20 Management of Orchards. 



stem during the Midsummer shoot, and the plant will have the 

 benefit of the leaves till the following winter. These shoots 

 should then be removed with a sharp knife, care being taken to 

 make a smooth up cut. The importance of removing all branches, 

 and roots likewise, by a smooth iip cut, the edge of the knife being 

 kept away from the tree, cannot be too strongly urged ; for if the 

 branch be left bruised or ragged, it holds the wet, decay ensues, 

 and the energy of the young plant is most undesirably taxed to 

 heal and cover the sore ; whereas a smooth cut heals at once with 

 a slight scar, and apparently little effort, nature having provided 

 the tree with a curative power proportional to the injury received. 

 Whether the tree should be again removed before toeing planted 

 in the orchard is a much contested point ; many- affirm that by 

 moving the stock every year it is in the nursery, you get a 

 hardier and better rooted plant, but I think if the land is of good 

 quality and kept clean they need not be transplanted more than 

 once. 



If the young stocks are to be grafted in the nursery (a plan 

 which I do not recommend, for reasons to be noticed hereafter), 

 it should be done in the third or fourth year of their growth. 

 After the stock is 1|- to 2 inches in diameter, or 5 or 6 inches in 

 circumference, it is fit for planting out into the orchard : to 

 attain this size under proper management on good land will 

 take five years, but sometimes six or seven are required. 



Other ways of rearing young trees, by suckers, or layers, or 

 cuttings, may be just mentioned, but they are not to be recom- 

 mended for the establishment of an orchard. 



3. The Soil, Aspect, and other Circumstances attending 

 successful Cultivation. 



The best soils for the growth of apples are the strong loams 

 and clays on the old red sandstone in Herefordshire, Devonshire, 

 parts of Gloucestershire and of Somersetshire, and the alluvial 

 deposits resting thereon ; but some fine fruit is produced on 

 the new red sandstone and blue lias. Pears flourish more on the 

 new red sandstone than on any other soils, as we have abundant 

 proof in Worcestershire. 



As a general rule wherever hops are successfully grown 

 orchards flourish, and either a good luscious cider is produced, 

 or excellent table-fruit. The London clay produces good fruit, 

 but it is more suitable for culinary and table purposes than for 

 making cider, and this is generally true with the drier climate 

 of the Eastern counties ; the moist climate of the Western coun- 

 ties being requisite to produce that juicy fruit which is suitable 

 for making cider. 



Although the presence of lime in the soil is generally desirable 



