Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-12-10
FROM The Patrons H-iper.
Fruit Culture Methods, SOIL.
situation. exc.

INST Invariably be grown in a GER
tain way. on particular kind ofstocks
.nd no other, without qualification
in regard to situation, soil, climate,
ar other condition, takes a risk
which few ponologists want toincur.
When we see new fruit brought
before the public, the originator,
his agents or assignee, advertising
tho same for sale at an exorbltant
prlee. and at the same time asserting
that it viii! succeed perfectly in all
localities, (uniess it has been faithfully
and impar,iaily tested in different
ns-ts Of the country we at once con-
elnde tlIeiris danger Of being defrau-
ded aud keep out OF the way, unless
,.e are anxious to be hurnbugged,
FIR unexceptionable qualities can
scarcely be claimed for any variety.
perilaps the Concord grape and
Albany Seeding strawberry come as
near succeeding throughout the
Tinted States as any fruits which
rould he named, and yet there are
localities where they are by no means
the hest.
vendors, endeavoring to make
sales and having a surplus of part!cu-
lar sorts on hands, will highly rec
ommpnd such, for instance, as Vel
low BelIfiower, King of Tompkins
county, Northern Spy, etc, MS fine
and profitable varieties to cultivate
and thousands of them are sold
throughout Iowa. Such declarations
wouId be true the trees were to be
nIonted in Ohio, New York or Penn
sylvania, or in timber land and clay
soil butthey would be false, If they
were TO be set out i'm our rich Iowa
prairies, because in such lands they
are absolutely reproductive, andthou-
sands of our people are to-day reap
ing not the fruits Of their labor but
the disappointment resulting from
such deceptive declarations.
One more instance in which per-
son may be deceived, in this part OF
Iowa at least, in regard to valuable
variety. Williams Favorite apple
sometimes, but enormously conioun-
ded with Sops of Wine) is one of the
most certain, regular bearers and
profitable apples | have grown In
this State and yet were l to say this
much without explanation, probably
every one who planted on my recon-
mendation would be disappointed,
for it hasproved quite undesirable to
me when root-grafted.
bought, among others four trees of
this sort, eighteen years ago last
spring, from our pioneer and veter-
an pomologist, James Smith, OF Des
Moines, which were top-grafted three
or four feet from the ground. In four
toive years they commenced bearing
and have not failed me an annual
and remunerative crop since.
Ihave likenumber of root-grafted
trees in the same ground, which
have been planted ten or eleven
years. The latter are Indifferent
specimens, and have produced poor
crops.
When worked with me in this
manner, it does not succeed well
either in the nursery or in the or
chard. This however, is not for want
of hardness, but by reason of a slow,
irregular and struggling growth. Its
bad behaviour, when worked in this
way, may account for its being found
80 seldom in our Iowa nurseries.
am acquainted with several other
apples which, for divers reasons, will
not succeed in this vicinity when
propagated by root-grafting, which
are valuable when worked on hardy
stock few feet above ground.
Among them will name one OF the
most desirable popular eastern
kinds:
In the orchard of Mr.. Drury
Oyerton, two miles from Knoxville,
are two trees Of the Esopus Spitzen-
berg, worked four or five feet high,
which are some twenty-five or TWEEN
ty-six years of age, having withstood
the terrible winters Of 1866, and
1867. They are now sound and
healthy, and produce regular crops
of as fine specimens as any one could
desire. The orchard is on rich prai.
RE soil, deep, and rather wet. When
root-grafted, this kind has been an
utter failure in Marion county, as fai
as have observed and been inform
ed. In this way / made frequent
attempts to cultivate trees of it some
years ago, all of which failed before