ANNUAL MEETING AT LEXINGTON. 153 



Second point. — A strong constitution should be built up from the 

 start, hence it is best to plant thrifty, young trees, keeping them well 

 tilled and protected from injuries. All planters of experience agree 

 that young trees give the best results. They start off quicker than old 

 trees, become better established, and will, therefore, be apt to live lon- 

 ger. Kich soil and cultivation will not only make a tree thrifty and 

 strong, but it also tends to save it from the injury due to early bearing. 

 In thus building up a strong constitution, the trees will require several 

 years longer to come into bearing, but the future will show a balance 

 largely in favor. of such trees, both as to product and longevity. To 

 prove this assertion, I will call attention to the fact that trees which 

 naturally come late into bearing, and are strong and robust growers, 

 (probably because of this) as for instance the Yellow Bellflower, North- 

 ern Spy and Large Romanite, outlast by from ten to twenty years such 

 early bearers ae the Winesap, Ben Davis and M. H. Pippin and others.. 

 Third point. — By overbearing many young trees are irreparably in- 

 jured. Many planters, however, are so much afflicted with the nickle 

 in their eye that they sacrifice the prospective dollar. In other words, 

 they are so eager for a crop that their trees die of a broken back long 

 ere their days of usefulness should have been over. Trees just coming 

 into bearing should be carefully watched, and if the crop promises too 

 large for their strength, the evil should be averted by thinning out. 



Fourth point. — Sufticient nouriaiiment must be supplied. Where 

 the soil is not sufficiently rich it should be made so by applying manure, 

 fertilizers and ashes, or repeated crops of clover plowed under. There 

 is nothing that will begin to compare with wood ashes for strengthen- 

 ing and renovating apple trees. It is the true elixir (if I may so term 

 it) of apple tree life. Nothing is so deleterious and exhausting in its 

 effect upon trees, especially young ones, as grain, while long continued 

 grass sod comes in as a good second. Sod, as well as grain, enfeebles 

 trees to a great extent by draining the soil of moisture just at that time 

 when trees stand most in need of it. Witness the dying off of timber 

 in tlie woods after the grass has once taken a firm hold. After a few 

 years of cultivation in a young orchard, clover may be sown to advan- 

 tage, especially if the first crop be used as a mulch, and the second 

 crop is plowed under to enrich the soil. 



The fifth and last proposition, that of mulching, is within reach of 

 all. For this purpose straw, cornstalks, grass, and even weeds will 

 answer, or as already mentioned, clover cut in the orchard is near at 

 hand and easily applied. Mulch is a prime factor in keeping a tree at 

 a vigorous, healthy growth ; it is a stone house upon which the roots 



