258 The Principles of Fruit-growing 



goes ahead with a long-handled round-pointed shovel 

 and digs the earth away 6 inches deep from under the 

 roots. The second man has a six-tined or four-tined fork 

 which he thrusts against the plant a foot or so above the 

 ground, and by pushing on the fork and stamping against 

 the roots with the foot, the plant is laid over in the direc- 

 tion from which the earth was removed. The third man 

 now covers the plant with the earth or marsh hay. Earth 

 is mostly used, and if the variety is tender the whole bush 

 is covered 2 to 3 inches deep. Hardy varieties may be 

 held down by throwing a few shovelfuls of earth on the 

 tops of the canes, thus allowing the snow to fill in amongst 

 the tops. If the grower lives in a locality where late spring 

 frosts are not feared, the bushes should be raised early 

 in the spring; but if frosts are anticipated, they may be 

 left under cover until corn-planting time. If the buds 

 become large and are bleached while under cover, they 

 will suffer when exposed to the atmosphere; and one must 

 watch the bushes in spring, and raise them before the 

 growth starts. This method of laying down blackberry 

 plants costs less than $15 an acre, and the slight breaking 

 of the roots is no disadvantage. Some growers dig the 

 earth away on both sides of the row, and still others bend 

 over the canes without any digging. Whatever method 

 is employed, the operator must be careful not to crack 

 or split the canes. The method may be varied with dif- 

 ferent varieties, for some bear stiffer canes than others. 

 The laying down of orchard trees is little practised 

 in this country, but it. must come to be better understood 

 as the country develops and a greater interest arises in 

 amateur fruit-growing. A method of training peach 

 trees for laying down is as follows (method of J. T. 

 Macomber) : The trunk is trained in a horizontal position, 



