33 



west, and the variety is such a poor thing anyhow, that we 

 certainly cannot afford to grow it in the Bay State. Se- 

 lect popular varieties, if you can. People don't know the 

 Eome Beauty nor the Wismer's Dessert as they do the Bald- 

 win, the Ehode Island Greening and the Hubbardston. 



Third, plan to practice clean cultivation in the orchard 

 from the beginning, if possible. It means better care in so 

 many other ways. It means better acquaintance with every 

 tree in the orchard, and consequently better attention to its 

 needs. In particular, it means less borers, and in localities 

 where they are troublesome this is a very important point. 

 If absolutely impossible to cultivate, on account of the steep- 

 ness of the land, — and there undoubtedly are thousands 

 of acres of splendid orchard land on the hillsides of 

 ITew England, — then practice the so-called " sod-culture " 

 method ; that is, mow the grass and weeds which grow on 

 the land, and leave them for a mulch about the trees. 



Fourth, begin to fertilize the orchard as soon as it is set, 

 and keep it up every year. In the writer's orchard each tree 

 is given 1 ounce of nitrate of soda and 1 pound of a mix- 

 ture made at the rate of 5 pounds of basic slag or of acid 

 phosphate, to furnish the phosphoric acid, and 3 pounds of 

 high-grade sulfate of potash. This is scattered about the 

 tree — not close enough to injure the trunk — as early as 

 the land is in good condition in the spring. For bearing 

 orchards we use 500 pounds of slag or acid phosphate and 

 300 pounds of high-grade sulfate of potash per acre. Mr. 

 J. II. Hale uses 1,000 pounds of bone meal and 400 pounds 

 of muriate of potash. Either of these formulas is high feed- 

 ing, but high feeding pays with trees as truly as with steers ; 

 and particularly if one is starting an orchard on old pasture 

 land, or lands which have been otherwise depleted of their 

 plant food, — and these sorts of lands often offer ideal 

 orchard sites, — it is imperative to get the plant food back 

 into them, and in liberal quantities, too. 



Fifth, spray the orchard. It is not always necessary to 

 spray it during the first few years, but, on the other hand, 

 it is sometimes absolutely necessary if the trees are to be 



