The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-02-11
AGRICULTURAL.
rHr FIELD, THE Farm. THE GARDEN
oRcHARp MANAeEMENr.

We have heard of trees that did not
bear, and the reason assigned was that
they grew too luxuriously. We never
saw the trees. A cheap material to top
dress under orchard trees will pay. If
the farmer has no material for top-dress-
ing, he should run his harrow through
the summer to keep down weeds and to
permit the roofs to have the benefit of
what little food there may be in the
soil.
Orchard trees often receive too much
pruning. In young tress only. thin out
so asnot to have the main leaders cross
ing or interfering one with another; or
when a few shoots are observed to be
growing much stronger than the rest cut
them away. By long series OF bearing,
branches will often get bark bound, and
stunted, preventing a passage Of sap to
the leaves. In such cases the sap seems
to revenge itself by forcing out vigorous
young shoots long way down from the
top of the tree 1t is down to these
vigorous Young shoots that it is recon-
mended to cut the bearing branches
away. Of course, much of this work
can only be left to the Judgment of the
grower. If the tree bears as fine fruit as
ever no such severe pruning il necessary;
now is the time to do the cutting.
HORTICULTURAL NOTES.
A pear tree, when it is bearing fruit,
demands great deal of water. If pear
trees are watered daily with liquid ma
nure, or water from the house sewer,
and chamber slops, the fruit will increase
in size and quality.
New York pear-growers regard the
duchesse as the most profitable dwarf
pear that can be grown. They are
planted twelve feet by six. In cult
waiting, the pillow is run between the rows,
and the loose soil thrown upon the grass
under the trees, thus keeping down its
growth.
In trimming off branches they should
be cut close to the trunk 50 that no dead
stunps shall disigure the tree, also that
the bark may readily grow over. Many
fruit trees become hollow or fall into
premature decay from the rain pene-
trating through old saw cuts made in
pruning. Scars should be painted or
tarred, or otherwise protected from the
rain.
An application of lime, wOod-ashes
and old iron put around the roots
of fruit trees that are not doing well,
will restore the trees to healthy con-
dition and improve the quality of the
fruit. A good wash for nursery trees
Heat an ounce of sal soda to redness in
an iron pot, and dissolve it in one gal
lon of water, and while warm apply it
to the trunk.
Apples, in addition to being a de-
licious fruit, makes a pleasant medicine.
A re
hour and a half, while boiled cabbage
requires five hours. If baked apples are
eaten frequently at breakfast with coarse
bread and butter, without meat or flesh
of any kind, it has an admirable effect
Oh the general system, often removing
constipation, correcting acidities an /
cooling off febrile conditions more eff
fectually than the most approved medi-
cines.
FARM NOTES.
To keep the striped bugs from cucum-
bers saturate ashes with kerosene and ap-
ply handful in hill.
Persons using nitrate of soda as fer
tilizer ought to bear in mind that of all
fertilizers it is the easiest washed out
from the soil.
To destroy bugs on squashes and Gu
Cumber vines, dissolve a tablespoonful
saltpeter in pailful of water, put pint
of this around each hill, shaI ing tins earth
so that it will not spread much. 1t is
also good to kill grub in peach tTees-us-
ing quart to each tree.
To prevent young pigs being killed and
eaten by the mother while narrowing,
feed the sow with plenty OF roots, raw or
cooked, and season them with salt. An
Other-Give the SOW a slice of fat salt
pork daily for the, last few days previous
to narrowing. Bran mashes salted are al
50 good. TGreeR clover might be fed daily,
and salt be put where she can Get what
she wants.
A} . PLANTS AND FLOWERS.
We have one or two letters asking
questions, about certain plants and flow
ers 1 The writers apologize for writing
by saying that they love flowers. Why
should not everybody learn to love these
beautiful objects of nature? 'In all
places and in all seasons, flowers expand
their light and soul, like wings, teaching
us, by persua i've reasons, how akin they
are to human things" From the
"Wee modest, climson-tipped daisy"
of Burns, to the magnolia, who does not
love them?
The verbena can be easily grown from
seed, and the flowers produced from seed
are nearly always fragrant, besides being
produced far more plentifully than on a
plant raised from a cutting.
To keep insects off of plants indoors,
use tobacco dust freely.
The Iantana is an easily cultivated
plant, growing freely in any good soil !;
the best compost is a good light loan
and old manure or leaf mould. with the
addition of sand to keep the whole
open.
BY constantly removing decayed flow
aers before a seed pod can swell, the
growth of the plant and the continued
development of new buds and flowers
upon the new growth are matters of
course
To destroy insects on roses. mix table
teaspoonful of white helleE ore i'll a Fail
of water, and apply it with a sprinkler.
This destroys the insects and the rl+e
are clear Another effectual remedy is
whale oil soap, one pound of soap being
added to eight gallons of water. 1t is
applied at night, the plants being thor
oughly drenched every two or three
days.
Fuchsias after being ex,..s'cd with
blooming, should nave the terminal
shoots of all their branches clipped off,
then set aside for two or three weeks,
giving very little water; then repot in
soil composed of well-decomposed leaf
mould, mixed with sprinkling of good
garden soil, few rusty nails, and layer
of charcoal at the bottom of the pot to
secure good drainage. In few weeks
new shoots full of flower buds will start
all over, growing very rapidly.
SOMETHING OF CHEMISTRY.
To the best of our ability we will re-