Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-07-18
AGRICULTURAL.
CLEANSING TREES WITH SOAP.

A correspondent of the country Gttt-
dcmdn writes as follows: A carpenter
who worked for me some five years ago,
first called my attention to the effects of
soft soap when applied to the bark OF
Young apple trees. He had young OF
chard to which he paid considerable at
tention. One Of his trees was smaller
than the rest looked badly and was full
uf ants. He supposed (though no doubt
erraneOuslvi that the ants were inIurng
the tree. and determined either 10 clear
them ont, or kill the tree, with soft soap.
He put it all over the tree, ON the body,
limbs ana even ON the young growth. In
a short time the leaves dropped off, and
he thought he had killed it But to his
surprise it entirely recovered, put on new
growth. and grew more vigorously " than it
ever did before In few wears 1t had
outs,ripped every other tree in the or
chard. He has since been applying soap
regularly To all his trees. and finds them
all benefited hy it.
Nv own experience Is of four wears
duration. with an orchard OF - trees
They are fifteen Years Old. and average
about fifteen feet high and SIN inches
through the body. | can safely say that
th.y had before the soap WAS applied
obey have been srraped with each soap
ingl. and they have passed through two
uf the most severe winters without the
slightest parceptible injury All the fruit
they have borne has been the finest of its
kind. BY examination. | find the bark
uu some uf the fifteen year-old trees is
nearly as smooth and thin as on the five
III
summer for three years.
This brings mp the point about trees
absorbing nourishment through the bark.
Nelson Ritter saws that probably odd
trees receive no nourishment through the
bark. but tins has never been proved
If ii has been mmistakabiy proved that
young trees receive fertilizing matters
through the bark. then. | ask, would not
I he trees continue to do this farther INTO
old age, by keeping the bark clean and
thin. instead of neglecting the bark till it
becomes thick and protects the trees when
they need no protection ? The only time
that trees ever need protection from win
ter. in this climate, is during the first few
wears of their growth, and the bark of a
then, 10 leave the old rubbish on the old
TT lIttS lbT pIOltcllOl, NHtH IL OilN uVti-
mulates after the tree is ont of danger
Last wear | noted the time it took to
soap my trees. \ man and boy went
over the orchard between one O'Clock and
five in the sfternoon-say Y hours for
one man to do 10 trees, or one hour to do
ten trees. Counting ten cents an hour as
the WAGES Of a man. We have one cent
tree as the cost OF the labor On the 70
trees there was applied about three gal
Ions Of strong soft soap, or about third .
of pint to the tree, mixed with an equal
quantity of water Call it half pint to .
the tree, and put IT at two cents, and We /
have three cents a year as the entire cost |
of soaping "A good large apple tree. If
the soap is put on regularly, the trees .
need not be scraped oftener than once in .
two years. All who own apple trees may
not be experts at making soap, or may
not have a sufficient quantity ready made. /.
In either case / would neither make it I
nor buy 1t, but use tho ordinary potash
I've from wood ashes. Dilute 1t to the /
proper strength with water. Lye that
will Just not take the skin of the hand is |
not too strong for trees