Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1874-08-07
agricultural.


How LARGE PEARS ARE RAIsED.-Mr G. F.B.
Leighton, of Norfolk, Va, has produced some
of the largest pears ever grown in this county,
In a late interview with this gentleman he told
US that he has now in bearing six thousand trees,
the most of them being Bartletts, Louise Bonne
de Jersey, and Seckel. The soil upon which
they are grown is stiff blue clay, overlay-
ing sand to the depth Of three or four feet.
In planting out pear trees Mr. Leighton digs a
hole in the clay some two or three feet deep and
sufficiently wide for the roots to ramify, and
then bores hole with post angus through to
the sand. This auger hole and a small portion
of the large excavation is filled with sticks (cut
brush j this forms complete underdrain.
soil TO set the roots of the trees in is com
posed of tide washed muck, which is blackish.
shell lime and the surface or alluvial earth.
The trees grow with wendrous rapidity, and pro-
duce such fruit as has astonished fruit growers
everywhere. First premiums have been taken
faI and near at the largest horticultural shows.
Duchess d'Angouleme has been shipped to New
York this season from Mr.. LeightoR's orchard
weighing over thirty ounces or about two pounds.
forty-eight pears on the average making BUSH
el. This fruit brought twelve dollars per bushel,
just twenty-five cents apiece for the pears. They
retailed at fifty cents each upon Broadway.
Mr.. Leighton much prefers the standard to
dwarfs and plants his trees twenty-five feet apart
each way. In a portion of his orchard he has
dwarfs between the rows, but does not allow
them to remain long enough to interfere with
the full development of the standards
DecomposeG bone is used to revive the stand
ards when they appear to be failing into de-
cline, and works to perfection. The bones are
broken up into small pieces and put into boxes
or barrels with alternate layers of wood ashes,
and Kept moist until they are thoroughly decom-
posed.
sTRAwBERRIEs.-A writer in the Rural Ns1e
Yorker thus discourses about strawberries
If any of your lady readers would devote half
the time they now give to nursing sickly plants
with unpronounceable names to the cultivation
of small bed of some choice variety of this
most excellent fruit, think they would proudly
admit, at the years end, that they had been fol-
lowing most excellent advice.
| Many suppose that it takes a great amount Of
labor to get very few berries. Such is not the
fact. The strawberry will thrive under eondi-
tions where many garden vegetables, so called,
would perish. Then there are men with half
their garden devoted to weeds, who gravely in
form me that they haven't inch of ground to
spare for strawberry patch. Let such keep on
raising bitter weed and parsley; verify they
shall reap what they sow, larger and finer
crop of weeds next year.
/ foI-a II
earth adhering to the root, may be set now with
coed results but if you cannot set plants thus
carefully taken up, wait until September before
you set.
Low VS.. HIGH FRUIT TREEs.-An Illinois fruit
grower, who has 1900 apple, and from 1000 tC
5000 pear trees, finds that ''those with low
heads, of the same varieties, show at least two
thirds more fruit, as large larger, and as higl
colored as those with high tops. To test th'
matter he cut off in certain rows all the limb
from four to six feet from the ground, and il
others he encouraged the limbs to start close tt
the surface. and in the latter case neither thin
ned nor pruned, except occasionally to lop ava
, too lusty shoot in order to preserve a symme
trical appearance, or evenly balanced head an
the above is the result.
YOUNG DUCKs.-The best food for young duck
is oatmeal. If they are hatched under heI
you may let them be at liberty with her, provid
ing them with oat meal mixed with water in
plate. If there is water they Ito the hens dis
comfort) will dabble about on the edge of If, an
find some food. II Matched under duck tn
safest plan is to confine them for q fortnight il
some old place, such as a pigstye, where tn
, faulty paving or earth allows Of puddle. The
must be fed here in the same way. The objec
ton TO a duck being at liberty with her brood il
! she drags them about towards evening when tn
flies are about she takes them under seetlini
banks, and often leaves some behind. Wher
there Is only small and open pond the duel
may be safely left at liberty with her brood
Cottage Gardener.
TENDER-FooTED HoRsEs.-An old man VIII
had much experience in handling and dealing
in horses for more than half a century said L
me recently that he had never known a horse t
l get tender-footed that was kept loose in a she
! or yard or in boxed stall that turning aroun
4 and treading with their forward feet in the man
ure keeps them constantly moist and soft. Hi
theory appeared perfectly reasonable to me.
have no box stalls, but l used shavings for bed
ding, and every morning with a large shovel
moved the wet shavings under the horses for
ward feet, and then the last thing at night cover
ed these with dry shavings for him to lie on. II
also remarked that he never knew fat-foote
horse but that was a good worker.-Cor. Lin
Stock Journal.