St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-03-20
NEW ORCHARDS.

Sensible Advice for Those ContempIe ting
the Planting OF Fruit Trees.
Of late years. in the older States,
fruit, especially apples, has paid so
poorly that the tendency has been to
decrease the amount of orcharding
rather than to increase it. In too
many cases, trees just coming into
bearing, and which, with the care and
use of the land to grow them, have en-
tailed heavy expense, have been
cleared away to restore fields to ordi-
nary cropping. That this policy is
generally unwise is tolerably certain.
A tree of bearing age has cost too
much money to be sacrificed. and. if
thrifty and well located. it will paw on
the average. better interest on the
land it occupies than is likely to be got
by any other use OF it.
1t is less encouraging to plant new
apple orchards; but to those we'll To-
Gated, and on not too expensive land,
the result of such planting will prove
profitable. ii needs good land for Or
chards. While the trees are growing
rich soil insures thrift and rapid
growth. While trees that are stinted
by poverty will bear earlier, it is at the
cost of vjgor and usefulness later on.
1t is easy to understand why the set
tiers in the West should rejoice at the
first show of fruit even on small trees;
but where fruit can be had otherwise.
it is better to leave the young orchard
to grow twelve or fourteen years with
out trying to force it into fruitfulness.
Farmers planting orchards now will
not make the mistake so common FORM
erly, of planting great variety only
moderately productive, and therefore
not profitable. The mistake now will
be the other way, in restricting yarie-
ties to one or two. 1t is often said that
there is no apple so profitable as the
Baldwin. This is true of many but not
all localities; but it will soon cease to
be true anywhere if all paintings are
of the Baldwin variety. If man can
not live by bread alone, it is no. likely
that the world will be always or long
satisfied with only one kind of apples,
and that not the best.
As far as possible, the same varieties
of apples should be planted in solid
blocks This is much more convenient
in gathering than where trees are scat
tered through the orchard. 1t often
happens that apple trees have less than
full barrel in season, and in full
crops there are parts of barrels left
over from single trees. Having varie-
ties by themselves enables the apple
pickers to finish one variety before be-
early fall apples. as well as varieties
kept mainly for home use. SHOULD be
near the house and as muo i in bunch
as possible.
Much of the success of certain or
chards depends on the kind of stocks
on which varieties are grated. The
Baldwin makes one of the very best
stocks on which to graft other varie-
ties. As most nursery stock is now
grated, a tree of Baldwins is of that
variety from top to bottom. If North
ern Spy, Twenty Ounce and other vari-
cites that do not succeed on their own
roots. are top grated on a Baldwin
stock, the result will be q thriftiness
and productiveness almost equal to the
Baldwin itself. 1t is probable. also,
that there would be great increase in
vigor; but of this there have been few
practical examples. Few have cared
to run the risk Of spelling thrifty
Baldwin by changing it into one of
these feeble sorts. Yet the Spitzen-
berg, Fall Pippin and Swaar are SO ex-
cellent that it is worth while grating
over even Baldwin to grow enough at
least for home use.-W. S. FOWLER, in
american CultirGtoe.