88 THE APPLE CULTURIST. 



ing trees before they expand their leaves should not be 

 done by pouring water at the roots, but by keeping the 

 bark of the stem and branches frequently or constantly 

 moist. Trees in leaf and in rapid growth may be watered 

 at the roots, if done properly, as directed. 



9. Warm valleys with a rich soil are more liable to 

 cause destruction to trees or their crops by cold than 

 moderate hills of more exposure, and with less fertile soil, 

 the cold air settling at the bottom of the valleys during 

 the sharpest frosts, and the rich soil making the trees grow 

 too late in autumn, without ripening and hardening the 

 wood of the branches. 



10. Drain the ground if it is at all wet; and commence 

 the work of pulverization and subsoiling at least one year 

 before young trees or seeds are planted. 



11. Remember that fruit-trees need to be fed every year, 

 in order that they may yield large, smooth, and luscious 

 fruit. Trees can not concoct fruit out of material that will 

 not make fruit. 



12. Recollect that it is far better to procure trees from a 

 poor soil than from one that has been highly manured ; and 

 it is better still to rear your own trees from the seed where 

 they are to grow. 



13. The excavations where trees are to stand should be 

 so broad that the roots can readily spread to the next row 

 without meeting with unbroken ridges of hard-pan. 



14. Beware of planting fruit-trees too deep, especially on 

 heavy soils. On light, loamy soils they should be set, in 

 some instances, four to six inches deeper than on a heavy 

 soil, according to the lightness and porosity of the land. It 

 is a safe rule, however, to set no deeper than the trees stood 

 in the nursery ; and this can easily be determined by their 

 appearance at the base. Every fibre should be extended in 

 its proper direction, and carefully surrounded with compost. 



