The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-10-20
OF THE STATE BOARD
or AGRICUl,TURE At GRAND
.a,a,pty MORNING OCT. 1sT,
Continued

snS u'Etibbuisueu huihoT vi tue shmtIi'
can Fruit Culturist who delivered q very
interesting and instructive address upon
The broad subject Of fruit culture Mr..
Thomas stated in beginning that what he
might say would be in general terms and
generally applicable to all localities and
climates, but could be SO varied by his
hearers as to suit their peculiar case
when applied
There was raised in the United States
in 1860, twenty million dollars worth of
fruit. Ia 1870 it exceeded forty.seven
millions, and it is now estimated that the
crop is worth over sixty million in 1874,
or only the small amount of one dollar
and fifty cents for each nhabtant The
craving for fruit was universal. Chill
dren would not be satisfied without gorg.
ing green apples. fruit stealers would
break through picket fences and run the
risk Of bear.traps and savage dogs to OBJ
tain it. This uneducated craving for
fruit he would call appetite when this
appetite became more refined by educa.
tion it became taste; hence he would
designate the one appetite the other taste.
The one possessed by the masses while
vet uneducated, the other possessed BY
comparison Of the best varieties of fruit,
and the speaker was pleased to remark
that the appetite Of the masses was be-.
coming educated up to the standard Of
taste.
Upon the subject of cultivation and
manuring, Mr. Thomas said too com.
mon error was to confne them too near
the tree The roots of the tree not on.
~ extended 90 far as the height Of
the tree, but even further in most cases,
so that by careful experiments it had been
demonstrated that cultivation and man.
uring applied farther from the tree tnan
distance equal to the height of the tree
from the ground, produced more marked
and better results than when applied
nearer. In confirmation Of this instances
we're cited, among others one Of an or
rhsrd at the Michigan Agricultural Col.
lego. where experiments were conducted
npder the direction of Mr.. Thomas and
the results were such as strongly TO con
firm him in this view.
A portion of the address was devoted
80 the consideration of producing new
varieties, especially by crossing well
known good sorts and the process BY
~hich this was done was described The
seeds of good sorts would be more likely
to produce good kinds than the seeds Of
poor ones. OF one thousand seeds Of the
Esopus Spitzepberg, probably not one
would produce fruit equal to the origi.
Gal, but il two good sorts were mixed the
result would be more promising. The
more common way now was TO plant two
trees Of different bu; good kinds close So
that the branches would mingle when natu.
ral by bridtzation would take The speaker
hoped new varieties of long keeping kinds
would be produced that would prove very
valuable for Vermont enabling her fruit
growers to supply the market af.er the
apples from other aud more southern
sections had disappeared therefrom.
From what had already been accom-
plished the speaker thought there was
great promise of very excellent sorts AS
the result oil crossing our best apples with
the hardy crabs, giving us thereby good
apples that could be successfully grown
in higher attitudes and locations, where
our best varieties are too tender to sue.
reed
Some Of the drawbacks in the cultiyh
ton Of fruit were considered. We must
labor for what we get. The merchan
must toll long and patiently to gain
competence and then often fails, the
farmer must constantly attend to his
crops and they must be renewedly plant e
ed or he does not reap harvest. So the
fruit grower must labor for his crops :;
eterna! vigilance is the price of good fruit
Every fruit has its drawbacks and enc.
mics, but still there is no property but
what has its drawbacks. Our houses tina
we live in are continually wasting and
going 10 decay, and the tax gatherer is
sure to make us a call for taxes every
year, and often many such calls yearly.
Shall We therefore stop building and re.
pairing houses because they must be
looked after aud we have TO pay taxeH
on them,or because fires occasionally con.
sumo them ? | would be quite as sensi.
BILE as to cease cultivating fruit because
it has its enemies and drawbacks.
As we become better acquainted with
these enemies and difficulties, their mag
nitude decreases and we should be Gu
couraged that We arc conscious Of over
coming them. He was sure that tn ,
perseverng and industrious Yankee wout
not be conquered by such insignificant
Little insects as the curculio and Goblin
moth.
Many experiments we're mentioned a.
having been tried as remedies for the cur
cuio but had failed. Lime had hser
used with hopes of success but had no
proved effectual. A calf tied to tire,
that had always dropped its fruit before
had by its continued shaking of the tre'
saved the fruit and it produced larg,
crop. So the only remedy was to con
'inually jar the iiee and catch the insect
on sheets and destroy them The man
ner that an orchard of twenty-five tree,
was AIRED every day, aud an abundanc,
OF the finest plums secured at a cost O
only six cents day was narrated A
soft padded mailet had been tried bu
would not answer. A spike with blum
point should be driven into the tree oil
which sharp blew from hammer o
hard mallet could be struck, and the in
sects would then be Jared down and dc
stroyed. But this process must be con
tinuous every day or it will not avail
neighbor to whom Mr.. Thomas had rec
commended this plan tried it but did no
save his plums, Upon being questione,
be had performed the ceremony nearl
every day; at least he commenced Mon
day morning and Jared his trees agai
on Tuesday, and at least once agalu tina
week, and once during the week after, u
four times in all. Surprising dairy ma
should milk his COWS Monday and Tines