THE NEW DISPENSATION. 69 



rich surface soil beneath them, prove this beyond all doubt. 

 Seeing, then, that they foolishly reject our efforts in their be- 

 half, why not, as it costs so much less, and the trees produce 

 so much more and finer fruit, indulge them in their long-time 

 preferences. However, before entering my plea for this 

 course, I will in a short digression make some remarks : ist, 

 on the old primitive orchards of our forefathers ; and, also, 

 2d, give a short account of how I happened to hit upon the 

 great fundamental principle of all entirely succcessful horti- 

 culture, that the nearer we can bring a transplanted tree to 

 the form of a seed, the better it will be for the tree, as will 

 be seen by the following recent extract from Farm and Ranch: 



While viewing the path of the recent tornado that swept 

 through the city of Sherman, Texas, destroying scores of precious 

 lives and happy homes, I noticed the effect of the force on the trees. 

 Some trees were uprooted, some snapped off above ground, some 

 stripped of limbs and bark and others were twisted into splinters. 

 One large post oak, about two feet in diameter, was splintered and 

 twisted like a huge rope. A large apple orchard was uprooted, and 

 I searched in vain for a tap-root on any of those apple trees. They 

 had the appearance of being planted with long roots and tramped 

 into a small hole, with the point of the roots near the surface where 

 they remained and continued to grow. The soil was rich, sandy loam 

 on deep, rich, moist clay. The forest trees were large and strong, and 

 most of them refused to be uprooted and were snapped off. Had 

 these trees been planted so as to induce the growth of strong tap- 

 roots, evidently they would have been larger, stronger, healthier and 

 more fruitful. E. W. KIRKPATRICK. 



