ESSEX SOCIETY. 73 



structing the free entrance of the atmosphere into the soil, with- 

 out which, no plant will thrive. Mulching, (so called,) which 

 is done by placing coarse manure or litter around a tree, will 

 preserve the moisture, and is a much better practice than surface 

 waterings. 



Soil for an Orchard. The soil best adapted for an apple 

 orchard, as well as the situation and aspect for the trees, is not 

 so easy to determine, as we cannot set down rules that will not 

 meet with exceptions ; but of this we feel confident, that deep 

 rich soils in sheltered situations, are not, as some suppose, the 

 most proper for the apple : for we find that this tree succeeds 

 well in shallow loam ; the young wood is always of more mod- 

 erate growth, and better ripened, than when its roots strike 

 deep into the ground. 



Position of an Orchard. The situation of an orchard should 

 neither be in the bottom of a narrow valley, nor on the top of an 

 exposed hill ; in the first, the bearing wood is rarely so well 

 ripened, and in the second, the trees are too much exposed to 

 winds ; the most desirable site, is the side of a hill which slopes to 

 the south or south-west. In planting out an orchard of standard 

 apple trees, they should be placed in rows, ranging from north 

 to south, or as near to these points as may be ; the distance of 

 the rows apart should be forty feet, and the spaces from tree to 

 tree, in the rows, should not be less than from twenty to twenty- 

 five feet. The holes, for the reception of the trees, ought to be 

 circles or squares, of not less than six feet over; the trees should 

 not be permitted to be grass-bound, but the grass or sod, dug out 

 as far as the extent of their branches, during their whole growth. 

 It is not well to raise a crop of tap-rooted vegetables in an orchard ; 

 the onion is probably the least injurious in a young or newly 

 set orchard ; white beans we find the least exhausting to raise 

 between our nursery rows of young fruit trees. 



Pruning. In pruning the apple tree, we have found the 

 spring the most favorable, soon after the swelling of the buds : 

 the sap then being in motion, the wounds soon heal over ; if 

 this is done in the fall or winter months, the trees are apt to 

 crack or canker. Every limb taken off" should be cut close to 

 the main stem, and, provided the limb is large, a composition of 

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