FRUIT-GROWING. 69 



will not keep ; and, although sold for all they are worth, the 

 prices received will scarcely pay for picking and marketing : 

 hence the growing prejudice against growing apples. Were 

 I a young man commencing a farmer's life, I would sooner 

 embark my fortune in an apple-orchard than any other fruit 

 we grow in Massachusetts. If we would succeed in any 

 undertaking, we should first avail ourselves of all the knowl- 

 edge appertaining thereto, and then make a faithful and 

 careful application of the same to attain the desired end. 



The production of nice fruit is an enterprise worthy of 

 our best endeavors. A prominent agriculturist, in speak- 

 ing upon this subject, says that the matter of fruit-growing 

 is a matter of horticulture, which I understand to mean 

 agriculture on a small scale. Now, what can be done on a 

 small scale, can, with extended means, be done on a large 

 scale. 



Let it be distinctly understood that I advise no one to set 

 an apple-orchard without a determination to do thoroughly 

 all that is required for the protection of the fruit. Every 

 thing is important, — the location, the preparation of the soil, 

 the selection of varieties, the quality of the stock, the man- 

 ner of setting, and subsequent cultivation. 



The destruction of the borer, the caterpillar, cankerworm, 

 and coreworm, must not be neglected. The pruning of the 

 tree ; the kind and quantity of manure to be used ; the pro- 

 cess of thinning the fruit, and of picking, handling, and 

 storing ; the construction of the fruit-cellar, and its manage- 

 ment; and lastly the final preparation and packing of the 

 fruit for market, — these are some of the cardinal points to 

 be observed to insure success. 



There are those who regard shelter of great importance in 

 locating an orchard. I think, perhaps, it may be well to 

 secure it, where it is convenient to do so ; but a young tree 

 planted in a bleak situation, and accustomed to a wholesale 

 breeze, protects itself by extending its roots farther and 

 deeper than it o'^herwise would, were it not racked by the 

 wind. The Island of Rhode Island is completely exposed 

 to the raking winds of the Atlantic, and of Mount Hope 

 and Narragansett bays, and yet she can justly boast of some 

 of the best orchards in New England. 



