Nebraska advertiser., 1860-08-30
AGRICULTURAL.
Causes OF the Failure of Young
Orchards.

In travelling about the country, one can
hardly fail of being struck with the pau
city of young orchards in a fourishing
| condition. The traveller sees now and
then small Enclosure set out to apple
trees, which in great majority of cases
exhibit anything bnt a healthy appear
ance. Those that are already dead
maintain but feeble existence 5 but Of
ten the trees are ether dry sticks, with
lot of LITTLE sprouts growing up from
their roots, or miserable sickly looking
things with now and then a tuft of leaves
on their limbs. To what shall we attrib-
ute the cause Of this state of things 3
Why is it that there are. so few thrifty
young. orchards? p? In reply TO these cues
tions we answer:
l. The failure is more frequently from
having the work improperly done. Of
ten from the ground not being properly
prepared, or being of an improper char
aCter. 1t is useless to attempt 70 grow
fruit trees in grass land without any sort
of cultivation, as many men do, not even
mulching or hoeing around the trunks.
That trees fail TO flourish when thus used
is not to be wondered at
Others select ground in which the wa
ter line is very near the surface, and
take no measures to remove the water
from the over-charged soil that renders
it cold and sour, and thus having no depth
of root, the leaves turn yellow, they I'm
ger awhile then die-fairly drowned cut.
Others adopt the other extreme and plant
on dry gravelly knoll where the soil
has never been stirred more than three
or four inches deep, without any kind of
mulch, and if dry season ensues, their
trees dry up and perish; or if the two or
three first seasons prove favorable, and
their trees live, they make but slow
growth, are a long while coming into
bearing, and never produced mnch-
Others fail from improper setting
Either from not understanding their work
or>for want of time and "make-do-svs-
TEN" of driving things, they dig little
hole in the unprepared soil-grass ground
perhaps-thrust in the tree with its roots
twisted or doubled up, throw on the clods.
stamp down the earth upon the roots, and
bid it 1--we and flourish. Men who treat
their own trees in this way, ought not
to expect their trees to live. To merely
maintain existence is all that the most
vigorous tree could do under such treat
ment, and If il does this. it does well,
without ever producing an apple.
9. Another cause of failure is The con-
dition of the trees when taken from the
nursery. The soil is exclusively rich,
with forcing manures, in order to grow
straight smooth trees; and IN order to
hurry them into market. What is the
result? The impetus given to the scion,
after being engrafted forces it to the
height of four or five feet the first year.
The over-grown scion has large pith
and in the end becomes a rotten-hearted,
diseased tree. None of the difficulties
are ever encountered in growing seed
ling trees, that attach TO nursery grated
trees. 1t is seldom that seeding tree
left to itself fails of maturing. No mat
ter how bad the usage it may receive it
will still persist in living, if in no other
way, in a mat of dwarfed and thorny
shrubs. Why this difference? 1t is be-
cause the Seeding grows more slowly,
consequently is more hardy, healthy, en-
during and sound. Hence this fact af-
fords suggestion that may be turned to
good practical account, which is-grow
seeding trees, and leave the grafting
for an after, consideration. This seems
to US TO be the safest way.-New York
Rural american. r....