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drains should also be so arranged as to catch the soakage in the easiest 

 way. It is also advisable, as far as may be practicable, to lay the 

 drains in such a way that they will be in the centres, between the rows 

 of trees. 



DEAIN PIPES. 



Pipes required to drain an acre of land at various widths of trenches. 



PREPARATION OF THE LAND. 



Ground for trees and vines, as also the smaller fruits, should be 

 carefully prepared, so that the plants may be placed under the 

 best possible conditions for making strong and healthy growth. A 

 good root-bed is required in the first place to provide the materials 

 for feeding the plants, and secondly, to enable the trees to get a 

 firm hold of the soil. Deep stirring of the soil, and loosening the 

 sub-soil, is the most perfect mode of preparation, as this treatment, by 

 allowing air to penetrate freely, assists in making the mineral plant food 

 soluble, gives the widest field from which the roots can obtain nourish- 

 ment, and allows them to get a firm hold of the ground. Heavy soils, 

 more especially, require deep cultivation, as otherwise they will, as 

 a rule, be too compact and wet. Lighter soils, and more particularly 

 those resting upon open, gravelly, or limestone sub-soils, may from 

 motives of economy be treated in a more superficial manner, but even 

 this class of land will, as a rule, give better results if deeply worked. 



SELECTION OF KINDS AND VARIETIES. 



It is a matter of some importance to cultivators in planting fruit 

 trees or vines, that they should select kinds and varieties that are likely 



c 



