$40 OBSERVAflONfc ON 



A good strong loamy soil, not too retentive of moisture, to 

 the depth of thirty inches, or three feet, is most suitable for an 

 Orchard. Great attention must be paid to the substratum, 

 so that the ground is well drained, for if the top soil be ever 

 so good and the bottom be we!, it is a very rare case to find 

 that the trees will prosper for many years, before they begin 

 to be diseased and go to decay. As it is so indispensably 

 necessary to the success of fruij trees that the bottom be dry, 

 if it be not naturally so, it must be made so, by judicious 

 draining. 



When it is necessary to make the bottom dry by draining-, 

 it must be done for some time before the trees are planted. 

 In performing this work, the ground must be trenched, and 

 when the trench is open, stone, or brick-bats, <fcc. must be 

 laid over the bottom to the thickness of six inches, a little 

 coal ashes, or small gravel, must be sprinkled over the top 

 of the stones, &e., and then the surface be gently rolled. 

 Also drains may be made in different directions, so that 

 any excess of moisture can be taken entirely away from the 

 ground. 



It is well known to most cultivator?, that exposure of 

 soils to the atmosphere greatly improves them, as is expe- 

 rienced by ridging and trenching. Where the soil is stiff 

 and stubborn, small gravel, sand, coal ashes, lime, light 

 animal and vegetable manure, and other light composts, are 

 very appropriate substances to.be applied, and will, if care- 

 fully managed and well worked into the ground, soon bring 

 it into a proper condition for most purposes. 



Previous to laying out an Orchard or Fruit Gctrdcn, the 

 soil should be manured and pulverized to a great depth, 

 It should be made sweet, that the nutriment which the roots 

 receive may be wholesome ; free, that they may be at full 

 liberty to range in quest of it ; and rich, that there may be 

 no defect in food. 



If Orchards be made from meadows or pasture lands, the 

 ground should be improved as much as possible by manur- 

 ing, trenching, -ploughing, &c. If this is not done to its 

 full extent, it should be done in strips of at least six feet in 

 width along where the fruit trees are to be planted, and at 



