The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-26

PloPdSdllOI lOlu DCdll Ing Trees Only
and other of the principles of the
New Horticulture were being rapidly
adopted by progressive orchardists
everywhere, but the really most i'm
portant one of them all, noncultiva-
ton and moving of bearing trees, was
, still rejected by all fruit growers as
we'll as the experiment stations, with
the single exception of that Of Ohio
under the direction of Prof. w. J.
Green, who had, unknown to me, just
begun a series Of experiments on this
natural method The trees having
now come into bearing, the results
were published last year in a bull
letln, the test having been made
alongside thoroughly cultivated trees
and were SO completely successful
that the method was officially indors-
ed and is now being generally adopt
ed by the progressive fruit growers
of Ohio. But to return to the three
test experiments, the first of which
was made here by me. Up to that
time I had never planted a fruit tree
in virgin sod but had always and do
now as rule, recommend we'll pre-
pared ground and cultivation in suit
able crops in order to get returns
from it until the trees begin to bear,
except on very rocky ground and
steep hillsides like that Of Mr.. Dur
hams orchard mentioned later But
to make the test more severe both
as to root pruning and sod culture, I
determined to set about eighty apple,
peach, pear, plum and apricot trees
on unbroken virgin soil, in small cir
cles Of three feet cleared with a hoe,
which were we'll fertilized and mulch
ed for several years afterward.
The root-pruned trees were planted
in the center in small openings only
few inches wide, made with a crow
bar, and the soil we'll rammed into
the holes. The whole ground was
then planted with Bermuda grass,
covered it completely in few months
and has SO remained ever since, the
during the summer. That was the
first root-pruned, crowbar- ho1ed sod
orchard ever set by the hand of man,
though nature has been practically
planting her trees, both fruit and
forest, thus from the beginning, for
! what is a top and root-pruned tree
but a seed, just as we call a piece
Of sugar cane a seed?
Now, for the second natural or
chard Fortunately, shortly after
planting those trees, Mr.. w. w. Dur
ham, a cotton buyer of Austin, hav-
ing read my account of it published
at the time, and having no prejudices
to blind him, was so impressed with
| the reasonab1eness of the thing that
he wrote me that he had concluded
to plant 1000 assorted fruit trees just
as I had done, on steep hillside
ten-acre lot, covered with thick vir-
gin sod, if I would so advise I an
| swered that he was the nurseryman
that I was looking for, and to go
ahead. He did so, and though the
| season was very dry, only six trees
failed. The ground has been moved
twice annually since, leaving clip
pings on the ground. and all the trees
have made good though not exces-
sive growth, frriting we'll for the last
three years, the present being their
| first failure, due mainly to a contin-
ued drouth from October last to
| March 20, when the first good rain
| fell. Last year, in spite of the late
| March freeze, the orchard bore we'll
and in August Mr.. Durham wrote
me as follows:
"My sod fruit is now all gone ex-
ceDt few September peaches. FL
herta, Family, Favorite, Sy1phite
Bequett, Carman and others were the
largest and brightest-co1ored peaches
bv far that came to the Austin market
A German friend, who has grown