The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1877-10-18

Society of that State, which appears
in its last published transactions. At
ter discussing the primary conditions
of climate, etc, affecting the growing
Of fruit in the Northwest, and cspe-
cially in his own State, showing the
causes of the larger part of the fail
ures that have occurred, he proceeds
to lay down some rules which expert
ence has demonstrated must be OBJ
served In the cultivation of fruit in
this section of the country, from
which we make the subjoined ex-
tracts:
Nature has been lavish OF her soil
resources in these great upper valleys,
yet we are in higher latitude aud al
titude, and as none of these natural
conditions will be changed but by the
change of ages Of time and civilization
we must adapt our practice TO these
conditions which we may not at once
modify. How to modify these condi-
lions of climate and soil, or adapt our
practice to them, has been the earnest
study OF the true horticulturist for
many years past, and we now feel as
sured that all difficulties peculiar TO
our climate have been fairly met and
overcome, and that careful attention
to the following directions will insure
all reasonable success:
Where to plant-Plant on the high
est land accessible, and otherwise suit
able, because you will have less ex-
tremes of heat and cold more perfect
maturity of wood growth exemption
from unreasonable frosts, which injure
fruit and foliage and also exemption
largely from the different forms OF
blight, which result from defective
circulation in the tree. Plant on the
summit or cool side of the hill because
there You have less changes of tenn
perature in winter and spring, at which
time wood growth is most susceptible
of injury from the cold. A northerly
aspect is preferable to any other, and
wind-breaks, if any, should be on the
southwest side of the orchard or tree.
The Best Soil-Plant fruit trees on
medium soil, because soils very rich in
decaying vegetable matter cause trees
to grow too fast, and too late in au-
tumn for hardness, long life and fruit
fulness. If you must use very rich
soil, plant only the hardest varieties
that you know viii succeed there. Ii
you would ESCAPE summer blight or
fire blight you must grow slow. Soils
may be rich in humus aud poor in lime
CIR potash or silica, which elements ell
fer largely into wood growth. Ifthese
be lacking they must be supplied. One
remedy for an over rich soil, is TO seed
down the orchard with clover, or 9TH
er grass, which should be kept closely
cropped with the scythe or lawn new
er. But this seeding should be done at
the time or after the orchard is plant
ed-not before. The choice of soils
should be in the following order:
l. Calcareous clay, with gravel drift
well intermixed, as sort of concrete
This will insure good natural drainage
with the finest mineral element for the
tree known in our State.
2. The same formation without the
drift gravel, or with it, or lime rock as
a subsoil.
8. The sandy loans, with firm sub
soil.
4. The prairie loans, if they have a
firm subsoil.
5. The pure clay, provided it be high
and dry, and well underdrained.
6. The mucky soils, if they be thor
oughly drained, or the scrub sandy
loans, if they be fed with an abun-
dance of clay muck or mari from the
bottom.
What to Plant-Select a few varie-
ties of tho most promising, for home
use or market, for the greater part of
your planting; say for family use, five
early, five fall and forty winter varie-
les; total, fifty trees for an average
farm orchard for home use. / would
thave two of five, and ten of the forty
sweet. Good sweet apples will never
go begging q market at less than pay
ing price with those who know their
value in the family and for stock. /
believe the time is coming in Wiscon-
sin when they will be found more prof
aitble to grow for fattening purposes
in connection with cooked feed than
any other vegetable that can be pro-
duced.
For commercial purposes, the plant
CT of one hundred or thousand trees
should ordinarily have but few varie-
ties, and those very early or else long
keeping.
What is Hardness ?-The question
here comes in, "Why is one variety
hardy and other tender, other things
equal ?" This question involves the
science of vegetable philosophy, which
is not within the province of this pa
per to set forth fully, but may be brief
ly answered in the outline thus:
Woody structure is made up of veg
etable fibre, which holds the sap in its
various stages of development towards
organized matter. This vegetable fibre
contracts with cold, while the sap ex-
pands with any degree of cold stuff.
cient to CONCEAL it. This contraction
and expansion is severe strain upon
the cellular structure of the tree, a
rupture of its cells producing some
form Of disease. Now the capacity of
a tree or plant for enduring repeated
extremes of temperature, or in COM
mon terms, hardness, is measured by
its toughness or strength of fibre, and
the size of its sap vessels. Thus Sec
ton of Il. /. Greening shows a much
larger proportion of porous wood than
that of the native crab, and equal
sized sections of each variety, dry.
will show difference of twenty per
cent. in weight in favor of the crab
wood. The same viii hold good with
all wood growth, of given species
and climate. There will be a CORES
ponding difference in their capacity to
resist the changes of temperature as
Indicated by this test. allowing same