The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1860-03-24
Fruit Culture.

Fruit Culture.
EDIroRs News - Permit me through
your paper to present few thoughts to the
farmers Of Breckenridge. in reference to the
subject of Fruit-growing. The county at
the present time is well supplied with the
choicest varieties of fruit trees from we'll
known Eastern nursery; SO that it would
seem to be within the reach of all to estab-
lish during the present Spring the nucleus
of an orchard. It may be regarded as a for
tunate circumstance that Messrs. Bigsby and
Lambert last fall conceived the idea of fruit
ing this part of Kansas. The writer is per-
sonally acquainted with these two gentle
men, and believes their trees to be entirely
reliable. Mr.. Abraham. on Dow Creek, has
also great variety of apple trees in a nur-
sery he has cultivated upon his farm. His
trees are for sale. Messrs. Bigsby and Lam
bert are not in any way connected with each
other in the sale of trees, and as the point of
sale of each is only seven miles from the
other, Mr.. Lambert at Forest Hill, Mr..
Bigsby at Emporia) it is to be hoped that
the competition between the two will bring
the price of trees within the reach of every
farmer in the county. Then let no one who
loves his wife and babies-if he has MT Ell
Their he ought to- have-permit the present
Spring to pass without planting an orchard
for their future comfort.
When trees are to be selected. bear in
mind that those which are large at the root,
and have regular taper to the top are best.
Don't allow the roots to get dry, while trans
ferring them from the nursery man to your
orchard. Before planting out remove the
extremity of each root with sharp knife,
and if the roots are few, the tops should be
shortened about one-third. The fresh cut
on the end of the root causes a great number
of sucking roots to shoos out at this point,
while the removal of part of the top prevents
too great an evaporation from the leaf, as it
spreads itself to the sunlight. The roots
suck up liquids which contain the required
food for the growth of the tree, and the
leaves carry off by evaporation from their
surface, the excess of water after the tissues
have taken their food. Hence if there are
too many leaves for the roots, the tree will
dry up-choke to death. AS trees are ordi-
narily taken up. it is perhaps safer to short
en- the top before setting out but if large
number of long roots are retained in fresh
state, the top need not be shortened.
shall close this article by way of some
hints in reference to the grounds on which
orchards in this section should be planted.
Let no farmer West of Ohio. suppose for a
moment that he can raise fruit upon the bot
toms. He will be able to .'grow" mag
nifcent orchard of trees minus the fruit
His trees will blossom in Spring. and exter-
nally give promise of rich harvest of fruit;
but ere the autumn arrives, he will exam
inc among the rich, green foliage for the
signs of the apple or the peach. and will be
mortified to learn that the blossoms of spring
were a deception-they were barren. No
man did, or ever will. produce half a crop
of peaches upon the bottoms of Kansas. II
reasons are required to back the assertion,
Il may be stated, first, that these rich bot
toms contain an excess of the organic ele-
ments which produce wood, and but few oil
the elements contained in fruit. The root
lets suck up the wood-growing elements
much more readily than they do those that
form fruit, SO that the tree viii grow too
fast to be good bearer. even tho it had
within its reach the fruit producing SOIL
These facts are we'll established. and are OF