ORCHARDS. 4T 



the whole the soils are not what are generally termed favorable 

 for the growth of fruit trees or the best of fruit. 



The field has a southern slope and is well sheltered from the 

 north and north-west winds Ijy another orchard and buildings 

 adjoining the same. 



In 18G1 the field was twice ploughed, as well as could be done 

 with four oxen, and about twenty-five loads of manure spread 

 to the acre and planted with potatoes. 



In 1862 the stones were removed and the field well ploughed. 

 The ground was then staked off into rows thirty-two feet distant 

 each way, and the holes dug about twenty inches deep and from 

 five to six feet in diameter and filled with compost prepared the 

 year previous, composed of loam, leaves, decayed wood, leached 

 ashes and a small quantity of barn manure. The object of 

 preparing the borders so large is to give a rich and fertile soil 

 for the small roots to penetrate during the first two years after 

 transplanting. The trees were selected from two nurseries, 

 twenty-five of which were four years from the bud, and upon 

 an average one and a quarter inches diameter, and are at this 

 time, September 20, from three to three and a half inches ; the 

 remainder of the trees were two years from the bud and from 

 five-eighths to seven-eighths inches in diameter and are now from 

 two to two and a half inches. The field was sowed with oats, 

 with the exception of one square rod around each tree, in order 

 to make it an object to hoe and cultivate around the trees. I 

 would here mention that during the month of May, 1862, the 

 weather was quite dry, so much so that many of the trees 

 showed no signs of foliage, and the lives of some of them were 

 almost despaired of for a time ; in the course of the season, 

 however, many of the trees made very respectable growth, 

 throwing out shoots from eight to ten inches, others showing no 

 indications of shoots, simply foliage, the younger and smaller 

 trees making the greater number of shoots. 



In 1863 the stones were removed and the field ploughed and 

 planted with stover corn and potatoes, a small quantity of 

 manure spread to each tree. 



In 1864 the field was again planted with potatoes and beans, 

 spreading around the trees as in the year previous ; during this 

 year the growth, notwithstanding the dry season was greater 



