American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-05-18
Size and Age OF Trees.

The books all recommend small trees,
say two or three yearsOld; but, in practice,
a tree six years old, with a good head, and
from an inch to an inch and half in
diameter at the collar, is a better size
seventy-five to hundred of which will
fill a wagon-boX to it's utmost capacity. L
am aware that this is not orthodox, but the
Philo Farmers Club think it is, and, as l
have great respect for its opinion, 1 shall
take up in its favor That trees of this
size may be safely transplanted, the evil
dence is on almost every farm in the
township. But the heads must not be cut
back, only simply pruned to a good form
and the extra branches not required cut
out; but do not cut back or shorten in a
single shoot. This may be called a new
doctrine, but it has been thoroughly tested
hereabouts, and is now preached with the
utmost confidence in its correctness.
The members of this Farmers Club are
men of books, but they are also men of
intelligence and research, and of course
welded to no hobby. With them no doc
trines in regard to rural matters are too
sacred or too holy to elude investigation.
The planting of small trees is a good
thing for the nurserymen and the tree
peddler, but bad thing for the farmer
who wants apples. Peter Smith wants
an orchard of a hundred trees. He first
decides on the list of varieties; of few
early apples, both sweet and sour, but
mostly of the latter; a few autumn APP
ples-making one-third for summer and
autumn, and the remaining two-thirds for
winter. With this list he goes to the
nursery, and takes up the large-siZed trees,
one by one, and places them in his wagon
box, which has a supply of damp straw or
hay, which is packed around the roots.
The trees are taken home and transplant
| Al L..
| by one as planted, when the head is thin
ned out and pruned to the proper form.
They are banked up about foot
| high, to prevent the wind swaying
them about, but no stakes are required.
| These trees are respected by the plOw-
| man; no stock is allowed among them,
| and the rabbits seldom gnaw trees of this
size In June the banking is leveled
| down, and good mulching of manure is
put in its place. The trees make firm
growth, notwithstanding that the tops
| have not been reduced to correspond to
| the shortening of the roots. l suspect
the fact is that the reserved forces of the
tree, with all its buds intact, possesses the
| ability to supply new roots; and that
these, in return, aid the tree in its new
condition. The Club could at least point
| to hundreds of instances where trees thus
| treated are now the best orchards, and
had grown beyond all anticipation. OF
| course, such large trees cannot be shipped
and handled by tree peddlers; and, as a
matter of course, these gentry VIII say
| Pooh, and swear that it is all nonsense.
But, in order to have good orchards, it is
not absolutely necessary that we employ
any of these men to assist us.
The Club engage their trees at the
nursery at IL discount from retail rates,
and each member goes and makes his Sc
lection is person, and pays the cash at the
time; so both buyer and seller are salts
fed, for no middle man can come between
them, with a thirty five per cent commits
| sion.
In the after-culture of the trees, the
burrows are turned toward the rows, the
blowing being done in the direction OF
the drainage, thus leaving dead furrow
midway between the rows, to receive the
surplus water from melting snow or rains
before the ground is thawed, or from
heavy rains during the growing season.
| A hoed crop, such as corn, potatoes,
bects or vines, or II crop of buckwhcat Is
very proper; but the small grains, such