Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1874-01-29
Aarifnltnral.

PROFITS OF AN ORcHARD.--'l don I believe
any such doctrine remarks the deacon. DO
you think your Northern Spy trees that pro-
dueed such grand crop OF apples this year
have not taken more substance out OF the soil
than II they had not produced quit p 81
Il suppose If they had not produced ffuit they
would have produced more wood. think the
roots would have taken nearly or quite a. much |
water or plant food out of the soil In the one |
case as In the other. The reason SO many |
applet trees bear only every other year is that
during the bearing year the excess OF fruit ao-
| serbs the material that ought to be stored up
| for the next crop. Aud this is my reason for
| thinning out the fruit
| Yes, know says the Deacon, 'but 1t is
good deal of work, and farmers cannot spare
the time to do it,
1T takes no more time to pick "A little APP
pie in the Summer than it does to pick the
same apple In the Fall and with me the Fall
Is the busiest season of the year | got this
idea from }. j. Thomas. | used TO think, as
you do, that thinning fruit was one Of the re-
finements of horticulture which those of us who
gr'w apples and peaches largely for market
could not stop 10 bother with. But Mr.. Thorn
! as remark above quoted convinced me Of my
error. If there are 1900 apples on tree in
the Summer and let them grow, have 10
J pick them all in the Fall. lfthis Is as many
again apples as the tree ought to bear, the
1900 apples would fill say i've barrels. Now,
If pick of 1000 Of the smallest and poorest
and specked and worlny apples In the Summer,
and let the sheep and pigs eat them up, the
probabilities are that tile 200 apples left on
the tree would grow so much larger that they
J would fill the tive barrels as before. We pick
1900 apples in either case, and get the same
7 amount of fruit
what, then, do We gain?'
In the first place, the thousand apples do
not exhaust the tree as much as the two thou
3 sand. There Is as much fruit by measure, but
it consists largely OF material that takes little
j from the tree or soil. There is only halt as
e much seed, &c. We ought TO thin out at ieast
i enough to leave the tree strength enough tc
bear tull crop next year. IL the second
e place, the thousand apples are worth much
e more than the two thousand; and last, but no
: least, the trees will bear every year.
o That is all true enough, and you might pu
IS it stronger; but do you mean TO say that yot
b can grow apples so big that two hundred fill
l. Darrell?
T. when we were barreling our Northern Sp
e apples had the curiosity TO count how man,
X apples took to fill a barrel heaped up read
for pressing. One of my men counted one bal
s. rel and another. We did not select the lare
10 est, but about the best fruit. My barrel too
u 2l2 apples, and his 21S apples. ! then tol
IT, him to select cut the largest apples, and we d
al led barrel with 1870 and another with 1856 al
a pies
1t AL dppt NlOpt Nntatf ~ picaoAi
H. thing to have during these hard times II
b. money comes in a limp ! sold my apple ere
T. all to one man, and drew them directly out
he the orchard TO the depot. They came TO 81
r. 25G 40. 1t squite help
1T is So said the Deacon. You have
k other four &C res on the farm that will pay hs
he as much That orchard, the way You mana
At it, is good for 1000 barrels Of apples
is. | never kne W the Deacon come so near pa
as ing me a compliment. deserve no other ere
er ii than this had faith in good farming.
Ter knew the Northern Spy was very choice a
pie. l knew that in orchards ordinarl
ell managed it often failed to prove proftat
a variety. Scores OF farmers as they drove
sp- have stopped and urged ME TO graft the orcha
ID 10 Baldwin and Greetings. l said, NO. L
er Northern Spy is one OF the best apples in t
cn world, and, OF course, like all choice things
OF requires the best OF management. Neglect t
his orchard, and You cannot have a worse varie
lis treat it well, prune judicously, aud mani
on, highly aud you cannot have better The
has was principle al 81 AXE, ana have waited
ght tienily, and have not waited in vain. SIEVE
the Of the trees this year bore five barrels of |
val choicest fruit think when they get into
be bearing they are, as the deacon says, good
he ten barrels.-JoS. Harris u, american Ao
her CultufiSt.