R C 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



ORC 



199 



leafless, spiked ; root-leaves imbricate, oblong, acute, keeled ; 

 iip of the nectary trifid, bearded, bent down.. Native of 

 New Caledonia. 



34. Ophrys Unifolia. Bulb ovate; scape round, sheathed; 

 leaf round, 'fistular, reflex, perforated in the middle to let 

 the scape pass. Native of New Zealand. 



Opobalsamum. See Amyrii. 



OpwntM. See Cactus. 



Or ache. See A triplex. 



Orange. See Citrus. 



Orchard, In planting an orchard, great attention should 

 be paid to the nature of the soil ; and such sorts of fruits 

 only should be chosen, as are best adapted to the ground 

 designed for planting; otherwise there can be little hopes of 

 their succeeding: and it is for want of rightly observing this 

 method, that we see in many places orchards planted which 

 never arrive to any tolerable degree of perfection, the trees 

 starving, and their trunks either covered with moss, or the 

 bark cracked and divided, both which are evident signs of 

 the weakness -of the trees ; whereas if perhaps instead of 

 Apples, the orchard had been planted with Pears, Cherries, 

 or any other sort of fruit adapted to the soil, the trees 

 \vould have grown very well, and produced fruit in abun- 

 dance. As to the position of an orchard ; where you are at 

 full liberty to choose, a rising ground open to the south-east 

 is to be preferred; but by no means plant upon the side of 

 any hill where the declivity is very great; for in such places 

 the great rains commonly wash down the better part of the 

 ground, which deprives the trees of their necessary support: 

 but where the rise is gentle, it is advantageous to the trees, 

 by admitting the sun and air between them more effectually 

 t!idii can be done upon an entire level; which is exceedingly 

 advantageous for the fruit, by dissipating fogs, and drying 

 up the damp, which when detained amongst the trees, mix 

 with the air, and render it rancid. If the ground be defended 

 from the west, north, and east winds, it will also render the 

 situation still more advantageous, for it is chiefly from those 

 quarters that fruit-trees receive the greatest injury ; therefore 

 if the place be not naturally defended from these by rising 

 hills, which is always to be preferred, let large-growing 

 timber-trees be planted for that purpose at some distance 

 from the orchard. A great regard should also be had to the 

 distance of planting the trees, which is what few persons 

 properly consider. Planting them too close exposes them 

 to blights; and will cause the fruit to be ill-tasted, by con- 

 fining the air, when laden with a great quantity of damp 

 vapours arising from the perspiration of the trees and exha- 

 lations from the earth, which being imbibed by the fruit, 

 render their juices crude and unwholesome. To prevent 

 this, plant the trees fourscore feet asunder, but not in regular 

 rows. The ground between the trees they plough and sow 

 with wheat and other crops, in the same manner as if it 

 were clear from trees, (and the crop is found to be as good 

 as those quite exposed, except just under each tree,) until 

 they are grown large, and afford a great shade; while the 

 trees, by the ploughing and tilling of the ground, are ren- 

 dered more vigorous and healthy, scarcely ever exhibiting 

 any moss, or other marks of poverty, and will abide much 

 longer, and produce much better fruit. If the ground 

 selected for an orchard, have been a pasture fur some years. 

 plough it in the green sward the spring before you plant the 

 trees, and let it lie a summer fallow; which will greatly 

 improve it, provided it be stirred two or three times, to rot 

 the sward of grass, and prevent weeds growing. At Michael- 

 mas plough it rather deeply, in oixler to loosen it for- the roots 

 of the trees, which should be planted in October, if the soil 

 82. 



be dry; but if moist, it will be better to defer it till the 

 beginning of March. Their distance apart, even in a close 

 orchard, must never be less than forty feet; and they will 

 succeed better, if placed eighty feet asunder. When you 

 have finished planting the trees, provide some stakes, to sup- 

 port them, and prevent their being blown out of the ground, 

 especially if it should happen after they have been planted 

 some time; for the ground in the autumn being warm, and 

 for the most part moist, the trees will very soon push out a 

 great number of young fibres, which, if broken off by their 

 being displaced, will greatly retard the growth of the trees. 

 In the spring following, if the season should prove dry, you 

 should cut a quantity of green sward, which must be laid 

 upon the surface of the ground about their roots, turning 

 the grass downward, which will prevent the sun and wind 

 from drying the ground, whereby a great expense of watering- 

 will be saved; and after the first year they will be out of 

 danger, if they have taken well. In ploughing the ground 

 between the trees, be careful not to go too deeply among 

 their roots, lest you should cut them off, which would 

 greatly damage the trees; but when the ground is cautiously 

 stirred, the effect will be very beneficial. It is a good rule 

 never to sow too near the trees, nor to suffer any great- 

 rooting weeds to grow about them, which starve their roots 

 by exhausting the soil. If, after the turf which was laid round 

 the trees be rotted, you dig it in gently about the roots, it will 

 greatly encourage them. There are some persons who plant 

 many sorts of fruit together in the same orchard, mixing the 

 trees alternately ; but this is a method which should always 

 be avoided, for it occasions a greater difference in the growth 

 of the trees, and not only renders them unsightly, but also 

 the fruit upon the lower trees ill-tasted, by the tall ones 

 overshadowing them: so that whoever is determined to plant 

 several sorts of fruit upon the same spot, should observe to 

 place the largest-growing trees backward, and so proceed to 

 those of the next least growth, continuing the same method 

 quite through the whole plantation ; whereby it will appear 

 at a distance in a regular slope, and the sun and air will 

 more equally pass through the whole orchard, affording 

 equal benefit to every tree; though it must be admitted that 

 this can only be practised upon good ground, in which most 

 sorts of fruit trees will thrive. The orchard should be 

 dunged or manured every two or three years; which is equally 

 necessary for every crop raised from among the trees: so that 

 where persons are not inclinable to improve their orchards, 

 on account of the expense of manure, the crop expected 

 from the ground, in addition to the fruit yielded by the trees, 

 will more readily induce them to incur that expense. In 

 choosing trees for an orchard, always observe to procure 

 them from a soil nearly akin to that where they are to be 

 planted, or rather poorer; for if you procure them from a 

 very rich soil, and plant them in indifferent land, they will 

 not thrive well, especially for four or five years after planting; 

 so that, as we have shown under the article Nursery, it is a 

 a very wrong thing to raise young trees in a very rich soil. 

 and afterwards to transplant them into a very poor soil 

 The trees should be young and thriving; for, whatever some 

 persons may advise to the contrary', it has always been 

 observed, that though large trees may grow and produce 

 fruit after being removed, they never make so good trees, 

 nor are so long-lived, as those which are planted while younc 

 After the trees are planted out, they will require no other 

 pruning, except cutting out dead branches, and lopping 1 off 

 those that cross each other, and render the heads of the 

 trees confused and unsightly: the pruning them too- often, 

 and the shortening their branches, is very injurious; espe- 



-.1 3rt> 10 qtf 



