The Orchard.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 994, 20 March 1891, Page 21

The Orchard.

APPLE CULTIVATION. / (written for the mail.) The extensive exhibition of flower 3 and fruit whioh the Wellington public had the opportunity of inspecting on the sth aad 6th of this month in the rink, which, large as it is, was at times somewhat inconveniently crowded, is worthy of more than passing nofche. However the management are to be congratulated on their choice of a suitable building, the only one in the city at present convenient for the display of the vast and ever increasing number of exhibits, and also the accomodation of an admiring public. The idea of encouraging school ohildren to exhibit boquets, and outflowers, is decidedly a atep’in the right direction, and was very much appreciated, having a' beneficial effect in a variety of ways. What interested me most, however, was the fruit, and here again ‘A happy thought ’ evidently struck the energetic secretary (Mr H. Piloher) when he invited Mr J. Blomquist, that practical and enterprising cultivator of the apple at Carterton, to enter the field as an exhibitor. The way in which he responded was a treat for cultivators, or intending cultivators of the apple. No less than seventy varieties of apples were staged by Mr Blomquist, nothing Bhort of an eyeopener for many who are so frequently enquiring how bast to make the land pay ? Whilst here is a man cultivating three acres of land single-handed aud producing fruit fit to graoe an exhibition table at some of the best shows in England. Such a oolleotion offers a much needed opportunity for intending planters to take notes and jeleot the most suitable sorts for whatever use they may require them, i.e. dessert or culinary use, and early mid-season or late keeping varieties. If there is one mistake greater than another, and unfortunately the one I now refer to is far too common, it is that of planting inferior sorts whioh require as mnoh space and attention aa the very best kinds, next comes the error of planting too many varieties. This latter remark applies more particularly to growers for market, who if

they plant large quantities of a very few sorts will soon find success assured, on the principle say, of fifty acres, in not more than ten sorts, if less than ten so much the better. • For the information of those who failed to take notes at the above named exhibition I will enumerate a few sorts without which no collection can be considered complete. Mr Gladstone, very early, showy, and pro'ific dessert; Duchess of Oldenberg, early, handsome, heavy bearer, dessert or culinary ; Beauty of Emu, early large, handsome fruit, dessert or culinary ; King of the Pippins, autumn and early winter, free and constant bearer, excellent quality, dessert or culinary ; Loddiogtou Seedling, or Stone apple, a first class winter cooking variety ; Peasgood’s Nonsuch, autumn, enormous siz<% very handsome, good quality, most desirable for exhibition purp ses, dessert or culinary; Cox’s Orange Pippin, par excellence, as a dessert variety for autumn, or early winter use ; Lord Wolselev, grand culinary winter apple ; The Schoolmaster, (Saxon) a very good keeping kitchen apple; Ribstone Pippin, too well-known to require description although I might safely say that it succeeds better in the Wellington district than it generally does in England. Dumelow’s Seedling, or Wellington, a longkeeping culinary variety of tho very highest quality ; Lane’s Prince Albert, a new culinary apple, unsurpassed for quality or productiveness, twelve fiuifc exhibited by Mr Blomquist turned the scale at eleven pounds. Another sort which, when it becomes known is certain to be most extensively sought after, is Herefordshire Beefing. It will keep as long as any apple I am acquainted with, a healthy, vigorous grower, and a moßt prodigious [and constant bearer, very handsome crimson coloured fruit, good dessert, and excellent for culinary purposes. A remarkable characteristic of this sort is that when bruised it is not liable to rot, as is generally the case with other varieties.

CLEANSING TREESCleansing old and neglected fruit tree 3 is a necessary operation in their regeneration. Not the stems alone, but the branchlets and fruiting spurs may be thickly covered with mers and lichens. Tho incrustations should be scraped from accessible parts, and then lime-washed, aud where the scraping cannot be done, as in the most important .parts —among and around the fruiting spurs, these should be thickly dusted with freshly slaked lime on a stillday, when every tree is dripping with wet, such as after a mist or fog. It is easily and quickly done. Send a man with a scuttle of lime on his arm up a ladder that reaches well above the tree. Let him da3h the lime about in all directions, under and above the branches, sparing it not, yet letting every handful tell, and if he does his work well, the trees, when dry, will be as white as if covered with hoar frost, and the moss will vanish, leaving the wood perfectly clean. Nor should the lime that falls on the ground be considered as wasted. It will do great good. There can bo no really healthy trees • without lime in the soil, and there is seldom any in that of old orchards, except on the limestone formation, and often not enough there in the npper layer of soil, for it has either been washed down by the rains or extracted by the trees during their long occupation of the ground. The application of lime in the manner advised is unquestionably highly beneficial to moss-laden fruit trees. Insects when present must be extirpated. One of the worst of these is the woolly aphis or American blight, which often crowds into every crevice, punctures the bark, and does incalculable injury. It may be destroyed by a solution made by 2 ozs or 3 oza of soft-soap and a walnut-sized lump of soda in a gallon of boiling water, and, while hot, stirring in half a gill of petroleum, such as is burned in lamps. It should be brushed well into insect-filled crevices, stirring the mixture as the work proceeds, and some may be syringed with advantage all over the trees. Fruit trees syringed every winter with this mixture are usually kept free from moss and insects on the stems, though some may attack the leaves in summer. Bure petroleum has been advised for fruit trees, and though in some cases it may" not have done harm, in others it has proved fatal to the trees. It is wasteful and foolish to resort to dangerously strong remedies, when weaker and quite safe applications are effectual.