The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-03-12
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
Friday Morning, March IL, 1859
PORTLAND.


Friday Morning, March IL, looS'
| Orchards; Pruning, &c.
| "Give fools their gold, and knaves their power,
Let fortunes bubbles rise and iall
Who sows field, or tiIls q flower,
Or plants tree, 10 more than al,
| We believe it has been customary in the
orchards of New England to do heavy prun-
ing during the months of March and April.
But is such a custom good one?' We think
all fruit growers will agree in theory that
none but absolutely necessary pruning ought
to be done when the life-blood of the tree
begins to move; for wounds made then on
limbs will bleed more or less according to the
season. This bleeding always exhausts the
energy oi the trees, and the wounds win not
readily heal over. One writer says penknife
is strong enough for any pruning where trees
are properly cared for. Heavy pruning, made
necessary by neglect, is best done in Novem-
Der, AID then cautiously when the wood is
frozen. Light pruning is most satisfactory
in its results when done in the latter part of
June. Wounds of any considerable size
should be made smooth and covered with
gum-shsllac, grafting-wax or common house
paint. The careful and intelligent fruit grow
er will never prune heavily, neither viii there
be necessity for such slashing and cutting, If
he has the care of trees when they are young.
How true it is that as the twig is bent the
tree is inclined. Those having the care Of
young fruit trees should always bear in mind
that maxim.
To make healthy fruit trees an experienced
| fruit grower on the banks of Niagara river
takes ley from leached ashes, mixes little
grease with it, heats it quite warm, and with
syringe throws it up into all parts of the
trees, branches and trunks. Such process
will effectually kill all caterpillars or any
kinds OF worms that are either infesting the
trees in nests, or running over the bark
Trees thus thoroughly treated will have a
smooth, glossy bark, appear healthy and Wig
orous and bear abundantly. The remedy is
very cheap and easy to be tried.
The Rural American says it makes the
head of an upright and systematic man ache
to look at a leaning tree. Now it Is great
mistake in orchardists and planters of shade
and ornamental trees to allow them to grow
up in leaning attitude, and in exposed locali-
ties newly set trees are quite sure to be
thrown over, II not staked up, and in all pla-
ces they are apt to get out of the perpindecu-
lar. And TO obyiate this, every newly plant
ed tree should be staked up and tied with
soft bands to prevent chafng which greatly
| injures young trees. If tree of considerable
size happens to get out Of its line, it can be
righted up BY loosening the soil over the
roots, especially on the leaning side. 1t may
sometimes be necessary to cut off an obsti-
nate root, and when it is made perpendicular
| stake it and keep it there. estJsi..s, .s
| The Baltimore leader suggests two methods
of getting rid Of stumps. First bore with
| two-inch augur to the heart of the stump:
| fill the cavity thus made with sulphuric acid
or with crude oil of petroleum. In the first
case the acid becomes the destructive agent
within few months; in the latter when the
stump becomes saturated with the oil, set fire
to it and it will then burn out to the last par
ticle, like candle. These remedies will do
perhaps where one has but few stumps to
clear out of his ground, but whers there are
| many, stump machine will do the work
most sffectually. ra ~
Fruit trees of all kinds and shade trees re-
| quire attention, and if neglected, they will
not flourish well, nor live long. 1t is sad to
think how much the orchards of our own
State have been neglected in years past! 1t
seems as if our ancestors thought that apple
trees when once set out and found to live re-
quired no more attention than the trees in
the forest that always give back to the soil in
the autumn what they took from il in the
The fruit is taken and carried away, the
| winds scatter and drive the fallen leaves into
other fields, the soil becomes bound up with
weeds and grassroots, no manure has been
spread upon 1t, nor plow turned it over. No
pruning has been done, dead limbs are hang
constantly drawing the life-blood from the
trunks and branches. ~
No wonder we see In our travels over the
country so many dead and decaying orchards,
and the greatest wonder il that these neglect
ed orchards have lived SO long. We can re-
member when there we're many noble or
chards in the county Of Cumberland-to say
nothing of other portions of the State-and
the trees grew vigorously for awhile and bore
great abundance of fruit, and some of il most
excellent. But where are they nows Gone
or fast going! And why? Because they have
been entirely neglected. The soil where they
grew has become exhausted and caterpillars
have made their homes in the branches year
after year undisturbed by human hands, and
mice have lived on their roots for many long
| winters. 4e' - liplA
But we are glad to note better era.
Young orchards are now better cared for and
managed than they were in old times, and
better varieties of fruit cultivated. And here
we feel to apologize for making the above re-
marks about our first settlers. They did well
and no doubt acted as wisely according to the
light they had as we Of this generation do.
And surely their courage, perseverance and
industry, under the circumstances that sur
rounded them, were even greater than ours.
True, they did not take proper care Of the
trees after they set them out because they
hardly knew they needed it. Trees we're
growing vigorously all about them and they
supposed apple trees would flourish equally
well, If they only set the roots in the ground
and let them alone. We of this generation
have learned lessons from their experience
and practices, and il, in some things, we
are wiser than they were, we must attribute
our wisdom to the greater light we have and
not take on too many airs.
AGRICoLA.
SUGAR.-The late advance in the price of
sugar, owing to the insurrectlon In Cuba, Is