ORCHARDS. 



338 



ORCHARDS. 



should further be kept under glass, and 

 where the seeds have sprung up the plants 

 should be kept in an atmosphere both close 

 and warm. When about from 12 to 1 8 

 inches in height, the seedlings must be 

 grafted or budded with grafts or buds 

 from an established flowering and fruiting 

 tree. 



Orchards. 



The spot selected for an orchard should 

 be entirely sheltered from the north and 

 north-east, and should have a gentle 

 inclination, and full exposure to the south. 

 The best soil is a good loam, four feet in 

 depth, resting upon chalk, thoroughly 

 drained by tiles inserted six inches beneath 

 the chalk-level, the tiles being covered 

 over to that depth with broken stones. 

 The permanent trees, which, if it is intended 

 to lay the orchard down in grass, must be 

 standards and half-standards, with from 4 

 to 6 feet of clear stem, should be planted 

 in rows, from 30 to 40 feet apart, and 

 in what is termed the quincunx style, 

 thus : 



The north or coldest side of the orchard 

 should be planted with walnuts, cherries, 

 medlars, chestnuts, &c., to provide shelter 

 for the others. These might be succeeded 

 by the hardiest plums and apples, to be 

 followed by the tender pears on the south 

 or warmest side. If a gradation of height 

 were also followed, the shelter provided 

 would be more efficient, and the general 

 effect more pleasing. Filberts, mulberries, 

 and service-trees may also be introduced. 

 But these temporary trees should be 

 inserted as nurses between the permanent 

 trees. Firm -growing varieties that come 

 early into bearing should be chosen for the 

 purpose, and they will not only encourage 



the growth of the permanent trees, but pay 

 their own cost a dozen times over before 

 they require removal. They must, how- 

 ever, be carefully watched, lest they 

 weaken the energy or destroy the 

 symmetry of the permanent trees. The 

 rows should run east and west. 



Though, from the introduction of dwarf 

 trees, upon which, in a good kitchen 

 garden, as much fruit may be grown as 

 will be required for the consumption of 

 an ordinary family, an orchard is not so 

 necessary now as it was some years ago, 

 still this useful appendage of the country 

 house should not be wholly neglected. A 

 piece of pasture where the soil is good 

 may be very profitably employed as an 

 orchard. It will yield both a crop of 

 fruit and a crop of grass, and if the former 

 be not required for consumption, there is at 

 all times a ready sale for it. Apples, pears, 

 and cherries are the fruits properly culti- 

 vated in orchards ; but plums, walnuts, and 

 filberts are not unfrequently considered as 

 orchard fruit, and in cases where there is 

 only one orchard, all these fruits may, with 

 advantage, be included in it. 



Upon the nature of the site and soil 

 best suited for an orchard, Abercrombie 

 observes, "Land sloping to the east or south 

 is better than a level ; a sheltered hollow, 

 not liable to floods, is better than an 

 upland with the same aspect, and yet a 

 gentle rising, backed by sufficient shelter, 

 or the base of a hill, is eligible. A good 

 loam, in which the constituents of a good 

 soil predominate over those of a hot one, 

 suits most fruit-trees ; the subsoil should be 

 dry, and the depth of mould thirty inches 

 or three feet. Before planting, drain, if 

 necessary ; trench to the depth of two feet, 

 manure according to the defects of the soil, 

 and give a winter and summer fallow ; or 

 cultivate the site for a year or two as a 

 kitchen garden, so that it may be deeply 

 dug and receive a good annual dressing." 



