Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1862-06-04
AGRIGu Z I'll RAG,
Culture of Fruit.


At the late horticultural meeting in l'os-
ton. Col. Wilder in the chair, there was
quite an interesting discussion on fruits
The chairman made an opening address,
in which he said, very truly, that to sue
ceed in the culture of fruit, there must be
appropriate soil, CAREFUL selection OF bar
DIV sorts suited to the latitude, and follow
ed by proper treatment. Some varieties
of pears were adapted to wide range Of
country. others belonging to u more cir
cumscrbel area He said, however,
that the Bartlett succeeded wherever any
pear can be raised and we may add, mak-
ing it. indeed, alI things considered, the
pear Of the country or the world In re
tcrring TO dwarf pears, Col. Wilder said
that he bad found the Vicar OF Wakefield,
Louis Bpnne de Jersey, Belle Lucrative,
and Urbanist, not to have failed in their
crops for thirty years, thus showing hardi
ness and perfect adoption to latitude as
high as that OF Massachusetts, He thought
the climate Of California surpasses all 9th
crs for the culture of lruit. In England,
some dwarf pear trees, which had been
planted forty years, looked as though they
might survive forty more. We have upon
our own premises such trees about two feet
in circumference, transplanted fifteen years
ago, when they were at least two years old,
now looking as robust as ever, and bearing
good crops annually, but some years more
abundantly than others. This year all our
dwarf trees have been loaded down with
bloom, and from the indications of the al
ready swelling fruit, the prospects oi great
crop were never more promising
Col. Wilder denounces grating on suck,
ers as a curse to any orchard. As to ap-
pies, he thought with other gentlemen who
expressed the same opinion, that the best
varieties for general cultivation, were the
Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Rox-
bury RuSsct and 1alman's Sweeting. Dr.
Loring had found lime employed in COM
bination with pruning, very successful in
renovating old orchards or old fruit trees
Orchards, he said, could be readily planted
in land which could nOt be titled for ordi-
nary farm crops, provided the soil was
good, thus saving more even land and Sc
curing the same end.
There was one or two points, touching
the cultivation of fruit, especially apples,
pears and cherries, which we should like to
have referred to. These are, 1st, whether
all kinds of standard trees could not be
grown as low branched as dwarfs are, and
allowed to grow in height not, say over
twelve feet, and be as profitable as the
larger standards, nd whether they
would not come into bearing much earlier?
I'd, whether such system would not be
safeguard against the sun by the surround
ing branches? Our own humble exper-
ience is, that the hot sun acting directly
upon the trunks of trees, in the early part
OF the season, is the main cause of the
blight. Dwarfs we believe arc never blight
ed.
We have long thought that we permit
our fruit trees to grow too tall, exposing
the trunk at all seasons injuriously, while
the difficulty Of gathering the fruit is vast
ly increased. We should be glad to have |
the opinion of so experienced and intelli-
gent man as Col Wilder, on this subject. |
The subject Of covering raspberry canes
In winter was touched upon at the meeting |
referred to- and Col Wilder remarked that !
he hoped that the simple process of laying
down the canes as we'll as grape vines, |
upon the surface OF the ground, would |
prove ample protection to them from the |
cold and piercing winds As to the canes
we do not believe this but do as to the |
grape vines, and think it the true plan ev-
erywhere for them. Our raspberry canes, t
not entirely hardy, and none of them are
except natives, and some of them not Who'll
ly-we prune, lay down and cover slightly |
with soil, just enough to make them invisi-
Bile, and they come out splcndidly. IF they
are covered too deeply, they are liable to
sprout permaturely, and when exhumed
would be subject to injury even from a
slight FROST Germanto'cn Telegraph.