ORCHAKD CULTURE. 538 



Other. In the autumn of the fourth year, or two years from the 

 bud, the trees should be transplanted to the orchard. This is 

 sometimes done one year from the bud, but the safer and better 

 way is to wait till the second year. 



Orchards should be underdrained, unless very dry. A fruit 

 tree will never be productive with stagnant water about its 

 roots. It should be thoroughly prepared to the depth of twenty 

 inches by subsoiling, manuring, harrowing, and cross plowing, as 

 described in the directions for preparing the nursery. In addi- 

 tion to the compost of muck, manure, leaves, night soil, etc., an 

 application of fifty bushels of ashes or lime to the acre will be 

 advantageous and, if the soil be destitute of lime, necessary. 

 Does this preparation look like too much cost and labor ? Eest 

 assured it is the very cheapest way of producing fine crops of 

 fruit, which will surely return the outlay many fold. Never set 

 trees in holes without thoroughly preparing the whole soi'l. If 

 you cannot spare the time and labor to prepare an acre in this 

 thorough manner, pre})are one-half or one-quarter of an acre, 

 and leave the rest until you can prepare it. The scarcity of 

 fruit is due to the liole system. If the young trees have been 

 properly pinched back, they will not need much pruning when 

 transplanted. Cut back only enough of the head to balance 

 the loss the roots have sustained. When raised in the farmer's 

 own nursery this loss of roots should be small ; when they are 

 transported to him from a distant nursery the roots will be 

 nearly all cut off for convenience in transportation. This is 

 one of the reasons why we advocate the home nursery. The 

 roots of the tree extend as far in each direction as the height of 

 the tree, and where the ground has been kept mellow by culti- 

 vation, there will be but little difficulty in getting them up 

 nearly entire. Every wound should be pared smooth with a 

 sharp knife ; the roots searched for borers, and dipped in mud 



