SELECTION OF TREES FROM THE NURSERY. 327 



ciently intelligent to demand well-grown instead of tall- 

 grown trees — substantial stocky plants, instead of slender 

 drawn, feeble, Avhip-stocks. 



Those who are about planting an orchard, will do well 

 to visit the nurseries, and see the stocks ; then they can 

 select for themselves such trees as they may prefer. Allow 

 me to suggest to them a few things by the way, and before 

 they become fascinated with the tall, smooth stems of the 

 saplings they may be about to visit, and before they may 

 have selected their stocks; and also allow me to send a 

 telegraphic dispatch to the nurseryman, to the effect that 

 intelligent customers are on their way to the nurseries. 

 To this effect, therefore, I will say to the visitors, that it 

 is presumed they, as intelligent planters, and promising 

 orchard ists, desire to form orchards, with low heads, hav- 

 ing appropriated a certain piece of ground to the produc- 

 tion of choice fruit, and not to a general range for the 

 pasturage of all sorts of stock ; for no sensible man will 

 exj^ect to produce good fruit without due care of his trees, 

 and the entire devotion of the soil to the orchard. 



There are those who can not afford to relinquish any 

 ground to trees alone, they are patriarchal in their habits; 

 they keep droves of cattle which range everjnvhere, and 

 they have no idea that an orchard field should be inclosed 

 perfectly; and that from it, not only foraging boys, but 

 feeding cattle also, must be excluded. Such persons re- 

 quire that their trees, when planted, should be already 

 fully grown, and that they should be high-limbed, so as 

 to be without branches, until above the reach of all hun- 

 gry cattle; to such, it behooves us to be lenient, but, at 

 the same time, let us hope that the number of such plant- 

 ers will become less and less from year to year. 



Having reached the nursery, with a list of varieties 

 wanted, already made out, proceed to examine the stock, 

 to see if any have been properly grown for the making 



