FRUIT TREES.

Western Star, Issue 346, 24 April 1880, Page 3 (Supplement)

FRUIT TREES.

■W. A. London, in Rural Messenger, says “ I fine that .lime," wood ashes, and old iron, put around the roots of declining, fruit treesj ‘have a very beneficial effect. These’fertilisers restore the trees to a healthy condition, and alSo greatly iniprpve the fruit in quality and quantity. I . made the application. on' a wine sap and; never] failed, about half a bushel of mixed lime. and. ashes to each, and dug it in with a hoe some '6ft : around thetrunk,andputthe old iron immediately, arouud the base of each. The trees put forth with " renewed vigor, bloomed abuhdantly, and yielded ''a good crop of fruit. ..An, excellent wash: for trees may be made thus: —Heat an ounce of salsdda to redness in aii iron pot, and.dissolve it in one gallon of water, ; and while warm apply it to| the trunk. After one application-the. moss -and old bark will drop off, and the trunk will be quite smooth. This wash has highly recuperative properties, making the old trees bear anew, I have 1 tried'soft soap as a wash with . good results, and also' a coating, of lime in the spring season, which is a fine specific for old trees. The question is often asked is it best to manure trees in the fall or spring?., I have found the summer season to be a. good time : have , much faith in mulching, especially young trees, for Beyeral seasons after they are planted. Apple ; trees are said to have two growths during the season—the secondary growth takes places after midsummer, hence it is that a top dressing of good manure, and also coarse-litter, facilitates the late growth, and Very; often produces ' very marked results in the habit and formation of the trees. The good effect that mulching has to voung trees is, that it wards off the rintense heat of 1 the sun from,the tender roots, 1 and also has a tendency to hold ihoisture. A good top dressing of stable manure in the fall around young trees, with a good many corn cobs-cast over the surface of the soil, gives satisfactory results.