Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-10-04

OF the autumn sunlight now;
II teens and 1t ripens far and wide,
And the honor abides with the pillow.
How to Manage Fruit Trees.
/ have gained two pieces of in
formation from your Journal which
l consider, invaluable, and as 1
fear your readers may not have
been so much struck with their i'm
portance rs myself, l shall venture
few words to call attention.
/ allude to the absolute necessity,
in this climate, Of shading the
trunks Of fruit trees; and the no
less important fact that mulching
the soil greatly promotes the health,
vigor, and longevity Of the tree.
My eyes were first opened to the
great value Of protecting the trunks
Of the trees by allowing the trees
to form low heads, as close to the
ground as possible, by reading an
article which proves conclusiyely to
my mind (and l have by many OBJ
servations since, very fully verified
the theory that just in proportion
to the heat of the climate, the trunk
of tree needs shelter; that in a
state of nature, all trees which grow
alone, and not in the woods where
they are sheltered by other, put
ont branches near the surface, so as
to hide and shelter the trunk; and
finally, that all fruit trees would do
the same if left to themselves, and
not continually mutilated and rob-
bed Of their fairest proportions by
the saw and knife of the "trimmer."
What, indeed, can be more ration.
al? A few day since we had four
teen successive days when the
mercury in Fahrenheit's thermome.
ter stood ninety degrees all day long
in the shade. took the trouble to
hang the glass at midday against
the trunk of peach tree in the
full sunshine, when to my surprise
it rose to 1900.
Now it is next to impossible that
the sap vessels should not become
almos, baked, and it is not matter
Of the slightest surprise to ME that
we End the trunk and principal
branches ooziBg ont gum, and the
tree looking feeble and sickly.
Nature has fitted the upper sur
face Of leaves to bear the most
powerful sunshine, and the constant
perspiration through this upper sur
face of the foliage keeps them COM
parativcly cool. But it is not 80
with the bark; and if the stem of a
delicate tree is exposed to those
intense rays of the sun, feebleness
or disease must inevitably follow.
1 have had a stiking proof of this
truth before my eyes the past month.
Bordering my grader walk are two
rows Of fruit trces-each row con-
tanning six apricots and twelve
peaches. They were both planted
five years ago. One of these rows
has been headed back, so as to keep
the trees quite bushy and low-the
lower branches starting out within
a few inches of the ground. This
was done to test more completely
the value Of shortening in pruning,
before l knew the value Of shading
the roots.
The other row has been grown in
the usual way-as standards; that
is, the trees have been trimmed
nearly as high as ones head, so
rs to leave the trunk and lower
branches fully exposed to the sun
tor q good part Of the day.
The difference between these two
rows of trees is very remarkable
one, even to the general observer.
The low headed trees, in the first
place, are usually full of foliage.
the leaves of them are large, and
the shoots luxuriant; and the trees
have the dark green look which is
the unmistakable sign of good
health. The crop of fruit is healthy,
hangs on well, and promises to be
large and excellent.
The high-headed trees, whose
trunks are exposed, are some few
of them in excellent health, but none
of them compare in richness of
foliage with low headed ones, and
about two-thirds of them have q
rich and stunted appearance. Two
of the peaches and three of the
apricots have died with "gum," and
they all show a meager growth
when contrasted with those in the
other row. Besides, I find since
the two "spells" ofvery hot weather
that occurred this Summer, these
bare-stemmed trees are gradually
shedding considerable portion Of
their fruit.
To satisfy myself more completely
of the positively injurious effect of
the sun on the trunks of trees, and
on the roots where the soil is
not shaded by the spreading
branches, l covered the ground
beneath one of these bare-stemmed
trees with litter four inches thick.
and bound few handfuls of straw
around the trunk, to guard it from
the sun.
l find this tree more healthy than
any other in the row, making lux
uriant shoots, and holding its fruit
well, and not appearing in the least
affected by our hot and dry Mid
Summer.
l am, therefore, a warm advocate
of the practice of giving all small
fruit trees low heads, so as COM
pletely to shade both the trunk and
the roots.-Cor. Ohio Farmer.
Nswvariety Of Whsat.
The Ukiah, CAL, Democrat has
the following on white Australian