The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1882-05-18
For the farmer.
FRUIT TREES.
st.v n Kill Ysar Trees, and Hsw 60 Rafss
Fruit Probably.

Fruit growing in Kansas is blessed liked
fact. What man has planted ten OF dozen
trees in the corners of his fence and allowed the
calves 70 browse of the tops and his horses to
stand and paw over the roots, will now look You
in the face and pussianlmously say, CANT raise
fruit in Kansas
the matter is settled beyond peradventure. IL
is also fact that your wives and children will
have fmit; and yOn must pay the BILL how much
easier then, to grow Your own fruit than be
Obliged to pay from &. 50 to 300 for bushel of
appies and from 400 to $500 for bushel Of
peacbes and scarcely to be had for that.
The writer is of opinion that nine out Of ten Of
the farmers in this country would be willing to
pay five hundred dollars to have hundred
GOOD beating peach trees on his farm.
Look back four or five years, and see how east
ly this might have been the case with you; trees
could have BEEN and can yet be had for SIS per;
hundred, of the very choicest varieties, budded
the cost of preparing the ground is trihing; and
sufficient vegetables can be raised on the same
land to more than pay for eultiyating the trees
Take an acre of good, dry, high land, pillow it
Deep or subsol pillow it, which is better; put on
| a good coat of manure, and then drag IL thor
oughly; mark off your land twenty feet each
way, and you will have ITO squares; plant your
| trees in the following manner: Trim up the tree
as high as you desire; The future head should be
then cut off from onethird to One-halfthe length
of all the remaining branches. See that the GEN.
tire is well opened to admit the air and sunshine,
| and see that your tree is evenly balanced.
Dig the hole large enough SO that the roots
can all be Strengthened ont; and if any roots are
bruised or broken, cut them off with sharp
knife
Set the tree in its place, and fill the hole about
half full of fine soil from the surface; then throw
| in half q pail full of water to settle the soil
around the roots; then fill the hole, and raise
the ground several inches higher than the ground
| around, tread the soil down with your feet, and
| the planting is done. You have now arrived at
| the point where nearly all planters fail; having
paid out their money for trees, and planted them
| in a proper manner, they seem to think their
work is done. Having planted your trees, place
| around the tree and for distance of four or hive
| feet beyond the body of the tree some chip ma
| nure old tan bark, rotten sawdust, or the like,
| about one foot deep or more. This keeps the
| ground moist and of an even temperature, and
| does away with the necessity of watering during
the summer. Winter-killing is serious draw
back but the prevention is very simple and ca
| sy. In the first place-you must begin in the
right way: about the LIST to the 10th of August,
90 to your peach orchard prepared with sharp
| knife cut off from one-third to one-half of all
the wo ID that has grown during the spring and
summer. This will retard the growth. and cause
the wood to harden and get ripe. Ripe wood
seldom if ever winterkills unless the tree is 9TH
erwise neglected. And it may here be said with
truth as all who have taken an interest in fruit
| growing in Kansas aware, that peach trees
grow as fast in September, and even part of Oc-
tober, as they do at any time, thereby making
| large quantity of wood that never gets ripe.
In this latitude, where the changes during
| winter are very sudden, it is necessary to
protect peach trees from the heat, not the cold,
dnring winter. In January. we invariably have
| a warm spell from ten to twelve or fifteen days;
| peach trees, under the influence of the cheering
| rays of the sum- begin to show signs of life; the
| sap starts; the buds swell; and from all appear
ances we will soon have spring. But alas! how
soon our hopes are blghted and the trees stop
| too. sudden storm comes; the buds that a
few hours before looked so promising for fruit,
are frozen stiff and turn black, and the tree is
left in abont the same condition nnn sitting
in a current of cold air while in state of per-
SEPARATION; both become stIffened, sick, perhaps
| die.
| From personal observation and trials made,
| the writer is of the opinion that this freezing
| and thawing of the roots, connected with late
growth is the principal, if not the only cause of
winter-killing.
| The remedy, in connection with August prun-
| ing, is simple and easy. In the early winter,
| when the ground is well frozen down to the
roots of the trees, take some dry manure OF
| straw, place it around the trees; and as far as
the roots will be likely to have run, cover three
| or four inches deep; then put on about foot or
fifteen inches of manure that is damp. This will
| keep the ground and roots frozen during the en-
| tire winter; and when those warm spells come
on 10 sap will start up; no buds will swell, and
the tree will remain in perfect health. When
! spring opens, spread the manure that is around
| yonr trees, over the ground, to provide for the
| crop of the coming season. The writer has, in
| this manner, kept trees from growing until May.
| Trees thus treated will well repay for the time
spent in protecting them from the effects of
| mild winter and late frosts Now let us con-
slider the matter financially, and let facts and
| figures speak for themselves: