Rensselaer Union and Jasper Republican, Volume 8, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1876 — Shall the Ground Be Cultivated Near Apple Trees? [ARTICLE]

Shall the Ground Be Cultivated Near Apple Trees?

I Wuenkvek a beginner seeks for informatian in relation to cultivating the ground around about apple trees, he finds about as much published against the practice as in its favor. The Country Gentleman (Albany) recently published Uie following interesting and successful experiment in the cultivation of orchards, made within the past two years by Richard E. Carpenter, of Dutchess County, New York. The experiments were made on an orchard over thirty years old, containing 400 trees, thirty-two feet apart. It came into his possession early in 1873. In March of that year the work was commenced ou.it by pruning out all dead and useless branches and suckers, the trees having been sadly neglected liefore. When the tops were thick above they were thinned out, so as to admit light and leave room for the shoots to grow. In April nearly one-half of the ground (or 190 trees) was manured, at the rate of one two-horse wagon load of stable manure to four trees. This manure was then plowed in to a depth of three and a half or four inches, care being taken to break as few roots as practicable. The ground was planted with corn, of which a good crop was obtained—better than the crops of many of the neighbors. From the whole orchard 160 barrels of hand-selected apples were picked in autumn, of which two-thirds were from the cultivated portion. In the spring of 1875 the cultivated part of the orchard was again manured from the barn-yard, plowed, sowed with oats and seeded to clover and grass. As soon as the leaves made their appearance a marked difference in color could be perceived from those not cultivated as far as the rows could be distinguished. The leaves were of a rich dark green color, and the foliage was dense. On the uncultivated portion the leaves were pale. The oats yielded a fair crop. In the autumn 320 barrels of hand-picked apples were taken from the orchard, which were sold to one purchaser at the orchard for $2.75 per barrel, or for a total of SBBO. Nearly all came from the cultivated portion and the fruit was fine. The neighbors at first strongly disapproved of the plowing, and, as usual, showed their interest by predicting disaster. One went so far as to say that were the orchard his, he should cut it down in order to clear the field and obtain something from it. Last spring the remainder of the orchard (110 trees) was plowed and treated like the first cultivated part, with a view of sowing oats the coming spring and seeding to clover—plowing again often enough to keep the ground in good condition. The trees are now lull of blossom buds and promise a good crop. Last spring the trunks and large branches were scraped freely to remove rough, loose bark and moss, an old hoe being used lor that purpose, and they were then washed with soft soap. This treatment gave the stems a healthy appearance, which is regarded as important.— N. Y. Herald.

A Vermont court gave a wholesome little lecture, the other day, to a woman who applied for a divorce on the ground that her husband was a drunkard, and abused her. The Court asked her if she knew that he was a drinking man when she married him, and she admitted that she did. The Judge said that w’hen a woman marries such a man, with her eyes open, she ought to stand by the risk she has taken, and\ a divorce should not be granted. In apparatus tor transmitting power, a square chain is now being extensively used. It consists of square iron links, each having a curved catch or holder on one of the sides. This slides upon the round bars of the next link, and presents a firm and even bearing. The advantages of this linked belt or chain are claimed to be, ease of lengthening or shortening without the aid of tools: a rigid, inelastic bearing.; silence when at work, and resistance to the influence of the weather.