VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 69 



his orchard in this country must give it good cultivation every 

 year. 



The method generally found most successful may be 

 briefly outlined as follows : Plow the ground in the spring 

 just as soon as it is dry enough to work. Make this plowing 

 as thorough as circumstances will permit. Even if some 

 good-sized roots are cut or torn at first no special damage will 

 be done; and if an orchard is kept well worked roots will not 

 for m near the surface. After the first cultivation with the 

 plow the ground should be frequently worked with a sharp 

 harrow or similar tool. These cultivations should follow one 

 another about once in ten days or two weeks, depending 

 somewhat on the weather. The drier the weather the oftener 

 the ground should be worked. This soit of surface cultiva- 

 tion should continue till the first to the middle of July, when 

 the ground should be sown to some sort of cover crop. A 

 "cover crop" is any sort of catch crop intended to cover the 

 ground during winter and to be turned under the following 

 spring. The best crops are clover, rye, peas or peas with 

 buckwheat. 



FERTILIZING. 



An orchard ought" to have some fertilizer, just the same 

 as any other crop. Barnyard manure ought to be given once 

 in a while — more often on sandy lands and those which have 

 not enough life in them. On ordinary lands a good dressing 

 of barnyard manure, say fifty loads to the acre, every fourth 

 year, will be fair treatment. 



Muck, which is found in quantity and sometimes in excel- 

 lent quality, in various parts of the state, may be advantage- 

 ously applied to apple trees. The amount will depend on the 

 land and the quality of the muck. 



Amongst commercial fertilizers we would especially rec- 

 ommend muriate of potash, ground bone and acid phosphate. 

 If desired these may be bought in mixture; but it is better to 

 buy them separately and mix them at home. They may be 

 mixed in equal quantities, and should be applied annually. 

 We think that about a half ton of this mixture to the acre 

 annually would be about right for a bearing orchard, though 

 this opinion is not founded upon such exact observation as we 

 might wish. 



PRUNING. 



Pruning should commence when the tree is first set in the 

 orchard, and continued from year to year as long as the tree 

 lives. First cut away the bruised or broken roots with a sharp 

 knife and shorten the very long ones. After the trees have 



