McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1885-04-23
UTILITY.
Pruning Fruit Experiments in Feed
ing Swine.
Fruit Trees.

Fruit Trees.
Pruning should now be completed
as quickly as possible, says a writer
in The Garden, as the sap is rapidly
rising, and bleeding will take place il
. the operation is longer deferred. Vines
suffer more in this respect than most
things, except walnuts, which it is
best to leave till they have foliage on
them; they may be thinned out OF
partly headed back with safety. II
vines are cut now, il is advisable to
touch the parts with styptic, which
stops the pores and prevents loss of
strength. Apples in orchards are gen.
orally left pretty much to themselves.
which is great mistake, as when al
lowed to got thick with wood it is i'm
possible for them to produce fine fruit;
they may and generally do bear pro-
fusely, but the apples are small and
poor in color. In order to expose
them to sunshine all branches should
be removed that are misplaced or
crossing others, as well as any that
are cankered. If the latter is caused
by blight, as is generally the case,
coat the bark with lime, which may
be effected by using it fresh and hot,
as wash, pumped on by the aid of a
garden engine, which will throw it in
a regular stream, smother the insects,
and make the trees healthy and clean,
as the lime VIII kill and divest them of
all moss and lichen, however bad they
may be in that respect. The same re-
marks apply to plums and damsons,
and, independent of freeing them from
moss, it is always advisable to give
them lining to prevent the buds
being eaten by birds. Hlums, like
apples, are greatly benefited by judi
cious thinning, and the object to be
aimed at is to have the branches reg
ular and well balanced all over the
head. Those on walls that are spurred
should be kept as close in as possible,
and the same with cherries, apricots,
and pears, which every year should
have some of the longest spurs re-
duced, as there is generally more than
enough of blossom buds, and the
great point is to have these as near
the wall as it is possible TO get them;
if not. their flowers get injured by
cold winds and frosts.
Morello cherries bear on the young
shoots, but it is useless having these
thick, and the same with peaches and
nectarines, the proper distance apart
for which is from four to SIX inches,
laid in all over the trees. In pruning
these, attention should be directed to
keeping them well furnished near the
base. In the manaS ement of peaches
and nectarines much depends on the
summer disbudding and keeping the
foliage free from insects. Figs need
but little pruning. The point with
them to get them to bear freely is to
restrict growth by limiting their root
run. This is best done by concreting
and hricking them in, or planting in
the hardest and poorest of soils in
which there is a good admixture of
chalk, as then they make very short
jOinted shoots that become well rip
ened and studded with fruit. If
pruned at all it should be more in the
way of thinning THAI anything else,
so as to let in the full light and sun to
consolidate the pithy growth which
they make; they will then endure
sharp frosts. Gooseberries, when
wanted for picking green, may be left
pretty thick, as then the bushes yield
more fruit, but if required for dessert,
the Shoots should not be nearer than
six inches, and left regular over the
bush. Red and white currents ought
to have their branches from SIX inches
to nine inches apart, and be spurred
in close, and the leading shoots short
ened to about three inches, but black
currents bear from the young wood,
and only need thinning. Raspberrles
should have their canes reduced to
from three to five, according to their
strength, and shortened to about a
yard, height at which they are more
manageable than higher. Half their
heads may be bent over from each
stool and tied at the points, when they
will stand fairly stiff without any
stakes. Another way of managing
raspberries is to plant or twist the
canes up by interlacing them from bot
tom to top, and if then tied they will
support each other. Double-bearlng
or autumn-fruiting kinds should be cut
quite down to the ground, as sum-
mer crop from them when the others
are in is of no value, and it only helps
to exhaust them. Forking or digging
the ground among raspberries is about
the worst thing that can be done for
them, as it disturbs and destroys many
of their roots, which a good mulching
of half-rotten manure fosters and en-
courages to the great benefit of the
plants they are feeding. Instead of
disturbing the soil, it is far better to
at once sDread the manure and leave
it on, as not only does it act in the way
referred to, but it keeps out drought,
and thus assists in producing fine
fruit.
Feeding Swine.
The six pigs selected were of one
litter, three-quarters Berkshire, and
weighed February 2, 1881, 437& pounds.