708 COLUMBIANA COUNTY, OHIO. 



ignoramus can plant trees and raise fruit. There is where the 

 first mistake lies. The wants of the trees must be studied 

 from the time you get them from the nursery, all through their 

 different stages of growth. In the first place you must exer- 

 cise judgment in selecting varieties. Post yourself in this 

 matter, either by visiting the nearest bearing orchards, and 

 obtaining what information you can as to what succeeds best 

 and the kind of soil that has been planted on , or, if there is 

 no orchard near you that is bearing, send and get your State 

 Horticultural Report and study it well. You will get a vast 

 amount of information from it. 



" Go to your nearest bookstore and spend a dollar or two 

 for some work on fruitgrowing. If there is no such work there 

 have one sent for. Or, if you are not able to do this, as a 

 last resort, let the nurseryman select your varieties. You must 

 tell him the kind of soil you are going to plant in. Give him 

 the number of Summer, Fall, and Winter varieties you want. 



" Here let me say, if you want to raise apples to sell and 

 make '^money, plant almost exclusively of good sized and late- 

 keeping Winter varieties. My orchard is all Winter varieties 

 but forty trees. But other things are essential besides varieties. 



" First, select your location for the orchard. From obser- 

 vation and experience, I would say let your ground be natur- 

 ally dry, with a north or northwest exposure. Never plant on 

 a south, or southeast exposure, if you can possibly avoid it. I 

 know many advocate a south or southeast exposure as being 

 the best, and give as their reason that the soil is warm, trees 

 start earlier, etc. But you do not want your trees to start 

 early in Spring, and then have the buds killed by Spring frosts. 

 Neither do you want the sap started during the warm spells of 

 weather that sometimes come during the Winter months. On 

 the contrary, you want them kept back in Winter, and as late in 

 the Spring as you can hold them back. The cold winds from 

 the north or northwest will hurt your trees far less than the 

 hot sun. Your location settled, next prepare your ground 

 thoroughly. Work it up deep. Most soils will pay to subsoil. 

 Before you plant, make good-sized holes, so as to spread the 



