The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-12-31
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Proper Cnre of Orchards.

Proper Cnre Of Orchards.
Orchards, with very few exception
comparatively, are generally plante
too close. I have had apple orchard
under my care where the trees reached
top diameter of forty feet and ovel
Generous but not excessive culture di
this and this is the culture which
to be made the basis of calculation
Coupled with neglect, the distance be
tween the trees need not be 80 great
One of the absolute requirements i
successful fruit growing is to give th
tree the full advantage of air and sun
shine. An orchard should be a collec
tion of trees where each tree is indepen
dent of it's neighbor as though the fiel
were given to- it alone, except as tn
collection affords protection agains
cold winds. The branches not onl
should not reach each other and becom
interlocked, but the roots, which reacl
farther than the branches, should not
Planting at forty feet distant, there nee'
be no waste of ground. For the frs
few years after the trees are set, tn
land may be occupied by other crops
keeping them at proper distance from
the trees, the cultivation (without tn
crop) extending to the trees and kept NJ
around them during the season, mulch
ing we'll in the fall with manure which
in the spring worked in, will aid th'
early growth, pushing it then as mucl
as it will bear, and lessened afterwart
so as to favor the maturity of the wood
In few years fine young orchard vii
be established, the surface soil largely
occupied by the roots if the soil il
rather shallow if deep and rich, an6
well and deeply drained, the roots vii
have a downward tendency, and the
land may be put in sod. This is desira
BILE to have in an orchard, whether a.
pasture or meadow, or kept as lawn,
as it makes an orchard one of the pleas
ATTEST places on the farm. Where the
soil is less deep, more manure must be
used by fall application, and other fer
tilization during the season If required.
In this way even shallow clay when
well drained will admit of sod, not to
secure the highest success, that is, the
largest crops and the finest fruit, but q
good yield SURPRISING the average. The
coat OF grass will be IN aid to the shade
in protecting the roots from the sun and
drying winds and the effect of the frost.
This latter, however, is best promoted
and indeed may be considered a neces.
sity-by q coat of manure, which may
be raked over in the spring, the coarser
material or rakings removed. When
the roots are near the surface there
must be protection of some kind or the
trees will suffer, and fertility enough
given for the grass and the trees, in
which case the grass forms the finest
green.
It is little known generally how much
may be done with an orchard, not only
in starting one and carrying it through
to the end, which is very rarely done
with continued attention, as it requires
several generations of cultivation but
an old orchard may be renewed and i'm
proved generally, often far beyond
what it ever has been, rs I know by
personal observation-having taken
charge of orchards of forty to fifty ye 'rs'
standing (that were in a decaying con-
dition) and brought them up to the
highest vigor and usefulness, with
the promise of another lease Of life Of
equal duration. The change was made
in few yeers with most Of the trees,
fruit OF improved quality and increased
quantity loading at once the remaining
limbs that had lie, the yield after that
augmenting rapidly and continuously.
1t is in our power to renew almost at
once most of the old orchards Of the
country, and with comparatively little
expense. In most cases drainage would
be necessary. This would be the chief
and almost the only expense. The rest
would be confined to surface manuring,
breaking up the soil in some cases, and
pruning. Some attention yearly would
be required after the first great prun-
ing. An old orchard is half orchard
to start with, and may be made a whole
orchard soon IL posession.-F q. IN
Country Gentleman.
Household Hints.
To KEEP BRooMs.-Every house
keeper may not know that if brooms are
we'll dipped in pail of suds, after the
washing is finished, they will keep as
good as new until they are actually worn
out.
DIs1NFECrANT. few handfuls of
gypsum or plaster, if sprinkled around
where slops are thrown, will absorb all
the bad odors, and materially lessen the
size of doctors bills.
How TO WASH MATT1NG.-Put mix
ture of salt aud lemon on the stains /;
leave this for some hours without wash
ing off; then wash the whole mating
with salt and water.
To CLEAN CARPETS. .--Take one pint
of hot water, add one tablespoonful Of
ammonia; stir we'll together; with this
solution use little toilet soap and it
will remove all stains or grease spots
from the finest of carpets without chang
ing the color.
To CLEAN HAIR BRUSHES. "A dessert
spoonful of hartshorn to quart of cold
water, in O wash-hand basin. Dip in
the hair brushes, pnd rub them until
clean. Then rinse we'll with cold water;
rub dry with towel, and stand upright
at an open window.
To CLEAN PAINT. Whiting and clean
warm water will clean white paint. No
soap need be used. Dip the wet cloth
in dry whiting, and it will clean the
paint without removing it, as soap is apt
to do.
Soil for the Grape.
It is fact, we'll known by experienced
grape growers, that very rich and highly
manured land rarely produces grape
that is rich in taste, or will yield high
quality of wine. The grape that con-
tains the most saccharine matter will
make the best wine, and it is we'll known
that the different varieties differ widely
in the proportion of sugar. In Italy
and in Sicily the very finest and sweet
est grapes grow on the rocky rubbish of
volcanoes, and those that grow in loose,
rocky soils, or along hillside covers,
are often the best. These facts ought
to teach US not to.select the richest soils,
nor to stuff them with barn yard mall .
ures for the grape. Grapevines seldom
need any manure, except ashes, lime
and bones, if the soil is thoroughly pu!-
verized and cultivated, and all weeds
and grasses near the vines kept out.
One Of the most fruitful causes of mil
dew and rot is the application of too
much manure to the growing vine.
Their Origin.
Radishes come from Japun.