FRUIT ON THE FARM. 255 



narrow lands, back furrowing where the row of trees was to be 

 planted and ridging the earth as much as possible. The trees 

 were then placed on the top of the plowed land, the roots 

 spread out and earth brought from the dead furrows to cover 

 the roots and raise a mound around each tree, so as to hold it 

 firm. Every time the orchard was plowed or cultivated, the 

 earth was worked towards the trees and the dead furrows kept 

 open, and by the time the trees were in bearing they stood on 

 a ridge more than three feet above the bottom of the dead fur- 

 rows, and with more than double depth of the best soil under 

 the roots. 



In 1868 I planted one hundred Early May cherry trees on 

 this plan on a piece of cold, wet, clay land. As these trees 

 were but one rod apart we could shovel the soil from the dead 

 furrows directly around the roots, which made it easy to get 

 earth to cover them. At the lower side of the orchard there 

 was not fall enough to remove the water, and one row of trees 

 was drowned out entirely ; but as far as I kept the furrows 

 clear and the trees on the ridges, they made a most excellent 

 growth, and the orchard has proved the most uniformly profit- 

 able of any that I ever planted. I mention these instances to 

 show that natural difficulties may often be overcome by the 

 exercise of judgment. 



Selection of Trees. What I have to say under this 

 head applies with equal force to all varieties of fruit. Never 

 buy a fruit tree of an irresponsible agent who is a stranger to 

 you. There is no business that offers so easy an opportunity 

 for swindling as that of selling fruit trees, from the fact that it 

 is impossible to detect the imposture till the orchard comes into 

 bearing, and this gives the dishonest agent an opportunity to 

 cheat the buyer with perfect safety. 



Refuse stock has been bought by the car load from the 

 large commercial nurseries and sold under false names and at 

 high prices to the farmers of the West. A nursery man often 

 overestimates the demand for a particular variety of apple or 

 some other fruit, and finds himself over-stocked, and is glad to 

 sell out for a cent or two a tree, as he would otherwise be 



