THE ORCHARD. 179 



2d. The Soil. Having treated already of the different 

 characters and modes of amelioration of soils, it is only 

 necessary here to point out what particular qualities or 

 kinds are best adapted to the different classes of fruit- 

 trees, as far as experience will warrant in so doing. There 

 are soils of a certain texture and quality, in which, by 

 proper management, all our hardy fruits may be grown 

 to perfection; for instance, the soil of our specimen 

 orchard, which is that usually termed a sandy loam, with 

 a sandy , clay subsoil, so dry that it can be worked imme- 

 diately after a rain of twenty-four hours. On this we 

 have apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, and, 

 indeed, all the fruits planted promiscuously, side by side, 

 not of choice, but necessity, and all these yield bountiful 

 crops of the finest fruit. Our country abounds in such 

 soils, and others somewhat different in character, but 

 equally eligible for all fruit-trees when well managed. 

 On the other hand, there are soils wholly unfit for fruit- 

 trees of any kind such are peaty or mucky, and damp, 

 cold, and spongy soils. For an orchard of apples or 

 pears, a dry, deep, substantial soil, between sandy and a 

 clayey loam, and possessing among its inorganic parts a 

 considerable portion of lime, is, according to all experi- 

 ence, the best. On such soils we find the greatest and 

 most enduring vigor and fertility, the healthiest and 

 hardiest trees, and the fairest and best-flavored fruits. 

 Trees, both of apples and pears, planted on such soils in 

 Western New York, upwards of fifty years ago, are, at 

 this day, in the very hight of their vigor and productive- 

 ness, without having received more than the most ordi- 

 nary culture. It has been observed that apples, grown 

 on clayey soils, keep better than those grown on light 

 soils. 



The plum succeeds best, as a general thing, on a clayey 

 loam, rather stiff. The Canada or native plum, and Mira- 

 belle, however, succeed well on very light soils. The 



