50 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



Orchard of Moses Stebbins. 



This orchard was undoubtedly the best orchard, and would 

 have taken the first premium, had it not already drawn that 

 premium from another society, receiving the bounty of the 

 State. His orchard stands upon table land in Deerfield, just 

 under the brow of Sugar Loaf Mountain, and covers over four 

 acres. It contains two hundred trees, set out at intervals since 

 1845. The soil is a light, sandy loam, partaking much of the 

 nature of the soil in the vicinity of Sugar Loaf, which is com- 

 posed of now red sandstone. Previous to setting out his trees, 

 Mr. Stebbins treated his lot to a compost of slacked lime and 

 salt. On two acres, he ploughed in sixty hundred pounds of 

 lime, sixteen bushels of salt, and six bushels of plaster. One 

 hundred and twenty trees stand on these two acres. The land 

 has been cropped annually. This year, Mr. Stebbins has raised 

 fifty bushels of corn to the acre, in his orchard. He used no 

 manure, save about five hundred pounds of guano to the acre, 

 sowed on and ploughed in. Your committee thought the lime 

 and salt had much to do with the thriftiness of both trees and 

 corn. He gives his trees a top-dressing of compost every 

 spring. Mr. Stebbins does not allow any thing to grow imder 

 his trees. He leaves a fallow plot under each tree. His 

 orchard contains the choicest varieties of fruit. We congratu- 

 late Mr. Stebbins on possessing so fine an orchard. Your com- 

 mittee left, hardly knowing which to admire most, Mr. 

 Stebbins, himself, as an accomplished and gentlemanly farmer, 

 his superior orchard, or his model farm. We advise every per- 

 son, who wants to raise an orchard, to visit his premises. 

 I 



David Rice, Chairman. 



Statement of Josiah Ay res. 



Apple seed should be planted in the fall, in land well 

 manured and deep tilled. When the shoots come up in the 

 spring, cultivate with care, stripping off the leaves one foot 

 from the ground. When one year old, transplant them in 

 rows, at a proper distance. As soon as large enough, bud 

 them near the ground, with buds taken from good bearing 



