ESSAY ON THE APPLE. 121 



practice of some, to trim off the laterals or side shoots, which causes 

 the trees to make a slender and weeping top ; these shoots should 

 not bo taken off while the trees are young and thrifty ; the trunk will 

 not grow so fast in circumference by divesting them of their leaves 

 or side branches. 



Preparation of Land. In the preparation of land for raising 

 seedling fruit trees, we have found that by following nature in her 

 mode of enriching soil by the use of vegetable substances, such as 

 muck, peat-earth, leaf-mould and ashes, to be the best dressing for 

 the growth of fruit trees. These we should recommend to be com- 

 posted with barn-yard manure ; hog manure unless well decomposed, 

 we consider as deleterious to fruit trees ; air-slacked lime on the gen- 

 erahty of our soils is beneficial, particularly for the pear tree. Old 

 pasture land is better for fruit trees, than that which has been long 

 under the plough, merely because it is less exhausted, and consequent- 

 ly contains more of that decomposed vegetable matter which is so 

 pecuHarly fitted to be the food of trees. 



Planting out. Apple trees from the nursery are planted out at 

 two and three years from the bud. In setting these whether seedling 

 or sucker stock, they should not be placed deeper in the ground than 

 they originally stood in the nursery ; or if the soil is a deep and 

 moist loam one inch higher; for we believe that deep planting of the 

 apple tree is a serious evil, and many of the disappointments of the 

 fruit grower, may be traced to this cause ; it is better to draw up the 

 earth around the tree in the form of a small hillock, than to place 

 them too deep. In shallow planting, the roots will have a horizon- 

 tal direction given to them, which they will afterwards retain. 



Season for Planting. Respecting the best season for transplant- 

 ing the apple tree, Ave have as is most generally practiced in our vi- 

 cinity, set them in the spring ; but we find no objection to autumn 

 planting, provided the soil is dry ; the fall rains settles the earth 

 closer to the roots ; but when the soil is clayey and the weather damp 

 or wet at planting time, it gets into a state of puddle and rots the 

 roots in winter, and unless the weather is dry in autumn, it had bet- 

 ter be deferred until the early spring. 



Watering neivly set Trees. The practice of watering newly set 

 trees after they are planted, by pouring buckets of water around 

 them is a bad practice, for besides settling away the soil from the 

 roots, it often by being thus poured upon the surface runs into a paste, 



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