Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1854-03-24
From the Country Gentleman.1
Mismanagement Of Apple Trees.

Four-hths Of the apple trees that have died
in Northern New York during the last twenty
years, have died of starvation and improper
pruning. There is scarcely a man that has
followed husbandry ten years, who DOES not
know that it will not answer to take off more
than FIVE or SIX crops Of grain IN Succession
from piece of land without manure but nc
will take off fifteen crops of apples from his
orchard in succession without adding any nl-
nure, and when the crops begin to grow light,
the frui, small, and of inferior quality, he be-
gins to inquire for the Cause ofsuch h.h, crops.
He asks his neighbor what is the matter wiki
his orchard. He tells him it needs prunirg--
He being very much afraid of pre- ,eut cost,
strives to find man that WI! do it cheap
Most fariacrs if they are obliged 20 have leg
cut off, employ the most skiliful surgeon they
can find, who performs the operation with tn,
sharpest of Instruments but the same mcn
generally employ the cheapest bunelers they
car find TO cut off the limbs of their apple
trees) He soon finds cheap bungier, who
knows scarcely enough about pruning 10 tell Y
live branch from dead one when the envrs
are off; and to make it come cheaper he hire
him by The Job, and gives hm all the branches
10. pay for his labor. This induces him 10 cut
off twice a. much as he otherwise would. Tie
now commences the work uf death upon the
orchard, and with an axe or dull saw cuts or
haggles off about half of the branches. The
next year the apples being much larger Mr..
Unthrltty thinks he has accomplished the gre.t
object. The reason why the apples are larger
Is, the few branches receive the same hulrl.
ment that the whole received before. The
branches being improperly cut off, the stocks
do not heal over but soon die, rot, aud form
holes in the trunks OF the trees these holes
let in the water, which soon destroys the inside
OF the trunk; this, together with the want of
food, acls So powerfully upon the vitality ofthe
trees, that after valny struggling for few
yoars, they give up and die and who blames
them No man Of good sense can.
This man now finds his plants frustrated, and
again inquiries fhis neisnbor what has ctused
the death Of his orchard. lie tells him it must
all be laid TO the climate, and the only thing
that he can do Is to set out young orchard
He says to himself this wl be OF no use TO Inc,
for am now sixty years old but as ! have
children W no are fond OF apples, | will Sc, out
few trees to grstify them. The first step he
takes Is 10 find where he can get tue trees
| cheapest, without any regard to the minner III
| which they have been trained. Unthritty being
| 4 man who deals mostly in cheap articles, lie
employs man to tui nish the trees and set them
| by the icb. This he does for Is cents piece.
Ii is frequently the case that people who work
| by the Job slight their work ; he is therefore
very careful not to dig the holes too deep, nor
too large. He digs them about as large as
peck measure into these small cavities ne
| Grams in the roots of the trees, and if he CAL.
| not get them all in the hole, he cuts off part cf
them with his shovel. He then throws back
the sods and Jumps around the trees, and pro-
nounces them set IN first raie-order. He then
! receives his money and is of in haste Cn-
thrifty soon expects to see thrifty orchard,
but is greatly disappointed. The trees being