22 STATE TOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



if I set at all, I would put in an orchard entirely by themselves, on account of 

 their early and very prolific bearing, and small size of top, and I would set 

 them not more than twenty or twenty-four feet apart. 



In setting trees it is labor well expended, and will pay, to dig the holes at 

 least three feet across and a foot and one half deep; then fill nearly to the. 

 surface with top soil, as in no case would I plant the tree much, if any, deeper 

 than it stood in the nursery. The holes being thus dug and filled, together 

 with the fact of the land having been manured and plowed very deeply pre- 

 viously, will result in the lateral roots striking lower than they otherwise 

 would, thus being more out of the way of after cultivation. 



On account of the great prevalence of west and southwest winds in this State, 

 great loss is sustained from many of the trees getting to lean to the east and 

 northeast, and becoming dead upon the west or southwest side, — a result almost 

 sure to follow through the effect, I think, of the rays of the sun striking per- 

 pendicularly upou the side of the tree thus exposed when the wood is frozen. 

 This may all be easily avoided by staking the tree for the first few years, driv- 

 ing the stake upon the southwest side, and confining the tree to it. 



After an orchard is thus set, I would manure it from the barnyard every 

 second or third year, and cultivate it with some hoed crop rowed both ways, 

 so that the ground can be very thoroughly and often cultivated, which I con- 

 sider far preferable to mulching and no cultivation. By continuing this cul- 

 tivation during the first half of summer, a vigorous growth of the trees will 

 be secured in the early part of the season, and by not stirring the ground in 

 the last half of summer the new wood will have a better opportunity to ripen 

 up for winter. 



In an orchard of originally healthy trees, thus carefully set, very few will be 

 lost by the transplanting, and thus cared for few will fail to come to maturity, 

 unless destroyed by accident. 



A very important matter connected with making orcharding profitable is the 

 pruning; and while it is true, as a general rule, that the skillful orchardist 

 may give his trees about such shape as he pleases, still the pruning should be 

 done with a thorough kuowledge of the natural characteristics of growth of 

 different varieties of trees. For instance, no well posted fruit grower should, 

 or will attempt to give a like shaped top to a Northern Spy and a Rhode Island 

 Greening. The pruning should never be done in a "hap-hazard" way, but 

 with an intelligent idea of what form of tree is desirable, and the reasons for 

 the same. The extremes of too compact or too open a top should be carefully 

 avoided. With all varieties the skillful pruner will be able to secure a hand- 

 some, well-rounded top, sufficiently compact to give the proper shade to both 

 trunk and main limbs, and at the same time sufficiently open to admit the 

 amount of light and air necessary to perfect the fruit of the more central por- 

 tions of the tree. The pruning should be commenced when the trees are set 

 out, and continued regularly every year as long as the orchard lasts. 



At the time of transplanting, as the tree has lost so many of its roots, the 

 top should be cut back, and some of the branches should be entirely removed, 

 if it has too many, leaving such as will start a top in the desired form; and 

 then, by careful pruning every year, it will be a long time before anything 

 except the pruning knife will have to be used ; and rarely will it become nec- 

 essary to cut off a limb more than an inch in diameter until the tree becomes 

 old, and begins to lose some of its limbs by decay. I think it is very desirable 

 to avoid cutting large limbs from the trees as long as possible. Judicious 



