Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-06-01
FARM AND ORCHARD.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO ALL
PRODUCERS.
ples-Olive-Tree Planting
CIover-Etc.


CIover-Etc.
Many appear to think, says the Country
Gentleman, that grating, or incubation, as
budding is often called, has, like vaccina-
ton in the animal subject, in some mys-
FERROUS way the power to so change the
nature of the tree that it will bear better
fruit than before. We have grated
fruit" and natural fruit, often used as
equivalent to good and poor fruit Graft
ing is simply planting cutting, but in
stead of planting it as we do most cuttings
in the soil, where, under favorable condi-
tions, it will take root, the cuttings are
planted in the body, or the wood of an old
tree, and instead of forming roots, the
graft unites with the old and takes" and
becomes in all respects part of the
stock" as the tree that is grated is called.
There are several kinds of grating, the
mechanical operation varying, but all hav-
ing the same end in view-to convert or
change tree from an undesirable kind to
a variety we prefer.
The cuttings of scions, or gratis, demand
as much care in their selection as if they
were young trees to be planted They
are usually cut in autumn after the leaves
have fallen, and should be of the last sum-
mers growth, new shoots at least a foot
long. These should he cut from bearing
trees, making sure that these are of the
kind we wish to convert. The cions are
to he tied-or better, secured with small
copper wire, as string may decay-lnto
bundles Of convenient size, and accurately
labeled. The bundles of cions are placed
in boxes and carefully surrounded with
sawdust or moss, and kept in a cool cellar
They must be inspected occasionally, and
if the packing material is becoming dry,
give it a slight wetting. Some pack their
cions in boxes of sand or sandy soil, and
bury them below the reach of frost, and
where water will not settle
Some methods of grating are quite diff
ficult, but the two most in use are very
simple, and every boy can practice them.
The cleft is the most simple and the most
common. The cion is cut with sharp
knife, in the form of a wedge A branch
of q stock is cut off with proper saw, and
with a heavy knife, struck with mallet.
split or cleft is made. This is kept open
with a wooden wedge, and the cions usu-
ally two IN a large stock, are carefully set
so that the inner bark of the cut portion
of the cion and that of the stock will come
in contact. The wooden wedge being care
fully removed, the spring of the stock will
firmly hold the cions. All the bare places
on both stock and cion are covered with
grating wax to protect them from rain
and air.
Crown grating differs in cutting the
cion upon one side only, to form half
wedge. The bark of the stock, it being
cut off as before, may readily be lifted
with wedge of iron or hard wood thrust
between the bark and wood, to allow the
cion to slip in between the two. The bare
surfaces are waxed as before
FOOTHILL APPLES.
That the best apples produced in Cali
fornia are grown on the hill lands is
demonstrated fact. They are better fla
vored and their keeping qualities are far
superior to those grown in the valleys.
The following is taken from a correspond
ence in the Oroville Register which gives
some facts regarding the profits in produc-
ing the fruit here in the hill lands: 81
give you some facts as to the cost of pro-
| ducing the fruit here in the hills, and also
the profits made from the fruit grown. l
select the apple to start with. Flowing
one acre, 81; pruning, $40; cultivating
and narrowing, 81; picking and packing,
$40; hauling to market (Chico), $50; max
ing total of SSS. The boxes cost twenty
cents each, which makes $3.50 for the
boxes, or 1916 for the total expense per
acre Of eighty-six bearing trees Now we
give what we receive for all this trouble
and expense, without counting the land,
the trees and the time of waiting for them
to come to maturity. Now | take the Ben
Davis. The tree is healthy, good grower
and a prolific bearer. The fruit is very
snowy and a good late apple. | had trees
that bore more pounds of apples than this,
but will take an average amount.
In the first place We set eighty-six trees
to the acre. Now, fifteen boxes of fifty
pounds each, or $50 pounds to the tree,
amounts to $4,000 pounds to the acre.
This at one and ahalfcents perpound makes
1867 90. From this must be deducted the
taxes and the interest on the valuation of
the land, and it is plain to be seen why so
many of our wheat growers are setting so
much of their land to fruit trees. There
are other fruits that pay as we'll or better
than apples.
For a second fruit we select figs. The
cultivation is about the same except for
pruning, which Is less than half the cost
of apples. | have one tree of the purple
variety that had an enormous crop after
the birds had destroyed the greater part
of the first crop. gathered and dried 567
pounds of these figs. This at the mar
ket price in San Francisco, at only 3 cents
pound loose in cotton sacks, would
bring ST. OF per tree, which would be
81 ,452 Sc per acre of eighty-six trees. |
have 800 one-year-old Smyrna trees, and if
they yield in proportion to the purple figs
| shall need some other method of getting
them to market besides hauling them on a
wagon, and my little orchard is but a speck
in large tract of country that is suscepti-
bic of like results"
THAT BRONCHO COW.
When | was young and used to roam
around over the country, gathering water
melons in the dark of the moon, l used to
think | could milk anybody's COW; but |
do not think so now. | do not milk a COW
now unless the sign is right, and it hasn't
been right for good many years. The
last COW | tried to milk was a common
COW, born in obscurity, kind of self
made COW. remember her brow was low,
but she wore her tail high and she was
naughty, oh, so naughty. l made a COM
mon-place remark to her, one that is used
in the very best of society, one that need
not have given ofiense anywhere. l said
''So'-and she "soed." Then told her to
''histe"-and she histed. But | thought
she overdid 1t. She put too much express
sion in it. Just then | heard something
crash through the window of the barn and
fall with dull, sickening thud on the out
side. The neighbors came to see what it
was that caused the noise. They found
that had done it in getting through the
window. l asked the neighbors if the barn
was still standing. They said it was
! Then | asked if the COW was injured much.
They said she seemed IN no nrite robust