Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1908-09-25

/ ripe muSkmelOn ran be determined by
its odor, but most Of them for market
ing purposes are picked before they
show any sign of color, or give off the
least odor
Would Grapes Do Well?
QUERY have tract of land that
is too low for apples, inasmuch as the
frost catches them. Is there a method
by which could put grapes on this
land with good results?
Ans, The Station has grave doubts
of the advisability of your putting
grapes on this land. The. late spring
frosts would probably catch grapes as
easily as apples, unless the soil is late
enough to hold grapes back till the
danger is past. You had better make
/ pretty close investigations before ex-
tensive planting In any event, the
land must be we'll drained, or the
grapes will not succeed. Use the Am
erican varieties of grapes, planting
from eight to twelve feet apart, so as
to give plenty of room for tilllage,
/ pruning, etc. In case you want to use
the European varieties, plant the To-
kay, Black Hamburg, and perhaps
some SWeetwater. Plant them eight
feet apart, each way, with the idea of
pruning the stumps each year, and not
permitting the vines to grow. We
advise that the American varieties,
such as the Concord, Worden. Niagara
and Rocklington, should be planted far
enough apart so as to prune the vines.
Don't Do 1t.
Query What do you think about
the practice of putting manure in the
bottom of holes intended for the plant
ing of trees? What trees would make
good windbreaks?
Ans. Under no circumstances would
| advise putting manure in the bottom
of holes wherein trees are to be plant
ed. If SO placed, it will heat up. and
inJure the roots If it is fresh. it
will be too rich, and will produce a
poor, sckly tree. Even if it is not
fresh, the, latter result will be OBJ
tanned. If you desire to use this fer
tlIl2er Oh the ground before planting
the trees, give the soil a good coat,
we'll rotted, and then pillow the manure
under. But even this should not be
done. unless the manure is thoroughly
rotten and ready to go to pieces. If
you do not care to place the manure
there at all after the trees are planted,
the manure can be applied to the sur
face and worked in by the aid of a disc
harrow, cultivator, or any tool of this
nature. Be very careful about placing
very much around the young tree,
however, since most of our soils are
rich enough to start the growth.
Your question regarding the kind of
tree to plant for windbreak is hard
to answer. Some persons require one
kind, and other persons another kind.
If you desire a dense, single row
windbreak, | would advise you to make
use of the Douglas Spruce, Norway
Pine, or some form of the Black or
White Spruce. If you desire the
wlndbreak for the summer season only,
you might plant single row of White
Willows, Lombardy Poplar, Golden
Willow, Black Locust, or some other
tree that you could train and grow
very close to the ground. If YOU de-
sire to make use of the windbreak for
a shelter belt, and make it wider than
one row, it would be we'll to combine
two or three different kinds of trees.
and in this case, | would plant both
evergreens and deciduous trees.
Graft Plums Upon Prunes.
Query-I have prune orchard, the
trees of which | desire to top graft to
plums. Would this be possible?
Ans.-If the trunks of your prunes
are perfect, that is, free from borers
and diseases, you can successfully top
graft them to any of the various plums
that we find in the market. For ex-
ample. should you desire to graft them
to the peach plum, you could readily
do so without serious difficulty. In a
te" cases, the plums have been Sue
ccssfull} grated TO apricots and tn
peaches, however, this would not be
. OF value to you, since you are prald-
eaily out Of the line of commercial
peach and apricot growing. While Il
Is usually difficult to secure a g5od
tree, yet it is possible through this
method Of grating.
In rare cases, the cherry has been
known 10 be successfully grated upon
the prune, but this is not advisable.
since you can usually grow much bet
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