301 PVRUS MALUS. 



With ro?:ird to tlio aspect host acliptcd to orrhartls. tlio surface, in frciioral, 

 shoulil h' more or less uiuhihitiiiix, ;i"(l at tlio niuiu'. time, sheUeretl iVom tiie 

 extremes ol" heat and e)ld ; ami it has often been remarked, that abrupt acchvi- 

 lics, which are too steep for lillaiije by the jilough, or for the pasturage of heavy 

 cattU", have been more ci'rlaiu in the production of fruit. N'ery open, or very 

 elevated, exposed situations, as well as the l)ottoms of (U'ep-smdi valleys, are 

 alike nnfavouralile to tiie jH'rfection of orchards. The former, from the low tem- 

 perature antl tilt! violence of ilic winds, and the latter, from the liability to cold 

 foizs and late vernal frosts, at the time the trees are in blossom. oft(Mi. in one fatal 

 niuht, iMterly destroy the hnsbandnian's hopes. A severe frost m early antnnm, 

 in a siui^le night, may prove equally fatal to the tender llower-buds, in the latter 

 situation, or, if not fatal, sulliciently injurious to impair their vitality, and render 

 them unfit to withstand the cold of the ensuinii winter: and, should they escape 

 and put torlli the following spring, the fruit wdl be knotty, blotched, and unfair, 

 in planting an orchard, thererore, in Britain, or in the northern parts of Ang'o- 

 America, the site should not be chosen 

 



" In lowly vale, fast bv a river side,' 



nor, on the contrary, at an elevation too much exposed, but on moderately shel- 

 tered southern slop'^s, and where choice will further permit, inclining rather to 

 the east than to the west. Planting the rows in a northerly and southerly direc- 

 tion, is thought to he advantageous, in order tliat the trees may derive the great- 

 est benefit from the sun. But in the middle and western sections of the United 

 States, more especially if the locality be in the region of large bodies of water, a 

 northern exposure has proved to be decidedly more certain in producing fruit, 

 than slopes inclining towards the south. 



PropatrcUioji and Management. The Pyrus malus, and all its varieties, may 

 be propagated from seeds, by grafting, or inoculation, and by cuttings and lay- 

 ers. It is a prevailing opinion in England, that the hardiest and best stocks are 

 those which are raised from the seeds of the wild crab, (P. m. acerba,) and Mr. 

 Ivnight recommends that the pips should be taken from the fruit before it is 

 pressed. The mode practised in the Goldworth nursery, where fruit-tree stocks 

 are raised on a more extensive scale than anywhere else in Britain, is to gather 

 the crabs when they are fully ripe, and to lay them either in a lieap to rot, or to 

 pass them between two fluted rollers, and then to press out the juice, which is 

 thus converted into an inferior kind of cider, and afterwards to separate the seeds 

 from the pomace by maceration in water, and sifting. It is the opinion of many 

 persons, both in Europe and in America, that it is of little consequence whether 

 Uiey are particular in the selection of seeds for sowing, from the fact that the fruit 

 of trees raised from pips of the same apple differ both from the parent tree and 

 from each other. But let it be considered that, when these variations take place, 

 they may not always tend to deteriorate the fruit, but may often result in an 

 exchange of one good quality for another, or may perhaps even exhibit improve- 

 ments in the qualities. For instance, we may, at least, expect to obtain early 

 fruit from the seeds of that which is early, and from those of late fruit the 

 reverse; and by parity of reason, from sweet or sour, from juicy or dry fruit, we 

 may also expect to obtain seedlings that will, in a considerable degree, corres- 

 pond to their origin a result, which it may often be an object for the cultivator to 

 secure. Indeed, if it be true, that it is of " httle consequence" what kind of pips 

 we employ, there certainly can be no detriment in sowing seeds of good fruit ; and 

 this, we conceive, will be a sufficient hint for the prudent nurseryman to observe 

 The pomace, therefore, should be obtained from the apples of healthy and vigor- 

 ous trees, and should be thickly strewed, and covered with earth, in shallow 

 'renchcs about eighteen inches apart, so as to admit of the young plants being 



