they do not need to be so close together. Moreover, the deeper drains are 

 less liable to leach out the soil of its fertility in the shape of its rnore 

 valuable components. In draining, the nature of the soil, the lay of the 

 land and any other conditions have to be taken into consideration in laying 

 out the drains, including their frequency and direction. 



FERTILISERS. 



Barnyard manure is far and away the best all-round fertiliser for any 

 kind of soil. Not only is it as near a perfect fertiliser as can be obtained 

 naturally, but the fact that it is the means of placing humus in the soil, 

 which is being constantly exhausted, alone places it in the front rank of 

 fertilisers. I am an advocate of placing it on the land fresh day by day, 

 provided the conditions are such that the most valuable constituents of the 

 manure will not be leached out of the soil. If this is impracticable, then the 

 best plan is to place the manure under cover, spreading it out so that it will 

 not heat, and allow calves or other stock to run on it. By those means the 

 rain will not leach it out, and by spreading over a larger surface it does not 

 heat and so deteriorate in quality; moreover, such a shed forms an excellent 

 open-air space for stock. Other authorities advise well-rotted manure as 

 being the best form to apply it to the land for an apple orchard. From all 

 points, which I do not think it necessary to enter into here, I have faith 

 from personal experience in the application of manure fresh from the stable. 

 In any case, whatever plan is adopted the greatest care should be taken to 

 prevent the manure from leaching out and from heating, either being fatal 

 to its highest usefulness. Unleached wood ash is another most valuable 

 fertiliser for fruit trees. Unfortunately, however, in British Columbia the 

 proportion of conifers is so much in excess of other woods that good wood 

 ash is not obtainable in any quantity, coniferous woods making but little 

 .ash, and that of an inferior quality. All wood ashes are, however, valuable, 

 and should be carefully preserved from rain and applied in an unleached 

 state to the surface of the ground near fruit trees. A word here of warning 

 as to the placing of fertilisers about trees. I have frequently noticed that 

 manures are heaped about the trunks of trees. A little consideration will show 

 the fallacy of this method. Such a practice really does more harm than good, 

 inasmuch as it affords shelter for vermin, field mice, voles, gophers, etc., which 

 <lestroy the bark of the trees, but the fertilising elements contained in the 

 manure are wasted, as they are leached out into the soil and never reach the 

 feeding portions of the roots. What is meant by the feeding parts of the 

 roots are the small fibres which extend a long way from the trunk. These 

 fibres, even in small, two-year-old trees, may extend two feet from the trunk, 

 iind it can be therefore easily imagined that in a five-year-old tree the distance 

 may be anywhere from ten to twelve feet. It follows, therefore, that a clear 

 pace of several feet should be allowed all round the trunk of the tree. 



Commercial or artificial fertilisers, so-called, are useful for replacing the 

 lost or wanting elements of fertility in the soil, but it must be understood 

 that they do not supply humus, without which the soil soon becomes hard 

 and lumpy. Therefore, in conjunction with artificial fertilisers, it is 

 important that something should be done to put humus into the soil, and for 

 this purpose no better method can be advised than the seeding down with 



