Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-10-18
Emit Trees.

FefnapS no winter IN the memory OF
''the Oldest inhabitant'' played greater
havoc with orchards and fruit trees gen
orally than did last winter. There is
hardly an orchard in the county but is
at least half ruined, and in many in
stances every tree is dead or as good as
dead There is no fruit of any kind ex-
cepting small fruits, to be had anywhere
in this portion of the northwest. OF
course measures will be taken at once
looking toward supply of fruit trees
for planting next spring, and the tree
agent who comes along during the CON-
ing winter with his beautifully colored
and shaped pictures of impossible fruit
will find a golden harvest within his
grasp. His bland smile and easy famil-
lar ways will win the confidence of
many an honest, Woodworking farmer,
who thinks all the world honest because
he and his neighbors are. He will ex-
patiate learnedly and at length on the
attractive and unsurpassed qualities of
the fruit he is introducing and the high
standing of the nursery firm he repre-
sents, proving beyond a doubt, if he is
to be implicitly believed, that they are
sacrificing themselves for the public
good and are totally incapable of wrong.
This oft-told tale is all very pleasant to
listen to, but it is not neatly SO pleasant
when the purchaser is compelled to pay
for trees that either do not grow or
prove false to their name, and fire.
quently worthless. 1t is very evident
that but few persons in this county care
to grew more fruit than they need for
their own use. This being the case, ev-
cry unnecessary tree is simply an ex-
pense. Last year thousands of bushels
of apples were fed to cattle and hogs or
allowed to rot on the ground, just be-
cause there are no demand for them
near home and it did not pay to attempt
to open market anywhere else. This
year there we've no apples, because the
trees failed to survive the severe freez-
ing of last winter. The thing that is
most evident to all is that we must have
the cery hardest Uarieties of trees in or
der to insure reasonable degree of sue
cess. Winter fruit should also be
largely selected, for very few good
bearing trees of early and fall varieties
will suffice to supply the wants of any
family. Heretofore fall apples have
been in the greatest abundance, while
winter fruit has been scarce and high
priced, very few having enough for
their own use. Now is very good OPP
portunity to make radical change in
regard to apple-growing. Almost any
work on fruit-culture will give all nee
essary information as to different varie-
ties of hardy trees. Home nurseries
should be patronized as much as posi-
bic, for it is well-known fact that trees
do better when grown in the soil and
climate where they are to remain. 1t
will always repay farmer or gardener
to 60 direct to the nursery and select
and pack his own trees, rather than to
trust to accident in their selection and
packing. In order to lessen expense,
dozen farmers can club together and
send some of their number to attend to
this, the most important part of the
business, should they be situated at an
inconvenient distance from the nursery.
Remember that if you can attend to the
purchasing and packing yourself or can
get some responsible friend to do so for
you, you will do well to give tree ped
dler5 wide berth.