80 THE FAT OF THE LAND 



for profit. Seven years from planting is almost 

 too soon to decide how well I have succeeded, 

 but the results attained and the promises for the 

 future lead me to believe that there will be no 

 failure in my plan. 



The three essentials for beginning such an 

 orchard are : prepare the land properly, get good 

 stock (healthy and true to name), and plant it 

 well. I could do no more this year than to 

 plough deep, smooth the surface, and plant as 

 well as I knew how. Increased fertility must 

 come from future cultivation and top dressing. 

 The thing most prominent in my plan was to 

 get good trees well placed in the ground before 

 cold weather set in. At my time of life I could 

 not afford to wait for another autumn, or even 

 until spring. I had, and still have, the opinion 

 that a fall-planted tree is nearly six months in 

 advance of one planted the following spring. 

 Of course there can be no above-ground growth 

 during that time, but important things are being 

 done below the surface. The roots find time to 

 heal their wounds and to send out small searchers 

 after food, which will be ready for energetic 

 work as soon as the sun begins to warm the soil. 

 The earth settles comfortably about these roots 

 and is moulded to fit them by the autumn rains. 

 If the stem is well braced by a mound of earth, 

 and if a thick mulch is placed around it, much 

 will be done below ground before deep frosts 

 interrupt the work ; and if, in the early spring, 



