68 THE APPLE CULTUK1UT. 



One Error in manuring the Ground, when an orchard is 

 growing, consists in applying too much carbonaceous ma- 

 terial, when there is already too much, but a scarcity of 

 mineral or inorganic material. Most soils contain a suf- 

 ficient quantity of carbon, in the form of leaf-mould and 

 muck, for the requirements of fruit-trees, provided there is 

 no lack of inorganic elements in the soil, such as alumina, 

 potash, and soda. Granite soils are among the best for 

 fruit, as this rock abounds in feldspar and mica, both of 

 which contain potash. As these rocks disintegrate and en- 

 ter into the composition of the soil, they supply one of the 

 most necessary elements for the formation of good trees 

 and fruit. Some of the best orchards we have ever seen 

 were on alluvial (loamy) soils, lying upon limestone rocks 

 which came up near the surface. One of the best soils on 

 which to raise fruit is that just cleared of a forest. The 

 surface should be rolling or descending, and moderately dry 

 and rich. Such ground needs little or no preparation. The 

 roots of the forest-trees, as they decay, keep it loose and 

 mellow, and afford the exact food necessary for a rapid 

 and healthy growth of the fruit-trees ; and in most instan- 

 ces, the soil abounds plentifully in those elements which are 

 requisite to form the most perfect fruit. Another consid- 

 eration, and a very important one, is, that fruit-trees grown 

 on recently-cleared forest land are much less liable to be 

 diseased than those grown on old land. 



Any one going from an old settled country to a new one 

 will not fail to observe the remarkable difference between 

 the trees and fruit of the one and the other. How much 

 more thrifty they are in the latter than in the former, and 

 how much larger, fairer, and more perfect the fruit usually 

 is on new land than on old. 



Orchards on Bough Land. There are thousands of acres 

 of rough, broken, rocky, and uneven ground, in many States, 



