ORCHARDS AND FRUIT CULTURE. fl 



or fifteen years' growth of those trees which 3'ou cut down is so 

 much taken out of the Soil, that ought to have gone into your 

 standards. On my way to this place, I passed a row of trees 

 set about twelve feet apart. Now I am quite certain that half of 

 them would be worth more in ten years than all of them will be. 

 Experience has convinced me that it is a serious error to set trees 

 too close. * 



The time of planting in my judgment, is when the leaves are off 

 and the ground dry. It is absolutely necessary to have a dry soil 

 in order to set a tree well. If you plant in the fall, the sooner 

 you do it after the leaves drop the better ; and if in the spring, let 

 it be as soon as the ground is sufficiently dry to do it properly. 



In regard to the subsequent treatment of the orchard, I would 

 say by all means keep it under cultivation until the trees are so 

 strongly established that they can bear swarding over without 

 serious check to growth. I agree too that it is desirable to plant 

 low-growing crops, such as beans, tomatos, cucumbers, etc. 

 Turnips and potatoes were mentioned ; I would suggest to who- 

 ever .may plant potatoes or turnips in their orchards, that they 

 take care to manure liberally with unleached ashes. Potatoes and 

 turnips are potash feeding plants, as well as the apple tree, so 

 that if you take potash out of the ground in the form of potatoes 

 or turnips, you must replenish the supply in the soil, or your apple 

 trees will suffer. Ten years is the shortest period which an or- 

 chard should be planted out before it is swarded over. 



In planting, let the utmost care be taken to set the rows perfect- 

 ly straight — as straight as a line of soldiers, well drilled. It 

 requires two or three men to do it well. There must be a man 

 upon one side to set, and a man on the other side to set, and 

 another to hold it. You cannot do this thing cheaply. It must 

 be done well, and it must be done at some expense or it cannot be 

 done wo.ll. It is economy to plant straight and well, and there is 

 beauty in it, too. There is beauty in almost anything, if it is done 

 well, but particularly in an orchard. 



I was troubled when a boy, and I have been troubled even since, 

 when plowing in an orchard with oxen, where the trees were not 

 perfectly straight; the off ox always will have his head on the 

 other side of the tree. It is a terrible annoyance. lie will be 

 sure to carry his head or horn round and break off some little limb 

 which you sot everything by. I never let an ox go into an orchard 

 except to plow, and then only after having been through the 



