4 THE GARDENER. [Jan. 



has been copied. For those with only one small piece of ground, 

 there is some excuse if they desire a few varieties. But even in 

 their case their trees would do better located by themselves. 



There is no serious reason that we know of why there is so much 

 of this mixing up of standard fruit-trees with kitchen-garden produce, 

 instead of putting them by themselves, where they and the ground 

 can be much more specially treated in accordance with their want?. 

 By doing so, many telling advantages are gained for both depart- 

 ments. The evils of digging heavy dressings of rank manure, and of 

 digging among the roots of the trees, find no excuse, and can be en- 

 tirely avoided. Xeither need the trees be starved or injured by being 

 improperly fed when they want extra nourishment. ISTo spade or 

 fork should be thrust among the roots of trees to dig in manure and 

 mutilate the roots. A firm surface, subject to no more tillage than is 

 necessary for a clean surface, having the necessary manure spread on 

 its surface, inducing the roots to keep near it and be fed with the 

 beneficial elements of, instead of coming in contact with, the manure — 

 this way of managing the soil produces a more moderate growth, and 

 altogether that state of health without grossness which is so desirable. 



Then the trees, to be worth the name, can have room and liberty 

 to develop without injury to other crops and with benefit to them- 

 selves. The pruning is reduced to a minimum sufficient to admit 

 of light and air to the various parts of each tree, instead of the 

 stag's-horn style of pruning off almost every inch of wood made 

 annually. The compromise between nature and art mutually working 

 to each other's hands results in the building up of trees that fre- 

 quently do more to fill fruit-rooms with fine fruit than when they 

 are managed on the other principle which we are contrasting. 



Besides, trees in an orchard give an amount of shelter to each 

 other that is an important factor in securing comparative safety from 

 the blighting influence of winds, which do so much damage to the 

 blossom. By observing the3e few cardinal points more generally — 

 the proper selection of sorts, the orchard system of planting, natural 

 root-culture, and less pruning — much more and better fruit would be 

 produced in a great many districts. The culture would be simplified 

 and the labour lessened. On the other hand, the vegetable-garden 

 would also profit by such an arrangement to no inconsiderable extent. 

 This, coupled with the planting of many a nook of ground now not 

 much better than waste, would very much increase our home supplies, 

 as compared to what is grown in gardens, making us more indepen- 

 dent of foreign supplies of at least the commonest, though not the 

 least useful, of these fruits, which it is desirable to make still more 

 plentiful, cheap, and popular among our toiling millions. 



