Rocky Ford enterprise., 1900-03-23
Ysseias Fruit Bsariss.

Ysseias Fruit Bsartss.
tcead..s<d from Fsrmsrs' Review stsss.
cosvsatiss1
A. l. Hatch spoke on what can 10
done to make plant live. grow and
bear fruit lie said in part: A tree
or any plant should have . balanced
ration. The soil must DO suited TO
tho plant to bs grown. and must cor.
tain the proper foods. Thus. you cant
grow apple trees successfully on MUCK
soilA Cultivation should begin early
In tho season. for II is early In the
season that the tree makes most OF Its
growth. Every fruit tree and plan,
should make good growth every SEES
son. We should mulch and cultivate
our trees every year. have found
that spring pruning gives better fruit
age than Al any other season OF tho
year. Later pruning removes foliage
that contains growth matter.
Water sprouts and those not coming
out where wanted should be rubbed of
In tho spring while ye, In tho bud
stage Tho real w.nter protection Is
In 50 growing the tree that the wool
10 well ripened and hardened up 10
stand the winter. This man tha, per-
mits the foliage Of his irees to be dam
aged by insects or diseases will have
trees with wood only partly ripened.
and such will have less power to stand
hard winter conditions than viii the
trees that have had good foliage TO
ripen up their wood.
Q. Do you recommend pudding tho
roots OF all trees before scitinsr
Ayes. sir. But perhaps I should
not say all trees. However. do not
know any other way OF getting good
capliiari,y. that Is. getting the roots
so intimately connected with the dirt
that capillary attraction can operate
between them. This dors not mean
that We should make n thick. heavy
mud 10 hold the roots. Would not you.
Mr.. Kellogg. puddle your trees before
settingI
NJ. s. KcilogS-Yes.
o.-Hov deep Is 1t advisable TO cul-
uyatc tho orehardy
Mr.. Hateh-That depends on how
much cultivation the orchard has pre-
v!ously received. II II has been always
In grass. the roots will be found so
near the surface that only very super
flcial cultivation can be given: but II
tho orchard has been cultivated from
the firs,. the roots will be deeper. II
I had trees tina; had been planted for
ten years. and never cultivated, 1
would not cultivate moro than four
inches deep. Grass sod In the orchard
10 very Injurious to the trees, especial
ly at times Of the year when soil wa
ter Is deficient and trees havc to de-
pend to some extent on the occasional
showers. In that case the roots Of tho
grass drink up about all Of the mois-
ture before II gets down to the roots.
have dug up sod in the orchard hours
after good shower and found that
not one drop had got within reach OF
tho roots OF the trees; every blade OF
grass was acting as a pump. pumping
the moisture back into the atmosphere.
There are multitudes of trees that by
reason of the sod beneath them are
thirsty most OF the timc during the
growing season. You must remember
that not a particle OF food can enter
tho tree except by being carried in
water; therefore you can starve tree
to death by depriving 1t OF water. The
reason that SO many orchards in grass
are moderately successful Is because
they get in the springtime the water
from melting snow and from spring
rains, and for a part Of the growing
season have all the water they can
use. But they remain thirsty for q
large part Of the season.
Q.-Can't you extend the season of
cultivation II the cultivation is light?
MIR. Hatch-Professor Bailey says
that the orchard should not be culti-
waited after midsummer.
Q.-Can we make trees bear alter
nate years?
Mr.. Hatch-Yes. II the trees are CO.
ing to bear this year we can prune a
part of them and prevent them from
bearing a crop this year: they will
then probably bear next year.