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plentiful, for I have known of a number of cases where such 

 orchards have been made thrifty and profitable. But it cer- 

 tainly does add a very serious element to the situation, and 

 it is going to require both time and money to eradicate it. 



The above, as I have said, are the main factors in deciding 

 for or against the renovation of an old orchard, yet perhaps 

 I have omitted the chief factor after all, and that is the man 

 himself. If he has just come into possession of the orchard, 

 and is making an attempt to clean up all along the line, I 

 should have far more faith in the ultimate good results of 

 the matter than if he were author and finisher of the neglect 

 from which the orchard has suffered, even though he might 

 have firmly determined to " do the right thing by the or- 

 chard " henceforth. 



Having finally decided that the orchard is worth while, 

 the work of renovating will fall naturally under the follow- 

 ing heads: first, cultivation; second, pruning; third, spray- 

 ing ; fourth, fertilizing ; fifth, cover-crops ; sixth, grafting, •^- 

 arranged somewhat in the order of their importance, though, 

 of course, this will vary greatly with different orchards, and 

 though all will be needed to secure the best results. 



1 have placed cultivation first because, though trees will 

 often do well in sod, if otherwise well cared for, and though 

 it may sometimes be necessary, even in attempting to revive 

 an old orchard, to let the trees stand in sod. Yet, as a rule, 

 to get them into satisfactory condition cultivation is the 

 prime requisite, and will do more than any other one thing 

 to start the orchard on the right road. It is usually difficult 

 in an old orchard, such as we are considering, to do anything 

 like a thorough job of plowing. If one can secure an ox team 

 they will do the work better than a team of horses, as they 

 will be able to get under the trees better, and the slow, steady 

 gait of the oxen is better than that of most horses. Do not 

 be alarmed over cutting some tree roots with the plow, even 

 some large roots. A little root pruning will not hurt the 

 trees, and the fresh, new feeding-roots, sent out from the 

 broken and cut ends of the old roots, will very soon equal in 

 absorbing ability the parts of the old roots which are cut 



