The Fruit Garden.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 95, 14 August 1908, Page 4

The Fruit Garden.

Complaints arc sometimes received of fruit tree- growing very luxuriantly but not bearing any fruit. Appk-s and rears are more apt to d-..> tins tlr.n are the stone fn.it. '.I lure is a great difference in the time it Lakes some varieties to fruit. The Northern Spy apple, fur instan.ee, seldom bears a full crop until 'it is seven or eight years of age, while numerous other kinds will yie'd go-.ci crops in a little more than hah' the time. Eariy fruitfulness is in many cases controlled by the natur: of the stock the tree has been worked upon. The paradise stock for the apple and the quince for the pear, cause the trees to fruit early and also to moderate their growth, But at the same time, there are varieties specially adapted for working on these dwarfing stocks.^ Exuberance of growth is more often noticed in young trees than in old ones, the cause being excessive fertility of the soil. When a tree fails to fruit at the usual time, but produces plenty of strong wood, growth may be checked and fruiting spurs formed by pruning the roots, and this should be done early in the winter. Sometimes, if the tree is of a manageable size, it may be lifted altogether, its roots pruned, and replanted. But simply pruning the roots without lifting is usually sufficient. The method is this : —Open a trench, say, 3ft. away from the stem of the tree—the correct distance depends on the size—and about 2ft. deep ; with a fork take away a little of the soil, and then with a sharp knife cut back the main roots. The work requires some judgment. The roots must not be bruised ; sometimes only one-half is done one year, and the remainder the following year. When the pruning is completed the trench must be filled in again and the soil well rammed. A tree suffering from canker, or otherwise unhealthy, the cause being defective drainage of the roots having come in contact with some unwholesome strata of soil, : may be lifted, if only of moderate size, properly rootpruned, any bad soil removed and replaced with good loam, and then replanted. If a canker be present the diseased parts should be removed with a chisel or sharp knife, and the wounds dressed with Stockholm tar. Push on with the planting of all kinds of deciduous fruit trees, but select dull, quiet days for the work. The soil generally is in excellent condition for the work.