204: BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



Hoping that what I have so imperfectly written on the subject, 

 may arrest the attention of the reader, and suggest to him the pro- 

 priety of trying an experiment which can do him no harm, hut one 

 ■which will certainly enrich his farm and put money in his pocket, 

 I have the honor to be, &c. 



Planting of Orchards. 



By Joseph Avery, Jefferson. 



The planting of orchards should claim the attention of every one 

 that intends to cultivate the soil for a living, and it should be his 

 first business to select a suitable piece of ground for that purpose, 

 which should be dry upland soil, as the apple tree seldom thrives 

 much on cold, wet soil. What is known as good corn land will serve 

 well. It should then be made sufficiently rich and mellow, that the 

 trees, when transplanted, may take root and grow. In the selection 

 of trees, let them be from nurseries in this State, of the same kind 

 of soil as that into which they are to be transplanted. They should 

 be taken up in such a manner as not to injure the main roots ; then 

 by digging a place sufficiently large, and the earth loosened to a 

 suitable depth, so that the roots of the tree when set may lie in the 

 same position as they grew originally, without being forced, and as 

 nearly as possible to the same depth in the ground. The care taken 

 in setting trees, has much to do with their future growth. The 

 trees should be set from twenty to twenty-five feet apart, in straight 

 lines, for uniform appearance, and the better to cultivate among 

 them. After being planted, they need care and training to give 

 them proper shape. To till the orchard by root-crops h beneficial, 

 also mulching in the fall with chip manure, to retain the frost, and 

 to prevent the sap starting too early in the spring. 



On many farms, there is rocky, broken land, not suitable for 

 tillage, but more suitable for pasture, which may be set with apple 

 trees to advantage, care being taken to select those trees whose tops 

 may attain sufficient hight to be beyond the reach of cattle, and 

 when they grow to afibrd shade and fruit ; they attract cattle, sheep, 

 and hogs under and around them, which manure them sufficiently. 

 And such trees are found to come forward nearly as fast, and to 



