insects, such as tobacco water and kerosene emulsion. Insects that work In the wood of the tree belong to the class of chewing insects. These vary in their habits and nearly as various are the remedies used against them; each must be con- sidered in the light of its life history. When borers are in their holes and can be reached easily by gas fumes, perhaps as satisfactory a remedy as any is to squirt a small amount of carbon bisulfide into their holes with a common oil dropper and stop up the holes with a little putty. In the case of borers that tunnel just under the bark, the location of which can be seen by the discoloration of the surface bark (as with the borer of the peach), the best remedy is probably to look over the trees in the early spring and again in the late summer and dig them out with a sharp knife. Sucking Insects — Examples of this class of insects are plant lice, scale insects and chinch bugs. These do not chew, but their food is the juice of plants. They obtain it by sucking. As they do not bite they cannot be destroyed by internal poisons, such as arsenic and hellebore, but they must be reached by something that will affect their respiratory organs. All such in- sects breathe through small pores in their sides and may be de- stroyed by a covering of a film of oil or soap (whale-oil soap 78 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. and kerosene emulsion). The bodies of leaf lice, which form a considerable portion of this class of insects, are covered with a thin skin and are injured or killed by astringent solutions, such as tobacco water, and also by hot water. Fumigating with hydrocyanic acid gas in case of scale or other sucking insects is a good remedy. Fumigating with tobacco smoke will kill most kinds of leaf lice. In fact, it would seem that fumigation, be- ing so sure a remedy, is destined to be more largely used in the future. The use of strong compounds, when trees are dormant, for the destruction of scale insects, must continue to gain in popularity. Among the best of the compounds used for this purpose are the lime and sulfur mixture and the soluble oil preparations. Insects that attach themselves to roots generally are of the sucking class and are extr-emely difficult to destroy. Among the worst of these pests is the woolly aphis or root louse of the apple, and the phylloxera or root louse of the grape, the latter having been extremely injurious to the roots of the European Wine Grape in France. In the case of the woolly aphis the trouble is largely avoided by planting trees that are known to be exempt from it. If the trees are once well started there is little danger of injury, since the pest is seldom harmful to large trees. Fumigation of stock insures the removal of the root louse. In the case of the phylloxera on the European Wine Grape the only satisfactory remedy has been to graft on the roots of some resistant stock such as the American Frost Grape (Vitis riparia). So common has this practice become in Europe that the result is the European wine industry stands on Ameri- can roots. Beneficial insects. — In a state of nature, each species of the animal kingdom is held in check so there is a nicely balanced relation between them, but occasionally even in nature some one species becomes too numerous and breaks the bounds that are ordinarily strong enough to hold it. Among the natural agencies that destroy insects may be mentioned heavy rains, sudden changes to a freezing temperature, winds, predaceous and parasitic insects, and fungous and bacterial diseases. Parasites. — A most important factor in checking the spread INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. 79 of Insects is th-e numerous parasites to which they are sub- ject. These may be either animal or vegetable. Any one who has had much experience in gardening may have seen many instances of the increase of animal parasites until certain kinds of insects were no longer injurious. This is common in the case of the cabbage worm, the tent caterpillar, grasshoppers and many others. Animal Parasites. — The most common of animal parasites that destroy insects are small wasps and some two-winged flies which deposit their eggs in or on the -eggs and larvae of the in- jurious insects on which the growing wasps feed. These destroy enormous numbers of insects and should be regarded as among the greatest aids to the fruit grower. Among vegetable parasites that destroy insects may be mentioned the diseases which destroy the chinch bugs, and which the states of Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota attempted to introduce on a large scale for the subjugation of this pest. Another instance is the disease which often destroys cabbage worms and even house flies. A good illustration of this oc- curred recently in the experience of a Minnesota gardener. He found the Cabbage Plusia getting very numerous in his twenty acres of cabbages and got a spraying outfit to kill them with, but had hardly started when he found the worms dying naturally, as the result of a fungous disease. He put up the machine and the disease successfully did the work for him. Predaceous insects search out and destroy their prey. In this class of insects may be included the Preying Mantis, Tiger beetles, ladybugs and some wasps and dragon flies. The Cottony Cushion Scale was first noticed in California in 1872 and was greatly feared on account of its spreading so rapidly and protecting itself from insecticides by excreting a waxy substance which completely covered the insect. The pest was finally destroyed by a lady bird (lady bug) imported from Australia. Insects Injurious to the Apple. Affecting the Fruit: Codlin Moth fCarpocapsa pomonella). — The Codlin Moth is the common cause of wormy apples and makes the infested POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. Fig. 25. —Injury caused by the lar- va of the Codlin Moth. places to spin their cocoons nearby, which is often be- tween the hoops and staves of the barrels holding the fruit. Remedies. — The fallen fruit should be promptly gathered and destroyed. Keeping hogs in the orchard is very bene- ficial as they destroy the worm-infested fruit; but it should be remembered that when too much stock is pas- tured in the orchard and the grass becomes scarce, they are liable to bark the trees. If bands of burlap, or even paper, six Inches wide, are fastened around the trunks fruit ripen prematurely and fall to the ground. The moths deposit their eggs in the calyx (or eye) of the apple just as the blossoms fall. On hatch- ing, the worm eats into the fruit where it lives until it is ready to change to the moth stage. It then leaves the fruit and spins a cocoon in which it undergoes its changes. There are two or more broods in a season. The worms that are in the late apples leave them in the winter and find Pig. 26 — Flowers of the apple; the proper stage for spraying to control Codlin Moth. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. 81 not later than the first of June, many of the worms and chrysa- lides of this moth will be found under them and may be easily destroyed. The bands should be examined about once in ten days until the last of August. The most common way of protecting against this insect Is by spraying the trees just after the blossoms fall, when the ap- ples still stand upright, with Paris Green and water at the rate of one pound to one hundred and sixty gallons. When the trees are sprayed to prevent scab, the Paris Green may be added to the Bordeaux mixture at the rate of one pound to one hundred and fifty gallons of the mixture. Plum and Apple Curculio. — These are snout beetles which cut , small holes in the fruit as they feed, and also* use the fruit as a place for laying their eggs. The latter soon hatch into a small grub which, at maturity, is about one-half inch long. The spe- cial injury to the fruit from this insect comes from the hard knots that form where it has been stung, which makes the apple gnarled and of poor quality. Remedies. — These insects breed most1^ in the wild plums, haws and wild crab apples, and destroying these generally results in lessen- ing the damage to the apples in their vicinity. The windfalls should be destroyed, and pasturing hogs in the or- chard is probably the easiest way to accomplish this. Clean culture has proven most satisfactory in ridding orchards of the curculio as they winter over in grass and rubbish. Spraying the fruit with Paris Green, lime and water, as recommended for the tent caterpillar, has sometimes proven satisfactory. Affecting the foliage: Tent Caterpillar (Malacosoma americana). — The character- istics of this insect are readily seen In Fig. 28, which shows the Fig. 27. — Showing which apples are Plum Curculio. the way in POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. caterpillars resting on the outside of the tent-like structure in which they live, and also a twig on which a bunch of eggs is fastened. The habit of this insect is about as follows: The eggs are laid on the smaller twigs of fruit trees in ring-like clusters during the first two weeks in July. Two or three hun- dred eggs are laid in each cluster and they are firmly cemented together. These hatch out early in the spring just as the leaves open. The young caterpillars soon commence to make a tent by extending sheets of silk web across the nearest forks of the twigs and this tent or nest is enlarged as more room is needed. It has holes in it through which the caterpillars enter and they re- treat to the nest at night, in stormy weather and usual- ly when not feed- ing. They gener- ally come out of their nest once in the morning and once in the after- noon to feed. They are very voracious and soon strip the infested tree of its foliage. They change to moths in June and soon com- mence laying eggs. The eggs of the Western Tent cat- erpillar are not laid around the twig but in bunches on the sides of the twigs. Remedies.— The tents are readily seen. They should be gathered and destroyed early in the season when the worms are within them. The egg masses are also easily seen against a cloudy sky when the trees are leafless, and can be gathered and destroyed in winter or at any time before they hatch. Fig. 28.— Tent Caterpillar. a.— Web house of tent caterpillar much reduced. Caterpillar nearly full size. b. — Eggs nearly natural size, c.— Moth natural size. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. 83 Fall Web Worm (Hyphantria cunea). — This is often mis- taken for the Tent Caterpillar from which it is quite distinct. It appears later in the season, generally in July or later. Its webs are larger and loose or open and the caterpillars stay in them and feed. The web is extended to include other foliage as that enclosed is eaten. The remedies should be the same as in the case of the Tent Caterpillar. Leaf Lice or Aphis (Aphis mali). — The leaves of the apple are frequently attacked by plant lice which, by sucking the sap, cause the leaves to curl up and assume a very unnatural appearance. They work almost entirely on the lower side of the leaf and are most abundant on the new and tend-er growth which generally becomes distorted as a result of such attacks. ^^^^^ Similar lice attack the foliage of the plum, currant and other plants. The eggs are laid ffi^ on the branches of apple, plum and other !^a trees in autumn. They are yellowish in ^•jH l^^v color when first laid, but become a glossy ^^HnflK^ black by winter. These hatch in the spring ^K and locate themselves on the small, young Wg| HV growth and feed by sucking sap. All hatch- ^L ed at this time are females and reach ma- turity in ten or twelve days, when they com- l^L mence to give birth to living young, pro- ^S&ljfr ducing about two daily for two or three ^^f weeks, when they die. The young ones soon commence to produce live young and £& their increase is very rapid, in fact so fast j&K ^p that the new growth is kept covered with ^pVf them. As the season advances, some of Fjg 29 Eggs the lice acquire wings and found new colo- of Plant Lice nies on other trees. On the approach of young apple cold weather males appear and the season tree- closes with a stock of eggs for the con- tinuation of the species. Remedies. — The lice should be destroyed in the spring be- fore they become numerous. The eggs hatch about the time the buds are bursting, and as soon as the lice appear, they should POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. be sprayed wth strong soapsuds, kerosene emulsion or tobacco water. If the lice are allowed to get very numerous before spraying is commenced, the work will have to be repeated sev- eral times. Where trees are heavily infested, smoking may be the most desirable treatment. (See reference to this under the head of Insects Injurious to the Plum.) Climbing Cut Worms (Agrotis sp.) — When the foliage or buds are being destroyed without any apparent cause, climbing cut worms should be searched for. If present they will be found in the day-time buried in the ground near the base of the trees and occasionally do much damage. They are closely allied to and resemble the common cut worms so well known to gardeners. Remedies. — They may be destroyed by spraying the foliage as recommended for the Tent Caterpillar and by jarring the trees after dark and then gathering the worms. Insects Attacking Trunks and Branches. Flat Headed Apple Tree Borer (ChrysobotJiris femorata). — This borer is quite abundant in some sections but generally does not cause serious losses here. It prefers to work in trees that are newly trans- planted, or weakened by some disease, making its borings in the trunks and larg- er branches and often completely girdling them. It is the larva of a beetle that is oblong, flattish in form and of a shining greenish-black color about three-eighths of an inch long. The beetles emerge from the borings in the trees in the early summer. They are very active in the middle of warm days and may be found in the hot sunshine running up and down the trunk of the tree, whence they fly quickly if an attempt is made to catch them. They lay their eggs, which are yellow, under loose scales on the bark or in cracks and crevices. The young soon hatch and eat their way through the bark, feeding on the sap wood. As the borer approaches maturity, it usually bores into the more solid wood Fig. 30.— Flat head- ed Apple Tree Borer, a. — Borer full grown, b. — Pupa. c. — Reverse side of head, d.— Mature borer. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. 85 and finally out to the bark where it changes into the beetle form. This insect also attacks the pear, plum, peach and cherry. Remedies. — All trees should be examined early in autumn; If there are borers present, they may be detected by the dry ap- pearance of th-e bark or by the exudation of sap or sawdust-like castings. When such signs are seen the parts should be at once cut into with a knife and the borer destroyed. As a pre- ventive measure there is perhaps nothing better than to coat the trunk and larger branches with a mixture of soft soap reduc- ed with a solution of washing soda to the consistency of a thick paint, and if a little car- bolic acid is added, it will be even more repulsive to the beetles. This should be kept on the trees during the summer months when the insect is in- jurious. Twig Borer (Amphicerus bt- caudatus). — A dark colored, cyl- indrical, small beetle that bores into the twigs of the apple, grape and some other fruits. It is seldom extremely injurious. Remedies. — The remedy is to cut out in early summer the In- fested twigs which contain th« borers and to burn them. Buffalo Tree Hopper (Ceresa bubalus).— An active, jumping, ridiculous looking creature about one-third of an inch long, re- sembling a beech nut more than any insect. Its eggs are laid in slits cut into the bark of apple trees by the female. Their presence seems to seriously injure the adjoining wood and bark and causes numerous irregular wounds which often seriously check growth and are sometimes taken for hail injuries. It feeds on the foliage when young, but does little Injury in this stage. Fig. 31. — Buffalo Tree Hop- per; showing scars on old wood as the result of its injuries; also mature in- sect. 86 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. Remedies. — The best treatment is to prune away and burn the infested wood in winter, but this is seldom entirely practicable and we have largely to depend on natural remedies and on high cultivation to enable the plant to resist the pest. San Jose Scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus). — This is perhaps the most insiduous and destructive of all our insect pests. In appearance, it is nearly circular, about one-six- teenth of an inch in diameter, dark brown in col- or, with a darker spot in the center. It lives on the bark of nearly all of our garden and lawn plants. It is a sucking insect and moves only when very young and then only for a short time, after which it becomes fixed in place. Several generations are produced each year. At the North many of the scales die in winter but those left breed so fast that they soon cover their host. It is probably spread to young trees by the feet of birds, etc. When this pest is discovered for the first time some good expert in such matters should be con- sulted. Remedies. — The best remedies now known are the lime and sulfur wash and some of the soluble oils specially prepared for this purpose, the formula for which will be found in the Appendix. Scurfy Bark Louse (Chionaspis furfurus) affects the apple and pear. The life history of this insect Bark" kSl is similar to that of otner sca]e insects. The fe- in place on males are larger than the males, and oval; the males are very small and slender. A branch in- fested with this pest appears to be covered with whitish scurf or dandruff. It is seldom very injurious. Remedies. — The remedies for the San Jose Scale are effective here but covering the branches with whitewash or lightly brush- ing them with kerosene oil is extremely satisfactory. The Oyster-Shell Bark Louse (Lepidosaphes uli) is about the color of the bark on which it grows. It is very injurious where it occurs in great numbers. In appearance each scale is long and shaped somewhat like an oyster. Its life history INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. 87 and remedies are much like those for other scales. It generally yields readily to the whitewash treatment, but where many trees are badly infested they should be treated with some of the solu- ble oils, or lime and sulfur wash should be used. Woolly Apple Louse (Schizoneura lanigeraj; branch form. — When fully grown, this insect is dark colored and covered with a cottony coating. They may be found covering the new bark about wounds and in the axils of leaves and buds and they may cause serious wounds when neglected. It comes from small eggs laid near the base of the twigs. Remedies. — They are easily destroyed by painting with kero- sene. Where very numerous, it may be best to use whale oil soap mixture, on account of the danger to the tree from using kerosene. Insects Attacking the Roots of the Apple. Woolly Apple Louse (Schizoneura lanigera)', root form. — This insect attacks the roots as well as the branches of the apple. On 33. — Woolly Aphis, a. — Mature insect, b. — Swellings on the root as a result of its injuries. 8? POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. the roots it causes warty swellings and may kill the trees. It is one of the most dangerous of all insect pests affecting the apple. Remedies. — The best remedies for it when occurring on the roots are as follows: Remove the earth about the crown for a distance of about two feet and put on from four to seven pounds of tobacco dust. Put back the soil and irrigate where practicable to do so. Removing the soil from about the roots and apply- ing hot water has been satisfactorily practiced. Bi sulfide of carbon poured into holes made with a bar about the trees has also been successfully used. In doing this, make the holes about ten inches deep near the infested roots and then pour three ounces of the bi-sulfide into each hole. Three or more holes should be made about each tree. Young trees are often destroyed by the woolly aphis but the old trees are seldom hurt by it. Insects Injurious to the Pear. Any of the foregoing insects referred to as attacking the apple may also attack the pear except the woolly aphis, and the same remedies should be used. In addition to these, the pear is attacked by the fol- lowing insects: Pear Tree Slug (Eriocampoa cerasij. —These slimy look- ing insects are hatch- ed from eggs laid in the tissues of the leaves by a glossy, black fly soon after the leaves expand in spring. When first emerging from the egg they are white but soon become cov- ered above with a slimy brown matter Fig. 34— Pear Tree Slug, a.— Mature In- that OOTPQ nut nf the sect, b and c.— Larva, side and back view. tnat oozes °ut °r tne