The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-06-22

N

Transplant while the plants are
young.
In order to keep your trees from
splitting badly, saw a little on the un'
der side of the limb before saWlng IL
entirely off.
ssTried and true is a very good mot
to for buying fruit trees. The old re-
liable" varieties are the most likely to
be profitable.
And so you don't believe in thinning
your fruitG Let nature do it, you say.
OF course you have a right to your
opinion, but, of yourself too, you want
profit. Therefore, just thin out among
q few of your trees by way Of expert
ment. Perhaps you may change your
mind.
The toad is your friend. Give him
liberty in your garden and he will put
money in your purse" Nine tenths Of
his food consists of insects which are
injurious to vegetables. Grasshoppers,
crickets, ants, potato May and cucum
Der beetles, weevils, gypsy moths, army
worms and cut worms all go toward
feeding this curious little friend of the
gardener. The other nine tenths Of the
toad's food consists of carabid beetles
and ichneumon flies or ''ladybirds"-
insects that are highly beneficial. 1t
feeds to q small extent on spiders, gen
orally considered to be valuable as in
sect ~destroyers. It devours carrion
beetles, insects indirectly helpful to
man.
A great many ~wellrooted trees die
from not being firmly planted. They
leaf out, perhaps, but as sooR~Rs this
occurs winds toss them about and the
swaying loosens them still more A
tree of this description cannot make
roots. The motion caused by the wind
extends to the roots, swapping off
newly made fbres, and, as far as
growth is concerned, no progress is
made. If ramming of the soil will not
stiffen the tree, which is sometimes the
case with large headed ones, stalking
should be done to hold the tree for n
first season.
Unless the soil is already rich the
mulching previously spoken OF should
be of rotted manure. Treated in this
way the first season, trees will be pre-
served, and when the second year
comes around a nice growth may con-
fdently be expected. American Guilt
Vator.
Almost all kinds of fruit trees may
be grown from cuttings provided the
right conditions are secured, says the
American Cultivator. But it is much
easier to grow young trees from seed
and graft the root with scions of the
varieties required. When grown from
seed each tree is presumably a new
variety. Growing from cuttings and
from gratis is therefore the only way
by which varieties may be propagated
of identically the same sorts as the
original. In fact, the graft on a tree
root, as usually practiced, is only a
modified cutting. Union of scion and
root starts the first growth; but within
q year or two the part of the graft be
low the surface puts out roots of its
own. If it does not do so otherwise,
the piling Of the soil around the trunk
to the depth of five to elk inches. will
generally cause new roots to put forth.
This is often seen when pear OF apple
trees are grated on dwarf stock. The
tree will bear early for a few years be-
cause it is kept to dwarf growth, and
will be changed into a standard as O 20
as cultivation around the trunk bruises
it and causes new roots to start above
the original growth of dwarf roots.