Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-13

VI the WOODED stalks and III the production OF
| flowers and foliage. As soon as the Towering
period is over the applications should cease.
IL Kept up the plants will be unduly stimulated
I ana their growth retar led in the eud Amateurs
always have tendency to go to extremes in
using such strong solutions.
| HELEN WHARBURDoN.
| Dfsbudding Fruit Trees.
1t Is more difficult to disbud fruit trees to
| prevent extreme luxuriance of growth than to
prune them. The act of chopping off a limb
here and there with a knife made for the Dur
| pose Is an easy matter comparatively; but to
! inspect trees daily and to disbud them judi
ciously demand time and patience. There is
no doubt that pruning will effect the same re-
suit that disbudding will, but it is such o vio-
lent remedy that some of the tender varieties
| OF fruit trees are injured thereby. The re-
| moval of young shoots at early stage of
| their growth is both advantageous to the
| health of the trees and favorable to the pro-
duction of handsome fruit The advantages of
| doing this work by disbudding rather than by
pruning are important to consider.
OBJECT OF THE TREATMENT.
Dlsbudding Is simply the act of preventing
the development of useless buds at the expense
OF those which should be preserved II this
growth Is not checked in its early stages it will
exhaust certain amount Of the sap and
strength of the tree without any beneficial re-
suit. In addition to this. a considerable change
IN the steady flow of the sap is made when the
shoot Is pruned off after it has attained a fair
| growth. Every shoot is closely connected with
the larger shoots and limbs. and it follows that
arrangement in the distribution of the sap en-
sues from their removal A badly-placed shoot
tnat Is suppressed early. when III the bud FORM
Will prevent either one of these disadvantages
The peach tree always produces an excessive
number OF shoots, which could be removed
with good results early in their growth. Early
stopping should be Systematically practiced on
pear and apple trees. Vines likewise should
be treated in this way. Horticulturists make
roses bloom better and produce finer and more
vigorous plants by judiciOusly disbuddng, and
the same attention should be directed to the
fruit trees. The trees should be daily in
spected II necessary and all superfuous buds
removed.
Pruning. Of course, is necessary to a certain
extent. The shape and form of the tree de-
mand this, but the number of limbs that have
to be Topped off, often to the serious loss of the
tree, could be materially lessened by early and
systematic disbudding. GEO WILSON.
Right Soil for Fruit Trees and Vines.
Fertilization will make many kinds Of soil
suitable for great variety Of fruit trees and
vines, but there are some fruits that will not
| thrive on certain soils, no matter how richly
fertlliZed they may be- Peculiar plants, vines
and trees demand peculiar soils, and even those
| KIND which thrive In several varieties of soil
generally have their preferences. Take the
apple tree, for instance. 1t can be grown nearly
all over the United States and in a great
| variety of soils, but it always does the best in
wet, moist and wel-drained loam The pear
and ounce will grow on nearly every kind of
soil that the apple will, but perfection is only
| reached when planted in a light. sandy soil,
free from standing water. Peach trees are
being limited to light, well-drained lands:
hence the reason for so many peach orchards
found on hillsides. Grapevines produce the
best results when planted upon high, gravelly
soil
THE SELECTION OF LAND
for fruit trees applies as well to the smaller
vines as berries, the blackberry and rasp-
berry upon light land, especially il nitro
genous manure is applied. The currant and
gooseberry, on the contrary, require a moist
! heavy soil for the best results. The strawberry
wants moist, sandy loan When planted in
hight, sandy soil more berries are produced,
but they are smaller and usually of an inferior
quality.
FERTILIZATION.
After the proper soil is selected for either
fruit tree, vine or berry bush, the next question
| Of importance is that of fertilization. The
same fertilizer would not do for all, nor would
the same method of application have beneficial
| results. 1t is better generally to SOW the ma
nure broadcast for the smaller fruits and har-
row 1t in. This method Of application will do
for the larger fruits, too, if other crops are to
| be grown in the orchard. But il nothing but
the trees are to be grown in the orchard a more
economical use Of the fertilizer would be to
| spread it only around the bases of the trees.
The manure should be well decomposed and
| mixed with dirt before spread around the
| roots Of trees. Unfermented manure should
never come in contact with the roots Coarse
manure should be spread around the trees and
then covered with a layer of dirt Manure
should be used sparingly on peach trees until
nure for fruit trees is fine ground bone and
potash, mixed in the proportion Of four parts
| OF the former to one part of the latter One
| pound of this should be mixed in the soil
around each tree and another pound applied
near the surface. y. W. CHAMBERS.
Drainage and Irrigation.
Many OF our soils have all the elements of
great fertility except water, and the work of
supplying them artifcially with this life-giyine
fluid Is one Of the signs Of our triumphant
| march forward. By the introduction of water
into regions where all had been inert and life
less before the desert is transformed into
fields Of verdure, beauty and fruittulness.
| Every farmer can accomplish this work on a
| small scale, and lands that are only partially
fertile can be made to produce good crops Of
such delicate garden vegetables as celery and
lettuce. some low lanOs require INITIATION.
while others demand drainage.
IN xARLIKR DAYS
our fathers supplied their gardens with water
by means Of long hose, and on large fields
| where this apparatus could not be utilized the
crops were dried and withered up in severe
droughts. The farmer to-day can avoid any
such disaster. The loss of q crop through
drought is liable to occur any season, unless
proper precautions to prevent Il are taken. A
store house for water should be constructed
wherever it il possible near field, aud series
Of drains arranged to conduct it N the desired
parts. This can be done much easier than
many imagine. Wherever there is brook on
. level or Just below the level Of q field the
surface Of the water can be raised by damming
up the brook or by running It into reservoir
constructed to receive il. Drains from Is
inches to feet deep should then run from this
reservoir 70 all parts Of the neid. Hsrd-burned
tiles should be used for this purpose, g thew
will resist the frost Of winter better than sny.
thing else. These drains should run parallel
70 esch other and others made to cross them
as right angles about every 100 feet or Less.
In RAIN AID DROUGHT.