22 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



fruit, requires a stronger and richer soil than many other 

 varieties), it is one of the very best apples to grow. It will 

 keep until other apples are gone ; it bears more or less every 

 other year ; and, if kept till other kinds are gone, it will 

 bring a fair price every year. 



The best varieties of early apples are Williams's Favorite, 

 Red Astrachan, and Early Harvest, for sour ; Golden Sweet 

 and Sweet Bough, for sweet. The Williams's Favorite is not 

 as well known about here as it should be : it is considered 

 the best early apple grown in the eastern part of the State, 

 and I would recommend it to all who have not already tried 

 it as worthy their attention. 



It costs no more to grow a good variety than it does a 

 poor one. There are a great many good apples ; but it pays 

 to grow very few of them, for a variety may be excellent in 

 flavor, but a shy bearer : this must give place to some more 

 productive kinds ; for, no matter how fine a fruit may be, if 

 it is not a bearer, it is not a profitable kind to grow. Don't 

 run any risks by planting out new varieties that have not 

 been tested, no matter how much the nurseryman or agent 

 may recommend them ; for the chances are one hundred to 

 one that they will not prove to be as profitable as some of 

 our older kinds. My advice to all who cannot afford to 

 raise fruit for pleasure is to plant nothing but what they 

 know to be good, and to let others experiment with new 

 varieties. 



The ground on which an orchard is to be planted should, 

 if possible, be ploughed ; then it will make very little differ- 

 ence whether the holes dug to receive the trees are large or 

 small, provided they are large enough to take in all of the 

 roots without crowding them. If the ground is not ploughed, 

 the holes for the trees should be much larger, not less than 

 three feet in diameter ; which space should be kept well 

 stirred, and free from weeds. As it pays to cultivate fruit- 

 trees, a tree that has been well taken care of will grow as 

 much in six years as one that has been neglected will in 

 eight or ten. If the ground can be cultivated, the cheapest 

 way to take care of an orchard until it begins to bear is to 

 plant it each year with corn, potatoes, or some other hoed 

 crop, but never sow grain of any kind in an orchard. 



If the trees have been properly pruned up to the time 



