Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1851-04-11

We have several times during the past few
wears, in this journal advocated the practice of
giving 10 fruit trees low instead of high heads
or in other words of permitting them to branch
near the ground instead of carrying them with
a naked trunk to the height of six or seven feet
as is customary. For the sake of putting the
subject fully before our readers at single view
we return 10 it again.
Above we have made couple Of rough drafts
to show what we mean, and by way of llustra-
ting the subject. No is tree set after the
usual fashion, with a long slender trunk tipped
with few desOlate branches. whose lonesome
leaves are struggling with all their might to ella
borate the food for its growth. No. is one
branching within ighteen inches Of the earth.
furnished already with good stocky trunk,
most luxurlant supply of branches covered with
an army of leaves.
Let those two trees of equal size, equal age,
equal thrift of habit, and of the same sort be
planted in the same kind of SOIL in the same man.
ner, at the same time and No. , will outstrip its
brother from twenty-five to one hundred per cent.
in given time. The reasons may be easily sta
ted. Trees grow by means of their sap. This
sap is supplied by the ROOTS travels up TO the
leaves where it undergoes chemical changes cor
responding to those which the blood of man I'M
dergoes in the lungs and is then distributed
backwards over the tree where any gro,Cing is
to be done. Consequently if there be only few
leaves but little sap can be worked over, and the
tree can grow but little; just as if person be
provided with only small share of lungs, the
blood can be but slowly changed and poor health,
with little or no growth, if not decay and death,
will be the result. "Many hands make light
work" Many leaves make rapid growth.
If tree then be trimmed out to a few branch
es after the whip-stock fashion, as is usual, IL can
hare bat tt,c ieareS Ii is thus put to the brick
making with no straw found
But this is not the only disadvantage. 1t not
only has fp,c leaves, but what ii has are great
cdy off. Consequently the sap must travel the
long lonesome journey through its attenuated
trunk to find the leaves, and after its elaboration
there must travel long ways back to be deposit
ted along the trunk where part of the growing
is TO be done. OF course the business will not
be rapidly got along with. We affirm that one
good leaf at c is worth three at d, TO enable the
trunk below c TO grow because 1t Is only one
third the distance from the seat of operatons.-
1t can work up three times as much sap! If a
man were TO hire regiment Of bumpers to emp
tv lake, and could put them where he pleased
he would be fool fhe should station them upon
a platform hundred feet above the surface of
the lake, when he might just as well have them
only one foot above it Can we not then just as
we'll have our leaves, which are the sap pump
crs for the tree, near their work, as away up in
the atmosphere above It.
And now we fancy some old friend of things
as they are. to hustle up TO us with the most in
tense trepidation. "What, sir, will you no lon
ger let us have any trees Must we make them
all down into bushes 2" Nay, good friend, do
not be alarmed You will have trees enough
as big and bigger in shorter time than they are
now But why should you wish TO getthem all
up into the skies? Because you have always
had them so? Well, them let us explain where
ouI present fashion OF trimming came from. 1t
came from England, whence we came ourselves.
England is a country lying away up toward the
! North Pole from us, and is warmed by the warm
water which flows around her in her neghbOr-
ing seas. The sun therefore comes 10 her
slanting along the earth instead of pouring right
down upon her head, hot and scorching as II does
upon US Consequently it never dries her soil
or he- atmosphere and both are damp to a degree
unknown 10 US.
To meet these peculiari,ies the plan Of high
training and thin trimming were adopted. What,
most OF all, trees wanted there was sun, and dry
air, 10 ripen their wood and their fruit. The
under limbs are therefore cut out TO let the air
have free sweep between their heads and the
earth-and their heads are opened to lie! the sun
and air IN. Consequently high trimming and
severe trimming are both pracnced in that land.
/ The climate of the Atlantic shore so nearly
resemble that OF England, or rather do not so
much differ from it, that this sort of operation
which was brought over, has succeeded tolera'
bly, we'll there, but it is not the system for us
! Here we have long summers, and hot summers,
and DRY summers. Our soils are fertile and
trees grow as though they had nothing else 10
/ do. WHY then should we keep on in the old
. stonc-in-the-meal bag route because our fathers
walked there We have sun enough and air
I enough, what we want is leaves in plenty tor
them to act upon.
Then another reason why we should have
low heads 10 our trees is, that they not only
ought 10 grow faster than high ones, but they &C
tually do grolo faster. In all our observations
the low trees are by far the largest, thriftiest,
and healthest. But farmer A. objects. IF
make my trees SO low | cannot plow under
them" Ny good friend, We do not want you to
pIow under them. The ground shaded by an
apple tree is good for nothing, and ought 10 pro-
duce ven nothing. In this wide prairie world
there is ground enough without it, "Bu, how
shall keep down the weeds p The tree vii
90 far towards keeping down It's own weeds. Il
the sun and air cannot get under very few weeds
will take the trouble to grow in the shade; and
if they do, cover the earth with straw, chips
shavings, com stalks, and other stuff-D7llch II
This is what the trees want, what the ground
wants, and what the weeds want, and We believe
what you want.
But if this mode, is as we believe, every way
superior for apple trees, it is essential for pears
and cherries. These, and the latter esPecla y
with naked trunk to the sun, are sure TO suttei
if not perish. We believe we are pretty sure o.