"The injury from cold, still air is usually confined to those localities 

 which are directly influenced by large bodies of water, and which are pro- 

 tected by forest belts. It can be avoided by planting thin belts. 



"The injury from insects can be averted by spraying with arsenical 

 poisons. 



"The injury from the encroachment of the wind-break may be avert- 

 ed, in part at least, by good cultivation, and by planting the fruit simul- 

 taneously with the belt. Sc far as practicable, the wind-break should 

 be planted as a distance of six rods or more from the fruit plantation." 



The best trees for wind-breaks are some of the evergreens, such as 

 Norway and White Spruce, the Austrian and Native White Pines. The 

 Norvi^ay Spruce is most used because it is a rapid grower, and the young 

 trees may be obtained very cheaply. The wind-break should be planted 

 at the same time as the orchard, it will then be effective by the time the 

 trees come into bearing. A single row may be sufficient, although in 

 very exposed places, a double row, with the trees set alternately, is pre- 

 ferable. The trees should be at least six or eight feet apart, 

 and even ten or twelve feet is better when the trees grow up. The 

 tiees in the wind-break should be well cultivated, the same as the trees 

 in the orchard, until they become well established. Neglect of this is 

 the m^in cause of failure in setting out wind-breaks. 



The Soil and its Preparation. 



The apple tree readily adapts itself to a great variety of soils, yet 

 there are certain kinds upon which it does much better than others. 

 Light sandy soils are usually deficient in plant food, and are not reten- 

 tive of it when fertilizers are applied to them. The trees upon such soils 

 may do fairly well for a time, but as a rule they are less productive and 

 shorter lived than on heavier soils.' On the other hand, heavy clay 

 soils may contain plenty of plant food, but they are difficult to work and 

 unless very carefully managed bake so hard that the tree will not thrive 

 upon them. The ideal soil is a happy mean between these extremes, a 

 friable loam. It may be called a sandy or a clay loam, as either sand 

 or clay predominates in its composition, and is all the better if of a lime- 

 stone formation upon an open subsoil. 



One of the first requisites in a good orchard soil is good drainage. 

 Fruit trees will not thrive upon undrained soil. If the land is not na- 

 turally well drained, it should be thoroughly underdrained. 



Good preparation of the soil previous to planting is very essential. 

 Trees set on unprepared soil are seriously handicapped at an important 

 stage of their life and often they never overcome it. Land which has 

 been exhausted by grain growing is in poor condition for the growing of 

 trees, although it may greatly improved by growing and plowing down 

 two or three crops, such as rye, clover, or vetches, as a green manure. 

 Probably no other crop leaves the ground in better mechanical condition 

 for the growth of trees than clover. Its roots penetrate the soil deeply 

 and leave it well filled with vegetable matter or humus. 



