Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1867-12-05

WV WhaSu NOALNC ho tOntlOis 4AC SPAh hAt
and autumn of 1862 was just such q one
The mercury during the months of February
and March varied but few degrees, from
day to day, accompanied by an unusual
amount Of cloudy and moist weather, and
the season opened gradually into the sum
mer without any extremes Of heat, cold OIL
drouth. The result was as abundant cror
of sound fruit. We kept Greetings and
Spitzenburgs until February and March,
and sold them in Wilmington market at high
er prices, than could be obtained by the deal
ers for the same varieties grown in New
York, showing that the fruit was of first
quality. But this is the only year for the
last ten, that the same varieties, although
bearing well, have not proved knotty and
wormy, and refused to keep longer than the
first to the middle of December. Now, why
IL this? Simply because there happened TO
prevail at the proper season, just such an
atmosphere as suited the production OF
healthy fruit. If we can produce by artif-
cial means an approach toward the atmos-
phere of 1869, just so far, other things being
equal, will we succeed In growing such
crops as we did forty years ago. And this
brings me to the consideration of the subject
at the head of this article.
For the last thirty years we have been
destroying our forests at fearful rate, and
the work of devastation, stimulated by the
demands for all kinds of timber, still goes
forward. The result is that in many sec
tions of country, three-fourths of the wood
land has disappeared, leaving our orchards
standing bleak and bare, to the blasts of
winter, and the drying winds of summer.
The more our forests are destroyed, the
larger is the surface exposed to the evapo-
rating influence Of the suns rays, and the
freer the sweep of the winds, carrying with
them the moisture essential to the produc-
tion and perfection of healthy fruit. i
Meteorologists tell us that dry atmos-
phere is much more favorable for the radia-
ton of heat from the surface of She earth
during the night, than one which is charged
with moisture. n moist atmosphere retains
the heat accumulated during the day, near
the earth at night, and acts as screen to
the direct rays of the sun in the day time,
thus moderating the extremes of tempera-
ture. Anything which tends to produce
this state of things and retain column of
moisture near the earths surface, favors the
fruit grower. For this purpose belts of ev-
ergreens, on the North and West sides of
our orchards will be both useful anil orna-
mental. We visited, recently, fruit grow
CT in Montgomery county, Pa, who has 20
acres planted with dwarf pears, and shell
tered by hedges of evergreen, some two
hundred yards distant from each other, all
through his grounds. His crop the past
summer was five hundred bushels, which is
pretty well for year of general failures.
1t is this moist atmosphere, caused by two
contiguous bodies of water, which makes
Delaware and Maryland the home of the
peach; and it is the same cause which en-
ables Doctors Grant and Undcrlill, on the
Hudson, and the Vine growers of Kelley s
Island i Lake Erie, TO produce such abun-
dant and continued crops of the finest
grapes. We have seen a board shelter, less
than three feet in diameter and twenty feet
in length, placed over grape trellis, cause
the vine to produce healthy and well
ripencd fruit, while that on part of the
same vine which was not thus sheltered was
mildewed and worthless. Heading fruit
trees near the ground, close planting, so
that they can partially protect each other, is
another idea in the same direction, and
lessons very materially the expense of gath
ering the fruit
This subject might be further pursued, but
we have probably written enough to set
some one of your readers to thinking, which
is the important point at present.
MILL CRERK, Nov. 80, 1867. .l.s