The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1860-03-07
McGREGOR, IOWA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH Z 1860

the nursery, might still have survived; but
taking them up and keeping them out OF
the ground for some time before they were
again set, finished what little life was left i'm
them. Those trees which remained in the
nursery and died, were cut off within two
or three inches Of the ground, where they
were not affected, and young and thrifty
shoot came from them, which, owing to its
large root, protected situation and HIGH cul-
ture in the nursery, soon produced tree fit
to set. This second growth from an old
root is never hardy, not even in good sea-
sons, and will never bear transplantng as
well as if it originally came from the root.
Then, sir, it is these dead trees, and those
partially killed, which have been slowly
lingering along between life and death, in
the first instance, and those which have
sprouted from an old stock, that the farmers
have been buying for the last few years with
such i'll success; both equally bad, no mat
ter whether the seasons since have been
good or bad for the growth of trees.
| l do not know as the blame can be at
tached to nurserymen, for many of them did
not know to what fearful extent their trees
were killed before they sold them; and the
loss to them has also been great. I am per-
sonally acquainted with many of them in
Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, and I
have found them to lie strictly honest men;
men who know would not sell dead trees
il they knew it. Nor would | discourage
them from pursuing their laudable and hon.
orable enterprise, for if they fail, and quit
the business, the last hope Of the farmer for
an orchard is gone. Let us then encourage
these honest and enterprising men who have
invested their all in the undertaking, and
still hope that bright and happy future is
before them and us. BY this time the old,
defective stock is nearly, or quite exhausted,
and the nurseries are full of new varieties
which experience has taught us are hardy
and enduring; these are now of proper
size to transplant. Then let US all try again
Are the farmers of Clayton county to give
up, because they have lost $25 year, for
the last few years, in the purchase of fruit
treesy | hope and trust they will not 1t
would show want Of that genuine charac-
ter for which Americans have been celebra-
ted from the first.
Fortune smiled upon me, during those
years of calamity to fruit trees, and let n,e
the best show for an orchard that I have
since seen in any part of the West. Ihave
nearly two hundred good, sound trees, most
of them bearing, that have stood and thrived
through all degrees of heat and cold, ant
still bid fair to reward me for all my toll and
expense, thousand fold.
If | can raise them with such success
why cannot others do the same? True,
have lost many good and valuable trees, bu,
| put others in their places, and will con
tinue to do so as long as they die out, du
ring my lifetime. The soil where nv trees
are set is dry, Burr Oak soil, which re-
gard as the best, without reference to expo.
sure. Our prairie soil is very rich, and
grows apple trees very fast, when they do
grow, and the wood OF such trees is always
soft and spongy and more liable to contain
a large quantity of sap, which remains in
the trunk during winter, to be froze by cx-
treme cold, and in this manner they often
die in the spring. To those who have such
a soil, and none other, would recommend
them to save all the dirt which they throw
out while digging their cellars and wells,-
the lower down the better the dirt,-tl,aw
this into the field, and set the trees in it.
The soil ten feet below the surface has
more of the tree bearing qualities about il
than the loose top alkaline soil Of our prai
ries and what is still more, an apple tree
will never bear, upon the praries, until its
roots have penetrated the sub.soil below
| have seen trees upon rich bottom land
bloom and blossom like the rose, but never
bear. l have seen apple trees set near Q
house where the dirt has been thrown wher
the cellar was dug, grow and thrive, year af
ter year,-the bark on the trunk looking
bright and RED, and producing beautiful
fruit; while only short distance from it
Sfn tyaas ,,.,, ~,
bark on the trunk looking black and dark
with here and there small patches of moss
and producing little or no fruit. Now
learn lesson from these observations, ant
when look at my own soil see the sam,
principle at work in rearing my trees, 70,
Bur- Oak land is always thin soil. lool
over into Wisconsin, among our neighbor.
MIGRANT county and i find they not only send
a better, brighter and more solid wheat to
market than we do, but they succeed much
better in raising apple trees. They are nc
better farmers, nor have they secret in rails
ing fruit trees; the mystery is in the soil
Their soil is thinner, and has not that loose
black appearance that ours has !; it is hard
er and more compact soil-even the gopher
knows this, and comes into our soil to bur
row, where he knows he can do double the
amount of work in given time that he car
there.
/ Let our farmers then buy live trees in the
first place. And in order to tell a live tree
from dead one they have only to examine
the limbs carefully; if they are shriveled
or shrunk, and not full and bright, let them
alone, they will never grow. Cut off limb
here and there with sharp knife, so as to
leave q smooth surface behind, and if The
tree is alive the sap will Immediately glisten
in the sun; if 1T does not, let them alone also.
If the trunk is killed or injured, which is
sometimes the case when the limbs are per-
fectly good, it can easily be told by little
inspection, for there will always appear on
the trunks of such trees difference in the
appearance and color of the bark, the differ.
ence commencing about six or seven inches
from the ground. A fter the live trees a..
| puIclased, let them be set out carefully,
leaving no cavity underneath the roots, and
if on the prairie if the dirt have mention
ed is not handy let it be drawn around them
some time in the course of the season, either
from holes dug on purpose to get it, from a
stone quarry, or any place where it can be
had-the more the better. In the fall of
the year, wrap them with straw, old rags,
old gunny bags, or indeed anything to keep
the sun and rabbits from them for few
years. Take these precautions (and it will
pay in any country,) and in few years we
will all have plenty Of fine fruit, no matter
where the trees come from, what the kinds
are, or what the exposure is. a-,as -
| The following is list of the kinds which
have tiourished well with me, and which |
have seen tlourishing well with others Red
Astrcan, Yellow Bellaeur, Golden Russell
Rawrs Jenette, Fulton Apple, Saxon Apple,
Fameuse, Red Harvest, Pound Sweeting,
Dominic, Talmon Sweeting, Early Red, In
diana Russell, Fall Pippin, Vandever Pip