232 HAMPDEN SOCIETY. 



New England. The orchard was begun in 1845 by the setting 

 out of twenty trees. Forty were added in 1846. The resi- 

 due have been planted from time to time since 1846 up to the 

 present year. They are set out in rows at a distance of forty 

 feet each way. 



The soil is sandy loam ; and for the first three years after 

 the orchard was begun, the lot was a mowing lot, and the 

 trees did not thrive and grow so well as subsequently, when 

 the land was turned into tillage, and more pains taken with 

 them. The ground has been planted with corn and potatoes, 

 and crops of carrots and turnips have also grown upon it, the 

 quantity of manure applied, being that which is usual in rais- 

 ing such crops. Care has been taken to have the soil dug and 

 loosened around the trees, and they have been thoroughly 

 washed, from time to time, as they seemed to need it, with 

 soft soap reduced, viz., about two fifths soap to three fifths of 

 water. The trees are trimmed every year, usually in the 

 spring, in such a manner as to have them open in the centre. 



The most destructive enemies to the trees have been the 

 mice that infest the field. With all the precautions that have 

 been taken, in stamping down the snow around the trees, &c., 

 in the winter, we have not been able entirely to protect them 

 against their ravages. This year I have had a mound of com- 

 post matuire placed around each tree, (being about half a cart 

 load for each,) and covered with soil and made hard. This 

 not only serves the purpose of protecting the trees against the 

 mice, but keeps the roots of the trees warm, enriches the soil 

 around them, and helps support the tree during the storms of 

 winter. The manure will also be ready to be used on the 

 ground at the opening of spring. 



Year before last, five of my trees were girdled and a[)parently 

 destroyed by the mice. But a remedy was applied which 

 saved them. Twigs of the proper length were cut and being 

 sharpened at each end were inserted above and below the 

 gnawed part, and fastened by bandages and grafting wax, so 

 as to form a communication for the sap. The twigs have 

 grown into the tree and become a part of it ; and those which 

 have been thus treated, though somewhat retarded in their 



