Hints on the Planting of Orchards. 253 



pomological matters, I should advise all persons who expect to 

 go into fruit growing seriously to buy directly of the nurseries. 

 But it must always be remembered that the tree agent has been the 

 means of clothing the country with fruit trees, and of thereby 

 adding much 10 the contentment of farm life. 



The buyer should make up his mind just what varieties he 

 wants and then find the nurser}- which has them, and order early 

 enough to get them. There is then no occasion to consider the 

 vexed question of substitution of varieties. If the varieties are not 

 in market, buy stocks of some strong growing staple variety, and 

 after these are established — usually the same summer or the follow- 

 ing spring — bud or graft over the tops to the desired varieties. 



It is generally best to buy first-class trees, — those which are of 

 medium size for their age, shapely, stocky, with straight clean 

 trunks, which are not stunted and are free of borers and other 

 injuries, and, in the case of budded trees, those in which the 

 union is very near the ground. In dwarf pears, especially, it is 

 important that the stock, to be first-class, shall be budded very 

 low. The accompanying sketch (Fig. 6) shows trees of apple 

 and peach of first, second and third class. These are New York 

 grown trees, the apples two years old from buds. It is often 

 thought that large size is of itself a great merit in a nursery tree, 

 but this is an error. Vigor, straigthtness, stockiness, firm hard 

 growth, are much more important than bigness. The toughest 

 and best trees are usually those of medium size. 



The age at w^hich trees should be bought must be governed by 

 circumstances and by variety. There is a general tendency to 

 buy trees too old rather than too young. When varieties are new 

 and scarce, it may be economy to buy young stock. This will, 

 no doubt, be true of Japanese plums the present year, and good 

 j^earling trees will give excellent results. L,ess vigorous kinds of 

 plums would not be so satisfactory at this age. Some of the freer 

 growing apples and pears are large enough when two j^ears old, if 

 grown from buds ; but these fruits are usually set at three years 

 trom the bud or graft. Dwarf pears may be set at two or three years, 

 preferably, I think, the former age. Quinces are set at two and 

 three years. Peaches are always set at one year from the bud. 



After care. — Always cultivate the orchard thoroughly and fre- 



