FRUIT-GARDENING. 39 



closing up the pores of the wood ; they are also more liable to 

 be affected by blight. Although having an orchard closely 

 pent up by trees, etc., is injurious, nevertheless a screen of 

 forest-trees, at such a distance from the fruit-trees as that the 

 latter will not be shaded by them, is of very great service in 

 protecting the trees in spring from severe cold winds. 



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 sub-stratum, as 

 the ground must be well drained ; for if the top soil be ever so 

 good, and the bottom wet, it is very rarely the case that the 

 trees prosper many years ; they soon begin to be diseased and 

 go to decay. As it is so indispensably necessary to the suc- 

 cess of fruit-trees that the bottom should be dry, if it is not 

 naturally so, it must be made so by judicious draining. 



DRAINING ORCHARDS. 



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

 it must be done 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, etc., 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, etc., 

 and then the surface gently rolled. Drains may also be made 

 in different directions, so that any excess of moisture can be 

 taken entirely away from the ground. 



If ditches be made between the rows of trees three feet deep, 

 and tiles laid in them, and the hard subsoil returned on the 

 tiles, and trod down well, as it is shovelled in the ditch, the 

 roots of trees will not be very likely to obstruct the water 

 passages. Such drains are better than those filled with stone, 

 or any other material. 



