The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-04-20
THE HOME FRUIT GARDEN.
Proves of Incalculable Benefit in Many
WAYS.

Ways.
Washington, ID. c., April 20.--One of
the most important features of subur-
ban home, from the standpoint of
| health, is a fruit garden maintained for
the purpose of supplying the family
with fruits. 1t is amazing that even
those who have suitable situations and
facilities for raising fruits, and who can
not purchase them because of remote
ness from markets, have not established
home fruit gardens, says the department
of agriculture.
I The inhabitants of this country are
notably fruit-loving and fruit-eating
people. Notwithstanding this, however,
fruit culture has grown to be classed
among specialties, and few persons who
consume fruit are actual growers. The
possibilities in fruit culture upon re-
stricted areas have been very generally
overlooked with the result that many
persons who own suburban home, or
even farm, now look upon fruit as a
| luxury. A great deal of the land which
| is now practically wasted and entirely
rnremunerative can be made to produce
fruits in sufficient quantity to give them
a regular place upon the family bill oil
| fare, and at the same time, add greatly
to the attractiveness of the table and
healthfnlness OF the diet.
With the growth of commercial fruit
interests of the United States the home
| fruit garden has been over Swallowed by
the orchard. While both the home gar
den and the orchard are essential to the
good of the community, they bear diff
ferent relations to the country as a
whole. The home garden is always a
forerunner of commercial development,
and even in those localities where
climatic and soil conditions are adverse
to conducting such industries on an ex-
tensive scale, the home fruit garden of
the enthusiastic amateur is certain to be
found.
The home production of fruit stimu
lates an interest and love for natural OBJ
ieets, which can only be acquired by
that familiarity with them which comes
through their culture. The cultivation
of fruits teaches discrimination, If
every purchaser was good Judge Of the
different kinds of fruits, the demand for
fruits of high quality, to produce which
10 the ambition of every amateur as
well as every professional fruit grower,
would become a reality. The encourage
ment of the cultivation of fine fruits in
the home garden will do much toward
teaching buyers to discriminate between
the good and the inferior varieties of
fruit.
The maintenance of fruit garden
brings pleasure and healthful employ
ment, and as ones interest in growing
plants increases this employment in
stead of proving hardship, will become
a great source of pleasure. The posses
sion of tree which one has planted and
reared to fruit production carries an
added interest in its product as well as
in the operation by which it was
secured.
Most persons engaged in the cultiva-
tion of home fruit gardens will have as
their chief aim the production of fruit
for the family table, and the pleasure
it affords. Fruit growing should claim
the attention OF the producer from early
spring to late autumn.
In order to secure satisfactory results
in limited area devoted to fruit cul-
ture one must know the methods of
pruning, training, and culture best
suited to the space at command In pro-
portion to size, dwarf trees are more
fruitful than standards; they come into
bearing sooner and are therefore of
special value for use in fruit gardens.
At planting time all broken or decayed
roots should be cut away, leaving only
smooth-cut surfaces and healthy wood
to come in contact with the soil If
large part of the root area of the plant !
has been lost in transplanting, the top |
should be cut back in proportion to the I
roots remaining. BY so doing the de-
mand made by the top when the plant |
starts into growth can be met by the
root.
The holes in which trees, vines, or
shrubs are to be set should be ample, |
so that the roots of the plants may have |
full spread without bending them out |
of their natural course The earth at /
the bottom of the holes should be loos. |
ened spade depth below the line of ex- |
cavation The soil placed Immediately |
in contact with the roots of the newly I
set plant should be rich top soil, free /
from sod or partially decaying organic /
matter. Firm the soil over the roots by /
as this brings the soil par |
ticles together and at the same time in /
close contact with the surface of the
roots. A movement of soil water is
thus set up and the food supply of the
soil brought Immediately to the use of |
the plant. When the operation of trans
planting is complete. the plant should
stand one or two inches deeper than it
stood in the nursery
The interest of fruit garden may be
greatly enhanced by growing in them
plants not adapted naturally to the
climatic region in which the garden is
located, as, for instance, the growing of
figs as far north as the latitude of Phil
adelphia. The summers of the region
are sufficiently long and warm to induce
a strong growth in the fig, but as the
fruits normally require a long period
IN which to mature, the plant becomes
useless as a fruit producer unless suffi-
rient protection is afforded to carry over
winter the immature fruits set the pre-
vious fall This can be successfully ac-
in several ways The most
hardy sort should be selected, in addi-
ton to which the fruiting shoots may
be wrapped in mating. covered with