Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1872-08-03
Apple Trces-IIOw Shall they be Made
10 Bear.

Apple TrCes-llOw Shall they be Made
10 Bear.
Fruit trees of all kinds need care.
lul cultivation in order that they may
grow and be fruiticl. Grass aud
weeds choke them into disease and
barrenness as much us they will corn
and potatoes. Clean up the unhealthy
trees, wash them in a strong decoc-
ton of soft soap, remove the sod, the
grass and weeds for ten feet around,
aud give your land q good dressing
with barn manure, and your trees
will soon begin to thrive, and when
you got good blossom, fruit can be
secured by girdling. This is astrango
but sure thing. | have tried it four
years, and with decided success. In
1868, while residing in Boston, Mas
sachusetts, l had good apple or
chard, but not having much fruit, |
resolved to try 6irdling, which [ had
heard recommended. | selected five
good-sized, healthy trees, Of different
varieties, and, when in blow, girdlcd
II large limb on each side with my
penknifo, cutting narrog channel
clear through the bark. The result
was tho girdled limbs had double the
fruit to be. found on any other parts
of the trees, and the apples were
more than double in value, as they
were much larger and smother. The
next yoar-1SC9-I repeated the OK
pertinent on five other trees. The
result was not 50 favorable, but the
effects were equally decisive. Tho
experiment was also made the same
season on DIR. Grooves farm III Bos>
ton, with the same success. In 1870,
girdlod all my trees which had u
good blow, but before tho crop ma
tured sold my place and removed
TO Vineland; but learn that the APP
pie crop on that orchard was the
largest it was ever known to produce
| have a small apple orchard of Thrift
ty trees i'll Vinoland. Last spring,
when i'll blow, l girdNd every tree
in the trunk which had good bios
som, and the fruit hung on with
great tenacity and was large and
fair. The philosophy Of this Isl The
insects sting the fruit, it becomes
sickly, loses hold on tho tree and
drops. The sap goes up in the woody
fiber Of the tree in the spring and it
returns in the bark; but need not
tillautumn. BY girdling you cut off
the return of the sap TO the ground,
and the result is the tree has more
vitality to nourish and hold on to its
wounded fruit, and carry it through
to maturity, The channel should
be small, about the size of pipe
stem. 1t will then be sure to heal
during the summer lIaichman.
Or the cutting down of forest
trees which is SO constantly going
forward in this country, William
Cullen Bryant says: at is u com
mon observation that our summers
are becoming drier and our streams
smaller. Take the Cuyahoga as an
illustration. Fifty years ago large
barges loaded with goods went up
and down that river. Now, i'll the
ordinary stage Of water, a skifJ can
haydly pass down that stream. Many
u boat Of fifty tons burden has boen
built and loaded in the Tuscarawas,
at Now Portage, and sailed to New
Orleans without breaking bulk. Now
the river hardly affords Il supply Of
water at Now Portage for the canal.
The samo may DO said Of other
streams. They arc drying up. And
from the same cause.-the destruc-
ton of our forcsts-tho summers are
growing dricr aud our winters cold
ar "