ON ORCHARDS. 51 



this orchard is becoming productive the vigorous 

 growth of the trees retarded their bearing, until this 

 year, 



EXPKRIMENT NO. 6. 



In November 1805, at the same time with the prece- 

 ding experiment, No. 5 ; I planted 252 trees adjoining 

 to No. 3, on a corn fallow, the holes prepared in the 

 same manner, 50 feet apart. The trees were partly 

 transplanted twice : I applied stable manure, which 

 had been hauled out the preceding Spring, in about 

 the proportion of one load to eight or ten trees ; the 

 ground had been highly manured with ashes on the 

 corn, about 250 bushels per acre: it was the next 

 Spring sown with oats ; they grew finely, and the trees 

 put out well, and for some time flourished; but as the 

 season was uncommonly dry, the oats by their growth 

 exhausted the moisture from the earth, which had not 

 that season been dug around the trees ; they withered, 

 and by the time the oats were ripe, 40 of them had 

 perished. As soon as the oats were cut, I had the 

 ground ploughed ; this stopped the further destruction 

 of the trees those which had not perished began to 

 recover, and in the following Autumn, which was very 

 moist, shot out new and vigorous shoots. The trees 

 replanted, and the survivors of the original plantation, 

 were dug twice last season (1807) the ground having 



