Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-05-21

TO raising strawberries between young
trees. The berries need plenty OF water
and this excessive moisture has a tendency
TO bring the roots of the trees too near
the surface, to their permanent injury. One
has but to see two orchards, side by side,
one with and the other without strawber-
rles. TO realize the injury il is possible to
inflict upon young trees by growing straw
berries between them. There are those
who viii scott at this statement. especially
the railroad advertising manager and the
real estate agent, but various inquiries
among the growers lead me to believe in,
and stand by, this statement.
It is said that a Hood river orchardist
knows each tree In his orchard and cares
for It more zesiously than many a New
York mother does her children. Be that as
1t may. he certainly exhibits the greatest
care in pruning, spraying and culuvating
his trees and in handling his crop.
The fruit magazines are fun Of articles
on pruning and Il should not be necessary
TO say anything on this feature of orchard
work. but 1 am presuming that you want
full information on all points. Pruning is
done to give symmetry OF form to the
tree to take out all interfering branches
that prevent free air circulation and keep
the sunlight from the center of the tree.
grow in such a way as to properly bear
their burden Of fruit ana to enable the
fruit to take on size and color. There are
two distinct methods OF pruning, and
whichever one is adopted, IL is put into
practice the day the tree is planted. Some
one has said that the first five years of a
child's life determines its entire future,
and this is equally true OF a tree. because
during this period the foundation Is laid
and the framework built. The one method
is to develop center stalk, from which
branches shoot out at intervals, but the
better plan and that largely followed IN
this valley is to throw the center of the
tree open, vsse-shaped. In Better Fruit
for December. 1910 appears a most
thorough and excellent article on pruning
| from the pen OF A. 1. Mason, one OF the
most successful Orchardists in this valley.
He advocates the open center method and
! shows how a tree should be pruned each
year OF it's growth TO attain this end and
the advantages of this method Of pruning.
| BY heading the tree in quite low, keeping
the center open and limiting the main
branches to five in number, preferably
three or four, as widely distributed as
possible on the trunk OF the tree, so that
no forks are formed. It gives the tree q
/
thinning and picking Is greatly facilitated
thereby. the air circuiates freely and the
sunlight strikes every portion Of the tree
giving the fruit a better chance to grow
and color. The one drawback to the open
| center lies in the fact that the outer
| branches need supports to carry the load
| OF fruit, and Mr.. Mason shows how clev-
| erly and successfully this is accomplished
by the use Of wires stretched from the
branches to q ring in the center OF the
tree Pruning is done twice each year, in
the winter or early spring when the tree
Is dormant and again In July. The former
| pruning of old trees removes all cross or
inward growing limbs. all limbs that may
1 interfere with the air circulation and all
broken branches, while the summer prun-
Ing takes off the water sprouts.
Spraying is another important feature OF
orchard work, religiously attended to by
the successful orchardist. Last spring my
trees were sprayed with a lime and sui
phur mixture for scab and fungus, and
again in the summer for fungus growths,
but II was and is not necessary to spray
for the coddling moth. as the nights here
in this upper valley are so cold the worms
cannot hatch out though the lower val
ley people sim have this pest to fight
|
} ferent times as necessity demanded. Now
you viii be inclined to doubt my word and
will accuse me OF gross exaggeration, such
as is found in various advertising matter
sent out from these northwest states, yet
It is an absolute fact that out OF nearly
5000 boxes OF apples marketed found only
} half dozen-do you fully comprehend
what that means-only six real live worms
in apples. There may have been one box
i. OF apples, certainly no more. which showed
\ stings but only six wormy apples do 1
recall having found during the season. A
small percentage OF Delaware Reds were
injured by fungus, but prompt spraying
prevented the spread OF the disease and
the loss was small.
We have many other pests. such as the
sap sucker, what we used to call the
woodpecker. which punctures the bark OF
the tree, allowing the sap to oose out He
makes hole after hole and then goes back
to suck the sap. II not discovered in time
he will completely girdle the tree with
these holes and cause great injury, IL not
death. to the tree. Our little q is kept
ready, and II was a proud day for me
when brought in my first bird, for never
before had 1 shot a living thing. The
gopher In the newer sections is a menace
to young trees, and an effectual remedy
is to put poisoned 'rsisins in their runways.
One or two applications generally suffice.
Cultivation begins early in the season
and continues well into the summer, but
} ceases In early August. as later cultivation
tends to continue the trees growth Il am
speaking OF young trees now) into late
} fall, giving them no chance to harden up
} for winter. When the young apples have
! formed and are about the size of hickory
nuts the work Of thinning is begun, the
J aim being to remove all apples that are
J not likely to fully develop, OF that may
limb rub. or are too crowded, leaving only
as much fruit as the tree will carry and
bring to perfection. This is almost as
laborious a task as that Of picking. I well