Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1870-09-01
FARMERS department.
/. unrking an Orchard.


There has been a great deal said
about working orchards. Some
writers recommend TO turn hogs into
them. That appears to be a very
good plan as far as it goes; the hogs
keep roofing up the ground, and eat
and destroy llkinds of worms and in
sects, and they will eat up all
wormy and bad fruit, and be
q benefit to the orchard generally
But they also eat up all the good
fruit that falls to the ground, which
could be dried or worked into cider,
apple butter, or even vinegar, and
made very profitable; therefore hogs
should not be allowed in the orchard
after the fruit begins to get ripe
Some writers oppose seeding or
chards down in grass, and hauling it
of. AS orchards are generally near
the house or barn, think it can be
made very profitable to raise grass,
especially clover, in the orchards,
and to haul it off green and feed it
to milk COWS, and horses. The in
crease in milk and butter and the
benefit of the fresh grass to the
horses in warm weather, will pay
handsomely for the trouble of hauling
it of, and the manure from the
stock, back to the orchard in the
winter. By that means both your
self, the cattle and the orchard will
be benefited. But if the orchard is
on steep hill side where the ma
nure cannot be hauled up to it the
grass should not all be hauled off,
but part OF it should be cut and
scattered under the trees and left to
rot for manure. In planting a
young orchard, the ground should
be thoroughly subsoiled, if the soil
is not naturally alluvial. The first
few years hoed crops may be raised
in the young orchard, such as pota-
toes, beets, turnips, cabbage, &c,
after that oats, buckwheat or any
thing else that will keep the weeds
down, and will not overshadow the
young trees, but it should always be
borne in mind, to replace the sub
stance taken out by the crop, with
manure, or clover plowed under
In blowing young orchards, care
should be taken not to bruise the
bark of the trees, with the trace
or singletrees. If the or
chard is on southland, or in naturally |
dry soil, the young trees should be
mulched with straw or other litter.
Corn stalks may be used, for the
want of something better, until the
trees get large enough to shade the
ground. And after the trees have
branched out some distance, the
plow should not be run close enough |
for the horses to break the branches,
Or the plow to tear up the roots; it
will be found beneficial to hoe
around the trees about twice a year
with two forked hoes. The majority
Of fruit growers are in favor of rails
ng their trees with low crowns for
,he reason that the low branches
shade the ground, and the trees
stand the draught much better than
high crown trees, and the fruit can |
be gathered from them with more
ease. The lower branches should
start out about four feet from the
ground. l think it very important
n this section to raise trees with low
on account Of our hot. dry
summers, the low branches will be a
natural protection to the roots of
he trees. The shaded soil will hold
he moisture much longer than if ex-
POSED to hot rays of the sun, and
hereby will be better able to with
'tand the draught. Cattle, not even
;alves, should be allowed in an or
hard with low branches, as they
viii eat off the buds of the lower
branches and injure the trees.-Re-
'u6licQn.