Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1861-01-24

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Amoug prolsssissal sd scientific fruit
QroweTs the ides 10 often held out that
vast deal of labor and industry are
requisite, to insure Q with fruit
trees. This may oil be well esough IN
itself to stimulate many persons to In
creased care and attention but While It
does %, it seems to me that it has . ten
dency to deter many others from plant
ing orchards, who otherwise would 10
dertake it.
Every man, woman, and youth, should
plant ont ct least . few fruit trees, Is
~ they are able, and have . care
for them. The child should do it, and
should be taught that it 10 . duty be
owes to himself, to civilization and pos
terity. Nothing looks more desolate
than . human habitation without . tree.
But, says one, "lf l have to ezcavate
and pulverixe the earth three or four feet
square, and two and three feet deep, for
each tree, and mix it with manure, and
scrub each tree down often with soap
suds, and apply ashes, &C., and then
wait eight or ten years for fruit, shall
not invest much money and labor in On
orchard. When l see 90 much uncer-
tainty about the success Of those who
have planted on every side l prefer to
forego an orchard, (as am not very well
satisfied With my place and the country,
and buy what little fruit myself and
family need" This l think is the o
~clusion that large numbers of our west
ern people have come to, especially those
who like to have fruit and vegetation
spring from dame nature spontaneously.
L is . ! amentabIe fact, lin u section
Of country q. least,) that many Of our
early planted orchards are extinct, or
nearly so. / propose to inquire into the
causes, and venture my opinion, gath
cred from experience in Iowa, and see
if better success cannot and should not
attend fruit growing. ! have planted
trees for the last twenty years in Iowa,
and | have endeavored to watch closely
the causes that tend to their destruction,
and l have come to the conclusion,
(quite different from many others,) that
Southern Iowa will grow as fair, and as
delicious apples as any country east Of the
mountains, and with equal certainly.
When quite q boy, and living IN one
of the older States, my father had a
small piece Of very poor land, upon
which stood a few scrubby apple trees.
with rough bark-making but q stinted
growth each successive year, bearing a
scanty crop Of small, worthless apples.
This piece of ground-contsining about
an acre-wa fenced to itself and well
MANFRED, and standing near = mill-pond.
The deposit from the pond was occa-
sionally carted Upon the ground, and it
was 0 brought into a condition to
produce 80 bushels Of corr to the acre,
rotated with potatoes. As might be ex-
pected the trees commenced q new life,
the twigs, instead Of ono or two inches
OF annual growth, now made twelve OF
fifteen inches the bark began TO burst
it's scrubby, rough covering, and the
fruit grew large, smooth and handsome.
This change vas produced on a poor
soil, with fair cultivation and ordinary
manuring. From this circumstance alone
| received a lasting impression, that it
was just . necessary and reasonable to
cultivate we'll for q crop Of apples as for
a crop Of corn or potatoes !; and why
not /! we cannot raise animals, corn, po-
tatoes, grass, or anything else with sue
cess, unlcss We feed our lands.
have planted several orchards, and
| entertain no doubt that every farmer in
this great, western country, can have a
plenty of fruit With but a very reasona-
BILE amount of labor and care. If but a
small portion Of the attention which is
bestowed on the corn crop was put on an
orchard, VIC would see every farm house
with . snug little orchard around it.
Every farmer should plant 100 trees /; il
he cannot do that, then SO, or even rs,
and keep the worms from the branches,
and the borcrs from about the roots,
with the knife alone, always ~cultivaling
in corn, and no other crop, and never
cut it mp ; ridge the ground by back
furrowing to the trees ; manure moder-
ately !; let the trees branch low, and low
and keep the body erect when it leans,
by crowding and securing it In that posi-
ton at the time the frost leaves the
ground in the Spring, and while it is yet
soft ; trim at any time the small limbs
SO as to keep the top in the right shape;
and | will guarantee that IS good fruit
can be grown in the west, as any part OF
the world. All this is no more than
what eastern fruit growers have SO do,
and it is as little as we can expect to
G. Clark, Abba, Monroe
County, Lospd.
Tax last known blood relation living
in this country Of the old statesman and
soldier, General Jackson, is dead. His
name was James Thomas Jackson Nc
Collough. He died at Lake Providence,
La, on the let Of January. The de-
ceased was the son OF James McCol-
Tough and Mary Caffery, and was born
near the Hermitage, in Tenn. His
father WA conain m Goneral Jsckaon