Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-07-06
TREATMENT OF AN OLD ORCHARD.
Importance of Pruning and Spraying tho
Trees and Manuring the Soil.

Importance of Pruning and Spraying tho
Trees and Msnuring the Soil.
Orchards that arc properly pruned and
dressed with well decomposed manure
or compost, wherever the condition Of
the trees indicate the need of more plant
food, will maintain their vigor and in
sure large and regular crops of fine fruit.
Neglected orchards, however, will in n
few years cease to be of profit, and then
the owner must resort TO laborious and
often expensive treatment In efforts to
bring these back to a fruitful condition.
The following notes on the treatment
of an old orchard at the farm of the
Kentucky experiment station, together
with some pertinent suggestions, may be
of use to readers who have old orchards
In the conditions described: Many of tho
trees were old and full of suckers and
dead limbs, the trunks were rough, the
tops were almost matted with branches,
and many Of the branches were so low
as to prevent proper cultivation. The
situation was on very wet, thin clay
SOIL which had been seeded to English
blue grass. So far as known, the orchard
had been an entire failure heretofore rs
to fruit. Sometimes tho trees fruited
heavily, but the apples dropped prema-
turely aud were always wormy.
1t was concluded to attempt an i'm
provement Of this orchard by trimming,
fertilizing and cultivating, and also by
destroying the codling moth with Lon
don purple. Accordingly all dead limbs
were removed and the tops of the trees
trimmed, though not TO such an extent
as TO allow the main branches TO bo ex-
posed too much TO the sun Tobacco
stems were placed around the trees and
the ground was plowed, and spaded
where the plow could not reach. The
trees were sprayed with London purple,
four ounces to forty gallons of water In
barrel mounted on n cart, which was
driven to the windward side of tho trees,
when one man pumped while another
held tho nozzle applying the spray, so as
to 20 just above the tree and fall down
on the leaves and young fruit
As the result it Is stated that most of
the trees in the orchard bore fruit, and
many were loaded down. But few ap-
pies dropped prematurely, and but few
VI thtSG "tlc "oibi1. vi tic oti
the trees only a few could be found that
had been attacked by the codling moth,
while in neighboring orchards it was rare
to find a sound apple.
The experiment affords another added
to the many instances already known of
the beneficial effect of spraying with the
arsentes rs protection against the cod
ling moth. From the description it would
seem that the location was poor one for
an orchard. Where situations better
adapted TO fruit cannot be had such as
the one described would be much i'm
proved by understanding. In general,
proper pruning, stirring the soil and
manuring will renovate an orchard that
is not too old to be improved in that way,
and at present it looks as though spray
ing to save the fruit after it has formed
will have to become more and more com
mon. Not only is it effective against the
codling moth, but it is Mt the samo time
equally so on all leaf eating insects.
A good way of renewing the soil in old
orchards where manure cannot be had is
to SOW peas, and when these arc about
ready to bloom plow them under. p. NJ.
pomologists, advice on restoring apple
orchards is: Moderate pruning, careful
and shallow culture and dressing with
well rotted stable manure, finely ground
bone, ashes and lime, ut intervals, or APP
ply full ration of special fruit fertilizer.
after which SOW red clover and plow un-
der, always being careful to inflict the
least possible injury to the roots"