STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 221 



pelled to choose the last mentioned rich soil or formation for your 

 orchard site, your chances for fruit growing or orcharding in Min- 

 nesota are not flattering, and my advice would be to set only a 

 small orchard and watch carefully that the growth is not excessive. 

 You may be obliged, to obtain the desired result, to draw in some 

 soil obtained on some natural formation that will tend to retard 

 the growth ; in other words suiting the treatment to the circum- 

 stances and conditions surrounding your orchard. Next in order 

 comes the preparation of the soil which should be thoroughly sub- 

 dued, deeply cultivated and well pulverized before planting the 

 trees, as I firmly believe that while a certain portion of the roots 

 are running near the surface, seeking nourishment sufficient for the 

 growth of the tree, and perfecting its fruit, there is another por- 

 tion that run down in the deep soil to find moisture and obtain a 

 firm hold in the ground to hold the tree in its place, away from 

 danger of the extremes of heat and cold. Therefore I advise dig- 

 ging deep holes and filling with soft dirt to enable the roots to 

 penetrate. My plan now is to lay out in lands running the way 

 the land inclines, then plow a back furrow for every row of trees, 

 finishing in the middle with a shallow ditch. Have these lauds 

 run north and south if possible, so as to have the rows from twen- 

 ty-four to thirty feet apart according to the habit of the trees. 

 This afibrds some drainage which is all important. But a thor- 

 ough system of tile draining is much to be preferred. Of course 

 this is attended with trouble and expense, but in most soils it will 

 pay well for the outlay, and in many places on it depends much of 

 the success of the orchard. But while tile draining is preferable, 

 you will find good surface draining much better than none. In 

 short, the better you prepare the soil and the more care you exer- 

 cise in watching and controlling the growth of your trees in this 

 trying climate, the better you will be satisfied with the appearance 

 and profit of your orchard ; ever bearing in mind that care and 

 vigilance is the price that orchardists in this latitude have to pay 

 to insure success. 



Your ground being prepared in accordance with the foregoing 

 directions, next in order comes the selection of varieties to plant, 

 and now comes by far the most important factor in the usefulness 

 and profit of the orchard. And you must bear with me if I spend 

 some time on this topic, as this will tend in a great measure to 

 recommend or condemn it in years to come. Our first aim must 

 be to select those that with good care and culture are seldom in- 

 jured by the vicissitudes of climate, and in order to do this in this 



