100 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. 



and then have a dressing of old tan, or decayed 

 litter. 



A tree that has been planted two years will require 

 one barrowful of the above compost ; at the end of 

 four years, two barrowfuls ; when six years have 

 passed, from three to four barrowfuls ; and from four 

 to six barrowfuls will be enough for a tree from twelve 

 to twenty years old in short, for a full-grown tree. 

 A portion of the earth from the border must be re- 

 moved when a large quantity of compost is added, to 

 make room for it, so as not to have an unsightly 

 mound. In the course of two or three removals, 

 the roots of the tree will become a mass of fibres, 

 and the trees so docile as to be lifted without difficulty. 



I have this day (Dec. 12, 1852) removed two plum 

 trees that have been planted six years and removed 

 twice. Their roots are a mass of fibres without one 

 straggling root ; they have been replanted with a bar- 

 rowful of light compost to each tree, 1 and, if I may 

 judge by the enormous quantity of blossom buds, they 

 will bear a plentiful crop next season. They will re- 

 ceive no unhealthy check, for abundance of earth 

 adheres to the mass of fibrous roots. Now, as peaches, 

 nectarines, and apricots, being budded on plum stocks, 

 are all on plum roots, they will give exactly the same 

 results from the same mode of culture, neither the size 

 nor flavor of the fruit will be affected, and the trees 

 will always bear abundantly, and be healthy and 

 flourishing. 



1 The soil is rich, and one barrowful I thought quite enough. The qnanti- 

 ty of compost must be regulated by the wants of the soil, for in rich soils, where 

 peaches and nectarines are apt to grow too freely, no compost need be added, but 

 the tree merely lifted and replaced. A peach, nectarine, or apricot tree, under the 

 removal system, that makes annual shoots more than fifteen inches in length, is 

 too luxuriant, and will require no compost to its roots when replanted. 



