Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1901-05-10
FARM AND GARDEN
MATTERS or INTEREST TO
ACRiCULTURIsT
v0s~s Up-to-Dsts Bints About CaitfsA-
dion Of the Soil sad Yields Thereof
Horticulturs, viuculturs and Elsricol
ture.
Froit Trees for Profit

4prOdt TO the planter. some ten years
ago we bought SO pear trees. HAN OF
them have died since that time and
nearly all have blighted badly. One,
a Duchess de Angelyn. planted near
the south door of the kitchen, has
never blighted, and is the only one
OF several Duchesses that has done any
good. Last year it was heavily loaded
with large luscious pears. Two years
after it was planted we concluded to
put porch over the door and to the
west of it. Not wishing to dig 1t up
we left one board short in the floor
SO that it would not be disturbed.
The top leaned to the south and away
from the porch. Some predicted that
it would do no good there; but 1t has
never been affected with blight or sun
sscald. The tree leaned enough to the
south SO that the leaves protected the
body from the sun. Each spring 1t is
laden with heavy clusters of blossoms
as beautiful as white roses, and its
glossy green leaves during summer
make a fine shade.
The Keiffer pear trees have also
OIighted badly and some have died;
but more are living than of any other
Kind. They have also borne more fruit
than all the other kinds put together.
This, however. amounts to only about
four bushels all told. But they are only
now old enough to bear good crops.
We hope that people now living will
yet get something from them. It has
been said that the Lincolns never
blight, and ours did not for several
years. But last year they 5lighted
badly-fully as badly as any other pear
trees. We have taken pains to cut
of the blighted portions two or three
times during the summer. They
blighted worse during May and June
when the young twigs are tender. The
winter Bartletts and Idahos all blight
ed and died out in two years or SO.
Apple Trees-Many of our apple
frees turn out to be inferior fruit,
bear fall fruit, when we ordered WIN
ter fruit trees. This makes our Or
chard almost a failure. Ours is not the
only orchard that turns out SO. Almost
every one that has put out an or
chard will tell of their failure to get
the kind of trees they had ordered
Possibly one reason for the failure is
that apples that are winter apples in
one locality are fall apples in another
so that anyone contemplating putting
out trees should inquire OF neighbors
who have bearing orchards what kinds
are giving satisfaction. If possible
buy only from nurseries direct. What
is better is to go to the nurseries and
vi 10
no use paying high prices to agents for
trees that they claim are superior to
the trees of other agents. We have
bought trees from such men paying
fancy prices for them, and found that
they were in no way superior to the
trees we might have purchased at a
Cover price.
Peach Trees-There are so many
Kinds of peach trees that it is very diff
sicult to know what to buy. At first
we bought IS different kinds, but later
discarded many of them. Possibly the
ones that proved worthless with us
would do we'll in other states or even
in other parts of this state. The early
and late Crawfords, Susquehanna,
Washington Cling, Levy Late, or Hen
rietta Foster and some others bear
no fruit worth the name, though we
had many hundred trees. But Crosby
and Champion always bear when any
peach trees have fruit on them. Crosby
overbears and needs much thinning.
Champions have generally just
enough or need some thinning
liberia is a fine looking tree, but bears
little fruit for us, and that little rots
more than does the fruit of some of
the other trees. We have discarded
them, yet others tell us that they do
well in some other parts OF the coun-
atry. For profit neither too early nor
very late peaches pay so we'll as those
ripening in August and September, ex-
cept few trees for table use. BY get
ting a few of the very earliest and very
latest we prolong the peach season to
four and half months. Peaches are
exceedingly healthful fruit, after one
gets use to eating them.
In buying peach trees 1t is very diff
rficult to get them true to name. It
is very provoking, when one has cared
for, trimmed and cultivated trees for
years. to find them Crawfords instead
of some better fruit. Some of them
even do not bear any peaches. And
the trees are about as worthless that
bear big crops of early peaches that
rot as soon as they are of the trees.
We find that the best way to avoid this
condition of affairs is to bud them our
selves from bearing trees. Then we
know we get the kind we want. The
next best thing is to get them from
nurseries known to be reliable. There
are men engaged in the nursery bust
ness that will sell only fdit trees that
are true to name. Character is worth
something in nurseryman as well as
elsewhere.-Mrs. l.. c. Axtell, Warren
County, Illinois.
Peat Bog Pasture and Meadow.
From Farmers Review: The ulti-
fly and great value of peat bog in
q large pasture for cattle are not gem