The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-01-21
agricultural department.
CONDUCTED BY ALBERT CHAPMAN.
From the Vermont Farmer.
The Fruit Interests of the ChampIain
valley.

The Fruit Interests of the Champlain
valley.
by c. a. pRINGLE ESQ.,, OF CHARLOTTE SEC.
RErARy OF THE CHAArPLAIN VALLEY nor.
TIoULTURAL SOCIETY
Continued from last week.
THE ORCHARDS OF JOHN HOLMES, ESQ, WEST
CHARLOTTE.
From the exteut Of his paintings my
neighbor Holmes may justly be called the
prince OF our orchardists. Certainly the
most ambitious planters Of this valley, so
far as am acquainted with them, are
content to aspire to only half his number
Of trees Very few men, indeed, will be
able for some time to do more than this
for it is rare that so favorable combin.
alton of circumstances occurs,-so advan.
tageous location, such a splendid stretch
OF the choicest fruit land, such mastery
enterprise in the owner to conceive of no.
Bile plans and such energy and thorough
ness with the requisit pecunary means,
to carry them into execution successfully
For half a mile westward from the
railroad station o'Charlotte and thence a
mile northward we pass over level mea-
dows and pastures, spotted in their lowest
places with swamps Of black ash and on
the submits of their gentle swcls with
woods of beech and maple This brings
us near the lake and opposite the en-
trance to the grounds we propose TO visit
to-day. The farm. stealing is located on
low ridge at some distance west of the
highway, and we approach the house, a
substantial brick farmhouse with a hos
pitable look, along graveled drive
through an avenue Of young forest trees.
The situation Of Mr.. Holmes place is a
magnificent one and the view can hardly
be excelled along all the eastern shore.
The house stands on the summit of the
broad ridge, which crowned with orchards
stretches southwark, parallel with the
lake, and for some fifty rods northward
runs out into the water as headland,
around which bay flows inland. To
the west, beyond the blue waters of Lake
Champlain and from its further shore,
rises the spires Of Essex, and high above
them in the background tower the loftest
submits Of the Adirondacks. North
ward sweeps the broad lake, bearing near
by on its bosom group Of wild aud rocky
islands, and furthe. on, broader ones,
fruitful and fair under the hand of the
cultivator and eastward, over hundred
wooded hill-tops, the long line of the
Green Mountains bourds the landscape.
rising here and there into bold and
rocky peak, as Mansfield or Camel's
Hump.
But our errand to this estate to-day is
practical one. and we must not permit
our admiration of its beautiful surround
ings to divert us long from its ACCOMPLISH
ment. So after an hour of fruit talk dur.
ing which dinner is served, we set out un-
der the agreeable escort of the proprietor
and his two sons to make survey of the
orchards. We are irst.led through an
orchard north Of the house occupying
some eight acres between that and the
end of the point, and including three hun.
dred and fifty trees planted in 1864
This is Mr.. Holmes small beginning.
The varieties are mainly Greetings and
Golden Russets. The trees are uniform
ly healthy and vigorous, and give evil
dencc of intelligent and constant care.
The heads are formed at moderate height
the mode of training the owner most
approves on account of his exposure to
lake winds-thcy are symmetrical and
well developed, and the branches ar
properly thinned out to prevent their
chatting or crowding The trees are bear.
ing moderate crop of fruit which for
the last of August is large and fair. A
part of the orchard has till recently been
policed by drove Of hogs, who have de.
voured, as it fell, every wormy fruit
This is an aid to his fruit growing which
the proprietor proposes freely to employ
He wintered for this summers work
thirty-fvc hogs. This particular orchard
had been seeded to orchard grass the pre-
vious year, and the forage it furnished,
together with the falling apples, helped
to support the herd while confined here.
A. present they are in distant orchard
feeding on the peas, which had been there
grown for them, and fattening on them.
Mr.. Holmes at one time tried keeping
sheep in his young orchards, but they
persisted, with an abundance of pastur-
age, in gnawing the bark of the trees,
and even after he had been at pains to
surround the trees with protection Of
boards nailed to stakes, they climbed up
on the barrier and nimbled the bark of
the limbs. But swine, when allowed
sufficient range to obtain other vegetable
food, will not show any relish for apple
tree bark, and with a sufficient force of
these the fruit grower will keep his fruit
very free from insects, and thus secure
an abundant crop of large and handsome
fruit.
Gratifed to hear that this orchard al.
ready pays expenses and begins to make
returns to its planter, having last year,
its seventh from the setting, averaged
dollars worth of apples to the tree, we
pass on toward the shore Of the lake, to
the west Of the house. Here is an Or
ciard of one hundred and thirty trees of
Early Harvest, Tor the fruit of which
good price was realized very early the
present season but respecting the profit.
abeness Of early fruit in this section the
owner has some msgivings; and n hun.
dred and fifty trees of Red Astrachan in
another place, which as yet fail to yield
the most satisfactory fruit he is discussing
the propriety Of grating over to some
winter sort, and is most inclined to favor
the jonathan, with which he has not yet
supplied himself. Here, also, are eighty
trees Of Gameuse planted to supply the
boatmen from Canada, who land on this
shore in fall for supplies of apples, and
who recognize this variety as an old ia
vorite in their market
Next south of this orchard is an or
chard Of some five hundred pear-trees of