EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 227 



failures, due to these conditions, are not uncommon. Stunted trees, or 

 blank spaces in the low spots of an orchard usually indicate poor soil 

 drainage or poor air drainage or both. Artificial drainage may some- 

 times be resorted to, in order to make a location suitable for an orchard, 

 but ordinarily such a procedure is not satisfactory, especially in a com- 

 mercial orchard. For a home orchard, which it is highly desirable to 

 have near the house, artificial drainage may be frequently used to take 

 advantage of a desirable location. 



A soil can be too dry for fruit trees. Such is the condition of some 

 of Michigan's sandy soil, which is so porous and devoid of humus that it 

 cannot retain moisture. Trees on such soil invariably lack in vigor, 

 productivity and hardiness. In the case of peaches.* ^'Either extreme 

 of moisture — excessive wetness or excessive dryness — gives favorable 

 conditions for winter killing. The wet soil is conducive to sappiness in 

 a tree, and also freezes deeply. Severe cold, especially if alternating 

 with warm weather, or accompanied with dry winds, causes evaporation 

 of water from the trees, and if the soil be so dry as not to furnish mois- 

 ture to replace the evaporated water, harmful results ensue." 



The soil that is shallow, or devoid of plant food, cannot be expected 

 to produce an orchard and keep it in vigorous health and productivity. 

 While plant food can be added to the soil, it is a factor which the 

 orchardist must not overlook or underestimate, because it is just as 

 necessary that an orchard produce a good strong growth in the first few 

 years of its existence as after it comes into bearing. Scores of orchards 

 in Michigan, today, are unhealthy and unproductive simply because they 

 were planted upon soils deficient in plant food. 



Soils best adapted to apples may vary from a rich, sandy loam to a 

 clay loam, while pears prefer a clay loam or a pure clay, provided it is 

 of a good texture. Plums and cherries usually do best on a medium 

 loam, and peaches on a soil ranging from a sandy nature to a medium 

 clay loam. While it is conceded that the nature of a soil may be in- 

 fluenced greatly and its adaptability to different fruits made possible to 

 a greater or less extent by the use of lime, manures and commercial fer- 

 tilizers, yet it is important to emphasize the wisdom of selecting a soil 

 best suited to the fruit that is expected to be raised, or to plant only 

 those fruits best suited to the soil one already has. 



PREPARATION OF SOILS FOR AN ORCHARD. 



The preparation of soil previous to the planting of an orchard will 

 depend entirely upon its nature, its texture and its condition of fertility. 

 It is generally agreed that a field should be brought into the best possible 

 state of cultivation before it is planted to fruit trees. If young trees 

 are planted in a soil that is not in a condition to induce a strong, 

 vigorous, healthy growth, throughout the first few years of their lives, 

 the orchard will never be as healthy, productive, or bring as good re- 

 turns as it would have done if the trees had been given a good start, 



*Hedrick, U. P., Mich. State. Hort. Soc. Rept. 1907, p. 56. 



