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performed very early it is favourable to the production of wood, 

 and if done late in the season it is more conducive to fertility 

 and therefore best suited for mature trees. Root-pruning may be 

 practised with advantage in the case of over-luxuriant mature trees 

 which make an abundance of wood but produce little or no fruit. It is 

 a too common practice, in dealing with trees of this class, to top prune 

 and thin out the branches severely, but this is just the thing that ought 

 not to be done, and cultivators must understand that the more trees are 

 cut the more woody growth will they make. The proper treatment is to 

 check growth rather than stimulate it, and this may be effected by root- 

 pruning. This operation can be performed at any time while the trees 

 are at rest, and may readily be effected by digging a semi-circular trench 

 a spade wide at such a distance as will depend upon the size of the 

 trunk. Cut all the roots in this trench, and the following season treat 

 the other side of the tree in the same way. By adopting this plan trees 

 will often be brought into good bearing condition. 



KEEPING CLEAN. 



Clean cultivation is essential to the successful culture of the Apple 

 and other fruit trees in this part of the world. An undergrowth of grass 

 and other vegetation absorbs a deal of nutriment and moisture in the 

 summer that otherwise would be available for the trees. Though 

 orchards in grass may do very well in the United Kingdom and other 

 parts of the world, yet experience has taught us that a different system 

 must be adopted here. The cleaner the surface can be kept the better, 

 and weeds should never be allowed to make much headway if it is 

 possible to prevent them. But, though cleanliness is desirable, the too 

 common practice of roughly ploughing or digging between the roots of 

 mature trees cannot be too strongly condemned. When these operations 

 are performed roughly a large proportion of the upper rootlets are des- 

 troyed or injured. These rootlets are the mouths or feeders of the trees, 

 provided by nature to supply plant food ; and it stands to reason, if a 

 large percentage are destroyed, growth must suffer more or less. It 

 would be wiser to preserve these feeders as much as possible, unless root- 

 pruning is required, and the work can be better done with the scarifier 

 or hoe than the plough or spade. The work can also be more economi- 

 cally done, as four or five scarifyings or hoeings will not entail more 

 labour than one ploughing or digging. The frequent stirring of the 

 surface soil is also exceedingly beneficial to the trees. The practice of 

 mulching is deserving of general adoption, as in this part of the world 

 it is of great assistance to the cultivator during the summer months. 

 Long stable manure, straw, grass, seaweed, or any other material that 

 will answer the purpose should be spread as far as the roots extend 

 before the hot weather sets in, taking care to keep the stems of the trees 

 free. When the surface soil is protected by this means from the direct 

 action of a burning sun and drying winds, the moisture that is in the 

 ground is conserved to a large extent, and will last much longer than 

 otherwise. 



