Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-06-05

jan Sog lSdf' ny Cyrus H. keith, OF shell
don.
In region like ours, where the thcrmom.
eter sinks at times to 80 c and 36 below
zero, am we'll aware that fruit growing is
very different thing from what it is in
milder climates We have difficulties to
contend with, which to meet successfully re-
quires better knowledge of the soil, loca-
tion and aspect required by the different
varieties Of fruits, of the influence of the
winds, Of frost, fog and water, so that as far
as may be we place each variety iri the To-
cation and soil best suited to its constitution.
True "the wind bloweth where it Tsteth"
and we cannot change or control our eli.
mate but when we understand its laws and
necessities VIC can conform to them.
Now one Of the necessities Of our climate
is that to endure the severe cold of our win.
ters the wood Of our fruit trees must be well
ripened. Perfectly ripened wood is easily
distinguished from wood that is uuripe by
the bark being Of darker color and unusu.
ally smooth and glossy, as il it had received
n coat of varnish the wood Is also more
firm and solid. Most cultiyators are proba-
bly, aware that unripe wood will seldom win
ter without injury but few, perhaps, know
how much this ripening of the wood can be
controlled by soil and cultivation. Indeed,
to select varieties of fruits that can ripen
their wood in this climate; to set them in
such soil and location and cultivate them in
such a manner that they will ripen their
wood every year, whether the season be wet
or dry, is the essence of all that can be said
Of fruit culture in Northern Vermont. We
shall therefore briefly enumerate a few
Of the more common causes which deter, as
well as those that hasten, the ripening Of the
wood.
One Of the most frequent causes which
prevent it is planting on undrained soil.
All cultivators Of fruit in. whatever climate
agree that the draining of fruit lands is es-
sential but in our climate it is Imperative
that The soil Oa tohich ne groio our fruit
trees be perfectly drained either naturally
or artifeidiiy 1t will not do to conclude
that because piece Of land is dry enough to
raise good crop Of corn or potatoes which
occupy the ground only from spring until
the first frost, it is necessarily dry enough
for fruit trees which commence growing
earlier in the spring and continue growing
much later in the fall, and need, particu-
larly in the latter part of the season, a well
drained soil to perfect their wood. To de-
termine whether a soil needs draining or not,
dig holes two feet deep in various parts Of
the field and if during wet time in the
spring or fall the water stands in the holes
for twenty-iour hours after it has stopped
raining the ground should be drained.
The soil best adapted to an apple orchard
is a gravelly loan, or strong loan on
which the original growth Of timber was the
sugar maple. A dry sand or a stiff clay
should be avoided. Fine fruit, however,
can often bo raised on sandy loans, aud if
well drained, and tho clay is not in excess,
on clayey loan. Admitting the orchard is
TO be set on a hillside it need not be form
idable or expensive task to drain au acre of
land for an orchard. All that is often nee.
essary is simply to plow the land in ridges
or beds eighteen feet wide, running the
bitches the shortest way down hill and, after
drying, clean out the bitches with a shovel
throwing the dirt to the center Of the bed
and plant the trees, rather shallow, on the
center of the ridge eighteen feet apart.
This distance is much nearer than some cul-
tivators recommend, but observation has sat
isfed me that in this climate trees do much
better when planted close enough to afford
some mutual protection from the wind.
If the soil is rather heavy loan incin-
ing to clay, set the trees entirely on the sur
face and draw on load Of gravelly loan to
cover each tree with. To prevent the flow
Of water from higher ground ditch should
be made, diagonally enough to give it suiii-
cient fall, across the headand. The trees
should then be mulched by covering the
ground three or four inches deep, for cir
clio of four or FIVE feet in diameter, with
coarse straw manure or other litter This
will keep the ground moist and mellow and
in dry season cause newly planted trees to
make double the growth Of those not mulch
ed. If there be fear Of mice this mulching
had better be raked away in the fall and,
it the ground has settled SO that any of the
trees stand too shallow, more soil, (chip dirt
is best) should be drawn and placed around
them. 1t is necessary in all young orch
ards, at least for the first few years, to
keep the ground mellow and loose by culti-
'NNSH' BiOuhu W plOWVN 'Oi WV
first year or two, taking care not to disturb
the roots Of the trees and it the trees were
set on ridges the burrows should be turned
toward the trees, making the beds higher
aud the bitches deeper. But after the trees
have become established, the less the ground
is plOwed tho better. Young fbrous roots
which the plow would destroy run in every
direction, and approach the surface in search
Of food. The ground, however, may be
kept mellow by the use Of the cultivator
and spading fork. The common spade is a
clumsy instrument and should not be used
among the trees as it cuts too many roots.
If a little extra care is used in digging
the potatoes TO cover all the weeds, and the
cultivator is run late in the fall, good crops
Of potatoes can be raised for several years
without plowing. Never put sowed crop
in your orchard there is no surer way to
injure it, Another frequent cause of unripe
wood on young trees, particularly those set
on heavy loans, is applying it late in the
spring Young trees on a very rich soil
make such luxuriant growth of wood, that
it does not ripen well aud they aRe liable to
winter kill. If they do not the fruit buds
will not bear 50 readily; and they will not
bear as young as they will on a moderately
rich soil kept clean by cultivation. Howev-
or, the judgment Of the cultiVator can alone