The Family Kitchen Gardener (1856)/Fruits

by Robert Buist

Layout 2

FRUITS.

 

 

This subject has engrossed the attention of scientific and practical men for the last four hundred years. We do not presume to enter into their speculations and investigations; our object is a much humbler one—to give a few simple and practical hints on the subject of fruit culture, culled from our own experience, and that of one or two individuals upon whose judgment we can place reliance. There are few, even of those who have studied the nature and character of fruits, that, out of their own collection, know, at first sight, many varieties; and such is the diversity of taste, that we greatly question if five individuals out of one hundred could be procured that would agree as to the best six Apples, Pears, Peaches or Grapes. This incongruity entirely disconcerts the inquiring amateur, gardener, or farmer; but the reason of it is evident. The slight differences that distinguish some varieties; the alterative effects that soil has upon the growth and flavor of others; as well as the favorable and unfavorable results from situation, causing trees grafted from the same stock frequently to mature fruits so entirely dissimilar that they are inconsiderately noticed as being something new. This desire for new fruit has become such a mania, that it greatly encourages the introduction, both at home and from abroad, of sorts that are worthless, compared with our old well-tried kinds. These are also witheringly discarded by some croakers, who raise the physiological cry of “the old kinds wearing out.” This reasoning is not from analogy, but is merely a supposition. It would be a very easy task to renew any worn-out tree, that had only a few fresh and sound buds left; or even to renovate trees that are in a declining state; in the former case by budding or grafting upon young stocks that have been grown from the seed; in the latter, by scraping off the old bark from the trunk and branches, and renewing the soil about the roots. Our object, however, is not to enter into a detail of the causes, effects, and diseases of trees, and their remedies. These subjects are elaborately treated of in the periodicals of the day. Our object is to lay before our readers a really select catalogue of select fruits, that will be eatable the whole year, from which more pleasure will be derived than by cultivating acres containing trees not two alike, at least in name. We say differing only in name, for the cultivator will find that some fruits are grown under from three to thirty names, so that after selecting with care one hundred kinds of fruit, there may prove to be not fifty distinct, and one-half of these not worth culture. The fruit catalogues of the present day are very imposing bundles of paper and ink, got up to allay the appetite for new fruits. Those whose sole object is to grow for domestic use or for sale, should select such as agree with the climate of the locality, and are known to be both good and productive. Such are those we now introduce, premising that we are under obligations to Mr. Thos. Hancock, an eminent orchardist and nurseryman of Burlington, N. J., both for descriptions of fruits and their characteristic beauties or defects. They are all propagated either by grafting or budding; and as it is our desire that all our readers should know how to propagate, and by what means to perpetuate every variety of fruit, we will briefly detail the operations.

Grafting.—Whip or tongue grafting (Fig. 18) is the mode most in use in the best fruit-tree nurseries, and is so called from the manner of cutting both the stock and scion in a sloping direction, on one of their sides, so that when brought together they fit exactly, and thus may be tied together. In former times this species of grafting was performed without a slit or tongue, and in that case the former term was more applicable. Subsequently the slit or tongue has been added, which has given rise to the latter term. “The scion (or shoot, a) and stock (or tree, b) being cut off obliquely, at corresponding angles as near as the operator can judge, make a slit nearly in the centre of the sloping face of the stock downwards, and a corresponding tongue in the scion upwards—this is called tongueing; the tongue, or wedge-like process, forming the upper part of the sloping face of the scion, is then inserted downwards in the cleft of the stock, the inner barks of both being brought closely to unite on one side, so as not to be displaced by tying, which ought to be done immediately with strong cotton twist, tape, or any thready material, brought in a neat manner several times round the stalk. The next operation is to clay the whole over, an inch thick on every side, from about half an inch below the bottom of the graft to as much over the top of the stock, finishing the whole in a long, oval form, and closing it effectually in every part to exclude air and water, which is the sole object of claying. Grafting Clay is very simply made of any heavy loam procured from a depth of the soil that has not been subject to culture, combined with a fourth of droppings from the horse or cow stable, moistened and well beat together with a stick, till perfectly incorporated and tough, allowed to stand for a few days, and then softened for use. These materials are always at command; there are several kinds of grafting wax, but they are not so easily prepared, and of no more utility than the elay. Grafting can be performed close to the ground, and earth drawn up round the junction, which will be as serviceable as clay.

Cleft Grafting (Fig. 19) is another method of operating upon large trees, or stocks, where the bark or rind is not too thick. The head of the stock, or branch, being cut off smoothly, a slit is made in the top of the stock with a strong knife or chisel, deep enough to receive the scion, which should be cut sloping, like a wedge, so as to fit the slit made in the stock. The wedge side, which is to be placed outward, is to be made thicker than the other; and in placing the scion into the slit, it must be so adjusted that the rind or inner bark of the scion joins that of the stock; for if these do not unite, the grafts will not succeed. When the stocks are large, two grafts may be put in, (as represented in the figure,) which tie firmly and clay over, as directed for Whip Grafting. As there will be a greater body of clay, in this case, it will be more liable to fall off; it will therefore be necessary to wrap moss, soft hay, or pieces of cloth round the balls, to prevent the rain destroying them. There are many other methods of grafting, all on the same principle differently applied. Some of our amateur correspondents, particularly John A. Crawford, Esq., of Columbia, S. C., takes large limbs two or three inches in diameter, and five to ten feet long, and grafts them into other stocks. These limbs produce fruit the same season. Root grafting is also practised to a considerable extent. Trees and stocks for grafting upon should always be fully established before being operated upon, having had at least one season's growth. Farmers may graft in every field and hedge-row, and by every fence-rail. Fruit trees require no more room than the cumberers of the ground in the shape of saplings, briars, and thorns. Fruits make an ample return, while the latter requires food for which they do not pay. There is no garden or farm but should have a few reserve Plum, Pear, Apple, Peach, Cherry and Quince stocks, on which they can place any sort of fruit they wish to preserve and multiply. These can be readily procured by sowing a few seeds, or planting a few pits, every year. Stone fruit, such as the Cherry, Peach and Plum, do best by budding. Apples and Pears do well by both grafting and budding. Budding is performed as follows:

Budding.—The operation may be performed with any sharp, thin-bladed knife, though one called a “budding-knife,” with a thin ivory handle, is best for the purpose. It should be inserted about half an inch above the bud, and passing about one-fourth of the way through the wood of the shoot, come out again about the same distance below it, the cut being as clean as possible. The portion of the bark in the centre of which the bud is situated is called the shield; and when removed, it contains a portion of the wood, which is to be carefully removed with the point of the knife, as shown in Fig. 20; if the wood is dry, and does not separate readily, it is a sign the bud is too old, and it should be rejected.

When the wood is too old or too young, the shield may be taken off only about one-eighth of the way through the shoot, and inserted into the stock without removing the portion of the wood it contains: this method, particularly with very young shoots, is very successful. If it is necessary to transport the buds to some distance, this may be safely done by cutting a portion of the shoot, and, after cutting off the foliage, wrap them up in damp moss, a few large leaves, or wet paper, when they may be kept for three or four days. In applying the bud to the stock, an incision is to be made lengthwise through the bark (but not so as to injure the wood), about an inch in length; and this is to be diagonally crossed at the top by another incision, as shown in Fig. 21. The thin ivory handle, or back of the knife, should then be used to raise the bark, as shown in Fig. 22, and the shield inserted within, gently pressing it to the bottom of the perpendicular incision. When it is properly placed, the portion of it above the diagonal cross should be cut off, as in Fig. 23, and great care should be taken that the bud is in close contact with the wood of the stock. When this is done, bind it up with damp matting, or cotton twist, all except the bud, (see Fig. 24,) which must be left free to the air, but protected from the powerful action of the sun or wet, either of which would defeat the whole operation. In two weeks the suction.

In two weeks the success or failure will be known, when the bandages must be loosened, though not entirely taken away. From July to the middle of September budding may be done, choosing always cloudy weather, or a few days after a heavy rain; but, for limited operations, any evening may be chosen, always following the indication of the free parting of the wood from the bark; for if the bark does not rise with facility, the buds are liable to perish for want of a due supply of nourishment. The buds should always be selected from vigorous young wood, that has nearly done growing. Cut off the leaves, allowing about half an inch of the footstalk to remain for the convenience of inserting the buds. Early in the ensuing Spring, the stocks on which those buds are that have taken, should be headed down to within two inches of the bud, which will then grow rapidly, and must be tied in an upright form to the portion of the stock left above the eye for that purpose. When it has made a good growth, and during the month of July or August, the stock should be cut off close to the shoot by a sloping back cut, when it will soon be covered with the growth of the wood. Those stocks that have not taken, should be grafted as soon in the Spring as that operation can be performed.

Preparation of Scions.—These are usually selected from the young wood of the previous season's growth, as well as those of one or even two years; though the former is to be preferred, and should be taken from the outside branches that have been fully exposed to the sun and air. They should be cut from the parent tree, any time from January to the period of growth. When they are collected, label each sort correctly, and place them in the ground, covered to within an inch of their tops, till the season of grafting arrives, which is just before the buds open to growth. Cut the scions into lengths of from three to five eyes; and where there is an abundance, use the middle portion of the shoot only.

Planting.—This season extends from the first of November till the swelling of the buds in Spring. Autumnal planting is to be preferred in light, dry soils; and Spring planting in retentive and heavy soils. Any time during the Winter season will do, when neither frost nor snow prevents the operation; but do not at any time expose the roots of trees in frosty, dry, windy weather; and in lifting trees, always retain as many of the fibres as practicable, and cut off neatly all that are bruised; with these precautions, trees from five to fifteen years old may be safely removed. We have seen entire orchards totally ruined at first by careless planting. In some, the trees lying to one side just as chance or the wind made them; in others, the trees hard-looking and bark-bound by deep planting. The former is sheer neglect in securing the tree to a stake; the latter, misapplied care. Writers on the subject say, “Dig a pit eighteen inches or two feet deep, and fill it up with rich compost; plant the tree therein one or two inches deeper than it was in the nursery row.” This looks very well, but when applied it proves a grave to thousands. In the first place, the hole is much too deep: the soil, being all loose and fresh, decomposes, and falls down a few inches, taking the tree with it, so that in two years (just when the tree should put forth luxuriantly) it falls into the pit prepared for it, never to recover. Dig the pit or hole fully one foot deep, and three or four feet wide; break and prepare the soil well, in which place on its top your tree, over which lay a load of well prepared soil, sufficient to cover the roots entirely. Place a strong support to the tree, to prevent the wind disturbing the roots. The soil will settle, but not so as to take the roots of the tree into a tub of clay; they will always be on the surface, where nature intended them. As the tree will now rely on the new, vigorous fibres, which will be produced in its new station, if the soil be fine, moist, and warmed by the sun’s influence, no fears need be entertained but that they will come forth to carry on the growth of the plant. Many trees have to be procured from a distance, perhaps thousands of miles. If nursery trees, they are generally packed in bundles,—packed is perhaps too business-like an expression,—they are tied like a bundle of fuel for the kitchen. Trees that have to be sent a great distance should be packed in boxes. The purchaser had better pay twice the cost of such, to have it done, as they are frequently as dry as rods when they come to hand. In such a case, have the trees soaked in water a few hours, and cover them up in wet straw or hay for twelve hours more; then puddle their roots in earth made to the consistency of thin mush. Plant them out in their proper places, and give the stems and branches a syringing with water every day till they have begun to grow, and occasionally afterwards. If you have not got a syringe, use a bowl, a basin, or any other utensil that will distribute the water.