The condition of the bud is also important to the success of the

operation. The tree from which we cut the scions should be in a

growing state, though this is not so essential as in the case of the

stock, as has been seen in spring budding--still, a degree of activity

is desirable. The young shoot should have perfected its growth to such

an extent as to have deposited its woody fibre, it should not be too

succulent; but the essential condition is, that it should have its

buds well developed. These, as every one knows, are formed in the

axils of the leaves, and, to insure success, they should be plump and

well grown. In those fruits which blossom on wood shoots of the

previous year's growth, as the peach and apricot, the blossom buds

should be avoided; they are easily recognized by their greater size

and plumpness. In cutting scions, or bud-sticks, the most vigorous

shoots should be avoided, they are too soft and pithy; the close

jointed firm shoots, of medium size, are much to be preferred, as they

have well developed buds, which appear to have more vitality. Such

scions are found at the ends of the lateral branches. These need

immediate attention, or they will be lost. The evaporation of their

juices through the leaves would soon cause them to wither and wilt,

and become useless. These appendages are therefore immediately removed

by cutting the petioles from a quarter to half an inch from the scion;

a portion of the stem is thus left as a convenient handle when

inserting the shield, and this also serves afterward as an index to

the condition of the bud. So soon as trimmed of their leaves, the

scions are tied up, and enveloped loosely in a damp cloth, or in

moss, or fresh grass, to exclude them from the air. If they should

become wilted, they must not be put into water, as this injures them;

it is better to sprinkle the cloth and tie them up tightly, or they

may be restored by burying them in moderately moist earth.

The early gardeners were very particular as to the kind of weather

upon which to do their budding. They recommended a cloudy or a showery

day, or the evening, in order to avoid the effects of the hot

sunshine. This might do in a small garden, where the operator could

select his opportunity to bud a few dozen stocks; but even there, wet

weather should be avoided, rather than courted. But in the large

commercial nurseries, where tens of thousands of buds are to be

inserted, there can be no choice of weather; indeed, many nurserymen

prefer bright sunshine and the hottest weather, as they find no

inconvenience arising to the trees from this source. Some even aver

that their success is better under such circumstances, and argue that

the "pulp is richer."

Most trees in their mature state make all their growth by extension or

elongation very early in the season, by one push, as it were; with the

first unfolding of the leaves, comes also the elongation of the twig

that bears them. In most adult trees in a state of nature, there is no

further growth in this way, but the internal changes of the sap

continue to be effected among the cells during the whole period of

their remaining in leaf, during which there is a continual flow of

crude sap absorbed by the roots, and taken up into the organism of the

tree to aid in the perfection of all the various parts, and in the

preparation of the proper juice and the several products peculiar to

the tree, as well as its wood and fruits. When all this is transpiring

within its economy, the tree is said to be in its full flow of sap; at

this stage the young tree is in the best condition for budding, but it

continues also, if well cultivated, to grow by extension for a greater

or shorter portion of the season, and this is essential to the success

of the operation as already stated. After the perfecting of the crop

of fruit, the main work of the tree seems to have been done for the

year, and we often observe, particularly with the summer fruits, that

the trees appear to go to rest after this period, and begin to cast

their foliage. Now, to a certain extent, this is true of the young

trees. The varieties that ripen their fruit early, make their growth

in the nursery in the earlier portion of the summer, they stop

growing, and their terminal bud is formed and is conspicuous at the

top of the shoots. Very soon the supply of sap appears to be

diminished, there is no longer so much activity in the circulation,

the bark cleaves to the wood, it will no longer run, and the season of

budding for those stocks has reached its terminus; hence the

nurseryman must be upon the look-out for the condition of his trees.

Fortunately, those species which have the shortest season, are also

the first to be ready, the first to mature their buds, and they must

be budded first. We may commence with the cherry, though the Mahaleb

stock, when it is used, continues in condition longer than other

varieties, and may be worked late. The plum and pear stocks also

complete their growth at an early period in the season; the apple

continues longer in good condition, and may be worked quite late.

Grapes, if worked in this way, should be attended to about

mid-season, while they are still growing; but quinces and peaches may

be kept in a growing state much later than most other stocks, and can

be budded last of all.

[Illustration: Fig. 17.--BUDDING, WITH THE WOOD REMOVED. _b_,

THE INSIDE OF THE SHIELD SHOWING THE BASE OF THE BUD.]

HOW TO DO IT.--The stocks being in a suitable condition as above

described, they should be trimmed of their lateral shoots for a few

inches from the ground. This may be done immediately in advance of the

budder, or it may have been done a few days before the budding. The

stock may be one year old, or two years; after this period they do not

work so well. The usual method is to make a =T= incision through the

bark of the stock, as low down as possible, but in a smooth piece of

the stem; some prefer to insert the shield just below the natural site

of a bud. The knife should be thin and sharp, and if the stock be in

good condition, it will pass through the bark with very little

resistance; but if the stock be too dry, the experienced budder will

detect it by the different feeling communicated through his knife, by

the increased resistance to be overcome in making the cut. The custom

has been to raise the bark by inserting the haft of the budding knife

gently, so as to start the corners of the incision, preparatory to

inserting the bud; but our best budders depend upon the shield

separating the bark as it is introduced. The bud is cut from the

scion by the same knife, which is entered half an inch above the bud,

and drawn downward about one-third the diameter of the scion, and

brought out an equal distance below the bud; this makes the shield, or

bud. The authorities direct that the wood should be removed from the

shield before it is inserted; this is a nice operation, requiring some

dexterity to avoid injuring the base of the bud, which constitutes its

connection with the medulla or pith within the stick. The base of the

bud is represented by _b_, figure 17. Various appliances have been

invented to aid in this separation, some use a piece of quill, others

a kind of gouge; but if the bark run freely on the scion, there will

be little difficulty in separating the wood from the shield with the

fingers alone. All this may be avoided by adopting what is called the

American method of budding, which consists in leaving the wood in the

shield, (fig. 18, _b_) that should be cut thinner, and is then

inserted beneath the bark without any difficulty, and may be made to

fit closely enough for all practical purposes. Like everything else

American, this is a time-saving and labor-saving plan, and therefore

readily adopted by the practical nurseryman, who will insert two

thousand in a day.

[Illustration: Fig. 18.--AMERICAN BUDDING. _b_, THE BUD WITH THE

WOOD REMAINING.]

A division of labor is had generally, so far as the tying is

concerned; for this is done by a boy who follows immediately after the

budder, and some of these require two smart boys. S.S. Jackson has

carried this principle of division of labor still further, and, as

appears, with advantage; one hand cuts the shields for another who

inserts them. He never uses the haft of his knife to raise the bark,

but, after having made the longitudinal cut through the bark, he

places the knife in position to make the transverse incision, and as

he cuts the bark, the edge of the blade being inclined downward, the

shield is placed on the stock close above the knife, which is then

still further inclined toward the stock, resting upon the shield as a

fulcrum; thus started, the bark will readily yield to the shield,

which is then pressed down home into its place.

[Illustration: Fig. 19.--MR. JACKSON'S METHOD OF MAKING THE

INCISION.]

J.W. Tenbrook, of Indiana, has invented a little instrument with which

he makes the longitudinal and transverse incisions, and raises the

bark, all at one operation, and inserts the bud with the other hand.

On these plans, two persons may work together, one cutting, the other

inserting the buds; these may change work occasionally for rest. In

all cases it is best to have other hands to tie-in the buds, two or

three boys will generally find full occupation behind a smart budder.

It will be apparent that the above processes can only be performed

when the stock is in the most perfect condition of growth, so that the

bark can be pressed away before the bud; a good workman will not

desire to bud under any other circumstances.

In budding, it is found that the upper end of the shield is the last

to adhere to the stock; it needs to be closely applied and pressed by

the bandage, and if too long, so as to project above the transverse

incision, it should be cut off.

[Illustration: Fig. 20.--STICK OF BUDS.]

Another expedient for facilitating the operation of budding is made

use of by some of the nurserymen who grow peach trees extensively. It

consists in, preparing the stick of buds, as shown in the engraving,

figure 20. A cut is made, with a sharp knife, through the bark, around

each bud, as in the figure. The budder then removes the buds as they

are wanted, with a slight sidewise pull, and has the shield in the

right condition to insert, without the trouble of removing the wood.

When working in this manner, the stick of buds must not be allowed to

dry, and the work must be done at a time when the bark parts with the

greatest ease.

Among the modifications of the process of budding, that, called

ring-budding, fig. 21, may be mentioned, rather as a curiosity

however, though preferred by some, especially for the grape, which is

said to be very easily budded, though we seldom see the operation

practiced.

[Illustration: Fig. 21.--RING BUDDING.]

Those who are anxious to commence budding early in the season, prepare

the scions they expect to use, by pinching the ends and cutting off a

portion of the leaves; the effect of this check to the wood growth is

to hasten the ripening or development of the buds, which rapidly

swell, preparatory to breaking, in their attempt to reproduce the

foliage that had been removed.

TYING should be done as soon as convenient after the buds have been

inserted; though under very favorable circumstances the bud may adhere

and do well without any bandaging, no one thinks of leaving the work

without carefully tying in the buds, and most budders lay a great deal

of stress upon the necessity for covering the whole shield and cut

with a continuous bandaging, that shall exclude the light, and air,

and moisture. The material most used is bass matting, brought from

Russia, as a covering to the packages of sheet iron for which that

country is famous. This is the inner bark of the _Tilia Europea_, but

our own Bass-wood, _T. Americana_, furnishes an excellent bass, and is

procured by our nurserymen directly from the trees, by stripping the

bark in June, and after it has lain a few days in water, the inner

portion separates easily, is dried, and put away for future use. Those

who have not provided the bass, are content to apply woolen yarn to

tie in the buds; its elasticity adapts it well to the purpose. The

ingenious budder, without bass, often finds a substitute for it, and a

very good tie, in the soft husks of corn ears, the inner husks are

torn into strips and used a little damp, when they are pliant and

easily tied, answering a very good purpose. Many nurserymen, who have

tried the corn-husk, prefer it to all other material, because it saves

them the trouble of removing the bandages, as it decays rapidly, and

yielding to the growth of the stock, it falls off before it cuts the

bark, which a firmer bandage is apt to do.

[Illustration: Fig. 22.--MR. JACKSON'S MANNER OF TYING THE BUD.]

S.S. Jackson, whose improvements in budding have already been

mentioned, also adopts another in tying. He holds that it is not at

all necessary to hide the bud with the tie, the only requisite being

to retain the parts in contact. He uses No. 3 cotton yarn, cut in

lengths of a few inches, more or less, according to the size of the

stocks; a couple of strands are pulled out from the cut bundles; the

first turn around the stock secures the end of the string by its own

pressure, one turn more is taken below the bud and one or two above

it, when the free end is passed into a cleft made through the bark

above the point where the bud is inserted. This is found to secure the

string sufficiently, and is easily loosened when necessary to relieve

the tension caused by the continued growth, (fig. 22).

All ties should be loosened in the course of a couple of weeks, if the

stocks be growing freely; otherwise they will injure the tree by

strangulation. Sometimes it will be necessary to replace the bandage

to prevent the effects of desiccation upon the bud, this is

particularly the case with the cherry, and other fruits, that are

budded early; but the tie is often left on the stock all winter, as a

sort of protection to the bud. When loosening the ties, the buds are

inspected and their condition ascertained; if they have failed, they

may be replaced, if the stocks continue in a suitable condition. It is

very easy to tell the success of the budding; the portion of the

petiole left upon the shield is a very good index; if the bud has

withered, this will also be brown and will adhere firmly to the

shield; but, on the contrary, the bud and its shield having formed a

union with the stock, the leaf-stalk remains plump, but changes color.

Like a leaf-stem in the autumn, it assumes the tint of ripeness, and

it will separate with a touch, and soon falls off.

The common method of removing the ties is to cut them with a single

stroke of a sharp knife, when the bandage is left to fall off. Mr.

Knight recommended two distinct ligatures, and left the one above the

bud for a longer time uncut. When the buds have not been very fully

developed, and when the stocks are very thrifty, it sometimes happens

that the excessive growth about the incisions made for the insertion

of the bud, completely cover up this little germ of a future tree,

which is then said to be "drowned." Judicious pinching and shortening

of the stock will prevent this effect, but care is needed not to

pursue such treatment too far.

The stocks are generally headed back to within an inch or more of the

bud, just as vegetation starts the next spring; but early set buds may

be headed back so soon as they have taken, and will often make a nice

growth the same season. This, however, is not generally preferred, and

a late start in the growing weather of our autumns is particularly to

be avoided, as the young shoot will not become matured before winter,

and may be lost.

The advantages of propagating by budding may be summed up in the

following remarks, which are presented even at the risk of some

repetition.

This favorite method of multiplying varieties has some advantages over

grafting, and is by many preferred on account of the facility with

which it can be performed, and because it affords a means of

increasing sorts in the nursery that have not been grafted, and of

filling up gaps in the rows where grafts have missed; and it has been

reported, that budded trees of certain varieties were more hardy than

those which had been root-grafted. The objections, if such they can be

called, are, that the period of performing the operation is limited,

and that the young shoots from the buds generally have a curve that

makes a crook or blemish in the tree when it goes from the

nursery--neither of these objections constitute any real difficulty;

on the contrary, the advantages quite over-balance them: as already

suggested, it is a good plan for double-working certain varieties. The

season for budding is at the period when the longitudinal growth of

the stock is nearly completed, and when the wood-forming process is

most active, so that the bark will part most freely from the wood--in

other words, while the stock is still quite active in its circulation,

but has, in a measure, made its growth. The scions used must have so

far completed their growth for the season as to have filled their buds

handsomely, but yet be so young as to allow the wood to part freely

from the bark of the shields when they are cut. Those who desire to

bud early, may accelerate the development of the buds by nipping off

the points of the shoots to be used, this, in a few days, causes the

buds to swell. The season of budding will thus depend upon the high

culture of the nursery, and upon the condition of the trees from which

the scions of buds are to be cut. Budding should never be done unless

the stock is in perfectly good condition, if otherwise, it is labor

lost. The old writers recommended damp, cloudy, or even showery

weather; but under our bright summer skies our large establishments

would never be able to dispose of their work, were they to wait for

such suitable weather. Fortunately it is not found necessary to select

such a season, but the greatest success attends the budding that is

done in fine bright and even hot weather. The scions should be kept

wrapped in a damp cloth, excluded from the rapid evaporation to which

they would be subjected if exposed--this is better than to keep them

in water, which exhausts them by dilution of the sap they contain. The

scions should have their leaves removed, so soon as they are cut from

the tree; this is done with a knife or the thumb nail, leaving a short

piece of the leaf-stalk for convenience when inserting the buds.

Spring budding is sometimes desirable, either to fill up gaps in the

nursery-rows, or to secure varieties, the scions of which may have

been received too late for grafting, or when it is desirable to

multiply them as much as possible, by making every bud grow. When the

operation is to be performed in the spring, the scions must be kept

back, by placing them in the ice-house until the stocks are in full

leaf, when the bark will peel readily, and the buds may be inserted

with a pretty fair prospect of success; of course, the American method

must be used in this case, as the wood and bark of the dormant scion

will not separate.

The stocks should be cut down as early in the spring as the buds begin

to swell, with a sharp knife, applied just above the bud, and on the

same side; the whole upper portion of the stock must be removed by a

clean cut; this is better than to leave a stump of three or four

inches, as is often recommended, as a support to which to tie up the

buds in their tender growth. All shoots from the stock should be

rubbed out while young; this may need repeating a second time.

If the stocks were strong, the buds will make handsome sturdy trees

the first season; the branched form may be assisted by pinching the

points when a few inches high, as recommended with the grafts. Two

year old stocks should make pretty trees, at one year old from the

bud.

PROPAGATION.--SECT. IV.--THE NURSERY.

APOLOGY. NURSERYMEN NEED NOT BE JEALOUS. SITE AND SOIL. ROOTS

AFFECTED BY SOIL. FIBROUS ROOTS DESIRABLE. ROOT PRUNING. THE

PLOW PRUNER. DIGGING TREES. HIGH MANURING. OBJECTIONS. CROWDING

THE ROWS IS STILL WORSE. PREPARATION OF NURSERY SOIL. DRAINING.

LAYING OUT. DISTANCES. BEDDING APPLE GRAFTS. MULCHING. THE

ROLLER AS A CULTIVATOR. LAYING BY TREES FOR WINTER WITH THE

PLOW. THE SUBSOIL LIFTER. THE PRONGED HOE. THOROUGH PREPARATION

OF CUTTING BEDS. MANAGEMENT OF CUTTINGS. AUTUMNAL PLANTING.

WINTER MULCHING. GRAPE CUTTINGS. FALL PLANTING. LONG CUTTINGS.

SHORT CUTTINGS. TRIMMING. VALUE OF THE LEAVES. STOCKY TREES.

SIDE BRANCHES. SHORTENING-IN. WHEN TO REMOVE. HEADING-IN THE

TREES. WHEN TO DO IT. AGE OF TREES FOR PLANTING. MAIDEN TREES.

DISADVANTAGES OF LARGE TREES. BENEFITED BY ROOT PRUNING. THE

HOME NURSERY. FIELD'S PLAN. THE NURSERY ORCHARD OF WHITNEY.

WINTER KILLING. PREVENTION OF BY EARLY RIPENING THE WOOD.

INJURIOUS ANIMALS. MOLES. MICE. RABBITS. PREVENTIVES. INSECTS.

THE NURSERY.--Be not alarmed, brother nurseryman, think not that all

the arcana of your craft are to be exposed to the public; one small

chapter cannot injure you, even were it wise and proper to retain

knowledge exclusively in the hands of the guild; on the other hand, ye

need not be afraid that one who owes you so much would turn tell-tale,

and expose all your weaknesses to the gaze of the multitude. From my

friends in the craft, the many intelligent men and keen observers, who

have ever been foremost in the ranks of our country's pomologists, no

censure is apprehended for attempting to dash off a few brief

directions for the amateur, or even the nurseryman, who is just

beginning to pursue as a business the pleasant occupation of growing

trees. Any censure from others, if such there be, who would feel

afraid to trust their knowledge to the world, and who might think in

this enlightened age that such a thing as secrets of the trade could

be long retained in their own hands,--any censure, from such a source,

would fall harmless--it is not dreaded. Indeed, though not of the

trade, it would be easy to expose the ignorance that is sure to be

found among those who might claim to be the exclusive conservators of

knowledge, such however is not the object in view, it is rather to

extend useful knowledge, to popularize it and to bring it within the

reach of those who may need it, that this chapter is undertaken; and

the labor is the more willingly entered upon, in the firm conviction

that the more the knowledge of plants and the love for them is

diffused among the masses of our population, the greater will be the

success of those who are engaged as professional nurserymen and

gardeners, who need not fear the competition of amateurs, but should

rather encourage it, upon the score of such persons being and

continuing to be their best customers--if not from any higher and more

noble sentiments of affiliation with men of congenial tastes and

pursuits.

SITE AND SOIL FOR THE NURSERY.--A somewhat elevated position should be

selected for the ground that is to be appropriated for the production

of trees; the surface water should be able to escape rapidly, instead

of standing in the paths, and furrows, and trenches. The fresh air

should be able to blow freely over the young trees, swaying them

about, trying their fibres, and at the same time giving them new

strength and vigor: not that they should be too much exposed to the

rude blasts, as they might be upon the vast savannas of the West,

where a protecting belt of deciduous and evergreen trees, to a

moderate extent, will be found of service, and conducive to the

healthy development of young trees in the nursery. But even the naked

prairie, exposed for miles in every direction, would offer a better

location for the nursery, than a few acres cleared out among the heavy

timber. Here the little trees, if crowded together, must be drawn up

to meet the light, and will be poorly furnished with lateral branches,

and unprepared to meet the rude battle with the elements that awaits

them in their future orchard homes, which, indeed, too often become

rather their graves, into which they are thrust, buried, not planted,

and whence they rise no more, but after a fruitless struggle, dwindle

and die.

A somewhat elevated situation is also valuable, on account of its

greater probable immunity from frost, than a lower level; and this is

often a matter of great importance in the successful cultivation of

fruit trees.

The soil should be a good strong sandy loam, one that contains the

needful elements for the growth of trees, and at the same time has a

composition that will freely permit the passage of water through it,

and be easily worked by the cultivator. Heavy soils, abounding in

clay, are strong; but they are more retentive of water, they require

more labor to keep them in a friable condition, and they are sometimes

objectionable on account of the character of the roots produced in

them. These are less abundantly furnished with fibres, as a general

rule, when the tree has been grown in a stiff clay, than when it has

been produced in a lighter and more porous soil. Mucky soils are too

light, and should not be used for permanent nurseries, though valuable

for seedlings, cuttings, and newly transplanted forest evergreens for

a short period; unless the muck be underlaid by clay, and that it is

near enough to the surface to be reached in the preparation of the

soil, and to become mixed with its staple in cultivating it. Trees,

for the orchard, should never be grown upon a mucky or peaty soil.

The different character of the roots formed by trees growing in

particular soils, should not be overlooked by the propagator, since

much of his reputation as a nurseryman, and the success attendant upon

the labors of his customers, will depend upon the healthy development

of these important organs, which have been called the mouths of

plants. As elsewhere observed, peaty and mucky soils do not produce

roots of a character well adapted to transplanting into upland soil.

Very stiff clays furnish trees with long straggling roots that have

feeble and scattered fibres; such roots do not present themselves in a

good condition, nor are they easily separated from the soil, the

tenacity of which often injures the slender fibrous portions, which

it is desirable to preserve in transplanting. Sandy soils and sandy

loams produce the very best roots, most evenly distributed, and also

most easily preserved and removed when the trees are dug from the

earth.

Much may be done by the intelligent cultivator, in any kind of land,

to make good roots by proper treatment of his soil and trees. A

thorough preparation of the ground, and disintegration of the soil,

will conduce to this result; and thorough culture will maintain the

good condition thus produced. Frequent transplanting will encourage

the production of new roots from the cut ends of those that were

ruptured in digging, and these will be within reach at the next

removal. When taking up young trees, or when setting out seedlings in

the nursery rows, the tap roots, and indeed all long straggling roots,

should be cut back, with a view to producing the same result. When

trees have remained for three or four years in the nursery rows, the

fibres will have extended so far in search of food and moisture, that

in digging them, the best portions of the roots will be left in the

ground, and the young trees will suffer upon being transplanted in

this mutilated condition. Such should be root pruned the season

previous to their removal. This process is performed by removing the

earth on either side of the row, until the roots are exposed, when

they are cut off at from ten inches to a foot, from the tree, and the

earth replaced upon them, the object being the formation of new fibres

that shall be within the reach of the spade when they come to be dug

for the orchard. Another plan for root pruning is, to use a very sharp

spade, which is set down and pressed deeply into the ground, a few

inches from the tree, so as to cut all roots that pass that limit.

This, though a ruder method, is followed by good results.

DIGGING THE TREES, is a process that should be conducted upon very

different principles from those exercised in grubbing a thicket. The

nurseryman wishes to clear his block, but the purchaser hopes to save

his trees, and to have them live, he wants a good share of their roots

with them. No one need expect, however, to have anything like a large

proportion of the roots of a tree removed from the ground; that is out

of the question, unless they have been grown in walled stations,

confining the roots, like those of green-house plants in their

flowerpots. In open culture, they will have spread through the soil in

every direction, and cannot be preserved and removed. Repeated root

pruning will be of the greatest service in furnishing a great many

fine roots within reach; but at the best, a great deal of damage is

necessarily inflicted upon the roots by digging, and the older and

larger the tree, the greater will be the injury, and the smaller the

proportion of roots to the branches.

In digging trees, it is important to remove the soil very carefully on

each side of the row to expose the roots, always holding the spade in

such a position that its side and edge shall be in the direction of a

radius, from the stem of the tree as a centre. Never stand facing the

tree to be dug, but keep it next the elbow, at one side. On finding a

root, withdraw the spade, and try again; and, having ascertained its

direction, endeavor to loosen the outer extremities first. Proceed all

around in this manner, and by gently swaying the trunk, the points of

resistance will be indicated; these should be loosened and freed

until all appear to be free, when, by grasping the collar as low down

as possible, the tree is to be lifted gently and freed from the soil;

no force should be used beyond that which is absolutely necessary, to

lift the plant from its bed.

[Illustration: Fig. 23.--HARKNESS' TREE DIGGER.]

In the great commercial nurseries, all this care cannot be exercised;

everything must be done in the large way, and labor-saving appliances,

the valuable results of human thought, but still not thinking nor

observing intelligences, must be used. One of this class is the

tree-digger, which, in the prairie soils, is used with very good

success. It consists of a very large deep plow, without any

mold-board, but with a wide sharp steel share, which is turned up at

the edges, so as to cut the lateral roots at some distance from the

trees. It is drawn on each side of the row, by four horses, hitched

_ad tandem_. The trees may then easily be lifted from the loose

prairie soil. The accompanying engraving shows the tree digger of Mr.

E. Harkness, which is much used in the nurseries of Illinois and other

Western States. The figure is sufficiently clear, without much

explanation. The broad steel blade runs under the rows and is drawn by

four horses, two working one before the other, or _tandem_, each side

of the row. Some of our Western nurserymen find great advantage from

the use of this digger in their free soils, and also for root pruning

trees that are to remain in the rows.

In the sandy loams of New Jersey, a similar tool is used for digging

peach trees, which is drawn by a span of heavy horses that are

attached to the two separate beams, one being on each side of the

trees. This implement is found to be entirely satisfactory in its

operations.

High manuring in the nursery has been objected to by some orchard

planters, who say that trees, which have been forced into a too

luxuriant growth in their infancy, receive so severe a shock upon

being transplanted to the open field, that they never recover. With

the neglect which is so commonly accorded to young trees in the

orchard, it is really wonderful how they ever survive at all, whether

they had been stimulated in their culture or not. The large majority

of purchasers at the nursery always select those trees which are most

vigorous, notwithstanding the prejudice against stimulating the trees,

and then with mutilated roots, they probably omit cutting back the

limbs sufficiently, and when their neglected orchard fails, they

complain of the forced trees. The change from the good cultivation of

the nursery to the careless culture and even neglect of the farm, is

certainly hard for the poor things to bear. Late growth, encouraged by

high manuring, is injurious. There is a much more serious fault of the

nursery than stimulating with manure and high cultivation, and that is

the too common error of crowding the trees; but even this has its

origin partly with the purchaser, who too often wishes to have his

trees drawn up as high as possible; instead of demanding low heads he

asks for high ones, and will sometimes offer a premium for trees that

have grown in one season, the second from the root graft, eight or ten

feet in a single shoot, so that he may at once calculate upon forming

the head where he wants it, out of the reach of his horse; a

calculation, however, which he will not realize.

THE PREPARATION OF THE SOIL for a nursery should be as deep and as

thorough as possible, for some things it is best even to trench the

ground; but generally, the thorough plowing, with a deep-tiller, or a

trench-plow, will be sufficient, and if followed by the subsoil

lifter, so much the better. One of the most intelligent

horticulturists, and most successful nurserymen in the country, finds

that he can produce a better result in depth and fineness of tilth, by

using the Double Michigan plow, than he can with the spade. A piece of

clover-sod thus plowed in the fall, and subsoiled at the same time,

will be in fine order for nursery purposes, after a thorough

cross-plowing and harrowing in the following spring. If the land has

been under-drained, so much the better. There is little good land that

would not be much improved for nursery purposes by tile draining.

If manure is to be applied, it may be spread upon the clover-sod

before plowing, or it may be thrown upon the plowed ground at once or

at any time during the winter, to be worked into the soil by the

spring plowing; if composted, it may be spread just before the spring

stirring.

LAYING OUT.--In laying out the nursery, some taste may be exercised

by the planter; the sections and blocks should be distinct, and alleys

should be located at convenient distances, so that all parts may be

easily accessible with the wagon. The rows should be laid out

straight, and they ought to be far enough apart--four feet might be a

good average for nursery trees; cuttings and seedlings may, of course,

be nearer. The trees should not be set too closely in the rows, one

foot apart is plenty close enough for most kinds, and that is little

enough room for the development of good lateral branches, or for those

which have to remain three or four years before transplanting. For

peaches, for dwarf pears, and indeed for any of the varieties that are

to be taken from the nursery as maiden trees, a less space may be

allowed--say eight inches apart. Apple stocks for budding, or for

collar grafting, may be set ten inches apart, and they will have room

to make very good plants, even should they remain until two years old.

Most nurserymen set out their apple grafts in the rows where they are

to be grown to full size, and cultivate them from two to three years;

while this saves the trouble of transplanting, the trees will not be

as well assorted for size, nor will they have the benefit of the

transplanting, (which will enhance their value much more than it

costs, in the improved character of their roots), as have those that

have been treated on the bedding plan, practiced by some nurserymen.

This consists in setting the root grafts closely together, in a bed of

very well prepared ground; they are covered at once with a good

mulching of sawdust, which keeps the ground moist, and insures the

growth of almost all the plants, while for the first season they

occupy very little space, and are readily kept clean, as the mulching

prevents the growth of weeds. In the fall, or in the following spring,

they are taken up, assorted for size, and re-planted in the

nursery-rows where they are to stand. This transplanting improves the

character of their roots, which are more fibrous and shorter than in

those trees which have stood three or four years without being

disturbed. Purchasers, now-a-days, begin to look at the roots of their

trees, as well as the tops; and it may become necessary for the

nurserymen to gratify this fancy for low-headed, stocky trees, that

have abundant fibres to insure their growth, and their early

fruitfulness.

CULTURE of the nursery should be thorough; the soil should be

frequently stirred, and kept mellow and loose, to insure cleanliness

and thriftiness, and to make handsome trees. The mellow soil upon the

surface, is, by some persons, considered equal to a good mulching, and

indeed it answers the indications of one. Cultivation, to kill the

weeds as fast as they appear, will admit both air and moisture; a

share of both of these is retained by the mellow earth, which, thus

treated, is indeed a very good mulch. The cultivation may be done with

the small turning plow, with the double shovel, or with any of the

many approved cultivators in use everywhere throughout the country.

The surface should be kept as level and even as possible. In some

soils the roller, made short enough to pass between the rows, is

highly esteemed, and is considered a most valuable implement in the

nursery. As a general rule, cultivation should not be continued too

late in the season, but should be suspended about mid-summer, so as to

prevent a late growth and to encourage the plants to finish their

summer's work in time to ripen their wood thoroughly before the advent

of winter. This is particularly necessary where the climate is severe,

especially on new lands, where the trees are very vigorous. Upon the

approach of winter, it is a good practice to plow a light furrow

against the trees on each side; this protects the collar from cold,

prevents heaving by the frost, and gives a good surface drainage to

excess of water.

For deeply loosening the ground between the rows, the one-horse

subsoil lifting plow is a very valuable instrument; this can be used

in very narrow spaces. This plow prepares the ground admirably for the

pronged hoe, and it may be used between rows of cuttings and

seedlings.

THE PRONGED HOE.--One of the most valuable implements in the nursery

to clean out the weeds from between the trees, and also to work among

cuttings, and other plants, that are set too closely for the use of

the horse, is the pronged hoe; it makes the best shallow culture,

prevents the soil from becoming hard, and it is the best destroyer of

small weeds that can be used. The flat hoe is never sharp enough to

cut all of the weeds effectually, it produces little tilth, and the

result of its use is too often a disappointment, but half killing the

weeds, in some places, and dragging them out by the roots in others,

and often leaving the ground hard and in miserable condition.

[Illustration: Fig. 24.--THE PRONGED HOE.]

PLANTING CUTTINGS.--Some of the small fruits, as currants,

gooseberries, as well as the quince, are propagated, to a great

extent, by cuttings. The ground for growing them, should be very well

prepared by trenching or trench-plowing; the difference in the growth

between cuttings set on well or on poorly prepared ground is

astonishing, and the advantage in favor of trenched land is sufficient

to pay for the extra expense bestowed upon the preparation. The soil

should be rather sandy, decidedly loose and mellow, and rather moist

than dry.

In setting the cuttings, the rows may be quite close, as horse labor

is seldom employed among them; but they are tended by hand, or the

ground is mulched. They may also be set quite thickly in the row, as

they are to remain but a short time in the cutting bed, from which

they are transplanted at one year old, though sometimes alternate rows

may be left over another season. When the trench is opened for them,

the cuttings are set, three or four inches apart, next the line, so

that only the top bud shall reach the surface; a little mellow soil is

thrown upon them, and they are tramped firmly at the base, when the

remainder of the earth is thrown in and the next trench is opened for

another row. If they be planted in the autumn, it is well to cover

them with a mulch, and for this leaves from the forest are an

excellent material. Some propagators insist very strongly upon the

necessity for removing all the buds from the lower portion of the

cutting, particularly in the currant and gooseberry, so as to prevent

suckering and to grow the bush as a miniature tree, with a single

stem. This is not desirable when the bushes are liable to have the

stems destroyed by the currant borer. Indeed, the nature of the

currant appears to require a renewal of the wood by these shoots,

which come to replace the old exhausted branches.

The grape is grown in immense quantities from cuttings, which are

either planted in a nursery, or set at once in the vineyard. In the

former they are planted closely in rows, that are about twenty inches

apart. Sometimes the ground is trenched, and the cuttings set at the

same operation. When the first trench is opened in a rich mellow loam,

which may be sod or clover lea, the edge of the dug soil is dressed to

the line with the spade, then the cuttings are placed so as to have

one eye at or above the surface, and soil is thrown in and tramped

closely to the base of the cuttings. Then the next trench is made with

the spade, digging the ground as you proceed.

Grape cuttings are generally made eighteen or twenty inches long; and

those which have a heel of old wood are preferred, and command a

higher price. The earlier these are taken from the vines, after the

fall of the leaves, the better success will attend the plantation;

provided they are not too long exposed to the air. Fall planting is

very desirable, but if not then planted, the cuttings should be put

into the ground and covered as soon as convenient, and they will be

better prepared for spring planting. A deep trench is opened, into

which the bundles are set in a vertical position, and loose earth

filled in about them, and slightly covered over them; they will then

be ready for planting by the spring. The length of the cuttings has

latterly been much reduced, with advantage; some of the most

successful planters make them from six to eight inches long: these are

much more easily dug than the longer slips, and are better provided

with roots.

TRIMMING should be practiced in the nursery with a definite object in

view, and not at random; much less with any expectation of increasing

the hight of the trees by trimming them up. The object in pruning

nursery trees should be to develop them in every part, to produce a

stout stocky sturdy little tree, one that may be turned out upon the

bleak prairie, and be able to withstand the blasts. To produce this

result, the leaves should never be stripped from the shoots to make

them extend their growth, for the sake of making more leaves; the

nurseryman should know the value of leaves, as constituting the great

evaporating surface that plays a most important part in causing the

ascent of the crude sap, and also in its elaboration after it has been

taken up into the organization of the plant. Leaves should be

carefully preserved, and in the trimming, which is necessary, this

should be borne in mind. To make vigorous, stocky trees, the side

branches should be encouraged rather than pruned off. The tops may

sometimes need to be pinched, to force out the laterals, and to

encourage their growth; if two shoots start together as rivals, one of

them should be topped or cut back, or twisted and broken, but not cut

off at its origin, unless there be plenty of lateral branches or twigs

to furnish the tree. When these become too long, they may be

spurred-in, either in the fall and winter when cutting grafts, or in

the summer, during the growing season. Whenever it becomes necessary

to trim off any of these laterals, it is best to do it at mid-summer,

as the healing of the wounds made at this period is very rapid.

Heading off the nursery trees is done to force them to branch out

uniformly the second year, to form their heads at the right place;

this is to be done toward spring, and is applicable especially to

those varieties that are prone to make a single shoot the first year

without branching, and which have not been pinched-in or headed during

the previous summer to force out side branches. Cherries, plums, and

pears, and some apples, are very apt to make this kind of growth. It

should have been premised that all nursery trees ought to be grown to

one main stem, or leader, from which all the branches arise, and to

which they should all be made to contribute their quota of woody

fibre. It has been asserted that the wood of a tree, instead of being

a cone, as its stem appears to be and is, it should be a column of

nearly equal size from the bottom to the top; that is, the mass of all

the branches taken together, should equal the diameter of the trunk at

any point below. A well-grown stocky nursery tree, with its abundance

of lateral branches approximates this idea; but the main stem of such

an one is very perceptibly a cone, rapidly diminishing in diameter

from the collar upwards.

AGE OF TREES FOR PLANTING.--This depends so much upon the views of

planters, that the nurseryman cannot always control the period at

which he shall clear a block of trees. Peaches should always be

removed at one year from the bud. Plums and dwarf pears will be ready

to go off at two years from the bud or graft; so with apples and

cherries. But many persons, purchasers and sellers, prefer larger

trees, and they recommend that the trees should remain one, two, or

even three years longer in the nursery. Others, a new school of

planters, prefer to set out the maiden tree, in most of the species

above named, except some very feebly growing varieties, that will

scarcely have attained sufficient size to risk in the orchard. The

nurseryman should beware of keeping his trees too long on his hands;

they may become unprofitable stock, and are sure to require much more

labor in the digging and handling. The purchaser is his own master,

and his tastes and wishes must be consulted; if he wants large trees,

by all means, let him be indulged; he will have to pay in proportion,

he will have more wood for his money, more weight to carry, or more

transportation to pay for, more labor in planting, and vastly

increased risk of the life of his trees; but, let him be indulged with

his five year old trees, while his neighbor, for a smaller sum

invested, with less freight, less wood, less labor, and infinitely

less risk, will plant his maiden trees, and five years hence will

market more fruit.

The risk of transplanting large or old trees from the nursery, may be

greatly diminished, and their value will be vastly enhanced, by

judicious root pruning in the nursery-row. This may be done by

digging, on either side, on alternate years, and cutting off the

straggling roots, and particularly those that run deeply; this will be

followed by the production of a multitude of fibrous roots that put

the tree into a good condition for transplanting. In the great

nurseries of the West, there is a peculiar plow, which is used for

root pruning the nursery rows.

THE HOME NURSERY has been recommended by Mr. Field in his _Pear

Culture_ as a means of enabling the orchardist to amuse himself, and

to grow his trees in such style as he may prefer. He advises to select

trees "of two or three years' growth, and prepare a piece of ground

for the home nursery. For this a rich, deep, dry soil should be

spaded and thoroughly pulverized to the depth of two feet, (trenched).

In it plant the trees in rows four feet distant, and three feet apart

in the rows. Two hundred trees would thus occupy a space fifty feet

square. The roots having been carefully examined, and, as before

mentioned, the laterals pruned to six or eight inches, are spread out

horizontally, and gently covered with earth. It will be seen that the

labor of pinching, pruning, and cultivating, will be much less on so

small a spot, than when the cultivator is obliged to travel over three

or four acres upon which they are ultimately to be planted.

"If at the end of two years it is still desirable to allow them to

remain, a sharp spade should be thrust down around them, at a distance

of fifteen or eighteen inches, in order to cut the long straggling

roots, and thus induce the formation of fibres nearer home. This will

fit them for transplanting at an advanced stage of growth. In this

case, if at the end of two or three years, they are removed at the

proper season, and with care, they will suffer scarcely any check. By

pursuing this plan, they receive better care, grow faster, and are not

liable to damage; and as only the good trees will, in this case, be

set in the fruit grounds, none of those unseemly breaks in the rows,

caused by the injury or death of a tree, need occur. Where, however,

older trees, at least once transplanted, cannot be obtained, and it is

desirable to set out the orchard at once, stout two-year old trees are

decidedly preferable. Such trees have not stood sufficiently long to

send their roots beyond a limit whence they can be removed; and with

careful digging, removal and planting, the purchaser need not fear a

loss of more than two per cent."

THE NURSERY ORCHARD, as practiced by A.R. Whitney, of Lee Co., Ill.,

now one of the largest orchardists of the country, is well worthy of

imitation by all those nurserymen, who desire also to become

fruit-growers. In laying off the blocks of nursery stock, the

varieties that are wanted for the orchard, should be planted in such a

manner, that they shall be in every fourth row, so that the orchard

trees will stand in rows sixteen to twenty feet apart, according as

the nursery-rows are four or five feet wide. In cultivating and

trimming these rows in the nursery, a plant is selected, every twelve

or sixteen feet, which is to remain as the orchard tree when the block

shall be cleared. A good tree is selected, and special care in the

pruning is bestowed upon it to secure the desired form, and low

branches; if necessary, the tree on either side of it is removed, to

give it room. By the time the block is cleared, these orchard trees

are often in bearing, and while his customers are struggling to save

their trees, and nursing them after their transplanting, the

nurseryman will have become an orchardist, and is enjoying his fruits.

The nursery will have become an orchard--one rather closely planted to

be sure--but the trees can be dwarfed by root pruning with the plow,

they shelter one another from the prairie blasts, and when too thick,

alternate trees may be removed to the wood-pile, and thus cheer the

owner on a winter's day.

WINTER-KILLING is a serious evil in the nursery, as by it whole rows

and blocks of certain varieties are sometimes destroyed, or very

seriously injured. It has been observed to be most marked in its

effects upon those sorts of trees that make the most vigorous and

sappy growth, and those which continue to grow late in the season.

Such varieties have very naturally acquired the epithet of _tender_

especially as orchard trees of the same kinds, even in a bearing

state, have been similarly affected; in some sections of the country,

these kinds have been thrown out of cultivation. The bark looks

shriveled and withered, the twigs seem dry when cut, and resist the

knife; when thawed by the fire, or on the return of spring weather,

the bark seems loose, and the inner bark, instead of being

greenish-white, becomes brown, and the whole tree looks as though it

was dead. In old trees, large portions of the bark start from the stem

and large limbs, and hang loosely for awhile and then fall off. The

buds alone retain their vitality, and upon the return of spring they

sometimes succeed in establishing the necessary connection with the

soil, and restore the circulation of the sap; the results are the

deposit of the usual annular layer of woody matter, which encases the

dead portions within, that become like a _sequestrum_ of dead bone in

an animal. The best treatment for the trees that have been

winter-killed, is to cut them back very severely, in the hope of

producing a vigorous wood-growth the next season, to repair the

injury.

A partial winter-killing often affects small nursery trees, especially

on low and wet, undrained soils; the plants recover, but for years

they have a black point in the heart which embraces all of the

wood-growth that was affected--all their wood at the period of the

disaster. This is enclosed and surrounded by clear, healthy wood; but

such trees are not desirable, they are so fragile, as to be easily

broken.

The best preventive for winter-killing in the nursery, is to

encourage early ripening of the wood, and to drain the land, is one of

the best means of producing this effect; another is the cessation of

culture at mid-summer, and the sowing of oats very thick at the last

cultivation, has been practiced, and, it is thought, with excellent

effects. The rank growth absorbs the superfluous moisture, robbing the

trees, and afterwards forms a good protective mulch during the winter.

The objections to it are, that it encourages the mice, which, by

girdling the trees, effectually winter-kills them.

Many nursery and orchard trees often present a black discoloration of

the bark, which is quite unsightly, and excites alarm for the health

of the tree. This is often caused by trimming at unfavorable periods;

in the spring pruning of bearing trees, the large stumps sometimes

bleed, but in the nursery trees it arises from cutting them, and

especially in the barbarous trimming up, during severely cold weather,

when they are frozen.

INJURIOUS ANIMALS AND INSECTS.--The nurseryman sometimes suffers from

the depredations of some of the smaller animals, which cause him great

annoyance. The mole, though highly recommended by the naturalists as a

harmless beast, who is an aid to horticulture by his insectivorous

habits, is nevertheless injurious in his _ways_; for he often makes

his run in the seed bed, or along a row of root grafts, and raising

them from their stations break their tender rootlets, when the sun and

air soon destroy them. Mice, of different kinds, are still more

destructive, particularly in the winter, when they will often girdle

young trees near the collar, and do much mischief. They also devour

many seeds after they have been committed to the ground, particularly

those sown in the autumn. For both of these animals, the best

preventive is to catch them, which may be done with traps. They may

also be poisoned. The young trees may be protected from the mice by

keeping them clear of rubbish, that would shelter these animals, and

when snow falls, it should be trodden down closely about the trees.

Owls and cats will do their share in the destruction also, but they

will also take the friendly little birds.

Rabbits are also very apt to bite off young shoots, and to bark trees

of larger growth in the nursery, as well as those that have been set

out in the orchard. Various methods have been suggested to prevent

their injuries. Wrapping the stems with strips of rags or with ropes

of hay, was formerly the method practiced by those who wished to save

their young trees; the process is tedious and troublesome. A few

pieces of corn-stalk have been placed by the stem of the tree and tied

to it; this, too, is a troublesome procedure, though, like the others,

it is efficacious. A still better plan in this class of preventives,

is a half sheet of common brown wrapping paper, made to encircle the

stem, like an inverted funnel; this need be fastened only at the top,

by a little thin grafting wax applied with a brush at the instant, or

the paper may be tied with some common white cotton string. This

envelope keeps off the rabbits, and lasts through the winter; the

string will decay before the growing season returns, so there is no

danger of strangulation. All the other wrappings must be removed, or

they will injure the trees and afford harbor for insects. It will be

observed that all applications of this class, are adapted only to

trees that have a clean hole without branches, but are not suited for

those which are made to branch at or near the ground. Besides, in

countries where snow abounds, these little marauders are elevated

above the wrappings, and have fair play at the unprotected parts of

the tree--on this account another class of preventives has been

adopted.

These consist in applications that are obnoxious to rabbits, which,

being nice feeders, are easily disgusted. White-wash, and white-wash

made with tobacco water, soap, whale-oil soap, grease, blood, and

especially the dead rabbit itself, freshly killed, have all been used

with happy results, in that they have driven these animals to seek

their food elsewhere. A very good application, and one that may be

used upon a low-branched tree as well as to the smooth clear stem of

one that is higher, is blood. This is put on with a swab; a few corn

husks tied to a stick, answers very well. Dipping this into the vessel

of blood, the swab is struck gently against the stem or the branches,

as the case may be, and the fluid is spattered over it. A very little

will answer to keep the rabbits away, and the effect will continue all

winter, notwithstanding the rains.

Certain insects also prove injurious in the nursery, among these the

most numerous are the _aphides_, which are found upon the roots of

some fruit trees, especially the apple. Others of this disagreeable

insect appear upon the foliage, among these one of the most disgusting

is the one which causes the black curl, on young cherry trees. The

pear tree slug, (_Selandria cerasi_), destroys the foliage of many

young trees in the nursery; caterpillars also do their share of

mischief. A serious trouble in old nursery grounds, especially where

manure is used, is the grub of the May beetles, of which there are

several species. These grubs are whitish, nearly as thick as the

little finger, with a brownish head. They cut off the young nursery

trees at three or four inches below the surface. We have seen two-year

old stocks cut in this manner, and the work of destruction was so

complete, that the proprietor of the nursery was a long time in

attributing it to such an apparently inadequate cause as this

sluggish, soft-bodied grub. All of these, with other insects injurious

to fruit, will be considered in their appropriate place.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] The Plant, a Biography: M.J. Schleiden, p. 68.

[13] Because it had no root, it withered away. Mat. 13, 6.

[14] Du Breuil, Culture of Fruit Trees; English Translation.

[15] A.R. Whitney, Franklin Grove Nurseries, Lee Co., Ill.

CHAPTER IV.

DWARFING.

DEFINITION OF. OBJECTS. EARLY FRUITAGE. DEFINITION OF TERMS.

DWARFING STOCKS. OTHER MEANS OF DWARFING. DWARFS AND STANDARDS.

PYRAMIDS OR CONICAL. ESPALIERS. LAYING BARE THE MAIN ROOTS IN

SUMMER, TO DIMINISH THE VIGOR OF THE TREES. REMOVING A PORTION

OF THEM. ROOT-PRUNING. TRANSPLANTING. EUROPEAN ESPALIERS AND

WALL FRUITS. DU BREUIL'S CORDONS. CROWDING, AS A MEANS OF

DWARFING. PINCHING, TWISTING, AND FRACTURE. FIELD'S PEAR

HEDGES. OUR CLIMATE DOES NOT REQUIRE THESE MEANS OF TORTURE.

FACILITY OF PROTECTION MAY RENDER THEM DESIRABLE. GENERAL

INTRODUCTION OF QUINCE-DWARFED PEARS IN THIS COUNTRY. MANY

FAILURES. SUCCESS DEPENDS UPON CARE. FRENCH SUCCESS. CHINESE.

UNCONGENIAL STOCKS. IMPERFECT UNION. PINCHING. HIGHEST

PERFECTION OF THE ART OF HORTICULTURE. EQUALIZE THE FLOW OF

SAP. NATURALLY FLOWS TO HIGHER PARTS AT EXPENSE OF LOWER, MAY

BE REGULATED BY TRIMMING. BY DISBUDDING. BENDING DOWN. PINCHING

THE STRONGER, AND ENCOURAGING THE WEAKER. ILLUSTRATION IN THE

STRAWBERRY. DWARFING THE APPLE. PARADISE STOCK. THE DOUCIN;

UNFIT FOR ORCHARDS. ROOT-PRUNING. HOW IT OPERATES. TIME TO

BEGIN. HOW TO BE PURSUED. SEASON FOR. EXPENSE. ROOT-PRUNING

PLOW.

Dwarfing consists in so controlling the growth of plants as to reduce

the natural size of any of our fruit trees, and bring them within

comparatively narrow bounds. The objects of dwarfing are to enable us

to plant a large number of specimen trees, or of varieties upon a

small piece of ground, or to have small trees beside the alleys of our

gardens. Such plants are also well adapted for growing in pots, or in

the borders of an orchard-house. It is claimed for dwarfed trees, that

they are more prolific than those which are worked on free stocks,

which are often erroneously called standards, and it is also asserted

that these dwarfed trees will bear sooner and produce finer and larger

fruit.

The terms used may as well be explained at once. When we speak of

dwarfing stocks, we mean such as are so uncongenial as to check the

wood-growth; and thus, while producing smaller trees, they have a

tendency to early fruitfulness if properly managed. But this condition

may be superinduced by other means than these. Hence in speaking of

dwarf pear trees, it does not follow that they have been worked on the

quince or other uncongenial stock. A dwarf tree, of whatever kind, is

simply one that has been caused to assume diminutive proportions.

Dwarfing stocks are contrasted with free stocks, or those which would

have attained the full size of the species, and which, when grafted,

produce large trees. These are often mis-called standards, when

contrasted with those that have been worked on the quince, or other

dwarfing stock. Whereas, the trees propagated on free stocks, may also

be dwarfed, by means that will be presently detailed; and the term

standard refers really to the mode in which the training of the

specimens has been performed. Those which are trimmed up as orchard

trees are usually treated as standards, and are said to be trimmed to

standard hight. Those branching at a lower point are called half

standards. Those which are branched so low as to conceal the stem of

the tree, and in which the limbs are so well managed that the lower

ones are always the longest, and those above them gradually contracted

to the point at the top, are called pyramids, or more properly conical

trees. Whether dwarfed or not, trees may be trained in a variety of

forms, such as the columnar, sometimes called the _quenouille_; the

vase or goblet form may be given them, or the parasol shape, and they

may be made to assume the form of a fan or other mode of extension

laterally, when trained upon a wall or espalier frame, as may be seen

in the illustrations given by Du Breuil; but it is seldom that our

gardeners are willing to bestow the care and attention necessary to

produce these results.

The vertical and oblique _cordons_ represented and recommended by Du

Breuil are very attractive, and admirable methods of training and

dwarfing fruit trees, and of crowding a great many into a small space.

His method of making an edging to the fruit-border with dwarf apples,

inarched together so as to form a connected tree for its whole length,

is a capital illustration of the control we may exercise upon

vegetation.

Standards and pyramids are often trained as weeping trees, for the

sake of gratifying the fancy of the cultivator, and with a view of

bringing on that early productiveness which results from the check of

the upward current of sap that is incident to such a mode of

treatment. This is really a kind of dwarfing so far as it goes, and if

commenced early in the life of the tree, it may become very effective,

especially when combined with other means of reducing the growth.

These are formed by arching the branches, tying their tips to a ring

of wire or hoop secured near the ground, or simply by fastening

weights to them sufficient to keep them in the desired position, and

by tying the upper limbs to the lower ones. As is well known, the sap

flows most readily toward the shoots that occupy a vertical line; it

will be seen that its ascent will be seriously retarded in those that

are bent, and their vigor will be diminished, and fruit-bearing will

be promoted. This process must not be continued too perseveringly,

lest the tree become exhausted by over-production.

Du Breuil recommends laying bare the principal roots of the tree in

the spring of the year, so as to expose them for the most of their

length, and leaving them in this condition during the summer. This

exposure of roots to the sun and air diminishes the vigor of the tree,

and hence it tends to the production of fruit. He also recommends the

removal of a part of the roots in the spring, and replacing the earth;

considering this a more energetic operation than the preceding, he

advises caution, lest we injure the tree. This is simply root-pruning,

a plan that has been pretty thoroughly tested in this country, where,

perhaps, its beneficial effects are more needed than in any other, and

where we shall even find it advantageous to have recourse to

mechanical means for its performance in large orchards by horse-power,

as will be set forth in another place.

A very successful method of obtaining the desired effect of dwarfing,

which is early and abundant fruiting, consists in transplanting the

trees in the autumn; this should be done very carefully, so as to

preserve the roots from mutilation as much as possible. The effect of

this will be to check the wood-growth the ensuing summer, and

fruit-buds will be formed, for it is well known that these two

opposite conditions of plant life are complementary the one to the

other, and while we always desire to see them both proceeding together

in a healthy tree, the wood-growth must have been moderated before we

can expect to receive any fruit.

The French and English excel us in training upon walls and espaliers,

and we may willingly yield them the palm; since, in this country, it

is rarely necessary to incur so great expense for the production of

good fruits, and as a means of dwarfing our trees, it is more

expensive and requires more skill, care, and watchfulness, than other

methods of producing this effect. Espalier training, however, affords

the most beautiful opportunity for the illustration of many of the

important principles of vegetable physiology, but it should never be

undertaken by any one who is not familiar with these, and at the same

time willing to exercise great patience and perseverance in their

application to the subjects under his control. No blind pursuance of

the abstract rules of the art can enable the mere routine gardener to

become a successful grower of espalier trees. The modes of training

are various, to suit the whims and necessities of the artist. Trees

are fastened directly to the walls, or to trellises of wood or of

iron, that are placed at a little distance from the masonry, or they

may be entirely independent of any such structures, and exposed to the

air and light freely on both sides. The trellises may be either

vertical, or inclined. The limbs may be made to issue nearly opposite

to one another, and be trained horizontally in two directions, with

successive stages to the top of the wall or trellis, or they may be

trained in a fan shape, with various modifications of what M. Du

Breuil calls the _palmette_ form. And a simple modification of this

method of dwarfing may be made with some varieties of fruit, by

training a single stem horizontally within a foot of the ground, as a

border or edging between the path-ways and the cultivated ground.

The favorite method of training in France, at the present day, appears

to be that called the _cordon_. This may be either the vertical or

inclined. In this kind of espalier, the trees are dwarfed by crowding

them closely together, and by successive pinching and other

mutilation, such as bending and even breaking the shoots, which

results in early productiveness. The trees are planted sixteen inches

apart, and are trained to single stems, and so treated as to be

furnished with the requisite number of fruit-spurs on their whole

extent. This is quite a new application of principles, and one which

is rudely imitated by Mr. Field's pear hedges, which, however, bear

but little resemblance to the elegant cordons of Du Breuil beyond that

of dwarfing by crowding and pinching. We are told that among the many

advantages of this method, are the diminished time required to cover a

wall or trellis with fruit, and the greater facility of replacing a

dead or defective tree, which, in the usual espalier methods, is a

very serious matter, requiring several years for its restoration and

the production of a crop.

We are so blessed, in most parts of this country, with soil and

climate that are well adapted to the production of fruit in the open

field, upon sturdy orchard trees, that there is less necessity for

introducing these elegant methods of pursuing the fine art of

horticulture; and yet there are reasons in the uncertain climate of

our winters, why these plans of training and dwarfing should be

pursued by those who have the talent and the means for doing it. Until

within a few years, there were not many dwarfed pear or apple trees in

this country, and they were confined chiefly to French gardens and to

the establishments of the wealthy. But since their more general

introduction, immense numbers have been propagated and planted, and

extensive orchards, particularly of dwarfed pears, have been set out

with a view to profit. Some of these have been eminently successful,

others are failures; the results will very much depend upon the amount

of care which may be bestowed upon them.

The French have long practiced the dwarfing of certain varieties of

fruits, and have been very successful in their results; but that

wonderful people, the Chinese, excel all others in this branch of

horticulture, for which they display a remarkable talent.

DWARFING BY UNCONGENIAL STOCKS.--The usual mode, which is literally a

partial starvation of the tree by limiting the supplies of crude sap,

consists in the use of uncongenial and dwarf-growing stocks, upon

which the desired varieties are budded or grafted. These are, for the

dwarfed pear, either Quinces, Thorns, the Mountain Ash, or the

Amelanchiers; for the apple, the Paradise and the Doucin varieties of

apple stocks; for the peach and plum, the Chickasas, or other dwarf

plum stock may be used. The free-growing cherries are worked on the

Mahaleb or the Morello varieties; but it must be confessed, that some

of these do not produce a perfect dwarf without other treatment.

To produce a dwarf by grafting on an uncongenial stock, this should be

so uncongenial as to form an imperfect union, which checks the

downward circulation; the sap that has been elaborated by the organs

of the scion is thus kept above the junction of the two woods, and,

being so checked, the result is the early formation of fruit-buds, and

a premature fruitage of the trees results in a direct proportion to

the incompleteness of the union of scion and stock. This is often so

very imperfect as to be very easily ruptured, the grafts are often

broken out by a very small force being applied to them, sometimes even

the weight of the fruit is sufficient to effect a separation, and an

examination of the rupture will show how very slight or imperfect the

union between the parts has been; in other cases, however, it is

difficult to trace the fibres of wood-growth that belong respectively

to the stock and to the scion, even when these have been so different

as pear and quince, or plum and peach.

It is also considered desirable that the roots of the stock should be

small and fibrous, and not long, naked, and straggling; the former

will furnish the crude sap in more limited amounts, and are less

likely to produce an excessively rampant or luxurious growth in the

scion.

Many persons have been disappointed in the Mahaleb cherry, which has

been reputed to be a dwarfing stock. It is found, that without the

application of other means, the so-called dwarfed cherries grow as

freely, at least in their early years, as those worked on the free

stock, known as the Mazzard cherry. They will never make such large

trees, however, and those who would enjoy dwarf cherry trees, should

combine the different methods of producing the result.

BY PINCHING.--There are other means of producing the desired effects

of dwarfing and early fruiting, which should be mentioned. These

consist in systematic efforts to curtail the development of the

wood-growth, by judicious pinching, of the tips or points of the

branches, and to prevent the rambling of the roots by root-pruning.

These it is designed now to examine. Pinching is practiced in the

green-house with the happiest effects, and it results in the

production of the most perfect form of the plants, and most abundant

display of flowers. The constant check which is thus given to the wood

system, causes the sap to seek new outlets, and instead of the one

limb into which it had been flowing, and causing it to be developed;

its flow is now directed to the other buds along its course, which

presently burst out into lateral growths, none of which are so strong

as the first, and these are induced to change the character of the

buds so as to result in the production of flowers and fruit.

This system applied to fruit-trees has been most thoroughly carried

out by the French, and is admirably described and illustrated by Du

Breuil, in a work called _Scientific Culture of Fruit Trees_, and

reproduced in our own language by Wm. Wardle, an English gardener and

orchardist of high reputation.

It is not to be expected that in this country, where fruits are so

easily produced, we shall soon reach such a point of horticultural

practice as to lead us to the adoption of the European system of

walls and espalier training, but we shall do well to watch the

application of the very important principles involved in their

practice, since these may be applied to our orchards with manifest

advantage. In reference to the form and management of trained trees,

it is established as an axiom that their permanency is dependent upon

an equal diffusion of the sap being kept up throughout the whole

extent of their branches. This occurs naturally in all trees, because

they develop themselves in the forms natural to them, but in our

gardens and orchards we make our trees assume unnatural forms. The sap

flows to the highest parts by a law which is well known, though not so

well understood; as a consequence, the lower branches do not receive

their needed supplies, and being smothered by those above them, they

eventually die and decay, leaving a naked stem supporting a top, or

the common form of the natural tree. To maintain the shape we

desire--be this the pyramid, the vase, or the espalier of whatever

kind--certain operations must be performed from time to time, as the

conditions of the tree may indicate.

Among these, Du Breuil advises to prune the strong branches short and

allow the weaker ones to grow long, and thus to restore the balance.

This may be done at the spring pruning, and also at any time during

the growing season, when it may be necessary to check excessive growth

at any one point: and upon this principle depends some of the most

important practice of the summer pruning of our vineyards. The sap

flows towards the leaves, and by removing them from one part, and

leaving a preponderance upon another, we change the direction of its

flow. As the strongest flow is toward those parts that are in a

vertical direction, we may also check this tendency, or encourage it,

by altering the position of the branch, as is done in the vineyard by

tying up the canes we wish to have developed, and depressing the

laterals with their fruit; so in a tree, we may depress the shoots

which are too strong, and elevate those that are weak, to produce the

desired effect. We may also greatly diminish the flow of sap to a

strong branch by removing early all its useless buds; this is a sort

of premature pinching to be sure, but when we consider the powerful

influence exerted by these organs as centers of vitality, we can

realize their attractive force in drawing the sap towards them. After

the production of the full number of shoots upon the weaker branch, if

the foliage continue to predominate upon the stronger shoot, it may be

partially removed by early pinching, or cutting through the petioles,

not by tearing them off; and as late as possible, remove the surplus

and useless shoots from the weaker branches, which were at first

needed to encourage the flow of sap in that direction.

The true pinching of the young laterals, or new shoots, should also be

done as early as possible to keep them in check on the strong

branches, while the same operation may be delayed on the weaker, from

which we should remove only those that will be supernumeraries. M. Du

Breuil also recommends the stimulation of the weaker limbs, by bathing

all the green portions with a solution of sulphate of iron, made by

dissolving twenty-four grains in a pint of water. This should be

applied in the evening, when it is absorbed by the leaves, and acts as

a powerful stimulant.

It is a well established principle, that the chief growth by extension

will be made by the terminal bud, and this should either be removed by

cutting back, or left upon the limb, according as we desire to grow

our wood; if extension of the shoot be our leading object, all the

lateral buds must be subordinated. So also, it is well known, that all

circumstances, which retard the circulation, are followed by a

diminution of the wood-growth, and by the development of flower buds.

The culture of the strawberry affords one of the best illustrations of

the benefits and effects of pinching. The runners of this plant may be

viewed in the light of wood-growth, or the increase of the plant by

extension; even though these slender threads are not permanent, and

they only serve to convey a bud to a distance from the parent plant,

and place it under favorable circumstances for the formation of a

natural layer. They are but annual productions, and hence there is no

considerable deposit of woody matter, as in the limbs of trees, but

they are thrown out from the parent plant just like woody branches,

and are so much substance withdrawn from it, which, if retained or

thrown back upon the plant, would have resulted in an enlargement of

the main stem of the strawberry plant, and in the development of buds

upon the crown, which become stored with the proper juices that result

in the production of more abundant blossom buds. The result, however,

is so admirable an illustration of this important element in the

management of permanent and woody fruit-trees, that we may well look

at an herbaceous plant, be it even so humble an individual as the

prostrate earth-berry, as our ancestors called the delicious

_Fragaria_.

DWARFING THE APPLE

Apples are generally dwarfed by working them upon the French Paradise

stock, which is a very diminutive tree or bush, seldom rising more

than a few feet high. This is the true stock for those who wish to

indulge in the luxury of dwarf apple trees. Such are very appropriate

for the small garden, or for the specimen grounds of a nursery

establishment, and they sometimes make beautiful objects in the lawn

or among the shrubbery, but they are wholly unsuited for orchard

planting, as many a poor deluded purchaser has found out to his

sorrow, a few years after having been beguiled by the smooth-spoken

tree peddlers, who have sold many thousands through the country to

farmers to plant as orchard trees.

There is a more vigorous stock which has been used for the same

purpose, but it possesses much less dwarfing power. It is called the

Doucin, or English dwarfing stock. This, however, exerts so little of

the dwarfing influence, that at the end of eight or ten years the

trees are generally about as large as those worked upon free stocks;

but it happens unfortunately that early fruitage, the great object of

dwarfing, is not attained by their use, for they will not have

produced any more fruit than the common trees similarly treated.

BY ROOT PRUNING.--Among the many valuable hints which horticulturists

have received, with the beautiful flowering and other plants, from our

antipodes in the "Flowery Land," none has been of greater value than

the practice of root-pruning. In this art of dwarfing even the large

forest trees by mutilations of the roots and by other means, this

curious people excel all others, as has frequently been stated. In

Europe, and in this country also, root-pruning has been extensively

practiced with the effect of partially dwarfing the trees, but more

especially with the object of inducing prematurely the fruitfulness we

so much desire, and which is a natural result of the diminished

supplies of crude sap furnished by the contracted roots of a tree that

has been treated in this manner. The balance between the wood-growth

by extension, and that which results in fruitful spurs is sooner

established, and the sap is directed to the formation and support of

the fruit.

We should not commence the application of this severe treatment until

our trees have been allowed to establish themselves firmly in their

stations, unless we desire at the same time to produce decided dwarfs

by means of root-pruning. In this case the treatment may be commenced

in the nursery itself; the stocks should be transplanted once or

oftener before being worked, and the young trees should be moved

annually, which will so shorten the roots as to make them a mass of

fibres, occupying the whole soil close about their main divisions, and

the subsequent removals can then be easily effected, with but a slight

check to the tree, which becomes furnished with fruit spurs at a very

early period of its existence, instead of its requiring years to reach

its natural period of fruitfulness, as is the case with some

varieties, particularly of the pear.

As generally practiced, however, root-pruning is postponed until the

trees have made a free and vigorous growth, and have become well

established in their stations. Then if the growth be too vigorous, and

there do not appear any indications of the formation of fruit spurs,

as is often the case in the fertile soils of the West, our impatient

orchardists complain of the barrenness of their trees, and seek a

remedy in root-pruning. This is generally performed with a sharp

spade, with which a trench is dug in a circle around the tree. The

excavation should be deep enough to reach all of the lateral roots;

these are generally within a foot of the surface. The ditch need not

be much wider than the spade, and the soil can be thrown back at once,

but all the roots should be severed, if we desire to produce the

effect of checking the wood-growth. The diameter of this circle will

depend upon the size and vigor of the tree to be operated upon. As a

general rule, it may be made in the proportion of one foot to each

inch of the tree's diameter. The work may be done at any time after

the spring growth has begun to harden, or during the autumn and

winter, and until the buds are about to break in the spring. The

operation is wonderfully conducive to the end we have in view, and we

often see a vigorously growing but barren subject, transformed in a

single season into a fruitful tree, covered with blossom-bearing spurs

that are full of promise of delicious fruits. In some varieties,

however, these fruit spurs require more than a single season for their

perfection.

Now it may be objected that this labor will be expensive, and so it

is, as all hard work with the spade must be; but what of that, when we

consider the happy results that ensue in golden harvests. But it has

been suggested that this labor may be performed by farm machinery,

using a strong plow, or rather a sharp cutter attached to a plow beam,

and drawn by a powerful team at the requisite distance on either side

of the rows of trees, and in directions crossing each other at right

angles. This, of course, like all mere mechanical applications, must

be uniform, whether the necessities of the trees be equal or not;

whereas, by hand-labor, we may vary the distance at which the roots

are to be cut, according to the vigor and size of the trees demanding

the treatment.

This topic will be again referred to in the chapter on Pruning, where

also it will be necessary to recur to the subject of Training, which

was incidentally alluded to in connection with Dwarfing.

CHAPTER V.

DISEASES.

DIFFICULTIES IN THE OUTSET. WHAT CONSTITUTES DISEASED ACTION. NO

ANALOGY TO ANIMAL SICKNESSES. CONGENITAL DEFECTS. DEBILITY.

DEFICIENT STRENGTH OF FIBRES. DEFECTIVE FOLIAGE. IMPERFECT AND

REDUNDANT BLOSSOMS. THE CIVILIZED AND CULTIVATED PLANT MAY BE

ABNORMAL ALTOGETHER. UNSATISFACTORY ACCOUNTS OF DISEASES IN

PLANTS. LANKESTER'S CLASSIFICATION CONSIDERED. EFFECTS OF THE

EXCESS OR PAUCITY OF MOISTURE, HEAT, AND LIGHT. MODE OF ACTION

OF FROST. INJURY RATHER REFERRIBLE TO THE CONDITION OF THE

CIRCULATION THAN TO THE DEGREE OF COLD IN MANY HARDY PLANTS.

INFLUENCE OF THE SOIL. LIGHT THE GREAT STIMULUS, ITS WITHDRAWAL

SUSPENDS HEALTHY ACTION. ITS SUDDEN RESTORATION CAUSES DEATH BY

SUN SCALD. INJURY BY SUNSHINE IN WINTER. POISONOUS GASES.

MIASMATA. POISONS IN THE SOIL. PARASITIC PLANTS, EPIPHITES,

FUNGI, PEAR BLIGHT. VARIOUS THEORIES. WHAT WE KNOW, AND WHAT WE

DON'T KNOW. TREATMENT. ROOT PRUNING SUGGESTED. SATISFACTORY

RESULTS. MILDEW BLIGHT IN PEACH AND APPLE. TWIG BLIGHT IN APPLE

AND QUINCE. THE APPLE BLIGHT. BITTER ROT. CRACKED FRUIT. SCAB.

MILDEWS. KIRTLAND'S VIEWS AND SUGGESTED REMEDY. WOUNDS AND

INSECTS. NEEDING THE AID OF SURGERY RATHER THAN MEDICINE.

DESTRUCTION OF FOLIAGE BY INSECTS IMPAIRS THE HEALTHY CONDITION

OF THE PLANT. RESUME. SELECT HEALTHY TREES OF HEALTHY

VARIETIES. EMPIRICAL CHARACTER OF TREATMENT USUALLY RECOMMENDED

FOR DISEASED TREES. THE BLACK KNOT. THE ROT AND MILDEW OF THE

GRAPE.

In opening a discussion upon the nosology of vegetation, it may be

expected that one who had spent many years of his life in the

investigation of the diseases of the human family, and at the same

time was something of a student of comparative anatomy and physiology,

tracing analogies between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, should be

familiar also with the diseases of plants. Such an anticipation, it is

feared, will not, in the present instance, be realized. Indeed, the

writer feels very much at a loss how to proceed in discussing this

branch of the subject, and hardly knows what departures from undoubted

health and vigor should be considered worthy of the title of disease.

Nor is it easy to trace the causes of the conditions that are

generally viewed in the light of maladies. We find the manifestations

both in the tree or plant, and in its several parts, and also in the

products which chiefly interest us; the fruits themselves, are often

deteriorated by what is called diseased action of different kinds. The

analogy to diseases of animals is certainly not very distinct. We do

not find anything like fevers, or gout, or rheumatism, in plants, but

we may consider some of their conditions somewhat in the light of

dropsies, and plethora or hypertrophy on the one hand, and of anæmia

or atrophy upon the other; we may consider canker and the death of

some parts of a plant analogous to gangrene, and mortification in the

animal subject. Then again we find congenital defects in individuals

among plants, just as we do among animals. Some are always less

vigorous than others, and thus certain varieties seem possessed of a

degree of inherent disease that perpetually prevents them from

displaying the requisite strength and vigor which we so much desire in

our plantations. Certain varieties that, from the size and excellence

of their fruits, have attracted the attention of pomologists, are so

deficient in health and vigor as to be considered diseased, and are

therefore very properly condemned as unworthy a place in our orchards

and gardens; others appear simply deficient in the production of some

one part, as is illustrated by the inferior strength of the woody

fibres of some trees, which break easily under the weight of their own

fruit, and thus destroy the symmetry of the tree and diminish its

productiveness. Others have defective foliage, which is attended by

the imperfect performance of the functions of growth, both in the

fruit and in the sustaining woody fibres; others again produce

defective blossoms with either a redundancy or deficiency of the parts

that are necessary for the production of the seeds needed for the

perpetuation of the species. When the parts are deficient, the flowers

are called barren or infertile. A redundancy or multiplication of

parts is seen in double flowers of our gardens, where they are much

prized for their beauty, though considered monstrosities by the

botanist, and perhaps properly referred to diseased action by the

nosologist.

It is evident, that very often the conditions of a plant and its

products, which we most highly prize, and towards which all our

efforts in its culture are directed, are really departures from the

natural and healthful status; in other words, what we covet, is really

a state of diseased and abnormal action. With the other secondary

objects of occupying and ornamenting the barren wastes of the earth

with plants, and thus supplying food to hosts of insects, and to the

higher animals, nature also has primarily in view, the production of

perfect seeds for the perpetuation of their species, by the plants

that are profusely scattered over the globe. Man, on the contrary,

often rejects the true seeds as worthless when compared to their

juicy fleshy envelopes that constitute his favorite fruits, or the

enlarged and succulent roots, tubers, stalks, and leaves, that

characterize his garden vegetables and field crops; while in the

grains proper he seeks sustenance in the true seeds, which become the

object of his greatest care and ingenuity to enlarge, to increase, and

to develop, particularly in regard to their nutritive qualities.

Most writers upon the diseases of plants have given us very indistinct

notions upon the subject, and have done very little to enlighten their

readers; while they have written voluminously upon the unhealthy and

unsatisfactory condition of certain vegetables, and have given us most

extensive accounts of the treatment by which they propose to remedy

the evils complained of, we gather little of the information needed to

enable us to understand the true state of the case, or of the causes

of the disease, if it is to be considered such. The reader need not

expect that he will be more enlightened by this chapter than he has

been by the essays to which reference is here made, but he will be led

to a consideration of some of the causes of those departures from

health and vigor which are considered diseased action, and in this way

he may possibly be put upon the track which will lead him to the

avoidance of disastrous results. More than this will not be attempted.

Perhaps the most satisfactory account of diseases of plants is that

given by Lankester, in which he divides them according to their

causes, as follows:

1st--Those produced by changes in the external conditions of life,

such as redundancy or deficiency of the ingredients of soil, of

light, of heat, air, and moisture.

2d--Those produced by poisonous agencies, as by injurious gases,

miasmata in the air, or by poisons in the soil.

3d--Those arising from the growth of parasitic plants, such as the

various Fungi, Dodder, Mistletoe, etc.

4th--Such as are caused by mechanical injuries or wounds, and by the

attacks of insects.

These may be considered separately: 1st--It may be assumed, and has

been already well established by botanists, that every plant has its

own peculiar constitution, adapting it to certain atmospheric

conditions, and that for its healthful and successful culture, these

must be understood and adhered to, within comparatively narrow limits.

Tropical plants, as is well known, cannot be cultivated beyond their

natural limits, except under circumstances where their natural

conditions are nearly imitated by the gardener; and even in our stoves

and hot-houses, these plants do not compare in vigor with their

fellows that luxuriate in the hot and steaming atmosphere of the

tropics, under the stronger light of such a clime as is natural to

them. On the contrary, the plants of northern latitudes will not grow

and produce seeds where temperature is too elevated. Those from a

humid atmosphere suffer in an arid clime, and those which thrive in

dry sandy regions suffer equally when introduced into a humid

atmosphere.

Thus we find, that where there is too much moisture for some of our

cultivated plants, they are inclined to be too succulent, and this

very excess may produce a dropsical condition that is really a state

of disease. Thus we suffer in a loss of fruit, which will fall badly

before its period of maturity, and that which remains its full time

is found to be thin and watery, deficient in the high spicy aromatic

flavor which is so highly appreciated by the connoisseur of these

choice products. When, on the other hand, the arid character of the

soil and climate prevail to an extent that is uncongenial to any

particular fruit, we shall find that its growth is arrested, and that

its highest qualities are not adequately developed: this is frequently

observed in an unusually dry season--and in California, where

irrigation is required to enable the orchardist to produce some of the

succulent fruits, the most remarkable size and beauty have been

attained, but we are told that it was often at the expense of the

desired flavor that the same varieties acquire, under circumstances

more advantageous to the development of their superior qualities.

So in many of our fruits, the successful results depend upon the

hygrometric condition of the atmosphere, and Liebig suggests that a

very prolific source of diseased action in plants, arises from the

suppressed evaporation and transpiration consequent upon such

atmospheric conditions.

Too much moisture prevailing at the time of the blossoming of our

fruits, especially moisture precipitated in the form of rain during

this period, is sometimes disastrous to our crops, both of cereals and

of orchard fruits. Continuous showers prevent the development of the

pollen-grains, and their transfer to the stigmas of the blossoms, so

that the fruit does not set well. Fortunately this does not often

occur in our glorious climate, which is so highly favored by an

abundance of light and sunshine, which are the great and essential

stimuli of the higher orders of plants. The loss of our fruit crops

in some parts of the Ohio Valley in the years 1862, 1865, and 1866,

was fairly attributed to this cause.

We must not overlook the unhealthy influences produced by an excess of

moisture in the earth. Many plants that naturally delight in a dry

porous soil, become weak, unfruitful, or even seriously diseased when

they are planted in low wet grounds, or upon such as are underlaid by

a very tenacious sub-soil, while an opposite condition is equally

unfavorably to those that are naturally more aquatic in their tastes

and habits. In the former case we learn to avoid such soils and

situations, unless we are able to change their character in this

respect by thorough under-draining, which will completely remove the

evil, and the remedy becomes merely a question of expense.

A certain amount of temperature may be assumed as requisite to every

plant, or rather it may be affirmed that some plants cannot exist and

thrive except within a certain range, and it has been asserted that

each class of plants requires a mean temperature for the year that

shall not vary many degrees: the range of this variation has perhaps

never been satisfactorily ascertained. But it is well known, that both

heat and frost act injuriously upon vegetation. Mr. Lindley tells us

that "the extreme limits of temperature which vegetables are capable

of bearing, without destruction of their vitality, have not been

determined with precision." When the temperature is maintained at a

higher point than is natural, the plant is excited to undue activity

of growth; but this is attended with an enfeebled condition, often

seen in badly managed green-houses. Mr. Knight found that certain

plants were rendered abortive by the production of male flowers only,

when exposed to too great heat, and by an opposite treatment, when

subjected to a low temperature for a long time, others produced only

female flowers. In some plants a high degree of heat, with moisture,

results in the production of leaves only, and Humboldt found that

wheat was grown about Xalapa, Mexico, as a fodder plant, because it

produced an abundance of grass, but did not form ears nor grain.

A diminished temperature, on the contrary, removes the stimulus of

growth, and leads to the suspension of all vital action in proportion

to its reduction. At the freezing point it is probable that all such

action ceases, though in this regard there is great difference among

plants; the mosses and lichens will flourish, and the Chickweed will

vegetate and blossom at a temperature very little above freezing. The

access of frost, after vegetation has somewhat advanced, often proves

very disastrous, and we not unfrequently lose our crops of fruit by

such an occurrence during the period of blossoming, or even afterward.

Some plants in a dormant condition, will endure uninjured a great

depression of temperature, while others will be destroyed by the

slightest approach of frost. According to De Candolle, this may depend

upon the greater or less amount of water they contain, upon the

greater or less viscidity of their fluids, or the rapidity with which

these fluids circulate. Those with larger cells he thinks most easily

injured by frost, and those which contain a great deal of air are able

to resist it best. The freezing point will vary according to the

quality of the sap, for we know that different vegetable juices

congeal at different temperatures. The manner in which cold acts upon

plants depends upon their physical structure. Lindley says, freezing

is attended with the following effects:--The fluids contained within

the cells of tissue are congealed and expanded--this produces a

laceration of the cell-walls, and impairs excitability by the

unnatural extension to which the cells are subjected; the air is

expelled from the air-vessels and introduced into parts naturally

intended to contain only fluid; the green coloring matter and other

secretions are decomposed, and the vital fluid or latex is destroyed,

and the action of its vessels is paralyzed. The interior of the tubes,

in which fluid is conveyed, is obstructed by a thickening of their

sides. So we have as a result, both mechanical, chemical, and vital

changes.[16]

Our hardy fruit trees are woody perennials that hybernate during the

winter. Yet we find that even these suffer upon some occasions from a

great depression of temperature; it has been asserted that a certain

degree of cold would inevitably destroy the blossom buds at least, and

we often find that the bark is burst off from the wood, and in some

instances the wood itself is so injured as to suffer from a kind of

decomposition, and to become affected with a change generally known as

the dry rot, losing its elasticity and hardness, and acquiring a

whitish color, which is supposed may arise from the introduction of

the mycelia of fungous growths. Now it is believed that these injuries

do not arise so directly from the degree of cold to which the tree has

been exposed, as to the condition of its circulation at the time of

the exposure. If the sap have been excited by mild or warm weather,

as is so apt to be the case in our changeable climate, the sudden

depression of temperature will produce disastrous effects, even when

the cold has not been very severe. This is manifested by the bursting

of the bark in young trees in the early part of winter, while they are

yet holding their leaves, and of course having a circulation somewhat

active. Hence the importance, now very well understood by our

nurserymen, of checking the growth of young trees in time to have

their terminal buds thoroughly ripened before the approach of frost.

This, to a certain extent, is subject to our control; but we cannot

foresee the character of the seasons upon which the safety of our

orchard trees will, in a great measure, depend, and they are less

easily managed. When the autumn is dry, and continued late into

winter, as sometimes happens, we see a perfect ripening of the wood,

with a great development of blossom buds, and then we may confidently

calculate upon the safety of our fruits, provided they be not exposed

to a warm period at mid-winter, that shall excite some activity in

their circulation, which would suffer terribly from any sudden and

great depression of temperature such as frequently occurs, carrying

the mercury from summer heat to a point below zero, in a few hours.

Such a change has amounted to 68 degrees in nine hours.[17]

The influence exerted by the soil upon the healthiness or

unhealthiness of our trees has already been alluded to incidentally,

but it is an important subject of inquiry whether this may arise from

a redundancy or a paucity of some particular ingredients necessary to

sustain the plants we desire to cultivate. Liebig has pointed out how

chemistry may be brought to our assistance in solving such a question.

As all the inorganic elements found in a tree and its fruits, must

have been derived from the soil in which it grew, he suggested that

the ashes of the plant would show us exactly what it needed, and then

an examination of the soils would inform us whether they contained all

the necessary elements, and in the right proportion. Hence arose the

doctrine and the practice of applying special manures, which has been

so fashionable in our day. Though there be many doubters as to the

efficacy of such investigations and practices, most sensible and

enlightened agriculturists admit the truths which Liebig has

propounded.

Light is the great stimulus of vegetation, an essential element to its

existence: its withdrawal is followed by an arrest of some of the most

important functions of vitality, and yet we find that there is a great

difference among different species, as to their requirements of this

element, and also that various parts and several products of

vegetation require very different degrees of light for their

perfection. It is also found that a sudden exposure of parts from

which it had been withheld, is often attended with disastrous

consequences. Its withdrawal does not so immediately destroy the

plant, being attended with the etiolation of the parts that are

usually colored, but a sudden re-exposure to the sun's rays will now

destroy the plant. So the removal of a portion of the foliage from a

tree, or the exposure of the bare stem of one that had been previously

sheltered, is often attended with severe effects, known as

sun-scald--for which there is no remedy, but very easy modes of

prevention. The best of these is to provide against the evil by

reserving the lower branches to shade the stem. There are other

excellent reasons for this practice, which will be brought forward in

the chapter on Pruning.

Frequently, however, the nurseryman, or perhaps the injudicious

efforts of the planter himself, may have removed all the side branches

of the young tree, and as these cannot be replaced, we may substitute

for them a shelter from the scorching sun to which the newly planted

tree is exposed. This may be done by tacking two narrow boards

together at their edges, like a gutter spout, and setting them upright

on the south side of the tree to shade it. A wisp of straw, tied

loosely to the stem, will answer a very good purpose; but both of

these appliances are objectionable, because they furnish a shelter for

insects, and thus they fall short of the natural shading of the stem

by the foliage of its own branches.

It is not only the scorching suns of summer that damage our young

trees that are thus exposed by injudicious trimming. Even the bright

rays of a mid-winter sun, falling upon the frozen stem, will often

effect the most serious damage, and should be guarded against with

equal care; but here the natural protection will answer, for the shade

of the naked spray of the laterals is found all-sufficient in the

well-trained tree.

2d--To resume the consideration of Lankester's causes of disease, it

must be admitted that some diseased conditions may be produced by

poisonous gases, but the usual result will be the death of plants

confined in such an atmosphere. The natural power of diffusion of all

gases among one another in the open air, prevents the danger that

would ensue in a confined situation. The accidental production of

sulphurous and other poisonous gas, or the escape of smoke from the

flues or from the tobacco-pan in the green-house, sometimes produces

the most disastrous effects upon the plants subjected to their action.

So, in crowded cities, it often happens that the effects of coal smoke

and other gases, generated in the furnaces and manufactories, are very

injurious to vegetation. The coal soot falls in flakes like

lamp-black, which covers the surface and obstructs the transpiration

of the stomata, and thus seriously affects the health of plants in

such situations.

* * * * *

The action of _miasmata_, suggested by Lankester, is as obscure in the

effects produced upon plants as in those upon animals. The presence of

these atmospheric conditions cannot be detected by any of our tests,

nor can their effects be prevented by any means in our power; we know

little or nothing about their characters, yet we cannot deny their

existence: finally, they serve as a very convenient explanation,

though a very unsatisfactory one, for the incursions of maladies that

are of an obscure or unknown character. Whether of a miasmatic nature

or not, no one can deny the existence of certain atmospheric

conditions, which appear to produce disastrous effects upon some of

our vegetable productions whether these be inherent to the air itself,

or are only conveyed by it from one place to another. The inexplicable

potato disease may owe its origin and diffusion to such a cause, and

the grape malady, which appears to be dependent upon atmospheric

causes, may at least be carried from one vine to another upon this

medium, in the form of the minute spores or seeds of the fungi that

are believed to be the cause of the trouble.[18]

Poisons in the soil are frequently very deleterious to vegetation, and

we often find extensive injuries to our plants produced by this class

of agents. When these are of a chemical nature, as is usually the

case, they may be satisfactorily treated by applications that will

neutralize their effects. In cities the escape of the illuminating

gas, that is carried in subterranean pipes, has often so poisoned the

soil as to destroy the shade trees by the side of the streets.

An excess of certain saline and alkaline ingredients often produces

barrenness in the soil, by a sort of poisoning, even with those

articles that in smaller quantities are used as manures with the

happiest effects.

3d--The influence exerted upon vegetation by the growth of parasitic

plants, cannot be observed without forcing us to the conclusion that

they are prejudicial to the health of the plants they infest--since

they either cover and smother the foliage by twining upon it, as is

the case with the Dodder; or fasten themselves upon a limb,

appropriating the sap that was intended for its support, and thus

starve it, as does the Mistletoe; or attaching themselves to the bark,

they interfere with its functions, as is done by the lichens and

mosses; or, following the descending scale, in the size of these

parasites, but meeting in them foes of much greater importance, we

find the minute but innumerable fungi attacking the wood, the bark,

the foliage, and the fruits, of our gardens and orchards, and

committing incalculable damage--thus entailing serious disease. A

very important question has arisen, however, as to whether the inroads

of fungi were the cause or the consequence only of disease. A question

which it will be necessary to leave to wiser heads, only observing

that these epiphytes do appear, under certain atmospheric conditions,

to invade some plants that had previously seemed to be in perfect

health. That they are transported upon the air, in the form of very

minute sporules, is unquestioned, and that their growth is dependent

upon certain atmospheric conditions, is equally admitted, but whether

they induce disease, or are only able to take possession of a plant

that is not in a perfectly healthy condition, does not yet appear so

clear. The very eminent Mr. Solly is of the opinion, that in the

potato at least, the existence of parasitic fungi is a secondary

result of previous disease. So it may be with our fruits, and there is

considerable testimony to favor such a belief in many cases, where we

find, with the appearance of these fungi, other causes of

unhealthiness.

The leaves of the apple trees in some seasons become coated with a

black efflorescence, that gives the tree a very sombre appearance, and

seems to affect its health. I am not aware that any one has yet made

any microscopical investigations of this condition of the foliage,

which looks as though it were dusted with coal-smoke. It has been

supposed, however, to be the result of a fungous growth.

PEAR BLIGHT.--This is a subject upon which so much has been said and

written, that any one may well shrink from its discussion. The

condition in which the invasion of the malady finds the tree has been

pretty thoroughly ascertained, and the sad state in which it is left

after the attack, is too well known to need any learned description.

It is well called _the blight_, for nothing short of scorching by fire

can more effectually destroy the life of the tree and blight our hopes

of its usefulness. The varied theories and suggestions that have been

advanced in attempted explanation of this state of things are

altogether unsatisfactory so that it may be said we know nothing about

the disease, nor whether it be occasioned by frozen sap, by fungous

invasion, or by insect attacks, all of which have been set forward as

causes of the difficulty. None of these explanations have been clearly

proved, and they seem rather guesses than established facts in the

history of the disease, which breaks out in the midst of the season of

growth, and attacks those trees that are in the midst of the most

vigorous production of succulent shoots; but it is not confined to the

young wood; on the contrary, it appears first in the hard bark of

limbs, that are two or more years old. This turns brown, becomes

desiccated, and thus the circulation is arrested, and the foliage as

well as the bark is affected. The outer extremities of the leaves

wilt, die, and turn suddenly brown and then black, and often remain

adhering by their petioles for months--sad testimonials of the

destruction caused by the blight. The disease appears to extend in

some instances, but it is not proved that there is any poisonous

matter generated by a blighted limb that could have entered the

circulation, and then have been transmitted to other parts of the

tree. The apparent extension of the disease is rather believed to have

been the successive development of the trouble from different foci,

which had successively invaded so much of the bark as to have more or

less completely arrested the flow of the sap. In some limbs of small

size, a patch of dead tissue of moderate dimensions would entirely

arrest healthy action early in the season, and destroy the portion of

the branch beyond it; in other branches of greater size, quite a large

patch of the dead bark might exist for a long time without entirely

surrounding them, and arresting the circulation, which would thus be

kept up until a later period, when at length this occurred, the

symptoms of blight would appear.

The treatment of this malady is quite unsatisfactory, and gives us no

clue to the cause of the trouble. Various plans have been suggested,

the most satisfactory is the removal of the affected limbs--not that

it cures the disease, but because it takes from us the sad mementos of

our loss. We have been advised to pare away the diseased portion of

old bark with a spoke-shave, or some similar instrument; but it is

apprehended that few persons would ever find this patch of dead bark

until they have the fatal evidence of the blighted foliage, and no

possible good can result from its removal at that time.

This trouble is connected, in many instances, with an excessively

vigorous growth of shoots; indeed, some of those varieties which are

most thrifty, suffer the most, while those which make firm and

moderately short shoots, seldom blight. Hence it has been inferred by

some, that if we can check this excessive vigor, and reduce the wood

growth to a moderate amount, not exceeding ten or twelve inches,

annual extension, we shall be able to prevent the occurrence of

blight. This object is easily attained by root-pruning the trees

severely in the spring of the year. So far, we can only say that trees

so treated, have not blighted; but it does not follow that they would

have suffered if let alone.

Another form of blight may often be seen in the peach and in the

apple; it consists in a loss of vitality of small twigs and their

foliage in several parts of the tree, especially in the inner portions

that are not freely exposed to the air and light. In the peach, this

disease is accompanied with the decay of the fruit upon these twigs,

which rots and becomes moldy. This trouble is usually attributed to

mildew, and it is probably owing to some form of fungus invasion.

Quite a different affection of the twigs is that known as the "blight"

in apples and quinces. This attacks only the young shoots of the

current season's growth, which suddenly wither and become brown at

mid-summer. The same condition occurs also in the shoots of the

Italian mulberry. The cause of this malady is not very apparent; by

some persons it is attributed to the punctures of minute insects, but

they have escaped the scrutiny of other observers, who attribute this

blight to atmospheric causes.

The true apple blight is a malady of very serious character, that

invades many orchards in the Western States. In its nature, and in the

mode of its invasion, it very much resembles the dreaded fire-blight

of the pear, with which most orchardists have unfortunately become

already but too familiar. Like it too, all the guesses which Solons

have offered for the explanation of its cause, appear equally

unsatisfactory.

A whole branch or limb of the tree becomes simultaneously affected;

sometimes one quarter or even one half of the top is destroyed by the

disease, and the removal of the dead portions is not followed by the

reproduction of healthy branches. Certain varieties are more subject

to this blight than others, and they seem to poison the grafts that

are inserted into them, to produce a new top to the tree with a more

healthy variety.

BITTER ROT.--Our excellent and observing friend, H.N. Gillett, of

Lawrence Co., Ohio, furnishes the following description of this

disease to the Ohio Cultivator:

"The disease generally presents itself on the skin of the apple in

very minute brown spots, from one to a dozen or more in number,

generally after the fruit is pretty well grown. These gradually spread

and penetrate the flesh of the apple, producing a black rot, almost as

bitter as aloes, but this taste is confined to the discolored portion.

The fruit ceases growing, and falls prematurely. The rot occasionally

begins at the center, and extends outward, so that the fruit appears

perfectly sound for some time," on which account he advises against

too early gathering of the fruit.

The late Dr. Barker, of McConnellsville, Ohio, who was one of our most

observing pomologists, referring to this disease as peculiar to

certain varieties, concludes in an article in the paper above quoted,

vide Vol. VI., p. 283, that this malady is different from what is

called Bitter Rot in other places, and which affects other varieties

with a discoloration of the flesh and a bitter taste. He thinks this

malady is different from that described by Mr. Gillett, and that it,

the true Bitter Rot, is caused by a fungous growth, the spores of

which are carried on the air from tree to tree, like a similar fungus

producing mold in the cherry, plum, and peach. He also traces a

resemblance of this disease to the vaccination in the human subject,

except that the scab does not separate and fall off. Hence he

suggested the name of _pock_, instead of _Bitter Rot_. High culture,

manure, lime, trimming, and pasturing hogs in the orchard, have all

been recommended as remedies.

CRACKED FRUIT--MILDEW.--Certain fruits become partially covered with

what appears to be a fungous growth, which occupies the skin in such a

manner as to prevent the development of the succulent tissues beneath

it. This may result in a deformity consequent upon the irregular

growth, and the fruit is called scabby, or it may strike deeper into

the tissues, which become dry and corky and crack open, being thus

utterly worthless. Some varieties, which formerly produced the most

beautiful fruits, have been so severely affected by this malady as to

yield absolutely nothing in certain localities, and are only rendered

profitable by top grafting with other sorts that are not affected with

the cracking. That this is not caused by the wearing out of the

variety, as has been suggested, it may be added that the same fruit

ripens perfectly and is quite fair in other regions of the country.

The trouble, however, is extending, and it is hardly safe to plant

largely of those varieties that have proved subject to the malady. No

explanation has been satisfactory as to the cause, nor has any

treatment been successful.

Dr. Kirtland addressed the Ohio Pomological Society upon this subject,

and an abstract of his remarks is here given:--

"The disease known as the blight or the fire-blight, is at this day

proving the most serious obstacle to the successful cultivation of the

pear, in many sections of the country. Early in the present century

it prevailed extensively in New England, coincidently with the spotted

fever, and other disorders of a low grade of action, which at that

period swept epidemically over that region of the country. It was a

popular opinion that all these diseases, both of the human family and

vegetable kingdom, arose from one cause;--an opinion not, however,

tolerated by medical men and men of science in that day.

"Various theories have been advanced to account for the origin of this

blight. Insects, frozen sap, electricity, excessive evaporation, and

exhaustion of the soil, have, at different times, been assigned as the

cause. Investigation of each fails to meet and explain the phenomena

attendant on the rise, progress, and results of that disease. It is

time they all should be abandoned, and that researches for a cause be

extended in some other direction.

"As a starting point in this undertaking, I will suggest another

hypothesis, which may perhaps explain the pathology of the blight, and

call into use an effectual remedy or preventive. _Pathology_, Dr.

Webster defines to be 'the doctrine of the causes and nature of

diseases.'

"1. The Pear-tree blight is produced by the poisonous impression of

the seeds (_sporules_) of a microscopic fungus.

"2. Several combinations of iron, especially the sulphate

(_copperas_), will, to some extent, counteract that impression.

"It will be understood that these two propositions are merely

hypothetical. If sustained by analogies, subsequent observations, and

experience, they will be accepted as truths; if not thus sustained,

they will of course be rejected.

"The extensive prevalence of the cholera, over large portions of the

globe, commencing in the year 1818, led medical men to seek for its

cause. Dr. Cowdell, of London, in 1848, published 'A Disquisition on

Pestilential Cholera, being an attempt to explain its phenomena,

nature, cause, prevention and treatment, by reference to an extrinsic

fungous origin.'

"In 1849, Prof. J.K. Mitchell, of Philadelphia, issued a more

elaborate work, 'On the Cryptogamous Origin of Malarious and Epidemic

Fevers.' It abounds in numerous facts and correct reasoning, and

should be consulted by every investigator of disease, animal and

vegetable.

"These publications attracted the attention of the medical profession,

both in America and Europe, so long as that epidemic continued its

ravages, and the theories they advanced gained extensive credence

during that time. They were, however, lost sight of when that epidemic

subsided. Recently they have been substantiated as plain matters of

fact, so far as malarious diseases are concerned, by the labors and

investigations of Prof. J.H. Salisbury, of Cleveland.

"It is well established, then, that a number of diseases of the animal

system are produced by fungi. 'Under this name botanists comprehend

not only the various races of mushrooms, toadstools, and similar

productions, but a large number of microscopic plants, forming the

appearances called mouldiness, mildew, smut, rust, brand, dry rot,

etc.' They are universally diffused in nature. It is difficult to

conceive of a place where they do not exist. They are among the most

numerous of all plants, in regard to genera and species, and with very

few exceptions are deleterious in their impressions on the animal

system. Even the palatable mushroom is always poisonous to some

persons, and may become so to all under certain circumstances. It is

equally evident that fungi frequently occasion diseases in the

vegetable kingdom. The smut of wheat and maize, the rust of wheat,

ergot of rye and grass-seeds, and specks, cracks, and discoloration of

the skin of the apple and pear are of this nature.

"The microscopical examinations of Prof. Salisbury and others have

detected the presence of certain species, infesting extensively pear

trees about the period of attack by the blight. They have made similar

discoveries that lead to the conclusion that the curl of the peach

leaf, the potato disease, and the blight of pear trees, all have their

origin from the cause assigned in my second proposition.

"Under this head still another disease of our fruit should be noticed.

I have watched carefully the sudden and premature decay of our plum

crop, at the period of its ripening, for the last fifteen years. From

hints afforded by the work of Prof. Mitchell, and several microscopic

observations of my own, I was induced to publish an article in 'The

Florist,' of Philadelphia, in the year 1855, in which I imputed the

origin of the disease to the Torula or some analagous species of

parasitic fungi. The disease still prevails among us, and it is sure

to destroy all the plums which escape puncture by the curculio. It is,

however, generally overlooked by pomologists, and its effects are

charged to the depredations of that insect. Similar disease

occasionally impairs our peach and apple crops, to a less extent.

Whenever it occurs on either of these varieties of fruit, the spurs

and young wood blight or canker, and cease to be fruitful for several

years.

"If these discoveries and analogies establish, with any degree of

certainty, the hypothesis of the cryptogamous origin of the pear tree

blight, we have made important progress in laying down true

indications for its cure or prevention. Among the means suggested for

effecting that end, certain combinations of iron have already been

named. The authority for such practice is founded on the following

facts:

"1. It is a popular belief that iron exerts a favorable influence over

the health of fruit trees. Hence arises the practice of driving nails

into the body of such trees, and loading their limbs with scraps of

iron. Both the belief and the practice may be visionary, yet in such

instances of popular belief, investigation usually discovers them to

be founded on some shadow of truth.

"2. An intelligent and observing gentleman of Cleveland informs me

that he prevents the curl of the peach leaf by depositing in the

earth, about the bodies of the trees, fragments of rusty stove pipe

and worthless pieces of iron.

"3. Twenty-four years since I called the attention of the public to

the isolated fact, without reference to any theory, that a large pear

tree in Columbiana county, Ohio, with its body surrounded with many

wagon loads of boulders, scoria, scales of iron and accumulations from

a blacksmith shop, retained its health, vigor, and fruitfulness, while

all other pear trees in that region of country had either died, or

were suffering from blight. _Vide_ New England Farmer, December 3,

1840, page 153. At this late day this tree still continues healthy.

"4. I recollect reading in that reliable journal, Hovey's Magazine of

Horticulture, some years since, a statement that the finest prize

pears seen in the Parisian market, were produced by investing the

growing fruits with folds of cotton or linen cloth, and daily, or

oftener, moistening them with a solution of sulphate of iron. This

treatment was said to result in developing the size, beauty, and

quality of the fruits to a high degree, and especially to free them

from parasitic blotches.

"5. Four years since, Mrs. Weller Dean, of Rockport, Ohio, informed me

that blight might not only be prevented in healthy pear trees, but

might be successfully arrested, in many trees, after it had made

considerable progress, by means of repeatedly washing the bodies of

the trees with a saturated solution of sulphate of iron (copperas), at

a time when the sap is in active circulation.

"This was a confidential communication, with the condition annexed

that I should thoroughly test the plan, and if it should prove

successful, I was to publish it; and furthermore, if any merit or more

substantial reward should be deemed due to any one by the public, she

was to be the recipient.

"This plan has yet been only imperfectly tried. Age and infirmities

will probably prevent its completion by me. I will therefore report

that I have tested it on a number of my partially blighted pear trees,

while a greater numbers has been left to die unmedicated. Of the

former, not one has yet perished, while of the latter very few

survive. It has appeared, in every instance, to arrest the progress of

the disease, and to impart a healthy condition to the bark wherever

applied. The apparent results may have been coincidences and not the

effect of the remedy. There is much false experience in horticulture

and agriculture, as well as in medicine.

"These views suggest the expediency of extensively applying a solution

of the sulphate of iron by means of a green-house syringe or garden

engine to the tops and foliage of trees, laboring under any of the

diseases suspected of a cryptogamous origin. It also becomes a query

whether the same agent may not be successfully employed at some period

to counteract the potato disease, either by watering with it the

growing plant, or washing the tubers in it in autumn, after they are

dug. No injury has ever arisen to pear trees by a free use of a

_saturated_ solution of copperas.

"In conclusion, I would observe that the discovery of the cryptogamous

origin of the many disorders of the human system is effecting

important changes in their treatment. May we not hope that an

extension of these discoveries to the vegetable kingdom, may result as

favorably in shaping the practice in diseases of fruits and fruit

trees?"

4th--Wounds, and the attacks of insects, may be considered more in the

light of mechanical injuries by a loss of substance, hence they belong

rather to the department of surgery, and can scarcely be considered as

disease. The breaking of a branch, or the removal of a portion of the

bark, may inflict a serious injury, but it is one which, under

ordinary circumstances, will be recovered from, without any impairment

of the health of the tree--unless where the wound is so large that the

new growth will not soon cover it over, in which case exposure to the

moisture of the atmosphere may result in decay of the woody tissues,

or, if the sap exudes, at certain seasons, it may produce canker and

fungous growths. In some varieties of our cultivated fruits, wounds of

this character are often attended by an effusion of gummy matter; this

is particularly the case with those that are known as stone-fruits,

and in these the excision of a large limb is seldom followed by a

deposit of woody matter in the way of healing over the wound, which is

always desirable; hence in such cases particularly, it is well to

cover the exposed surface with something to exclude atmospheric

moisture, whether this be paint, varnish, of shellac, or common

grafting wax.

Insects, by eating the foliage extensively, very materially injure the

healthy condition of a tree--even the minute aphides that suck the sap

from the leaves and tender bark, will seriously impair the health of

our plants; but the borers that mine under the bark, extensively

consuming the vital cambium, and even burrow into the solid wood,

reducing it to a honeycomb, cannot fail to affect the healthy

condition of the tree materially, and often cause its premature death.

Some knowledge of the habits of these little creatures is considered

of so great importance, that the subject will be brought before the

reader's notice more at length in another part of this volume.

There is no doubt, however, that many unhealthy conditions of our

trees, that might be traced to other causes, but which are not

manifestly dependent upon a want of care on the part of the

orchardist, nor upon a deficiency in the constitution of the soil, are

often attributable to the inroads of these minute foes, which, in some

cases at least, are made the scape-goats upon which is laid the blame

that should be applied to our own neglect, or want of forethought and

care.

* * * * *

After having reviewed the whole subject, it may be safe for us to

conclude that what is called disease in our cultivated vegetables of

whatever kind, is a departure from full health and productiveness of

sound fruits. And further that this may arise from a lack of the

necessary ingredients in the soil, from a want of proper conditions as

to its quality and constitution, particularly with regard to the

important elements of moisture, heat, and light; and especially, that

this condition of unhealthiness and unproductiveness, when not an

inherent failing of the variety, may in many instances be attributable

to want of proper care on our part, and to our allowing the trees to

injure themselves by overbearing, while we neglect to keep up the

proper supply of nourishment.

* * * * *

In making selections of trees for planting, it is important that all

weak or unhealthy varieties should be avoided. Secure healthy and

vigorous stocks, that appear to be possessed of a sound constitution,

even though the fruit should not be quite so fine and beautiful as

that produced by some of the sickly and less vigorous varieties. There

is more difference apparent, in this respect, among pears than among

apples; but of the latter there are varieties that should be avoided

on account of their deficient vigor. There are others that might be

considered as coming under the ban, because the trees are not

long-lived; and yet some of these appear to be perfectly healthy in

every other respect, and seem literally to wear themselves out by

excessive bearing, producing annual crops of large and handsome

fruit, until, utterly exhausted, they reach a premature end.

Some varieties, that for many years yielded very fine crops of the

most beautiful fruit, and of the highest character for flavor, have

afterward ceased to furnish any perfect specimens--the whole crop

being covered and deformed with the black scab or fungus, that

prevents their development, or else ruined by the disagreeable

bitter-rot which entirely spoils them for any use. Various remedies

have been suggested for these maladies, all of which are more or less

unsatisfactory, because from our ignorance of the causes of the

troubles; these applications are wholly empirical.

The Black-knot, which has become very common in some parts of the

country, is well discussed by Benjamin D. Walsh, in the Practical

Entomologist, for March, 1866, page 48.

This essay is the more valuable because of the absence of the

empiricism just complained of:--

"It is a black, puffy, irregular swelling on the twigs and smaller

limbs of plum and cherry trees, and, in one instance that came under

my personal observation of peach trees, making its first appearance in

the latitude of New York early in June, and attaining its full growth

by the end of July. Usually a tree, that is attacked in this manner,

is affected worse and worse every year, until it is finally killed;

and wherever one tree of a group is affected, the malady usually

spreads to them all in process of time. In 1865 whole cherry orchards

were destroyed in Western New York by this disease, and I have myself

seen many groups of wild plum trees in Illinois that were gradually

perishing by it; but in Southern Ohio, as I am told, the Black-knot is

never met with. In the Eastern States it has been observed from time

immemorial, and various contradictory opinions have been broached as

to its real nature and origin.

"In 1865 I watched the Black-knot carefully through all its stages,

from its earliest commencement to its complete maturity, experimenting

at the same time on numerous specimens collected week after week, so

as to ascertain what insects bred in it. The practical conclusion I

have arrived at, is simply this:--_If the diseased twigs are all cut

off and destroyed early in July in the latitude of New York, or a

little earlier or later according to the latitude, taking care to cut

a few inches below the affected part, the Black-knot can be checked

and probably entirely eradicated; but if this operation is delayed

till August, it will be of no benefit whatever._ Hence we can easily

account for a circumstance which has puzzled many men wonderfully,

viz.: That cutting off and burning the diseased twigs is pronounced by

some to be a sovereign remedy, and by others to be a delusive humbug.

Those that do this early enough, find it effectual; those that delay

it till too late, find it of no use.

"This perhaps will be sufficient for some few impatient souls, who

take everything upon trust that they see in print, and care nothing

about the _rationale_ of a mode of treatment, so long as it be

practically available. But for the benefit of that large class of

intelligent agriculturists, who have been deluded by too many quack

prescriptions to place much faith in any man's _ipse dixit_, and who

in any case like to understand the principle of a remedy before they

apply it, I subjoin a full account of all that is at present known on

this subject, and of the different theories respecting it entertained

by different writers.

"Three radically different theories have been broached as to the

nature and origin of Black-knot: 1st, that it is a mere disease of the

tree, like the cancer or the gout in the human race, which is the view

maintained by Dr. Fitch, the State Entomologist of New York; 2d, that

it is what naturalists term a "gall," produced by some unknown insect

depositing its eggs in the twig--just as the well-known "oak-apples"

are produced by a Gall-fly, (_Cynips_), depositing its egg in the bud

of the oak--which is the opinion that I myself formerly held and

maintained, before I had fully examined into the subject;

(_Proceedings Ent. Soc., Phil._, III, p.p. 613-618;) and 3d, that it

is what botanists term an epiphytous fungus, growing on the tree as a

mushroom or toad-stool grows on the ground, which is the opinion of

the botanist Schweinitz, and which has recently been re-asserted by

Mr. Glover, the Entomologist of the Bureau of Agriculture at

Washington, (_Ag'l Rep._, 1863, p. 572.) This last is the opinion

which, upon full inquiry, I have now adopted.

"Before discussing these theories, the facts arrived at by myself in

the summer of 1865, must first be briefly noticed. It should be

premised that the old, dry Black-knot remains on the tree for many

years, and that the place to look for the new Black-knot is on such

trees as have been already attacked and are loaded with old

Black-knot, without being as yet completely killed by it.

"1st. By the middle of June the new Black-knot is pretty well

developed, and may then be readily distinguished from the old by its

dull, opaque, brown-black color, while the old is coal-black and more

or less glossy. When cut into, it is found to be fleshy inside, like

an apple, but not juicy, and of a pale greenish-yellow color, with

fibres radiating from the axis of the twig, while the old Black-knot

is internally hard and woody, and of a reddish-brown or rust-red

color. The brown-black color of the external surface is retained till

the last week in July, when the surface of the new Black-knot becomes

gradually covered all over with little, coal-black, hemispherical

plates, appearing when viewed through a pocket glass, about the size

of the head of a pin, each of these is a distinct fungus, named long

ago by Schweinitz '_Sphæria morbosa_.' Even on the old Black-knot this

fungus may be readily seen, at any time of the year, covering its

entire surface. So far I have added little to the information already

published on this subject, except by the specification of dates. But

in addition to these facts, I discovered that about the last of July

or the first week in August, there grows from each fungus on the

surface of the Black-knot a little cylindrical filament about

one-eighth of an inch long, which no doubt bears the seed or "spores,"

as they are technically termed, of the fungus, and that these

filaments very shortly afterwards fall off and disappear, leaving

behind them the hemispherical plates, which alone had been hitherto

noticed by the botanists. In another Epiphytous fungus, which grows

commonly and abundantly in Illinois on the Red Cedar, but which

differs from the Black-knot in being attached to the twig by a very

short stalk or peduncle, and in being roundish and externally of a

reddish-brown color instead of elongate and black, there is a

precisely similar phenomenon; except that the plates and filaments are

very much larger, and that each filament, when it falls off, leaves a

ragged scar behind it. In a single specimen of Black-knot noticed

August 6th, I discovered that the filaments not only covered the

entire surface of the Black-knot itself, except where a few of them

had already fallen off, but that they were thinly studded over the

twig for an inch or two above and below the swollen black part; thus

proving that the fungus sometimes extends rather further than on a

cursory view it would appear to do. Towards the middle of August, the

new Black-knot, having perfected its seed, gradually dries up and

becomes internally of a reddish-brown color. In other words, like so

many other annual plants, it dies shortly after it has perfected its

seed, just as a stalk of wheat or of corn dies shortly after the grain

is ripe.

"2d. During the months of June and July I collected from time to time

very numerous specimens of Black-knot, some of which I cut into to see

what larvæ they contained, and some I preserved to see what perfect

insects could be bred from them. Besides seven specimens of the common

"Curculio," which many persons had previously bred from Black-knot, I

bred for the first time therefrom no less than five distinct species

of insects, none of which can be considered as gall-makers, but not a

single true gall-maker; and I can confirm Dr. Fitch's assertion, that

some specimens are wholly free from larvæ of any kind when cut into.

"We will now take up in order the three different theories respecting

the nature and origin of Black-knot, which, as already stated, have

been maintained by different writers.

"1st. _That Black-knot is a mere disease like the cancer._--Dr. Fitch,

who maintains this opinion, allows that the black granules found on

the Black-knot are a true fungus, 'that the surface of these

excrescences, when mature, is always covered with this plant,' and

that 'this plant never grows, or at least has never been found, in any

other situation.' (_Address N.Y. State Ag'l Soc._, 1860, p. 21.) * * *

"2d. _That Black-knot is a gall._--As already stated, there is no true

gall-making insect that inhabits the Black-knot, so far as I can

discover on the fullest and most extensive investigation that I have

been able to give to the subject. The minute holes commonly found in

the old dry Black-knot, which are too large either for the 'Curculio'

or for the small moths bred by myself from Black-knot, are of a

suitable size for either of the two dipterous' insects which I have

enumerated in a note as bred by myself from Black-knot. Consequently

the argument which I based upon the existence of these minute holes

(_Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil._ III, p. 614) falls to the ground; and

although I found on one occasion the larva of a Gall-gnat embedded in

a cell in a Black-knot, yet this was most probably that of the Guest

Gall-gnat which I actually bred from Black-knot, as stated in the

note, and not of a true gall-making Gall-gnat.

"3d. _That Black knot is a fungus._--Just as Dr. Fitch, having proved

to his own satisfaction that Black-knot is neither a gall nor a

fungus, infers by the method of exhaustion that it must be a disease;

so, having proved that it is neither a disease nor a gall, we may

infer by the method of exhaustion that it must be a fungus, or rather

an assemblage of funguses. In confirmation of this theory may be

adduced the very remarkable analogies between the structure of the

Black-knot and that of the fungus, described above as occurring on Red

Cedar. That this last is really and truly a fungus and not a gall, is

shown by the fact, that it is scarcely ever inhabited by insects; for

out of hundreds of specimens that I have cut into, both green and dry,

not more than two or three contained the larvæ of the moths, but one

contained what was probably the larva of an Ichneumon-fly, and all the

rest were perfectly solid and unbored. On the other hand, Black-knot

is so infested by insects, that it is almost impossible to find a

mature specimen that is not all bored up by them. The cause of this

remarkable difference may be attributed to the well-known repugnance

of almost all kinds of insects for Red Cedar.

"If, then, Black-knot is a fungus, and if, as I think I have shown, it

is an annual plant propagating itself by seed or the so-called

'spores,' and the 'spores' make their appearance about the end of July

in latitude 41° 30', then it must be obvious that if all the

Black-knot on a particular tree is cut off and destroyed in the

fore-part of July, or a little earlier or later as you go further

south or further north, an effectual stop will be put to its further

propagation. It is true that the 'spores' are in the form of an

impalpable powder, so that they may be carried some considerable

distance from other infected trees by the wind; and it may possibly be

further true, that certain 'spores' may lie dormant in the bark for

over a year, as the seeds of weeds will often lie dormant in the

ground. Still, with all these possible drawbacks, I have little doubt

that the above remedy will, as a general rule, if applied according to

directions, be found effectual."

The foregoing is interesting as giving the conclusions of an

entomologist who had investigated the subject, and arrived at the same

result that had been reached by a botanist many years before.

Schweinitz, in 1832, published the correct history of the Black-knot

in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. In the

_American Agriculturist_, April, 1863, p. 113, Mr. C.F. Austin

confirmed Schweinitz's observations, and gave a popular account of the

botany of this fungus, with figures. It may be considered as fully

established that the knot is of vegetable origin; and whenever insects

or larvæ are found in it, it is only because they find a diseased

portion of the tree suited to their necessities.

ROT AND MILDEW upon the grape both destroy our crops, and render the

vines unhealthy. Would that I were able to give the reader some

encouragement as to its cause and prevention, or cure; but some of our

oldest and most experienced vine-planters have come to the conclusion,

as to treatment, that "the more they find out, the more they don't

know." It is now generally conceded that it is caused by a fungus

growth. That on the leaves is probably the _Oidium Tuckeri_, and it is

generally supposed that the mildew and rot of the berries is owing to

the same cause. The microscope clearly indicates its fungoid

character. As to the causes, it must be admitted that the weather

favors or prevents its access, and that so far it is a proximate

cause, but that the spores are the true origin of the trouble. The

Cincinnati Horticultural Society, whose members have long had

opportunities of studying this malady, have come to the following

conclusions, which, it will be seen, are not very satisfactory.

_To the Cincinnati Horticultural Society_:--We have been

appointed by you to discharge a certain function. Having

examined the premises and considered the subject, we do now

report: That, notwithstanding the discouragements attendant upon

the experience of most vine-dressers during the past season, we

are determined to persevere in viticulture, for the following

among other reasons:

We have our capital invested in a way which _has been_

profitable, and we believe _will be_ so again.

Our lands are occupied with a growth that has required time and

labor to produce, and which we are unwilling to sacrifice.

We do not believe that the diseases to which the vines and fruit

have been subjected, are dependent upon long pruning or short

pruning, upon deep culture or shallow, nor any of the causes to

which it has been attributed, that are under the immediate

control of man, but that the cause is CLIMATIC.

We do not believe that the rot and mildew can be warded off by

leaving the wood upon the vines, nor that the usual vineyard

method called short pruning, will render our vineyards more

subject to this disease.

We do believe, however, that we have yet much to learn in regard

to the _philosophy of pruning_ which it were well for us to

study, and that by so doing we may gather some useful hints in

relation to this very important part of a vine-grower's duties.

We do believe, as a result of our observations, that some

varieties of grapes are more healthy and vigorous than others;

and, on the other hand, that some are peculiarly subject to the

inroads of these maladies which have so terribly affected the

fruit, the foliage, and the green wood of our vines. We do

firmly believe, that our societies should avoid recommending the

extensive planting of any trees or vines that have not proved

themselves general healthy, and free from the maladies in

question, for a number of years, after trial in different

situations.

We do believe that systematic efforts should be made with

different remedial and preventive agents, to avert the disasters

that have overtaken our vine-crops of late years, and, with this

view, as we have reason to believe that the difficulty depends

upon the existence of some epiphytic plant, and as we are

informed that sulphur and sulphate of iron exert an obnoxious

influence upon the whole class of fungi, we recommend our

brother vine-dressers to take courage, and to make vigorous and

systematic efforts to ward off the difficulty the coming season,

by the regular and persevering applications of these substances

to their grape vines.

For your encouragement, we will also refer you to the history of

the vineyards of Europe, which have suffered in like manner, and

which have at length recuperated their energies and become

productive. Why may not the same good fortune await us?

Very respectfully submitted, by

R. BUCHANAN, Chairman.

FOOTNOTES:

[16] Trans. Horticultural Society, London, Vol. II, p. 308; and Am.

Journal of Science and Arts, March, 1840.

[17] Trans. Cincinnati Horticultural Society, 1865.

[18] Cincinnati Hort. Soc. Report.

CHAPTER VI.

THE SITE FOR AN ORCHARD.

A MATTER OF IMPORTANCE, NOT OF MERE CONVENIENCE. LOW VALLEYS

LEAST DESIRABLE. BASINS, EVEN IF ELEVATED, SUBJECT TO FROSTS.

LOCAL DIFFERENCES OF TEMPERATURE, OFTEN FATAL TO TENDER

VEGETATION. THE FROST LINE NOT DEPENDENT UPON MERE ELEVATION,

BUT UPON RELATIVE ALTITUDE. MODERATE BLUFFS BESIDE VALLEYS, OR

RIDGES IN A PRAIRIE, ARE BETTER THAN HIGH VALLEYS AMONG

MOUNTAINS. DRIFT FORMATIONS, PRESENT INEQUALITIES OF SURFACE.

FAVORABLE INFLUENCE OF THE WATER OF RIVERS AND LAKES UPON THE

CLIMATE. INSULAR POSITIONS AND LACUSTRINE SITUATIONS HAVE A

PECULIAR CLIMATE. FOGS. LATENT HEAT BECOMING SENSIBLE.

METEOROLOGY WILL FURNISH AID TO THE ORCHARDIST. COLD STORMS.

_Aspect_. PROTECTION FROM WINDS, ESPECIALLY A PRAIRIE QUESTION.

EFFECTS OF AGITATION IN THE ATMOSPHERE. BELTS AND SCREENS OF

TIMBER DESIRABLE. WINTER KILLING OFTEN DEPENDENT UPON THE

CONDITIONS OF THE TREE. VARIETIES MOST SUBJECT TO THIS. LISTS.

SOILS, PERMEABLE AND TENACIOUS. ADAPTATION OF SORTS TO SOILS.

GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS TO BE OBSERVED IN MAKING SELECTIONS.

SITE.--The selection of a suitable site for an orchard is a matter of

no small moment to him who would be a successful grower of fine

fruits. Without, at this time, pausing to inquire into the characters

of the soil, let us examine more particularly the _aspect_ of the

field to be appropriated to this important crop; for the orchard is a

permanent investment, and so much depends upon the site, that we

should make some sacrifice of our convenience, rather than commit any

error in this particular. In the first place, then, let it be

understood that the orchard should be well exposed to the sun and air.

The least desirable positions for orchard planting are narrow valleys,

particularly limestone valleys in a mountainous country, traversed by

a small brook, or where the surface is _spouty_ from springs or

subjacent water. Even if such depressions are considerably elevated,

but surrounded by higher and abrupt elevations, they will be found

obnoxious to late and early frosts in spring and fall, especially the

former, which are often disastrous in such situations, after the

fruit-buds have expanded in these sheltered nooks. Every one at all

conversant with meteorological observations made in a broken country,

is aware of the different range of temperature that will be indicated

by instruments suspended at different elevations.[19] When the cooling

influence of radiation has lowered the temperature of the surface of

the earth and of objects near it, the stratum of air in immediate

contact will be chilled, and growing heavier, will flow down into the

most depressed situations, and, accumulating there, will cause a

difference of several degrees of temperature. This, when near the

freezing point, will be of the greatest consequence to tender

vegetation, which may be preserved in perfect safety at forty degrees,

but will be destroyed at thirty degrees, or even at a higher point, in

some cases.

The _frost line_ becomes a very important subject of inquiry in the

selection of an orchard site, and in some countries we find that its

position may be definitely settled within a limited range of

elevation; not that a certain level can be indicated, above which

there will always be an immunity from frost, while all below will

suffer, but we may approximate, in certain situations, so nearly as to

indicate that certain sites are safe or unsafe.

Nor is it the absolute elevation alone that is to be taken into the

account; in any given locality, we may assume that the higher the

orchard is situated above the water levels, the safer it will be, and

that the lowest depressions are the most unsafe or frosty. It is not

always the mere elevation, but rather the relative elevation of the

site, that renders it more desirable than another in the same region.

There are many orchards that are situated upon a moderate bluff, with

a rapid descent of only a few feet or yards, into a swale or valley of

moderate extent; these we find to be uninjured, when another at a

greater elevation, but in a depressed basin surrounded by higher

lands, will be found to have suffered from the influence of frost. In

the one case, the cold air could flow off rapidly into the adjoining

depression, while in the other, the cold air from adjoining slopes

would collect, and accumulate in the situations described.

In the great plateaus of the world, we often find immense tracts of

land so nearly of the same level as scarcely to afford sufficient

drainage for the surplus water; of course, we should expect to find,

in such places, little variation of temperature arising from

difference in elevation. But even in such situations, whether we

examine the table-lands of our timbered regions, or the extended

areas of the prairie country, we shall find that the drift formation

which covers these vast tracts, has not been distributed evenly, but

that there are successive rolls or swells frequently recurring, which

give, in some instances, considerable variations of level. A bold

ridge, of fifty feet or more in hight, rises abruptly from the level

prairie, stretching along for miles, and affording admirable exposures

for orchard sites. Such places are observed to be free from late and

early frosts. In other places, there is an abrupt depression of the

surface, answering the same purpose--drawing off the cold air. These

may be very moderate in their extent, as the prairie sloughs, or they

may be small vales, the courses of the minor streams, or of larger

extent, the valleys of rivers, or the depressions of lakes. In these

latter cases, the modifying influences of considerable bodies of water

enter into the frost problem as an element of no mean value.

It may be asked: How do these masses of water affect the frost?

Science answers: By their evaporated moisture influencing the

atmosphere. This may save us from the blighting influence of frost, by

enveloping the frozen vegetation in a wet blanket of fog; enabling it

to be thawed in the dark, as it were, by which we avoid the influence

of a bright sunshine, that would have destroyed the tissues had they

been suddenly exposed to it when frozen. An equally important result

is derived from the direct influence of the humidity of the

atmosphere, which modifies the temperature remarkably, as in the

immediate vicinity of large bodies of water. Insular situations

especially, even when low, are known to have a more genial climate in

consequence of this condition of the atmosphere, which depends upon

the large amount of caloric that is present in the latent form, in the

vapor, and which becomes sensible heat as fast as the moisture is

condensed; as well as by the sensible caloric, the absolute warmth of

the water, affecting the temperature of the atmosphere.