182 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 



on the highest land available. Even if the elevation is not more 

 than ten feet above the general level of the adjacent country, 

 it is a great advantage in furnishing air-drainage and thus equal- 

 izing the temperature and lessening the danger from frost in 

 the blossoming period. 



The worst location for an orchard is what is called a warm 

 sheltered spot, where the sun has free access and the winds are 

 entirely shut off. Into such a place the cold air from the sur- 

 rounding higher elevations settles, making it cold at night and the 

 hottest place during the day. Blight and winter killing are apt 

 to be abundant in such a place. In some sections most generally 

 those protected by water or forests of wooded hills but little, 

 if any, difference is to be noticed in the growth and productive- 

 ness of trees on the various exposures, while in exposed places 

 this difference is very marked. 



Windbreaks. A free circulation of air is very desirable in 

 an orchard, and full exposure is better than shutting it in too 

 closely, yet in a full wind-swept exposure, the best conditions 

 for a successful orchard are not found. It should be surrounded 

 with windbreaks on the exposed sides, sufficient to somewhat 

 break the force of the wind but not heavy enough to prevent a 

 good circulation of air through the orchard at any time. It is 

 much more important to have a windbreak on the south and west 

 sides of an orchard than on the north or east, for it is from the 

 former directions that the most injurious winds come from. 



The land best adapted to the growth of apples is what might 

 be called a deep, open, clayey loam, that is well drained, either 

 naturally or artificially, and does not suffer severely from drouth 

 or excess of water. However, the apple may be grown success- 

 fully on almost any soil, even on that which is dry and gravelly, 

 providing it has a reasonable amount of plant food; but orchards 

 require more careful management in severe situations than in 

 those which are favorable and of course are not as long lived and 

 productive. 



The soil for apple orchards must be retentive and rich in 

 plant food, for it is impossible to raise good fruit on poor soil. 

 Sufficient moisture can generally be secured by heavy mulching, 

 and the newer soils of the Northern states are generally rich 



