ORCHARDS. 95 



old trees, both ia quality and quantity, so as to be supplied with 

 fruit, while my young trees were maturings and getting old enough 

 to bear well. Accordingly, in the fall of 1845, I set myself 

 about the task. I selected twenty-five or thirty of the most 

 promising trees, had them well and faithfully trimmed of all 

 dead, dying, unpromising, and useless limbs ; being particular 

 to leave the most thriving and vigorous ones, that grew from 

 the centre of the tree. With a hoe, I scraped off the old loose 

 bark and moss from the trunk and limbs, and removed the 

 grassy turf from around the body of the trees, for a distance 

 of two or three feet. I then applied from one-half to a bushel 

 (according to the sizetjf tree) of unleached wood ashes around 

 the trunk, from whence I had removed the turf, being careful 

 not to have the ashes approach within four or five inches of the 

 bark. Over the ashes, I replaced the turf, with the grassy 

 side down. The following spring, I noticed that the trees put 

 forth new shoots in abundance, and large, luxuriant leaves of a 

 dark green color, and were well filled with blossoms. I 

 gathered, the succeeding autumn, from them and from a few 

 young trees, just beginning to bear, nearly two hundred bush- 

 els of apples. Fifty bushels of these were fit for the fruitery 

 or for winter use, and the others were as good as second rate 

 apples commonly are. I have since continued to apply the 

 ashes, and my trees are yet in an excellent bearing condition 

 for an old orchard. My young trees are now beginning to 

 bear a few apples. Last fall I gathered two hundred and 

 fifty bushels in all. Two-thirds of these were from my 

 old trees, and chiefly from those treated as above described. 

 About seventy-five bushels of these were excellent winter 

 apples. 



I would not recommend ploughing among apple trees, espe- 

 cially old trees, at any time, nor under any circumstances. 

 They need all their roots to sustain life and vigor. The plough 

 always breaks and bruises more or less of the roots, if run 

 ever so shallow. Some endeavor to avoid this, by leaving a 

 space untouched under and around the tree, for a distance of 

 fifteen or twenty feet in diameter. But the evil is not avoided 

 in this way. The smaller roots, which are the most important, 

 are certain to be broken, and the trees will sustain an irrepa- 



