Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-08-12

number of peach trees, which had cease
entirely to bear fruit, and were themselves
obviously decaying, and believing with
most persons, that the cause lay in the
worms at the root of the tree, he put In
operation plan which he had seen his
fatherperform more than fifty years since,
of digging around the base of the si,
a bole four or five inches deep, scraping
away all the worms that could be found
surrowing at the junction of the stem
and root, and filling the hole thus
made with fresh wood ashes, re-
Gently from the fire, and of course re
tanning all their potash. The ashes wrrr
used with the view of destroying tia
worms that might have escaped aDtica
| This was done in the autumn of 1868 In
the following spring he was himself a
tOnished at the result. The trees ap-
| peared to have been restored TO their early
freshness and vigOr. They put forth
bright green leaves, blossomed cOpiously
and bore crop of fruit sGch as they
never had borne before; many of the
limbs breaking down under their load of
peaches. In rejecting on these results,
DR.. Wood come to the conclusion that all
this change could not possibly have been
produced by the destruction of few
worms; and, besides, there were several
of the peach trees treated in which no
worms could be found. He was thus led
to the belief that the real cause of the re-
vival of the trees was the ashes, the |
potash of which, being dissolved by the |
rains, had descended along the roots to |
their rootlets, and presented to them the |
very food for want of which the trees |
were dying. He has, accordingly, had |
hundreds of various kind of falling fruit |
trees treated in this way this fall, in the |
expectation of an abundant harvest next |
year. Should he live till then, he will in |
form the society of the result. Should |
he not live, the experiment will at least |
have been put on record.
In answer to an inquiry, DR.. Wood
said that the soil was of all kinds-sand,
loan and clay.
DR.. Emerson gave his experience of
peach growing. The peach, brought
suffers when brought North, unless pro-
tected. When first brought to this coun-
try it grew luxuriantly, in all parts, we'll
OF late years, however, owing to the
clearing away of the forest, which af-
fOrded it the same kind of protection
which, in Northern Europe, was given it
by glass, it has become limited to the soft
climate of the peninsula between the Del
aware and Chesapeake Bays, where it has I
no disease and bears abundantly. The
g Yeilows," although looked upon as a
disease spreading from tree TO tree, is in
fact produced by colonies of a parasite,
which propagates under favor of low
condition of the tree, pro-
1uced by the failure of the necessary eli
matte protection. As to the nOurishment |
IF the tree, salts, especially of potash,
element in wood ash, phosphorus, which
S the prime mover of all vegetable life.
Dr.. Emerson described one of his unpub-
ished experiments with peach orchard,
which yielded inferior fruit, but only as
o color; otherwise the fruit was as good
Is others. He gave a top dressing of 200
II 800 pounds of superphosphate to the
Icre, and the next year his peaches
brought 10 TO 20 cents more in the market.
Dr.. Wood repeated that his experiment
,Ore especially upon the mode of applica
ion of the potash. The spreading of
potash over the surface of the land pro-
luced no great result. But, when placed
where the rain water would carry it along
he descending roots down to the rootlets,
is Immediately absorbed by the plant, !
nd produces its effects.