The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-06-15
Wind-Breaks for Orchards.

Wind-Breaks FOR orchards.
was accosted in the street the other
day by gentlemen who wanted to
know whether / thought wind-breaks
on the north and west sides OF an orch
ard beneficial. He said he was going
to plant an apple orchard this spring,
and was hesitating between two sites
one protected on the north and west by
q considerable forest, the other expos.
ed on all sides. The farm is quite near
Lake Ontario, consequently exposed to
the fierce winds that sometimes blow
off that lake. He said that he had OBJ
served from my contributions that |
visited much among orchardists, and
thought that l might give some infor-
nation on the subject. AS many
others may be in similar quandary, l
thought it might be well to present the
gist of our discussion to the readers of
the Country Gentleman.
A wind break to an orchard is bene-
fetal in certain respects and injurious
in others. l will present its injurious
effects first:
l. Beginning in the spring, at the
time of blossoming, wind-break
causes stagnation of the atmosphere,
often resulting in frost on its leeward
side when the free circulation prevents
deposition of frost. Frosts have been
known to occur in the shelter of for
ests when none was appreciable a few
rods off where circulation was freer.
Again, protracted rains often occur
when fruits, especially apples, are
in blossom, destroying the vitality of
the pollen, or keeping it so water-soak-
ed as to prevent its distribution. When
trees are exposed, the wind may dry up
the moisture between showers, SO that
pollination may be insured, while in a
stagnant atmosphere pollination fails.
| have known small orchards or isolat-
ed trees to bear fruit in seasons when
large orchards in the neighborhood,
which blossomed freely, bore no fruit.
l. Fungi are more apt to fasten on
the foliage and fruit of trees protected
from the wind than upon those expos
ed to its free circulation. Moisture is
requisite to the termination of fungus
germs, or spores, so when it is quickly
evaporated by wind the fungus is much
less likely TO terminate than when
moisture adheres long time before
evaporation. Fungus growths have
proved much more damaging to fruits
in large than in small orchards and on
trees sheltered by a wood lot than in
more exposed portions of an orchard.
l can recall seasons when the apple
crop in Monroe county has been gene
rally destroyed by fungi, and yet, many
small orchards, in exposed situations,
have borne fair crops which, owing to
general failure in large orchards, sold
for high prices.
These are the principal objections to
wind-breaks, and they hold equally
good against large orchards in one
body.
There is one strong reason in favor
of wind-breaks, or at least partial ones,
one or two rows of evergreens ON the
north and west sides of an orchard of
apples or pears. We are quite likely
to have high winds in autumn, before
fruit is gathered, that blow off consid-
cradle sound fruit, especially of the
larger varieties such as Twenty Ounce,
King, Northern Spy among apples,
and Angouleme and Anjou among
pears. / can recall two or three such
autumns, of late years, when high
winds occurred just before the time for
picking arrived, and one-half or two
thirds of some varieties were on the
ground, unfit for barreling. -
Several years ago L rode with Mr..
Yeomans of Walworth over his large
orchards, which were protected by rows
of evergreens, not only on the north
and west sides, but rows of evergreens
extended north and south about every
twenty rods in the orchard, which was
on a hillside with southern aspect.
I inquired if he had found those belts
OF much protection from the winds.
He recalled TO my mind very high
wind in the September previous, which
attained to velocity of fifty miles an
hour and blew off much fruit in expos
ed orchards. remembered it very
well, as 1 had good many barrels of
fine fruit reduced from first to third
class by that wind. He said that he
was evapOrating his windfalls then,
and, from the way the fruit was blown
off near his residence, he supposed
there would be large quantities on the
ground in his large orchard. Accord
iugly he sent several men with baskets
and wagons, the next morning, to pick
up the fallen fruit, but was surprised
to see them return with very little.
The belts of evergreens had so broken
the force of the wind that it did little
damage. While thick forest might
cause such stagnation of atmosphere as
to encourage frosts and growth of
fungi, or hinder the distribution Of pol
len, a row or double row of evergreens
might merely reduce the velocity of
winds without causing stagnation.-P.
G. Reynolds, in Country Gentleman.