144 THE APPLE CULTUR1ST. 



CHAPTER VI. 



GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF ORCHARDS. 



Be mindful, when thou hast entombed the shoots, 

 With store of earth around to feed the roots ; 

 With iron teeth of rakes and prongs, to move 

 The crusted earth and loosen it above. VIKGIL. 



THE duties of an orchardist are only begun when the 

 young trees appear where they are expected to produce an- 

 nual crops of fruit. We offer this suggestion for the pur- 

 pose of waking up those " take - it - easy " cultivators, who 

 have imbibed the erroneous impression that, after they have 

 planted apple-seeds, and have thus produced trees as high 

 as their shoulders, or have transplanted trees from the nur- 

 sery, their labor and anxiety as to the future orchard are 

 ended ? There was never a more palpable delusion. Young 

 apple-trees will require more care, at certain seasons of the 

 year, than a flock of sheep ; and during a large portion of 

 the growing season, the orchardist must spend a great deal 

 of time, and expend much labor in his orchard. If the soil 

 is thoroughly cultivated, he must examine every tree fre- 

 quently, to see if all the branches and twigs are growing 

 correctly. At the same time, he must not neglect to wage 

 an incessant war against noxious insects. All these duties 

 must be attended to at the proper period. We can not 

 have a general time of cultivating the soil, of pruning, or of 

 combating noxious insects. The irksome duties in a young 

 orchard which demand attention to-day, may need to be re- 

 peated to-morrow and the next day. The man who pur- 

 poses to produce a profitable orchard of beautiful trees, 



