Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1892-04-14
ApplleTre,es

y - ALI dpP1O SA0o 40 90 90 S-s-
that: demands for its full
Development all the favorable
conditions of earth and air that
can be secured for it, and all the
intelligent care that man can
beatow upon it. The tree will
hye-for good while-if it is
letseserly alone but it won't do
much more. Let. thesod thicken
and wax tough above its roots;
let suckers sap its juices
unchecked; let the borer, the tent
caterpillar, the cankerworm, and
the::rest of the seventy five apple
tsee.pests prey upon it; let its
limbs interlace and worry each
ether unrestrained by the pruning
knife nevertheless, it will stuggle
through all to accomplish the end
oofa..its being, But its best
endeayors will result only in a
crappf snubbins, which will serve
.thsshiftless owner right.
. An apple tree needs encoar-
aggement. It needs care. Itneeds
fertilizing. It needs cultivation.
1t resents neglect and niggard-
linsss.
We nave recently given some
details with regard to The setting.
out Of an apple orchard. Let us
Say further that no matter how
well an orchard has been planteds
if afterward it is turned over to
the tender mercies of nature
generous mother though she
be-the end will besa lamentable
failure. For the cultivated apple
tree: like the cultivated horse or
COW, is hot ftted to cope with the
varying elements unaided, and
needs to be sustained and bolstered
up by The care of.man.
If the trees are set at distance
Of not less than forty feet apart
there is ample room and verge
enough for several years to grow
some kind of hoed crop-potatoes,
peas beams, etc-with advantage to
the tree. But in that case the
fertility removed must be restored
, by supplying soil with fresh
fertility.
In planting crops of any kind in
the orchard care should be taken
to keep them beyond the. space
occupied by the roots of the
growing trees. This, if the ground
has been properly prepared,
will extend somewhat beyond the
spread of the top. The one
principle to be observed, in fine, is
that the I ground is first of all
set apart for the use and behoof
of the orchard ssitself, and that the
other crops are simply grown for
the purpose of making the most of
the land, and incidentally bene-
fting the; main crop, which is ap-
pies, strange as that assertion may
seem to some too thrifty orchard
owners.
One of the most Objectionable
practices of farmer orchardists is
seeding the orchard to grass, and
leaving tin sod for eight or ten
years or more. An orchard
should not be put in grass at all
and certainly. should not be left SO
for an indefinite period. OF
course, if the fruit is a secondary
consideration, it dees not make SC
much difference. But, in that
case, it would be better to devote
the land entirely to grass and buy
from q neighbor the few apples
that would be obtained from al
orchard SO treated.
An apple orchard that has beer
in grass for q number of years
1nay be greatly improved BY
plowiing, though it may never be
brought to the condition of one
that has received proper cultivation
from the start. But in turning
over the sod the plow should bt
run shallow, so as to avoid injurinl
the roots, which in such a case
will lie pretty near the surface
Still, if the plowing is done early
in the season, the cutting of th'
roots will cause numerous fbrou'