SECRETARY'S REPORT. 23 



his trees, said he " put a good shovelful of manure under each." That, if it 

 was properly prepared and applied, was better than none, but unless the 

 ground was already rich and mellow, a cartload of well rotted manure or 

 compost, thoroughly incorporated with the soil for some distance around each 

 tree, would have been better. It is, however, more economical, and much 

 better every way, to prepare the ground beforehand, by cultivating and ma- 

 nuring liberally for a year or two previous to setting. Then procure good 

 healthy trees — taken up carefully and without injuring the roots unnecessa- 

 rily — and in re-setting, take nature as a guide, place their roots in a natural 

 position, do all judiciously, and with regard to such hints as nature frequently 

 gives, and the result can hardly fail of being satisfactory. On the other hand, 

 use poor, unhealthy and ill treated trees, with their roots, if they have any, 

 dried by exposure, then as a sort of apology for setting them out, crowd them 

 into " post-holes," made in poor unprepared soil, leave them to the mercy of 

 browsing cattle and tribes of devouring insects, and the conclusion will prob- 

 ably be, that •' raising fruit is a humbug." 



Many choice apples do not mature in Maine as perfectly as they do in more 

 southern latitudes, and probably some do not grow as large and fair along the 

 seaboard — exposed to sea breezes — as in the interior, while others do quite as 

 well, and several, especially of early ripening sorts, do much better. And 

 there are, undoubtedly, many valuable sorts, natives of this State, known only 

 in particular localities, with local or family names, which should be brought 

 into more general notice. And many that are valuable elsewhere, but have 

 not been tested here, would, very likely, prove equal and perhaps superior to 

 any we have, and if some means could be adopted for having them tested, and 

 Buch as are really valuable made more generally known and more extens'ively 

 cultivated, it would in a few years greatly improve the quality, and add to 

 the intrinsic value of the apple crop. 



The best among those fairly tested in Lincoln county, are, for early fruit, 

 Ked Astrachan, Bell's Early, Sweet Bough. For fall, Gravenstien. Porter, 

 Sweet Greening. For late fall and early winter, Jewett's Red or Nodhead, 

 Mother, Hubbardston Nonsuch. For winter and spring, Baldwin, Rhode 

 Island Greening, Minister, Roxbury Russet. Others promise well. 



In making a selection, a very important consideration is in regard to their 

 bearing properties. Let the quality of the fruit be what it may, if the tree 

 is a poor bearer, it cannot be of much value. Ribstone Pippin here, is of that 

 character. 



Re-setting the trees is another important part of the procedure. A very 

 common error, and one that should by all means be avoided, is placing them 

 too deep in the ground. Nature is the safest guide, and the tree itself will 

 show how deep to place it. The earth, in excavating, should not be thrown 

 all around the hole, but a spot left clear on two opposite sides, to show when 

 the tree is placed so that it will be at a proper depth when the work is fin- 

 ished Unless the soil is naturally dry and porous, it is better to keep the 

 tree raised a little, and form a mound around it. Many trees die, apparently 

 witiiout a cause, when, doubtless, the true one is, they were set too deep. It 

 Beems that the main or tap-root, and the lateral or side roots differ much in 

 character, and in their respective offices. The former strikes deep into the 

 ground, and performs its office where the latter would die. A case clearly 

 illustrating this, as it seems to me, occurred here a few years ago. The tree 

 was set quite deep in moist, rich soil, and tall grass allowed to grow around 

 it. It gr(3w well for a while, but after a wet season looked sickly. On re- 

 moving some of the earth in order to ascertain the cause, the surface roots 

 were found dead and rotting, the life of the tree being sustained by the tap- 

 root alone. P.irtof the earth that covered the roots was immediately removed, 

 a light mulching applied, and the grass kept down. The tree soon be.^an to 

 show signs of recovering, put out new roots, and is now healthy and valuable. 

 This is by no means a solitary case. It would seem to prove also, what 



