204 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



based on sound sense and experience, but the principles underlying it are 

 now well known, or are attainable, and should govern the man who wants 

 to start at the point we have reached and avoid the losses and discourage- 

 ments which would surely attend him if he attempted to follow the lights 

 furnished him by observation elsewhere. 



WHAT KIND OF A TREE TO BUY. 



Go only to a reliable nurseryman who can be made to respond in 

 damages should he sell you a seedling for a graft, or a clingstone when 

 you want a free; or a prune when you want a plum. 



Except you irrigate your trees, or plant in exceptionally moist soil, don't 

 be persuaded to buy any tree more than a year old. I know you bought 

 only two and three years old trees back East, but don't do it here. Re- 

 member I am only treating of deciduous trees, and I cannot think of an 

 exception. 



NUMBER OF VARIETIES. 



My advice is to avoid planting many kinds of fruits or many varieties 

 of the same fruit. The local market generally is not what we must rely 

 upon. This may be consulted, however, and often you will see where you 

 can make money by supplying a local want. But generally our people 

 are planting to ship, or to dry or can, and your eye must be on the foreign 

 market. Often if you have enough of one variety you can dispose of it as 

 a whole, whereas if your orchard were made up of many, and few of each, 

 no one could handle it; and this applies also to varieties of the same fruit. 

 It is well to plant, of course, so that one crop will follow another. 



PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. 



It is of the highest importance to thoroughly plow and subsoil the land 

 before planting. The practice of plowing as you would for wheat or dig- 

 ging the hole large and intending to plow after planting, is the worst possi- 

 ble thing to do. We have long, dry summers, and no rain after April or 

 May. Deep plowing preserves the moisture and renders the land more 

 easily cultivated and gives the roots a chance to go down. No man 

 deserves success or need expect it who will try to grow trees with shallow 

 plowing. By deep plowing and thorough cultivation after planting, he 

 may safely plant in any of our valleys, and on our plain land and foot- 

 hills without irrigation. By thorough cultivation let it be understood that 

 you are to keep the cultivators running well into the summer. It is the 

 true and only way to retain the moisture. 



HOW TO PLANT AND HOW TO FIRST PRUNE THE TREE. 



If you have followed the advice as to deep plowing — not less than a foot 

 deep — you do not need to be so particular to get a large or deep hole, 

 because your ground is prepared around and beneath. 



Your tree should be planted so that the bud, after the earth has settled, 

 will be just covered. 



Before planting, trim off all broken or bruised or long roots, and when 

 the tree goes into its place see that the earth is firmly set around the roots 

 and no air spaces left among them. 



After the tree is planted — which is supposed to be a straight stem, thrifty 



