On Orchards. 219 



second year's cultivation of orchards. An opinion pre- 

 vails among our farmers that lye is a more pernicious 

 crop for orchards than any other grain ; for this I can 

 see no sound reason. I am induced from my o\x\\ ob- 

 servation to believe, that all grains are injurious, in pro- 

 portion to their proximity to the tree, their power of 

 exhausting the moisture, and from their colour or even 

 surface producing a great proportion of intense reflect- 

 ed heat. I am so fully convinced of this truth that I 

 have the last summer caused a circle of three to six feet 

 diameter, to be dug at two several times round every 

 tree in my orchards, not under the plough, whether 

 among wheat, rye, oats or grass ; and although this ope- 

 ration when extended to several thousand trees, which at 

 present compose my orchards, necessarily is produc- 

 tive of much expense and trouble, I am repaid fourfold 

 in the increased vigor of my trees, and still more in their 

 preservation from our summer droughts. Although I 

 pretend to the merit of no new discovery in the culti- 

 vation of orchards, I may claim that of sparing no pains 

 or expense in planting, pruning and cultivating them. 

 That you may be enabled to judge of my mode of 

 treating them, and the foundation for the opinions I 

 have ventured to ofier, I have taken the liberty of ex- 

 tracting from my books the notes of several of my ex- 

 periments, which I can venture to assert were made 

 with care and recorded with accuracy. I have for ma- 

 ny years derived a great degree of pleasure from the 

 pursuit of this subject ; it is in its nature calculated to 

 afford much rational enjoyment to an active mind, and 

 if I am not much deceived, will prove a source of sub- 

 stantial comfort and profit to the prudent practical far- 



