Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-05-04
How Can We have Good Fruit
Oh the Farm?

First. we must learn the nature of
each kind of fruit trees Learn under
what conditions they succeed best.
Plant in proper time; take proper care
of them when set out and use proper
fertilizers. One great reason why the
majority of farmers do not succeed with
fruit is because they treat all kinds of
fruit trees alike. They plant. prune
fertilize and care for the apple, pear,
peach, ounce and cherry the same.
Now this is all wrong, and after l give
a few general rules that apply to all
kinds of fruit trees, | propose Gf the
editor of the CITIZEN Will permlt) to
take each specie of farm fruit separate
" so that my farmer friends may bet
ter understand how to care for their
fruit trees, and now as to general rules:
Every farmer should learn how to
graft and, if possible bud, it is not
hard to learn to graft properly, and
every farmer should do his own graft
ing then he will know what kind Of
fruit he will have without waiting un-
til it comes TO bearing and find that he
has had some worthless truck stuck on
him at good figures. But this Is not all
the majority of farmers cannot get
their trees from the nursery in proper
time for planting. This brings Us to
the question. when is the proper time to
pIant? and right here let me say that |
am fully aware that many will disagree
with me, but long experience has fully
satisfied my mind that the latter part
of February or first part of March Is far
the best time to plant fruit trees, and
as we seldom get more than a few days
at time at that period that the frost
will be ont of the ground sufficiently to
allow of planting, we cannot send to
distance for our trees but must have
them at hand.
But why not plant in the autumn
Because in taking up your tree you de
stroy the most of the small rootlets or
feeders, and after replanting your tree
has no hold on the soil, the heavy freez-
ing of winter penetrates the lose SOIL
down to the roots of your tree and so
freezes the substance out OF them that
your tree either dies or Is so badly
stunted that it never fully recovers,
and have never known stunted trees
to amount to much.
Why not April or Mays For the rea-
son that the hot sun will dry ont the
loose soil before the tree can take hold
of the soil. The sap in the tree VIII
evaporate and you have the same result
rs planting in autumn. But some one
will say mulch your trees with straw or
something else If you do you deprive
the crown of the tree of very essential
thing and that is sunlight and air
which are necessary to properly devel-
ope any plant. The only kind or mulch
that would recommend is one of fine
loose soil made by cultivator or other
such like implement and this not about
the pear. Never turn cattle or horses
among young trees; never bruise, bark
or otherwise mangle any tree any more
than you mangle a child, for if you do
the proper usefulness of your tree is at
an end w. j. /.
East View Fruit Farm, Apr. %, 1899.
THE thirteenth annual banquet of
the Americus Club of Pittsburg, in
memory OF Gen. Grant held in the
Schenley hotel last Thursday night was
notable affair The principal guests
were Admiral Schley, Gen. Wheeler
aud Col Mcclure. Senator Jagee led
off after the banquet in Il very pretty
tribute to Gen. Grant.
AN awful cyclone III Missouri last
Thursday evening destroyed part Of the
town of Kirksyille, killing 80 and
wounding hundreds; while at Newton
10 were killed and some wounded.