266 ANKUAL REPORT. 



To take care of such an orchard and have it do well, it should be 

 located on high or naturally drained clay or limestone soils and 

 sloping to the east or northeast. 



The cultivation should not stimulate overgrowth, and the later- 

 als, or side branches, should be pinched in occasionally to form a 

 good head. When three to four or five years old, if the trees show 

 no blossoms, tie a wire around one of the lower branches, or girdle 

 one, to make it sick. Do this in June or July, and the branch will 

 get filled with blossom buds, and bear the next year. Always leave 

 the lower branches shortened in to protect the trunk of the tree, 

 and only remove them gradually, as the limbs you are training to 

 form the head of the tree expand to shade the body. 



Some will say this is rather a small business, to start an orchard 

 in this vast northwestern country. We acknowledge it is rather a 

 small beginning, but should the amateur be patient, persevering 

 and industrious, and can estimate the value of small things, above 

 all have a love for his business, he will not fail of his due reward. 

 Other crops may be raised between the rows. These may be either 

 of small fruits, such as currants, strawberries, or any other crop 

 that will not interfere with the growth of the trees. Only a short 

 time of patient industry, and the seedling orchard will produce its 

 fruits. 



