Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-12-18
Renovation Of Old Orchards.

At a recent meeting of the Farm
ers' Club of the American Institute,
New York city, A. S. Fuller said:
About one hundred years ago
William Forsythe, of England, ad-
vertised that he was in the posses
sion of a great and valuable secret.
He could make old trees as vigorous
and productive rs new. He asked
for a commission from government,
and after an examination his pro-
cess was approved, and he was APP
pointed keeper of the royal forests.
What was his mystery? He had
salve, a magical plaster, and after
the old limbs were sawn away and
the rotten places scraped clean, the
daubing on of this nostrum was sup
posed to invigorate the tree. 1t
was the pruning and scraping that
did good, not the salye. Any other
mixture that would keep the air
away would have been Just as good
as his magic plaster. But he did
good, and his process renovated a
great many trees in England and on
the continent. My experience is
that a bold but judicious pruning
and scraping is the best medicine for
old trees. The wounds and raw
places should be covered with wax
or clay, and at the same time the
earth should be kindly and justly
treated. Orchards do not want
much manure, but they must have
some The Jews could not make
bricks without straw, neither can a
tree make apples, pears or peaches
without some lime, some potash, and
some iron. If they are gone from
the soil, the orchardist must supply
them.
William S. Carpenter said This
subject was discussed for the first
time in this country about twenty
five years ago. Before that time,
our orchards had been quite thrifty
on account of the freshness of the
soil. AS cider brandy went into
general disuse the old cider orchards
were neglected, and new fruit or
chards were not planted. Then
taste for pruning and grating was
fostered, but out of every hundred
scions put into old trees, not more
than ten lived, and the trees them
selves, in a great many cases died
or might as well have died. | have
seen such vigorous pruning as tC
give twenty cords of wood from ;
five acre orchard, and no good come
of it. Yet believe in pruning; oh
YES. But it must be a wise an(
thoughtful use of the saw. i hear(
{ n story once of naked fellow IL
( Australia who had never seen a saw
He thought it was wonderful. Tn
white man let him take it, and h
ran up into a tree and began to say
| off the first big limb he reached
t putting the saw between his bod!
fl and the trunk of the tree. Present
" saw, limb and barbarian cam
FL uONH Ill Il pllCs ~ nav S~N
r some white men in this country g
- into an orchard with saw, to tn
r ruin of tree and fruit alike. As
: general rule, never put saw to
0 limb that is over three inches thrOug
e and generally | contine my prunin
n TO those an inch in diameter.
well-pruned tree is a handsome oil
r iect; as much so as a well-ralse
5 boy or girl, and a symmetrical ire
n is generally fruitful one. AnOthe
j. thing / have learned, not TO do a
e the saving at once. Be moderat
/ and gradual about it, and if you al
n going to cut out one third OF I'll
head of a fruit tree, be three yeal
! doing it. As to manuring orchard
e there is no doubt about the lmpor
4 ance Of if. You should not expe'
d something from nothing. Hogs al
- the best plows for orchards. The
" keep the surface loose, and they e.
a the grubs and worms and eggs
!, | insects