The Winchester home journal. [volume] (Winchester, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-11-21
Culture Of Fruits.

everybody is planting fruit trees, to g
into y long argument to show It's nd
vantages. A continued AMI most con
vincing proof is furnished by the frui
itself, whether it be from the single
loaded plum or apricot tree in the
pinched-up kitchen.yard Of the towns
man,--or the broad orchard bending
under the myriads Of delicious spcci.
mems on the spacious grounds Of the
farmer.
But an inquiry is often made much
ottener than it is rightly answered.
''how shall we manage our young
trees, from the moment they are re-
ceived from the nursery, so that they
may speedily come into profitable
bearing?'--or, show long will my
young trees have to grow before
shall get fruit from them"
As the time required for tier fruit
ing depends very greatly on their
management; while the quality, even
more than the amount yielded, is in
fluenced by the treatment they receive,
it is well worth some pains and labor
10 give them every advantage.
Is it not strange, that while every
man knows so perfectly we'll that halt
starved cattle cannot possibly thrive,
so many expect young fruit trees not
only to thrive, but to yield good crops,
when not receiving even n tenth part
of the attention that is bestowed on
half-ncglected herd OF cattle -
Crowded, in the first place, into small
holes dug into hard soil, and after.
wards suffered to be overgroun and
choked by weeds and grass, lhcy are
quite sure to refuse the injustice OF re
paying with good crop such negli-
gence, not to say utter starvation at
the roots. 1t is not difficult to see
plenty Of such trees, Of the apple, Cor
instance, in passing through some
parts Of the country. Now, it is moth
ing but this neglect lha thnS reduced |
them to such a condition. With good
cultivation they might have been
healthy, vigorous, handsome, prolific
trees, which happily are becoming
more and more common every sue.
cceding year.
In reply to the inquiry as to the best
treatment for trces-the first thing is
to get good soil. 20 set good trees
Oh bad land, is like building u house
without a foundation, or like sitting
down to dine at empty dishes: there is
nothing to support the growth of the
tree--no food to supply it with proper
nourishment. II, therefore, Che soil
is not already such as to yield a crop
of sixty or seventy bushels Of Indian
corn per acre, it should be made so, if
trees are expected to flourish in the
finest manner. The fist thing is to
obtain sufficient DEPTH of sol to ena-
BILE the roots to extend themselves
freely, and to hold moisture without
drying up in protracted drouths. This
may be obtained by digging very large
holes, say eight feet i'll diameter, and
foot and a half deep, and filling
them with with rich earth. But a
better way is TO plow the whole sur
fare to that depth, and to enrich it
well by manuring- A common pillow
will descend six or seven inches; by
passing another pillow in the iurrow,
that is by ;rench-pIowing. the soil may
be loosened to ten inches or foot
But by means of II good subsoil plow
in the common iurrow, depth of
fifteen to eighteen inches may be at
tanned. Now, to work the manure
down 10 that depth, and make the
whole one broad deep bed of the rich
est soil, it must be first spread OIL the
surface evenly after the whole has
been well SUBSIDIZED, then narrowed to
break it fine and mix it with the top
soil, and then thrown down by thor
ough trench.plowing. For although
the trench-plowing can hardly be
worked a foot in depth of itself, yet
after a good loosening with the sub