iOarb of Fruit Trhbs. 635 



having removed the trees from the land, if it be thoroughly plowed 

 and cultivated, there appears to be no difficulty in raising a good 

 crop of wheat or grass. 



In the haste to get the trees off at as early a period as possible the 

 grower is not satisfied unless they are making a rajpid continuous 

 growth / that is, he asks more of the land in his method of farming 

 than does the wheat or corn grower, and, therefore, as soon as the 

 land hesitates in the least when planted to a second crop of trees he 

 puts it down as a partial failure. 



This explanation is emphasized by the fact that many orchardists 

 have come to believe that nursery trees under present management 

 are forced so rapidly and make such soft growth of wood that they 

 are injured thereby. These trees which have been forced to unusual 

 growth, when set in the orchards under less favorable conditions 

 than were present in the nursery row, start slowly and frequently 

 are unable to make a satisfactory growth of good wood for two or 

 three years. 



The following letters from careful nurserymen will throw addi- 

 tional light upon the perplexed question of management of nursery 

 lauds : 



For the production of apples in the nursery I prefer a good 

 strong loam. If a little gravel is mixed with it there is no objec- 

 tion. For plumB, soil considerably heavier, even to a pretty strong 

 clay, is more desirable. The same may be said to apply to pears. 

 For peaches a soil more nearly to that which I would advise for 

 apples is best. 



The preparation of the ground is a matter of considerable im- 

 portance, and I would always advise very deep plowing ; or eveu 

 subsoiling after ordinary plowing would be better. As for fer- 

 tilizers, have never used any in the production of trees. I prefer 

 new, strong land that is supplied with the proper amount of plant 

 food instead of using anything in the way of stimulants. In my 

 own experience I have found that I can with safety take off one 

 crop of seed fruits, such as apples or pears, and if the soil is strong, 

 follow with cherries or peaches, but this is keeping the soil under 

 the plow for a period of from five to six years, and most soils lose 

 more or less of their life and are inclined to become hard after 

 plowing if they have no rest. In order that you may understand 

 the matter better, we make our trees by thorough and continued 

 cultivation, and I undertake to say the best of trees can be grown 

 in no other way. Our blocks are plowed and cultivated probably 

 not less than six or eight times during the season of growth. You 

 can easily understand what this means. To us it means to get out 

 everything in the soil that is reachable for the purpose of aiding the 



