384 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The obstacles we liave to contend with : First, the drouth ; second, 

 the borer, and third, the codling moth. 



I think the following is the best course : 



If possible, plow the ground deep in the fall and dig the holes in 

 the fall if the ground is not too wet. The holes should not be less 

 than two feet in diameter, the lowest point being two feet from the 

 level of the ground. 



The action of the frost during the winter will tend to loosen the 

 subsoil, and any water that settles in the hole will readily pass through 

 the loose subsoil, and the following summer the tree is not apt to suffer 

 from drouth. When the time to plant arrives, cut down the sides of 

 the hole with the spade, which will fill the bottom with surface soil, 

 and make a fine bed for the roots to reach the damp earth in summer. 

 After planting sow a strip of oats along the tree row, and hoe around 

 the trees a space as large as the hole dug; keep this space free from 

 weeds, and when the oats are headed out, and before they are ripe, 

 mow them and throw them around the trees as a mulch, letting them 

 almost touch the trees. About the first of September cut the weeds 

 and grass and put around as before. The second and succeeding years 

 continue the same treatment. Mulching should be more generally 

 practiced in fruit-producing districts, for it is the least expensive and 

 most effective method of protecting fruit trees against the bad results 

 often following the frequent and sudden changes of temperature dur- 

 ing the summer and fall months, when the surface of the ground is left 

 exposed to the direct rays of the sun. Again, when the mulch is put 

 on two or three inches in thickness, the soil is constantly so moist and 

 loose, that even when no rain falls for a term of several weeks, the 

 trees or fruit receive no check for want of moisture and food under 

 such circumstances. 



To prescribe one rule for all orchards is like one medicine for all 

 diseases. It is absolutely necessary for each grower to search out the 

 nature and needs of his trees, if he desires the best results to reward 

 his labor. Not unfrequently do we see barnyard manure recommended 

 for orchards to make them fruitful, and in many cases if put on in 

 small quantities it is beneficial, but in large quantities, where the soil 

 is rich, it is not only unnecessary, but is positively injurious, as it 

 causes a large growth of wood, thus increasing the evil rather than 

 diminishing it, for whatever tends to make trees produce an extra lux- 

 uriant growth, diminishes their tendency to bear fruit. Wood ashes 

 is undoubtedly one of the best fertilizers if spread over the entire sur- 

 face of the ground, and not applied as some do only a few feet from 

 the tree. 



