DECEMBER MEETING. 237 



those which grow on ti gentle soil, luid on the other hand these trees will not 

 do well on ii very dry gravel or sand. TJie gronnd intended to be planted 

 should be well i)rep;ircd the year before by plowing it thoroughly, for the earth 

 cannot be too much wrought or pulverized for this purpose. The distance 

 which these trees should be planted, where the soil is good, must be fifty or 

 sixty feet, and where the soil is nut so good, forty feet may be sufficient, but 

 nothing can be of worse consequence than tlie crowding trees too close together 

 in orchards. The planting should be as soon as possible performed, when the 

 trees begin to shed their leaves, when they are taken np all the small fibres 

 should be entirely cut off from their roots, which if left on will turn mouldy 

 and decay, so will obstruct new fibres in their growth. The extreme parts of 

 roots must be shortened, and all bruised or broken roots cut off, and if there 

 are any misplaced roots, which cross each other, they should also be cut away. 

 In jiruning their heads, little more is necessary than to cut out such branches 

 as are ill-placed, or that cross each other, for I do not approve the heading of 

 them down, as is by some often practiced, to the loss of many of their trees. 

 In the planting there must be care taken not to place the roots too deep in the 

 ground, especially if the ground is moist, but rather raise them on a little hill. 

 When the trees are planted they should be staked to prevent their being shaken 

 or blown out of the ground by strong winds, but in doing of this there should 

 be particular care taken to put either straw, hay-bands or woolen cloth between 

 the trees and the stakes to prevent the trees from being rubbed or bruised by 

 the shaking against the stakes. If the winter should prove very severe it will 

 be proper to cover the surface of the ground about their roots to prevent the 

 frosts from penetrating it and injuring their young fibres. It will be the best 

 way to keep the land in tillage, for by constant plowing or digging of the 

 ground the roots of the tree will be encouraged, and they will make the more 

 l^rogress in their growth. But the crops should not be planted too near the 

 trees lest the nourishment should be drawn away from them, and in the plow- 

 ing of the ground there must be care taken not to go too near the steins of 

 the trees, whereby their roots would be injured or the bark of tlieir stems 

 rubbed off. 



"In pruning of orchard trees nothing more should be done but to cut out all 

 those branches which cross each other, and if left would rub and tear off the 

 bark, as also decayed branches ; but never shorthen any of their shoots. If 

 suckers or shoots from their stems should come out they must be entirely taken 

 off, and when any branches are broken by the wind they should be cut off either 

 down to the division of the branch or close to the stem which produced it. 

 The best time for this work is in November, for it should not be done in frosty 

 weather nor in spring when the sap begins to be in motion. The best method 

 to keep apples for winter use is to let them hang upon the trees until there is 

 danger of frost, to gather them in dry weather, and then lay them in large 

 Ixeaps to sweat for three weeks or a month. Afterwards look them over care- 

 fully, taking out all such as have appearance of decay, wiping all the sound 

 fruit dry, and pack them u]d in large oil-jars which have been thoroughly 

 scalded and dry, stopping them down close to exclude the external air. If this 

 is duly observed the fruit will keep sound a long time and their flesh will be 

 plump, for when they are exposed to the air their skins will shrink and their 

 pulp will be soft." 



These directions are compiled from the articles on Mains, Xurseries, and 

 Grafting, occupying some 20 pages of Millers Garden Dictionary, publislicd in 



