How to Grow Good Apples

Feilding Star, Volume X, Issue 132, 14 May 1889, Page 3

How to Grow Good Apples

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR

Sih, — The question has been put to me on a great many occasions, how do you keep your apple trees so free from blight and insects ? Being a great lover of the apple I have always made their culture a special study, and having been well tutored in my young days by a very experienced man, I will not use any Latin or Greek names so that every person can understand me. Now, I shall tell you that there is no cure for the white or American blight. You may keep it down, but it still remains in the system of the tree, •and will break out again in the next season. The real cure is to destroy the tree. Now, sir, you may think I am contradicting myself when I tell you there is one cure I am aware of, which is — do not grow a tree that is a blight producer, and you will not be troubled with the American or white blight. There are four or five sorts of non-blighters. I have them in my orchard and one is ten years old, and I have never seen a sign on it, and although I put blighted trees beside it it would not take it. You must procure the proper sort of non-blighters. The apple tree has many enemies, the brown scale and the black scale are quite as bad as the white blight, the codlin moth, and other insect pests. Now, 1 will give you my experience on the matter of insect cure. Dig around your trees in the winter season, leave them open for some time and then throw in a little new lime, also some strong manure. In the mean time syringe them with strong blue stone or vitriol, the corurnon vitriol which the farmer uses to cure the smut in wheat. Then, just before the bud begins to swell, ■wash them over with the best of new lime, in the middle of Au U3t. If you continue this system for two seasons, you ■will find your trees in good bearing condition. Every alternate year afterwards will do. The eodlin moth is not troublesome in this district, the soil is too cold for him. I have noticed he thrives best where the potato 9 does the same, he is a great friend of the potatoe as well as the Apple. — I am, &c, G.T.H.L.