Category: Horticulture

In no essential respect does the treatment of the blackberry differ from that of the raspberry. The plant is a more rampant grower and should have more room. It also needs more careful pruning and pinching to secure best results. Six to 8 feet is the usual distance at which rows are made and 2 […]

Humus in the soil has seldom been taken at its full worth. The mission which it fulfills is second in importance only to that which is fulfilled by the presence of plant food in the soil. Humus is helpful in keeping soil in proper physical balance, in binding soils that are much prone to blow, […]

Many old apple orchards have declined in bearing because they have not been properly managed. Usually such trees are full of dead wood, water sprouts and interfering limbs which later bear fruit in small amount and of poor quality. Too often such trees are cut down as unprofitable without first giving them an opportunity to […]

As to packages for apples, W. A. Irvine of Greene county, Missouri, writes: I used both barrels and boxes last year with satisfaction from both for their special use, but would have used proportionately more boxes than barrels if I could have gotten them. I used both the sawed, smooth on one side, and the […]

Walter Snyder, a Maryland apple dealer, writes concerning the marketing of apples, that “the apple should be hand picked. When I say hand picked, I do not mean to take a fence rail or a club and knock the fruit down on the ground and pick up by hand, as is the custom prevailing in […]

The culture of dwarf apples commercially has not been undertaken to any large extent in our country. For many years, however, dwarfs have been grown in private gardens on country estates where a few choice apples of high quality were desired. Interest has been awakened in trees of a low form, which may be more […]

This fruit is managed in practically the same way as the peach. It is far less appreciated on the farm than it should be, mainly because it is frequently planted in places exposed to the sun, which hastens blooming. Often, in such situations, the blossoms are nipped by early frost and no fruit results. It […]

In recent years the high prices for which cherries have sold have put this very desirable fruit in the list of luxuries. According to George T. Powell of Columbia county, New York, “this applies particularly to sweet cherries. It has been difficult to get orchards of sweet cherries started and established. There are two kinds […]

Nectarines are smooth-skinned peaches, and often come from peach pits or as bud sports on peach trees. Usually they are inferior to peaches, but several varieties are cultivated more for curiosity than anything else. (See Peach for methods of management.)

In California the almond and the English walnut are grown commercially, and in the South the pecan has been planted in extensive groves within the last 15 or 20 years. In many of the states the chestnut has been growing in favor for commercial purposes, and, in a few cases, hardy English walnuts have proved […]