48 rennie's agriculture. 



nitrogen from the air and the roots go down several 

 feet, and bring up soluble mineral matter. Besides 

 this, they perforate the subsoil among the roots of 

 the trees, which is essential to the health of the 

 latter. A cover crop of clover and farm manure 

 prevents the trees from blooming too early in the 

 spring. Although the above directions are specially 

 applicable to the apple orchard, they are equally 

 beneficial for other fruit trees. 



Following in the order, according to diagram 

 (page 102), cherries will come in order next to grapes. 

 Standard trees are more suitable than dwarfs for 

 horse cultivation. Reliable varieties of acid cherries 

 for preserving are "Montmorency" and "Louis 

 Phillippe" (see III. 21). The following are three 

 satisfactory sweet cherries for table use : "Napoleon," 

 "Elton," and "Black Tartarian." 



P'"«>s- The plum, the most delicious of fruits, has 



suffered severely in past years from curculio and 

 black knot. The former evil may be combatted by 

 spraying with certain compounds which are dealt 

 with more fully in the section dealing with apple 

 culture. In the case of black knot the infected parts 

 should be cut out and burned. Spraying the trees 

 with Bordeaux mixture has a tendency to restrain 

 further contagion. For an early plum, the "Burbank' ' 

 might be named; for second, "Lombard" is still 

 a favorite {see III. 22), and for autumn variety the 

 "Reine Claude" is one of the best. 



Pears. Xhc cultivation of the pear is extending as the 



value of the fruit is appreciated. The melting, 

 juicy texture, the fine flavor and delicate aroma of 

 the pear give it a high place among fruits. A pear 

 orchard, properly attended to, will yield large re- 

 turns, but pears require special care, particularly in 

 picking and packing, both for home use and for 



