APPLE. 



frjng apple orchards, chiefly from Ken- 

 rick : 



" The seeds of the apple should be 

 sown in autumn in a rich soil. When 

 the young plants appear in spring, 

 they should be carefully thinned to 

 the distance of 2 inches asunder, and 

 kept free from weeds till of sufficient 

 size to be removed. 



" At 1 or 2 years of age they are 

 taken up, their tap-roots shortened, 

 that they may throw out lateral roots ; 

 they are transferred to the nursery, 

 set in rows about 4 feet asunder, and 

 at 1 foot distance from each other in 

 the row, in a rich and loamy soil. In 

 the summer following they are inoc- 

 ulated, or they are ingrafted or in- 

 oculated the year following. 



"Size and age for transplanting to 

 the Orchard. — An apple-tree, when 

 finally transplanted to the orchard, 

 ought to be at least 6 or 7 feet high, 

 with branches in proportion, and full 

 2 years from tlie bud or graft, and 

 thrifty. Apple-trees under this size 

 belong properly only to the nursery. 



" Distance. — The distance asunder 

 to which apple-trees should be finally 

 set, when transplanted to the orchard, 

 depends upon the nature of the soil, 

 and the cultivation to be subsequent- 

 ly given. If the soil is by nature ex- 

 tremely fertile, 40 feet distance may 

 be allowed, and even 45 and 50 feet 

 in some very extraordinary situa- 

 tions ; for before the trees become 

 old, they will completely shade the 

 ground. If, however, the soil is not 

 very extraordinary by nature, or so 

 rendered by art, this distance would 

 be too great : for the trees would be- 

 come old, and their grovvtii would be 

 finished before the ground could be 

 covered by their shadow : 30 feet only 

 may therefore be allowed in land usu- 

 ally denominated of good quality, and 

 but 20 to 25 feet in land of ordinary 

 quality. But where economy of time, 

 of land, and of all things else is con- 

 sulted, but one half this distance will 

 answer for a series of years. 



"The quincunx mode is recom- 

 mended for close arrangement, and 

 short-lived trees may be set in the 

 intervals. 

 28 



"The period of growth, or the dura- 

 tion of the apple-tree, is comparative- 

 ly limited ; this is sufficiently evident 

 from the perishable nature of its tim- 

 ber. 



" Soil and Situation. — A rich soil, 

 rather moist than dry, is that adapted 

 to the apple-tree. 



" On such a soil, whether on the 

 plains, or in the valley, or on the 

 sides and summits of our great hills, 

 and even in situations the most ex- 

 posed, the apple-tree will flourish. 



" Management of the Land. — If the 

 ground intended for the orchard can- 

 not conveniently be kept wholly in a 

 state of cultivation during the first 

 years, a portion, at least, ought to be. 



" A strip of land to each row of 8 

 or 10 feet in width, well manured, 

 may be kept cultivated, and the vege- 

 tables which may here be raised will 

 amply repay the expense and labour 

 bestowed during the first 4 or 5 years. 

 After this, if the trees have grown 

 well, as they probably must have 

 done, cultivation at a distance in the 

 intervals becomes even more impor- 

 tant than within the limited distance 

 of a very few feet from the trunk of 

 the tree ; for, on examination, it will 

 be found that the small fibres or 

 spongelets, by which alone the tree 

 derives all the nourishment it re- 

 ceives from the earth, are now re- 

 mote Irom the trunk of the tree ; they 

 are now to be found seeking food be- 

 yond the limits of its shade, and it 

 becomes necessary that the whole 

 grouncl should be kept in a high state 

 of cultivation for the 4 or 5 following 

 years. After this period it may oc- 

 casionally be laid to grass, which, 

 however, should be broken up at fre- 

 quent intervals, the land being always 

 kept in good heart. 



"Pruning. — If the branches of a 

 young tree, issuing at and above the 

 requisite height, be made, by pruning, 

 to diverge from the trunk in every di- 

 rection above the horizontal, and the 

 interior of these be carefully kept 

 from any interference with each oth- 

 er for a few years, little pruning will 

 ever afterward be necessary. 



" Heavy pruning is seldom neces- 



