The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-12-12
!Mht Ratttt.
HOW TO TREAT FRUIT TREES.

In considering the growth of organ
isms, the action of the alkalies is to be
looked upon as scarcely less important
than that of air and water. Lime is
the great animal alkali, and potash the
vegetable one its old name of veget-
able kali expressed that fact, and all
the potash of commerce is well known
to be derived from wood ashes. The
Importance of potash as a manure has
been frequently overlooked by farmers,
who rarely know the large amount of
this material found in grass, grain crops,
leaves, barnyard manure, roots, and
fruits. How potash acts in plants, in
conjunction with carbon and slick, to
form woody fiber, starch, sugar, and
oil, is vet unknown to chemical observ-
crs. but the fact of its actisn is beyond
- doubt. I.icbig long since pointed out
that the chief cause of barrenness is
the waste of potash carried off by rich
crops, especially tobacco, with no re-
placement by proper manure. How
many millions of pounds of potash
have been sent to Europe from the
forests of America, and in the grain,
tobacco, and hemp! Luckily one alkali
may be replaced by another, and we
have received a considerable quantity
of soda from European seaweed and in
the shape of salt Latterly, nitrate OF
soda from natural deposits in South
America is brought to US at cheap
price.
The p ONT to which we now call at,
tcntion is that our farmers and fruit
growers have ignored, or rather been
ignorant OF, the Importance OF wood
ashes as vegetable stimulant and as
the leading constituent of plants. Even
coal ashes, now thrown away as useless,
have been shown, both by experiment
and analysis, to possess fair share Of
alkaline value. According to our OBJ
servation, if the practice of putting a
mixture of wood and coal ashes around
the stems of fruit trees and vines, par.
ticularly early in the Spring, were fol
lowed as a general rule, our crops Of
apples, grapes, peaches, etc, would be
greatly benefited in both quality and
quantity, and the trees and vines would
last longer We will relate only one
experiment. Some twenty-five years
ago, we treated an old hollow pippin
apple tree as follows; The hollow, tc
the hight of eight feet, was filled ano
rammed with compost of wood ashes
garden mold, and little waste lime
(carbonate). This filling was securely
fastened in by boards. The next year
the crop of sound fruit was sixteer
bushels from an old shell of tree that
had borne nothing of any account fol
some time. But the strangest part was
what followed For seventeen years
after the filling that old pippin tree con
tinued to flourish and bear well. Lei
us call attention to still another point
of Importance in fruit raising. Wher
the bearing years come, the farmers re
ioice too much at their prosperity anc
abuse it, as nearly all people do the
gifts of fortune We should be temper
ate as to the quantity of our fruit as
we'll as of our fruit juices BY proper
trimming and plucking, the apple croE
in bearing years may be reduced to but
little more than half crop as to mum
Der, but the improvement in size anc
price, and in the future effect, will more
than balance the loss. Next February
March, or April, according to latitude
let the tree trimmer stimulate and nour
ish his trees and vines with fair sup
ply of ashes; and in nearly every cast
he will have good crop of fruit in the
non-bearing year