Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1851-05-14
Old Orchards.
DANBURY, Conn, April Is, 1851.

apple orchard to produce fruit anu III
order that you may be the better able to
direct me, would state that my orchard
has been set out thirty years; that have
taken first rate care of the trees, by scrap
insand applying soft soap with scrubbing
brush as often as every alternate year
also have manured them as often with
GOOD compost manure, with oyster shell
lime mixed with it-have kept the tops
open and well spread 10y trimming, and
hv these means combined, produced a
healthy appearance in the trees and a fine
growth of wood but very little fruit. l
lave trees whose bodies will measure
twelve inches in diameter, with large well
spread tops, that have never produced a
barrel of apples. This is especially the
case with my Spitzenburgs. The soil is
loan, resting on clayey sub-soil. A
wear ago last fall turned the sward under
Of half Of the orchard, and last season l
scwcd it with buckwheat, and intend to do
the same this season. Previous to the
above plowing it had been grassed and
moved for ten years. l hope the plowing
Will have the desired effect. This season,
I think, will at least partially test it. If
YOU can suggest any treatment that will
be likely to do it, and make it public
through the columns of The Working
Farmer you will confer a great favor
upon me, and perhaps some others, OF
your subscribers. Can put in the sub
soil plow without iniuring the trees +? Is
there danger of severing too many of the
roots have an orchard of two hundred
and fifty ounce trees, which were taken
from the Nurseries in Flushing six years
ago, which promise well. ! hope even
this season to have several bushels. /
keen tic trees on single stalk, suffering
no shoots to grow from under and near the
surface, as the ounce is prone to do. Is
this correct trcatment2 / have also one
hundred peach trees coming into bearing
this season they are remarkably healthy
aud promise well. give them, and also
my ounce trees, the same treatment that
do my apple trees. l am doing whaf ]
can by prccept and example, to influence
my neighbors to pay more attention to the
cultivation of fruit.
Yours very respectfully, RI.
You did well to plow up your sod, and
have treated your trees properly. If you
should wish to clean them again, do it with
a solution of one pound of Bleacher's No.
/. soda, dissolved in one gallon of water,
rs recommended ly Mr.. Rennie; it is
superior to soft so1p, &c. You can not
raise buckwheat and apples from the same
piece Of land and havcmany ap pies. Too
many constituents of apples are to be
found in buckwheat, to let both succeed.
Plow under your buckwheat when half
grown, and the apples which may set upon
the trees viii perfect, and next year plant
no buckwhcat in your orchards. Unless
you use large dose of lime in your COM
post, add more around the trees when you
plow under your buckwheat. The ashes
Of the bark and leaves of apple trees con-
tain l5 per cent of lime, and if yours have
stood 50 years, they have probably exhaus-
ted most of the lime. Buckwheat is cele-
brated for preventing orchards from giving
good apple crops. If your orchard is wet,
drain it if not wet, then at least use the
sub-soil plow and loosen your clay sub-soiL
Ordinary caution is only necessary in sub
soiling among apple trees it will rather
benefit them to cut Of some of the roots
and let them throw out new fibres in
search of food Root pruning is often
resorted to, to induce fruitfulness, and
despite the many arguments which have
been offered against it, have found prac-
tjcally that old orchards are improved by
!, when done to fair extent. ! have an
old orchard which was considered worthless
few years since, which, since sub-solllng,
manuring, and lining, has borne good
crops of apples after having refused fruit
fer many years. Rub of new growths
when young, instead Of cutting off when
large. :,
Manure your quince-they arc rank
feeders and will pay for manure, Use
cold and not heating manure-add some
ashes and continue your treatment as to
trimming. -,
Do not suppose that peach trees will
succeed with the slight disturbance Of soils
usually given to other kinds Of fruit trees,
they require more Wash their trunks
with the soda wash recommended above,
and shorten them in, as recommended In
our former numbers, and you may render
them much longer lived and more prof.
table.
In trimming Jour ounces, put out the