The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-05-03
THE ORCHARD.
4 Timely Chat By Fred ". Gard Of the
Experiment Station.

Wnat treatment IL the Orchard 10 re-
ceive this year,? IL you have not
thought of 1t, is II not worth while that
you should? Is there any part OF the
farm which Will better repay the labor
bestowed upon It? IL not already
pruned the present Is good time TO
DO IL, but IL you have been negligent
and have not pruned IL for severai years
past, do not attempt 10 make up for
that negligence by added zeal at the
present time; better prune too little
than too much. You may we'll be con-
tent 10 take out limbs where nature
herself has begun To prune by killing
them; then take out a few more which
nature may have missed. such as are
obviously crowding their nelghbors.
making the top SO dense that sunlight
cannot enter and thereby interfering
with the proper development OF the
fruit and affording the best OF oppor-
tunity for the development OF insects
and fungi The vigorous but needless
shoots springing up about the trunk or
I'm the center or the tree also had best
come away. When this as done you
may we'll pause. for while severe prun-
ing may incite added vigor OF growth,
the balance OF the tree will be disturbed
and the vigor obtained at the expense
| OF fruitfuness. Furthermore, II large
| for the tree TO cover the wound before
those fungi which cause decay have
wrought irreparable injury.
When pruned, shall the orchard be
| sprayed? Not IL the apples are fair and
! free from worms and also free from
blotches OF the apple scab, but IL these
things occur the only hope OF prevent
| ing them Is i'm thorough spraying. That
will not BATTLE all the enemies but 1t will
some OF them. One OF the worst. the
| apple-maggot, which tunnels in all di-
rections through the fruit. liz entirely
oblivious to spraying. But do not spray
until you know what 10 spray for and
! what materials 10 use IN fighting the
| enemy. Otherwise, you would do as
much good. save time. and have more
| fun. by using clear water and shooting
IL into the sunshine TO watch the result
| ing rainbow tints. Remember that fun
! gi can be destroyed only by means of
| fung.cides and insects can only be
killed with insecticides. II you want to
do both at the same time. use them
| both together. IL you want 10
| fight one, do not use the ammunition
intended for the other For biting in
sects, Paris green. Il pure Is the most
| convenient insecticide. A cheaper one,
| sure to be effective, but dangerous un-
less prepared and handled with the ut
| most caution, can be made as follows:
\ =
| of lime and gallons of water at least
| forty minutes. Use one quart of this
| preparation TO forty gallons of Bor-
| deaux mixture, IL to be combined with
| a fungicide: II to be applied alone. use
| one quart to forty gallons Of water and
add one pound of lime.
Bordeaux mixture is the best all
| round fungicide now in use. The COM
mon formula is lbs Of copper sulfate,
lbs. OF time, to 80 gals. of water,
4 though this strength and proportion is
| often varied for different purposes. The
copper sulfate will dissolve much more
readily IL hung in a coarse sack at the
| should be carefully Stacked before us
ing. Both the lime and copper sulfate
solutions should be diluted before being
\ put together, otherwise the mixture Will
cause trouble in clogging the nozzle. BY
! preparing solutions of each with given
weight to given quantity OF water,
| weighing may be dispensed with when
mixing. Bordeaux mixture soon deteri-
| crates after the materials are mixed
| and should always be used fresh.
| But pruning and spraying alone will
not produce good fruit The trees must
have plant food. Have you given IL ?What
| that plant food shall be depends great
| ly upon circumstances. III the soil is rich
! or the orchard young and vigorous lit
tie or no nitrogen will be needed Pot
| ash in liberal supply Is always in order
because II helps to secure the high color
and fine flavor TO be sought. Phosphoric
| acid is generally less important though
| somewhat IN demand. IL the orchard Is
| old and feeble and the soil poor. liberal
| applications of stable manure will do IL
| good, though not always advisable for
| young and vigorous orchards. But re-
| member this. that 1t is very difficult TO
| feed land well enough so that it can
| produce apples and other crops too.
| Above all Ii should never be asked to
produce crops of grain. Let the orchard
grow apples and get the grain from a
grain field.
But n no crops are to be grown what
shall the treatment be. meadow, pas
fure or tillage? Certainly not the first,
rarely the second, generally the third,
unless conditions prevent. A good or
chard Will yield far more than a corn
field and Ia entitled to as good tillage az
the corn-field receives. The land may
be plowed or not in early spring but
frequently surface cultivation is I'M
perative to prevent weed growth. with
the consequent loss OF moisture taken
ND thereby and sent off into the atmos-
phere and 10 preserve the dust-much
and thereby prevent moisture from
passing OF directly from the soil. IL the
orchard Is too steep or too rocky to
admit OF tillage the next best thing is
to pasture IL. putting in at least ooupie
the amount OF stock which can find
sustenance, and feeding literally with
grain to supply the need. This will re-
duce evaporation from grass-land 10 its
lowest limit. will add fertility to the
soil and will tend ito destroy the apple
maggot. one of our worst enemies, at
the same time.
At harvest-time give the fruit a
chance: handle il carefully; sort IL
fairly: pack It tastefully and market IL
wisely, Perhaps the old orchard may
give a good account OF itself
FIRED W. CARD.
Agricultural Experiment Station,
Kingston II. /.