66 YALE AGRICULTURAL LECTURES. 



would be about a hill of potatoes or corn. No weeds must 

 exercise Mr. Douglas's squatter sovereignty privilege, unless 

 one wishes to starve his trees to the extent of the food these 

 pestiferous plants consume. Remember this point, for it is of 

 the utmost importance ; but in putting it into practice, remem 

 ber also, that in your hand-hoeing, or horse-hoeing, the tree 

 roots must not be disturbed. A light annual dressing of com 

 post should be spread upon the surface early in winter, and in 

 spring forked in. Road-scrapings, ditch-bottoms, and such 

 matter, are good for application to a light soil, and heavy leaf- 

 mold, and decaying vegetables, with stable-manure for a heavy 

 soil, are good in compost. Occasional light dressings of lime, 

 ashes, and even salt, will be found beneficial. Mulching in 

 summer should be very light, just enough to keep down weeds, 

 and once a week, or once a month, as the case may be, must 

 be removed for as thorough a forking of the ground as can be 

 given without injury to the tree roots. The object sought in 

 pruning fruit-trees is to regulate their growth and bearing, so 

 as to secure at once a particular form with greatest vigor and 

 fruitfulness. The only instrument used in a good nursery is 

 the pruning-knife ; and this should be kept so sharp that any 

 ordinary branch may be lopped off at a single draw, leaving a 

 perfectly smooth surface. Shears should never be used. A 

 saw is only required when trees have been neglected. Branches 

 removed should be cut close to the trunk, so that the tree may 

 not be injured by the decay of a stump. Shorten shoots to a good 

 strong bud that will make a leader, not too close to nor too far 

 from the bud, and with a slope of cut of about forty-five degrees. 

 In shortening your leader, don't always cut on the same side, 

 for you would thus make the whole tree lean one way or the 

 other. Pruning, rightly done, is a blessing ; wrongly, a curse. 

 To show practically how pruning should be done, Mr. Barry 

 performed the operation on several fruit-trees which he had 

 brought for the purpose, and I have no doubt but that the 

 large audience got thus a far better idea of the modus operan- 



