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THE
Peet? GAR DEN;
A TREATISE
INTENDED TO EXPLAIN AND ILLUSTRATE THE PHYSIOLOGY OF FRUIT
TREES, THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ALL OPERATIONS
CONNECTED WITH THE
PROPAGATION, TRANSPLANTING, PRUNING AND TRAINING OF
ORCHARD AND GARDEN TREES, AS STANDARDS, DWARFS,
PYRAMIDS, ESPALIERS, ETC.,
THE LAYING OUT AND ARRANGING DIFFERENT KINDS or
ORCHARDS AND GARDENS,,,.
THE SELECTION OF SUITABLE VARIETIES FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES AND
LOCALITIES, GATHERING AND PRESERVING FRUITS, TREATMENT OF
DISEASES, DESTRUCTION OF INSECTS, DESCRIPTIONS AND
USES OF IMPLEMENTS, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED WITH UPWARDS OF 150 FIGURES,
REPRESENTING DIFFERENT PARTS OF TREES, ALL PRACTICAL OPERATIONS,
FORMS OF TREES, DESIGNS FOR PLANTATIONS, IMPLEMENTS, ETC.
te
os*
BY PY BARRY,
OF THE MOUNT HOPE NURSERIES, i NEW YOR i iy é ©
Ye S
Sy
NEW YORK:
CHARLES SCRIBNER,
1851.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York.
DRAPPDIDIO AA
F. C. GUTIERREZ, Printer,
No. 5i John-street, corner of Dutch
INFTRODUS TION.
THE subject of this treatise is one in which almost all classes
of the community are more or less practically engaged and inter-
ested. Agriculture is pursued by one class, and commerce by
another ; the mechanic arts, fine arts, and learned professions by
others ; but fruit culture, to a greater or less extent, by all.
It is the desire of every man, whatever may be his pursuit or
condition in life, whether he live in town or country, to enjoy fine
fruits, to provide them for his family, and, if possible, to cultivate
the trees in his own garden with his own hands. The agricul-
turist, whatever be the extent or condition of his grounds, con-
siders an orchard, at least, indispensable. The merchant or pro-
fessional man who has, by half a lifetime of drudgery in town,
secured a fortune or a competency that enables him to retire to a
country or suburban villa, looks forward to his fruit garden as one
of the chief sources of those rural comforts and pleasures he 80
long and so earnestly labored and hoped for. The artizan who
has laid up enough from his earnings to purchase a homestead,
considers the planting of his fruit trees as one of the first and
most important steps towards improvement. He anticipates the
pleasure of tending them in his spare hours, of watching their
growth and progress to maturity, and of gathering their ripe and
delicious fruits, and placing them before his family and friends as
iv INTRODUCTION.
the valued products of his own garden, and of his own skill and
labor. Fortunately, in the United States, land is so easily ob-
tained as to be within the reach of every industrious man ; and
the climate and soil being so favorable to the production of fruit,
Americans, if they be not already, must become truly “ a nation
of fruit growers.”
Fruit culture, therefore, whether considered as a branch of
profitable industry, or as exercising a most beneficial influence
upon the health, habits, and tastes of the people, becomes a great
national interest, and whatever may assist in making it better un-
derstood, and more interesting, and better adapted to the various
wants, tastes, and circumstances of the community, cannot fail to
subserve the public good.
Within a few years past it has received an unusual degree of
attention. Plantations of all sorts, orchards, gardens, and nur-
series, have increased in numbers and extent to a degree quite un-
precedented ; not in one section or locality, but from the extreme
north to the southern limits of the fruit-growing region. Foreign
supplies of trees have been required to meet the suddenly and
greatly increased demand. Treatises and periodicals devoted to the
subject have increased rapidly and circulated widely. Horticul-
tural societies have been organized in all parts; while exhibitions,
and national, state, and local conventions of fruit growers, have
been held to discuss the merits of fruits and other kindred topics.
To those unacquainted with the previous condition of fruit cul-
ture in the interior of the country, this new planting spirit has
appeared as a sort of speculative mania, and the idea has sug-
gested itself to them that the country will soon be overstocked
with fruits. This is a greatly mistaken apprehension. After all
that has been done, let us look at the actual condition of fruit
culture at the present time. In the best fruit-growing counties
INTRODUCTION. | Vv
in the State of New York, the entire fruit plantations of more
than three fourths of the agricultural population consist of very
ordinary orchards of apples. Not a dish of fine pears, plums,
cherries, apricots, grapes, or raspberries, has ever appeared on
their tables, and not a step has yet been taken to produce them.
People are but beginning to learn the uses of fruits, and to
appreciate their importance. |
At one time apples were grown chiefly for cider ; now they are
considered indispensable articles of food. The finer fruits, that
were formerly considered as luxuries only for the tables of the
wealthy, are beginning to take their place among the ordinary
supplies of every man’s table; and this taste must grow from
year to year, with an increased supply. Those who consume a
bushel of fruit this year, will require double or treble that quantity
next. The rapid increase of population alone, creates a demand
to an extent that few people are aware of. The city of Roches-
ter has added 20,000 to her numbers in ten years. Let such an
increase as this in all our cities, towns, and villages, be estimated,
and see what an aggregate annual amount of new consumers it
presents.
New markets are continually presenting themselves and de-
manding large supplies. New and more perfect modes of pack-
ing and shipping fruits, and of drying, preserving, and preparing
them for various purposes to which they have not hitherto been
appropriated, are beginning to enlist attention and inquiry.
Immense amounts of money are annually expended in import-
ing grapes, wines, figs, nuts, prunes, raisins, currants, almonds,
&¢., many of which might be produced perfectly well on our own
soil. Pears have actually been imported from France by the
New York confectioners, this present season, (1851.) These
are facts that should be well understood by proprietors of lands,
vi INTRODUCTION.
and especially by those who have allowed themselves to imagine
that fruit will soon be so plenty as not to be worth the growing.
It is too soon by a century to apprehend an over supply of
fruits in the United States, except of some very perishable sort,
in a season of unusual abundance, in some particular locality
where one branch of culture is mainly carried on.
It is because fruit culture has been almost entirely neglected
until within a few years, that the present activity appears so ex-
traordinary. A vast majority of the people were quite unaware
of the treasures within their reach; and that in regard to soil and
climate they possessed advantages for fruit growing superior to
any other nation We had no popular works or periodicals to
diffuse information or awaken interest on the subject. For four-
teen or fifteen years Hovey’s Magazine of Horticultwre was the
only journal exclusively devoted to gardening subjects, and it
only found its way into the hands of the more advanced culti-
vators. We had some treatises on fruits, but none of them cir-
culated sufficiently to effect much good. Previous to 1845, Ken-
rick’s American Orchardist, and Mannng’s Book of Fruits, were
the principal treatises that had any circulation worth naming.
Coxe’s work, Floy’s, Prince’s, and some others, were confined
almost wholly to nursery-men, or persons already engaged and
interested in fruit culture in the older parts of the country.
Mr. Downing’s ‘‘ Fruit and Fruit Trees of America,” that ap-
peared in 1845, was the first treatise of the kind that really ob-
tained a wide and general circulation.
It made its appearance at a favorable moment, just as the
planting spirit referred to was beginning to manifest itself, and
when, more than at any previous period, such a work was needed.
Mr. Downing enjoyed great advantages over any previous Ameri-
can writer. During the ten years that had elapsed since the
INTRODUCTION. vii
publication of Kenrick’s and Prince’s treatises, a great fund of
materials had been accumulating. Messrs. Manning, Kenrick,
Prince, Wilder, and many others, had been industriously collect-
ing fruits both at home and abroad. The Massachusetts Horti-
cultural Society was actively engaged in its labors. The London
Horticultural Society had made great advancement in its exami-
nation and trial of fruits, and had corrected a multitude of long
standing errors in nomenclature.
Mr. Downing’s work had the benefit of all this ; and possessing
the instructive feature of outline figures of fruits, and being writ-
ten in a very agreeable and attractive style, it possessed the ele-
ments of popularity and usefulness in an eminent degree. Hence
it became at once the text-book of every man who sought for
pomological information, or felt interested in fruits or fruit trees ;
and to itis justly attributable much of the taste and spirit on the
subject, and the increased attention to nomenclature, that so dis-
tinguishes the present time. Mr. Thomas’s recent treatise, “‘ The
American Fruit Culturist,’’ on the same plan as Mr. Downing’s,
is also a popular work, and will be the means of diffusing both
taste and information. Mr Thomas is a close and accurate
observer, and his descriptions are peculiarly concise, methodical
and minute. ‘‘ Cole’s Fruit Book’? is also a recent treatise, and
on account of its cheapness and the vast accumulation of facts
and information it contains is highly popular and useful. Be-
sides these, periodicals devoted more or less to the subject, have
increased in number and greatly extended their circulation, so
that information is now accessible to all who desire it.
The light which has been shed upon fruit-growing by these
works, and the taste they have created, have not only improved
old systems of cultivation, but introduced new ones. Until within
a few years nothing was said or known among the great body of
Vill INTRODUCTION.
cultivators, or even nursery-men, of dwarfing trees, of the uses of
certain stocks, or of modes of propagation and pruning by which
trees are made to bear early, and are adapted to different circum-
stances. The entire routine of the propagation and management
of trees was conducted generally in the simplest and rudest manner. |
Whether for the garden or the orchard they were propagated in
the same manner, on the same stocks, and in the same form
taken from the nursery, planted out and left there to assume such
forms as nature or accident might impose, and produce fruit at
such a time as natural circumstances would admit.
The art of planting fifty trees on a quarter of an acre of
ground, and bringing them into a fruitful state in four or five
years at most, was entirely unknown. Small gardens were en-
cumbered with tall, unshapely, and unfruitful trees, that afforded
no pleasure to the cultivator ; and thousands of persons, who are
now the most enthusiastic cultivators, were entirely discouraged
from the attempt
Fruit gardening, properly speaking, may be said only to have
commenced. It is no longer a matter of mere utility, but of
taste also; and, therefore, adaptation, variety, and beauty, are
sought for in garden trees and modes of culture and management.
Nothing so distinguishes the taste of modern planting as the
partiality for dwarf trees, and the desire to obtain information in
regard to their propagation and treatment.
This has not been anticipated by any of our authors. The
standard or orchard system alone is fully treated of, as being the
only one practised ; and this requires so little skill in the art of
culture, that only the simplest imstructions have been given.
The very elements of the science have been unexplained and
unstudied, and cultivators in the main find themselves both desti-
tute of knowledge in regard to the management of trees in the
INTRODUCTION. 1X
more refined and artificial forms, and the sources from which to
obtain it. But a very small proportion of those engaged or€n-
gaging in tree culture have studied the physiology of trees in any
degree. Very few have the slightest knowledge of the modes of
growth and bearing of the different species of fruits, or even of the
difference between wood or leaf buds, and fruit buds. Very few
understand the functions of the different parts of trees, and the
relation in which they stand one to another ; the principles that
govern and regulate the growth and maturity, the formation of
wood and the production of fruit. Practice is no better under-
stood than principle. Persons engaged largely in tree growing
will frequently ask the most absurd questions on the subject of
propagation, of stocks, of pruning, &c., matters that should be
understood by every man who has a single tree to manage, but
especially indispensable to those who wish to succeed in conduct-
ing garden trees under certain modified forms, more or less
opposed to the natural. The preparation of ground, laying out
small gardens, the selection of suitable trees, and a multitude of
minor but nevertheless important matters, are very imperfectly
understood. Neither our state nor national governments have
ever manifested a disposition to favor the rural arts with any-
thing like a liberal patronizing policy. Advanced, wealthy and
powerful as we are, not a single step has been taken, in earnest,
to establish model farms or model gardens, in which experiments
might be made and examples given that would enlighten cultiva-
tors, and elevate and honor their profession. Whatever advance
has been made is due wholly to individual taste, energy, and enter-
prise; and to these alone are we permitted to look for future
progress.
Having for many years devoted much attention to this particu-
lar branch of culture, and feeling deeply interested in its success,
1*
x INTRODUCTION.
and having, bya business intercourse with cultivators in all parts
ofthe country, an ample opportunity of understanding the nature
and extent of the information desired, I have prepared the fol-
lowing pages to supply it at least in part.
T am well convinced that the work is neither perfect nor com-
plete. Jt has been prepared, during a few weeks of the winter, in
the midst of other engagements that rendered it impossible to be-
stow upon it the necessary care and labor. My original intention
was to give a few brief directions for the management of garden
trees, but it was suggested by friends that it would prove more
generally useful by adding a sketch of the entire routine of opera-
tions, from the propagation in the nursery to the management in
the orchard and garden. This has involved much more labor
than it was intended to bestow on it, or than I could really spare
from business. It has, therefore, been performed hastily, and,
of course, in many respects imperfectly, but yet it is hoped it
contains such an exposition of principles and practices as cannot
fail to diffuse amongst the inexperienced much needed informa-
tion. All doubtful theories, and whatever had not a direct prac-
tical bearing on the subjects treated, have been excluded, both
for the sake of brevity, and to avoid anything calculated to
mislead. The principles and practices set forth are not new,
visionary, or doubtful, but such as are taught and practised by the
most accomplished cultivators of the day, and have been success-
fully carried out in the daily operations of our own establishment.
In the pruning and management of garden trees, the French
arboriculturists surpass all others. ‘Their trees are models that
have no equals, and that all the world admire. The English,
notwithstanding their great gardening skill, and their refined
and elegant modes of culture, are far behind the French in the
management of fruit trees. French systems of pruning and
INTRODUCTION. x1
training are at this moment advocated and held up as models by
such men as Mr. Robert Thompson, head of the fruit department
in the London Horticultural Society’s Garden ; by Mr. Rivers,
well known on this side of the Atlantic as one of the most ener-
getic and accomplished nurserymen in Great Britain; and by
many others whose skill and judgment command attention. Their
introduction to English gardens is going on rapidly, and bids fair
to revolutionize their whole practice of fruit tree culture.
D’Albret’s great work on pruning is conceded to be the best
extant on that subject. He was the pupil and successor of M.
Thouin, the world-renowned vegetable physiologist and founder
of the great national gardens at Paris. His practice is founded
upon the true principles of vegetable physiology, and strengthened
by long years of the most minute and successful experiment.
M. Dubrieul, late conductor of the fruit department in the
Garden of Rouen, has also published an excellent treatise on
arboriculture ; and there are many other French works on the
subject, all showing how thoroughly the science is there under-
stood, and how minutely and skilfully its principles are dealt with,
all, These as well as the best-managed gardens and the most
perfect and beautiful trees in France and Belgium, have been
carefully studied.
The knowledge thus acquired, added to the experience of many
years’ actual and extensive practice, constitutes the basis of the
course recommended.
The same minute detail that characterizes European works has
not been attempted, yet much detail is absolutely necessary in
order to prevent misapprehension on the part of those wholly
inexperienced. .
Writers are apt to treat simple matters too much in the general,
presuming them to be well understood. Detail is always tedious
Xll INTRODUCTION.
to those familiar with the subject, but nothing less can be satisfac
tory to the student.
For the sake of convenient reference, the different branches of
the subject have been separated into four parts. The /irst
treats of general principles, a knowledge of the structure,
character, and functions of the different parts of trees, modes of
growth, bearing, &c., &c.; soils, manures, modes of propagation,
&c. This must be the ground-work of the study of tree culture.
The second treats of the nursery. The third of plantations,
orchards of different kinds, gardens, &c.; their laying out and
management, and of the pruning and training of trees in different
forms. The fourth contains abridged descriptions of the best
fruits, a chapter on gathering and preserving fruits, another on
diseases and insects, and another on the implements in com-
mon use.
Illustrations have been introduced wherever the nature of the
subject seemed to require them, and it was possible to get them
prepared. It is believed that these will prove of great value in
imparting a correct knowledge of the various subjects. Upwards
of one hundred of the more important figures have been drawn
from nature by Prof. Sintzenich of Rochester.
ae
Mount Hope Garden and Nurseries,
Rocuester, N. Y.
CONTENTS.
PAST I.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
CHAPTESB I.
PAGE
Names, Descriptions, AND OFFICES OF THE DIFFERENT ParTs OF
Fruit Trees, : ' : , : ‘ - 1
CHAPTER II.
Sorts, . é : : : ‘ ° ° ° 48
CHAPTER III.
Manvres, Z ; : ‘ : ° ° “ 34
CHAPTER IV.
Tue Dirrerent Mopes or Propacatine Fruit Tress, . ° 60
CHAPTER V..
Pruninc—ItTs PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE, . : ‘ : 83
XIV CONTENTS.
PART IL.
THE NURSERY, . : - - . “ : 105
PART i
PLANTATIONS, ORCHARDS, ETC.
CHAPTER F.
PERMANENT PuantaTions oF Fruit TREES, - ‘ ; 157
CHAPTER 1 i.
PrRuNING APPLIED TO THE DiFFrERENT Species or Fruit TREES
UNDER DirFERENT Forms, ; 3 : : : 203
Pre Ty.
SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
CHAPTER: f.
AxsripGeD Descriptions oF SeLecr VaRIeTIEs oF FRUuITS, - 277
CHAP DER. Ii:
GaTHERING, Pacxine, TRANSPORTATION AND PRESERVATION OF Fruits, 354
CHAPTER II.
Diseases AND INSECTS, ; : : ° , 361
CHAPTER I¥.
Nursery, Orcaarp anp Fruir Garpen IMPLEMENTS, . - 377
PART I.
SS
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
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.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
CHAP TS RL.
NAMES, DESCRIPTIONS, AND OFFICES OF THE DIF-
FERENT PARTS OF FRUIT TREES.
General Remarks.
A 'Tree is a living body composed
of many parts, such as roots, branches, leaves, buds, blos-
Fig.1,atree. A, the collar. B,
te main root. OC, lateral root.
D, fibres. E, stem or trunk. Ff,
main branches. G, secondary
branches. 4H, shoots, one year’s
growth
1
soms, fruit, &c. All these have
different offices to fulfil, assume
different forms and characters, and
are known and designated from
one another by different names
when subjected to the practical
operation of culture. Without
some knowledge of the names and
structure of these different parts,
of the principles that guide their
development, their relative connec-
tion with, and influence upon one
another, tree culture cannot be,
to any man, really pleasant, in-
tellectual, or successful; but a
misty, uncertain, unintelligible
routine of manual labor.
The industry of our times is pe-
culiarly distinguished by the ap-
plication of science—the union of
theory with practice in every de-
partment; and surely the votaries
of the garden, whose labors, of
2 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
all others, should be intelligent, will not allow themselves
to fall behind and perform their labors in the dark.
Fully sensible of the importance of this preliminary
study, and confident that the minute and practical details
of culture cannot be well understood without it, I propose
here, before entering upon the main subject, to describe,
in as few and as plain words as possible, the structure,
character, connection, and respective offices of the various
parts of fruit trees, and the names by which each is
known in practice. -
Section 1.—Tne Roor.
Tue Roor is composed of several parts.
Ist. The collar (A, fig. 1), which is the centre of growth,
or point of union between the root and stem, usually at
or just below the surface of the ground. In root graft-
ing seedlings, this is the pomt where the graft is set.
2d. Lhe body or main root (B, fig. 1), which usually
penetrates the earth in a vertical direction, and decreases
im size as it proceeds downwards from the collar. It is
also called the tap root. A seedling that has not been
transplanted has usually but one descending or tap root,
furnished in all its length with minute hairy fibres.
3d. The lateral roots(C, fig. 1)are principal divisions or
branches of the main root, and take more or less of a
spreading or horizontal direction. When-seedlings are
transplanted, having a portion of the tap root cut off,
these lateral or side roots are immediately formed.
Ath. The fibres or rootlets D, fig. 1) are the minute hair.
like roots which we see most abundant on trees that have
been frequently transplanted. Different species of trees
vary much in their natural tendency to produce fibres.
Thus the pear and the apple require frequent transplant-
ing, and often root pruning, to produce that fibrous condi-
tion which is necessary to great fruitfulness; whilst the
THE ROOT. 8
paradise apple, used as a stock for dwarf trees, and the
quince, are always quite fibrous, the former never, and
the latter seldom requiring root pruning.
5th. The spongioles are the extremities of -the fibres,
porous and spongy, through which the food of trees de-
rived from the soil is mainly absorbed ; these points are
composed of soft, newly-formed, delicate tissue, and are
exceedingly susceptible of injury. The slightest bruise or
exposure to a dry or cold air is fatal to them; and this
is the reason why transplanted trees receive generally
such a severe check and so frequently die. If trees could
be taken up in such a way that these spongioles could all,
or mostly, be preserved, trees would receive no check
whatever; hence large trees are removed in midsummer
without a ieut flagging.
6th. Growth of Loots—The most popular theory at this
time is—that the growth of roots is produced by the pro-
longment of the woody vessels of the stem, which descend
in successive layers to the extremities of the roots, and
thus promote their extension.
When these descending layers are interrupted in their
course by some natural or accidental cause, or by art, as
when we cut off the ends of roots, they pierce the bark
and form new roots or new divisions of the root in the
same manner that branches are produced on the stem.
Thus the roots furnish food to the stem and branches for
their support and enlargement, and inreturn, the stem and
branches send down layers of young wood to increase and
solidify the root ; the one depending entirely upon the other
for its growth and existence. Practical cultivators are
familiar with many facts that illustrate the intimate rela-
tions and mutual dependency of the roots and stems.
For instance, where one portion of the head or branches
is much larger or more vigorous than the other, if the
roots be examined, it will be found that those immediately
4 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
under, or in direct connection with the largest branches,
will have acorresponding size and vigor. In cases where
one side of the top of a large tree is cut off, as in top
grafting, a large number of new shoots are produced on
the cut branch, and, if the roots be examined under or
in connection with this branch, a corresponding new
growth will be found there. It is quite obvious from
these and similar facts, that whatever affects the roots or
stems of trees favorably or unfavorably, affects the whole
tree. If the foliage of a tree be entirely removed in the
growing season, the absorbent action of the roots is sus-
pended ; and if the spongioles or absorbing points of the
roots be cut off, the growth of the top instantly ceases.
Those who have leisure should pursue the study of these
highly interesting and important points still further.
Section 2.—T'ue Srem.
The Stem is that part of a tree which starts from the
collar and grows upwards. It sustains all the branches,
and forms the channel of communication between the
different parts of the tree from one extremity to the other.
Plants like the grape, with twining or climbing stems,
are called anes, and such as have no main stem, but have
branches diverging from the collar, as the gooseberry, cur-
rant, &c., are called shrubs or bushes. Where the stem is
destitute of branches to some distance from the ground,
it is usually called the trunk.
Different Parts of the Stem—A stem or branch of a
tree is composed of the following parts, which are dis-
tinctly observable when we cut it across. Fig. 2 repre-
sents the half of a cross section of the stem of a young
tree five years old.
1. The Rind or Outer Bark (A) on shoots or young parts
of trees; this is thin, smooth, and delicate, like tissue
THE STEM. 5
paper, and is easily separated from the parts beneath it.
He at In some species, as the
nh i | iI: grape vine, for example,
A this rind is shed and re-
newed annually, whilst
in others, as the apple,
if pear, &c., it unites with
the layer of tissue be-
neath it, and forms a
oe reer hard, sealy, or corky
= cog B, ae or Sage substance, usually call-
La te me gam x eccontical layers, which
vertical section of a five year old stem, showing separate from the tree
(mai layers of perpendicular woody tubes or at different periods, ac-
cording to the age of the
subject and other circumstances.
It is these cortical layers that give rise to the expres-
sions smooth and rough back.
2. The Inner Bark or Liber (B.\—This is the interior
portion of the bark in immediate contact with the wood.
It is composed of perpendicular layers of soft, flexible
fibres, filled up with tissue. It is this part of the bark of
the Basswood that is used for budding ties, &c., the tissue
being separated from the woody fibre by maceration.
3. The Sap-wood (C.)\—This is the youngest or last-
formed layer of wood, immediately below the inner bark.
It is distinguished in all trees by being softer and lighter
colored than the older parts.
4. The Heart or Perfect-wood (D.\—This is the central
or interior portion of the stem or branch, grown firm and
mature by age. It is generally a shade darker in color
than the newly-formed part or sap-wood.
5. The Pith (#2\—This is the soft, spongy substance
in the centre of the stem and branches. In soft-wooded
species, like the grape vine, it is large; in hard-wooded
———
Sra :
1 MH
NT
AA
il
Fic. 2 F.
= ——————
, Fig. 2, half of the hori-
6 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
species, as the apple, pear, quince, &c., small. In young
shoots it is soft, green, and succulent, and fills an impor-
tant part in their development. In the old part it is dry,
shrivelled, and seems incapable of taking any part in the
process of vegetation, and this appears evident from the
fact that trees often continue to flourish after the centre,
containing the pith, has begun to decay.
Structure of the Stem—The stem is composed of
woody fibre and cellular tissue, a substance similar to the
pith. The woody fibre is arranged in perpendicular layers,
and the cellular tissue in horizontal layers, running from
the pith to the bark and connecting them. The mingling
of these two systems gives to the surface of the cross sec-
tion of astem the beautiful veined or netted appearance
observable in fig. 2. The perpendicular layers of woody
fibre are most clearly observable when we cut a stem ver-
tically ; they are then easily separated from one another.
The layers or plates of tissue radiating from the centre
to the stem are usually called the medullary rays.
The inner bark or liber, as has been stated, is, like the
wood, composed of thin layers of delicate perpendicular
fibres mixed with tissue.
Growth of the Stem—The stem of a tree is originally
the extension of the cellulartissue of the seed. As soon as
leaves are formed they organize new matter, which de-
scends and forms woody fibres: the layers sent down from
the first leaves are covered with those sent down from the
next, and so on, one layer after another is produced until
the end of the season, when the leaves fall and growth
ceases. A yearling tree has, therefore, a greater number
of layers of woody fibre at the collar than at the top, and
is, consequently, thicker; the second year the buds on
the first year’s growth produce shoots, and these organize
new layers of woody fibre, that descend and cover those
of the previous year, and thus growth proceeds from
BRANCHES, 7
year to year. Between each year’s growth there is gene-
rally a line, in some cases more conspicuous than in
others, that marks off the formation of each year, so
that we are able to reckon the ages of trees with great
accuracy by these rmgs. When it happens that a tree,
from certain circumstances, makes more growth one season
than another, we find the ring of that season larger. The
new wood is always formed between the inner bark and
the last layer of wood, so that one layer is laid upon, and
outside of another, and the bark is continually pressed
outwards.
The new layers of bark are also formed at the same
place, or within the previous one. From this mode of
growth, it results that each layer of wood is more deeply
imbedded as others are formed on the top of it; and
each layer of bark is pressed outwards as others are
formed within it. In some cases, as in the cherry, for
example, the bark is so tough as not always to yield to
the general expansion of the tree, and slitting is resorted
to for the purpose of preventing an unnatural rupture,
which would eventually take place by the continued
pressure of growth from within.
Section 3.—BRANCHES.
Branches are the divisions of the stem, and have an
organization precisely similar: they are designated as,
Ist. Main Branches (£, fig. 1); those that are directly
connected with the stem or trunk. In pyramidal trees,
they are called lateral branches. ‘The branches of different
species and varieties of fruit trees, differ much in their
habits of growth; and it is highly important to the planter to
consider these peculiarities, because certain habits of growth
are better adapted to particular circumstances than others.
Thus we have erect branches (fig. 8), which produce trees
8 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
of an upright and compact form. Curved erect branches
(fig. 4), proceeding almost horizontally from the stem for
a short distance, and then becoming erect; these, also,
Fia. 3. Fre. 4. Fre. 5.
Figs. 3, 4, 5, different habits of growth of trees. 3, erect; 4, curved erect ; 5,
spreading or horizontul.
form upright symmetrical heads, but much more open than
the preceding. Also, horizontal or spreading branches
(fig. 5), that form wide-spreading heads with irregular
outline. And, lastly, drooping branches, when they fall
below the horizontal line. The branches of most varie-
ties of apples and pears become pendulous when they
have borne some time; and even in young trees of par-
ticular varieties, some of the branches assume a drooping
and irregular habit.
2d. Secondary Branches (G@, fig. 1), are the divisions
of the main branches: occasionally those near the stem
take such a prominent part in forming the outline of the
tree, as to assume all the character of main branches, ex-
cepting in position.
3d. Shoots (H, fig. 1). This is the name by which
BRANCHES. 9
young parts are designated from the time they emerge
from the bud until they have completed their first
season’s growth. These have also important peculiarities
that serve to distinguish certain varieties. They are vari-
ously designated as stout or slender, stiff or flexible, erect
or spreading, short jointed if the buds be close together,
and long jointed when the contrary. The colors of their
bark are also strikingly different, and form very obvious
distinctions amongst varieties. The Snow Peach, for in-
stance, has pale greenish shoots, by which it is at once
distinguished. The Jargonelle, Rostiezer, and many other
varieties of the pear, have dark purplish shoots, while
the Dix and St. Germain are quite yellowish, the Glout
Fic. 7. Fic, 8.
Fig. 6, wood branch of the apple. 7, fruit branch; .2, B, C, young spurs on two-
year-old wood. §&, fruit branch of the pear; .4, B, C, young spurs on two-year-old
wood, ty
1*
10 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
Morceau, grey or drab, and the Bartlett and Buffam
quite reddish. The shoots of certain varieties of apples
and pears, and especially plums, are distinguished by
being downy, furnished to a greater or less extent with a
soft and hairy covering—in some cases barely observ-
able.
4th. Wood Branches (fig. 6) are those bearing only
wood buds.
5th. Fruit Branches are those bearing fruit buds ex-
clusively. They are presented to us under different forms
and circumstances, all of which it is of the highest im-
portance to understand.
In kernel fruits, such as the apple and pear, the most
ordinary form of the fruit branch is that generally called
the fruit spur (A, B, C, figs. 7, 8,9). It appears first as
a prominent bud, as in fig. 7, on wood at least two years
old; and for two or three seasons it produces but a rosette
of leaves, and con-
tinues to increase
in length, as in fig.
9. After it has
produced fruit, it
generally branches,
and, if properly managed, will
bear fruit for many years. Ap-
ple and pear trees of bearing
age, and in a fruitful condition,
will be found covered with
these spurs on all parts of the
head except the young shoots.
In addition to the frwit spur,
ee ee there are on the kernel fruits
A, olga Ocolienapiees "slender frwit branches, about as
large as a goose quill, and from
six to eight inches in length (fig. 10); the buds are long.
Fia. 9.
BRANCHES.
Li
narrow, and prominent, and the first year or two after
their appearance, produce but rosettes of leaves, yielding
fruit generally about the third year.
On trees well fur-
nished with fruit spurs, these slender branches are of
little account, but they are useful
on young trees not fully in a bear-
ing state. They are generally pro-
duced on the lower or older parts
of the branches or stem, and, in
the first place, are slender shoots
with wood buds only ; but owing to
their unfavorable position and fee-
ble structure, they receive only a
small portion of the ascending sap,
and the consequence is, they be-
come stunted, and transformed
into fruit branches. In pruning
young trees, slender shoots are fre-
quently bent over, or fastened in a
crooked position to transform them
into fruit branches of this. kind;
but this will be treated of in its
proper place. |
Certain varieties of apples have
a natural habit of bearing the fruit
on the points of the lateral shoots;
and frequently these terminal fruit
buds are formed during the first
season’s growth of the shoot. Fig.
11 is an example; A is the point
&
Fie. 11
Tre, 10.
Fig. 10, slender fruit branch
of the apple—all the buds are
fruit buds. Fig, 11, a branch
of the apple showing the ten-
dency of sume varieties to
bear on the points of the
branches. A, the point where
a fruit was borne last season ;
B, a shoot of last year; Cy its
terminal fruit bud.
where a fruit was borne last season; 2B, a shoot of last
season; and C’ its terminal bud, which is a fruit bud.
The fruit branches of the peach, apricot, and nectarine,
are productions of one season’s growth; the fruit buds
form one season and blossom the next; but as on the
12 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
apple and pear, there
are different forms
of the fruit branch.
In the first place
the fruit spur (A,
fig. 12), a group of
buds like a bouquet ;
these are little stunt-
ed branches on the
ee older wood that have
Pi ihe ena) apeumed ~thie forme
The most important
fruit branches of these trees are the vigorous
shoots of the last season’s growth, containing
both fruit and wood buds (fig. 18), and the
slender fruit branches, bearing all single
fruit buds, except a wood bud or two at the
base. Fig. 14 represents such a branch of
the peach, A and B being wood buds. The
fruit branches of the plwm and cherry, and
the gooseberry and currant, are similarly pro-
duced. A yearling shoot, for instance, the
second season, will produce a shoot from its
terminal bud, and probably shoots from two or
three other buds immediately below the ter-
minal, whilst those lower down will be trans-
formed into fruit buds, and produce fruit
the third season. Fig.15 is a branch of the
cherry. A is the two-year-old wood; ZB,
one year; Cand JD, fruit spurs on the two-
year-old wood, with a wood bud usually at
the point. Fig. 16 is a fruit spur from the Wi
older wood; A, the wood bud at its point, ©
fig. 13, mixed wood and fruit branches of the peach ; C, D, EB, rie F, G,
H, leaf buds; I, double buds; C,triple buds, the two side buds being fruit buds,
and the centre one a leaf bud.
BRANCHES. 13
Fig. 17 is a branch of the plum; A, the two-year-ola
wood; 2, one year old; Cand J, spurs. Fig. 18 is a
Fig. 14, a slender fruit branch of A
the peach; all the buds except 4
and B, and the terminal one, are
fruit buds.
fruit spur from older wood.
The wood bud in the cen-
tre of these groups of
buds on the spur enables
them to increase in length
every season. New buds
are produced to replace
Fig. 15, branch of the cherry ; .4, two-
those that bear, and 80 year-old wood; B, one year; C and D,
the spurs eontinue fruit- fit spurs. Fig. 16, fruit spur of the cherry ;
the bud .4, in the centre of the group, is a
ful for several years, ac- wood bud.
cording to the vigor of
the tree, and the manner in which it is treated.
Fic. 16. E1e@. 15.
ju: GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
The fruit branches of the gwince and the
medlar are slender twigs on the sides of
lateral branches, and the fruit is borne on
their points.
Section 4.—Bups.
Ist. Lhe Nature
and functions of
Buds—In a_ prac-
tical point of view,
buds are certainly
the most important
organs of trees, be-
cause it is through
them we are en-
abled completely to
direct and control
7 saul re. 17. thers formas a
ne ‘ - ee sie i Fpl 60 eyed their productiveness.
fruit spur of the plum on the old wood. ‘ Whoever, therefore,
wishes to become a
skilful and successful tree culturist, must not fail to
make himself familiar with all their forms, modifications,
modes of development, and the purposes they are adapted
to fulfil in the formation of the tree and its products. The
immediate causes of the production of buds on the growing
shoots of trees, and the sources from which they spring or
in which they originate, are alike thus far mysterious,
notwithstanding they have been the subject of a vast deal
of research and speculation among botanists and vegetable
physiologists for many ages. We are able, however, to
trace clearly and satisfactorily the objects they are
BUDS. 15
intended to fulfil in the development of the tree, their
connection with, and dependency upon other parts, and
the circumstances under which they can be made to ac-
complish specific purposes.
Every bud contains the rudiments of, and is capable,
under favorable circumstances, of producing a new indi-
vidual similar to that on which it is borne.
This fact is clearly demonstrated in the propagation of
trees by budding, where a single eye is removed from one
shoot and placed in the wood of another, to which it
unites and forms a new individual similar to its parent.
So in propagation by eyes, as in the grape vine, where a
single bud with a small portion of wood attached, becomes
a perfect plant.
Every perfect bud we find on a young yearling tree or
shoot is capable of being developed into a branch. Na-
turally, they do not; but we know that by the application
of art they can be readily forced to do so.
For instance, the buds of a yearling tree, if left to take
their natural course, will only in part produce branches,
and these will generally be nearer to the extremities,
where they are the most excitable, being in closer con-
nection with the centre of vegetation: but we cause the
lower ones to develope branches, by cutting off those
above them to the extent that the particular character of
the species or variety, or of the buds themselves in respect
to vigor and vitality, may require. Hence it is that the
forms of trees are so completely under our control when
we possess the requisite knowledge of the character and
modes of vegetation of buds.
2d. Different Names and Characters of Buds.— All buds
are either, 1st, terminal, as when on the points of shoots
(C, fig. 19); 2d, aadllary, when accompanied by a leaf
situated in the angle made by the projection of the leaf
from the shoot or branch (A B, fig. 19); 3d, adventi-
:
16 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
tious or accidental, when originating accidentally as it
were, or without any regularity, on the older parts of trees,
Fic. 19.—LaTERAL BRANCH.
Fig. 19. 4, a superior bud. B, inferior. C, terminal. .4 and B, axillary.
and unaccompanied by a leaf. They are often produced
by the breaking or cutting off a branch, or by a wound
or incision made in the bark. In the management of
trained trees special means are taken to produce these
buds on spaces of the trunk that it is desirable to fill up.
We sometimes see instances of such buds on the stumps
of old trees.
The terminal and axillary buds produced on young
shoots, seem to have a different origin from these acci-
dental buds—the former are connected with the pith of
the shoot, as we may see by dissecting them. On cutting
into a young shoot below a bud we find a cylinder of pith
entering into the bud from the pith of the shoot, but
we do not find this connection existing in the case of the
adventitious buds.
Practically considered, buds are classified as follows :—
1. Lateral—Those on the sides or circumference of
shoots, being the axillary buds of the botanist (A, B,
10).
2. Terminal.——tThose on the points of shoots (C, fig. 19).
3. Superior.—Those on the upper sides. of horizontal
branches (A, fig. 19).
.
BUDS. Bef
4. Inferior—Those on the lower side of horizontal
branches (B, fig. 19).
5. Stipular.—The small, barely visible buds found at the
base of ordinary buds.
6. Dormant or Latent—These are scarcely apparent buds,
generally towards the base of branches: They may
remain dormant for several years, and then, in some
species, be excited into growth by pruning close to
them.
Buds are again classed as leaf buds and fruit buds.
7. Leaf Buds (f, G, H, fig. 18) produce either leaves or
branches; they differ in form from fruit buds in
being in most cases longer and more pointed in the
same species.
These are again designated as—
Single, when only one is produced at the same point (/7/,
fig. 13).
Double, when two are togéther (J, fig. 13).
Triple, when in threes (C and -/, fig. 18).
These double and triple buds are almost peculiar to the
stone fruits, and especially the peach, apricot, and
nectarine.
The size, form, and prominence of leaf buds vary in a
striking degree in different varieties of the same species,
and these peculiarities are found to be of considerable
service in identifying and describing sorts. Thus, the
buds of one variety will be long, pointed and compressed,
or lying close to the shoot. Others will be large, oval
nd prominent, or standing boldly out from the shoot.
Others will be small, full, and round. Thus, for instance,
the wood buds of the Glout Morceau are short and conical,
broad at the base, and taper suddenly to a very sharp
point inclined towards the shoot; they have also very pro-
minent shoulders, that is, their base forms a prominent
projection on the shoot. The scales are also dark, with
18 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
4
light gray edges. In the Josephine de Maline pear the
buds are quite remarkable for their roundness, bluntness
and prominence. If shoots of the Bartlett and Seckel
pears, two well known varieties, be compared, although
they present no decidedly obvious peculiarities, yet they
will be found very different. Those of the Sechkel are
much broader at the base, more pointed, and lighter
colored, being a dark drab, whilst those of the Lar¢tlett
are reddish. These miscellaneous instances are chosen
simply to draw attention to these points, and to show the
ordinary modes of comparison. ~ When we speak of leaf
buds, we have reference only to the simple bud and not
to the large, pointed, spur-hke productions frequently pro-
duced towards the middle or lower part of young shoots
that have made a second growth, that is where growth
has ceased for a while and the terminal bud has been
formed, and afterwards, in the same season, commenced
anew, and made a second growth.
8. Lrut Buds.—In the early stages of their formation
and growth all buds are but leaf buds. Thus, on a young
shoot of the cherry and the plum, for example, of one sea-
son’s growth, the buds are all leaf buds... The next spring
a part of these produce new shoots, and others are
transformed into fruit buds that will bear fruit the follow-
ing season. The transformation is accomplished during
the second year of their existence, and it usually happens
that they are the smallest and least fully developed
that are sc transformed: the more vigorous pushing into
branches. In the peach, the apricot, &c., on which the
fruit buds are produced in one year, the change from a
leaf to a fruit bud occurs towards the latter part of the sea-
son. The primary cause of the transformation of leaf into
fruit buds is not satisfactorily known, although many theo-
ries exist on the subject. Observation, however, has tanght
us many things in relation to it. It seems that all trees
BUDS. 19
must acquire a certain maturity, either natural or forced,
in order to produce blossoms or fruit. A tree that is fur-
nished with a rich, humid soil, containing an abundance of
watery nutriment, and left in all respects unrestrained in
its upward growth, may attain the age of ten or fifteen
years before it commences to form fruit buds; whilst in a
soil of a different quality, dry and less favorable to rapid
growth, or if constrained in its growth by being grafted on
some particular stock, or by some particular mode of train-
ing, it may produce fruit in two or three years.
An apple tree on a common stock, planted out in ordi-
nary orchard soil, does not usually bear until it is in most
cases seven years old from the bud, often more ; whilst the
same variety grafted or budded on a paradise apple stock
will produce in two or three at most. We frequently see
one branch of a tree that has been accidentally placed in
a more horizontal position than the other parts, or that has
been tightly compressed with a bandage or something of
that sort, bear fruit abundantly ; whilst the erect, uncon-
strained portion of the tree gives no sign of fruitfulness
whatever. Asa general thing, we find that where there
is an abundant and constant supply of sap or nutriment
furnished to the roots of trees and conveyed by them
through the unrestrained channels which the large cells
and porous character of young wood afford, the whole
forces of the tree will be spent in the production of new
shoots ; but that as trees grow old, the cells become small-
er, and the tree being also more branched the free course
of the sap is obstructed, and becomes in consequence bet:
ter elaborated, or in other words more mature, and com-
mences the production of fruit. Circumstances similar in
all respects to these and answering exactly the same pur-
pose, can be produced by art at an early age of the tree ;
and this is one of the leading points in the culture and
management of garden trees, where smallness of size and
20 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
early fruitfulness are so highly desirable. This will come
under consideration in another place.
Fruit buds in most cases are distinguishable from wood
buds by their rounder and fuller form ; the scales that cover
them are broader and less numerous, and in the spring they
begin to swell and show signs of opening at an earlier pe-
riod. Like the wood buds they are s¢ngle, double, or triple,
according to the number found together. They are single —
in pears, apples, and other trees of that class. Single,
double, and triple, variously, on the stone fruits, gooseber-
ries, and currants.
Fruit buds are also s¢mple and compound. Simple, as
in the peach, apricot, and almond, each bud of which pro-
duces but one
flower. Com-
pound, as in the
plum, cherry, up-
ple, pear, &e.,
each bud of
which produces
two or more flow-
ers. Those of the
plum produce
two or three,
hence we find
plums — usually
Fra. 20. \ P
Fig. 20, flower of the cherry, showing the product of borne in pairs 5
a compound bud. those of the cher-
ry four or five (fig. 20), and of the apple and pear six to
eight ; and hence we often find these fruits borne in clus-
ters. They are also /ateral or terminal, as they occupy the
sides or ends of the branches or spurs on which they are
produced. The ordinary position of the fruit buds of dif-
ferent classes of trees will be understood from the preced-
ing descriptions of fruit branches.
LEAVES.
21
Section 5.—LEAVES.
Ist. Structure and Functions of Leaves—The leaves of
all hardy fruit trees cultivated in our climate are decidu-
ous, that is—they decay and fall in the autumn and are
succeeded by others on the return of spring. The offices
they perform during the growing season are of the high-
est importance to the life and health of the tree, and
deserve the most attentive consideration.
Jarek pa
Fig.2l,aleaf of the peur. .4, the petiole or
leaf stalk. .4, B, D, the blade. C, the base.
D, the point. Line .4, B, the width.
A leaf (fig. 21) is
composed of two prin-
cipal parts, the leaf
stalk or petiole (A),
which connects it with
the tree or branch on
which it is borne, and
the expanded part (4,
B, D), called the blade.
The base is the end (C)
attached to the stalk,
and the apex or point
(D) the opposite one.
The length is the dis-
tance from the base to
the point (C’ to D), and
the width, a tine cut-
ting the length at riglit
angles, and extending
from margin to margin
(A to B).
The leaf stalk and
its branches, forming
the nerves or veins of
the blade, are composed of woody vessels in the form of
pape GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
a tube, similar to the woody parts of the tree or branch
that bears it, inside of which is a pith, similar to the pith
of the tree; the leaf is thus connected with the pith and
wood of the shoot, and consequently the ascending sap,
as we may readily see, by making a vertical cut through
the leaf stalk and shoot. The veins of the leaf are filled
up with a cellular substance similar to the pith, called
parenchyma, and the whole is covered with a thin skin
(epidermis). This cellular substance is .connected with
the inner bark, and consequently the descending sap or
cambium, that forms the new layers of wood. Both sur
faces of the leaf are furnished with small pores, through
which exhalation and absorption are carried on. Absorp-
tion is performed principally by the pores of the under
surface, and they are the largest; exhalation principally
by those of the upper surface.
This property of the leaves to receive and give out air
and moisture through the pores on their surface, has
caused them to be likened to the lungs of animals, and
this comparison is to some extent correct; for we know
that without leaves, or organs performing their offices,
trees do not grow. And in proportion to their natural
and healthy action, do we find the vigor and growth of
the tree.
To prove that leaves have the power, in a greater or
less degree, to absorb fluids, we have but to apply water
to the drooping foliage of a plant suffering from drought,
and see how quickly it becomes refreshed. Dews of a
single night, we know, too, will revive plants that the heat
and drought of the previous day had prostrated; and
even if we put a flagging plant in a damp atmosphere, it
recovers. Even the leaves of a boquet can be kept fresh
for a long time by sprinkling them with water.
That plants evhale moisture and gases cannot be doubt-
ed. It is this very exhaling process that causes plants
LEAVES. 23
to wilt under a hot sun or in a dry atmosphere. Plants
that are transplanted with their foliage on, as annuals are
in the spring or summer, will wilt and even die if ex-
posed to the air and sun; but if transplanted in a moist
day, or covered, so that evaporation cannot take place,
the plant does not appear to feel the removal. So with
cuttings of many plants thus propagated; if placed in
the earth with a certain amount of foliage on, and left
uncovered, they will immediately die; but when we place
a bell glass or a hand glass over them to prevent evapo-
ration, they remain as fresh as though they had roots
supplying them with moisture from the soil. It is on this
account that transplanted trees so often die when the
branches and shoots are not in proportion to the roots.
In transplanting, a portion of the roots are destroyed,
and all are more or less deranged, so that their functions
are feebly performed for some time after planting. If all
the branches and shoots are left on, they will, as usual,
produce leaves, but the absorption at the roots being so
much less than the exhalation of the leaves, the juices
contained in the tree, previously laid up, soon become ex-
hausted, the leaves droop and wither, and the whole fabric
perishes. In budding, too, if the whole leaf were left
attached, the evaporation would be so great as to kill the
bud; hence we remove all but a portion of the stalk.
A tree can neither mature its wood nor its fruit without
the full and healthy exercise of the leaves. If in the grow-
ing season, a tree is deprived of its foliage by blight,
insects, &c., we see that growth is entirely suspended for
a time, until new leaves are developed; and if the leaves
be removed from a tree bearing fruit, we see the fruit
shrivel and dry up, or ripen prematurely and become
worthless. These facts, and many others that might be
cited, show the intimate connection existing between the
leaves and the other organs of trees, and the influence
ae GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
they have on their growth and productiveness. It is be-
lieved that the opening of the leaf buds in spring induces
the formation of new roots; this is doubtful, as new roots
may be seen forming at times when there are no leaves
on the tree and apparently no growth whatever going on
in the buds. But if the roots are not roused into action
by the leaves, it is well known they will not continue and
grow long if leaves do not make their appearance. We
observe in the case of trees the tops of which have been so
much injured by drying and exposure that scarcely a sound
bud is left to grow, in this case the roots, although in
perfect order, remain nearly dormant until new shoots and
leaves are produced, and in proportion as the leaves in-
crease so do the roots. The fact of the absorption and
exhalation by leaves of certain fluids, has, to a very con-
siderable extent, established the theory that the sap of trees
is taken up from the roots through the cells or sap vessels
of the wood of the trunk and branches in a crude state,
and passes into the leaves; that in their tissue spread out
under the sun’s rays, it receives certain modifications.
Carbonic acid, which has been taken in a state of solution
from the soil and by the leaves from the atmosphere, is
decomposed, its oxygen is given off into the air, carbon
becomes fixed, and thus the component parts of the tree,
starch, sugar, gum, &c., are formed. After passing
through this purifying or concentrating process, the sap
acquires a more solid consistence, and is called cambium ;
so prepared it returns downwards through the nerves or
vessels of the leaf'to the base of the leaf stalk, and then
between the wood and bark of the stem, forming new
layers on its passage. Such is, at present, the most popu-
lar theory of the functions of the leaves and the ascent,
assimilation, and descent of the sap. Some distinguished
writers on the subject reject this theory, alleging that—
“there is no such thing as crude sap, that as soon as it
LEAVES. 95
enters the roots it becomes assimilated and fit for the pro-
duction of new cells, and that it passes upwards, forming
new wood or cells by achemical process.”* Observation,
however, has clearly established that in the leaves of
healthy trees chemical processes depending on light and
heat, and absolutely essential to the well-being of the tree,
are continually going on, for trees shut out from the light
always make a feeble growth and have a blanched and
sickly hue, compared with the same species in the free
air and exposed to the rays of the sun. If one side or
portion of a tree is shaded or deprived of its full share of
light, it ceases to grow in its natural way, and the shoots
are lean, slender, and imperfect.
2d. Different Forms and Characters of Leaves —The
different sizes and forms of the leaves of fruit trees, the
divisions of their edges, the absence or presence of glands,
the smoothness or roughness of their surfaces, are all
more or less serviceable in describing and identifying
varieties.
The terms designating forms are seldom mathema-
tically correct, but merely made by comparison, for in-
- Stance—
Oval (fig. 22), when about twice as long as broad, and
nearly of equal width at both ends.
Oblong (fig. 23), three times or more, as long as broad,
and differing but little in width in any part.
Lance Shaped (fig. 24), lanceolate, when three or more
times as long as broad, and tapering gradually to a
sharp point.
Ovate (fig. 25), when twice as long as broad, tapering to
the apex, and widest towards the base.
Obovate (fig. 26), the inverse of ovate, the greatest dia-
meter being in the upper part.
* Schleiden’s Principles of Botany
2
96 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
Pound, roundish, as they approach a circular form like
fig. 21. The point is often a distinguishing feature,
some terminating suddenly in a sharp point, others
drawn out to a long, sharp point, peaked, whilst
others are nearly round. They differ much, too, in
the form of the base, some are rounded, some sharp,
and some heart-shaped.
Figs. 22 to 26, forms of leaves. 22, oval. 23, oblong. 24, lanceolate. 25, ovate. 26,
obovate.
The divisions of the edges are serrated or toothed, when
the edges are cut into sharp teeth, directed towards the
point of the leaf; jinely (fig. 27) or coarsely (fig. 28) ser-
rate, as these teeth are fine or coarse; doubly serrate,
when the principal division or tooth is subdivided.
Crenate (fig. 29), when the divisions are rounded, instead
of being sharp like teeth.
LEAVES. oT
Lobed, when deeply cut, and the penetrating angle
large, as in the currant, gooseberry, grape, &c.
(Fig. 80).
Fig. 27, a leaf, folded, reflexed, and finely serrated or toothed. Fig. 28, coarsely
serrated. Fig. 29, crenate.
Flat, when the sur-
face is even
(fig. 21).
Folded, when the
edges are turn-
ed inward (fig.
27).
feflewed, when the
apex or point
turns back-
wards, giving
the leaf more
or less the form
of a ring (27).
Fra. 30. Waved, wrinkled,
Fig. 30, a leaf of the currant, lobed. smooth, rough,
28 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
etc., are all terms used, but well enough under-
stood.
The leaf stalk has often striking peculiarities in certain
varieties, such as unusually long, stout, short, or slender.
There are also glands on the leaf-stalk, close to the base,
and in certain cases on the leaf itself, that are chiefly taken
notice of in identifying varieties of the peach and necta-
rine; these differ in
shape too, being globu-
is lar (as in fig. 381), reni-
4 form or kidney-shaped
(fig. 82); these little
A * glands are supposed to
be, and no doubt are, or-
Wig, Si. gans of secretion. Fic. 32.
Fig. 31, a leaf of the These are all interest- Fig. 32, the same;
ah with globular ing items in the study of ee
the beautiful and almost
endless variety of forms which the different classes of
fruit trees, and even different varieties of the same class,
exhibit in their foliage.
Section 6.—FLoWERs.
Ist. Different Parts of £lowers.—¥F lowers are the
principal reproductive organs of trees, and consist of floral
envelopes, the caly# and corolla; and of sexual organs,
stamens and pistils.
The Calyx (A, fig. 35) is the outer covering, and is
usually green like the leaves. The corolla (A, fig. 88) is
within the calyx, and is the colored, showy part of the
flower ; its divisions are called petals.
Stamens (fig. 34) are the male organs of plants. They
are delicate, thread-like productions (A, fig. 34) in the cen-
tre of the flower, supporting on their extremities the anthers
FLOWERS. 29
(L, fig. 34). The pistid (C, D, fig. 35) is the female organ
and stands in the centre of the stamens. It consists of
the ovary
at its base
(B, fig. 35),
which con-
tains the
seeds. The
style (C, fig.
35) is the
erect por-
tion, and
the stigma
(D, fig. 35)
is the small Figs. 33 to 35 —Different parts of a flower. Fig. 33, A, the
glandulous petals. 34,astamen, .4, filament or stalk. B,anther. C, pollen.
35, the calyx, ovary, pistilunited. B, ovary. C, style. D, stigma.
body on its
summit that receives the fertilizing powder (pollen) (C, fig.
34) from the anthers.
Flowers may be deficient in any of these organs except
the ovary, anthers, and stigma. These are indispensable
to fructification, and must be present in some form or other
or the flowers will be barren.
2d. Sexual Distinctions—tThe fact that the two sexes
or sexual organs, the stamens and pistils, are in certain
species united on the same flower, and in others on dif-
ferent flowers, and even on different trees, has created
the necessity for the following distinctions:
Trees or plants are called hermaphrodite (as in fig. 33)
when both stamens and pistils are present on the same
flower. Nearly all our cultivated fruits are of this class.
Monecious, when the male and female flowers are borne
on the same tree, as in the filbert flower (fig. 36, A, the
*male, and B, the female flowers). Déacious, wnen the
male flowers (fig. 37) are on one plant, and the female
30 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
(fig. 38) on another. The most familiar instance among
plants cultivated for their fruits, is the strawberry. In
many varieties we
find the stamens or
male organs so in-
completely devel-
oped (fig. 38) that
they are of no ser-
vice in fructifying
the flowers, and ,,F#.z7 yee o
hence we plant near _ the strawberry.
them varieties with an abundance
of these organs strongly exhibited.
3d. Impregnation.—
Fie. 36. l rm *
Fig. 36, flower of the fil- The | ego of =
bert. pregnation is effected
in this way: When the flowers first open, cle
the pollen granules or powder in the anthers, _ Fig. 38, female
is covered over by a delicate membrane. opt re
Tn a short time this membrane bursts in a manner similar
to an explosion that scatters the pollen by its force, so
that it reaches the stigma of the pistil; this is composed of
glutinous or sticky secretions to which the pollen adheres ;
there it forms new cells that expand into tubes; these
tubes penetrate through the style of the pistil to the ovary,
where the impregnation takes place, and new cells are
immediately formed into an embryo plant.
This impregnation is sometimes, from certain causes,
only partially effected in the cases of fruit where the ova-
ry or seed vessel is composed of several cells, as in the
apple, pear, &c., and hence the fruit takes an imperfect,
one-sided development from the beginning.
The difficulty that appears to arise in the way of the
impregnation of the stigma of one flower by the pollen of
FLOWERS. 31
another, distantly situated, either on the same plant as in
moncecious trees, or on a different plant as in dicecious, is
wonderfully obviated by the provision that nature has
made for its transmission, not only by the atmosphere,
but by insects, that pass from one flower to another feed-
ing on their honied secretions; the pollen adheres to them
and they carry it from one to another.
All natural flowers of the same species present the
same number of petals in their flowers, but. occasionally
the stamens are converted into petals, and thus what are
called dowble flowers are produced. Among fruit trees we
have double flowering apples, plums, peaches, and cherries.
These seldom produce fruit; when perfectly double never.
All our double flowers, roses, paeonies, dahlias, &e., have
been obtained by this transformation of the stamens into
petals. It is supposed to be caused by an excessively
high cultivation given to the plants that produce the
seeds from which these double varieties spring.
4. Period of Blossoming—In treating of fruit buds
allusion has been made to the causes which, according to
observation and experience, promote fruitfulness. These
are chiefly a slow or moderate growth, and a branching
or spreading, constrained form, instead of an upright one.
Some species of trees bloom at a much earlier age than
others. Thus the peach, the apricot, and the cherry will
bloom in nearly one-fourth less time from the bnd, all
things being equal, than the pear. Some species bloom
at an earlier period of the season than others ; the apricot
and the peach bloom very early, and this is the chief rea-
son why the crop is so often destroyed in localities subject
to late spring frosts. Among fruits even of the same spe-
cies there is much difference in the period of blooming:
one variety of apple being nearly two weeks later than
another. This, in some sections, is an important quality,
where every day the blossom is retarded renders the crop
32 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
surer, being more likely to escape frost. These differences
are caused by various circumstances.
Ast. The Climate——The period of blossoming of the same
species varies much in different localities. Rochester is
at least a week earlier than Buffalo, although the distance
is less than one hundred miles; and it is nearly two
weeks earlier than Toronto, which is still nearer. The
large bodies of ice in the lakes, at both Buffalo and Toron-
to, have no doubt a considerable effect in retarding the
blossoming period.
2d. Lhe Season and Position—In the same locality,
one season is frequently a week earlier than others, and
trees on the south side of a wall or building will expand
their blossoms several days before the same variety in the
open ground only a few rods distant, and ten days to a
fortnight before those on a north wall.
3d. Lhe Soid—On warm and light soils, the roots of
trees are excited into activity much sooner than in cold,
damp, and heavy soils, and the blossoming period is ear-
lier in consequence.
The Different Character of Llowers.—¥ lowers vary in
size, form, color, and other qualities, even in the same spe-
cies. In the peach those distinctions are so obvious, that
one of the principal classifications of pomologists is found-
ed onthem. Thus there are varieties with large, showy
jlowers (fig. 39), as the serrate
early York, and small (fig. 40)
as large early York, Craw-
jord Early, etc. The color
also presents variations, some
being deep, others pale rose,
DER Bye. 40. and some almost white ; two
Fig. 39, large flower of the peach. or three varieties of the
Fig. 40, small flower of the peach. peach have. eioees wholly
white, as the snow, for instance. In all the other fruits,
FLOWERS. ao
a3 in apples, pears, plums, cherries, &c., the flowers vary
but slightly in form and color, and the differences are only
taken note of in very full and minute scientific descrip-
tions. A few cases, however, are well marked, as the
Jargonelle pear, the flowers of which are nearly twice as
large as most others.
In connection with the flowers it may be proper to ex-
plain the important process of
Hybridization —This is performed by fertilizing the
pistil of one species or variety with pollen from the
stamens of another. The seeds produced by the flower so
impregnated will produce a cross or hybrid between the
two parents. ‘This process is now well understood, and is
earried on to a wonderful extent, especially in the pro-
duction of new flowers. Comparatively few of our popu-
lar fruits have been produced in this way. A few good
sorts have been produced by the late Mr. Knight, a dis-
tinguished English experimentalist, who effected much in
his time towards establishing many difficult and disputed
points in vegetable physiology. Nearly all the native
fruits of this country are accidental hybrids. A vast deal
may be done to improve, in this way, all our fruits.
The size, hardiness, and productiveness of one variety
may be combined with the delicacy of texture and flavor
of another, and endless variations and improvements may
be effected. To obtain a true hybrid certain precautions
are necessary. ‘The two subjects selected must flower at
the same time. The stamens must be carefully removed
from the one intended for the mother, without injury to
the stigma. It must also be guarded from accidental im-
pregnation by other varieties, and the pollen from the
selected male be applied at the proper moment, that is,
when it bursts from the anther. Hybridization is only
possible between species closely related, for although there
is a relation between the apple and the pear, and between
Q*
34 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
the gooseberry and the currant, they will not hybridize ;
but different varieties of the apple will hybridize with
each other, and so with all the rest. |
Blossoming in Alternate Years-—Many varieties of
apple, pears, &c., fruits that take the whole season to
mature, produce flowers in alternate years only, with
great regularity. The reason is supposed to be this:
The fruit during the bearing year, attracts a large quantity
of the ascending sap of the tree in the same way as the -
leaves do; but instead of returning it to the tree, they
consume it themselves. The consequence is, the buds
that would have blossomed the following year if they had
received their due share of nutriment, fail in attaining
the proper condition, and produce only rosettes of leaves.
During the unfruitful season, immense quantities of fruit-
buds are again brought forward, and the year following,
the tree is overloaded; so it proceeds in regular succes-
sion.
This is never experienced in trees regularly pruned, and
may be remedied by thinning out the crop in bearing
years, leaving on but a reasonable amount that will not
exhaust the tree. The bearing years have been completely
reversed by removing the blossom-buds or fruits on the
bearing year.
Section 7.—Tuse FRrvrr.
1st. Character of the Fruit—As soon as the ovary is
impregnated it begins to swell; the petals, stamens, and
other parts of the flower fall off, and we then say the fruit
is “set.” Asa fruit bud is but a transformed leaf-bud, a
fruit oceupies the same relative connection with the tree
as a branch; it attracts food from the stem and the
atmosphere in the same manner, and performs all the
same functions, except that it does not, like the leaf.
THE FRUIT. 35
return anything to the tree, but appropriates all to its own
use; and this is the reason, as we have before remarked,
that trees having borne a heavy crop of fruit one season
ave unfruitful the next—this is the case only with fruits,
as the apple and pear, that require nearly the whole sea-
son to mature them. Cherries, and other fruits that
mature in a shorter period, and that draw more lightly on
the juices of the tree, do not produce this exhaustion, and
consequently bear year after year uninterruptedly.
2d. Classification —In some fruits, as the apple for in-
stance, the fruit is formed below or at the base of the
calyx, the segments of which are still visible in the
mature fruit; and often serves to some extent by its size
and other peculiarities, as being spread out, or closed to-
gether in a point, to identify varieties. In other species,
as the plum and cherry, the fruit is formed within the
calyx, or on the top of it. Fruits of the former character
forming below the calyx and including it in their struc-
ture are classed as imferzor—the apple, pear, quince,
gooseberry, and currant are all inferior, having the calyx
adhering. ,
Those formed within the calyx, having the pistil alone
connected with the ovary, are called superior ; such are the
peach, plum, apricot, nectarine, cherry, raspberry, straw-
berry, and grape.
The more natural, popular, and useful classification of
fruits, is that by which they are divided into
Pomes or Kernel Fruits, as the apple, pear, quince, med-
lar, ete. In speaking of these we call the pericarp
the flesh, and the dry, bony seed capsules the core.
Drupes or Stone Fruits—Those having a sott, pulpy
pericarp, and the seed enclosed in a shell like a nut,
as the peach, plum, apricot, cherry, etc. _The peri-
carp of these is called the jlesh, and the seed, the pit
or stone
36 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
Berries —These have soft, pulpy flesh, containing seeds
without capsules, as the gooseberry, currant, raspberry,
strawberry, and grape. |
Nuts, or capsule fruit, as the filbert, chestnut, ete., the
fruits of which are nuts contained in husks or cups,
that when ripe, open and let the fruit drop.
The outlines or forms of fruits and their colors exhibit
great variations, even in the same species. Every portion
of the fruit, the skin, flesh (C, fig. 41), core (D, fig. 41),
seeds (E’) or stones,
a stems (A), and in ker-
nel fruits the ¢7 yx
(B), have all, in some
cases, marked pecull-
arities, and in others
more minute and
scarcely perceptible ;
but yet in a strictly
scientific study of po-
mology, of more or
Fig. i, vertical section cf an apple, showing less service, Tt would
its different parts. .4, the base. B, the eye.
C, the flesh. D,thecore. E, the seed. A,stem. Je foreign to the pur-
B, calyx. ° Te
poses of this work to
notice these points in detail ; all that is deemed necessary,
useful, or appropriate, is to point out well-defined and
practical distinctions, and the terms ordinarily made use
of in popular descriptions.
3d. Different Parts of the Fruit:
The Base (A) is the end in which the stem is inserted.
Lhe Hye (BL) is the opposite end, in the apple, pear, etc.,
that have an adhering calyx.
The Neck, in pears, the contracted part near the stalk, as
seen in fig. 49.
The Point is the end opposite the stem in stone fruits ;
Fie. 41.
THE FRUIT. 37
berries, etc., that have no calyx, and consequently no
eye. :
The Length is the distance from stem to point or eye,
A to B, fig. 41.
Lhe Width, the line D /—cutting the fruit across, or at
right angles with the length.
The Basin, the depression around the eye or calyx in
kernel fruit, B, fig. 41.
The Cavity, the depression around the stem.
The Suture, in stone fruits the furrow-like depression run-
ning from the base to the point.
Ath. Different Properties of Fruits :
Besides the principal divisions which have been alluded
to, fruits are considered in regard to their size, color,
Jorm, texture, flavor, and season of ripening.
Ist. Zhe Size.—Besides the natural difference in size
that exists among different varieties of the same species,
as, for instance, between the Bartlett and Seckel Pears, or
the Fall Pippin and Lady Apples, there are great dif-
ferences between the same varieties owing chiefly to the
following circumstances: Soi/—We find that in new
and fresh soils, the nutritive properties of which have not
been impaired by cultivation, as in the virgin soils of the
West, fruit of the same variety attains nearly double the
size that it does in older parts of the country, where the
soil has long been under cultivation; and that in the same
orchard, the tree growing in a deep, alluvial soil, will give
fruit much larger than the one on a hard gravelly knoll.
Culture—This has animportant influence on the size of
fruits. If an orchard has been for several years neglected,
and the ground about the trees become covered with grass
and weeds, the fruit is small; and if the same orchard be
ploughed up, some manure turned in around the roots,
and the ground be kept loose and clean by tillage, the
fruit will double in size ina single season, Seasons—In
38 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
a dry season, when the supply of moisture at the roots
and in the atmosphere is very limited, fruits are invari-
ably smaller than in seasons of an opposite character.
Number of fruits on the tree—This atiects the size of the
fruit to a great extent in all seasons, soils, and climates,
and under all grades of culture.
It is perfectly obvious, that the greater the number of
fruits a tree bears, the smaller they will be, for as they
derive their sustenance from the tree, a large number
cannot be so well supplied as a smaller number. We
cannot go into an orchard where there are many varieties
without seeing an illustration of this. Here is a prolific
variety loaded in every part; the fruits are small, cer-
tainly not over medium size. There is a moderate bearer ;
its fruits are thinly and evenly distributed over the tree ;
its fruits are consequently Jarge. So in the case of fruits
that have been thinned; that is, a certain portion removed
while young, either by accidental circumstances or by
design, every specimen is twice as large, as if the whole
crop had been allowed to mature. The English goose-
berry growers, in preparing their prize specimens, leave
but a few on each bush—not over a twentieth, or perhaps -
a fiftieth part of the entire crop. So in peaches, grapes,
ete., grown carefully in houses. Where the size and
beauty of the fruit, and the health and vigor of the trees
are kept in view, a large portion of the crops, from one
half to two thirds, is thinned out before maturity. Age
of the trees—This influences the size of fruits to a great
extent; we see fruit so large on young trees as to be
entirely out of character: As trees grow older, the vigor
decreases, and the number of fruits increase, and they are
consequently diminished in size. Zhe kind of stock has a
tendency to modify the size; thus we find many pears
much larger on the Quince stock than on the pear, and
many apples larger on the Paradise than on the common
THE FRUIT. 39
apple stock. The reason of this is, no doubt, that on the
quince and paradise the juices of the tree are better pre-
pared, richer, and better suited to the growth of the fruit.
In the common pear and apple stocks the sap is taken up
in greater quantities, is watery, and better adapted to form
wood than fruit.
CLASSIFICATION OF SIZE.
The terms qualifying the sizes of fruitsare always given
comparatively, in regard to the two extremes, the largest
and the smallest of the species; for instance—in apples,
we may consider the Gloria Mundi and Twenty Ounce
as extremely large, and the Lady apple as extremely small.
The terms used, therefore, are such as to represent the.
various grades between the two extremes. These are
Very large, as the Gloria Mundi Apple, Duchesse @ An-
— gouleéme Pear, Crawford’s Early Peach, Yellow gq
Plum, and Wapoleon Bigarreau Cherry.
Large, as the Baldwin Apple, Bartlett Pear, Red Check
Melocoton Peach, Washington Plum, and Black Lagle
Cherry.
Medium, as the Rambo Apple, White Doyenne Pear,
Imperial Gage Plum, and the American Amber
Cherry.
Small, as the Harly Strawberry Apple, Dearborn’s Seed-
ling Pear, Green Gage Plum, and Bauman’s May
Cherry.
Very Small, as the Amire Johannet Pear, Lady Apple,
Winter Damson Plum, and the Jndulle(Harly May)
Cherry.
The distance between some of these grades, as be-
tween medium and large, &c., is so short that they are
frequently confounded; still they give a notion of com-
parative size that answers ali practical purposes. It
40 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
would, perhaps, have been more accurate, and, at the
same time, more satisfactory to persons entirely un-
acquainted with fruits to have given the comparative
measurement of these different grades in inches and parts;
but the varieties quoted as examples are common, and
very generally known.
2d. Form.—It is exceedingly difficult, even impossible,
to find any single term that will give a mathematically
accurate notion of the forms of fruits; for although we
call an apple round or conical, it may not be, strictly
speaking, either; perhaps partakes to some extent of
both forms. But that is no reason why we should desig-
nate it conical round : we simply call it rownd, or roundish,
if nearer round than any other form; and if it inclines
slightly to the conical, we cannot so well convey the
knowledge of that fact any other way as by simply say-
ing so.
In the apple the rownd form prevails, and in the pear
the pyramidal; hence, it is necessary to apply a different
class of descriptive terms to each.
FORMS OF APPLES.
found or Roundish (fig. 42)—When the outline is ~
round, or nearly so, the length beg about equal ~
to the breadth.
flat (fig. 45)—When the ends are compressed, and the
width considerably greater than the length.
Conical (fig. 43)—In the form of a cone, tapering from
the base to the eye.
Ovate, or egg-shaped (fig. 44).
Oblong (fig. 46)— When the length is considerably greater
than the width, and the width about equal at both
ends, not tapering as in the conical.
THE FRUIT. 41
In addition to these forms and their various modifi-
cations, some varieties are
Figs. 42 to 47, forms of apples. 42, round. 43, conical. 44, ovate. 45, flat.
46, oblong. 47, ribbed.
Angular, having projecting angles on the sides.
One-sided, as one side larger than the other.
Libbed (47), tie the surface presents a series of ridges
and furrows running from eye to stem.
FORMS OF PEARS.
It has been remarked that the pyramidal form prevails
in pears; but they taper from the eye to the stem, which
is just the reverse of the tapering form in apples. Their
forms are designated thus—
Pyr iform.—W hen tapering from the eye to the base, and
the sides more or less liollowed (concave) (fig. 48).
Long Pyriform.—W hen long and narrow, and tapering to
a point at the stem (fig. 49).
Obtuse Pyriform.—W hen the small end is somewhat flat-
tened (fig. 50).
Obovate or egg-shaped—Nearly in form of an egg, the
small end being nearest the stem (fig. 51).
49, GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
Turbinate or top-shaped.—The sides somewhat rounded,
and tapering to a point at the stem (fig. 52).
Figs. 48 to 54, forms of pears. 48, pyriform. 49, long pyriform. 50, obtuse
pyriform. 51, obovate. 52, turbinate, 53, oval. 654, round.
Oval.—Largest in the middle, tapering more or less to
each end (fig. 53).
found.—W hen the outline is nearly round (fig. 54).
FORMS OF PEACHES.
There is too much uniformity in the forms of peaches
to render the adoption of any set of terms descriptive of
them very serviceable. They are mostly round, occasion-
ally approaching to oblong and oval; two sides are fre-
quently compressed, flattened, exhibiting a suture or fur-
row running from the point to the base: the width,
depth, &c., of this suture are, in many cases, peculiar, or
at least worthy of note.
FORMS OF PLUMS.
Plums are round, oval, or oblong, as the peach,
and marked, in some cases, by a similar flattening of the
sides, and by the suture.
THE FRUIT. 43
FORMS OF CHERRIES.
Cherries are round or heart-shaped ; obtuse heart-shaped,
when too round to be fully heart-shaped ; and pointed,
when the point is more than ordinarily sharp or peaked.
The suture is also taken note of as in plums and peaches.
Gooseberries and Grapes are always round or oval. Cur-
rants always round. Strawberries round, conical, or oval,
sometimes with a neck; that is, the base is drawn out at
the stem in the form of a narrow neck. Jeaspberries are
conical, roundish, or long.
3d. Color—The color of fruits depends much on their
exposure to the sun’s rays. We find that in orchard trees,
where the heads are dense, and a large portion of the
fruit shaded and shut out from the sun, there is a great
difference in the color; indeed, so great, frequently, as to
make their identity from appearance quite doubtful.
Varieties that are naturally—when properly exposed to
the sun—of a bright red or a glowing crimson, remain
green in the shade. The climate, too, seems to have con-
siderable effect on the color. As a general thing, we
observe that northern apples are clearer and brighter
colored than those of the south.
Dry soils and elevated situations produce more highly-
colored fruit than damp and low valleys. The terms
used in describing colors, are all simple and well under-
stood.
4th. Flavor, in table fruits, is one of the most impor-
tant of qualities ; for however large or fair a fruit may
be, if insipid or astringent to an unpleasant degree, or if
it possesses some other disagreeable quality, it is unfit for
the table. There are various kinds of flavor even among
varieties of the same species: in pears, particularly, it is
almost endless, the shades and degrees of sweet and acid,
4+ GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
and the various perfumes that mingle with these, are
almost infinite.
The same circumstances mentioned as favorable to high
and brilliant coloring, are also favorable to the production
of fine flavor. Light, heat, a dry soil, and moderate
growth, seem to be all essential to fine flavor. On trees
somewhat advanced in age, fruits are apt to be higher
flavored than on young trees that have just commenced
bearing, and in a dry than a wet season. The philosophy
of all this is, that in a damp soil or season, or in a shaded
situation, when trees are young and growing rapidly, the
fruit receives more sap from the tree than can be pro-
perly elaborated by the action of the sun and atmosphere
on its surface, and, consequently, the sugary principle is
produced in small quantities—the juice is watery, sour,
or insipid, as the case may be.
The various terms by which flavor is designated, such
as sweet, acid, sub-acid, sprightly, perfumed, musky,
spicy, &¢e., are all well understood.
Section 8.—I'nE SEED.
The perfect seed contains the rudiments of a plant of
the same nature as that which produced it. This rudi-
ment of the new plant is called the embryo. It con-
sists of three parts—the cotyledons (c ¢, fig. 55), which are
the rudiments of the first pair of leaves; these are the
parts that first make their appearance. The bases of
these cotyledons are united, and send down the radicle
(>), or root, and between them is a bud (a), which sends
up the stem, and is usually called the plumule. As soon
as the seed is excited into germination by the heat and
moisture of the earth, this vadicle or root begins to pene-
trate the soil, and the plumule ascends in an opposite di-
rection ; and thus the growth of the tree goes forward
THE SEED. 45
in the manner already described under the heading,
Root, Stem, &e.
It has been remarked that seed con-
tains the rudiment of a plant similar to
that on which it is produced ; but this
needs some explanation. In distinct
species, this will be true; but the seeds
of varieties that have been produced
by culture and hybridizing, seldom or
never reproduce exactly their like,
hence the necessity for the various
artificial methods of multiplication,
such as grafting, budding, layering,
&c. It is to these operations that we
are indebted for the preservation of
varieties that were originated hun-
dreds of years ago.
Fie. 55.
Germination —Heat and moisture, Fig. 55, germinating
air, and the exclusion of light, are all ce", @ Piumue. >
radicle. ¢c, cotyledons.
necessary to the healthy and_ perfect
germination of seeds. It may be well to consider, briefly,
the part which each of these has to perform.
Ist. dJloistwre—When seeds are sown in a time when
the ground is parched, they will show no signs of germi-
nation until it is, in some way or other, moistened. The
quantity of moisture necessary to a seed depends on the
nature of its covering and its size. A small seed, with a
thin covering, will vegetate much sooner and with less
moisture than a large seed, with a hard, bony covering.
The moisture must, in the first place, soften the covering,
penetrate to the mealy part of the seed, and prepare it
for the chemical changes necessary to convert it into food
for the embryo plant. If apple or pear seeds be kept in
a dry, warm room all winter, they will not be likely to
vegetate the following spring, but if sown will probably
46 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
lie in the ground all summer, and possibly germinate the
spring following. If cherry seeds are kept dry for any
length of time, say two or three months, they will not
germinate the season following; and peaches and plums
have actually to be in the ground all winter, under the
action of frost, to insure their germination the spring fol-
lowing. Seeds will germinate much quicker when freshly
gathered than after they have dried, because heat, mois-
ture, and air have easier access to them, and act more
quickly on them. These facts, of which all are well
aware, show the necessity for moisture and the nature of
its influence.
2d. fZeat is the next most important element. Seeds do
not grow in winter. We sow our apple; pear, peach, and
plum seeds in November; but they show no signs of ger-
mination until a change of season. When the warmth of
spring penetrates the soil, it reaches the seed, and, in con-
nection with the moisture already imbibed, induces what
we usually call fermentation. This chemical process ex-
cites the vital energies of the germ, decomposes the
mealy part of the seed, and prepares it for the temporary
nutrition of the young plant.
3d. Air.—Although seeds may have heat and moisture
in the requisite proportions, still it has been proved by
many experiments, that without air, germination cannot
take place.
Practical cultivators are aware that seeds planted too
deeply do not grow; many kinds will lie buried in the
ground for years without growing, and when turned up
near the surface will germinate immediately. It is the
oxygen of the air that constitutes its importance; it pro-
duces, by forming new combinations with the gases con-
tained in the seed, that chemical process which converts
the starch into sugar and gum, as we observe in ordinary
eases of fermentation.
THE SEED. 47
4th. Lxclusion of Light—The manner in which self-
sown seeds in the forest are covered with fallen and
decaying foliage, plainly indicates that nature never
intended the light to strike germinating seeds. A seed
entirely exposed would be at one time saturated with
moisture, and at another parched with drought; chemical
changes would be alternately promoted and checked,
until the vital principle would be destroyed, or so weaken-
ed as to produce a feeble and worthless plant. The depth
of the covering should always be regulated by the size of
the seeds. Small and delicate seeds may be sown almost
on the surface, whilst large ones may be imbedded to the
depth of four or five inches. The small seed requires
little moisture, and has but a feeble force to penetrate an
earthy covering ; but the large requires much moisture,
and has force enough to push its way up.
A Aa eee 2.
SOILS.
Section 1.—Dirrerent Kinps or Sort.
Sors are usually designated by terms expressive of the
predominant material in their composition, thus we hear
of sandy, loamy, gravelly, clayey, calcareous or chalky,
and alluvial soils.
A sandy soil is that in which sand is the principal in-
gredient. Such soil is usually quite defective. It is so
porous that it parts almost instantaneously with moisture,
and plants in it suffer from drought. All the soluble
parts of manures are also quickly washed out of it, and
hence it requires continual additions to produce even a
scanty growth. The great point in improving it, is to
render it more retentive by the addition of clay, ashes,
Xe.
A clayey soil is that in which clay predominates. It
may be considered the opposite of sandy, inasmuch as its
defects are, that it retains moisture too long, is too adhe-
sive, in dry weather it becomes as hard as a burnt brick,
impervious to dews or light showers, and when thoroughly
saturated with wet it is tough, and requires a long time
to dry. No fruit tree succeeds well in such a soil; but it
is capable of being improved and fitted for many species,
and especially the plum andthe pear. The obvious way to
improve it is, by incorporating with it lighter porous soils,
as sand, muck, or leaf mould.
SOILS. v
A gravelly sou is one made up in greater part of small
stones, pebbles, decomposed rock, &c.; such soils, as a
general thing, are unfit for fruit trees, unless great labor
is incurred in trenching, deepening, and mixing with
clay, muck, &c., of opposite characters.
A loamy soil is one we hear a great deal about, and may
be understood in various ways. It may be considered a
mixture of equal parts of sandy, clayey, and vegetable soil.
It is neither so light as the sandy, on the one hand, nor
so tenacious as clay on the other; and, as a general thing,
contains such elements, and is of such a texture, as to ren-
der it eligible for all ordinary purposes of cultivation,
and especially so for fruit trees. Loamy soils are spoken
of as sendy loams, when sand forms a large ingredient,
say one half of their composition ; gravelly, when pretty
largely mixed with small stones; calcareous, when lime
is found in them.
Calcareous or chalky soils have a large amount of lime
mixed with the other ingredients of which they are com-
posed. All the lands in limestone districts are of this
character, and, as a general thing, are well adapted to
fruit culture. .
Peaty soit consists chiefly of vegetable mould from de-
cayed marsh plants, in low, wet places. It is unfit, in
itself, for fruit trees, but is valuable for improving both
light and heavy soils.
Alluvial soils are composed of decomposed vegeta-
ble substances, the sediment of rivers, and materials
washed down from neighboring hills; the valleys of all
our rivers and streams are composed of this, and it is the
richest of all soils. Fruit trees in such soils make a rank,
vigorous growth, but they are not so hardy nor so fruit-
ful, nor is the fruit so high flavored as on soils with more
sand, clay, or gravel, and less vegetable mould.
3
50. GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
In treating of the different classes of fruits, we shall
refer to the particular soils best adapted to them.
Section 2?.—Dirrerent Moprs or Improvine Solts.
In regard to depth, soils vary materially, some being
not over eight or ten inches in depth of surface, others a
foot, while in deep alluvial valleys they are often two feet.
For orchard and garden purposes, a deep sow is quite
essential to enable the roots to penetrate freely in search
of food, and to enable them to withstand the demands of
protracted droughts. Tew soils in their ordinary condition
of farm culture are, in this respect, suitable for trees.
Even where naturally deep and loamy, if the upper part
only (say to the depth of six inches, which is as deep as
most people plough) be in a friable condition, it cannot
be considered as in a proper state for the reception of
trees, for their roots cannot be confined to six inches of the
surface. Some means of loosening and deepening must
be resorted to, and what are they ?
1. SUBSOIL PLOUGHING.
This is the cheapest and best method, where a large
quantity of ground is to be prepared for extensive plant-
ing. The common plough goes first, and takes as deep a
furrow, as practicable. The subsoiler follows in the same
furrow and loosens, without turning up, the lower part
of the surface and a part of the subsoil. Except in cases
where the subsoil is a very stiff clay or a hard gravel
and near the surface, the two ploughs can go to the depth
of eighteen or twenty inches. This is our mode of pre-
paring nursery grounds. If a single ploughing in this
way does not accomplish the desired end, a second may
be given, going down still deeper.
SOILS. 51
We had a piece of soil the surface of which was about
a foot deep of black vegetable mould, with a slight admix-
ture of sand, resting on a stiff clay subsoil, which pre-
vented the water from passing off. In this condition we
found it entirely unfit for trees; we subsoil ploughed it
six or eight inches deep, turning up the clay subsoil and
mixing it with the surface ; we also drained it, and spread
over the surface the clay that came out of the drains, and
in this condition we find it producing the finest trees,
especially apples, pears, andeplums. The soil is more
substantial, and the surface water passes off freely.
2. TRENCHING.
In gardens too limited in extent to admit of ploughs, or
where it is desired to make the soil thorough and perma-
nently deep, trenching is the means.
The spade is the implement used in this operation. A
trench two feet wide is opened on one side of the ground,
and the earth taken out of it is carried to the opposite
side. Another trench is opened, the surface spadeful be-
ing thrown in the bottom, and the next lower on the top
of that, and so on till it is opened the required depth,
which, for a good fruit garden, should be about two feet.
If the subsoil be poor and gravelly, it is better to loosen
it up thoroughly with a pick, and let it remain, than to
throw it out on the surface. When the whole plot is
trenched over in this way, the earth taken out of the first
trench will fill up the last one, and the work is done. If
the soil be poor, a layer of well-decomposed manure may
be added alternately with the layers of earth; and if the
soil be too light and sandy, clay, ashes, etc., can be added;
and if too heavy, sand, lime, muck, peat, scrapings of dead
leaves from the woods, or any other material calculated to
render it porous and friable. Ifa garden is thus trenched
52 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
in the fall or winter, and then turned over once in the
spring to effect a thorough mixture of all the materials, it
will be in suitable order for planting. This is something
like the way to prepare soil for a garden; and let no one
say it is too troublesome or too expensive, for in two
years the extra pleasure and profit it will yield, will pay
for all. Nothing is so expensive or so troublesome as an
ill-prepared soil.
3. DRAINING.
There is a false notion very prevalent among people,
that where water does not_lodge on the surface of a soil,
it is “dry enough.” However this may be in regard to
meadows or annual crops, it is quite erroneous when ap-
plied to orchards or fruit gardens. Stagnant movsture
either in the surface or subsoil is highly injurious—ruin-
ous to fruit trees. In such situations we invariably find
them unthrifty and unfruitful, the bark mossy, and the
fruit imperfect and insipid. All the soils, then, not per-
fectly free from stagnant moisture, both above and below,
should be drained. In draining, it is, of course, neces-
sary to have a fall or outlet for the water. Having se-
lected this, the next point is to open the drains. We
usually make them three feet deep, and wide enough to
give sufficient room to work—say three feet wide at top,
narrowing gradually to six inches at the bottom, which
should be even and sloping enough to the outlet of the
water to enable it to run. A laborer who understands
draining, will make two rods of these in a day; and
good pipe-tile, two inches wide, can be had at the rate of
about one cent per foot. Draining, therefore, is not
so costly an operation as many suppose.
Where draining tiles are not to be had conveniently,
small stones may be used. The bottom of the drain
SOILS. 53
should be filled with them to the depth of eight or ten
inches. In using these, the drains require to be at least
six inches deeper than for tiles, in order that a sufficient
quantity of stones can be used without coming too near
the surface. Some brush, or turf, with the grassy side
downwards, should be laid on the stones before filling in
the earth, to keep it from filling up the crevices.
GHAR ERI
MANURES.
SECTION 1.—ImportaNce oF MANURES.
No soil, whatever may be its original fertility, can sus-
tain a heavy and continued vegetation for many years
without becoming, to some extent, exhausted. Indeed,
there are few people so fortunate, except those who settle
upon new, uncultivated lands, as to procure a soil that does
not need manuring to fit it for the first planting with
trees. It is, then, a matter of importance for every man
who has more or less land to cultivate, to inform himself
well on the subject of saving, preparing, and applying
manures. In this country, the only class of men, gene-
rally speaking, who can be properly said to collect and
manage manures with system and care, are nurserymen
and market gardeners near our large towns. It is very
seldom that people generally give the matter a thought
until garden-making time comes around in the spring ;
and then, anything in the form of manure is carried into
the garden, and applied whether fit or unfit. This is not
the proper course.
Every garden should have its manure heap, that, in the
fall or spring, when it comes to be applied, will cut like
paste. In that state only is it safe to apply it. All parts
of it are then decomposed thoroughly; all seeds of
noxious plants are dead, and it is in a condition capable
of yielding at once, to the roots of growing plants,
MANURES. 55
healthy nutrition, that will produce a wgorous, firm,
sound, and fruitful growth; and this is precisely what is
wanted: far betterto have a tree starved and stunted,
than forced into a rank, plethoric growth, with crude, ill-
prepared manures.
Section 2.—PREPARATION OF MANURE.
The best gardeners pursue a system something like
this: A trench is prepared two or three feet deep, and
large enough to hold what manure may be wanted. In
the bottom of this trench, a layer of muck, grassy turf,
ashes, anything and everything capable of being decom-
posed, is laid down, say a foot deep. On the top of this,
a thick layer of stable or barnyard manure, two or three
feet deep, then another layer of muck, gypsum, ete. In
this way it remains till more manure has accumulated
around the stables; it is then carried and deposited in
another layer, with a layer of the other materials on the
top. The manure should always be saturated with mois-
ture, and trodden down firmly to hasten its decay, and if
an occasional load of night soil could be mixed in with it all
the better. The layer of muck and other substances
being always placed on the top of the last layer of
manure absorbs the evaporations of the heap, and hastens
the decay of all. When stable manure is thrown down
and left uncovered, a dense steam will be seen to rise
from it; and this is the very essence of it escaping to be
lost, and if it be thrown down in a heap dry it will im-
mediately burn—that is, dry rot. Its enriching ingre-
dients all pass off by evaporation, and there is nothing
left but its ashes, so to speak.
‘When the heap has accumulated for four or five
months as described, the whole should be turned over,
completely mixed, and piled up in a compact, firmly-
56 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
trodden mass, when it will undergo farther decomposition,
and, in a short time, become like paste. Adjoining every
manure heap, there should be an excavation to receive its
liquid drainage, in order that it may be saved, and either
applied in the growing season, in a liquid state, diluted
with water, or be thrown over the heap.
“ Special manures” have been much talked of lately.
By the word “ special,” is meant a particular quantity,
of a particular mixture, for certain species, and even for
certain varieties of fruits. Nearly all the suggestions on
the subject are speculative and unreliable. The subject
is an important one, but we want direct and careful ex-
periments. It is only when we know to a certainty what
material certain trees need most of, and in what degree it
abounds or is wanting in our soil, that we can apply it
safely. The experience of farmers and gardeners, grain
and fruit growers, all over the world, affords undoubted
evidence of the enriching qualities of stable manure. On
all soils, and for all sorts of crops, it is an unfailing and
powerful fertilizer; and we make it the base of all our
manure and compost heaps. By mixing with it the in-
gredients we have mentioned, we hasten its decay, save
its parts from waste, and, at the same time, combine with
it other substances that will not only enrich but improve
the texture of soils, and increase the supply of the mine-
ral substances required by plants. Dr. Daubney, a dis-
tinguished writer on the character and improvement of
soils, etc., says, “ Fortunately we are provided in the
dung of animals with a species of manure of which the
land can never be said to tire, for this simple reason, that
it contains within itself not one alone, but a@// the ingre-
dients which plants require for their nutrition, and that,
too, existing in the precise condition in which they are
most readily taken in and assimilated.” But a good sub-
stitute for this article, where it cannot be obtained, is an
MANURES. 57
important point. Some time ago, we noticed in the re-
port of a discussion on manures in Boston, that the Hon.
M. P. Wilder, one of the most distinguished horticulturists
in America, stated- that he had found the following com-
post equal to stable manure for gardening purposes gene-
rally, and for fruit trees.
* One cord of meadow muck, having been exposed to
the action of the air and frost at least one year; twelve
bushels leached ashes ; six bushels crushed bones. This
mixture cost him at the rate of $4 50 cents per cord.
Latterly he added to this his stable manure, and about
an eighth of the whole bulk of fine refuse charcoal from
the depot of venders, which was delivered to him at $5
per cord; and in this way he found it the best, as a
general manure, he had ever used. On fruit trees its
effect was remarkable.
“In the spring of 1847, he planted a square in the nur-
sery with imported trees from England, this compost
having been spread and ploughed in. These trees were
from four to five feet in height, and although it is not
usual for trees to make a large growth the first year, they
acquired branches of three to four feet, and were so hand-
some as to command $1 25 each, for a row of fifty trees,
without any selection.
“In June last, which is very late to set out trees, he
prepared another square on rather poor land, and planted
trees just received from England upon it. The soil had
been thrown up to the frost the previous winter, and the
compost here was applied in the trenches near the roots.
Mr. Wilder exhibited two shoots which had grown from
those trees since they were set in June. The shoots were
four feet in length, and the wood hard and well ripened.”
In addition to all these sources for manure, it may be
added that fallen leaves, scrapings of streets, weeds,
wood chips, sawdust, the ashes of all prunings of trees
e>
58 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
and brush, soot, blood, animal flesh, soap suds, and slops
from the kitchen, and, in fact, everything decomposable
may be used, to increase the bulk of the manure heap,
taking care that everything likely to waste by evapora-
tion be covered at once with muck, charcoal, or some
material calculated to absorb the gases evolved by de-
composition. We very frequently see people, in the
spring of the year, when their garden is undergoing a
purifying and fitting up process, carry to the highway all
the brush, dry stems of plants, and all the wreck of the
previous season’s work, there to make a bonfire to get it
out of the way, while at the same moment they complain
sadly of the lack of manure.
There was no such thing as a manure heap on the pre-
mises.
Section 3.—Moprs or Appiyinc MANURE.
Where an acre or several acres of ground are to be
prepared for trees, the better way is to spread the manure
over the surface and turn it in with the plough. When it
is scarce and economy necessary, it may be applied
around the roots, by mixing with the earth at planting
time.
Quantity to be Applied—tThis, of course, depends on
two things, the necessities of the soil and the quality of
the manure. If the land be poor, an even covering of
two or three inches should be given; if in tolerable good
condition, one inch will be sufficient. One inch of well
decomposed animal manure will be equal to three inches
of a partially decayed compost.
Srction 4.—Liguip MANURE.
Manure in a liquid state has these advantages to recom-
MANURES. 59
mend it. It can be applied to trees and plants in a grow-
ing state without in the least disturbing the surface of the
soil, and it supplies, at the same time, both nutriment and
moisture. It can be applied to bearing trees, strawber-
ries, ete., m fruit, if defective in vigor, or suffering from
drought, and yield an immediate sustenance that will
enable them to produce much larger and finer fruit than
they could have done without it.
It may either be collected in a tank, kept on purpose
near the barns, or it may be made when wanted by dis-
solving manure in water. It may be much stronger for
trees, the roots of which are a considerable distance from
the surface, than for such plants as have their roots near
the surface. It is the only prompt and effectual stimu-
lant for trees on a poor soil, to enable them to perfect
their crop. We have frequently witnessed its astonishing
effects. It should be applied in the evening, and in such
quantity as to penetrate to the roots; half a dozen water-
ings will be sufficient in most cases, but it is better to
apply it well diluted and often, than a smaller quantity
too strong. A dozen shovelfuls of animal manure will
make a barrel of liquid powerful enough for most pur-
poses ; and if pure liquid soakage of the manure heap or
urine of animals is used, at least one half rain water
should be added. Soap suds form an excellent liquid
manure for all trees. The grape vine is especially be-
nefited by liberal and frequent application.
CHAPTER IV.
THE DIFFERENT MODES OF PROPAGATING FRUIT TREES.
General Remarks—tThe propagation of fruit trees may
be classed under two principal heads—the JVatural,
which is by seeds; and the Artificial, by the division of
the plants, as in cuttings, layers, suckers, buds, and
grafts.
PROPAGATION BY SEEDS.
Seedling fruit trees are propagated, either to obtain
new varieties, or stocks for budding or grafting. It is
only where the very rudest system of fruit culture is
practi8ed, as for instance in newly-settled countries, that
seedlings are planted out to bear, for the reason that,
unless in very rare instances, varieties worthy of cultiva-
tion do not reproduce themselves from seed. The im-
portant differences that exist between the seeds of dif:
ferent classes of fruit trees, render it necessary to treat of
each separately ; their management will therefore be given
in detail, in connection with the propagation of stocks.
There are some points, however, of general application
that may be considered here with propriety. It scarcely
admits of a doubt, but that the greater part of the difficul-
ties met with in fruit tree culture, as maladies of various
sorts, unfruitfulness, etc., are induced by a careless and
PROPAGATION BY SEEDS. 61
undiscriminating system of propagation. The stock has
a most important influence on the health, longevity, fruit-
fulness, and symmetry of trees, and it does not seem pos-
sible that our indiscriminate mode of saving seeds for
stocks is at all consistent with rational, intelligent cul-
ture.
What is the ordinary course? To raise apple seedlings,
a quantity of pomace is procured at the cider mill, with-
out the least regard to the quality or maturity of the fruits
from which it was produced, or of the health, vigor, and
hardiness of the trees that bore the fruit—these points are
never thought of. So it is in the case of pear seeds.
During the last few years, these seeds have been nearly
as valuable as gold dust; the price being seldom less
than $5 per quart. The present season, a neighboring
nurseryman has paid at the rate of $4 per quart for a
bushel. How is this seed procured? Is it selected from
healthy, vigorous trees, with sound constitutions, and
from perfect, well-matured fruits? By chance it may be ;
but seed collectors are usually glad to find fruits of any
kind, and from any sort of tree, if they have only seeds
apparently good. We do not, by any means, intend to
charge upon any man a fraudulent intent in this matter.
The seed collector is no more to blame than the nursery-
man, for the nurseryman seldom asks any particulars about
the origin of the seeds. How is it with peach trees? The
peach is a short-lived tree, highly susceptible of deteriora-
tion from bad treatment; and it is obviously impossible
for an unhealthy, feeble tree, to produce sound and healthy
plants from their seeds. In some districts of the country, a
sound, vigorous peach tree is a rarity ; and yet, how are
peach seeds saved and procured? The seeds are brought
in to the seedsman, he buys them without asking any ques-
tions about either the health or sickness of the trees that
preduced them. They are peach stones, and that is all ne-
62 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
cessary to be known. The nurseryman buys of the seeds-
man just as he received them; this is the way that the coun-
try has been filled with miserable, diseased, and unsightly
trees, and who isin the fault? “ Why,” most people would
say, the “ nurserymen, of course. They ought to be more
careful in selecting their seeds, so that they might be cer-
tain of having sound and healthy stocks. They ought to
select the fruits, from which to obtain their seeds, while on
the tree, and see that the trees are not in an incipient, or,
perhaps, an advanced state of decay, but in full health and
vigor, possessing such characters, as to habit, growth, and
hardiness, as are desirable in the best quality of nursery
stock.” Very true, itmust beadmitted. This is precisely
the course that nurserymen ought to pursue. It is the
course followed in the great orchard districts of France, and
that ought to be adopted everywhere. But we must have
cheap, easy, and labor-saving modes of doing things now-
a-days; as well the raising of trees as everything else.
Suppose a nurseryman could be found who would go about
the culture of trees after some such system as we have indi-
cated, it must be very clear that he could not sell his trees
as cheap as another, who followed the present almost uni-
versal hap-hazard course, and if he could not do this, the
probability is he would be compelled to keep them; for
purchasers of trees, as a general thing, make no such discri-
minations. It happened one season that more than the
usual quantities of seedling, unworked, peach trees were
brought into the streets of Rochester for sale; they were
as miserable, in all respects, as trees could be; yet they
were sold by the thousand, at from 4 to 8 cents apiece,
and scarcely one of them ever grew, for they were killed
by exposure, fortunately. At that very time there were
large stocks in the nurseries, about town, of good worked
trees of the best varieties, offered at one shilling each.
This instance is quoted simply to show who are to blame
PROPAGATION BY SEEDS. 63
‘or the defective and vicious systems of propagation usually
practised. That there will be a reform soon is not to be
doubted. A discriminating spirit is already becoming ap-
parent among the best classes of cultivators, and their
example will soon be felt. The selection of seeds for stocks
is a point of more than ordinary importance, and merits
the special attention of every man engaged, to whatever
extent, in the propagation of fruit trees.
Production of New Varieties—New varieties are pro-
duced from seeds that have been properly hybridized, as
described in the article on hybridization, or from seeds of
the best specimens of the best varieties.
Where it is desired to obtain seedlings of a particular
variety, free from any crossing with others, the flowers
should be protected while in blossom, to guard them
against foreign impregnation ; seeds should be saved only
from large, perfect, fine flavored specimens, and the seeds
themselves should be plump and mature. Sometimes a
good variety is obtained by selecting from beds of seed-
lings, such as possess marked evidences of improvement,
vigorous, luxuriant growth, large heavy foliage, pro-
minent buds, and smooth, thornless wood. These charac-
ters indicate superiority, but do not always ensure superior
fruit. The stock is supposed to exert considerable influ-
ence on the seed; and if this be the case, it would be well
to get such varieties as we wish seeds from, on their own
roots, by layering, or grafting on roots in the ground, so
that the graft will itself strike root. Mr. Knight’s mode
of obtaining seedlings, of the best varieties, was to prepare
stocks from some good sort that would strike from cuttings.
These stocks he planted in rich warm soil, and grafted
with the kind he wanted the seeds from. The first season
after grafting he took them up, reduced the roots, and
planted again. In this way he had them bear fruit in two
64 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
years. He allowed only a couple of specimens to remain
on each tree, and these, consequently, were very large,
mature, and every way fine, and from these the seeds were
taken. Seedlings may be tested quickly, by budding or
grafting them on bearing trees. Wemay fruit apples and
pears in this way, in four or five years, whilst ten or fift
teen would be necessary on their own roots. Experimenters
on this subject have found the seeds of new varieties are
more certain to produce good fruit than the seed of old
ones.
2. By Division of the Plants—It has been remarked
in the article on buds, that every bud is capable, under
favorable circumstances, of producing a new individual,
similar to that from whieh it is taken.
Hence it is, that out of the young annual wood of an ap-
ple, pear, peach, or any other fruit tree, we frequently
make several hundreds. Every good, well-formed bud,
properly separated, and inserted under the bark of the in-
dividuals of the same, or a closely allied, species, will, m
one year from its insertion, or with one season’s growth,
have become a new tree. Itis by these means we are
enabled to disseminate new varieties with such wonderful
rapidity. Ifa young tree of a new variety will make half _
a dozen shoots the first season, each bearing half a dozen
buds, we can, if we have stocks to bud on, be in possession
of thirty trees of that variety in two years from the time
we obtained one tree, and in another year we may have
four times that number. The production of a tree from a
bud, a graft, a layer, or acutting,is but the same thing
effected by different means. In all the cases, a part of the
parent plant, with one or more buds attached, is separated
from it. The cutting, sometimes composed of one bud or
joint, and sometimes of several, we put directly in the
eround, where it forms roots, The graft is a cutting in-
PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. 65
serted, not in the ground, but in the wood of another plant
to which it unites. The bud inserted under the bark of
another tree, and the one buried in the ground, differ only
in this, that one draws its support directly from the soil,
and the other indirectly, through the tree to which it
unites. )
Section 1.—PRoPAGATION By CUTTINGS.
A cutting is a shoot, or part of a shoot, generally of one
season’s growth. The length of the cutting varies from
a single eye or joint, to a foot, according to the nature of
the species, or the circumstances under which they are to
be grown. The wood should be as stout and mature as pos-
sible, and should be cut close and smooth to a bud at both
ends (fig. 56). In all cases, cuttings taken off closely to
the old wood, with the base attached, as in fig. 57, are
Figs. 56to 59 cuttings. 56, a cutting, all of young wood. 57, a cutting, witha
heel of old wood. 58, a cutting, with 2 or 3 eyes of old wood. 59, a cutting, of a
single eye of the grape vine. 60, along cutting of the grape, line .4, B, surface of the
ground.
66 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
more successful than when cut at several joints above;
and in many cases, as in the quince for example, an inch
or two of the old wood left attached to the base of the cut-
ting, as in fig. 58, renders it still more certain of success.
The more buds we can get around the base of a cutting,
the better, other things being equal; for these buds, as soon
as they become active, send down new matter, from which
the roots are emitted.
Cuttings of the grape are sometimes made of a single
eye (fig. 59), with an inch or so of wood above and be-
low it.
The tme to make cuttings is in the fall, as soon as the
wood is ripe, and through the early winter months. It
should not be deferred later than January. The sod for
cuttings is of the greatest importance to their success, for
if, on the one hand, it be cold, damp, and compact, they
will decay, and if too loose and sandy, they will dry up
for the want of sufficient moisture. A soil so mellow that
it cannot bake, and yet so compact as to retain humidity
enough to support the cuttings, until new roots are formed,
seems to be absolutely necessary—such a soil as we may
suppose a good garden border to be composed of. Rooted
plants can endure extremes, but cuttings require the most
favorable circumstances.
Time to Plant.—tThe fall would be the better season to
plant all cuttings, if we could cover them so as to prevent
the frost from heaving them out. It is on account, of this
difficulty that we plant, from necessity, in the spring; but
spring planting must be done very early, that vegetation
may proceed gradually. If late planted, warm weather
comes on them at once, before they have formed roots
sufficient to support the demands of the young leaves.
Where only a few are grown, shading might, at certain
times, be given, and some light snbstance, like saw dust,
PROPAGATION BY LAYERING. 67
be spread about them, to preserve an even temperature
and humidity, or they might be put ina cold frame, where
they could receive any required attention. Where acres of
cuttings are grown, these things are not practicable.
Depth to plant—As a general thing, cuttings should be
inserted so deep, that only two buds will be above the
surface of the ground, and in the vine only one. If cut-
tings are long, they need not be set perpendicular, but
sloping, so as to be within reach of heat and air. A
cutting of a single eye of the vine with a piece of wood
attached, must be entirely covered, say half an inch
deep; see figures 56 to 60, ground line, A, B. But such
cuttings are seldom planted, except in pots, in houses, or
in hotbeds. |
Preserving Cuttings.—If cuttings are not planted in the
autumn, they should at least be prepared quite early in
the winter, and be buried in the earth out of doors, in a
pit. A mound of earth should be drawn up over the pit
to throw off water. At the very first favorable moment in
the spring they should be planted. Trenches are opened
as deep as necessary with a spade, and the cuttings set in
it at the proper distance, from three inches to a foot, ac-
cording to circumstances. When the cuttings are in the
trench, the earth is partly filled in, and trod firmly down
with the foot, then the balance is filled in and levelled
up.
Cuttings require particular attention, in the way of weed-
ing and hoeing; if weeds grow up thickly, and appropri-
ate the moisture of the ground, or ifthe surface be allowed
to erack, as it may after rains, if not quite sandy, they will
either make a feeble growth, or fail entirely. The ground
wants repeated stirring, to keep it friable and perfectly
free from weeds.
68 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
Srecrion 2.—PRoPAGATION BY LAYERING.
A layer is similar to a cutting, except that it is allowed
to remain in partial connection with the parent plant
until it has emitted roots. On this account, layers are
much more certain than cuttings. It is the best method
of propagating the grape and the gooseberry, and also
the guince, paradise, and Doucain, for stocks. It may be
performed in the spring with shoots of the previous
year’s growth, before vegetation has commenced, or in
July and August on wood of the same season’s growth.
The ordinary mode of doing it is, first, to spade over and
prepare the ground in which the branch is to be laid, in
order to make it light and friable. The branch is then
brought down to the ground (fig. 61), an incision is made
at the base of bud A, through the bark, and
partly through the wood; the knife is drawn
upward, splitting the shoot an inch or two in
length, and the branch is laid in the earth with
the cut open, and kept down
by means of a crooked orhooked 7%
wooden peg, 2. The earth is then :
drawn in smoothly around, coy- iz
ering it two or three inches
déep; and the end of the: ==
shoot that is above ground,is
tied up to a stick (C), if it re-
quires support. In the grape,
gooseberry, or currant, a simple
Fic. 61.
Fig. 61,a common layer. A, the
incision. B, hooked peg. €C,
stake.
notch below a bud is sufficient,
and they will root if simply pegged down; but roots are
formed more rapidly when the shoot is cut one third
through, and slit as described.
A long shoot of the vine may be layered at several
points, and thus produce several rooted plants in the
PROPAGATION BY LAYERING. 69
course of one season. This is called serpentine layering
(fig. 62). The Quince, Paradise, and Doucain stocks,
where raised in large quantities, are propagated
in a different way from that described. The pro-
cess requires much less labor; and where plants
root so freely
as they do, it
answers every
purpose.
We will take
a plant of the
quince, for ex-
ample, and, in
the spring, before growth commences, we cut it down
nearly to the ground, leaving four or five buds at its base
(A, fig. 63). During that season, a number of vigorous
shoots will be made. The following autumn or spring the
earth is drawn up around the base of the plant, so that
the crown where it
was cut will be
covered, and, con-
sequently, the base
of all the shoots
for several inches
in height. Dur-
ing the next sum-
mer’s growth every
branch is _— sufii-
ciently rooted to
be separated and
placed in nursery
Fig. 63, Mound layering or banking up. -4, the point |, f ] wie
at which the mother plant was cut back. rows the ollow se
XG. 62.
Fig. 62, Serpentine layer.
spring. This is the
way to obtain strong stocks; for the cutting back of the
mother plant produces very vigorous shoots the first
70 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
season, and when another season’s growth is added they
are as strong as can be desired. We succeed in rooting
these shoots the first season of their growth by earthing
them up about midsummer ; but they are not quite strong
enough, or sufficiently rooted, for transplanting and bud-
ding the following season.
Section 8.—PROPAGATION BY SUCKERS.
Suckers are shoots sent up from the roots. We ob-
serve them most frequently around trees that have had
their roots wounded by the spade or plough. The wounds
induce the formation of buds, and these buds send up
shoots. They are occasionally used from necessity for
stocks, but should not be employed where seedlings can
be obtained. Occasionally we find certain varieties of
plum throw up fine vigorous suckers, that would make
excellent stocks if taken off with good roots; but their
tendency to produce suckers renders them exceedingly
annoying in gardens, and on this account objectionable.
The roots of the raspberry are full of buds, and, con-
sequently, throw up great quantities of suckers ; and the
smallest cuttings of the roots will grow. Suckers of any
plants that can easily be propagated by cuttings or layers,
should never be used.
Section 4.—PRoPAGATION BY BuppumING.
This operation is performed during the growing season,
and usually on young trees from one to five years old,
with a smooth soft bark. It consists in separating a bud
with a portion of bark attached, from a shoot of the cur-
rent season’s growth of one tree, and inserting it below
the bark of another. When this bud begins to grow, all
that part of the stock above it is cut away, the bud grows
on, and eventually forms a tree of the same variety as
PROPAGATION BY BUDDING. 71.
that from which it was taken. Buds may be inserted in
June, and make considerable growth the same season,
but as a general thing this is not desirable in the propa-
gation of fruit trees. The ordinary season in the Northern
States is from the middle of July till the middle of Sep-
tember, and the earliness or lateness at which a species
is budded depends, other things being equal, on the con-
dition of its growth.
Those accomplishing their growth early in the season
are budded early, and those that grow until the autumn
are budded late—thus the season extends over a period
exceeding two months. In all cases, the following condi-
tions are necessary :
Ist. The buds must be perfectly developed in the axils
of the leaves on the young shoots intended to bud from.
This is seldom the case until the shoot has temporarily
ceased to lengthen, as indicated by the perfect formation
of its terminal bud.
If buds are‘wanted before this condition naturally ar-
rives, their maturity may be hastened very much by
pinching the tips of the shoots. In ten or twelve days
after the pinching of a very soft shoot, its buds are fit for
working.
2d. The bark must rise freely from the stocks to be bud-
ded. 'This only happens when the stocks are in a thrifty
and growing state. Where only a few stocks are to be
worked, they can be easily watered, if necessary, a week
or so before it is desirable to bud them. ‘Trees that ac-
complish most of their growth early in the season, must
be watched and budded before they cease to grow ; those
that grow very late, must not be budded early, or the
formation of new wood will surround and cover the buds;
in gardener’s language, they will be “ drowned by the
sap.”
The emplements needed are a pruning knife to dress
72 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
the stocks, by removing any branches that may be in the
way of inserting the bud; and a budding knife to take
off the buds and make the incisions in the stock. The
latter should have a very thin, smooth, and keen edge.
Strings for tying in the buds are either taken from bass
mats, or they are prepared from the bark of the bass-
wood. We always prepare our own; we send to the woods
and strip the bark off the trees in June; we then put it
in water from two to three weeks, according to the age
of the bark, until its tissue is decomposed, and the fibrous,
paper-like inner bark is easily separated from the outer,
when it is torn into strips, dried, and put away for use.
Before using, it should always be moistened to make it
tough and pliable.
Outting and Preparing the Buds-——Young shoots in
the condition described, are cut below the lowest plump
bud; an inch or two of the base of every shoot, where the
buds are very close together, and quite small, should be
left. The leaves are then stripped off, leaving half of
each leaf stalk to handle the bud by, as in fig. 68.
Preserving the Buds——When a considerable quantity
is cut at once, they should. be wrapped in a damp cloth
as soon as cut and stripped of the leaves, and they may
be preserved in good order for ten days, by keeping them
in a cool cellar among damp saw-dust, or closely envelop.
ed in damp cloths, matting, or moss. We often send buds
a week’s journey, packed in moss slightly moistened ; the
leaves being off, the evaporation is trifling, none in fact
when packed up, consequently very little moisture is
needed.
Having the stocks, buds, and implements in the condi-
tion described, the operation is performed in this way :
The shoot to bud from is taken in one hand, and the
budding knife in the other, the lower part of the edge
of the knife is placed on the shoot half an inch above the
PROPAGATION BY BUDDING. 73
bud to be removed (A, fig. 64), the thumb of the knife-
Fics. 64 to 70, Buppina.
Fig. 64, a shoot of buds with the leaves taken
off. .4, the point above the bud where the knife
was inserted. B, the point below where it comes
out. ig. 65, is a bud badly taken off, with a
hollow in the centre. Fig. 66,a good bud. .4,
root of the bud. JB, root of the leaf.
1
1
1
1
i}
‘
1
1
1
t
‘
i]
|
1
'
1
'
‘
|
68. &e.
hand rests on the shoot
below the bud (B), a
drawing cut is then
made, parallel with the
shoot, removing the
bud and the bark to
which it is attached,
half an inch above,
and three quarters be-
low it. This is the
usual length, but it
may in many cases be
shorter. The cut is
made just deep enough
to be below the bark,
a small portion of the
wood is always taken
20.
Fig. 67, a stock with the bark slit vertically and across. Fig. 68, the same
with the bark raised as far as the dotted line. Fig. 69, the same with the
bud inserted. Fig. 70, the same tied up.
off with it, and if this adheres firmly it should be allowed
4
44. GENERAL PRINCIPLES:
to remain; if it parts freely, it should be taken out, but in
doing so the root of the bud must be carefully preserved,
for if it comes out with the wood, the bud is useless. The
root of the bud, as it is termed, is a small portion of wood
in the hollow part of the inside of the bud. Fig. 64 is a
good bud, A, root of bud, B, root of leaf. Fig. 65 is im-
perfect, the roots of leaf and bud both out. A smooth
place on the stock, clear of branches, is then chosen.
where two incisions are made to the depth of the bark, one
across the end of the other, so as to form a T, fig. 67; the
bark on the two edges of the perpendicular cut is raised
(fig. 68) with the smooth ivory handle of the budding
knife, and the bud is inserted between them (fig. 69); the
upper end of the bark attached to the bud is cut square,
to fit to the horizontal cut on the stock, the bass string is
then wound around tightly, commencing at the bottom,
and covering every part of the incision, leaving the bud
itself, and the leaf-stalk, uncovered (fig. 70), the string is
fastened above the horizontal cut, and the work is done.
The success of the operation, as far as its execution is con-
cerned, depends, in a great measure, om smooth cuts, an
exact fit of the bud to the incision made for it, secure,
close tying, that will completely exclude air and rain wa-
ter, and the quick performance of the whole. The inser-
tion of a bud-should not, in any case, occupy more than @
minute; ordinary practised budders will set two in that
time, and often two hundred in an hour with a person to
tie. Where the stocks and buds work well, two thousand
is not an uncommon day’s work in our nurseries, especially
of cherries, peaches, and apples.
Where only a few buds are to be set, a cool, moist day
or evening should be selected, as they will be more cer-
tain of suecess than if inserted during the middle of a hot,
dry day.
The chief difficulty experienced by beginners in bud-
PROPAGATION BY GRAFTING. (‘B
ding, is the proper removal,of the bud. When it happens
that the knife passes exactly between the bark and wood,
the bud cannot fail to be good; but this rarely happens—
more or less wood is attached, and the removal of this is
the nice point. Where the buds are flat, the ditticulty is
less than when they have large prominent shoulders, as
the plum and pear have, in many cases. When all the
wood is taken out of these, a cavity remains, which does
not come in contact with the wood on which the bud is
placed, and therefore, although the bark unites well, the
bud will not grow. Sometimes, such as these are sepa-
rated by making an incision through the bark; lift the
edge of the bark attached to the bud with the knife, and
push it off with the fingers. A safer way still is to cut
around the bud, and draw a strong silk thread between
the bark and wood, thus removing the bud in perfection.
Section 5.—PRoPAGATION BY GRAFTING.
Grafting is the insertion of a scion of one species or
variety on the stem or branch of another, which is called
the stock. Its principal object is to increase certain varie-
ties that cannot be reproduced from seed with certainty ;
but it is frequently performed with other objects in view.
For instance—
To Fruit a New Variety—A scion inserted in a
branch of a bearing tree, will bear fruit perhaps the
second year from the graft; but if the same scion had
been put on a young seedling, it would not have borne in
ten years.
One species is frequently grafted with success upon
another, by which certain important modifications are
wrought upon both the size and fruitfulness of trees, and
the quality of the fruits. Thus, we can graft,in many
cases, with highly beneficial results, the peach and apri-
_
76 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
cot on the plum; the pear on the quince; strong grow-
ing species and varieties on weaker ones, and wece versa.
But experience has established the fact, that there must
be between the stock and graft a close alliance. We
cannot graft an apple on a peach, nor a cherry on a pear ;
but the pear, the apple, quince, medlar, thorn, and moun-
tain ash—a naturally allied group—may, with more or
less success, be worked upon one another.
The French horticulturists, who are the most skilful
and curious in all matters pertaining to the propagation
of plants, describe in their works upwards of one hun-
dred different modes of grafting, practised in different
ages and countries, and for the attainment of particular
objects; but, however interesting the study of all these
may be to the student and experimentalist, the great
bulk of them are of little practical utility, and are never
applied in the multiplication of fruit trees. It is, there-
fore, unnecessary to fill up the pages of such a treatise as
this, with either a historical account or description of
them. The methods described below are those univer-
sally adopted, with slight modifications, by the best prac-
tical propagators everywhere at the present day.
Stocks are of all ages from a yearling seedling to a
tree forty or fifty years old; but'of whatever age, they
should be sound and healthy. Nursery stocks will be
more particularly spoken of in the proper place.
Scions are generally shoots of the previous year’s
growth. Rarely those bearing fruit buds are used for the
purpose of experiment, but in such cases only. They
should be cut in the autumn after the fall of the leaf, or
in the winter, and be preserved carefully in earth till
wanted for use. If intended for root-grafting early in the
spring in the house, it will be sufficient to bury their
lower ends in earth, in a cool, dry cellar; but if wanted
for out-door grafting, they should be buried in dry sandy
iwUZAGATION BY GRAFTING. ray
soil, in a pit, on the north side of a wall or fence, and
deeply covered with earth drawn up in a mound to throw
off the water. They are thus kept perfectly dormant
until used, and not so dry as to shrivel the bark. They
should always be taken from healthy, vigorous trees ex-
clusively, and be of firm, well-ripened wood. A mode-
rate-sized shoot or scion, if well matured and sound, is
much better tan one as thick as a man’s finger, pithy
and unripe. People are by no means so careful and dis-
criminating in this respect as they ought to be. Half of
the maladies of trees originate in negligent and vicious
systems of propagation. The implements used in graft-
ing are the grafting-knife, saw, and chisel (see imple-
ments). In whip-grafting or splice-grafting, the stocks
being small require the knife only, or not more than
the knife and chisel. It is always better to have two
knives—one to prune and do the rough work, and the
other to prepare the scion. Grafting composition is pre-
pared in various ways. osm, beeswax, and tallow, in
about equal parts, answer very well. Lately, however,
we have found it better to use more rosin and less bees-
wax and tallow; thus, to two pounds of rosin we add
one and one fourth pounds of beeswax, and three fourths
of a pound of tallow. For whip-grafting on the root,
and small trees in the nursery, we use cloth saturated with
this composition, instead of the composition itself, and
find it more convenient and expeditious. If we have no
old calico, we buy a very thin article, at about four cents
per yard. This we tear into narrow strips, roll into balls,
and then soak in the liquid composition until every pore
of the cloth is filled with it. The person who applies it
to the grafts takes it from these balls, tears it in pieces
the length and breadth required by the size of the stock,
and two or three turns of it around the graft secure it
completely. This thin cloth soon decays, and yields to
78 GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
the enlargement of the parts it encloses. We have tried
tow, paper, and other materials, but find this the best.
Having the scions, implements, and composition in readi-
ness, the work is performed as follows :
Whip-Grafting on the Root—For this purpose, seed-
ling stocks are generally used, one or two years old, vary-
ing from one fourth to three ecghths of an inch in diameter.
The graft is always made at the collar, and, therefore, the
stems of the plants are -cut off at that point; the small
tap-roots and any cumbrous fibres are removed, leaving
them about four inches in length (fig. 71); they are then
washed clean, and are ready for the operation. The
erafter then makes a smooth, even, sloping cut, an inch
long, upwards on the collar of the root,
A ; and in the centre of this cut, he makes
aslit or tongue, 6, downwards. The scion,
which should be three or four inches long
(fig. 72), is cut on
the lower end with
a sloping cut down-
wards, and similar
in all respects to
that made on the
stock ;° a slit, ‘or
tongue, is made in
it upwards, £B, cor-
responding, also,
with that on the
stock; and they
are then neatly 71,
fitted together, the Fies. 71 to 73, Roor Grarrine.
tongue of the one Fig. 71. the root. 4, the sloping cut B, the tongue.
within the other Fig. 72, the scion. .4, the sloping cut. B, tongue. C
bud attop. Fig. 73, the union of scion and stock.
(A, fig. 73), and the
inner barks of both placed in close and perfect contact, at
PROPAGATION BY GRAFTING. 79
least on one sitle. The fit should be so complete as to sit
close and firm in all parts. The person who applies the
wax, takes a narrow strip of the cloth described, and
wraps it firmly around, covering the parts united. A man
and boy can graft of these twelve to fifteen hundred per
day, and by a special effort two thousand. When the
grafting is thus performed, the grafted plants are put
away as closely as they can be packed in small boxes,
with sandy earth among the roots, and deposited either
in a cold cellar or in a dry place out of doors, where
frost cannot penetrate to the roots, until planting time in
spring.
Whip Grafting on small trees, standing in the open
ground, is performed in precisely the same manner, the
oblique or sloping cut and tongue, corresponding in stock
and graft, fitting into each other with precision, and the
inner bark of both, at least on one side, placed in close
contact. Stocks an inch in diameter can be grafted in this
way. Either the cloth or the liquid composition may be
applied, the latter put on with a brush. For all moderate
sized stocks the cloth is preferable. In cold weather, a
small furnace can be kept at hand to keep the composi-
tion in working order.
Cleft Grafting is practised on trees or branches too
large for whip grafting, say from an inch in diameter up-
wards. In this case, the scion is cut precisely in the form of
a wedge (fig. 74). The part cut for insertion in the stock,
should be about an inch or an inch and a half long, with
a bud (A) at the shoulder, where it is to rest on the stock;
this bud hastens the union of the parts, in the same way
as a bud at the base of a cutting, set in the earth, hastens
and facilitates the emission of roots: the outer edge should
also be somewhat thicker than the inner. i" Rag
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CHA P.BPE SH ts
PERMANENT PLANTATIONS OF FRUIT TREES.
Section 1.—Tue Durrerent Kinns or PLANTATIONS.
Turse are of several kinds, and may be classed as fol-
lows—lsr. The Family Orchard, which is a portion of
the farm set apart for the production of the more hardy
and common fruit, principally apples, for the use of the
farm stock and the family. 2d. The Market or Commer-
cial Orchard, is a large plantation of the various species
of fruit trees for the production of fruit as an article of
commerce. 3d. The /ruit Garden, with the Farmer is
a plot of ground near the dwelling, in which the finer
fruits, as pears, peaches, plums, cherries, apricots, &c.,
and all the small fruits are cultivated. In many cases,
and even in most cases, it is a portion of the kitchen gar-
den, where the table or culinary vegetables are grown.
With the professional man, the merchant, the mechanic,
and others who reside in cities, villages, and their suburbs,
possessing but small tracts of land, at most but a few
acres, the fruit garden is the only source for the supply
of fruits for their families, and is usually planted with
the more rare, perishable, and valuable sorts that cannot
so easily be procured in market.
The pleasure and profit derived from fruit plantations,
te
158 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
under any or all of these circumstances, depend upon
the judicious selection of soil, situation, trees, and va-
rieties, and their proper arrangement and management.
These are the essential points, and every man who con
templates planting to a greater or less extent, should
avail himself of all the light which experience has shed
upon these various branches of the subject, before making ~
the first movement towards the execution of his project.
=
Section 2.—Tur OrcHaArp.
The orchard is distinguished from the fruit garden in
this, that the trees planted in it are generally of the larg-
est size to which the species attain; they are grown in
the natural, or, as it is called, standard form, without any
particular training, and the varieties are generally the
most hardy and productive of the species.
1. The situation of an orchard with regard to exposure
or aspect, requires very little consideration in some parts
of the country. Where, as in Western New York for in-
stance, the winters are uniform, or comparatively so, in
temperature, and late spring frosts do not prevail, the
main difficulties to guard against are the prevailing high
winds from the west and north that injure the blossoms
and blow off the fruit before it is mature. If possible,
a situation should be chosen where some natural obstacle,
as a hill or a belt of woods, would break the force and
influence of these destructive winds. Where no such
obstacle naturally exists, a belt or border of rapid grow-
ing trees, such as soft maples, white pines, and Abeles,
should be planted simultaneously with the planting of
the orchard, that they may grow up and form a protec-
tion by the time the trees have come into bearing.
In other sections, as in some of the central and south-
ern counties of New York, and in some parts of Ohio,
THE ORCHARD. 159
Illinois, Wisconsin, and others of the western as well as
in the southern States, where late and fatal spring frosts
prevail, the selection of a situation is a most important
point. In such localities an eastern and southern expo-
sure, and low grounds, are to be avoided.
John J. Thomas, in his Fruit Culturist, states that, “ In
the valley of the Conhocton, which is flanked by hills five
hundred feet high, peach trees have been completely
lalled to the ground, but on one of the neighboring hills,
five hundred feet above, and probably twelve hundred
feet above the level of the sea, an orchard planted in good
soil yields regular crops. In the town of Spencer, Tioga
County, near the head of Cayuga inlet, peaches have with-
stood the climate and done well at an elevation of seven
hundred feet above Cayuga Lake.” Lawrence Young,
Esq., Chairman of the Kentucky Fruit Committee, reported
to the Pomological Convention at Cincinnati, in 1850, the
case of an orchard in that State, lying within the peach
district, occupying the slopes of hills of no great height,
inclining gently toward a river distant only a few hundred
yards. Its success was that common to a fickle western
climate—a fruit year and a failure, or perhaps two years
of productiveness and three of disappointment in every
five.
Within five miles of this orchard, however, is located
a hill six hundred feet high, upon which the peach crop
has not failed since he first knew it. Numerous other
instances are quoted and the particulars given with great
accuracy, showing the effects of even very slight eleva-
tions.
Among others is an instance of the heath-peach bearing
a full crop in one part of an orchard, whilst in another
part thirty feet lower, the same variety bore not a single
fruit. Multitudes of such cases might be collected in all
parts of the country where the.climate is variable, because
160 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
in such situations vegetation is earlier excited than in those
more elevated and colder, and frosts always fall more
heavily on low than on high grounds. Every one who
has paid the slightest attention to the action of frost on
vegetation is aware, that even an elevation of two or three
feet of one portion of the same field or garden above the
other frequently proves a protection from an untimely frost.
Ina dry and firm soil, vegetation is more exempt from inju-
ries by frost than in a damp, soft, and spongy soil on the
same level, not only because trees on such soils are more
mature and hardier in their parts, but because the soil and
the atmosphere above it are less charged with watery par-
ticles that attract the frost. Bodies of water that do not
freeze in winter, such as some of our inland lakes, exert a
favorable influence for a considerable distance from their
margins in protecting vegetation from late spring and
ee autumn. frosts.
In some parts of the West, as in Wiiseonsan and
Tllinois, the winters are so eteileD metas the day as
mild as spring, and in the night the mercury falling
many degrees below zero—that even apple and pear trees
in soft, damp, and rich soils, are frequently killed to the
ground.
In such localities, experience has taught cultivators
that elevated, dry, firm, and moderately rich soil, that
will produce a firm, well-matured growth, is the only
safeguard against the destruction of plantations in the
winter. In all localities where fruit culture has made
any considerable progress, there is generally experience
enough to be found, if carefully sought for and collected,
to guide beginners in fixing upon sites for orchards; and
no man shouid venture to plant without giving due
attention to the subject, and availing himself of all the
experience of his neighbors; for experience, after all, is
the only truly reliable guide.
THE ORCHARD. 161
2d. The Soil—Having treated already of the different
characters and modes of amelioration of soils, it is only
necessary here to point out what particular qualities or
kinds are best adapted to the different classes of fruit
trees, as far as experience will warrant inso doing. There
are soils of a certain texture and quality, in which, by
proper management, all our hardy fruits may be grown
to perfection. For instance, the soil of our specimen
orchard, which is that usually termed a sandy loam, with
a sandy clay subsoil, so dry that it can be worked imme-
diately after a rain of twenty-four hours. On this we
have apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, and,
indeed, all the fruits planted promiscuously, side by side,
not by choice but necessity, and all these yield bountiful
crops of the finest fruit every season, and that, so far,
without any special attention in the way of manures or
composts. Our country abounds in such soils, and others
somewhat different in character, but equally eligible for
all frnit trees when well managed. On the other hand,
there are soils wholly unfit for fruit trees of any kind—
such are peaty or mucky, and damp, cold, and spongy soils.
For an orchard of apples or pears, a dry, deep, substantial
soil, between sandy and a clayey loam, and possessing
among its inorganic parts a considerable portion of lime,
is, according to all experience, the best.* On such soils
we find the greatest and most enduring vigor and fertility,
the healthiest and hardiest trees, and the fairest and best-
flavored fruits. Trees both of apples and pears, planted
on such soils in western New York, upwards of fifty
* The ashes of the bark of apple trees disclose the fact, that in one
hundred parts upwards of fifty are lime. In the sapwood eighteen of lime,
seventeen of phosphate of lime (similar to bone earth), and sixteen of
potash. Jn the heart or perfect wood, thirty-seven of lime. In the ashes
of the sapwood of the pear of one hundred parts, twelve of lime, twenty-
seven phosphate of lime, and twenty-two of potash. In the ash of the
bark, thirty of lime.
162 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
years ago, are, at this day, in the very height of their
vigor and productiveness, without having received more
than the most ordinary culture. In some of these soils,
where the pear and apple flourish so well, and endure so
long, the peach does not succeed at all. The reason is, it
is too stiff and compact.
The plum succeeds best, as a general thing, on a clayey
loam, rather stiff. The Canada or native plum, however,
succeeds well on very light soils. The cherry, the peach,
apricot, nectarine, and almond, require a light, dry, and
warm soil, and will not succeed on any other. The best
and most enduring peach orchards are on dry, sandy
loams ; but good orchards are raised with proper manage-
ment on loose, light sands, though on such the trees are
shorter lived, and require constant care in the way of
dressings of manure and compost. There are two points
to be observed in regard to soils under all circumstances.
They must possess the inorganic substances, such as lime,
potash, etc., that constitute a large portion of the ashes
of the wood and bark when burned, and a sufficient
amount of organic matter, vegetable mould, which dis-
solves and furnishes material for the formation and
growth of new parts. When large and permanent plan-
tations are to be made, it will well repay the trouble and
expense of procuring the analysis of the soil, in order to
ascertain somewhat correctly its merits and defects.
People who have been long engaged in the culture of the
soil, can judge pretty correctly of its quality by its
appearance, texture, subsoil, and the character of the
rocks and stones that underlie and prevail in it; but the
inexperienced do not understand such indications, and
will do well to have recourse to a careful analysis by
some competent person.
3d. Preparation of Soil for an Orchard—The season
before planting, the soil should be at least tevice ploughed
THE ORCHARD. 163
with a common and subsoil plough, enriched with suitable
composts, and drained, if necessary. It should be eighteen
inches to two feet deep, and quite dry.
4th. Hnclosures.—Before a tree is planted, it is neces-
sary that the ground be enclosed with a fence, sufficient
to protect it against the invasion of animals. It is no un-
common thing to hear people regret that the cattle broke
into the orchard and destroyed many trees. Indeed it fre-
quently happens that more damage is done in this way
than, if duly estimated, would have fenced the whole
orchard. There is much inquiry now-a-days on the subject
of fences, and various plans and materials are suggested
and tried. Live hedges are unquestionably the most orna-
mental and appropriate enclosures for extensive planta-
tions of fruit trees, and in time will no doubt be generally
adopted. Hitherto the failure of many plants tried, and
the cost and difficulty of obtaining others, have retarded
their introduction. Experience, however, has at length
pretty fairly decided that the Osage orange is the best for
the west and south west, and the buckthorn for the north
and east. ‘The seeds of both these plants are now easily
procured, and plants of them may be obtained in nurseries
at $5 or $6 per 1000, and about 2000 will fence an acre of
ground, setting the plants twelve inches apart in two rows
six inches apart, which is the strongest way. SS
ne —_— a ans ~
SS SS ST at NS
Fic. 97.
Half standard pear tree on quince.
THE ORCHARD. 173
ard pears at twenty feet apart, and among these he planted
pears on quince ten feet apart, which gives him 1320,
making the whole number 1760 on the four acres. The
ground he selected was an old pasture with a light loamy
soil, but not inclining to sand, and a subsoil of hard pan.
This he planted with corn until the ground was well mel-
lowed, and then put in two sloop loads, or 3000 bushels
of stable manure, worth on the ground $175. The first
year after planting he cropped the orchard with corn, but
found it injurious to the trees; since that he has cropped
it with potatoes and sugar beets alternately, and with good
management these can be made to pay for the manure,
and sometimes the labor. All those on their own root,
except one row, are the Lawrence, a native Long Island
variety, and those on the quince the Glout Morceau,
Vicar of Winkfield, Lowise Bonne de Jersey, Winter Ne-
lis, Lawrence, and Beurre @ Arremberg. He adds, that
at the time of writing, December 10, 1850, some of
the Vicar of Winkfield trees planted in 1849, had fifty to
seventy-five fruit buds each, and expects them to produce
the fifth year from planting, one dollar per tree. Within
the past two years, several extensive plantations, wholly
of pears on the quince, have been made, and considering
the quick return they yield, their prolific nature, and the
number of trees that can be planted on a small space of
ground, they cannot fail, under good management, to
prove highly profitable. Peach trees should be thrifty
yearlings that have not been pruned up during the sum-
mer, the side branches having been shortened only, and
regulated by pinching. At the time of planting they may
be pruned up, so as to leave three feet of a clean stem.
They may be set at the distance of fifteen feet, and even
twelve will be found quite sufficient, if the heads are
annually pruned, as will be directed hereafter. The
peach grows so rapidly, and commences to bear so soon,
174 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
it would not be advisable to plant any fruit trees in the
spaces, unless currants or gooseberries; a row or two of
which might be put between two rows of the peaches for
the first four or five years after planting. Standard cher-
vies on mazzard stocks should not be over two years old
from the bud, with stems five feet high. In the west and
south, where the trees are subject to the bursting of the
bark on the trunk, it is advisable to have the trees
branched as near the ground as possible; and in such
cases the Mahaleb stock is better than the mazzard, as
it makes lower, more compact, and fertile trees. Or-
chards of pyramidal, or low dwarfs, on the Mahaleb may
be planted at twelve feet apart, or the ground may be
more compactly filled by planting standards and dwarfs
alternately, as in the case of the pears.
Apricots on peach stocks may be planted in the same
soil, and should be of the same age and character as the
peaches. On plum stocks they are better adapted to
heavy soils. Plum trees for orchard standards should be
about two years old from the bud or graft, with stems
about three feet high. The stone fruits in particular
should have-low stems, as they are more subject to the
gum on the trunk if pruned up high. They may be planted
at fifteen feet apart, the same as peaches and apricots.
Quinces should be two years old at least, and may be
three from the layer, cutting, or bud, with a stem two feet
high, clear of branches: they may be planted twelve feet
apart, which gives about 300 to the acre.
9th. Pruning and Preparing the Trees for Planting.—
When a tree is taken up from the nursery, it unavoidably
loses some of its roots, and others are more or less muti-
lated; the roots frequently suffer, too, by long carriage or
exposure, and in this state it is unable to support the
entire head as it came from the nursery. This has been
previously explained. In order that a tree may grow, it
THE ORCHARD. 175
is necessary that a balance should exist between the stem
or branches and the root; consequently, when a tree is
transplanted, its branches should be reduced by shorten-
ing se as to correspond with the roots. A standard tree
that has four or five branches forming a head, should be
pruned at the time of planting to within saree or four
buds of the base of each of the branches. These-remain-
ing buds, receiving all the nourishment, will push vigor-
ously ; whilst if the branches had been allowed to remain
entire, they would have required a greater supply of food
than the roots could have furnished, and the tree would
either have died or made a very feeble growth. Every
bud we leave on the top of a tree, will produce either
leaves or shoots, and these are so many new individuals
requiring sustenance. If we leave on one hundred, it is
plain the demand will be much greater than if we leave
only twenty. The roots must be dressed by cutting back
all bruised points to the sound wood, with a smooth cut
on the under side of the root. Trees thus prepared are
ready for planting. |
10th. Planting Orchards—When the soil has been
thoroughly prepared by subsoil plonghing, or trenching
and manuring the season previous, the planting is a sim-
ple matter, a if this has not been done, planting properly
requires didivabis labor; for large holes three or four
feet wide and two feet deep must be dug for the trees,
and the requisite composts procured to be mixed with the
earth in which the roots are to be placed. Whatever ma-
nures be applied at this time should be perfectly decom.
posed; as, if fresh and warm, they will burn the roots. Trees
are often killed in this way. The planting offers an excel-
lent opportunity for supplying any defects in the soil; for
instance, if too compact, sand, leaf mould, muck, &c., may
be added to render it more porous; and if too light, clay,
stiff loam, ashes, &c., may be added to make it more
176 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
retentive. "The proper way to furnish these materials is
to dig large holes and put a good bed, twelve to eighteen
inches deep, of the compost in the bottom under the trees.
Lime should form a part of all composts, and especially
for the apple and pear; half a peck may be mixed with
the bed of each tree in soil not naturally caleareous. In
digging the holes, the good surface soil should be laid on
one side, so that it can be used to fill in among the roots,
and for this purpose it should be as finely pulverized as
possible.
When the compost has been laid in the bottom of the
hole, and a layer of fine surface soil spread over it, so as
to be highest in the centre, the tree is set on it, so that
when the planting is finished, the collar will be about two
inches below the surface. In the case of trees on dwarf
stocks, such as pears on quince, al the stock must be under
the ground. The roots must be carefully adjusted so that
each one is spread out in its natural position; the fine
earth is then filled in amongst them so that no vacancies
will be left ; the upper roots should be held back by the
person who holds the tree until the lower ones are covered.
When the filling in is half done, it may be gently trodden
down with the foot, so as to give the tree a firmer hold of
the ground. In advanced spring planting, a pail of water
might be given to each tree when the earth is filled partly
in; at other times it is unnecessary, if not injurious.
11th. Staking—Where the trees are large, or the situa-
tion is exposed, either one or twostakes should be planted
with each tree, to which it must be kept fastened for the
first season, until the roots have fixed themselves in the
ground. A proper provision must be made to prevent the
tree from rubbing or chafing against the stake. When
two stakes are used it may be fastened to each in such a
way as not to rub against either.
12th. Mulching. This,should be looked upon as an
TUE ORCHARD. Tiz
indispensable operation in all cases. It consists in laying
on the surface of the ground, around the trees, to the dis-
tance of three feet or so, a covering of half decomposed
manure, saw dust, spent tan-bark, &c., two or three inches
deep. This prevents the moisture of the soil from evapo-
rating, and maintains a uniformity of heat and moisture
which is highly favorable to the formation of new roots.
It also prevents the growth of weeds around the tree, and
obviates the necessity of hoeing, dressing, or watering,
during the season. We frequently practise it among nur-
sery rows of late spring-planted trees with great advan-
tage. A deep mulching should always be given to fall-
planted trees to prevent the frost from penetrating to the
roots or drawing up the tree.
13th. After-management of Orchard Trees.—This con-
sists in the cultivation of the soil among the trees, and
pruning them to regulate their growth. For the first five
or six years after planting, the ground among orchard
trees may be advantageously cropped with potatoes, ruta-
bagas, or sugar beets. The manuring and culture that
these roots require, keep the soil in good condition, and
will assist in defraying the expenses of the orchard.
Grain crops should never be planted among trees, as they
deprive them of air to a very injurious extent. If no
root crops are cultivated, the ground should be kept clean
and mellow with the one horse plough and cultivator, the
same as recommended for nursery culture. Every third
or fourth year, the trees should receive a dressing of well-
decomposed manure or compost adapted to the wants of
the soil and the tree, worked in around the roots with the
forked spade. This should always be done in the fall.
Dwarf apples and pears require more frequent and libe-
ral manuring than standards, because their roots occupy a
limited space; their heads are large compared with the
roots, and they bear exhausting crops. Whoever has a
ox
=
178 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
large plantation of these trees, should be well provided
with heaps of compost a year old, and give each tree a
peck to half a bushel before the setting in of winter
every year. This will maintain their vigor, and ensure
large and regular crops of fine fruit. Directions for
pruning and forming the heads of standard trees, will be
treated of under the general head of pruning.
Sxction 3.—Tue Fruir GARDEN.
The fruit garden is a plantation of fruit trees intended
to supply the family with fruit. In some cases, where a
large supply of fruit is wanted, and the proprietor has
land and means to warrant it, a certain portion of ground
is wholly devoted to it; and in others, it forms a separate
compartment of the kitchen garden, or is mixed with it—
the fruit trees occupying the borders or outsides of the
compartments, and the culinary vegetables the interior.
The latter is most general, in this country, at the present
time. In a country like ours, so well adapted to fruit
culture, where almost every citizen of every rank and
calling not only occupies but owns a garden, and, as a
general thing, possesses sufficient means to enable him to
devote it to the culture of the higher and better class of
garden productions, the fruit garden is destined to be,
if it is not already, an object of great importance. In
the old countries of Europe, the rich alone, or those com-
paratively so, are permitted to enjoy such luxury; for
land is so dear that working people are unable to pur-
chase it, and if they are, they are either unable to stock
it with trees, or their necessities compel them to devote it
to the production of the coarsest articles of vegetable
food that can be produced in the greatest bulk. It is not
so in America. Here every industrious man, at the age
of five-and-twenty, whatever may be his pursuits, may,
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 179
if he choose, be the proprietor of a garden of some ex-
tent, and possess sufficient means to stock it with the
finest fruits of the land.
The present actual state of the population gives abun-
dant evidence of this happy and prosperous condition.
Let us look at our cities and villages. In Rochester,
excepting a narrow circle in its very centre, every house
has its garden, varying in extent from twenty-five by one
hundred feet to an acre of ground; and not one of these
but is nearly filled with fruit trees; and so itis, but on a
larger scale, in all the villages of western New York—a
section of country in which the first white man’s settle-
ment can scarcely date back over fifty years. Aside
from the beneficial results to individual and public health
and prosperity from this general union of the fruit garden
and the dwelling, it cannot fail to exercise a softening
and refining influence on the tastes, habits, and manners
of the people, and greatly strengthen their love of home
and country.
The great thing wanting at this moment, is a knowledge
of the correct method of planting and managing fruit
gardens. We cannot pass along the streets a rod, where
there is a garden, without seeing and feeling that three
fourths of the profit and pleasure which gardens might
afford, are sacrificed to bad management, arising, in the
main, from ignorance of the proper modes of culture
adapted to such limited grounds; and it is hoped that the
suggestions and plans offered in the following detail of
fruit garden management, may afford at least a portion
of the information wanted.
The formation of a fruit garden requires a consideration
of the soil, setuation, enclosures, laying out, selection of
trees, selection of varieties, and planting.
Ist. Zhe Situation.—This is generally governed by the
particular circumstances of the proprietor, those only
180 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
who build with reference to the location of the garden, or
who have a large domain at their disposal, having an
opportunity of selection to-any considerable extent. Per.
sons who live in cities and villages, have to make the
best of their situation. As it is, if it be exposed, they can
only give it protection by lofty enclosures, that will break
the force of the winds. The aspect they cannot alter, and
iust adapt other circumstances to it. Those who can
should select a situation conyenient enough to the dwell-
ing, to render it at all times easy of access, in order to
save time and labor in going to and from it. It should
also be sheltered from the north and west winds. The
former are destructive to the blossoms in spring, and the
latter frequently blow off the fruit before its maturity.
In sections of the country subject to late spring frosts, an
elevated situation is to be preferred, as in the case of
orchards. A full eastern or southern aspect should be
avoided, because in them the sun’s rays strike the trees
while the frost is upon them, and produce injuries that
would be avoided in other aspects. Where artificial
shelter is required, a belt of rapid-growing trees, com-
posed of evergreens and deciduous trees mixed, shouid be
planted on the exposed side, but at such a distance as to
obviate any difficulty that might arise from the injurious
effects of shade, or from the roots entering the garden.
Such a belt of trees might, at the same time, be made to
impart a pleasing and highly ornamental appearance to
the grounds.
2d. The Soil is a most important consideration. As in
a garden a general collection of all the fruits is to be
grown, and that in the highest state of perfection, the soil
should be of that character in its texture, depth, and
quality, best adapted to general purposes. It should not
only be suitable for the apple and the pear, but for the
peach, the cherry, and the plum—a good, deep, friable
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 181
loam, with a gravelly clay subsoil, and entirely free from
stagnant moisture. In this country, our warm summers,
and frequent, protracted droughts, render a deep soil for a
garden absolutely necessary. Z'wo feet is little enough,
and three would be still better.. The means for deepening,
drying, improving, and changing the character of soils
have been already pointed out under the general head of
soils, and need not be repeated here. Suffice it to say,
that it will always be found true economy to be liberal in
the first preparation of the soil; for after a garden is laid
out and permanently planted, improvements are always
made with greater difficulty and expense.
Enclosures.—The cheapest and most ordinary kind of
enclosure for gardens in this country, is the tight board
fence, and the picket or paling fence. The former should
be made of stout cedar posts, set at six feet apart, and
three or four feet in the ground, the ends being previously
charred to increase their durability, connected in the mid-
dle and on the top with cross-bars or rails which may be
two by four inches. The boards should be well seasoned,
matched, and securely nailed to the cross-bars. Where the
fence is required to be higher than the posts, the boards
can extend above the top rail two, three, or even four
feet, if necessary. The picket or paling fence is made in
the same way, as far as the framework, posts, and cross-
bars go; but, instead of matched boards, pickets, from
three to six inches wide, and pointed on the top, are used,
and a space of two inches left between each. Where the
proprietor can afford the expense of a brick or stone wall,
it will prove the most permanent, and, in the end, the
cheapest enclosure. The height of the fence or wall
depends somewhat on the extent of the garden. In ordi-
nary cases, eight or ten feet is the proper height, but when
the garden is very small, five or six feet is enough; and
182 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
the open paling will be preferable except on the north
side, to the tight board fence, as it offers less obstruction
to the air and light. A high fence around a very small
garden, besides being injurious to vegetation in it, looks
quite out of character, giving to it the appearance of a
huge box. Live hedges, as recommended for orchards,
might be employed around country gardens of considera-
ble extent, say an acre or upwards, but they require to be
kept in the neatest possible condition.
Trellises —In England, and other parts of Europe,
where the summer temperature is not so high as it is here,
espalier trees are trained directly on the garden walls or
fence; but our hot sun renders this unsafe, except in the
case of the grape, or on the north sides of the walls. The
sun strikes the south side of a fence with such force that
the foliage in contact with it is burned. It is therefore
necessary, where the walls or fences are to be occupied
with espaliers, to erect suitable trellises at the distance of
six to twelve inches from them, on which to train the trees ;
the form of these differs according to the nature of the sub-
ject to be trained. They are generally made of upright
and cross bars, of inch boards three inches wide, placed
within six to twelve inches of each other, according to the
growth of the species; the larger the foliage and the
longer the shoots, the greater may be the distances; thus,
the grape twelve inches, and the peach eight. Sometimes
they are constructed of wooden bars and wire rods alter-
nately; these answer a good purpose for the grape, as it
fixes itself to the wires by the tendrils. The trellis is fast-
ened to the wall by iron hooks, and should stand a little
farther from it at the bottom than at the top, for the pur-
pose of giving the tree a better exposure to the sun, rain,
&e. Fruits are grown so successfully in this country in
the open ground that walls or trellises are seldom used,
THE FRUIT GARDEN. c: Tes
except to economize space. In the north, however, where
the more tender fruits do not succeed in the open ground,
walls may be advantageously employed, as the trees
trained on them are easily protected both from winter and
spring frosts.
Laying out the Fruit Garden—This is the arrange-
ment or distribution of the ground into suitable plots or
compartments, necessary walks, etc. The mode of doing
this depends on the size of the garden, and the manner in
which it is to be planted. I ruit gardens, properly speak-
ing, are such as are wholly devoted to fruits; but a very
common form, as has been already observed, is the mixed
garden, where a portion only is devoted to fruits, and
the remainder to culinary vegetables. We will first con-
sider
The Fruit Garden proper—tIn all fruit gardens the
number of walks should be no greater than is absolutely
necessary for convenience. In small places the better
plan appears to be, to carry the principal walk around
the cutside, leaving as much as possible of the interior,
where air and light are enjoyed to the greatest extent, for
the trees. A border should be left between the fence and
the walk, of sufficient width for the trees to be trained on
the fence trellis. If appearances were to be strictly ob-
served, this border should be as wide as the fence is high,
but as a general thing five to six feet will be sufficient ;
and where ground is limited, appearance must in many
cases be sacrificed to economy. Where the work is all
performed by manual labor, the walks need not be more
than five to six feet wide, as that admits of the passage of
a wheelbarrow ; and this is all that is required.
Fig. 98 is a design for a very small garden fifty feet by
one hundred. A is the entrance gate, four feet wide;
B, B, a walk five feet wide; C, C, fence border, six feet
184
PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
wde. The rows of trees are eight feet apart. The py-
yw © ©
alll
>
e
a
Es
E
3
Bs
x
Ci
=oc
[aaa oa a |
Fia. 89.
ramidal pears
and cherries,
Nos.) 1, 2.5%
and 4, at seven
feet apart -in
the row. Nos. 5
and 6, dwarf ap-
ples, at four feet
apart. No.
pyramidal or
dwarf standard
plums, at seven
feet. Nos. 8,
9, and 10, low
standard peach-
es, at ten feet
apart, the out-
side ones four
feet from the
walk. Nos. 11,
12, 13, and 14,
low standard
quinees, etc.
Nos.15, 160%
18, 19, and 20,
espaliers, apri-
cots, grapes,etc.
One border is
filled with gooseberries and currants, the other can be
occupied with raspberries and strawberries. This ar-
rangement gives in this little garden twenty pyramidal
trees, thirteen standards, twelve dwarfs, six espaliers,
besides space enough for two dozen currants, two dozen
gooseberries, two dozen raspberries, etc. For several years
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 185
afew strawberries and low vegetables, such as lettuce,
radishes, beets, carrots, turnips, or even dwarf peas, may
be grown in the spaces among the trees, but in no case to
be permitted nearer than within three feet of the tree.
A walk through the centre would be necessary, and
this should be ten feet wide, and there should be a turn-
ing place left at the end opposite the entrance. +
The mixed, or fruit and kitchen garden, is laid out in a
similar manner; the trees are planted in rows on a bor-
der six to ten feet wide, according to the size of the trees,
along the walks, leaving the interior of the compartments
for vegetables. This arrangement is a very common one,
and generally answers a very good purpose; but where
it is practicable, it is much better to devote a separate por-
tion exclusively to fruit, in order that the one may not in
any way interfere with the other. In such a garden, the
number of the walks, and consequently fruit borders,
will depend upon the proportion of the ground intended
to be allotted to fruit, and this again will be regulated by
the means, tastes, and demands of the family: -
Fig. 99 (see frontispiece) is the plan of a mixed fruit
and kitchen garden, one hundred and fifty feet wide by
two hundred long, being one hundred and ten square rods,
somewhat less than three quarters of an acre. The de-
sign is to have two tree borders exclusive of the outside
or fence border. The centre main walk from A to ( is
ten feet wide. That crossing it in the centre six feet
wide. The small walk next the fence border four feet
wide, and that between the two tree borders five feet. The
fence border is six feet wide, and may be planted with
espalier trees, vines, etc., besides currants, raspberries,
strawberries, or anything of low growth, not requiring the
fullest exposure. The tree borders are all eight feet wide,
except the dwarf apple border, which is only six. The
outside border is planted on the two sides with low stand-
186 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
ard peaches, apricots, plums, quinces, etc., at twelve feet
apart, and the two ends with pyramids at eight feet.
The inside borders are planted with pyramids and
dwarfs, the former at eight, and the latter at six feet
apart. -A,is the entrance; , well orcistern; C,aspace
to turn a horse and cart upon. This arrangement gives
thirty standard trees, eighty-three pyramids, and forty
dwarfs, leaving clear the outside border over six hundred
and sixty feet long and six wide, and the four interior
compartments each about thirty by sixty feet. In crop-
ping the latter with vegetables, they may be divided as
in the design into narrow beds three or four feet wide,
separated by paths eighteen inches wide.
Walks in the Fruit Garden.—The number of these, as
has been remarked, should be simply sufficient for con-
ducting the operations of gardening with convenience ;
this being provided for, the fewer the better. Where
horse labor is employed, the main walk, either through
the centre or around the sides, should be nine or ten feet
wide. Where manual labor alone is employed, as in
small gardens, five or six feet will be sufficient, and even
four feet, as that admits of the passage of a wheel-barrow.
Between each compartment, or line of trees, there should
also be a path two or three feet wide, as a passage for the
gardener or workmen, and others who may desire to
inspect the trees. Where the expense can be afforded,
the mains walk should be gravelled so as to be dry and
comfortable at all seasons and in every state of the wea-
ther; for it is presumed that every man who has a fruit
garden, worthy of the name, will wish to visit it almost
daily, and so will the members of his family and his
friends whovisit him. The labor and expense of making
a walk depends upon the nature of the soil. If dry,
with a porous subsoil, absorbing water rapidly, six
inches of good pit gravel, slightly rounded on the tup,
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 187
will be sufficient. If the soil be damp, and the subsoil
. compact, it will be necessary to remove the earth to the
depth of a foot in the centre, and rising towards the sides,
so that the excavation will resemble a semicircle ; this is
filled with small stones and a few inches of good pit gravel
on the top. This makes a walk dry at all times. We
often see very comfortable and neat looking walks, made
of spent bark from the tannery; six inches deep of this
will last two or three years, and no excavation is neces-
sary in any kind of soil. It is not to be supposed that so
great expense will be incurred, in any case, in the forma-
tion of the walks of a fruit or kitchen garden, as those of
a pleasure ground or flower garden, and, therefore, it is
unnecessary to suggest either costly modes or materials.
The chief point is to secure dry, comfortable walking,
without introducing any material that will produce a
decidedly unpleasant contrast with vegetation. This can
all be accomplished by the cheap and simple means
referred to, and others that may suggest themselves.
The main walks alone should be gravelled; the smaller
alleys or paths between the different lines of trees or com-
partments of the garden are principally for the use of the
workmen. In very small gardens, where it is important
to economize the ground, the spaces devoted to the walks
may be of plank raised up on pillars or blocks a foot from
the ground; the roots of trees can then penetrate the ground
below the walk as well as the border, and scarce any
ground will be lost.
Water—A supply of water in the garden is a most
important consideration in our warm, dry, sunny climate.
Good crops of culinary vegetables cannot be secured in
many seasons without a liberal application of water, and
fruit trees are greatly benefited by frequent showering,
especially in dry weather. It refreshes them and drives
away insects. A good well or cistern should therefore
188 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
be provided in every garden, and be situated as near the
centre as possible, to be convenient to all parts.
SELECTION OF TREES.
Ist. Their Lorm. ols start upon the principle that, in
all cases, tall standard trees, such as are usually planta
in orchards, are totally unfit for the garden. This is the
one great aii universal defect in American fruit garden-
ing. The trees for a fruit garden should be all either
dwarf standards, with trunks two to three feet high,
pyramids, branched from the ground, or bushes with
stems six to twelve inches high. Trees in these forms
are, in the first place, in keeping with the limited extent
of the garden, and convey at first sight the idea of jiiness.
In the second place, they give a great variety on a small
space, for three or four such trees will not occupy more
space than one standard. In the third place, they are in
a convenient form for management, they are easily pruned
or protected, and the fruit is easily gathered and less
likely to be blown off than on tall trees. In the fourth
place, they bear several years sooner than standards,
especially pears and apples.
Among the forms mentioned, the pyramid is certainly
the most beautiful; and in the best fruit gardening
regions of Europe, where almost every conceivable form
of tree has been tried, it is to-day the most popular,
because it has proved the most advantageous and success-
ful. The apple for pyramids should be on the Doucain
stock. Certain varieties, such as the Hawthorndean, Kes-
wick Codlin, Summer Rose, Duchess of Oldenburg, and
many other moderate growers and early bearers, will
make good pyramids on free stocks, but they will require
more summer pruning and careful management to keep
their vigor under check than they would on the Doucain,
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 189
But apples for the fruit garden, even on the Doucain,
should be such as naturally make small trees and are
inclined to early bearing. In these respects it is very
well known there is a wide difference between varieties.
Those mentioned above, and others similar in character,
frequently bear, on free stocks in the nursery rows, at the
age of three or four years from the bud, whilst others do
not bear until eight or ten years old. This is a point that
should always be looked into in selecting garden trees, for
it is the natural and proper desire of every one who
plants a tree in the garden to obtain fruit from it as early
as possible.
The Apple for Dwarfs.——The apple, worked on the
paradise, makes a beautiful little dwarf bush. We know
of nothing more interesting in the fruit garden than a row,
or a little square, of these miniature apple trees (fig. 100),
either in blossom or in
fruit. Those who have
not seen them, may
imagine an apple tree,
four feet high, and the
same in width, of
branches covered with
blossoms in the spring;
or loaded with magni-
ficent golden and crim-
son fruit in the autumn.
They begin to bear the
third year from the bud,
and the same variety is Fia. 109.
always larger and finer i et as
on them than on standards. We had Red Astracans on
paradise the past season, that measured eleven inches in
circumference. The French plant a square or compart-
ment of these in the kitchen or fruit garden, as they do
190 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
gooseberries and currants, six feet apart, and call it the
‘* Normandie; they also alternate them with pyramidal
pear trees in rows; and in some of the best mixed kitchen
and fruit gardens, two dwarf apples are planted between
two pyramidal pears, thus giving double the number of
them as of the pears in a border or row. In small gar-
dens the apple should not be admitted under any other
form, and even to a limited extent in that, for it is the
great fruit of the orchard, and in nearly all parts of this
country they are extensively grown, and can be purchased
at very moderate rates.
The Pear, as a Pyramid (fig. 101).—The pear is emi-
or
\\ (F my 4 od
AG ZO AN XN ‘J Line
SS
N ES SSW “ y
SNS 1h (SED EN
~ gs {ANN
——
Fic, 101.
SSS
SSS ee
Pyramidal pear tree, 7 feet high—4 feet wide at the
base.
nently the tree for
the pyramidal form,
either on the free
stock, or on the
quince ; on the latter,
however, the trees
bear much earlier,
are more prolific,
more manageable,
and consequently
preferable for small
gardens. On the pear
stock they require
constant summer
pruning and pinch-
ing, and in some
cases, root pruning,
to subdue the natu-
ral vigor,and induce
early _ fruitfulness.
Certain varieties,
however, do not suc-
ceed on the quince,
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 191
but the majority of melting varieties do, and produce larger
and finer fruit on it than on the free stock. The tardiness
of bearing of the pear tree, when grown in the ordinary
standard form on pear stock, has, more than any other
cause, retarded its general cultivation. No better proof
of this can be adduced than the general partiality now
shown for trees on quince stocks, that bear at the age of
three or four years. The introduction of these trees, a
few years ago, was really the first thing that gave a general
impulse to pear tree planting. With most people, it is a
very important thing to obtain fruit in two or three years,
instead of waiting eight or ten. The best management of
trees on free stocks, cannot bring them into a bearing state
short of six or seven years, unless it be some remarkably
precocious variety. People, therefore, who wish pear
trees for pyramids that are easily managed, and will bear
early, will select them on quince stocks, in case the va-
rieties they wish to cultivate have been proved to succeed
well on it.
The Pear in the dwarf standard form, as in the
pyramidal, is much easier managed, and bears much
earlier on the quince than on the pear; indeed, these trees
are as easily managed as a standard apple tree. There
are some dwarf standards on the quince in our grounds
here, and in gardens in this city, that are now eight years
old, and about seven to eight feet high, with trunks from
two to three feet, heads four to five feet high, and three
or four feet in width, that have borne regular and heavy
crops for the last four or five years, without any other care
than thinning out superfluous wood. Zhe Cherry is as
easily managed in the pyramidal form as the pear, not
only the free-growing sorts, Hearts and Bigurreaus, but
the Dukes and Morellos; the latter, however, are less
vigorous, and more easily managed. All should be
worked on the mahaleb stock; this has the same effect on
192 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
the cherry, to a certain extent, as the quince has on the
pear. After the second or third year’s growth, it subdues
their vigor, and induces fruitfulness. We have a collec-
tion of upwards of thirty varieties, of four to five years
old, that are now fine pyramids, from five to eight feet
high, and they have all borne since the third year, and we
find them quite as easily managed as the pear. The
Dukes and Morellos should be chosen, where very small
trees are desir-
able, as they can
be grown. in
bushes like the
apple on the pa-
radise stock, at
five feet apart.
Pig. £02." 3s
the portrait of a
dwarf Florence
cherry tree,
given by Mr.
Rivers, in his
Miniature Fruit i
Garden, only - _
two years old, a =
bearing fruit.
Our dwarfs fre-
quently bear the
third year.
The Plum as a Pyramid.—The plum has rarely been
cultivated as a pyramid, but recent experiments prove
that it is quite susceptible of that form under proper
management. It should be worked on a stock calculated
to subdue its natural vigor. The native or Canada plum
answers a good purpose, the mirobalalan or cherry plum,
¥ Nt f .
oy in |
et in : N 4;
i Wie
» a 6 | |
ih My :
ay
Fie. 102.
Dwarf cherry, two years from bud, bearing.
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 193
and the sloe (prunus spinosa) dwarf it, to a still greater
extent. Summer pruning and pinching, as well as occa-
sional root pruning, are all necessary to check the vigor
of most kinds, and keep them in suitable dimensions for
small gardens where it is necessary to plant them close.
The Plum as a Dwarf Standard—Besides the pyra-
mid, this is the only form in which the plum should be
admitted in the garden. The dwarf standard, with a
trunk two or three feet in height, and a symmetrical
round head, is a very pretty and appropriate form, and
requires less skill and care in the management than the
pyramid, and by proper management the trees require
but little if any more space.
The Peach—TVhe best garden form for the peach is
that of the dwarf standard, with a trunk eighteen inches
to two feet. With proper management, which will here-
after be described, this form is easily conducted, even
when the trees are on peach stocks. The plum stock, and
especially the sorts recommended for dwarf plums, gives
trees that are less vigorous and more easily kept in a
small space. In nearly all parts of our country the
fruit ripens perfectly in the open ground, so that espalier
training, as has been remarked, is seldom practised,
unless to save ground; or in northern localities, where
protection of the buds during winter, or of the blossoms
in the spring, is necessary. In such cases alone are
espaliers to be recommended, as they require much greater
care in pruning and training than in any other form.
Espalier trees are of various forms, but the fan, as it is
termed, is the best adapted to the peach. It consists of
two main branches or divisions of the stem, spread out in
the form of a V; each of these bears a certain number,
as many as may be necessary to fill the trellis, of second-
ary branches, and these furnish the bearing wood. The
9
194 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
production and management of this and other espalier
forms, will be treated fully under the head of pruning
and training.
The Apricot and Nectarine—The remarks applied to
the peach apply with equal force to both these trees ; they
succeed equally well as low standards, or as espaliers.
The apricot is more generally grown in this form than
any other tree, because its early blossoms are so easily
protected, and the curculio does not appear to be so
troublesome to it as in the standard form.
The Quince, in the garden, should either be a dwarf
bush, with a stem twelve to eighteen inches high, and a
compact, symmetrical head, or a pyramid. In the latter
form it 1s quite easily conducted, but requires more care,
of course, than as a bush, as the upper part of the tree
must be always kept subordinate to the lower, and this
requires a regular and constant attention.
The Lilbert—The remarks on the quince may be
applied with equal propriety to the filbert, as regards
form. The bush branched from the ground, and the low
standards with two feet stems, are the ordinary forms;
but in some of the French gardens it is conducted with
great success as a pyramid.
These are the principal trees of which it is necessary
to speak in regard to form. Other species will be referred
to under the head of pruning. Having now pointed out
the most eligible forms for garden trees, and their respec-
tive advantages, planters will be able to make a choice
adapted to their tastes and circumstances. Those who do
not employ a professional gardener, and who have but a
small portion of spare time to devote to their garden,
should by all means adopt such forms for their trees as
require the least skill and labor, provided always that it
be appropriate to the size of the garden, and consistent
with good management.
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 195
The next point to be considered is,
The Age of the Trees.—This will depend very much on cir-
cumstances. Jor pyramidal trees it is yet difficult, almost
impossible, to obtain in the nurseries specimens of more
than one year’s growth that are suitable. The yearlings
are never sufficiently cut back, nor the branches of the
second and third year so managed as to have the requisite
proportion of length and vigor to fit them for being mould-
ed, with any ordinary treatment, into a perfectly pyramidal
form. If suitable trees cannot be found of two or three
years from the bud or graft, vigorous yearlings, worked
at the ground, should be chosen, as they are in a condition
to take easily any required form; and though fruit may
not be so soon obtained from them, yet they will in the
end be much more satisfactory ; for, unless a right begin-
ning be made in the training of a tree in any form more
or less artificial, no art can afterwards completely correct
the errors. If we take a two or three year old tree, man-
aged in the nursery, as usual, with a naked trunk two to
two and a half feet from the ground, and a branching
head, or what is nearly as bad, a few weak side branches
below, overrun with strong ones above, the most severe
process will be necessary, in order to produce lateral
branches in the proper place; and thus, as much time
will be lost as would bring forward a yearling, and the
tree will not be so perfectly formed, so healthy, nor in any
respect so satisfactory. The general impatience that exists
in regard to the growth and bearing of trees is the great
cause of this defective character when taken from the nur-
sery. The nurseryman is averse to cutting back his trees,
as they lose a year in height, and planters or purchasers
are not generally discriminating enough to be willing to
pay him a proportionate price. He finds tall trees more
attractive. When planters do get these trees, they cannot
be persuaded to cut them down; they wish to obtain
196 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
fruit as soon as possible, and therefore the tree is allowed
to proceed in the defective form it assumed at the nur-
sery.
For Dwarfs and Dwarf Standards, it is less difficult to
obtain the right sort of trees, for this is the form that nur-
sery trees that have not been cut back, ordinarily assume.
Those, therefore, who prefer such trees can always be sup-
plied with them well advanced, even in a bearing state if
so desired. As in the pyramid, however, persons who
intend to make models of their trees, will do well to pro-
cure yearlings worked at the surface of the ground, for on
them heads or lateral branches can be formed without any
difficulty at any desired point between the collar and ter-
minal bud. Another consideration is worthy of note on
this point. There is a much greater risk in removing
three or four year old trees than yearlings, and they are
more difficult and expensive to pack and transport. The
yearling is easily removed and easily transported, and its
growth is comparatively unaffected by the change. The
gardeners most famous for their handsome, well managed
fruit trees, invariably select yearling trees, that is, trees
that have made one year’s growth from the bud or graft.
Selection of Varieties—The selection of varieties of
fruits for a fruit garden should be made in view of all the
circumstances that can affect their usefulness. They
should be adapted to the soil, and more particularly to the
climate. It is well known that in every section of the
country, certain varieties seem to succeed remarkably
well, whilst others, of the greatest excellence elsewhere,
entirely fail. Our country is so extensive and embraces
such a variety of climate that it is impossible that the
same varieties should succeed equally well in all parts;
and planters should consider this well. Those who have
had no experience in cultivation, nor a proper opportunity
for acquiring knowledge on this point, should consult oti-
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 197
ers. Any intelligent nurseryman who has a correspond-
ence with all parts of the country, and is thoroughly alive
to all the branches of his profession, and the results of
experience, can aid planters greatly in making appropriate
selections. It is true that the amount of knowledge col-
lected on this head is yet comparatively small, and quite
insufficient for a general guide, but it is every day accu-
mulating, and what there may be, is well worthy of atten-
tion. The experience of fruit growers, as elicited at recent
pomological conventions, has brought to light a multitude
of highly important facts, bearing on this very point.
These will be more particularly noted when we come to
the description of fruits.
Varieties should be adapted in their growth to the form
they are to be grown in, and to the extent of the Garden.—
For pyramidal trees, varieties should be chosen whose
habits of growth are regular or slightly spreading, the
branches assuming more of the horizontal than the
upright, and those disposed to branch low down should be
preferred to those of an opposite habit. Where the gar-
den is small, moderate or slow growers should be pre-
ferred to rapid and vigorous growers. They should also be
well adapted to the stock on which they are worked. This
is a very important point, but one on which only a few
persons in this country have yet acquired any considera-
ble amount of actual experience. Still, many important
facts have been gathered, and it becomes every planter to
avail himself of them. If he plants pears on quince stocks,
for instance, it is important to know that certain varieties
are much better on that stock than they are on the pear;
and that others fail, and are worthless on it.
The varieties should be adapted to the wants and wishes
of the planter—Those who plant fruit gardens have not
all the same objects in view. One man plants his garden
for profit, to supply his family with good fruits. This is
198 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
his main purpose. He should, therefore, select the very
best varieties, considering not the guality alone, but their
productiveness and other useful properties. Such a per-
son has no desire for a large collection, but looks merely
for an assortment that will yield a succession of ripe fruits
during the season. Another who regards the mere value
of the fruit dess than amusement, recreation, and experi-
ment, will make his collection as varied as possible.
Where any particular class of fruits can be had very
cheap in market, it should be planted sparingly in the
garden, so that such as may be scarce or dear can be
grown in larger quantities. It is only by taking all these
into account, that planters can hope to make their fruit
garden answer their particular views and purposes.
The planting of a fruit garden should be considered as
of equal importance, as far as the doing of it well is con-
cerned, with the building of a dwelling. This is constructed
with a view to the convenience of the family, and is,
therefore, in all its parts, supposed to be adapted to their
wants and mode of living. The fruit garden is intended,
also, to promote the comfort and convenience of the
family, and should, like the dwelling, in all respects be
as nearly as possible adapted to their wants and circum-
stances. Having now treated of the soil, enclosures,
trellises, walks, arrangement, selection of trees and varie-
ties, we proceed to the taking up of the trees and plant-
ing.
Taking up the Trees—Yhis has already been de-
scribed under the head of nursery operations, to which the
reader is referred.
Planting has been described under the head of plant-
ing the orchard ; and the operation being the same in
both cases, it need not be repeated.
The arrangement of the trees, however, is different,
and this point requires a special notice.
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 199
Ist. In regard to position.—Each class of trees, such as
pears, apples, cherries, ete., should be planted together in
the same rows or division, and if any difference exist on
the soil, each should be planted in that best adapted to it.
Thus, plums should have that most inclined to clay ; pears
and apples, the deepest and richest; cherries, peaches,
apricots, etc., the dryest and lightest.
Where the garden is large, the pyramids should be in
one compartment, the dwarf standards in another, and
the dwarf bushes in another; but where it is necessary
to economize and fill the ground to the best advantage,
the dwarf bushes may alternate advantageously with the
pyramids or dwarf standards, and this especially along
the walk borders. Varieties, too, of the same, or similar
habits of growth, should, if possible, be together. The
espalier trees should be placed so that the earliest blos-
soming kinds, such as the apricots, will be most secure
from the influence of spring frosts where these prevail.
The trellis facing the north will be the best for this pur-
pose; but where it is intended to protect them, the aspect
is of little account. In the north aspect, fruits are very
much retarded in their ripening; and this circumstance
may be turned to a good account to prolong the season
of some late cherries, currants, etc. We have seen fine
Morellos in perfection on a north wall here, in the month
of September.
The distance at which trees should be planted in the
garden.—This will not be the same in all cases; for in a
large garden it is not necessary to plant so close as in a
very small one, and in a very rich and deep soil, a
greater distance will be required than in a dry and light
soil. There is also a great difference in the growth of
varieties. Some might be planted at six feet apart, and
have as much space in proportion as others would at
eight. This shows that no rule, as regards distance, can
200 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
be observed in all cases, and this particularly in small gar-
dens, where advantage should be taken of every cireum-
stance. In large gardens an uniform distance may be
adopted, even if some space be sacrificed. The following
distances may serve as a general guide, and may be in-
creased or diminished according to circumstances :
DISTANCES IN THE OPEN GROUND.
Apples.—Pyramids on free stock, ten feet apart; do., on
Doucain, eight feet apart; do., dwarf standards on
Doucain, eight feet apart; do., dwarf bushes on
paradise, five to six feet apart.
Pears.—Pyramids on free stocks, ten to twelve feet apart;
do., on quince, six feet apart; do., dwarf standards on
quince, six to eight feet apart. ;
Plums.—Dwarf standards, eight to ten feet apart; do
pyramids, eight to ten feet apart.
Cherries.—Pyramids, hearts, and bigarreaus, eight to ten
feet apart; do., dukes and morellos, six to eight feet
apart; do., dwarf bushes of morellos, five to six feet
apart.
Apricots—Dwarf standard on plum, eight to ten feet
apart; do., pyramids, six to eight feet apart.
Peaches.—Low standards on peach, ten to twelve feet
apart ; do., on plum, eight to ten feet.
be}
Nectarines—Same as peaches.
Quinces.—Pyramids or bushes, six to eight feet apart.
Filberts, do., six to eight feet apart.
Gooseberries and Currants, four to five feet apart.
Laspherries, two to three feet apart.
Mr. Rivers gives the following distances in his “ Minia-
ture Fruit Garden.”
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 201
Pyramidal Pear Trees, on quince stocks, root pruned for
small gardens, four feet apart. The same, in larger
gardens, not root pruned, six feet apart.
Pyramidal Pear Trees, on the pear stock, root pruned,
six feet apart. The same roots, not pruned, eight to
ten feet—the latter if the soil be very rich.
fTlorizontal Espalier Pear Trees, on the quince stock for
rails or walls, fifteen feet apart.
Upright Expaliers, on the quince stock for rails or walls,
four to six feet apart.
Horizontal Espaliers, on the pear stock for rails or walls,
twenty to twenty-four feet apart.
Pyramidal Plum Trees, six feet apart.
Expalier Plum Trees, twenty feet apart.
Pyramidal Apple Trees, on the paradise stock, root-
pruned for small gardens, four feet apart. The same
roots not pruned, six feet apart.
Lisxpalier Apple Trees, on the paradise stock, fifteen feet
apart. The same, on the crab stock, twenty to
twenty-four feet apart.
Peaches and Nectarines for walls, twenty feet apart.
Apricots for walls, twenty-four feet apart.
Cherries, as bushes on the mahaleb stock, roots pruned for
small gardens, four feet apart. The same, roots not
pruned, six feet apart.
Espalier Cherry Trees, on the mahaleb, for rails or walls,
twelve to fifteen feet apart.
DISTANCE FOR ESPALIER TREES ON WALLS OR TRELLISES.
The distances between espalier trees must be regulated
not only by the growth of the species and variety, but by
the height of the wall or trellis. If these be low, a
greater length, of course, will be necessary than if high ;
for every tree must have a certain extent of surface to be
spread upon. Hence, if a trellis be only eight feet high,
Q*
902 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS.
nearly double the length, and, consequently, double the
distance between the trees will be required that would be
on a trellis fifteen or sixteen feet high. As a general
thing, peaches, apricots, or nectarines, on walls or trellises
eight or ten feet high, should be fifteen to twenty feet
apart, if on free stocks, and twelve to fifteen if dwarfed
on the plum. Cherries, ten to twelve feet. Our native
grapes, Isabella, Catawba, etc., at least thirty feet apart,
on an eight feet high trellis, as their rapid growth covers
a great space in a short time. Foreign varieties will not
require half this; indeed, the better way is, to keep
these trained to simple stakes, and planted in the border,
where their out-door culture is attempted. In this way
they are easily laid down and protected.
CHAPT UR It.
PRUNING APPLIED TO THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF
FRUIT TREES UNDER DIFFERENT FORMS.
Srotion 1.—Pruning THE APPLE AND THE PEAR.
TursE two trees belong to the same natural order, po-
macee, and to the same genus pyrus; their habits of
growth and bearing are similar, and they may therefore
be treated as regards their pruning, under the same
head.
If we take for example a shoot of last season (fig. 6), we
find it in the spring, before vegetation commences, fur-
nished on all its length with el buds ; when growth
commences, the terminal bud, and ab iably two or three
of the others nearest to it, produce shoots, the others to-
wards the middle produce small shoots that are in subse-
quent years transformed into fruit branches (like fig. 10).
Some do not push at all, but are converted into fruit
buds (as in figs. 7 and 8), whilst those at the base gene-
rally remain dormant, until excited into growth by close
pruning. All the buds on these trees have small incon-
spicuous buds at their base, which are capable of produc-
ing shoots when the principal bud is destroyed or injured,
and these buds render the fruit spurs so enduring. ns
young trees the fruit buds are many years in process of
formation, and in bearing trees three to four years, accord-
204 PRUNING.
ing to cireumstances. When the trees are not subjected
to pruning, the result of the mode of growth described is,
that the terminal buds grow and form one section upon
another, leaving the lower parts mainly destitute of bear-
ing wood, unless it be an occasional spur, the sap always
tending to the points.
1st. Standards.—The management of this form of trees
has been fully treated of in all our works on fruit culture,
and in all the agricultural and horticultural journals, so
that now it is pretty well understood, and especially by
those who give considerable attention to the subject of
fruit trees; it will not be necessary therefore to enter upon
much detail in regard to it.
A standard apple or pear tree for the orchard, when
taken from the nursery to be finally planted out, we will
suppose to have a straight, stout trunk, four to six feet
in height, as the case may be, and a head composed of a
certain number of shoots or branches, but generally shoots
of one year’s growth. At the time of planting, three or
four of these shoots should be selected to form the main
branches, or frame-work, on which to build the whole
head, and the remainder cut clean out; those reserved
should be cut back full one-half, and from the shoots pro-
duced on these at and below the cut, two of the strongest
are selected each on opposite sides, and the others are
rubbed off while they are soft. In selecting these shoots,
care must be taken to have them equally distant from one
another, and pointing in such directions as not to cross or
interfere.
During the first season these young shoots must be
watched and kept in a regular state of vigor. If any
threaten to become too vigorous, they must be pinched
and checked at once, so that perfect uniformity be pre-
served. This is the time to secure a well formed and
nicely balanced head. A very slight circumstance some-
THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 905
times throws the growth into one side or one branch of a
young tree, and produces a deformity from which it never
recovers. The trunk must be kept clear of all shoots, by
rubbing off such as appear at the earliest possible moment,
when it can be done without the use of a knife. Suppos-
ing we commenced the head with three branches at time
of planting, there will be at the end of the first season, six.
The attention required after this will be to maintain an
uniform growth among these six branches, and their mem-
bers and divisions, and to prevent the growth of shoots in
the centre. The leading defect in all our orchard trees is
ioo much wood, the heads are kept so dense with small
shoots that the sun and air are in a great measure ex-
cluded, and the fruit on the outside of the tree only is
marketable or fit for use. The head should be kept open,
rather in the form of a vase, so that the wood, leaves,
blossoms and fruit may all, on every part, enjoy the full
benefit of the sun and air, without which they cannot per--
form their functions, or maintain maturity and perfection.
Too many people imagine that trees
can take care of themselves, as trees in
the forest, on the ground that nature
preserves a balance inall her works; but
it should be borne in mind that a fruit ?~ Nig
tree is not-exactly a natural production. MV for
It is far removed from the natural state Va
by culture, and the farther it is removed,
that is, the more its nature is refined
and improved, the more care it requires.
Fig. 103 represents a young standard
pear tree, stem four feet high, and the cece
head twice cut back, as at the letters a as J
ad A young standard pear
an : tree, trunk 4 feet high,
Pinching.—\f this be properly at- head formed on three main
branches, twice pruned as
tended to, very little knife pruning will at a ana
206 PRUNING.
be necessary, except to shorten the leading shoots, because
as soon as a superfluous or misplaced shoot appears, it is
rubbed off, and when one becomes too vigorous, it is
pinched and checked; the great advantage of pinching is,
that Ist., It economizes the sap of the tree. That which
would be expended on superfluous shoots is turned to the
benefit of the parts reserved, and thus the growth is greatly
promoted.
2d. All wounds necessarily inflicted, where knife prun-
ing is depended on, are completely avoided. These facts
should be remembered. Standard apples and pears are
not generally pruned with a view to hastening their bear-
ing, but are allowed to arrive at that state in their natu-
ral way. In the case of tardy bearing sorts, however, it
may be desirable to apply artificial means, and these will
be pointed out in treating of dwarfs and pyramids
hereafter.
Dwarf Standards.—These are similar to standards,
except that the trunks are low, not over two or three feet
in height, and the head is retained in a smaller space.
Their management is always much easier when the stocks
are such as to dwarf or restrain the growth. Thus,
apples on the paradise or Doucain, and pears on the
guince. The main branches or frame-work of the head,
are produced by cutting back the three or four branches
that form the head of the tree as it comes from the
nursery, in the same manner as recommended for stand-
ards.
The jirst season, all superfluous productions are rubbed
off, and a balance maintained among the shoots by pinch-
ing. |
The second year, in the winter or spring, the shoots of
last season are shortened, say one half, as a general thing.
This induces the development of the buds on their whole
parts. The cut is made at a good, plump bud, capable
“
THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 207
of producing a vigorous shoot; and this is selected to
prolong the branch. If one or two secondary branches
are needed to fill up a space, those next the leader, if
properly situated to fill the space, are chosen, and all be-
low them are pinched when about two or three inches
long, in order to check the production of wood where it
is not wanted, and to convert them into fruit branches or
spurs. The growth of all the main and_ secondary
branches is regulated and balanced by pinching; and if
the pinched shoots intended for fruit spurs start again
into growth, they must be again pinched.
The third season the shoots of the previous year are cut
back as before, say to four, five, or six eyes, according to
their strength. One shoot is chosen to continue the pro-
longment of the branch, and the others are pinched in
season to convert them into fruit spurs. Thus the tree is
conducted from year to year, until it has attained the full
size required. In this way the trees commence bearing
quite young, and every branch is furnished in all its
length with fruit spurs.
Pyramids—Under the head of “the selection of
trees,” it has been recommended to obtain thrifty year-
ling trees in preference to older ones not properly man-
aged. We will, therefore, begin with the yearling tree,
and although the management of this the first year after
cutting back has been given in the nursery, it may be
well to repeat it here, to save the reader the trouble of
referring back.
Objects of cutting back—The object in doing this is to
produce branches near the stock that will form the base
of the future pyramid. If left entire, the tendency of
the sap to the extremities would produce shoots there
only, leaving a naked space entirely inconsistent with the
form in view. We, therefore, reduce the stem to such an
extent, that but a small number of buds is left on it,
208 PRUNING.
and the sap acting on these with great force causes their
development.
How far to cut back.—It is obvious that this must de-
pend on the character of the subject. In yearling plants,
both of the pear and apple, there is presented a great
difference in different varieties. Some invariably pro-
duce lateral branches the first season. The buds are so
perfectly developed, that when the second growth takes
place in midsummer, they break and form branches, in
some cases as much as a foot long, and in others only a
few inches. Then among the varieties which do not thus
produce side branches in the second growth, there is a
great difference in the plumpness and prominence of the
buds. In some they are larger, and stand out boldly
from the wood on the whole length of the stem, appa-
rently ready to push under the least excitement. In
others they are small, le flat to the wood, and have
every appearance of being difficult to excite into growth,
and especially those towards the base. It should always
be borne in mind that it is better to cut too low than not
low enough. ‘The difficulty of cutting too low is, that the
shoots produced are nearly all of equal length, and a
certain number of them require to be checked to give
ach one its proper dimensions. The difficulty of not
cutting low enough is, that where we should have
branches at the base we have none, or, if any, they are
smaller, instead of larger, than those above them. The
remedy in this case is more difficult than the other. The
vigorous shoots at the summit must be checked, and
even the leading shoot, in order to throw back the sap
into the lower parts to act upon the buds there. The
error which produces such a difficulty, is very common,
as we know by experience, amongst persons not familiar
with the growth of young trees or the development of
the buds on their stems. It must be laid down as a
THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 209
general rule, that the more feeble the plant, and the
smaller and the more imperfectly developed the buds, the
lower tt ts necessary to cut.
The condition of the roots, too, must be taken into
account ; for where the roots are weak, broken, or injured,
and consequently unfit to yield to the stem any considera-
ble amount of nutriment, the buds will break with less
force, and a more severe retrenchment will be necessary.
All these circumstances must be considered.
For example, we will take a young pear tree
of one year’s growth from the bud, without
branches (fig. 104), which we will suppose to
be four feet, which is the ordinary average
height of yearlings. If the buds are full and
prominent on it, we cut to a good bud at
twenty inches from the stock ; but if the buds
are less prominent, cut to fifteen or eighteen
inches, and if very feeble, with small buds,
cut to within twelve inches, or five or six
buds of the stock. If the roots have been Fig. 104.
injured much, and the stem somewhat dried |“ yedtling pets
or shrivelled, it should be cut to within three ches. The cross-
or four buds of the base. These different (" so a
cases are mentioned because it frequently cutting back.
happens that persons who live at a great distance from
nurseries, find their trees frequently, on their arrival, in
the condition described, and it is necessary that a course
of treatment for them should be indicated. The bud cut
to, should, if possible, be one of the best on the stem, and
be on the side of the tree opposite that in which the bud
was inserted, so as to continue the stem in a straight line.
It is a great advantage to have a tree well established
in the ground, before cutting it back to produce the first
branches to form the pyramid ; because, in that condition,
it is capable of producing vigorous shoots the first season.
210 PRUNING.
It is on this account that a young tree, cut back in the nur-
sery, presents a much more perfect form at the end of the
second year, than those that have been transplanted.
Some of the French cultivators advise to defer the cutting
back for the formation of the permanent branches, till the
plant has stood one year after transplanting; but the course
is attended with many difficulties, and on the whole it is
better to cut back when the tree is planted, even if we
obtain but a moderate growth, for the older the buds are
on the lower parts of the tree, the more obstinate and
unmanageable they are.
Pruning the Branched Yearling—Among trees of this
kind, some have branches a foot or more in length, while
in others they resemble short, stiff spurs, two to four inches
long. These two characters require different modes of
treatment. Where’there are branches of sufficient force
and properly situated to form the first series of main
branches, they must be treated in the same manner as
though the tree were two years old. The
strongest and best situated are selected and
pruned to within four to six inches of their
base, according to their vigor and position ;
the lowest should be not more than six inches
from the stock. The small, feeble, superfiuous
ones are entirely removed ; the leading shoot,
which, in such cases, is short and provided
with plump buds, does not require a heavy
shortening ; in most cases one half will be
quite sufficient. Fig. 105 represents a tree
of this kind; the cross-lines indicate the cuts.
Fig. 105.
Yearling peartree Where the lateral branches are short and
with branches, the sour-like, they will require very careful treat-
pruning indicated
by the spaces. ment; the strongest and best placed are
reserved. If the lower ones have good terminal buds,
they are left entire; those above them are shortened, the
THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. oF1
lower to three, the next above to two, and the uppermost,
next the leading shoot, to one bud. This will give their
productions a proper relative degree of vigor. The leader
is cut back further than in the well branched subject,
because it is presumed the buds are less excitable. Asa
general thing, within four to six buds of the highest lateral,
or one half of its length.
There is another class of trees necessary to be noticed
here, because they are very common—two year old nur-
sery trees that have not been properly treated.
Fig. 106 represents a tree of this kind. A
few inches only of the top were taken off at
the commencement of the second year’s
growth; and after that it was left to itself.
Branches, therefore, were produced only at
the top, leaving a vacant space of two feet,
the very part that should have produced the
first set of main branches. The best disposi-
tion to make of such a tree would be to con-
duct it in the form of a dwarf standard, which |
it really is at present; but it happens that in
some cases it is desired to convert them into
pyramids, and therefore it is essential that the -
proper means be pointed out. Two yearold Fig. 106.
trees, like yearlings, differ materially in the ea oe
character of the buds on the lower part of the back far enough
stem. On some, these are quite prominent, 80 ie ceont sean
the second prun-
much so as to appear to have made some ad- ing, to produce
i 3 branches below, is
vance towards development, while in others jnaicatea by the
they are quite flat and dormant. It is obvious ¢rss line.
that trees in the first condition will not require that severe
retrenchment on the head to produce branches below, as
the last. In this case it will generally be sufficient, and
especially if the space between the stock and first branches
does not exceed two feet, to cut back the leader to three
912 PRUNING.
buds, and the lateral branches below it to one bud; but
when the buds are small and backward, or when the
branchless space is over two feet in length, the two year
old wood must be cut back to within eighteen inches to
two feet of the base. We find that in the case of imported
trees, or those carried a great distance, and more or less
injured, nothing short of this severe cutting can ensure
branches low enough to form a pyramidal tree. It seems
a great pity to cut back a tree in this manner, and lose a
year or two of its growth and bearing, but it is absolutely
necessary When the pyramidal form is wanted. There is
still another class of trees that we sometimes see sent out
from the nurseries. These are two or three years old;
have been cut back, and are pretty well furnished, in all
their length, with lateral branches; but from the want of
proper care, those on the upper parts have acquired greater
vigor than those below, presenting the tree in a situation
just the reverse, in this respect, of what it ought to be.
In pruning this subject at the time of planting, the lower
branches must either be shortened very slightly in order
to get a strong bud for a leader, or they must be left
entire, while those above will be cut close; where we want
the longest and strongest branches, there we leave the
most wood.
The most important pruning performed upon a tree is
the jirst one, for it is this which makes all future manage-
ment easy and successful, or difficult and unsatisfactory.
This is the reason why it has appeared necessary to treat
f it so minutely. Having encountered all the difficulties
shat others are likely to encounter, and having described
them and pointed out the means by which they are to be
r»vercome, it is believed that the matter has been made so
plain, that any man of ordinary intelligence, and possess-
ing the shghtest knowledge of tree culture, can take his
knife and prepare his trees in such a manner as to give
THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 913
him a most reasonable hope of attaining his ends. We
now proceed to the
Summer management of trees thus cut back.—We will
first consider the case of the yearling without branches.
If it has been cut low enough, as directed, all the buds
below the cut will push. As a space of six inches should
be kept clear between the ground and the first or lowest
tier of branches, such shoots as may appear on that
part will be rubbed off at once. Of the remaining ones,
a certain number, three to six, according to the length of
the stem, will be reserved. These must be the strongest,
and properly situated on the stem, within eight to ten
inches of space between each branch, and that immedi-
ately above it, and regularly placed on all sides of the
stem. Some recommend leaving on all the shoots that
are produced the first season; but in certain cases this
would be bad practice, for if the buds be very close, the
shoots would be so numerous that the strength of them
all would be impaired, and much pruning would be
required the next season. The better way is to select
such as are wanted, and rub off the others ; the sap which
they would have appropriated will be turned to the
account of the permanent branches, and increase their
vigor. The leading shoot must be directed in a straight
line ; in some cases a support may be necessary. If the
branches immediately below it are so vigorous as to inter-
fere with its growth, they must be checked by pinching.
In some cases it may be necessary to do this when they
are an inch or two in length. It sometimes occurs that
the bud eut to is injured by the weather, close cutting,
or some other cause, and pushes so feebly that the laterals
below it having more vigor take the lead. This must be
prevented in time. A proper relative degree of vigor
must be maintained among all the branches, by checking
when necessary the most vigorous.
914 PRUNING.
The first summer’s treatment of the branched yearling
(fig. 105.) will consist in maintaining a uniform growth
among the lateral branches, and in the case of the leading
shoot, as already described. Some lateral shoots will be
produced on the branches, and these must all be pinched
at an inch or two, as it is yet too soon to allow of the for-
mation of secondary branches. The summer treatment
of fig. 106, the two year old tree, will be conducted on
the same principles. The encouragement of the leading
shoot will require special attention to secure it in an up
right position, as, in many cases, where two year old wood
is cut back, the leading shoots assume a horizontal or
curved direction.
The second pruning—We have now a tree composed of
two sections: the first is the two-year-old part, furnished
with lateral branches ; and the second, the leading shoot
produced last season. (fig. 107.) In pruning it, our object
will be to establish a new section of
branches on the leader, to continue the
prolongment of the lower branches, and to
induce the formation of fruit spurs towards
their base. ‘To accomplish these ends, we
shorten the leader or stem, on the same
principle in relation to its character, as
already directed for the yearling trees,
rom one-half to two-thirds its length, and
sometimes more. Every bud between the
one we cut to and the base of the shoot,
should push; and the bud to produce the
leader should be large, perfectly formed,
and opposite the cut of the previous year.
The lateral branches on the first section Fig. 107.
are shortened according to their vigor, ieee nae
always remembering that the lowest must. year’s growth after the
be the longest, to carry out the pyramidal 4st Pruning.
THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 915
form. They should also be cut back sufficiently to insure
the growth of all the buds on them. This point requires
considerable care, for if not cut back enough, the interior
of the trees becomes naked, instead of being supplied with
shoots for bearing spurs; and if cut back too far, the
shoots will be too vigorous and difficult to control. The
appearance of the buds, and the habits of the variety,
will be a sufficient guide if properly studied.
Treatment of the growing shoots—W hen the buds have
all started and made a growth of an inch or two, their
force and forwardness will indicate the uses to be made
of them. Each of the main branches of the first section
may be considered as a stem; its leader will require the
same treatment to favor its extension. At this time a
secondary branch may be required to fill up the space
which widens as the branches extend. If so, a shoot is
selected for this purpose, and all the others on the same
branch are checked at two inches, and converted into
fruit branches. All the laterals are treated in this way.
- The second section, now in process of formation, must be
managed as directed for the first section. During the
first season, the requisite number of shoots is preserved,
and the superfluous ones removed early. The leader is
maintained erect; and the laterals immediately below it,
being always inclined to vigorous growth, must be checked
to keep them in a proper condition relative to the leader
and the branches below them. The leading shoot must
always maintain its pre-eminence. It often happens that
the lateral shoots of the main branches that have been
pinched will start and grow again. In such cases an-
other pinching must be performed within an inch of the
previous one. As a general thing, this will be sufficient ;
but if not, a third must be given in the same way ; for if
they be allowed to extend into wood branches they will
require knife pruning, and create confusion among all
216 PRUNING.
parts of the tree. A very general error in conducting
trees of this kind, and indeed all others, is to allow the
branches to be too close to each other, so that when they
come to bear, the wood, foliage, and fruit, on the interior,
are so excluded from the air and light that they all
sufler. The fruit is imperfect, and the spurs become
feeble and gradually perish. The tree has now two
branched sections, each from twelve inches to two feet, as
the case may be, and with four to six branches on each ;
the leading shoot is from one to three feet in length.
The average height }
of three year old trees,
on the quince in our
grounds, transplanted at
one year old, and twice
pruned, is five to six
feet. A few very vigo-
rous growing varieties,
that throw up a leader
every season three to four
feet in length, are seven
to eight feet; but these
are comparatively few in
number.
Third pruning —vThis
is done on _ precisely
the same principles laid
down for the second.
The leader of the stems
is cut back in proportion
to its vigor, the lateral
branches are also short- A pear tree four years old, three times
a pruned, having three branch sections, a, 8, ¢,
ened mM the same Man- seven feet high, and furnished in the lower
' ogee I parts with fruit spurs. The cross lines indicate
ner. It must always be joo iwc, tiie
kept in mind that the
Fie. 108.
TUE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 247
lowest branches must be longest, and when it happens
that they do not take their due proportion of vigor, as
compared with those above them, and if pinching has
not been duly attended to the past summer, to maintain
regularity, the weaker must now be favored with a long
pruning.
Fig. 108 represents a four-year old pear tree of the white
Doyenne, three times pruned, a, }, ¢. .
It has been remarked, that the habits of growth and
bearing of the pear and apple are similar, but it should
be noted, that in treating them as pyramids, the apple
tree is more liable to lose its vigor at the top, and there-
fore it is necessary to keep an eye to this point in their
management. Irom what has been said with reference
to an equal distribution of the sap, the remedy for this
difficulty will be obvious, viz., to reduce the vigor of the
lower parts by pinching, ‘events and heavy crops,
and to favor the upper part by long ponrie and thin-
ning, or wholly removing the fruits.
Management of the = wit branches.—About the sixth
to the eighth year, from the first pruning of the tree, it
will have attained nearly as great dimensions as in many
eases will be desirable, and be well furnished with fruit
branches.
After this period, the object of the pruning will be to
prevent the extension of the tree, and maintain the fruit
bearing parts ina healthy and productive state. Without
proper care they will be liable to suffer from bearing too
much, or from the growth of young wood on the extremi-
ties of young branches.
To diminish the growth, and favor the fruit branches,
the young shoots must be pruned shorter than before, in
order to turn the sap more to the benefit of the fruits, and
when the fruit spurs become too numerous, so as to be too
near one another, and produce more fruit than the tree
10
218 PRUNING.
can sustain with safety, a portion of them must be pruned
off. The lower parts always experience this difficulty
first, the sap circulating more slowly there than in the
summit. Fruit spurs of the pear and apple, if well
managed, continue in a vigorous bearing state for a great
many years. To renew and prolong their vigor, the older
parts must, from time to time, be cut away, and new pro-
ductions created at their base to take their place.
Pruning and management of the Apple as a dwarf
on the paradise stock.
Nothing is more simple than the treatment of these
little bushes.
They should have short stems, six to eight inches from
the ground, and the head should not be allowed to exceed
three to three and a half feet in height, because the roots
are very small, and do not take such a firm hold of the
ground as to admit of a head that would offer much ob-
stacle to the wind. The branches should be evenly dis-
tributed around the head, open in the centre, in the form
of a vase, and be furnished in all their parts with bearing
spurs.
These are the points to aim at in commencing the
formation of these trees. The proceedings are as follows:
Ist. Pruning—We will suppose that the subject is a
yearling bud or graft, a single shoot eighteen to twenty
inches in height. In this case, the stem is cut back to the
point where it is intended to form the head, six to ten
inches, as the case may be, from the stock. Below this,
most of the buds will start and form shoots, from which
we select three or four of the strongest and best situated,
equally distant, if possible, around the stem, and rub or
pinch off all the others. The growth of the branches
thus selected for a head, is encouraged during the first
season, by keeping down all other productions that may
appear.
THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 919
2d. Pruning—tThe tree has now three or four branches
destined to be the basis of the frame-work of the
head. These branches are cut back full one half
their length, according as the buds in the variety are
easily excited or not, the object being to induce all
the buds below the cut to push. After growth has
commenced, and an inch or two of new wood been made,
the shoot from the bud cut to, will be chosen as a
leader to continue the extension of the branch; and if
secondary branches be wanted, they will be chosen from
those best situated, to fill up the existing vacancies. All
the other shoots are pinched when two or three inches
long, to convert them into fruit spurs, and to prevent
their interfering with the growth of the wood branches.
If one pinching is not sufficient, another must be given
in the same way as recommended for pyramidal trees.
Indeed, the whole process, as far as it goes, is the same;
but the same efiorts are not ©
necessary to maintain an equal
distribution of the sap, for the
tree is so low, and the form so
natural, that no branch is more
favorably situated than another ;
and hence they are easily kept in
an uniform state of vigor. The
branches of irregular-growing
sorts will require to be secured
by stakes in their proper places
fora year or two at first, until
they have assumed a permanent
Fie. 109.
ae : Dwaif ajple tree, four years
position. old, stem ten inches high, head
Seeeetirds and all subsequent \vomPees: of four: main: Branches
y i and several secondary branches ;
runing’s, will be conducted on pruned three times as at a, 5, now
) P
the same principles as the first i™* Pears state
and second, already described, until the tree has attained
220 PRUNING.
its full size. Fig. 109 represents a dwarf apple tree, four
years old, three times pruned—the two last prunings are
indicated by the letters a and 0.
Management of the Bearing Tree—In most cases the
apple on the paradise is disposed to excessive fruitfulness,
and unless the fruit branches be occasionally thinned and
shortened, in order to reduce the number of bearing
buds, and to produce new wood, the trees become enfee-
bled. Bad management of this kind has promulgated
the belief that the apple on the paradise is exceed-
ingly short-lived ; but the fact that plantations exists in the
most perfect vigor at the end of twelve to fifteen years
after planting, shows that by proper treatment their exist-
ence is not so fleeting. The spurs must be managed in a
manner similar to that described in treating of pyramids,
to renew them, and the slender fruit branches must be short-
ened. This, in addition to the manuring to be hereafter
described, constitutes the substance of their management.
The Pruning and Management of the Apple and Pear
as espaliers.—In the cool, moist climate of England, this
is a popular and advantageous method of training apples
and pears. The specimens of this kind in public and
private gardens there, are admirable in their way, and
illustrate the skill and handiwork of the English gardener —
very favorably. But our climate is not suitable as a gen-
eral thing for espaliers; the branches are so exposed to
the rays of our powerful sun, that the sap is impeded in
its circulation, and the fruits fall. It is, therefore, un-
necessary to enter into any detail respecting this mode of
training; but there may be situations where such a sys-
tem may succeed, and especially in the north. The best
espalier form for the apple and pear, is that of the hori
zontal, that is, an upright central stem, with horizontal
arms or branches at equal distances on both sides (fig.
110). The production of this tree depends in the main
THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 921
on the same principles as the pyramid, and does not re-
quire illustration. The young tree is cut back to within
six inches of the ground. From the shoots produced be-
23
Fie. 110.
Pear tree trained horizontally.
low that point, three are selected, the upper one to form
the upright leader or stem, and two lateral or side
ones to form the two first arms. The first season these
shoots are allowed to grow upright and are kept in equal
vigor. At the commencement of the second season, they
are all cut back far enough, say one third to one half their
length, or even more in some cases, to ensure the growth
of all the buds.
The upper shoot on each is selected for a leader, and
the others are pinched at two inches or less. After the
pruning, the arms are brought down half way to a hori-
zontal position, and towards the latter end of the season,
wholly. An uniformity of growth among all the parts is
maintained according to the means and principles already
laid down, and year after year the tree is thus treated
until the requisite height and number of horizontal arms
or branches be obtained. In the case of very vigorous
growing sorts the leader may be stopped in June, and
thus a second pair of arms be produced in one year. The
upright leader and the branches are treated in a similar
manner—a difference in vigor always requiring a corres-
ponding difference in treatment. For espaliers, the apple
should be on the paradise or Doucain, and the pear on
229 PRUNING.
the guince, because these stocks all diminish the vigor of
wood growth, which is often the chief difficulty in man-
aging trained trees.
The aspect for these trees should never be due south.
A railing to train such trees on, is made of upright posts
sunk in the ground, and connected with cross bars, at
eight to twelve inches apart, upon which the arms of the
espalier are fastened with willow or bass matting. Mr.
Rivers, in his “ Miniature Fruit Garden,” exhibits a sys-
tem of growing pears in espalier, in the form of pyramids,
as adopted by himself. I saw these trees when in Eng-
land, in 1849, and although it appeared a very ingenious
and economical arrangement, admitting a great number
of varieties in a small space, and besides very well
adapted to an English climate, yet it did not appear to offer
any advantages that would warrant its recommendation
in this country, unless under rare circumstances in the
most northern sections. Whoever will study attentively
the means described for conducting a pyramid, can sue-
ceed fully in training the espaliers or wall pyramid.
Srxction 2.—Prunina AND TRAINING THE QUINCE.
As ordinarily grown, the quince is the most neglected,
and consequently, the most unsightly, deformed tree to be
found in the orchard or garden, and yet, when well treated,
it is really, both when in blossom and in fruit, one of the
most beautiful of all our fruit trees. Its fruit is more
esteemed, and more generally used in this than in any
other country. It is naturally a crooked or spreading
bush, and without some attention to pruning and training
when young, it assumes an irregular form, branching near
the ground, and quite destitute of bearing wood on all its
lower and interior parts. It is in this neglected form we
most generally find it. To make a regular and handsome
THE QUINCE. 993
little tree, we haye only, in the first place, to rear a
straight and stout trunk about two or three feet high.
If the plants be weak or crooked when planted, they
should be cut low down to obtain a stout and straight
stem. The young shoot should be kept tied up to a stake
to prevent it from straggling.
_ The second year, if the growth has been vigorous, and
low trees are desired, the head may be commenced. But
if a stem three or four feet high be desired, it should be
at least one inch in diameter, and another year’s growth
may be necessary. :
The head is formed in the same manner as described for
standard and dwarf apples and pears. It should be
round, symmetrical, and open, and well furnished on all
parts with bearing wood.
The bearing branches or spurs of the quince are small
twiggy shoots (2B, fig.
111), produced on wood
at least two years old.
These bear two, three,
or more fruit buds.
These produce shoots
two or three inches
long (C0, fig. 111), on
the point of which the
fruit is borne singly.
These spurs have al-
ways wood buds as well
as fruit buds, and there-
fore they should be
shortened back as to
A, fig. 111, the spring Fig. 111.
oes = - B, fruit branch of the quince. C, the shoot pro-
after they hav e bo Ҥ duced from the fruit bud. .4, point at which it
in order to produce NEW should be cut back after bearing.
spurs at the same point.
294 PRUNING.
The French conduct it in beautiful pyramids, on pre-
cisely the same principle as the pear and apple; but the
leading shoot must be kept fastened to an upright sup-
port—a small rod attached to the base—on account of its
reclining habit. The medlar is but little cultivated. Its
treatment may be exactly similar to that described for the
quince, its habits of growth and bearing being similar.
Section 3.—PRUNING THE CHERRY.
The cherry is conducted in any desirable form with as
much facility as any of all our hardy fruit trees. - The
heart and bigarreau classes are very rapid growers, often
attaining the height of six feet the first season from the
bud or graft, and in two years forming fine standard trees
six to seven feet high, with a few top shoots. They have
also large, drooping leaves,and, with few exceptions, stiff,
erect, or shghtly curved branches.
The duke class does not grow so rapidly. The branches
are stiff and erect, the leaves smaller as a general thing
than the preceding classes, more erect, thicker, and of a
deeper, darker green color.
The morellos are of a bushy habit, with smaller leaves
than any of the preceding classes, and the branches are
more slender and closer together. The bark of all is very
tough, being composed of several layers of powerful
fibres and tissue. It does not yield readily, like that of
most other fruit trees, to the expansion or growth of the
wood, and this occasions the bursting and exuding of gum
in certain localities, especially in the more rapid growing
classes. The mode of bearing has already been described
under the head of fruit branches, in the beginning of the
work. The fruit is produced on wood three years old
thus: The shoot of last year’s growth, which is furnished
now with leaf buds in all its length, will produce at the
THE CHERRY. 995
point, if not shortened, one or more shoots, and all the
buds remaining are, during the season, transformed into
clusters of fruit buds, and produce fruit the year follow-
ing. In the centre of these clusters of fruit buds there is
always a wood bud, and this grows a little and produces
new clusters of fruit buds to replace those that have
borne. Some of the morellos produce fruit on two-year-
old wood, like the peach, the leaf buds being transformed
into fruit buds. During the second growth of the first
season of their formation, the fruit bud is very easily
distinguished from the leaf bud by its roundness and
plumpness.
Pruning the Cherry as a Standard.—In Western New
York the cherry succeeds so well, and is so totally exempt
from the bursting of the bark, that trees can be grown
safely with trunks five or six feet high; but in the West,
when this malady prevails, the less there be of a naked
trunk the better; for itis the trunk and large branches
that are generally so affected. As a standard, the cherry
requires very little pruning.
To form around open head—We will take for exam-
ple a young tree two years old, having three or four top
branches. These at the time of planting should be cut
back to within four or five buds of their base, and when
growth has commenced, the requisite number of shoots,
say four or five, to form the framework of the head are
selected, evenly distributed on all sides, and all the others
pinched or rubbed off.
The following season these shoots may again be short-
ened to produce secondary branches to fill up spaces, and
those arising in the centre should be pinched out, for the
head must be kept open and accessible to the sun and
light. In about three years of such treatment, the head
of the tree assumes a permanent form, and thereafter, may
be left to itself, except to remove occasionally branches
£0*
226 PRUNING.
that may cross or interfere with one another. Our stand-
ard trees here are in the best possible condition, and have
not had a knife on them, except to cut scions for budding
or grafting, in seven years.
Pyramidal Headed Standards.—Certain varieties, for
instance, Sparhawhk’s Honey, Downer’s, China Bigarreau,
Black Tartarian, Black Heart, and some others, make
fine pyramidal shaped heads without pruning, more than
to give the leader its due superiority at the beginning, and
to remove afterwards crossing and superfluous branches.
Such varieties as the Yellow Spanish, Black Eagle,
Knight’s Ey. Black, Elton, and all the spreading sorts,
should have round open heads built upon three or four
main branches as described.
Pruning the Cherry as a Pyramid—The same process
recommended for the pyramidal training of the pear and
apple, may be applied with complete success to the cherry.
We have now in our specimen grounds a collection of all
the classes trained, according to the method described,
and their condition is in every respect satisfactory ; they »
have all given fruit the third year.
In most cases the trees were taken from the nursery
rows at the end of their first season’s growth from the bud.
Some had no side branches, and others had. It is very
common for cherries and especially the Dukes and Morel-
los to form a number of lateral branches the first season.
Growth becomes slightly suspended, or at least goes on
very slowly in July; during this time the buds on the
lower part acquire a sort of maturity, and when a new
growth commences they push and form shoots. Cherry
trees of this kind are in a good condition for pyramids.
We select from these the strongest and best situated to
form the lower tier of permanent branches; the lower ones
are shortened to four or five buds, and the upper ones to
two or three. The leader or stem is cut back to within
THE CHERRY. 927
six, eight, or ten buds of the branches. Those having no
branches are cut back to within six or eight buds of the
stock. And this is the first pruning.
Treatment during the first Summer after Pruning. —
When the young shoots have grown a couple of inches in
length, such as are intended for permanent branches are
chosen, and the others are pinched in the same manner as
recommended for pears and apples. Such as acquire
more vigor than is consistent with their position, must be
checked. It frequently happens that unless the leader
has been cut back close, only three or four shoots will be
produced at the extremity, leaving a vacant space below.
This can be remedied in most cases by pinching the shoots
around the leader when they have grown about an inch.
In some cases it may be necessary even to check the
leader to force the lower buds into growth. This is a point
of considerable importance in conducting a pyramid, and
should never be lost sight of. |
The Cherry as an Espaler.—Except it be the training
of the morello, or some other late varieties, on a north
wall to prolong their season of maturity, the cherry is sel-
dom grown as an espalier tree in this country, nor is it to
be recommended except in some rare instances. The
simplest and probably the best form is that suggested for
pears and apples, an upright stem with horizontal branches.
To produce this the same means are employed as have
been previously described. If the tree has no side
branches proper for the first arms, it must be cut back to
within six inches of the ground, and from the shoots pro-
duced below that, one is selected for the leader, and one
on each side for the first horizontal branches; the other
shoots are pinched off. At the next pruning, the Jeader
is again shortened to produce another pair of side branches
eight or ten inches from the first; the leader is continued
in an upright direction, and the side branches are brought
228 PRUNING.
half way down in midsummer, and at the following spring
pruning they are placed in the horizontal position. The
leading shoot of rapid growing sorts may be stopped about
the end of June, and this will produce side shoots from
which another pair of arms may be taken, and thus gain
a year in the formation of the tree, or covering the wall
or trellis.
For weak growing sorts, the fan form or some modi-
fication of it would, perhaps, be more suitable than the
horizontal, as it offers less restraint to the circulation of
the sap in the branches.
The Cherry asa Dwarf or Bush—The slow growing
sorts, such as the dukes and morellos, when worked on the
mahaleb stock, make very pretty and very easily man-
aged prolific bushes, and by occasional root pruning they
may be confined to as small a space as a dwarf apple
tree. To produce this form, the young tree is cut back
to within five or six buds of its base; and from the shoots
produced below that, four or five evenly distributed
around the tree are selected for the permanent branches
or frame-work of the tree. The others are rubbed off.
At the next pruning the branches thus produced are
shortened to produce secondary branches; and thus it’ is
treated from year to year until the tree is formed and full
grown.
The branches must be kept far enough apart to admit
the sun and air freely amongst them. When the tree is
five or six years old, if it grows too vigorously, requiring
more space than can be given it, the larger roots may be
shortened in July or August, or in the winter. This and
the pyramid, and the dwarf standard, with stems two feet
high, are the most eligible garden forms for the cherry.*
* Mr. Rivers states in his “ Miniature Fruit Garden,” that he has a
plant of the late duke cherry ten years old, that never was root-pruned, and
yet is a small prolific tree, five feetin height, and the branches the same in
THE PEACH. 229
The dwarf standard is treated precisely as the dwart,
and differs from it only in having two feet instead of six
or eight inches of stem. In pruning and training the
cherry, it should always be borne in mind that when
large branches are removed, it is lable to suffer from the
gum, and, therefore, the regulation of the shoots should
be carefully attended to*in summer, that amputations of
woody parts may be avoided as far as possible. When it
is necessary, however, the cut surface heals more rapidly
and surely when made in the summer, during the growing
season.
Section 4.—Pruninc AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PEACH.
The peach is universally regarded as the most delicious
fruit of our climate, and ranks in importance for orchard
culture next to the apple and the pear. Nowhere in the
world is it produced in such quantities, and with so little
labor, as in America. An English or French gardener
will expend more labor on a single tree, than the majority
of our orchardists do upon one hundred. Our favorable
climate obviates a multitude of difficulties that have to
be contended with in other countries, and renders unneces-
sary the minute and laborious systems of management
which they find it absolutely necessary to pursue.
But this very excellence of our climate has given rise
toa most negligent and defective system of cultivation,
as is everywhere illustrated in the condition of orchards.
The peach, of all other trees, is one that, from its mode
of growth and bearing, requires constant pruning to
maintain it in a shapely, thrifty, and productive state.
The sap tends powerfully to the extremities of the shoots,
diameter. We have in our specimen grounds trees of several dukes and
morellos, six years old, on mahaleb stocks, not over four or five feet high,
and pictures of fruitfulness.
930 PRUNING.
more so than in any other fruit tree. The buds that do
not push and form shoots the first season after their for-
mation, are lost; they cannot, as in most other trees, be
excited into growth ; and hence it is that the lower parts
become so rapidly denuded of young wood, and that
trees left to themselves for six or seven years are in a
measure worn out and worthless.°*
The fruit is borne only on wood of the preceding year
(see fruit branches), and every part destitute of such
wood must be worthless; consequently one of the great
objects of pruning is to keep all parts of the tree fur-
nished with a regular and constant succession of annual
bearing shoots.
This fact must never be lost sight of.
The case of a single shoot will illustrate the influence
of pruning and its necessity. By referring to the fruit
branch, it will be seen that it is furnished with a certain
number of avood buds and fruit buds. At the base there
are always one or two wood buds at least.
Now, if that shoot were not pruned, all the fruit buds
on it would probably produce fruit—one, two, or three
of the wood buds at the top would make new shoots;
these would necessarily be very weak in consequence of
the number of fruit below them. At the end of the
eason there would be a long, vacant space, entirely des-
titute of a young shoot or a living bud. This is the way
that the interior and lower parts of trees become so soon
degarnished.
But when that shoot is shortened, we will say one half,
the sap is retained in its lower parts, one half of the
fruit buds are removed, and the consequence is that large
and fine fruits are obtained from those remaining ; young
vigorous shoots are produced from the lower buds to bear
next year, and take the place of those which have
already borne. In this way regular uniform crops of
THE PEACH. 93t
large and fine fruit are obtained, and a constant succession
of young shoots is kept up.
To form the head of a standard Peach Tree—We
will suppose it the intention to form a standard tree, with
a trunk two feet in height, and a round, open, and sym-
metrical head like fig. 112. We take a yearling tree and
eut it back to within two feet and a half of the ground in
the spring. Below this cut a certain number of shoots
will be produced, from which
three will be selected to form the
main branches or frame-work of
the head. All the others are rub- .
bed off when two or three inches
long or sooner. At the end of the
season we have a tree with three
branches. Fie 112.
The second year these three Form of alow standard peacn
branches are cut back full one WP ound, open pene
half their length, and from each |
we take a shoot to continue the branch, and one to form
a secondary branch. The other shoots produced below
these are pinched or checked to prevent them from inter-
fering with the growth of the leading branches. In the
fall of the year we have a tree with six leading branches,
and some bearing shoots below on the older wood.
The third year each of these six branches is short
ened one half, in order to obtain more secondary branches,
and some fruit branches on the lower parts. All young
shoots on the old wood, whether fruit branches or not,
should be cut back one half, or as far as may be necessary,
to cause the wood buds at their base to push, and make
shoots to bear next year.
The formation of the head goes on as described for two
or three years more, when it is complete; tor peach trees,
232 PRUNING.
properly pruned, do not assume such wide-spreading
forms as they do naturally.
The main branches and secondary branches should be
at equal distances throughout, and far enough apart to
give the bearing wood on their sides the full benefit of
the sun and air.
An equality of vigor should also be preserved amongst
them by summer pinching. It is not uncommon to see a
very vigorous shoot start up in a peach tree, and appro-
priate so much of the sap as to injure a whole branch;
these should be checked the moment their character is
observed, unless they may be wanted to fill a vacancy.
Every part of the branches should be furnished with
bearing shoots, and these should, every spring, be short-
ened in one half or more, to produce others at their base,
whilst those that have borne are cut out.
Some people imagine that when they have taken a pair
of hedge shears, or some such instrument, and shorn off
the ends of the shoots on the outside of the tree indis-
criminately, they are “shortening in,” and so they are,
as they would a hedge! Some of the shoots are cut
away entirely, fruit buds and all, whilst others remain
untouched, and the tree becomes like a brush on the out-
side and naked within. This is almost as bad as the let-
alone system. Every shoot should be cut separately.
The most expeditious instrument for doing this, is a pair
of light hand-pruning shears, such as the French secateur
(see instruments). A person accustomed to its use can
prune every shoot on a full-grown tree in an almost in-
credibly short space of time, as compared with that re-
quired with the knife. Extensive orchardists may be
deterred from such a labor, looking to the cost; but if
they will engage quick, active, intelligent persons to do
the work, and estimate the increased value of the fruit,
THE PEACH. 933
and longevity and beauty of their trees, there can be no
doubt but it will be found a paying investment.
Root Pruning.—In gardens where the soil is rich, and
trees very full of vigor, disposed to grow too much and
bear too little, root pruning should be practised once in
two or three years—the first lightly, removing only the
ends of the large feeding roots. The safest time to do it
is between the fall of the leaf and the opening of spring.
Vegetation in the peach seldom becomes sufficiently
inactive during the growing season, to enable the roots to
be pruned with safety.
The Peach in the form of a vase-—Among all the
forms in which trees are conducted, this is, when well
done, one of the most graceful.
It consists of a short stem two to five feet, according to
fancy, with a head composed of three or four main
branches, and two or three times that number of second-
ary branches, all trained by means of light stakes at first,
and afterwards wire or wooden hoops in the form of a
vase or goblet. The branches are arranged in a circle,
with bearing shoots filling up the spaces. No shoots are
permitted either in the interior or in front that is project-
ing from the exterior surface of the goblet.
The most beautiful trees of this form are to be seen in
the gardens of the Luxembourg, at Paris, and elsewhere
in France.
Mr. Louis Gaudry, who has a very pretty little plan-
tation in Paris, and who has published a small work on
pruning and training trees, gives the annexed cut as a
representation of one of his vase peach trees of eight
years’ erowth (fig. 113). The following is the substance
of his mode of conducting them.
First Pruning.—tThe stem of the yearling tree is cut
back to the point at which it is desired to commence the
head to three buds, forming a triangle and as nearly as
PRUNING.
234
Three shoots are obtained
from these three buds to form the first or main branches
possible of the same height.
ress:
Peach tree in the form of a vase, with four main branches, each having several
The stem in the figure is five feet, but should not exceed two.
secondary branches.
THE PEACH. 935
or frame-work of the vase. To favor the growth of these,
all the shoots produced below them are rubbed off.
In order to give them the proper inclination, three
small stakes are inserted in the ground, to which the
three branches are fastened; it is supposed that if these
stakes be sunk as far from the base of the tree as the roots
extend, and in an upright position, there will be a
sufficient opening or space in the centre. The branches
should be thus brought out about August, so that the for-
mation of new layers of wood subsequent to that time
may fix them in their places. The side shoots, which are
produced on the young branches, towards the latter part
of the season, designated by the French bourgeons anticipés,
are pinched to one or two leaves.
2d. Pruning.—tThe spring following, the branches are
loosed from the stakes, and shortened to six or eight
inches of their base, to a leaf bud on the outside or front
of the branch, and with a bud below it, either on the right
or left side. The front bud continues the main branch,
and the side bud forms a secondary branch. The three
branches are pruned in this way, taking care that the
secondary branch on each is on the same side, so that two
of them cannot come in contact. To favor the growth of
these new shoots, all those situated below them that acquire
too much vigor, must be pinched at three or four leaves.
A wooden hoop may now be placed in the centre, to
which the branches are attached to keep them in their
places. In this way the tree progresses; every year one or
more secondary branches are produced, the main branches
increase in length, and fruit shoots are produced on all
the intervals of the branches, on their two sides.
All shoots that push either inside or in front of the vase
are pinched off, and pinching is practised at all times to
maintain equal growth between the different parts, and to
check any too great tendency of the sap to the extremities.
236 PRUNING.
Third pruning.—tThe fruit branches are pruned to three
or four buds, to induce the lower wood buds to push and
form new wood for the next season.
The main branches are cut back to ten or twelve inches
above the previous pruning, to a bud on the front to con-
tinue the branch; the buds selected to produce another
series of secondary branches, must all be on the side eppo-
site the previous ones. If the position of the buds renders
this impossible, then they may all be chosen on the same
side as the first.
The hoops this year will require to be larger in dia-
meter than the preceding, in order to give increased width
to the vase as it proceeds upwards. All the other opera-
tions are conducted in the same manner. The hoops in-
side are placed within six to eight inches of one another,
and the circular branches within twelve to fifteen inches.
As the tree advances in age, the growth may become too
vigorous at the top; and in this case, the main branches,
always the most vigorous, must be pruned short, and even
pinched during summer, to turn the sap to the benefit of
the weaker parts.
These are the main points in the management of these
vases. It may be added, that the apple, pear, cherry,
and indeed all other trees may be grown in this form, and
by the same means, varying it only to suit different modes
of growth and bearing, and degrees of vigor.
The Peach as an Espalier.—Espalier training will never
be practised in this country to any very great extent, and
therefore it may be considered, in comparison with open
ground systems, unimportant. Yet there are some dis-
tricts not so favorably situated as to be able to produce
peaches, apricots, and nectarines, in the open ground.
For these a proper system of espalier training is impor-
tant, because in this form trees are easily protected from
THE PEACH. 237
winter or spring frosts, and they ripen their fruits per-
fectly, where open ground or standard trees would not.
The Peach as an Espalier trained on a wall or trellis —
There are a multitude of forms for espalier trees where
training on walls or trellises is necessarily and extensively
practised, as in England and France. The great requi-
sites in a wall tree are, jirst, to have all the wall covered;
and, second, to have the different parts of the tree alike
favorably placed, with. reference to its growth. Next to
these are simplicity and naturalness.
The most popular form in England is that called the
\
™~
AY)
NN b
Z Fj e—_—__
eee <
= yan
Fig. 114.
Fan-shaped Espalier.
fom (fig. 114). In it the branches are spread out so as to
resemble a fan; the lower ones are nearly or quite hori-
zontal; the next more oblique; and so they proceed
until the centre. ones are quite upright, and this appears
to be the defect of this form; for the horizontal branches
cannot maintain such a vigor as those more erect above
them. The square espalier, invented by M. Frerrx Mato,
of France, and now extensively practised by some of the
best peach growers of the celebrated town of Montreuil,
Seems to possess more advantages, all in all, than any
other. The “ Bon Jardinier,” from which the following
description of the method of conducting these trees is
238 PRUNING.
taken, says: “This generally approved form begins to
find imitators, and it is probable that one day it will be
adopted by all intelligent gardeners.”
first year.—We will begin with a peach tree one year
from the bud, and cut it down to within six or eight
inches, or three or four buds of the stock. From the buds
produced below the cut, two of the strongest are chosen,
one on each side, to form the two main branches—branches
mere; all the other shoots are destroyed, and these two
are allowed to grow upright, and in the fall they will be
three to four feet high.
Second year (fig. 115).—In the spring, when hard frosts
are no longer apprehend- %, f
ed, the branches are ex- \, f y t
amined to see if they be Nh
sound and healthy, free Be ot
from bruises, insects, etc., Fig. 115. Fig. 116.
and they are cut back to Pores pe
twelve or fifteen inches of their base, according to their
strength; a weak branch ought always to be cut back in
such a case as this further than a strong one.
The bud cut to, should, if possible, be on the znside,
and the next bud below it on the outside; the first to
continue the main branch, and the other to form the first
exterior secondary branch. All shoots starting on the
front or rear of the main branch should be rubbed off,
and those on the sides laid in early to prevent their
acquiring too much vigor. The main branches are left
till July, when they are brought down to the form of a V,
and attached to the wall or trellis in this position. The
exterior secondary branch is placed more oblique, and the
fruit branches are kept in a uniform and moderate growth
by pinching and laying in. The most vigorous should
always be laid in first to check them, and favor the others.
Third year (fig. 116)—After loosening the tree from
THE PEACH. 939
the trellis, the two main branches are cut back to
sixteen or eighteen inches of the previous pruning, and
the two lower or secondary branches to twelve or sixteen
inches.
The fruit branches are shortened to within two or three
buds of their base, and all are again fastened back in their
places. When the young shoots have reached the length
of three, four, or five inches, such as are badly placed
on the front or rear of the branches, or in any place inju-
rious to the symmetry of the tree, are removed. During
the summer the different branches must be laid in from
time to time, the most vigorous first. This year two more
secondary branches must be obtained on each side, in the
same manner as in the previous year. Their growth is
also promoted by the same means.
The fruit branches on the sides of the main branches
may give a few fruit this year, and those on the second-
ary branches may bear next year.
The fruit branches that have borne are to be cut away
each year and replaced by others, therefore we must com-
mence to provide for these branches of replacement.
They are produced as follows:
First, it may be observed that fruit branches have gen-
erally one or more wood buds at their base. Sometimes
these will push and form branches of replacement with-
out any assistance, more than cutting back. In such a
case there is no difficulty. When the fruit is ripe, or at
the next pruning, the fruit branch that has borne is cut
away, and the new one takes its place. But nature does
not always act thus. It is generally necessary to force
the development of these branches of replacement, without
which the branches in all their lower parts would become
entirely denuded.
Hence, then, when a branch of replacement fails to
appear by the ordinary method of shortening, we have
QAO PRUNING.
two modes of forcing it: one is to make, after the fruit is
set, an incision through the bark two inches above one of
the wood buds, and pinch close all the shoots on the fruit
branch, leaving only rosettes of leaves necessary to the
perfection of the fruit; pinching must be repeated all
thetime that the shoots on the fruit branch continue to
erow.
Fourth Year (fig. 117).—After having examined if the
tree is equally vigorous in all its parts, and having de-
cided upon the means of restoring the balance if it has
been lost, the tree is detached from the wall or trellis, and
pruned, commencing with the fruit branches that have
borne. These, it must be remembered, are to be cut back
each year to the new branch of replacement produced at
its base. The young shoot then becomes the fruit branch,
and is pruned within four to fourteen inches, according to
their vigor and the situation of the fruit buds.
The two main branches are cut back to within about
twenty inches of the previous pruning; the first shoot on
the inside is
chosen to conti-
Ma-p me the branch,
Sia Va — -7y> and. the next
— one below it»
Fig. 117 Fig. 118. on the lower
Fourth year. Fifth year. and outer side,
to produce the third exterior secondary branch. The two
secondary branches already formed are cut back to about
twelve to fifteen inches of the previous pruning, in order
to make all the lateral buds on them push. The terminal
bud produces a leader to continue them; all the others are
fruit branches.
In attaching the tree again to the wall, the angle that
exists between the two main branches is gradually
widened, the branches a litt'e more spread at every pruning.
THE PEACH. 941
Fifth year (fig. 118)—The tree is now composed of
two main branches, both of which have three secondary
branches on their exterior lower sides, and fruit branches
on all their length on the interior and upper side; and all
that is wanted to complete it, is to transform three of the
bearing shoots on the upper sides into three secondary
branches, corresponding and alternating with the three
lower ones. To do this, we select the fruit branch on
each, nearest the fork or base of the main branches. The
growth of this is favored by training it in an upright posi-
tion, and by pinching any vigorous shoots near it. The
tree is managed thus, as in preceding years, in regard to
laying in the shoots according to their vigor, and pinching
to maintain regularity, &c.
The siath year (fig. 119)—The pruning is conducted
on the same principles precisely, and another interior
secondary branch is produced in the same way as last
year.
The seventh year (fig. 120)—Another is produced on
“ > bs!
Se X, \ * Oo 7
_ —- oe oo ae \ / rd a
XN ; fr pro Se i Yi ff ay
i ys BN slat ‘ 7S X Y y } a
: ; AN A alae ; eke} See | x
aaa jatar Ras Ne pan eee me
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Fie. 119. Fie. 120.
Sixth year. Seventh year.
each, aud then the tree uae
with its two main. «<< \ \
branches, and twelve TS
secondary branches, all “44s
trained in the form of
a parallelogram is com- Fre. 121.
plete (fig. 121). Derry
3 iI
YAY - PRUNING.
Fig. 122 represents the tree complete, bearing shoots
and all.
The main
branches should
be permanently
. fixed at an an-
3 gle of 45°. The
elowest —° exte-
erior secondary
2 branches at 15°.
2Some — cultiva-
2 tors recommend
g that the inte-
2 rior secondary
branches con-
verge to the cen-
4 tre at an angle
This
gives them an
oblique direc-
tion, and places
them upon a
more equal foot-
ving with the
‘a other parts.
‘In training
such trees, an
imaginary cir-
ular line is
produced on the
wall or. trellis,
and this is di-
vided off into
parts, corresponding to the degrees of a circle, commenc-
ing at the centre above, and numbering both ways to the
lis
a
(o)
oar)
tN
Or
0
s
Square espalier training complete, the small bl ck
THE PEACH. . Oas
base: this enables the persons who conduct the tree, to lay
in the branches on both sides at an equal angle with pre-
cision, which is quite requisite to maintain uniformity of
growth and vigor.
It has been considered necessary to ae this subject
somewhat minutely, for the purpose of giving to persons
wholly unacquainted with training, some knowledge of the
principles on which it depends, and the mode of its
execution.
The form described above is one of the simplest of all
espaliers, except the horizontal, described in treating of
the apple and the pear; but whoever can train a tree in
this manner well, can do it in all others, for the principles
of growth are the same always; and he who understands
these, can mould his trees at pleasure, provided he can
bestow the necessary labor. The peach may be grown in
any or all the espalier forms.
Laying in, and fastening the trees to walls and trel-
_lases—When trees are trained to a wall or fence, the
branches are fastened in the desired position by means of
shreds of cloth or list, half an inch wide, and from two to
three inches long, according to the size of the branch to
be laid in. Very small nails are necessary to train on
boards, but larger ones on a brick and stone wall. Ona
trellis, strings of bass matting are used instead of nails and
cloth; and in fastening to simple rails, small willows may
be used. The principle to be observed, in laying in and
fastening the branches and shoots of espalier trees, is that
strong shoots must be laid in sooner than weak ones, and
also more inclined from the vertical direction. A great
deal may be done towards maintaining uniformity of
growth in the different parts of a trained tree, by laying in
the branches in a judicious and discriminating manner.
244. PRUNING.
Srotion 5.—PRuninG AND MANAGEMENT OF THE Pum. ©
The pium bears its fruit on spurs produced on wood
two years old and upwards, like the cherry (see fruit
branches). On young trees these spurs are several years
in the process of formation; but when they commence to
bear they endure, if well managed, for many years.
They are generally furnished with wood buds on their
lower parts; and when they begin to grow feeble, they
ought to be renewed by cutting back. The plum is almost
universally grown as a standard, and the head may be
conducted in the same manner as described for the cherry.
The branches should be mainly regulated by summer
pinching, to obviate the necessity of knife pruning, that
frequently gives rise to the gum. Some varieties of very
rapid growth produce shoots three or four feet long in one
season; and if not shortened back at the spring pruning,
the tree presents long naked branches in a short time.
The chief difficulty in the way of conducting it as a
pyramid, is its great vigor; but this can ina great mea-
sure be overcome by the use of dwarfing stocks, by pinch-
ing and by root pruning.
- The latter will be found a most efficient mode of keeping
the trees small and fruitful. We have had no experience
with the plum as a pyramid ; but Mr. Rivers says, that by
root pruning annually in October and November, he has
succeeded in making handsome pyramidal trees. Stand-
ards and dwarf standards may also be root pruned to
advantage in small gardens, and where it is desirable to
get them into early bearing.
The plum may be trained in any of the espalier forms
already described, and in the same manner.
THE APRICOT. 945
Section 6.—Prounting AND MANAGEMENT OF THE APRICOT.
The apricot, like the peach, has fruit and wood buds
mixed on the shoots of one year’s growth. It has also
little fruit branches or spurs like the plum, which are
capable of being renewed by shortening.
The mode of pruning must therefore have in view the
production of young wood, and maintaining the spurs in
a vigorous and fruitful state. When neglected, it be-
comes, like the peach, denuded of young bearing wood in
the interior, and enfeebled by over-fruitfulness. The
shoots should therefore be shortened every season accord-
ing to their length, as recommended for the peach, to
reduce the number of blossom buds, and favor the pro-
duction of new bearing wood.
It is very liable to the gum, and severe pruning with
the knife should be obviated as far as possible by pinch-
ing. It may be conducted as astandard, pyramid, dwarf,
or espalier, on the same principle as other trees. When
trees become enfeebled by neglect or age, they can be
renewed by heading down close to the stem. New and
vigorous shoots are immediately produced that form a new
tree. This heading down should be done very early in
the spring, and the wounds be carefully covered with
grafting wax.
It is one of the first of our fruit trees to blossom in the
spring, and therefore in some localities the flowers are
killed by the frost. Where this is apprehended, it may
be well to plant on the north side of a wall, or something
that will rather retard the period of blooming, and subject
it less to freezing and thawing. We have apricots trained
here on a south aspect, yet in seven years the blossoms
have not been killed, though in one or two instances they
246 PRUNING.
have been slightly injured. The espalier trees offer great
facility for protection; and therefore, where spring frosts
prevail, the apricot should be so-trained. Mats or straw
hurdles can be placed against them, both in spring and
winter if necessary, with the same ease that a common
frame is covered.
Section 7.—Pruninc THE NECTARINE.
The nectarine is but a smooth skinned peach. The
trees are so similar in their mode of growth, buds, ete.,
that they cannot be distinguished from one another, and,
therefore, whatever has been said respecting the pruning
and treatment of one, applies with equal force to the
other. This fruit is so infested with the curculio, that it
is almost impossible to obtain a crop that will pay for
culture in any part of the country inthe open ground. Un-
less some more effective remedy be discovered than any
yet known, it will soon have to retire from the garden,
and take up its residence with the foreign grape in glass
houses.
It produces excellent crops trained. in espaliers, on a
back wall, or a centre trellis of one of those cold graperies
now becoming so popular.
Section 8.—Courrurr, Prounine, AND Training Harpy
Grape VINES.
The management of our native grapes is exceedingly
simple. Immense crops of Catawba and Isabella, and
especially the latter, are raised throughout the country
in the entire absence of any systematic mode of training
or pruning. A single vine in a neighbor’s garden, carried
to the flat roof of an outbuilding, and allowed to ram-
ble there at pleasure, without any care but a very imper-
THE GRAPE VINE. DAT
fect pruning every spring, produces annually many
bushels of fruit. But the quality is, of course, greatly
inferior to that produced on well-pruned, trained, and
dressed vines. A grape vine neatly trained on a trellis,
with its luxuriant ample foliage, and rich pendulous
clusters of fruit, is really one of the most interesting
objects ina fruit garden, and, at the same time, one of
the most profitable ; for the shade and ornament alone
that it produces, are a sufficient recompense for its culture.
In planting a grape vine the first point is to prepare a
border for the roots.
This must, in the first place, be perfectly dry. If the
soil or situation be wet or damp, it must be drained
thoroughly, so that no stagnant moisture can exist in it.
In the next place it must be deep—three feet is a good
depth ; and it must not be less than two where abundant
and fine crops are expected. The mode of preparation
is, to dig out the natural soil to the required depth, and
the length and width necessary. For a single vine, the
border should be eight or ten feet long and four wide.
When the excavation is made, if the soil be stiff or
damp, a few inches, or a foot deep, of small stones, brick,
rubbish, etc., may be laid on the bottom as a sort of
drainage. On the top of this deposit the compost for the
border. This may consist of two parts of good, fresh,
friable loam, one of old, well-rotted manure, and one of
ashes, shells, broken bones, etc., all completely mixed
with one another. The top of the border, when finished,
should be at least a foot higher than the surface of the
ground, so that it may still remain higher after settling.
Having the border thus prepared, the next point is the
trellis. The form of this will depend on the situation it
is to occupy, and the mode of training to be adopted.
Fig. 123 represents one intended for a wall. The prin-
248 PRUNING.
cipal bars or frame-work are inch and a half boards, three
inches wide, nailed together at the angles.
Trellis for a grape vine.
It is intended for one vine, and may be the height of
the wall that it is intended to occupy. The vertical or
upright bars are three feet apart and the cross ones six
feet; between them are rods of stout wire. The first or
lowest cross bar may be two feet from the ground. It is
fastened to the wall by iron hooks or brackets. The best
and simplest mode of training a vine on such a trellis as
this, is to produce two main branches or arms to be
trained in a horizontal. manner on the first cross bar.
From these two arms, permanent, upright canes are
trained, one to each of the upright bars of the trellis.
These upright canes produce on their sides a succession
of bearing shoots from year to year, being pruned after
what is caled the “ spur” system.
Planting the Vine——As in planting any other tree, the
roots should be carefully spread out, and the fine earth
THE GRAPE VINE. 249
worked well in amongst them. Its position should be
exactly in the centre of the trellis it is to be trained on.
Pruning—t|t must first be observed that the grape
vine bears its fruit on shoots of the current year, pro-
duced from eyes on the previous year’s wood. Fig. 124
represent the old wood, with its bearing shoot. It is im-
SS
\
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eS
=
SS
; \i\ r
Oe \\ \ SS"
Wor \ \\ \
vt Rey AS Se
Heh NN \. Ty
SD (@~,*
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BY
=
———
—S
Fie. 124.
Fruit branch of the grape. The cross line towards the points shows where
it ought to be stopped.
portant to understand this, because it shows the necessity
of keeping up a supply of young wood wherever we
desire fruit to be produced. .
To illustrate the pruning, we will suppose the plant to
be one or two years old, as ordinarily sent out from the
nursery. It may have only one shoot, or it may have
several. However this may be, all are pruned off but
the strongest, and it is cut back to within two eyes of its
base. These two eyes will produce shoots, and when
they have made a growth of two or three inches, the
weaker one is rubbed off and the strong one trained up.
It is allowed to grow on till September, when the bud is
pinched to mature and strengthen it. Any side shoots
that appear during the summer, should be pinched off, as
well as any suckers that may appear about the roots.
Second Year.—lf the shoot of last year made a strong
growth of ten or twelve feet, it may be now cut back to
three eyes, and two canes be trained up; but if it made
only a weak growth, it should again be cut back to two
i Ba
250 PRUNING.
eyes, and one shoot only trained up. Side shoots and
suckers are pinched off during the summer; and in Sep-
tember these canes are stopped as before, and no fruit is
allowed.
Third Year—We have now two strong canes with
which we conimence the frame-work of the vine Hach
of these is cut back at the winter pruning to within two
or three feet of its base, and laid in, as in fig, 125, and
fastened to the lower horizontal bar of the trellis. The
Grape vine at the beginning of the second year. The arms shortened ate,
a, b, etc., are buds.
bud on the end of each at ¢, will produce a shoot to con-
tinue the prolongment in a horizontal direction, and a
bud (@) on the upper side of each will prcduce a shoot to
be trained to one of the upright bars—the first one on its
division, or half of its trellis; all others are rubbed off, or
the buds cut out. Thus each of these arms produces two
shoots—an upright and a horizontal one. During the
summer, these shoots are carefully tied in as required,
and side shoots and suckers pinched off when they ap-
pear. They are also topped in September, as before.
fourth year—Kach of last year’s shoots is cut back
to within three feet of its base. It may be necessary
to cut the horizontal ones closer than the upright ones, to
obtain another strong upright shoot. The two upright
canes already established, will produce a shoot from their
tops, to continue their extension upwards, and the hori-
zontal ones, as before, produce a shoot at the point to be
carried outwards, and one on the top to be trained up to
one of the upright bars. This year, several fruit shoots
THE GRAPE VINE. 951
will be produced, on each of which, one or two bunches
of grapes may be ripened. In this way the vine goes on
adding every season two new upright canes, and two or
three feet in length to the previous ones, until the whole
trellis is covered; when the management will consist in
pruning the spurs every winter to about three eyes. Each
fruit branch should only be allowed to produce two
bunches of fruit, and the top should be pinched at the
second eye, or joint above the fruit (see cross line, fig.
124), in order to arrest the production of useless wood,
and turn the sap to the benefit of the fruit. Fig. 126
represents the appearance of a vine trained in this way.
By such a system
as this the trellis is
covered in every
part with bearing
wood, the fruit and
the foliage are all
exposed fully to the
sun, an uniformity of
vigor is maintained m &
between the differ- fae Pree :
Bi hicis,- ac! the > Zp ges togrmintammy 4 2 svypetne
appearance is beau-
tiful. A trellis may be covered with a vine by other
modes requiring less labor perhaps, and less time, but none
will be found more beneficial or satisfactory in the end.
In the management of a grape vine, as in the manage-
ment of other trees, summer pruning is of great conse-
quence. Ifa vine is left to itself all summer, or from one
winter pruning to another, it will be found that a vast
quantity of useless wood has been produced, and that to
the serious detriment of the bearing shoots for the follow-
ing year. Every two weeks the growing vine should be
C59 PRUNING.
visited, shoots tied in, strong ones checked, superfluous
mes rubbed off, and every part kept in its proper place,
and in a proper degree of vigor. In certain cases, where
the mode of-training above described cannot be conveni-
ently adopted, two or three poles, twelve to fifteen feet
high, may be sunk in the ground, with a space of three or
four feet between them at the bottom, and fastened toge-
ther at the top, forming a cone, around which the perma-
nent canes may be trained in a spiral manner.
This produces a very beautiful effect, and oceupies com-
paratively little space, but the grapes will not all ripen so
well, nor will the training be so easy as on the flat surface
of a trellis.
Very tasteful arbors may also be made over some of the
walks, by training the vine over the woodwork, in the
same manner as on a trellis.
This is a very common practice and offers many advan-
tages. Ingenious persons who care well for their garden,
as well in its appearance as its productions, will conceive
other plans still better adapted to their particular wants
and taste than any of these; but the main point must
always be kept in view, that is, to provide for the foliage
and the fruit, a free open exposure to the sun. Any sys-
tem that does not secure this, will fail to a greater or less
extent.
The Isabella grape succeeds well even as far north as
Maine, by laying it down in winter and covering it with
mats, straw, boughs of evergreens, &e.
Vineyard culture.—V ineyards are located on dry sunny
hill sides; the land is deeply trenched with the spade or
subsoil plough (generally the former, as it is more tho-
rough), and liberally manured. The vines are planted in
rows, six to eight feet apart, and four to six feet apart in
the rows, and are trained to oak or cedar posts, six to eight
feet high. The young vines are cut back close for the
THE GRAPR VINE. 958
first year or two, until they have become well rooted and
strong, and only one shoot is allowed to grow. About
the third year, one shoot, six feet long or so, is left to
fruit, and a new shoot is carried up that season to bear
the next. At the following pruning the cane that bore is
eut away, and thus a continual succession is kept up.
During the summer suckers and superfluous shoots are
kept down, and the ground is kept in good clean condition
with a horse cultivator principally. As the vines grow
old, two and sometimes three bearing canes are taken
from each stool.
The vineyards of Cincinnati cover several hundred acres,
and from the Catawba grape they make a “ sparkling
champagne,” as good as the French. This is destined to
be an important branch of culture.
Culture of foreign Grapes in cold vineries—Repeated
experiments made during many years in all parts of the
country, have convinced people generally that the deli-
cious varieties of the foreign grape cannot be produced
with any considerable degree of success in the open air.
A large number of the hardiest French and German sorts
have been tested in our ground, but not one of them has
borne satisfactorily. A few good bunches have been
obtained the first season or two under very favorable
circumstances ; but after that the failure is complete.
This has rendered glass, heat, and shelter necessary.
The building—These are constructed of all sizes and
-at various degrees of expense, from $50 to $500. Some
have single lean-to roofs; others have double or span
roofs. The walls of some are built of brick or stone;
others are of wood, wholly. The cheapest and simplest
structure of this kind is the lean-to. The back may be
nine or ten feet high, composed of strong cedar posts six |
feet. apart, and boarded up on both sides. The ends are
made in the same manner. The front may be two feet
I54 PRUNING.
high, or three, made of posts, and boards or planks, same
as the back. Sills or plates are put on the front and back
walls, and then rafters at three and a half to four feet
apart. The sashes slip in between the rafters, and rest
on a strip of wood on their sides. Unless the grapery be
very small, the sash should be in two parts, the lower one
twice as long as the upper, and fixed. The-upper to slide
down over the under one on pulleys, to ventilate the house ;
doors are in each end at the back, and means are provided
for admitting air in front by the opening of boards like
shutters. |
The border is made for the vines outside the front wall,
or part outside and part in, twelve to sixteen feet wide,
also two or three deep. This is done by digging a trench
or pit the length and width; draining it thoroughly, that
not a drop of water can lodge about it. Then lay a few
inches of small stones, broken bricks, shells, ete., in the
bottom for drainage; and fill up the remainder six inches
above the level of the ground, and sloping outwards, with
a good compost, of one-half surface loam (turf from an old
pasture), and the other of well rotted stable manure,
shells, street scrapings, a small portion of night soil, offal,
ete. All these must be prepared by frequent turning and
mixing a few months beforehand.
The vines may be one or two years old, and are prefer-
able in pots raised from single eyes. They should be
planted in the spring. A plant is placed under each
rafter outside, and carried through under the wall into the
house. The stem is cut back to two or three eyes, and when
these break the strongest shoot is selected, and the others
pinched off. This shoot is trained, as it grows, to a light
trellis of iron, or thick wire rods attached to the rafter,
and eight or ten inches from the glass. If all goes well,
it reaches the top of the house that season. In September
the top may be pinched to check the flow of sap to the
THE GRAPE VINE. 255
point, and throw it more into the lateral buds to increase
their strength. During the summer no other shoot is
allowed to grow but this.
Pruning.—Iin November or December it is taken down,
pruned, if according to the spur system, which is the sim-
plest, to within three or four feet of its base, laid on the
ground, and covered with leaves, evergreen boughs, or
mats. There it remains till the buds begin to swell in
the spring, when it is again fastened to the trellis. The
shoot from the terminal bud continues the cane, and no
fruit is allowed on it. Those below it produce lateral
shoots, from each of which a bunch of grapes may be
taken, and each of these must be stopped at two eyes
above the bunch; and this is repeated as often as neces-
sary, to give the fruit the whole benefit of the sap. The
leading shoot is again stopped in September by pinching
off its point, to increase the vigor of its lateral buds. In
the fall, when the leaves have dropped, the vine is again
taken down. The leader is pruned back to within three
to four feet of the old wood. The laterals that have borne
are pruned to three eyes, and it is then covered up. This
is the routine of spur training. In long cane pruning, the
young shoot, after the first season’s growth, is cut back
to three eyes, and the next season two shoots are trained
up. ‘The next season the strongest is selected for fruit, and
pruned to about three feet; each of the eyes left will
produce a fruit shoot, from which one bunch only will be
taken. The weaker cane is cut back to one eye, and this
produces a shoot for next year’s bearing, and so this goes
on. When the vine becomes strong, several bearing canes
may be provided for every season. This renewal or long
cane is very simple, and requires much less cutting than
the spur. It also produces a superior quality of fruit, but
in general not so large a quantity.
Thinning the Fruit—When the fruit attains the size
256 PRUNING.
of a garden pea, one third of the smaller ones should be
cut out carefully with pointed scissors (see implements)
that are prepared for this purpose. The object of this is,
to allow the fruits to swell out to their full size. Varie-
ties that produce very compact bunches require more
severe thinning than those of a loose, open bunch.
Cleaning the Vine-—At the time the vines are taken
from their winter quarters and trellised, they should be
well washed with a solution of soft soap and tobacco
water, to kill all eggs of insects, and remove all loose
bark and filth that may have accumulated on them dur-
ing the season previous. The house, too, should be
cleaned and renovated at the same time.
Syringing the Vines and the Fruit—Every one who
has a grapery must be provided with a good hand syringe,
for this is necessary during the whole season. As soon
as they begin to grow, they should be occasionally
syringed in the morning, except while they are in bloom.
After the fruit has set, they should be syringed every
evening, and the house kept closed till the next forenoon
when the sun is out warm. ~
Regulating the temperature-—When the temperature
exceeds ninety to one hundred degrees, air should be ad-
mitted at the top, and, if necessary, at the bottom.
To prevent mildew.—This may be looked for in July.
Syringing freely night and morning, and the admission
of air during the warmest hours of the day, are the best
preventives of this disease. Mr. Allen recommends
dusting sulphur on the floor, at the rate of one pound for
every twenty square feet ; and if it continues to increase,
to syringe the vines in the evening, and dust the foliage
with it.
Mr. Buist recommends a solution of five pounds of flour
of sulphur in four gallons of water, and after it has set-
THE FILBERT. 257
tled to add one fourth of it to the water used in syring-
ing.
This is but an imperfect outline of the management of
a cold grapery. Those who wish full information on all
points of the subject, should consult Allen’s excellent
work, which treats of all kinds of graperies and their
management in complete detail.
Section 9.—Pruninc AND TRAINING THE FILBERT.
The filbert in this country is a neglected fruit. It is
seldom found in the garden, and more rarely still ina
prolific, well-grown condition. Of all other trees, it re-
quires regular and proper pruning to maintain its fruitful-
ness. The blossoms are monccious—that is, the male
organs which are in long catkins (fig. 36), are produced
from one bud, and the female flowers from another.
The blossom or fruit buds are produced on shoots of one
year’s growth, and bear fruit the next. The fruit is borne
in a cluster on the end of a small twig produced from the
bud bearing the female organs.
It is said that in the neighborhood of Maidstone, county
of Kent, England, the filbert orchards occupy several
hundred acres, and from these the principal supply of the
London market is obtained. One acre has been known to
produce £50 sterling, or $250 worth, in one season. The
pruning of these Kent growers is supposed to be most
perfect of its kind, especially for their soil and climate.
It is described as follows in the “ Transactions of the Lon-
don Horticultural Society :”
“‘ The suckers are taken from the parent plant generally in the
autumn, and planted in nursery beds (being first shortened to ten
or twelve inches), where they remain three or four years. They
are slightly pruned every year, in order to form strong lateral
shoots, the number of which varies from four to six. But though
258 PRUNING.
it is the usual practice to plant the suckers in nursery beds, I
would advise every one to plant them where they are to remain,
whether they are intended for a garden or a larger plantation ;
and after being suffered to grow without restraint for three or four
years, to cut them down within a few inches of the ground.
From the remaining part, if the trees are well rooted in the soil,
five or six strong shoots will be produced. Whichever method is
practised, the subsequent treatment of the trees will be exactly
the same.
‘‘In the second year after cutting down, these shoots are
shortened ; generally one-third is taken off. If very weak, I
would advise that the trees be quite cut down a second time, as in
the previous spring ; but it would be much better not to cut them
down till the trees give evident tokens of their being able to pro-
duce shoots of sufficient strength. When they are thus shortened,
that they may appear regular, let a small hoop be placed within
the branches, to which the shoots are to be fastened at equal dis-
tances. By this practice two considerable advantages will be
gained—the trees will grow more regular, and the middle will be
kept hollow, so as to admit the influence of the sun and air,
“Tn the third year a shoot will spring from each bud ; these
must be suffered to grow till the following autumn, or fourth year,
when they are to be cut off nearly close to the original stem, and
the leading shoot of the last year shortened two-thirds.
‘“‘Tn the fifth year several small shoots wil! arise from the bases
of the side branches which were cut off the preceding year; these
are produced from small buds, and would not have been emitted
had not the branch on which they are situated been shortened,
the whole nourishment being carried to the upper part of the
branch. It is from these shoots that fruit is to be expected.
These productive shoots will in a few, years become very numerous,
and many of them must be taken off, particularly the strongest,
in order to encourage the production of the smaller ones; for
those of the former year become so exhausted that they generally
decay ; but whether decayed or not, they are always cut out by
the pruner, and a fresh supply must therefore be provided to pro-
duce the fruit in the succeeding year. The leading shoot is every
THE FILBERT. 259
year to be shortened two-thirds, or more should the tree be weak,
and the whole height of the branches must not exceed six feet.
“ The method of pruning above detailed might, in a few words,
be called a method of spurring, by which bearing shoots are pro-
duced, which otherwise would have had no existence. Old trees
are easily induced to bear in this manner, by selecting a sufficient
number of the main branches, and then cutting the side shoots
off nearly close, excepting any should be so situated as not to
interfere with the others, and there should be no main branch di-
rected to that particular part. It will, however, be two or three
years before the full effect will be produced. By the above
method of pruning, thirty hundred per acre have been grown in
particular grounds and in particular years, yet twenty hundred is
considered a large crop, and rather more than half that quantity
may be called a more usual one ; and even then the crop totally
fails three years out of five ; so that the annual average quantity
cannot be reckoned at more than five hundred per acre.
“When I refiected upon the reason of failure happening so
often as three years out of five, it occurred to me that possibly
it might arise from the excessive productiveness of the other two.
Tn order to ensure fruit every year, I have usually left a large pro-
portion of those shoots which, from their strength, I suspected
would not be so productive of blossom-buds as the shorter ones ;
leaving them more ina state of nature than is usually done, not
pruning them so closely as to weaken the trees by excessive bear-
ing, nor leaying them so entirely to their natural growth, as to
cause their annual productiveness to be destroyed by a superfluity
of wood. These shoots, in the spring of the year, I have usuall-
shortened to a blossom-bud.”’
Such is the management of these celebrated filbert
growers, their principal object being to keep the trees
small, open in the centre, and covered in every part with
fruit spurs. A similar system, but less severe in the cut-
ting back, may be pursued here; some such. course of
treatment as recommended for the head of the quince as
to form and fruitfulness.
260 . PRUNING.
Instead of relying on the spring pruning to subdue
vigor and induce fruitfulness, pinching should be prac-
tised during the summer; for this not only checks the
production of wood, but of roots. Root pruning, too, may
be safely practised in August, when pruning and pinch-
ing of the branches prove insuflicient.
In all cases, suckers must be completely eradicated
every season, or as soon as they make their appearance.
The want of pruning, and the growth of suckers, make
the filbert in nearly all our gardens completely barren; a
rank production of wood only is obtained year after year.
We find that grafting the finer kinds on stocks of the
common filbert raised from seed, renders the trees much
more prolific naturally, and also smaller in size. We
have trees here now bearing only three years from the
graft ; the stems are eighteen inches to two feet high, and
they are very pretty. Their natural vigor is greatly sub-
dued by the graft. The French conduct them in pyramids
with great success, on the same principle as other trees.
SEction 10.—Cuxturer, Pronie, AND TRAINING oF THE Fie.
In the Northern States the fig is cultivated with very
little success in the open ground, but fine crops are pro-
duced in the vineries recommended for foreign grapes;
and it is in these only that its culture can yield any con-
siderable degree of satisfaction, north of Maryland at
least.
Propagation.—The surest and best mode is by layers.
A large branch may be layered in the spring, and will be
sufficiently rooted in the fall to be planted out. Cuttings
also strike freely, and make good plants in one season.
All the modes of propagation recommended for the
quince, may be applied to the fig. Cuttings are generallr
preferred in the South.
THE FIG. 961
Sow.—It succeeds in any good rich, warm garden soil,
suitable for other fruit trees. In very light or dry soils
the fruits fall before maturity, as they require at that
season in particular a large amount of moisture; but it is
better that it be too dry than too moist, for in the latter
case nothing but soft unripe and unfruitful shoots is
obtained, whilst in the former moisture can be supplied at
the time when it may be required. The wood should be
short-jointed, the buds not more than one-fourth of an
inch apart. In England dry chalky soils produce the
finest crops.
Pruning.—tThe fig is somewhat peculiar in its mode of
bearing. No blossoms appear, but the figs are produced
on the stem, appearing at first like buds. The young
shoots of last season bear fruit the next; and the shoots
produced during first growth produce fruit the same
season, and this is called the “second crop.” These never
ripen, and should never be encouraged where the plants
require protection. In warm climates, as in some of our
Southern States, these two crops ripen perfectly, though
the first from the previous season’s wood is larger and
better.
This mode of bearing shows that little pruning is neces-
sary, beyond the cutting away of old or worn out branches,
and thinning and regulating others. Unfruitful trees, in
a moist and rich ground, should be pinched in summer to
check their growth, and concentrate the sap more in the
lateral buds. toot Pruning, too, may be applied as on
other trees. Mr. Downing recommends this in his Fruit
and Fruit Trees.
Training—Wherever the trees are hardy enough to
withstand the winter without protection, they may be
grown in the form of low standards, as recommended for
the peach; but when protection is required, where the
branches have to be laid down and covered during winter,
262 PRUNING.
they must be grown in stools or bushes, with a dozen or
more stems rising from the socket. These are easily laid
down and covered, and easily brought up to their places
again, in the way that raspberry canes are managed. To
produce this form, the young tree is planted in the bottom
of a trench about a third deeper than in ordinary cases, and
a basin is left around it. At the end of the first season’s
growth, it is cut back to a few inches of the base; there a
number of shoots are produced. As these grow up the
earth is drawn in around them, to favor the production
of other shoots at their base; and in this way it is
managed until the requisite number of branches is ob-
tained.
Protection —Trained in this way, a trench is opened for
each branch, or three or four may be put in one trench,
if convenient; they are fastened down with hooked pegs
as in layering, and covered with a foot of earth, which
should be drawn up in the mound form, to throw off the
water.
Ripening the fruit.—In fig growing countries, and to
some extent here, there is a practice of applying a drop of
olive oil to the eye of the fruit, to hasten its maturity.
This is usually done by means of a straw.
Training in Graperies.—The back wall of a lean-to cold
vinery is an excellent place for the fig. It may be
trained on a trellis in the fan or horizontal manner, but
severe pruning must not be practised to produce regu-
larity.
Section 11.—Prunine THE GoOSEBERRY.
The gooseberry produces fruit buds and spurs on wood
two years old and upwards. Fig. 127 represents the two-
year-old wood, A, with fruit buds C, C, and B, the one-
THE GOOSEBERKY.
year old wood with wood buds, D, D. Of
these wood buds, the upper one next season
would produce a shoot, and the lower ones
would probably be transformed into fruit
buds. At the base of one of the fruit buds,
C,may be seen asmall wood bud d; this
during next season will produce a small
shoot orspur. The great point to aim at in
this country, must always be to maintain a
vigorous condition; the moment the plant
becomes feeble or stinted, the fruit is so at-
tacked with mildew or rust as to be utterly
worthless. Hence it is that young plants
usually bear excellent crops for the first or
second year, while after that the mildew is
in some varieties and situations unconquer-
able.
The bush should have a stem of three or
four inches in height, and a head composed
of five or six main branches, placed at equal
distances and inclined outwards, to prevent
denseness and confusion in the centre.
These main branches should be furnished
with bearing wood in all their length. The
production of such a bush may be accom-
plished by the following means:
263
Fic. 127.
Braneh of the
gooseberry, A, two
year old wood, B,
one year, C, C,
fruit buds, D. D
wood buds, d, a
small wood bud at
the base of fruit
bud C.
Supposing the young plant as it comes from the nursery
to be either a two-year old cutting, or a one-year bedded
layer, in either case it will have a stem of two or three
inches at least, and a few branches at the top. Before
planting, all the buds on the part of the stem to be below
the ground are cut out, to prevent them from producing
suckers. Among the branches, three of those most favor-
ably situated, are selected for the formation of the head,
264 PRUNING.
and the others are cut out entirely. The reserved branches
are then cut back to two or three buds; from these one
shoot is taken on each branch, and the others are pinched
to favor this. By this method we shall have three stout
shoots in the fall. If the plant had been well rooted, in-
stead of being newly transplanted, we might have taken
two shoots instead of one from each shortened branch.
These three branches are cut back at the next pruning to
three or four buds, and from each two new shoots are
taken, giving at the end of that season six stout young
shoots, situated at equal distances. At the next or third
pruning these branches are cut back about one-half, in
order to produce lateral branches and fruit spurs. At the
fourth pruning, the leading shoot is shortened one-third
to one-half. Any lateral branches not required to fill up
spaces, or such as are improperly placed, are cut back to
three or four buds, so as to convert them into fruit
branches. :
In this way the pruning is conducted from year to year.
When the plants become feeble from overbearing, the
fruit branches may be headed down and replaced by new
vigorous shoots. The better way, however, to provide
for this difficulty, is to raise young plants from layers or
cuttings, to be at once substituted for such as fall a victim
to the mildew. easel to March.
177. St. Michael igi bagel: —Large, melting, very
productive.—October.
178. Suzette de Bavay.—Medium, melting, first quality,
remarkably productive ; is said to keep all winter ; best in
March and April.
179. St. Dorothée—Large to medium, greenish yellow,
russeted; melting, sprightly, and fine. October. This
has bolas with Mr. Hovey, who gives it a very high
character.
180. Triomphe de Jodoigne (Bouvier).—Very large,
QUINCES. 319
melting ; tree very vigorous and productive. November
and December. Has proved good at Boston.
181. Zarqguin.-Large, coarse; for cooking only; tree
very vigorous and productive ; is said to keep two years.
182. Viscomte Spoelberg.—Medium size to small, yellow
tinged with red next the sun; buttery and melting ; first-
rate under good culture; succeeds well on the quince.—
November.
SEcTION 8.—QUINCES.
1. Apple-Shaped or Orange.—Large, roundish, with a
short neck; of a bright golden yellow color; tree has
rather slender shoots and oval leaves; very productive.
This is the variety most extensively cultivated for the
fruit. Ripe in October.
2. Pear-Shaped.—This has generally more of a pyri-
form shape than the preceding; the fruit is larger and
finer, the tree stronger. |
3. Portugal—tvThe fruit of this is more oblong than the
preceding, of a lighter color and better quality, but not
so good a bearer; the shoots are stouter, and the leaves
thicker and broader; usually propagated by budding or
grafting on the Apple Quince. A week or two later than
the Apple.
4. Angers—A variety of the Portugal, the strongest
grower of all the quinces, and the best for pear stocks.
The fruit is also said to be larger and rather better than
any of the others. We have not seen it yet, but expect
our trees to bear this season, 1851.
5. Upright—A. variety with slender erect branches ;
grows more freely from cuttings than any other. We
have not fruited it, nor found it anywhere described, but
have trees now showing fruit buds. Received among
stocks from France.
320 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
6. Chinese.—Usually cultivated for.ornament. Quite
different in appearance from the others. The leaves are
glossy, sharply and beautifully toothed ; the fruit is large,
oblong, bright yellow, and keeps till spring ; little used.
The flowers are large and showy, with the fragrance of
the violet; worked on the other sorts; rather tender,
‘equiring a sheltered situation. A very tardy bearer.
7. Japan—tThis is very distinct from all the others ;
very bushy, thorny, and hardy. There are two varieties.
The common one has beautiful bright red blossoms, and
the other blush; the most beautiful of all our hardy
spring flowering shrubs. Jruit about as large as a
chicken’s egg; green, and quite unfit for use.
SECOND DIVISION.—STONE FRUITS—APRICOTS, CHERRIES,
PEACHES, NECTARINES AND PLUMS.
Srecrion 4.-—SrnEect APRICOTS.
1. Breda.—Small, round, dull orange, marked with red
in the sun, flesh orange colored, juicy, rich and vinous ;
parts from the stone, kernel sweet, tree hardy, robust and
prolific—End of July and beginning of August.
2. Early Golden (Dubois).—Small, pale orange, flesh
orange, juicy and sweet; kernel sweet; tree very hardy
and productive. The original tree at Fishkill is said to
have yielded $90 worth of fruit in one season.—Beginning
of July.
3. Large Early. Large, orange, with a red cheek, flesh
sweet, rich and excellent, parts from the stone; tree vigo-
rous and productive-—Beginning of August.
4. Moorpark.—One of the largest and finest apricots,
yellow, with ared cheek, flesh orange, sweet, juicy and
rich, parts from the stone; growth ee slow, but stout
and short jointed; very productive.
CHERRIES. 3821
5. Orange-——Medium size, orange, with a ruddy cheek,
flesh rather dry, requires ripening in the house; adheres
slightly to the stone—End of July.
6. Peach—A very large, handsome and excellent va-
riety, quite similar to the Moorpark ; the shoots are not so
short jointed, and the fruit a degree larger.
7—Purple or Black Apricot—tThis is quite distinct in
all respects from others, very much like a plum, small,
pale red, purple in the sun, flesh yellow, juicy and plea-
sant. The tree has slender dark shoots, and small, oval,
glossy foliage. It is as hardy as a plum, and therefore
worthy of attention where the finer sorts are too tender.
—August.
Nos. 1 and 2 are the surest and most abundant bearers,
but 3, 4 and 6 are the largest and finest. No. 7 is only
recommended by its hardiness, for localities where the
others do not succeed.
Section 5.—SrELEcT CHERRIES.
CLASS I.—HEART CHERRIES.
Fruit heart shaped, with tender sweet flesh. Trees of
rapid growth, with large, soft drooping leaves.
1. American Amber._—-Medium size, amber, shaded and
mottled with bright red; tender, juicy, sweet and deli-
cious; hangs very long on the tree without rotting; re-
markably vigorous and productive-—End of June till mid-
dle of July.
2. Bauwman’s May—Small, dark red; tender, juicy
and sweet. Tree a vigorous grower, anda most abundant
bearer. Ripens very early ; middle of June here. French.
3. Black Heart.—An excellent old variety ; rather large,
black, tender, juicy and rich. Tree grows large, and is
very prolific.—Beginning of July. French.
14*
322 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
4. Black Hagle—tLarge, black, tender, juicy, rich and
high flavored. ‘Tree a rapid, stout grower and productive.
Ripe beginning of July to the 15th. English.
5. Black Tartarian.—V ery large, purplish black, half
tender; flavor mild and pleasant. Tree a remarkably
vigorous, erect and beautiful grower, and an immense
bearer.—Ripe last of June and beginning of July. One
of the most popular varieties in all parts of the country.
Russian.
6. Burr’s Seedling.—Large, pointed; flesh color in the
shade, pale red in the sun; tender, sweet and delicious.
In luxuriant foliage and stateliness of growth it surpasses
even the Black Tartarian.—Beginning of July. New;
origin, Perrinton, Monroe county. New York.
7. Coes Transparent—Medium size, pale amber, red
and mottled next the sun; tender, sweet and fine-—End
of June here. Tree vigorous and erect. Origin, Middle-
town, Conn.
8. Davenport's Harly.—Very similar in all respects to
Black Heart, but a few days earlier. American.
9. Downers Late Feed.—Rather large, light red, tender
and juicy; slightly bitter until fully ripe, when it is
most delicious. Tree is a vigorous erect grower, and pro-
ductive.—Tenth to twentieth of July. American, and one
of the best of all.
10. Early White Heart—Medium size, yellowish white,
red in the sun; tender and sweet, growth moderately
vigorous and erect.—Middle and last of June. :
11. Karly Purple Guigne—Small to medium size, pur-
ple, tender, juicy and sweet. Growth slender and spread-
ing.—Ripe at same time as Bauman’s May. French.
12. Hlton.—Large, pointed; pale yellow, nearly covered
with light red; half tender, juicy, rich and delicious.
Tree vigorous, spreading and irregular—End of June.
English.
CHERRIES. 323
13. Anighi’s Karly Black.—Large, black, tender, juicy,
rich and excellent. Tree vigorous and very productive;
branches spreading.—Ripe a few days before Black Tar-
tarian. English.
14. Mannings Mottled —Rather large, amber shaded
and mottled distinctly with red; tender, sweet and deli-
cious. Tree erect, vigorous and productive-—End of June.
Massachusetts. ,
15. Sweet Montmorency.—Small, light red, tender and
sweet. Tree vigorous, erect and productive.—Ripens
about the same time as Sparhawk’s Honey, or afew days
later. American.
16. White French Guigne (probably the “ Merisier a
gros fruit blanc,” of the French).—A distinct and beauti-
ful cherry, rather large, creamy white, flesh tender and
melting; juice colorless, sweet, with a scarcely percepti-
ble degree of bitterness; not attacked by the birds, like
red and black cherries. Tree is vigorous and very pro-
ductive.-—Middle of July. French.
17. Wilkinson.—Medium size, black, tender, juicy and
rich. Tree vigorous, erect and productive.-—Ripens late,
succeeds Downer’s. Massachusetts.
18. Sparhawh’s Honey. Medium size, roundish, light
red, sweet and delicious; stone large. Tree a vigorous,
pyramidal grower and very productive-—Ripens with
Downer’s late, and hangs long on the tree; a great favo-
rite with most people. Massachusetts.
CLASS II.--BIGARREAU CHERRIES.
These are chiefly distinguished from the preceding
class by their firmer flesh. Their growth is vigorous,
branches spreading, and foliage luxuriant, soft and droop-
ing.
19. Bigarreau, or Yellow Spanish—Large, pale yel-
oot SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
low, with a bright red cheek in the sun; flesh firm, juicy
and delicious; one of the best, most beautiful, and popular
of all light colored cherries. Tree vigorous and produc-
tive—End of June. Turkish.
20. Butiner’s Yellow.—Medium size, yellow, flesh crisp,
juicy and sweet. Tree vigorous and productive. Its pe-
culiar and beautiful color makes this sort desirable-—End
of July. |
21. China Bigarreau.—Medium size, oval, red, beauti-
fully speckled; firm, sweet and rich, with a scarcely per-
ceptible bitterness. Tree vigorous, erect, and a most pro-
fuse bearer; a very distinct and pretty variety —DBegin-
ning of July. Hangs long on the tree.
22. Flesh-Oolored Bigarreau (Bigarrean couleur de
chair)—A large and beautiful cherry, resembling the
Elton, and ripening about the same time. 'rench.
93. Florence.—A beautiful cherry, resembling the Bi-
garreau; but firmer, and a week later. I'rom Florence.
24. Gridley or Apple Cherry.—Medium size, dark
brown, nearly black; flesh very firm, sprightly sub-acid,
high flavored. Tree grows rapidly and erect, and bears
immense crops. Its firmness and lateness make it very
valuable for market.—Middle to last of July. Mass.
25. Hildesheim Bigarreau.—Medium size, yellow, red
in the sun; flesh firm, sweet and agreeable. ‘Tree is a
good grower, but the ends of the young shoots are apt to
get winter killed here—Beginning of August. German.
26. Holland Bigarreau.—A very large and beautiful
cherry; pale yellow, covered with bright red in the sun;
flesh firm, juicy, sweet and fine flavored. Tree vigorous,
with spreading, irregular branches.—End of June and be-
ginning of July. Dutch.
27. Large Heart-shaped Bigarreau (Gros Couret).—
Large, dark, shining brown; firm, rich and excellent.
CHERRIES. 325
Tree vigorous, branches spreading—Middle of July.
French.
28. Madison Bigarreau—Medium size, amber, co-
vered with red in the sun; flesh half tender, sweet and
fine flavored—End of June and beginning of July.
American.
29. Merveille de Sept—A. new French cherry, remark-
able only for its lateness—Ripens with us the last of
August. Tree a vigorous grower and good bearer. Fruit
small, firm, rather dry and sweet.
30. Wapoleon Bigarreau.—A magnificent, large cherry,
surpassing in size and beauty all the others; pale yellow,
with a bright red cheek; flesh very firm until fully ripe,
when it becomes tender, juicy and sweet. Tree is a
vigorous grower, and bears enormous crops.—Beginning
of July. French.
31. Lockport Bigarreau (Dr. Kirkland).—Large, pale
amber in the shade, light red in the sun; half tender,
sweet and good. can vigorous and erect —Ripe same
time as Black Tartarian. Ohio..
82. Tradescant’s Black Heart (Elkhorn).—Very large,
blacx, firm, juicy and good. Tree vigorous and upright,
with peculiar gray bark. A great bearer, and so late as
to be very valuable.— Middle and last of July. England.
33. Tardwe ad Argental—Large, long, dark, shining,
red, nearly black; tender, when ripe; juicy, with a pecu-
liar flavor, something like raspberry. Tree is an upright,
vigorous grower, with peculiar small, light, wavy leaves.
—Middle of July.
CLASS IIl.—DUKE AND MORELLO CHERRIES.
’ These two classes of cherries are very distinct from the
preceding. The trees are of smaller size and grow
slowly ; the leaves are thicker and more erect, and of a
326 _ SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
deeper green. The fruit is grenerally round, and in color
varying from light red, like Belle de Choisy, to dark
brown, like Mayduke or Morello.
The Dukes have stout, erect branches usually, and some
of them, like Belle de Choisy and Reine Hortense, quite
sweet, whilst the J/orellos have slender, spreading
branches, and acid fruit invariably. These two classes
are peculiarly appropriate for dwarfs and pyramids, on
the mahaleb stock, and their hardiness renders them well
worthy of attention in localities where the Hearts and
Bigarreaus are too tender. |
34. Belle de Choisy—Medium size, amber shaded and
mottled with red; tender, melting, sweet and rich ; rather
a shy bearer; tree makes a pretty pyramid.—End of
June. Irench.
35. Belle Magnifique-—A magnificent, large, red, late
cherry ; excellent for cooking, and fine for table when
fully ripe, rather acid, tender, juicy, rich; tree is a slow
grower, but a most profuse bearer; makes a fine dwarf
or a pyramid on the mahaleb.—Last of July. French.
36. Carnation.—Large, light, red mottled with orange;
tender, juicy, a little acid, rich, and excellent; tree is a
good grower and a profuse bearer ; makes a fine dwarf.—
Middle and last of July.
37. Donna Maria—Medium size, dark red, tender,
juicy, acid, rich, fine for cooking; tree small, very pro-
lific—Middle of July. French. ;
38. Du Nord Nouvelle—A new French morello, ripens
all through August; medium size, bright red, tender,
acid; useful on account of its lateness; makes a beau-
tiful dwarf or pyramid.
39. Early Richmond, Kentish or Montmorency.—An
early, red, acid cherry, very valuable for cooking early in
the season.—Ripens through June.
40. Hlemish Montmorency.—A remarkably short-stem-
é
CHERRIES. 327
med, flattened cherry ; medium size, red, tender, juicy,
acid, good for cooking ; rather a poor bearer, but curious.
41. Indulle, Nain Precoce-—The earliest of all cher-
ries, ripening about the last of May or first of June ; it is
dwarf in habit, and makes a pretty bush on the mahaleb
stock; the foliage is small, dark, and glossy, and it is
quite prolific. French.
42. Jeffries Duke.—Medium size, red, tender, sub-acid ;
branches erect and stiff; makes a beautiful pyramid.—
Middle of June.
43. Late Duke—Large, light red, late and excellent ;
tree makes a nice dwarf or pyramid.—End of July.
44, May Duke—An old, well known, excellent variety,
large, dark red, juicy, sub-acid, rich; tree hardy, vigo-
rous, and fruitful; ripens a long time in succession ; fine
for dwarfs and pyramids.—Middle of June, for several
weeks.
45. Morello (English).—Large, dark red, nearly black,
tender, juicy, sub-acid, rich; tree small and slender ;
makes a fine bush on the mahaleb; if trained on a north
wall, it may be in use through all the month of August.
46. Plumstoné Morello—Large, dark red, rich and
fine; the best of all the morellos; tree a slender, slow
grower; makes a nice bush on the mahaleb.—July and
August.
47. Reine Hortense, Monstreuse de Bavay—A new
French cherry of great excellence; large, bright red,
tender, juicy, nearly sweet, and delicious ; tree vigorous,
and bears well; makes a beautiful pyramid.
NEW AND RARE CHERRIES RECENTLY BROUGHT TO NOTICH.
48. Bigarreau Monstreuse de Mezel —A very large,
fine variety, recently introduced from France, but not
fully equal to the character given it in the French jour-
528 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
nals. It is quite as large as Zvradescant’s black, and
somewhat similar in form; of a dark red, approaching a
mahogany color when ripe; very firm; tree of a vigorous
habit, similar to the Elton.
49. Belle @ Orleans—A beautiful medium sized pale
cherry, ripening immediately after Bauman’s May and
Early Purple; from France.
50. Champagne.—A. new variety, raised by Mr. Charles
Downing, of Newburgh ; described in “ Hort.,” vol. v., as
being very hardy, a great bearer, fruit medane size, brik
red, ‘‘ with a lively rich flavor, a mingling of sugar and
acid ;” ripe twentieth of June, and hangs sate on the
tree.
51. Downing’s Red Cheekh—This is also desasthed in
the “ Hort.,” as “ far handsomer, as well as more tender
and sweet, than the Bigarreau or Graffiion, which it some-
what resembles,” and precedes a few days in ripening.
52. Great Bigarreau.—This name has been given by
Mr. Downing “temporarily, until its real name be
found,” to a very large, fine cherry, recently brought into
notice by Mr. L. M. Ferris, of Orange county, New York,
who found it among imported fruit trées growing upon
an estate of which he has recently come into possession.
It is described as larger than the Black Tartarian, and
fully equal in quality, and ripening a few days later;
described in “ Hort.,” in January, 1851.
53. New Large Black Bigarreau.—Described in ‘ Ho-
vey’s Magazine,” December, 1850, as brought from the
south of France fifteen or twenty years ago, by a gentle-
man of Charlestown, Mass. No doubt, identical with
“the Great Bigarreaw” of Mr. Downing; and as it has
been known for many years by this name, it will, of
course, take the preference if they prove identical.
54. Loberts’ Red Heart.—A heart variety, raised in
CHERRIES. 329
Salem, Mass., medium size, pale amber, mottled with red,
juicy, and sweet; a great bearer; ripe last of June.
55. Vail’s August Duke.—This is described as being
one third larger than the J/ay Duke, and ripening at
Troy about the eighth or tenth of August; of a bright red
color and flavor like the May Duke ; originated by Henry
Vail, Esq., of Troy; described in “ Hort.,” vol. iv.
SMALL SELECT LISTS.
for the Garden—Nos. 11, 13, 4, 44, 12, 9, 34, 35, and
45.
Lor the Market Orchard.—Nos. 5, 19, 30, 24, 32, 4,
and 13.
for Small Hardy Trees—Nos. 34, 35, 36, 41, 45, 46,
47, and 39.
Section 6.—SrtEect NEcTARINES.
The nectarine tree differs in nothing from a peach, and
the fruit only in being smooth skinned. It is peculiarly
liable to be destroyed by the curculio, so that it is not
advisable to plant it in small gardens.
1. Boston—tLarge, bright yellow, with a red cheek;
flesh yellow, sweet and pleasant flavor, freestone.—First
of September. __
2. Downton.—Large, greenish white, with a dark red
cheek ; flesh greenish white, rich and high flavored ; one
of the best. Free.
3. Early Violet, Violette Hative-—Medium size, yel-
lowish green, with a purple cheek ; flesh pale green, melt-
ing, rich and high flavored. Free.—Last of August.
4, Elruge.—Medium size, greenish yellow, with a dark
red cheek; flesh greenish white, juicy, and high flavored ;
excellent.—_Beginning of September. Free.
830 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
5. Early Newington.—Large, pale green, red in the ©
sun; flesh pale, red at the stone, juicy, and rich ; adheres
to the stone. Cling. |
6. Hunts Tawny—Medium size; yellow, with a red
cheek ; flesh yellow, rich, and juicy-—Beginning of Au-
gust. Free. ,
T. Hardwick Seedling.—Large, pale green, with a vio-
let red cheek; flesh pale green, juicy, melting, and rich.
—End of August. Free.
Nos. 2, 8, and 4, were recommended for general culti-
vation by the Pomological Congress at New York in
1849.
The Great Stanwick Nectarine, of which so much has
been said in England, will soon be introduced here, and
will be well worthy the attention of those who can give
ita wall or a place under glass.
Section 7.—SELECT PEACHES.
CLASS I.—FREESTONES.
Fl]. s. DENOTES SMALL FLOWERS; gl. eLanps ; glob. GLOBOSE ; AND
ren. RENIFORM.
1. Alberge Yellow (Barnard’s, Yellow Rare-Ripe, etc.).
—Large, deep yellow, with a dull red cheek, flesh yellow,
Juicy, and rich; tree vigorous, hardy, and productive.—
Beginning of September. Fs. small, globose glands.
2. Bergen’s Yellow.—Very large, orange, red in the
sun; flesh yellow, juicy and fine flavored ; tree produc-
tive. This is considered one of the best of yellow peaches.
—Middle of September. Glands ren. fl. small.
3. Brevoort, or Brevoort’s Morris.—Large, dull white,
with a red cheek; flesh pale, sweet, and fine flavored; a
good and regular bearer.—Beginning of September. Fis.
small, glands ren.
PEACHES. gan
4. Coles Karly Red—Medium size, mostly clouded
and mottled with red; flesh pale, juicy, rich, and deli-
cious; tree vigorous, and an abundant bearer.—Middle
of August. Glands globose, flowers small.
5. Cooledge’s Favorite.—A most beautiful and excellent
peach; skin white, delicately mottled with red; fiesh
pale, juicy, and rich; tree vigorous and productive.—
Middle to end of August. Flowers small, globose glands.
6. Crawford’s Harly—A magnificent, large, yeliow
peach, of good quality; tree exceedingly vigorous and
prolific ; its size, beauty, and productiveness, make it one
of the most popular orchard varieties.—Beginning of
September. Glands globose, flowers small.
7. Crawford’s Late Melocoton (Crawford’s mi guidhaee
Really a superb yellow peach, very large, productive and
good, ripening about the close of the peach season.—Last
of September. Glands globose, fi. small.
8. Druid Hill.—Large, roundish, greenish white, cloud-
ed with red next the sun ; flesh gr Seiad white, juicy, and
rich ; very productive.-—Middle of September. Origin-
ated at Baltimore. Fl. s. gl. glob.
9. Karly Newington Free.—Large, whitish, with a red
cheek ; flesh pale, red at the stone, rich and vinous flavor.
—End of August. Fl. s. gl. ren.
10. Early Anne (Green Nutmeg)—Small, greenish
white, with a red cheek; flesh pale, sweet, and good.—
End of July. Flowers large, no glands, unthrifty, and
liable to mildew ; only recommended for its earliness.
11. Harly York (Early Purple, Serrate Early York,
etc.)—Medium size; on young thrifty trees large, green-
ish white, covered in the sun with dull purplish red ; flesh
juicy, rich and excellent; tree a fair grower and very
prolific ; one of the best early orchard varieties.— Middle
of August. Leaves serrate, flowers large.
12. Early Tillotson—An excellent variety, ripening
832 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
with the preceding, about the same size, and of excellent
flavor; the tree is sometimes considerably affected with
mildew, and in particular cases the fruit also; it should
have warm, light soil, and open exposure. Serrate, fls.
small. i
13. George the Fourth—Large, white, with a red
cheek ; flesh pale, juicy, and rich; tree vigorous, and
bears moderate crops, of the highest quality—End of
August. Gl. glob., fls. small.
14. Grosse Mignonne—tLarge, dull white, with a red
cheek ; flesh pale, juicy, with a rich, vinous flavor; a free
grower and good bearer. In England it is called “ the best
peach in cultivation.”—-End of August. Flowers large,
globose glands.
15. Haines Karly.—Large, white, with a red cheek;
flesh pale, juicy, and delicious ; tree hardy and very pro-
ductive; one of the best varieties—Middle of August.
F's. small, glob. gl.
16. Jacques’ Lare-Ripe.—A_ superb yellow peach, full
as large and as good as Crawford’s early, and ripening a
week or ten days later; origin, Massachusetts. Glands
ren. fl. s.
17. Large Karly York.—A large and beautiful variety,
white, with a red cheek; flesh juicy and delicious; tree
very vigorous and productive; one of the very best.—
End of August. Gl. glob. fl. s.
18. Late Red Rare-Ripe—tLarge, roundish oval, grey-
ish white, marbled with red in the sun; flesh pale, rich
and fine.—Beginning of September. Fl. s. gl. glob.
19. Late Admirable—Large, roundish, oval, yellowish
green, with a red cheek; flesh pale, fine flavored.—End
of September. I'L s. gl. glob.
20. La Grange.—Large, greenish white, slightly red-
dened in the sun, flesh pale, juicy, sweet, and rich. Its
lateness and color make it a desirable variety for pre-
PEACHES. 333
serving. It should have the warmest soil and situation
north of New York, or it will not ripen well.—Last of Sep-
tember or beginning of October; fl. small, glands ren.
21. Morris’ White-—Medium size, dull creamy white,
tinged with red in the sun, flesh white to the stone, juicy
and delicious; tree a good bearer; highly prized for
preserving on account of the entire absence of red in the
flesh. Middle of September ; gl. ren., fi. small.
22. Morris Red Rare Lipe—Large, roundish, green-
ish white, with a red cheek, -flesh pale, light red at the
stone, juicy and rich; trees very productive; fl. small,
glands glob.; similar to George IV.
23. Old Mixon Freestone—Large, greenish white and
red, flesh pale, juicy, and rich; tree hardy and exceed-
ingly productive; a standard orchard variety—Middle
of September for the north.
24. Red Rare Ripe (Ey. Red Rare Ripe).—A fine old
sort, whitish, with a dark red cheek; flesh pale, rich, and
high flavored—End of August. Slightly subject to mil-
dew; fl. small; frequently comfounded with the follow-
ing :
25. Royal Kensington.—Very similar to, if not iden-
tical with the Grosse Mignonne; several varieties of white
fleshed peaches are cultivated about Rochester as the
“ Kensington.”
26. Royal George:-—Medium to large size, white, with
a deep red cheek, flesh white, deep red at the stone, juicy,
melting and rich; tree productive——End of August; fl.
smail.
27. feed Cheek Melocoton.—A famous, old, well known,
and popular variety; large, oval, yellow, with a red
cheek; flesh yellow, juicy, rich and vinous; tree very
hardy and prolific ; valuable for the orchard.—Middle to
end of September. Glands glob., fl. small.
28. Snow Peach.—A beautiful fruit, medium size, skin
334 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
and flesh clear, creamy white throughout; tree hardy and
productive, and shoots greenish, very distinct, and one of
the most desirable of white peaches for preserving.—
Beginning to middle of September ; fl. small, white.
29. Scott’s Nonpareil.—A. new, very large and fine yel-
low peach, from New Jersey, highly esteemed as a valu-
able market variety.—Middle to end of September; ff.
small, glands glob.
30. Van Zandt’s Superb—A. beautiful smooth. fruit,
large size, whitish, with a red cheek; flesh pale, juicy,
sweet, and good.—First of September; fl. small, glands
glob. ; origin, Long Island.
31. Ward’s Late Free—Large, yellowish white, with a
red cheek ; flesh pale, juicy, and good; a standard pro-
fitable late sort among the Delaware orchardists; will
probably not ripen north of New York.
32. Weld’s Freestone.—A very large, roundish oval, late
peach; greenish white, streaked and marbled with red
next the sun; flesh pale, pale, juicy, and good; never
fails to give an abundant crop at Rochester. Beginning
to middle of October; fl. small, glands ren.; succeeds
well in Massachusetts.
33. White Imperial.—Medium to large size, pale, yel-
lowish white, faintly marked with red; flesh pale, juicy,
sweet, and good; tree vigorous; fl. small, gl. glob.
CLASS II.—CLINGSTONES.
34. Heath Cling—A magnificent late peach, cream
colored, with a light blush next the sun; flesh greenish
white, tender, juicy, and of the highest flavor; fl. small,
glands ren.; tree very productive-—Ripe in October ; and
has the rare property of keeping well for several weeks
after being gathered ; should be grown on a trellis or wall
north of New York to bring it to perfection.
PLUMS. ooo
35. Large White Cling.—Large, greenish white, lightly
reddened in the sun, juicy, sweet, and rich; tree very
hardy and productive; highly esteemed for preserving on
account of its light color; fl. small, glands glob.
36. Lemon Cling.—A very large and beautiful lemon-
shaped variety, light yellow, reddened in the sun; flesh
yellew, rich, and vinous; excellent for preserving; tree
hardy and productive.-—End of September. Glands ren.,
fl. small.
387. Old Mixon Clingstone.—Large, round, whitish, with
a red cheek; flesh pale, sweet, and rich flavored; fil.
small, glands glob.—Beginning of September.
38. Old Newington Cling.—Large, yellowish white, with
a red cheek; flesh pale, red at the stone, rich, juicy, and
good.—Middle of September ; fl. large; no glands.
Select lists of Peaches —Our most profitable orchard
varieties in Western New York are, Nos. 1, 4, 6, 11, 15
or 17, 23, 27, and No. 6, the most valuable single variety,
on account of its great size and beauty, and the vigor and
productiveness of a tree.
Select Garden Varieties—Nos. 2, 4, Dolls. 21, 23,
and 28.
Robert Manning selects for New England, out of seventy
varieties that he has tested, Nos. 11, 13, 22, 6, 2, 19, 37,
7, besides Nivette and Walter’s Early. These ten he con-
siders “unimpeachable,” and No. 6 he considers com-
bines, in the greatest degree, all desirable quality. With
these he recommends Nos. 5, 4, 14, 16, 21, 16, 27, 36, and
32, with several others we have not thought it necessary
to describe. He ranks them in regard to relative merit
as the numbers are placed.
Section 7.—Srtrect Pius.
1. Autumn Gage, or Roe’s Autumn Gage—Medium
336 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
size, oval, pale yellow, sweet, juicy and good; parts from
the stone; tree a slow grower, but very productive.—
Middle to end of September.
2. Bingham.—Large and handsome, oval, deep yellow,
with a few red spots; juicy and rich; parts from the
stone ; tree very productive-—Beginning of September.
3. Bleeker’s Gage.—Above medium size, roundish oval,
yellowish ; flesh yellow, juicy, and rich; parts from ~
the stone; tree a fair grower and productive.—Last of
August. |
4. Cherry, or Karly Scarlet.—Rather small, round, red,
very pretty, juicy, soft, sub-acid, adheres to the stone.—
Last of July. Makes a very pretty dwarf bush.
5. Coe’s Golden Drop.—Large and handsome, oval, light
yellow, flesh firm, rich and sweet; adheres to the stone;
tree a fair grower and very productive, but does not bear
so young as many others; valuable not only on account
of its large size and fine appearance, but its lateness and
hanging long on the tree.—Last of September.
6. Columbia.—Large and handsome, roundish, purple,
flesh yellow, juicy and rich; parts from the stone; tree
vigorous and very productive.—September.
7. Cruger’s Scarlet—Medium size, roundish, reddish
lilac; juicy, but not rich; an extraordinary bearer;
always requires thinning; particularly valuable in light
soils; profitable.—September.
8. Drap d Or.—A fine golden yellow plum, somewhat
resembling the old green gage; very good; vigorous
shoots, a little downy.-—Early.
9. Drap @Or ad Esperin—A new Belgian variety,
resembling the Washington, and probably no _ better.
The first trees were sold at Ghent in 1848 at $10 each.
10. Diamond.——One of the largest and most produc-
tive of purple plums, but coarse; only for cooking.—
September.
PLUMS. Bat
11. Dennison’s Red —Large, round oval, light red, flesh
juicy and rich, parts from the stone-——End of August.
12. Dennison’s Superb—Pretty large, beautiful, round,
yellowish green, with purple dots; flesh juicy, rich, and
parts from the stone; tree vigorous and productive.—End
of August.
13. Duane’s Purple—vVery large and handsome, oval,
reddish purple; flesh juicy and sweet, adheres to the
stone; tree a good grower and very productive.—Begin-
ning of September.
14. Emerald Drop—Medium size, oval, yellowish
green ; flesh juicy and good, adheres slightly to the stone ;
a good grower and profuse bearer.
15. fellenberg.—A fine late plum, oval, purple; flesh
juicy and delicious, parts from the stone; fine for drying;
tree very productive.—September.
16. Frost Gage-—Rather small, round, purple ; an im-
mense bearer; very late ; profitable for market.—October.
17. Green Gage.—Small, but of the highest excellence ;
tree a slow grower.—Middle of August.
18. German Prune (Quetsche).—Large, long oval, dark
purple, blue, free, fine for drying, and good to eat; grows
spontaneously in Germany.—September.
19. Gen. Hand.—One of the largest American varie-
ties, introduced by Messrs. Sinclair & Corse, Balti-
more. It is of a golden yellow color, sweet but not high
flavored.—First of September. Will be valuable for the
market, as it is very productive, besides being so attrac-
tive in size and beauty.
20. Guthrie’s Apricot—Medium size, yellow, has the
flavor of the Apricot; of Scotch origin —End September.
21. Huling’s Superb.—Large and handsome, round, yel-
lowish green; flesh juicy, rich and fine flavored, parts
freely from the stone; tree grows well and is very produc-
tive.—Middle of August.
}
av
ao
vot SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS.
22. Ickworth Imperatrice—An English late variety, pur-
ple, flesh juicy, sweet and rich; may be kept into winter.
23. Imperial Gage.—Large, oval, greenish ; flesh juicy,
rich and delicious, parts from the stone; one of the best
growers, most productive, and best of plums; profitable
for market.—Middle of August.
24, Lves’ Seedling.—Raised by Mr. J. M. Ives, of Salem,
Mass.; large, roundish, oblong, yellow, mottled with red,
melting and rich; freestone.—First of September. ‘Tree
a strong, rapid grower.
25. Jaune Hative-—A nice little yellow plum, ripening
last of July; earliness is its chief quality.
26. Sefferson—A new American variety, of the high-
est reputation ; yellow, with a red cheek; flesh orange-
colored, juicy and rich, parts from the stone; an excellent
variety, but we have never seen it superior to the Impe-
rial Gage.—End of August.
27. irks (from England).—A large, fine, violet fruit,
rich and sugary; freestone-—September. Shoots stout
and smooth, like those of the red mag. bon.
28. Lucomb’s Nonsuch (English)—A large, roundish,
greenish plum, nearly as large andas good as the Wash-
ington.
29. Lawrence's Favorite—Large, roundish, yellowish
green ; flesh juicy, melting, and rich, parts from the
stone; tree vigorous and very productive-—Middle and
end of August.
30. Lombard —Medium size, oval, violet red; flesh
yellow, juicy, and pleasant; a great bearer, and said to
be peculiarly well adapted to light soils——End of August.
Profitable for market.
31. Long Scarlet, or Scarlet Gage-—Medium. size, ob-
long, bright red; flesh juicy, sweet when fully ripe,
adheres to the stone; tree a good grower, and a most
abundant bearer.—End of August.
PLUMS. 309
32. Magnum Bonum, Yellow—A very large and
beautiful egg-shaped yellow plum; a little coarse, but
excellent for cooking ; tree vigorous and very productive.
—End of August. Profitable.
33. Magnum Bonum, Red—Large and beautiful, eee
shaped, violet red; of second quality, valuable for cook-
ing; tree vigorous and productive.—End of August. Pro-
fitable for market.
34. Mamelonne—A. curious looking, distinct fruit ;
round, with a neck like a pear, greenish, similar in qua-
lity and season to the green gage; tree vigorous and pro-
ductive ; new trom France.
35. Mirabelle—A small, round, yellow plum, very
prolific and fine for preserving — August and September.
36. Mirabelle @ Octobre—A. late variety recently re-
ceived from France; very hardy and prolific.
37. Orange.—One of the largest varieties, oval, yellow,
rather coarse; tree vigorous and very productive.—First
of October. Profitable for market.
88. Orleans Early—Medium size, round, purple ; flesh
sweet and good; tree a great bearer—Middle of August.
39. Orleans Smith’s—