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Page 9
He who makes his choice from these selections will not meet with
much disappointment. I am aware, however, that the enjoyment of
fruit depends much upon the taste of the individual; and who has a
better right to gratify his taste than the man who buys, sets out,
and cares for the trees? Some familiar kind not in favor with the
fruit critics, an old variety that has become a dear memory of
boyhood, may be the best one of all for him--perhaps for the
reason that it recalls the loved faces that gathered about the
wide, quaint fireplace of his childhood's home.
It is also a well-recognized fact that certain varieties of fruit
appear to be peculiarly adapted to certain localities. Because a
man has made a good selection on general principles, he need not
be restricted to this choice. He will soon find his trees growing
lustily and making large branching heads. Each branch can be made
to produce a different kind of apple or pear, and the kindred
varieties of cherries will succeed on the same tree. For instance,
one may be visiting a neighbor who gives him some fruit that is
unusually delicious, or that manifest great adaptation to the
locality. As a rule the neighbor will gladly give scions which,
grafted upon the trees of the Home Acre, will soon begin to yield
the coveted variety. This opportunity to grow different kinds of
fruit on one tree imparts a new and delightful interest to the
orchard. The proprietor can always be on the lookout for something
new and fine, and the few moments required in grafting or budding
make it his. The operation is so simple and easy that he can learn
to perform it himself, and there are always plenty of adepts in
the rural vicinage to give him his initial lesson. While he will
keep the standard kinds for his main supply, he can gratify his
taste and eye with some pretty innovations. I know of an apple-
tree which bears over a hundred varieties. A branch, for instance,
is producing Yellow Bell-flowers. At a certain point in its growth
where it has the diameter of a man's thumb it may be grafted with
the Red Baldwin. When the scion has grown for two or three years,
its leading shoots can be grafted with the Roxbury Russet, and
eventually the terminal bough of this growth with the Early
Harvest. Thus may be presented the interesting spectacle of one
limb of a tree yielding four very distinct kinds of apples.
In the limited area of an acre there is usually not very much
range in soil and locality. The owner must make the best of what
he has bought, and remedy unfavorable conditions, if they exist,
by skill. It should be remembered that peaty, cold, damp, spongy
soils are unfit for fruit-trees of any kind. We can scarcely
imagine, however, that one would buy land for a home containing
much soil of this nature. A sandy loam, with a subsoil that dries
out so quickly that it can be worked after a heavy rain, is the
best for nearly all the fruit-trees, especially for cherries and
peaches. Therefore in selecting the ground, be sure it is well
drained.
If the acre has been enriched and plowed twice deeply, as I have
already suggested, little more is necessary in planting than to
excavate a hole large enough to receive the roots spread out in
their natural positions. Should no such thorough and general
preparation have been made, or if the ground is hard, poor, and
stony, the owner will find it to his advantage to dig a good-sized
hole three or four feet across and two deep, filling in and around
the tree with fine rich surface soil. If he can obtain some
thoroughly decomposed compost or manure, for instance, as the
scrapings of a barnyard, or rich black soil from an old pasture,
to mix with the earth beneath and around the roots, the good
effects will be seen speedily; but in no instance should raw
manure from the stable, or anything that must decay before
becoming plant food, be brought in contact with the roots. Again I
repeat my caution against planting too deeply--one of the
commonest and most fatal errors. Let the tree be set about as
deeply as it stood before removal. If the tree be planted early in
spring, as it should be, there will be moisture enough in the
soil; but when planting is delayed until the ground has become
rather dry and warm, a pail of water poured about its roots when
the hole has been nearly filled will be beneficial. Now that the
tree is planted, any kind of coarse manure spread to the depth of
two or three inches on the surface as a mulch is very useful.
Stake at once to protect against the winds. Do not make the common
mistake of planting too closely. Observe the area shaded by fully
grown trees, and you will learn the folly of crowding. Moreover,
dense shade about the house is not desirable. There should be
space for plenty of air and sunshine. The fruit from one well-
developed tree will often more than supply a family; for ten or
fifteen barrels of apples is not an unusual yield. The standard
apples should be thirty feet apart. Pears, the dwarfer-growing
cherries, plums, etc., can be grown in the intervening spaces. In
ordering from the nurseries insist on straight, shapely, and young
trees, say three years from the bud. Many trees that are sent out
are small enough, but they are old and stunted. Also require that
there should be an abundance of fibrous and unmutilated roots.
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