FRUIT ON THE FARM. 253 



XI. 



KRUIT ON THE 



WHILE but few farmers should undertake fruit-growing as 

 a business, with a view to making money out of it, there 

 is no farmer, whether his land is rich or poor, or the 

 area small or great, but should plant fruit for the family; and, 

 notwithstanding occasional failures and the many enemies the 

 fruit-grower must contend with, there is no other way in which, 

 at the same cost, so much of luxury can be provided for the 

 family. 



Fruits are also healthful, and those who eat freely and reg- 

 ularly of fresh, ripe fruits, are usually free from derangements 

 of the stomach and bowels. This is not true of fruits bought 

 in market, which are often stale and unwholesome; but on the 

 farm, where they can be had fresh, children may be allowed to 

 eat all they want through the season, and will be benefited 

 rather than injured thereby. A moderate amount of land de- 

 voted to fruit, if managed intelligently, will furnish a constant 

 succession from the time strawberries ripen till freezing weather, 

 and a sufficiency to can for winter use, and it should be the aim 

 of every farmer to provide fruits for this succession. 



The first requisite in fruit-growing is common sense, and to 

 see how fruit-growing is managed on many farms one might 

 think this a scarce commodity. The farmer who will thoroughly 

 prepare his land and cultivate grain crops, will plant out a few 

 peach and cherry trees in the fence corners, and pay no further 

 attention to them, and will grow a crop of grain in the apple 

 orchard each year, and from these neglected trees expect a sup- 

 ply of fruit for the family. 



To successfully grow fruit of any kind requires intelligence in 



