Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-10-03
FRUIT AND F~RUlTTREES.

The country reudcr Will upd INC ioii'" W. ~
esting paper. 1t has been furnished to inc pSiu',"
hy Mr.. +. Ruflin, Agricultural commissioner . ."'
StoIe Agricultural Society. from the large c"IIec'''"
,f interesting facts and observations when TIC nus
collected: .
FRUIT AND FRrlr TREEs.-Mr. Il. I. Lacy o.
Now Kent, has been successful III rearing "mu go.
ing peach trees. His orchard contains nc".i' nm,
fine varieties, and several Of them ni new ahu Na'uur.
lie kinds. all produced from seeds planted by himself.
Some persons rely with Confidence on me seeuS Vi
choice peaches producing trees o! Ike irnlt. otaeIs
distrust the seeds altogether '"r cohtli.unn2 ~ ~.
and RELY only on grating or in"cu!ntinG for that object
Mr.. /, hns found that III n great majority oil cases
the seeds of the best peaches have produced IKE
kinds, without any diminution OF size, Il 'vor' or DINER
value, In the cases of exception from ms genera
resul, thn nroducts OF seeds have been other kinds OF
rcnrbcs. GENERALLY interior. if not worthless. But in
y email nIirnbrr of such ca-cr nf variation "f the pro-
duct from the parent fruit. hi bns obtained new ana
also improved and very til" Kinds.
Mr.. Lacy has rrnciiccl with entire success, a SINH
lar mod, (which he saw recommended in n Tennessee
nonrrl gVoy!,ug Gg0iRsi the worms which injure
ncarh trees, ard destroy 50 many iItirc orchards, by
boring into the tender bark. just ut the junction OF
the stem and the roots, or al the surface of the earth.
The remedy il simply 10 raise a hill ur mound of cnrih
,round the lower par, of tie body of uHrh tree, about
l. on Is inches high, Tor rs large rs q sweet potato
hill This covering kills the worms already Ill the
tree, by excluding mir. And the earth covers the ten
der bark, which IL I'LL nj or 6CIOT inc uTulcI u liaSN
of the car. 80 tEa, there ID not, i'll the harder bark
above. n satGl.r place Tor the boring OF the parent
insect. TIE ',illa nay be raised at any time. They
have H.: b,,n removed, nor have they required any
further chan e. For some years oi trial, the pan
has been found entirely successful. =,
TOuerv. Where nnrlis plenty, would it not be well
to make the hill Of mari, instead OF common ehr'h !
4 thu, k and iard covering of tlc earth mellow Stone
irui, tees Lns been found greatly beiiciicIGi IN pre-
vcntiI z the boring into the ground OF curcullo, when
i,.,oS, thu rn-r,s rim, iniurt stone trult.l r. IL.
Mr.. Tn. VI. Cromwell Of Halifax county, n. T., IN
formed me lha; tie sIncaring 4 very little tar, by ruo.
bins ogcr with Il slightly tnrrcd piece OF cloth, WI! e-
~irctually prevent young fruit trees being parked by
lurcs III winter. IL ID not necessary, and would De
injurious to the young trees. TO cover the exposed part
with tar. a slight touch Of the soft tar, here and
there frorl the curtlr 10 As high as the hares chn reach,
is sufficient, Us the strong odor OF the tar deters them
from eating any bark so contaminated: VI course
such an application, and 30 acting, Will require re-
newal at the beginning Of every winter. AZ very
Young and sroall trees with tender hark only arc c1-
posed TO this common and great injury and desirt'c'
ton, such young trees are very easily treated as ad'
vised.
II Il valuable Young apple tree should have the
bark cnirlin "Ind by har,s, it may be saved: MIR.
Julian e. 'flin OF Prince George county, had Il
young trcry hen about an inch III diameter oi when
Inc bark wS ihus eaten oil ali around, the irregular
ring so skinned being from one 10 three inches VIDE.
This injury occurred some time i'll the winter. The
next spring mt the proper time for grating, N&1ul
two apple twigs (which had been before cut Tor graft
iug) were grated into the remaining and living bark,
both above and below the skinned wood-nnc graft
on each side OF the tree. The gratis united well with
the tree. and grew rapidly, the whole sap passing
through them. The skinned portion Of the young tree
soon died, and the gratis now make double stems, OF
sufficient size and strength, and which Will, III time,
meet and unite. If, in such Il ease, there had been
one or more sprouts growing from below the wound,
il would be still better 20 in.rUtt above.
Another fact and matter ri trial may be useful. 1t
il the universal understanding thai grnt!iRg only can
he done in spring, md 6ufiiHg late III summer. But
if for any reason, apple ;wigs designed for grating,
rauno, be 50 used, iIicir buds may be used for bud
ding. Being kept buried in the earth, the sap will
move in such lwIcs, the buds swell, and the bark will
then slip. As suuiI as this condition occurs, buds from
the twics may be inserted i'll the bark, and Will liveas
well as il az the usual and much later time-as Mr.. X.
has tried and proved in practice. rs TO apple CRAFTS
lie has not tried in this manner the buds ofany stone.
fruit. Ifthey can be thus pr"pagat"d, by spring bud
ding from twi,s cut of aud buried III winter, an i'm
uortant purpose Gun be served. Stone-fruit, though
easily and safely buddcd, cannot well be propagated
bv grating. The buds cannot be conveyed alive and
beaithy any considerable distance III summer, the
usual land supposed only time for budding. But IN
winter, the iw!.s may be safely carried to any dis
lance, and then, in Tie manner Just described. m mp
plicublc to stone-trui,,l the buds may be in"cuIa:rd in
Lieut.. VI. +. Maury, L. S. ", long ago made some
,hrrmomc,rical experiments and observations on the
Inference AIT !lNilg' w lEIll''!h'Nl'' WI Nhil''
ground and diffcrcil; heights OF the hiIl-sidcs rising
above. The results Were. Of course, i'll accordance
with the Laws established by science, Of the nccunli'
lution, radiation, Sc, of heat. But the differences
observed between hill and valley were Unexpectedly
great, and indicated important and sure rules for the
proper positions Of peach and other fruit trees, OF
which the young fruits are especially liable to be Kill
ed bv late spring frosts. The surface, soil, and also
the mir nearest 10 tho earth, IN valleys or ~" i!liS
land. are much more highly heated in the day, and
are also cuo!vd to much lower degrees in the nights,
and especially under conditions of the atmosphere
most favorable to the radiation land loss Of heat
Hence, the heat OF the earth ana "i the AIR "i valleys,
II sunshine, tend 10 forward the budding Gud bios
sn,uinp ni peach trees suoiicr than would h. on the
higher hil-sidcs, tnthcr conditions being alike ana
equal aaA the muc!i greater lowering "i temperatures
m the valleys, in the clear nights, and consequent Sc
ycrrr and later ilusls, must uCi 10 Kill tender fruits,
when they would be safe on higher. though neighbour
ing positions, where as gron: fluctuations aud extremes
uf both heat and cold cannot exist.
Though the cxperimeiIts Gud observations made
md stated TO me BY Lieut.. Maury would be- enough
10 ussur. lis of their value rs instruction in practical
agriculture, this instruction is not merely OF theurctl'
yul and scientific reasoning. The rules indIcutei,
nave, in some cases, been Illustrated in practice, and
he practical results have been found to accord with
and sustain the theory. He stated ~ examples of toe
working Cf the rule. thu following facts:
In Ainhers, county, i gentleman pointed GU; to
him II particular horizontal strip OF forest land, on
which the Young sprouts were never killed by severe
lutte frusts, when they were generally Killed Oh ici~h
boring land ii lower elevation. .
In Frederick county, there il IN elevated ridge OF
land on which the apples 80 generally, arc sIic, when
III Others in the ncighborhood are Killed ny ir"s'"'
hat it has acquired the name OF Applc-rle Ridge. :,
When visiting II relative, in AlbcMnrlc, he found
,hur al! the peaches had been killed by frost IN the
peach orchards in the valley near the ;nnli-ioii' Wiii'c
ihcv had escaped, aud were bearing; III abundance AT
tnrthcr part OF the estate, high up the eide OF TIE
ncishbUring mountain. -
The usual safety of the peaches on elevated local-
ties ncnr Washington, affords frequent, and extensive
proof Of the rule. And these proofs were, on one oc-
custom, the more striking, by the contrast OF the peach
trees Of e very careful culturist, Oh much lower lena'
having been all killed by frost, when all the neigh
boring hill orchards had escaped.
Lieut.. Maury farther remarked that the best fruit
bearing attitudes were not the same III different To-
r%alitics. They must depend on latitude, and, per
;aps, other conditions, and should be determined ny
experiment.
The Enquirer suggests the 3Gth OF next November
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