REPOKTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 261 



draining, will be necessary, or your trees will fail to be satisfactory either in 

 productiveness or longevity. Keep the feet dry and warm, and the head will 

 perform its part, provided you feed it well. Different varieties of fruit trees 

 require different kinds of soil. The quince, plum, pear, apple, and crab-apple 

 will flourish on heavy soil mixed with clay loam. Peaches, grapes, cherries, 

 and some of the small fruits, find a more congenial home on a light, warm, 

 dry soil, and require more artificial food. The same variation in soil which is 

 required for the different kinds of trees or fruits may be observed in regard to 

 the different varieties in the same class. The Baldwin, Golden Kusset, Straw- 

 berry, Red Astrachan, Maiden's Blush, etc., do not require the same kind of 

 soil that the Swaar, Greening, Roxbury Russet, Peck's Pleasant, and Newtown 

 pippin flourish best upon. Different varieties of the peach require different 

 properties in the soil to produce the best results. This is a question upon 

 which persons planting out peach orchards, as well as apple orchards, should 

 be better posted in. Careful observation and comparison will enable planters 

 to draw very correct conclusions in this matter of adaptability to soil and 

 altitude. 



Next, after selecting varieties and location, the preparation of the ground 

 will come in order. The plainest and simplest statement which I can make of 

 that part of the work is, plow over the whole plat of ground upon which the 

 trees are to be set, the deeper the better ; drag it thoroughly, and rolling would 

 be an improvement and facilitate the setting out. The holes should be dug at 

 least six inches deeper than the roots of the tree reach. Fill in with surface 

 soil, for the roots of the tree to stand upon, even when the tree is set at the 

 proper depth, which should be a little deeper than it stood in the nursery row. 

 The tree should next be prepared for setting. All roots which have been 

 mangled or broken should be cut back to where they are sound and fresh, 

 cutting from the under side, slanting outward. The top should be trimmed 

 somewhat, according to variety and condition of the tree. I am not in favor 

 of cutting back so severely as some planters are in the habit of doing. A boy 

 should hold the tree in its proper place, and the roots and fibres should be 

 spread out and the surface soil placed around them, keeping the roots in place 

 with the hand. Pack the earth moderately around the roots, and leave the 

 ground level around the tree, placing a good mulch around the trees before the 

 ground has had time to dry. Before setting, the tree should be dipped in mud 

 made from swamp muck mixed in water to the consistency of paste. An old 

 barrel sawed in two, or a wash-tub, will answer for the purpose. Each tree 

 should be dipped before setting. I am satisfied that a large percentage of the 

 losses which occur in setting fruit trees is from want of proper care in trans- 

 planting. This fact is proved every year, as it often happens that two men 

 take trees of the same variety, in the same condition ; and one will lose a 

 large percentage of his trees while the other loses scarcely one. When the 

 tree is once set in the orchard row, then the real work of properly handling the 

 tree has but fairly commenced. Not a week should pass without personal 

 inspection by the person who has the orchard in charge, for the old adage 

 that "As the twig is bent so the tree inclines," is literally true in the case of 

 fruit trees. Every bud or twig starting out upon the side of the tree where it 

 is not wanted should be removed as soon as discovered. All buds should be 

 protected and allowed to grow upon that part of the tree necessary to preserve 

 a uniform top. Care should always be taken to place that side of the tree 

 which has the most limbs, or strongest growth, towards the quarter from which 

 the prevailing winds come. Trees should be so managed as to keep them in a 



