The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1879-01-09
TOPICS FOR FARMERS.

A Few Observations on the Culture
of Fruit.-C. 81. Nation, writes to De
troit Free Press: Prospecting for my
winter apples 1 visited an orchard not
many miles from the city, of which /
had known much from The time it first
came into bearing and before it changed
owners. Though not large, I considered
it the best orchard in the town. I'm
agine my surprise on visiting my pet
orchard a few weeks since-the leaves
were looking pale; scarcely any growth
of twigs body hide-bound limbs dying.
While there wal some good fruit, there
was more that was poor, and q great
want of uniformity in the size of the
fruit on the same tree.
/ called the attention of the gentle
man to the facts, and the reply was:
"These trees are growing old and will
have to be removed" "What-" well,
let the reader fill up the blank. An or
chard that only came into bearing ten
or twelve years ago growing odd Such
men grow fruit Cor fail to grow it) on
the chance theory.
Two years g / visited the home of
my boyhood in the Old Bay State. One
of my kindred, a peer among the chief
est of successful agriculturists, had dis
posed of a large farm and purchased
about thirty acres of land on the out
skirts of a beautiful village-about one
half bottom land; that is, it Jay at the
bottom of q pretty steep hillside, wet
and cold. The half of the part on the
hillside sloping to the east was thickly
gemmed with a species of u~nstratifed
rock. By means of dynamite, powder,
sledge-hammers, mixed with brains,
those old century rocks left their beds
never to return. The low lands were
thoroughly drained and three tons of
grass per acre is no unusual yield. But
on the hillside? All looks bad-going
to hopeless decay. "Not old less than
half a century; wait till I get time. The
trees are not old, / tell you. The trees
are not to blame. They are only suffer.
ing from starvation and neglect; they
are still live Dogs" 1 visited that
same orchard last August. What 8
change! In all my summer travels ]
have seen but few more healthy trees.
That scabby look is gone-dry limbs
goLe-pale, sickly leaves gone and given
place to rich, dark green foliage, and
they were moderately loaded with fine
fruit. Process by which these tree:
were ~rejuvenated: Careful pruning
scaling, washing bodies in weak I've, cut
ting and removing to the composing
reservoir all the turf within a circle
whose semi-diameter must be at least
eight feet from the trunk of the tree
then covering this sodless space witt
300 or 400 weight of good manure tt
each tree, and a mulch of straw ant
weeds, etc., on top of that; and one year.
crop of apples will pay all expenses
Such men do not believe in the dogm.
of chance, but cultivation; not accident
but cultivation. They do not grumblt
about nurserymen, and bad climate, ant
poor soil. On these same grounds is
fine bearing peach orchard, with plum
and young pear trees, that came from
Michigan. Cultivate the young and oil
orchards and there will be no wranglin,
on the old question, will it pay? True
this year we have a surplus of fruit, bu
the wise man gets pay. One of GU
farmers, on less than ten acres of land
sold eight-hundred barrels at one dolla
per barrel, and the purchaser found tn
barrelsl