The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-07-12
Renoyatine the Orchard.

There are many orchards which are
giving almost no returns for the land
they occupy, but which might, by
little we'll directed effort, be entirely
renovated and made to yield as large
profit as any portion of the farm.
The chief cause Of the unfruitfulness
of many orchards is that they would
have been cropped year after year,
without anything having been re.
turned to the land in the shape OF
plant food; and the trees have become
almost starved to death. Torenovate
such an orchard, first apply a good
coating of stable manure. 1t should
| not simply be piled about the trunks
of the trees, but should be spread
evenly over the whole surface of the
ground. It should then be plowed
under as soon as the land can be
worked, and the soil then narrowed.
It may then be left for several weeks,
when liberal top dressing of wood
ashes should be applied to furnish
potash, for potash constitutes o large
portion of the wood and fruit of the
orchard. Some such crop as peas OF
.buckwheat should then be sown,
into which, later on, the hogs may
proftably be turned. If the bark OF
the trees has become rough and moss.
grown, the trunks should be scraped
with a dull hoe, and then washed
with a solution of ashes, lime, whale.
oil, soap and soda. This will de.
stroy all insects which may have found
harbor beneath the bark.
Liberal pruning should also be
done. But if this has been neglected
for years back, too many limbs should
not be removed in one season, as it
will cause severe shock to the tree,
and may do more injury than good.
It is best to distribute the pruning
over two or three years.. Large limbs
should be cut out only when absolute.
ly necessary, and the wound should
be treated to a coat of thick paint. In
pruning an old tree, endeavor to leave
as much new growth as possible. The
tops should be well thinned out to
permit light and air to penetrate to
the centre of the tree. This colors
the fruit and largely prevents blight.
Spraying with insecticides and
fungicides should be thoroughly per.
formed. When an orchard is not too
old, but produces inferior fruit: top
graft with scions of some good mar.
ketable sorts. This work should be
done as soon as the buds begin to
swell. Notwithstanding much that
has been written to the contrary, we
do not think it advisable to graft old
decaying trees. It is much better to
cut them down, make frewood OF
them, and set out a profitable young
orchard in new location. There are
some shy bearing varieties of apples,
such as King of Tompkins County,
which may be made much more pro.
life by top-working them upon some
other thrifty stock. In grating, as
in pruning, the work should be dis
tributed over several years.
Grating IS q science which every
farmer sho uld understand. 1t is
quite simple il a few leading points
are carefully observed. The buds
upon the stock to be grated should
be swelling, as this indicates a free
flow of sap. The scions should be
entirely dormant, but if they have be-
ONE shriyeled they are worthless.
The limbs to be grated should be
sawed of without iujuring the bark,
and the wedge-shaped scion should
fit evenly in the cleft so that ilt,t the ?.'
contact The wound should be thlnly
covered with good grating wax. we
place two scions in each large limb,
and leave two or three buds on each.
If both scions grow, the weaker one
is removed the following spring.-El'
lis F. Augustine, in the Epitomist.