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2r,o ARBORICULTUBE— TREATMENT OF THE BOIL. 



We have observotl that within the past year or two, now zeal lias been awalccncd 

 anions the better class of cultivators, on the subject of hlijh culture. Instead of 

 devoting their time and attention to the collection of new, rare, and wonderful thing.*, 

 they are endeavoring to bring old, well-known, and well-tried object', to a higher and 

 more perfect standard of perfection. And this is a hopeful sign. "We have no admi- 

 ration to bestow on a collection of ill-grown, half-starved trees and plants, however 

 rare and varied it may be. It affords us no pleasure, nor can we see how it affords 

 any one pleasure, to see trees and plants pining under neglect and bad treatment. 

 As well might we take pleasure in gazing at an unfortunate prisoner through the iron 

 grating of bis dismal cell. Give us half a dozen trees well cultivated, with health, 

 vigor, luxuriant beauty, and productiveness, expressed in every leaf and limb, rather 

 than an hundred lean and hungry. Give us one dish of well-grown, beautiful fruits, 

 rather than bushels of " windfalls;" or one pot-plant showing in its well-proportioned 

 form and luxuriant growth skillful and careful training, rather than a houseful of lanky 

 specimens that speak to us only of pot-bound roots, bad soil, careless watering, and bad 

 ventilation. "Whatever you do, do it well," should be the motto of every cultivator. 



It is unnecessary to say that the health and vigor of trees depend almost entirely 

 upon the condition in which the roots are placed, because the roots perform the im- 

 portant oflSce of feeders. The spongy points, or extremities of the roots, are like so 

 many mouths, through which the supply of food must pass ; and if these are bound 

 up in a compact mass of earth, impenetrable in a great degree to air and moisture, it 

 is impossible for them to find the necessary supply of food. No matter how rich the 

 soil may be, if not in the proper mechanical condition, its fertility will be of no avail ; 

 because the chemical combinations which prepare the food of trees and plants can not 

 go on in the absence of air and moisture. Here lies the prime defect of cultivation 

 generally ; it is not deep and thorough enough to reach the roots. We see people who 

 call themselves very careful cultivators scratching the surface of a narrow circle around 

 their trees with a common hand-hoe, and flatter themselves this is good culture ; but 

 if they reflect a moment, they will see their error. "VMiat they have done is a mere 

 mockery — no better than the scratching of a sprightly bantam. The points of the 

 roots extend further from the tree than most people suppose ; and the earth should be 

 kept completely pulverized all around them, and beyond them some distance. Any- 

 thing short of this is labor lost. 



Nurserymen have good opportunity of ascertaining the influence of deep and fre- 

 quent loosening of the soil. The usual practice in this country is to plow between the 

 rows of trees, as deeply as a one-horse plow can go with safety to the roots, and then 

 to follow with a cultivator or horse-hoe. The plow is used two, three, or four times a 

 year, according to the stiffness or looseness of the soil, and the cultivator as often as 

 once a fortnight say from May to October. This is not only an economical mode oi 

 culture, but, in this country, the very best that could be followed. It protects the 

 trees against the effects of our long and severe drouths. It is very common to see 

 sery trees, thus treated, in a fine growing condition; while others, that have been 

 ly surface-dressed with a hand-hoe, are completely at a stand still. If we turn 



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