Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1872-03-13
0rcharding.
4 PAPER READ AT THE LATE MEETING or TIL
STATE BOARD or AGRICULTURE 1T
MONTPELIER

principle that prompted the boy to set the
old goose on forty eggs, for the sake Of see
Jog her spread herself; but if can suggest
few thoughts, or advance even one idea
from my limited experience in fruit raising
that will be Of benefit to any shall feel
that | om amply paid in advance for my
trouble.
While it is fact that nearly all men arc
lovers Of good fruit, yet, it is shockingy
strange that 20 few among those claiming to
be scientific farmers ever turn their attention
in this direction, or ever take any interest in
its growth or cultivation and it is not less
strange that those who claim to be skilled 10
the art Of fruit culture have made such great
mistakes, and displayed so poor a taste in the
cultivation Of the same. 1t is quite laughabe
land, yet, ono ought to feel more like weep
ingl, to pass by or 60 smong orchards that
are common with US at the present day as
one beholds the work Of half century in the
formation Of massive pile of brush, dead
iAhi'e "hA oNihnof NhNoN nun WI hhO ~ has j.
corresponds well with the general appearance
Of the tree, aud the whole of which well
characterizes the scientific principles by which
such men do things in these modern times T;
aud if it were so in earlier day, one is brought
TO his wits end, as he thinks Of the story that
We used to read in our boyhood days from the
old fashioned spelling book how that the old
man could possibly pclt the young sauce.box
with turfs and stones while stealing his apple.
from the tree and our wonder would not be
less excited at the thought Of how the boy
ever came there unless he was grated there
when young And then | think how incon.
sistent it was 10 the old man to demand his
immediate surrender when day or two
would seem too snort for him to extricatC
himself from the thicket of the tree top in
which he had so mysteriously been found
But be this as it may, these is a more ex.
cellent way of doing things on systematic
rule than that referred to- There is time
and place wherein man may be said to have
right TO fall back on his own reasoning pow.
ers and faculties to certain extent. And
thus | would set reason at work, and say,
that if the cultivation Of fruit can be made
to pay at all, it can, like all other products oil
the farm, be made to pay best by thorough
cultivation and vigilant, watchfu care from
its termination TO its maturity, and even to
old age Whoever thought to plant an acre
OF corn on poor, worn out soil, to see how
many bushels he might obtain, without first
feeding the soil with some good practical
fertilizer, for which its bowels perhaps bad
yearned for years or without thoroughly
working the soil from the time of planting I'M.
til the harvesting thereof: keeping under sub.
lection all foul trash that is common to earth,
and without which corn, like other cultivated
matter, must inevitably fail Of success. Or
what man ever thought to see how great a
man he could make Of his son of two years,
without FIRST implanting noble principles in
his young heart, and making holy impressions
upon his tender mind rather than neglect
him until he is nineteen or twenty years Of
age and then cut and slash and hcw and fash
ion until he had nearly spoiled the child, be.
fore he had fashioned him into shape where he
would pass for human. The latter process il
about the style Of fruit management by many
Of our farmers at the present day, neglecting
the cultivation, the pruning, and the fashion
ing Of the tree until its whole top has becom,
so obstructed by the massive swamp of limb
and brush already referred to, that a man al
most hazards his life to enter it for his fruit
And only.for the fact, that in harvesting wha
little fruit grows on such trees they have BEEF
obliged to leave some part of their shir
among the branches as a memorial, and ar
lucky to escape even with scratched skin
would they be led to prune at all but hav
ing become slightly sensitive from the harsl
treatment they have received, and feclin
themselves poorly paid for their labor the,
are prompted to take their axe in hand
and straightway commence amputation, takin
everything clean, dead or alive, until, in
clear day they can see the sun through o
the other side, and say to themselves, that
notable deed has been done this day, noue ca
deny, and go their way apparently satisfe
that science is quite chap after ALL Tn
future prospect Of tree thus mutilsted, ma
be better imagined than expressed. If
lives, God be praised, and not the man tina
sought vengeance thereon.
There is another style Of cultivation whic
might appear to some men to be performe
on scientific principles, (but to me it woul
seem otherwise), where men are as choice {
little scrub apple tree that springs up i
their field, as they would be, were il classe
among the most iavorite varieties of the day
and are so fearful that it may be injured b
pillow or team, that they fairly cringe as tn
team passes, with now and then, take care
boys; don't hit that tree which at the sam
tiaIe, being without enclosure and exposed /
cattle that are ever accustomed to roam To
fields in spring, has been gnawod aud pruue
and scrubbed by them for years, until /
has become, not exactly thorn in the flesh
but thorn in the soil, what some would call
perhaps, heading in), and, venture to say,
can show you trees, Of you may call them b.
this titlel in our own neighborhood of lik
character, that for twenty years have no
L.
those, if any, showing signs of very har
year. Such men, think, must be firm be
levers in Bible teaching land am glad G
that. and it would appear that they expecte
to outliye everybody else to witness the flu
flment of that truthful saying, "By hei
fruits ye shall knao them" What, let m
ask, are such men thinking Of, when, for
trfing expense and little labor, they ma
y. u 4