36 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



than they nlood in (he uuivscry, Iheii hy cultivation dui-inj^ (he <j;i()\vinjj; 

 season, which I believe is the only method that shonld be practiced in 

 a vei'y younj? orchai-d, we enconraj^e the roots to go down deei)er ihan 

 they otherwise would. We all know thai a large pro])ortion of all the 

 trees that leave Ihe nursery never live and grow to become profitable 

 producers of fruit. This is due T think largely to carelessness in hand- 

 ling and ]>lanting and neglecl during the first two or three years of 

 their growth. 



There are two things that every person who has tlie care of a young 

 orchard shonld keep always in mind and strive to accomplish. 



First. To get a uniform and even growth each year and as large a 

 growth as is consist(mt with the thorough maturing of the n(>w wood 

 so as to maintain a healthy and vigoi-ous condition of the trees. This 

 to the end that when they shall have attained the bearing age they shall 

 have the size and beai-ing sui*face that will enable them to produce i)ay- 

 ing crops of fmit. 



Second, To so Jiandle ihe soil as to conserve the elements of fertility 

 and add to its jn'oducing ]>ower against tlie time when the trees must 

 draw more heavily uj)on it for the production of fmit. How to accom- 

 plish these two objects for best results, at least expense, is the X)roblem 

 before every person who has the care of a young orchard. 



T have often ])een asked the question, how much will it cost per acre 

 to care for a young orchard from the time it is set out until it will 

 begin to bear fruit? This is the question that cannot be answered de- 

 finitely nor even ai>])roximately without knowing all tlu^ cii'cumstances. 

 Mucli depends on the kind of fruit Irees, the character of the soil, 

 whether the owner lives on the farm or not and what system of farm- 

 ing is practiced on the remaining portion of the farm. 



Michigan is a state of gi-eat and divei-sified resources. Some people 

 are fmit specialists confining their cfll'orts entirely to the production of 

 fmit, but ihe great majority of Michignn farmers who grow fruit, do, 

 and I think always will, combine fi'uit growing with other branches of 

 famiing more or less diversified. Tn my own case T have narrowed it 

 down to two lines of Avork and seek to produce for sale from the fami 

 nothing but fmit and dairy products. 



On a farm of fairly good soil, Avhere live stock is ke]>t and where not 

 over one-third to one-half of the cultivated area is devoted to fruit 7 

 believe that if the trees are set the proper distance apart the land in 

 young orchards, especially an ajqtie orchard, may be made to pay all 

 the expense of taking care of the trees from the time they are planted 

 until they begin to ]iroduce pnying crops of fruit. My custom has been 

 to grow forage and soiling crops to be fed out to dairy cows, returning 

 to the orchard at least an equivalent in stable manure for all the fer- 

 tility removed by the cro])s taken off. The cultivation necessary to pro- 

 duce a good crop of com will encourage a good thrifty growth on the 

 trees. Tt should begin early while the moisture is in the soil and be 

 kept up continuously at short intervals until the middle of July or first 

 of August, when a cover cro]) should be sown. T want to emphasize 

 especially the im])ortance of fi-equent thorough cultivation for the first 

 two years. Young trees that are neglected the first year may live and 

 make some gi'owth liut are more a]>t to die the second year. A space of 

 four feet or more on each side of the rows should be kept under con- 



