284 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



^oonville is near the center of Missouri, it is easy to see that so far as 

 location is concerned, we are surely near the right place. 



The first thing to be done in starting a new orchard is choosing 

 the site or location. Always select the best drained and most elevated 

 portion of the farm, because frost does the most damage on low land. 

 If possible, before planting subsoil your ground, as ground prepared 

 that way stands drouth better, and will also drain off better in a wet 

 season. In planting, dig large holes — the larger and deeper the better 

 — being sure to refill with good top soil, so that the tree will stand 

 when planted at about the same depth as in the nursery row. This 

 applies to all kinds of trees except dwarf pear, which should be planted 

 deeper. Prune the roots back to fresh green wood, cutting off all 

 broken and bruised roots. Set your tree by carefully spreading out 

 the roots on all sides. Put in mellow top-soil about the roots, and be 

 sure to firm the dirt down solid so as to exclude all the air from the roots, 

 so that when you are done planting, the tree, upon taking hold of it, 

 appears solid and fast as though it had never been transplanted. 



Stand your tree as nearly perpendicular as possible. Do not lean 

 it in any direction, as when that is done nature will try to rectify it by 

 throwing out all new growth on the upper side to preserve a balance. 

 For proof of this, go into the forest and observe the growth of trees 

 in their natural state. After your tree is planted, cut back the top on 

 apple and pear at least one-third, and if the top has been formed in 

 the nursery row nearly all on one side, then cut back to a switch and 

 grow a new top. Peach should always be cut back to a switch. Give 

 your tree the proper shape while small, always aiming to preserve a 

 well-balanced top, afterward cutting away only such branches as cross 

 each other and rub together. When it becomes actually necessary to 

 cut oft' a large limb, be sure and cover the wound over with grafting- 

 wax or paint to exclude the air and water, to prevent decay. 



CULTIVATION AFTER PLANTING. 



It does seem to the writer that the average Missouri farmers use 

 the poorest judgment and the least common sense about their orchards 

 after planting than any other work which they do. They seem to re- 

 gard the successful growing of a tree as some mysterious art not to be 

 learned by every one, when they only need to use some brains and 

 muscle, good, hard common sense, and look on a tree as a thing of 

 life, the same as a stalk of corn, that needs help to manure itself in 

 order to bring profit to the owner. About nine out of ten farmers 

 expect their trees, after being planted, to grow and bear fruit without 

 anything more being done to them. A fatal mistake, as many a dilapi- 



