The Van Buren press., 1911-12-23

The question of retarding the
. blooming period Of peaches and other
fruit trees by mulching the ground
under the tree frequently comes up.
Some have suggested muIching when
the ground is frozen; again t'amping
down the SHOWS and covering the
mass with straw and leaves. Others
/ have suggested packing ice around
the stem or under the tree as a
means of delaying the flowers and Of
thus escaping possible spring frosts,
To those interested in this subject
it may be said that the starting OF
the buds on the tree in the spring is
a phenomenon wholly independent Of
the temperature of the soil about the
roots. It is dependent on the tenn
/ perature of the air and Of the twigs
/ themselves. There is enough mols-
ture in the branches and enough
nourishment stored up in connection
with each bud TO enable it to eE-
/ pend under suitable conditions Of
warmth Experiments have shown
/ that a hardy plant like the grape may
/ blossom and carry fruit on a branch
surrounded by proper growing cOndi-
| tions while the rest of the plant
/ is leafess and in a freezing temper
ature and while indeed the soil about
the root is frozen to a depth OF two
or three feet One of the earliest
experiments in horticulture made by
Thomas Andrew Knight about a hun
dred years ago along this very line
Covering the entire plant with a
mulch Of straw or other material re-
tards blooming and might be used in
the case Of low growing plants Eke
stTa wberries, but If il remains on
more than a few days in the warm
weather Of spring the buds and TO-
liage start to growing under the COW
ering, becoming bleached, etiolated
and weakened and must be uncovered
or exposed to the sunlight with care
to avoid further injury
The whitening Ct the dark colored
twigs by spraying the dormant trees
with whitewash, repeating it two or
three times during the winter, has
been tested here and elsewhere. and
through reflection of the sun heat
tends to render the suns rays less
potent in starting the growth. BY
this means blossoming may be de-
aycd four or five days and some
times longer.
However, here in Arkansas peaches
and apples do not suffer as much by
spring frosts anyway as some people
suppose. l speak of trees or or
chards Of course that are located on
slopes and high ground where there
is good air drainage, Paintings in
valleys are very likely to be hurt by
spring frosts freQuentlN. 3lQat ..qE,
Ehntl -. - -.- at..s... ..sl ss..... .u.ss,s.....
chard planters know this and avoid
such locations for tree paintings,
strawberries, etc. Sometimes plant
ings in the valleys escape, Again the
valley paintings are injured and
things on the higher ground escape
This sometimes puzzles the grower
The explanation is that frosts occur
IN calm weather when the general
temperature frequently is a few or
several degrees above freezing point
Cold air being denser and heavier,
naturally flows down to the lowest
levels while the warmer and lighter
cir moves upward, being displaced by
the cold air Under such conditions
scorching frost may occur in the
valley and destroy the blossoms
which have been Iurod out by the
preceding genial spring weather
while on the hills and slopes above
the valley fruit buds remain unin.
jurnd
During periods Of actual freezing
weather accompanied with moro or
loss wind. conditions are reversed.
The valley is protected and is warm.
or. while blossoms ON the hills fully
exposed 10 the moving air and frcc2.
Ing temperature, are Injured or Killed.
Ordinarily however paintings mp ont
Of the valleys are safest Exposure
10 sun and wind tends toward q hard.
or growth, and such paintings com
monty are slower In starting into
growth lu the spring partly ON this
account and partly because during
warm sunny days tho temperature on
the highland Ia not 0s warm or .tim
ulaunu aa that I'm iho valley How
over aa began 10 explain before
spring rro.ts are not responsible for
short fruit crops. or the "o0 years
as often oa some Of our growers os
sumo. Actual records indicate that
lntclpcuuy cared for apple orchards
and Iulol'Igonrly located In the him
sections of Arkansas. bear from -four
10 five crops IN sIy Imperfect forti
. lnauou and wholly or partially self
sterile varieties are responsible for
"orr years. or lIghl crops In some
| caaca nut most OF the time apple or
chords which indulge In frequent on
| years are those In which spraying
/ aaa,HaH...a.aHH..... ...........0"aH
Before any new chicks come so,
| lhot lhoro are no scales ON the hens