260 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



the hole. When ready to plant the tree, lay your board across 

 the hole so that the two stakes will fit in the end holes, and set 

 your tree in the notch, and it must stand just where the stake 

 did; and if the stakes were set right, the rows must be straight. 

 This board also serves to steady the tree while the earth is being 

 filled in around it. 



Pruning. The top of fruit trees when transplanted should 

 be well cut back, especially if the roots have been at all injured. 

 I have always succeeded in getting a better shaped head when 

 setting young, small trees by cutting off all side branches and 

 heading back a little. If any roots have been bruised or man- 

 gled they should be pared smooth with a knife. If pains is 

 taken from the start, but little pruning will be necessary. Much 

 of the pruning can be done with the hand by rubbing out sprouts 

 as they start. 



Perhaps less wisdom is shown in tree pruning as usually done 

 than in any other farm operation. The orchard will be neglected 

 for years, and then with ax and saw is cut and slashed so as to 

 nearly ruin it. In pruning a young orchard, one needs to look for- 

 ward and anticipate the growth, and the intelligent orchardist will 

 be able to give a reason for every cut he makes. Our objects in 

 pruning are, to prevent the branches from becoming crowded, 

 which would cause small fruit and injury from abrasion; to ad- 

 mit sun and air; and to preserve a well-balanced and symmetri- 

 cal top. By keeping these points in mind, and remembering that 

 there is to be constant growth, one can easily prune correctly. 



Cultivation. Every young orchard should have thorough 

 cultivation for at least three years. It is quite a common prac- 

 tice to set out fruit trees in a wheat field or to sow the young 

 orchard in oats, and I have seen a large orchard planted in a 

 meadow, great care being taken to kill as little grass as possible. 

 A thrifty and profitable orchard can not be grown in this way. 

 The young orchard should always be planted in a crop that 

 will neither shade the trees or deprive them of moisture. 

 Beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, or vines of -any kind 

 can be grown at a positive advantage to the trees. Great care 

 must be taken when using a horse among the trees not to 



