STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 439 



As soon as the ground is in good condition in the spring, the trees 

 should be taken from the pit as fast as they can be set in the orchard. 

 With a pailful of water and a rake or hoe, make a puddle of very thick 

 mud in the bottom of the hole in which you are to set the tree; settle 

 the roots into this mud till every root is covered with it. This pre- 

 caution avoids the danger of leaving open spaces among the roots and 

 secures, in a measure, against the drouth. Over this mud put several 

 inches of dry surface soil and press it down hard. This prevents the 

 ground from cracking as it would if the water were poured upon the 

 surface, and it acts as a mulch to retain the moisture below. 



The depth to which a tree should be set must depend on the soil. If 

 in a moist location, one or two inches deeper than it stood in the nur- 

 sery is sufficient. If in a very dry place, it had better be down four 

 or five inches deeper. The young tree should be leaned a little to the 

 southwest when set for two reasons. First, in order that the trunk 

 of the tree may be shaded by its own leaves and branches to guard 

 against the "sun scald." Some planters take the precaution to drive 

 down a sharpened board on the southwest side of the tree, as this is 

 the direction of the hottest rays, and the practice is to be commended. 

 Again, as our prevailing winds are from the southwest, if the tree is 

 set vertically at first, it will in time, if exposed to the winds, be found 

 leaning to the northeast. If the loss of root in digging has been con- 

 siderable, the top should be cut back in proportion. 



Now, before you call the tree fully set, attend to the mulching. 

 Bring some old rotten hay, straw, chip-dirt or saw-dust, and bring it 

 in liberal quantities. Do not put it against the tree, but leaving a 

 few inches of bare ground around the tree, let the mulching extend 

 back three or four feet in every direction, and make it thick enough 

 to hold the moisture in the ground. A very good and lasting mulch 

 is made of broken bricks or small stones. If the drouth should be 

 long and extreme, it may be well, perhaps, every three or four weeks 

 to put a few pails full of water on the mulching, but water with care, 

 and remember that large numbers of trees are killed every year by 

 over watering, and it has been found by observation to be often the 

 case that the more wheat and corn a man loses by drouth the more 

 trees he will kill with water, being very persistent in his overnursing, 

 till the tree finally gives it up in despair, while his neighbor, who has 

 had no time for such work, can show a vigorous orchard. Don't 

 water too much. 



When the trees are planted and mulched, don't sign their death 

 warrant at once by turning in the hogs and calves, but put the ground 



