136 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



I presume it was a fact, that there had been an overgrowth 

 on those trees, that the growth had been prolonged late into 

 the season, and before the bud had become fully matured a 

 frost had come and destroyed the cambium layer, and that a 

 portion of the tree near the ground had been injured. Peach 

 orchards are very often destroyed in that way, and pear 

 trees as well. I recollect in my own experience a pear 

 orchard where we planted currants between the rows of 

 pear trees, and after getting a crop of currants we renewed 

 the cultivation in the fall. We had a part of the orchard 

 devoted to Clapp's Favorite, and we noticed we had a later 

 growth on those trees than we desired, particularly as that 

 variety is a very free grower. Well, the consequence was, 

 that in three or four years these trees all failed. I think it 

 was not the orchard pear l)light, but the trees suffered from 

 too much growth, the wood did not mature well, it did not 

 harden up good. So in regard to the apple. I think this 

 is a point we should avoid. I have in mind now an orchard 

 in our city which was in its time called the best orchard in 

 town ; the land wus devoted to onions, and highly cultivated 

 through the season, and those trees made an. enormous gi-owth ; 

 it was remarked by everybody. But there came a time when 

 the onion crop was discontinued, and it was laid down to 

 grass ; and the revulsion was so great that those trees at once 

 received a shock, and from that time the orchard began to 

 go down. I think there had been too great growth, the wood 

 was soft, spongy, and the trees fiiiled very quickly. 



Now, in reference to the apple orchard, I think if we can 

 adopt that idea and make haste slowly, keeping a good 

 moderate growth, never an excessive growth, not cultivating 

 the ground late in the season to get a protracted growth, 

 that we shall go on and get our orchards in good shape, and 

 the trees will be probably remunerative. 



I will allude to just another point, and that is the matter 

 of pruning. Here I think we make more mistakes than in 

 almost any other point. We take this ideal tree that I have 

 spoken of and plant it, after having smoothed off the ends 

 of the good roots carefully. Then let us look at the head. 

 I prefer trees that are three years old, and that have com- 

 menced forming a head. Very often we shall find that three- 



