ON THE CULTIVATION OF FRUIT.
By a little attention to this matter, a lady, with the help of her
children, can obtain a rich abundance of all kinds of fruit. The writer
has resided in families, where little boys, of eight, ten, and twelve
years old, amused themselves, under the direction of their mother, in
planting walnuts, chestnuts, and hazelnuts, for future time; as well as
in planting and inoculating young fruit-trees, of all descriptions. A
mother, who will take pains to inspire a love for such pursuits, in her
children, and who will aid and superintend them, will save them from
many temptations; and, at a trifling expense, secure to them and herself
a rich reward, in the choicest fruits. The information given in this
work, on this subject, may be relied on, as sanctioned by the most
experienced nursery-men.
The soil, for a nursery, should be rich, well dug, dressed with
well-decayed manure, free from weeds, and protected from cold winds.
Fruit seeds should be planted in the Autumn, an inch and a half or two
inches deep, in ridges four or five feet apart, pressing the earth
firmly over the seeds. While growing, they should be thinned out,
leaving the best ones a foot and a half apart. The soil should be kept
loose, soft, and free from weeds. They should be inoculated or
ingrafted, when of the size of a pipe stem; and in a year after this,
may be transplanted to their permanent stand. Peach trees sometimes bear
in two years from budding, and in four years from planting, if well
kept.
In a year after transplanting, take pains to train the head aright.
Straight, upright branches, produce _gourmands_, or twigs bearing only
leaves. The side branches, which are angular or curved, yield the most
fruit. For this reason, the limbs should be trained in curves, and
perpendicular twigs should be cut off, if there be need of pruning. The
last of June is the time for this. Grass should never be allowed to grow
within four feet of a large tree, and the soil should be kept loose, to
admit air to the roots. Trees in orchards should be twenty-five feet
apart. The soil _under_ the top soil, has much to do with the health of
trees. If it be what is called _hard-pan_, the trees will deteriorate.
Trees need to be manured, and to have the soil kept open and free from
weeds.
_Filberts_ can be raised in any part of this Country. _Figs_ can be
raised in the Middle States. For this purpose, in the Autumn, loosen the
roots, on one side, and bend the tree down to the earth, on the other;
then cover it with a mound of straw, earth, and boards; and early in the
Spring raise it up, and cover the roots. _Currants_ grow well in any but
a wet soil. They are propagated by cuttings. The old wood should be
thinned in the Fall, and manure be put on. They can be trained into
small trees. _Gooseberries_ are propagated by layers and cuttings. They
are best, when kept from suckers and trained like trees. One third of
the old wood should be removed every Autumn. _Raspberries_ do best, when
shaded during a part of the day. They are propagated by layers, slips,
and suckers. There is one kind, which bears monthly. _Strawberries_
require a light soil and vegetable manure. They should be transplanted
in April or September, and be set eight inches apart, in rows nine
inches asunder, and in beds which are two feet wide, with narrow alleys
between them. A part of these plants are _non-bearers_. These have large
flowers, with showy stamens and high black anthers. The _bearers_ have
short stamens, a great number of pistils, and the flowers are every way
less showy. In blossom-time, pull out all the non-bearers. Some think it
best to leave one non-bearer to every twelve bearers; but others pull
them all out. Many beds never produce any fruit, because all the plants
in them are non-bearers. Weeds should be kept from the vines. When the
vines are matted with young plants, the best way is to dig over the
beds, in cross lines, so as to leave some of the plants standing in
little squares, while the rest are turned under the soil. This should be
done over a second time in the same year.
_Grapes._ To raise this fruit, manure the soil, and keep it soft, and
free from weeds. A gravelly or sandy soil, and a south exposure, are
best. Transplant the vines in the early Spring, or, better, in the Fall.
Prune them, the first year, so as to have only two main branches, taking
off all other shoots, as fast as they come. In November, cut off all of
these two branches, except four eyes. The second year, in the Spring,
loosen the earth around the roots, and allow only two branches to grow,
and every month, take off all side shoots. When they are very strong,
preserve only a part, and cut off the rest in the Fall. In November, cut
off all the two main stems, except eight eyes. After the second year no
more pruning is needed, except to reduce the side shoots, for the
purpose of increasing the fruit. All the pruning of grapes, (except
nipping side shoots,) must be done when the sap is not running, or they
will bleed to death. Train them on poles, or lattices, to expose them to
the air and sun. Cover tender vines in the Autumn. Grapes are propagated
by cuttings, layers, and seeds. For cuttings, select, in the Autumn,
well-ripened wood, of the former year, and take five joints for each.
Bury them, till April; then soak them, for some hours, and set them out,
_aslant_, so that all the eyes but one shall be covered.
_To Preserve Fruit._
Raspberries and Strawberries can be preserved, in perfect flavor, in the
following manner. Take a pound of nice sifted sugar for each pound of
fruit. Put them in alternate layers, of fruit and sugar, till the jar is
entirely full, then cork it, and seal it air tight.
Currants and Gooseberries may be perfectly preserved thus. Gather them,
when dry, selecting only the solid ones. Take off the stalks, and put
them in dry junk-bottles. Set them, _uncorked_, in a kettle of water,
and slowly raise it to boiling heat, in order to drive the air out of
the bottles. Then take out the bottles, cork them, and seal them air
tight. Keep them in a dry place, where they will not freeze. The success
of this method depends on excluding air and water.
Apples, Grapes, and such like fruit can be preserved, by packing them,
when dry and solid, in dry sand or sawdust, putting alternate layers of
fruit and sawdust or sand. Some sawdust gives a bad flavor to the fruit.
_Modes of Preserving Fruit Trees._
Heaps of ashes, or tanner's bark, around peach trees, prevent the attack
of the worm. The _yellows_, is a disease of peach trees, which is spread
by the pollen of the blossom. When a tree begins to turn yellow, take it
away, with all its roots, before it blossoms again, or it will infect
other trees. Planting tansy around the roots of fruit trees, is a sure
protection against worms, as it prevents the moth from depositing her
egg. Equal quantities of salt and saltpetre, put around the trunk of a
peach tree, half a pound to a tree, improves the size and flavor of the
fruit. Apply this about the first of April, and if any trees have worms
already in them, put on half the quantity, in addition, in June. To
young trees, just set out, apply one ounce, in April, and another in
June, close to the stem. Sandy soil is best for peaches.
Apple trees are preserved from insects, by a wash of strong ley to the
body and limbs, which, if old, should be first scraped. Caterpillars
should be removed, by cutting down their nests in a damp day. Boring a
hole, in a tree infested with worms, and filling it with sulphur, will
often drive them off immediately.
The _fire-blight_, or _brûlure_, in pear trees, can be stopped, by
cutting off all the blighted branches. It is supposed, by some, to be
owing to an excess of sap, which is remedied by diminishing the roots.
The _curculio_, which destroys plums, and other stone fruit, can be
checked only by gathering up all the fruit that falls, (which contains
their eggs,) and destroying it. The _canker-worm_ can be checked, by
applying a bandage around the body of the tree, and every evening
smearing it with fresh tar.