Agriculture for Beginners: Revised Edition — John Shaqi
Agriculture for Beginners: Revised EditionBurkett, Charles William
Science
Agriculture for Beginners: Revised Edition
Burkett, Charles William
Agriculture
Sometimes a tree will go too much to wood and too little to fruit. This
often happens in rich soil and may be remedied by another kind of
pruning known as _root-pruning_. This consists in cutting off a few of
the roots in order to limit the food supply of the plant. You ought to
learn more about root-pruning, however, before you attempt it.
[Illustration: FIG. 80.
Refuses to Heal--Heals promptly]
How is a peach tree made? First, the blossom appears. Then pollination
and fertilization occur. The fruit ripens. The pit, or seed, is saved.
In the spring of the next year the seed is planted. The young tree,
known as the stock, comes up quickly. In August of that year a bud of
the variety which is wanted is inserted in the little stock, near the
ground. One year later, in the spring, the stock is cut off just above
the bud. The bud throws out a shoot, which grows to a height of about
six feet, and in the fall this little peach tree is sold as a
one-year-old tree. However, as is seen, the root is two years old.
[Illustration: FIG. 81. READY TO BEAR]
How is an apple tree made? The seeds are saved in the fall of one year
and planted the following year. The seedlings of the apple do not grow
so rapidly as those of the peach. At the end of the year they are taken
up and sorted, and in the following spring they are planted. In July or
August they are budded. In the spring of the next year the stock is cut
off above the bud, and the bud-shoot grows three or four feet. One year
later the shoot branches and the top begins to form; and in the fall of
the following year the tree may be sold as a two-year-old, although most
persons prefer to buy it a year later as a three-year-old. In some parts
of the country, particularly in the West, the little seedling is grafted
in the second winter, in a grafting room, and the young grafts are set
in the nursery row in the spring to complete their growth.
The planting in the orchard of the young peach and the young apple tree
is done in practically the same way. After the hole for the tree has
been dug and after proper soil has been provided, the roots should be
spread and the soil carefully packed around them.
=EXERCISE=
Do you know any trees in your neighborhood that bear both wild and
budded or grafted fruit? What are the chief varieties of apples
grown in your neighborhood? grapes? currants? plums? cherries?
figs? What is a good apple tree worth? Is there any land near by
that could support a tree and is not now doing so? Examine several
orchards and see whether the trees have the proper shape. Do you
see any evidence of poor pruning? Do you find any heels? Can you
see any place where heels have resulted in rotten or hollow trees?
How could you have prevented this? Has the removal of branches ever
resulted in serious decay? How is this to be prevented?
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