MY VINEYARD. 39 



Avas an investment which, no doubt, paid me several hun- 

 dred per cent, of profit. 



Nurserymen do not, indeed they can not, take that 

 pains with trees that they ought to take, as long as peo- 

 ple make price the only criterion in making their pur- 

 chases. It is better economy to get good trees, wliich 

 have received proper care and kind treatment, even at a 

 very high price, than to get poor ones, no matter how 

 low they may sell. The manner in which I have seen 

 stout Irishmen, with a muscular develojDment charming to 

 behold, dig up fine looking trees, and. then take them a 

 mile or two in an open wagon, with roots exposed to a 

 burning sun, is downright vandalism. Whenever practi- 

 cable, it is a good way to go to the nursery yourself and 

 pick out such trees or plants as you want, and then pay 

 an extra price for the privilege of digging them. 



The soil where I had concluded to plant my orchard 

 was a clayey loam, possessing great natural strength. It 

 had evidently not been very much exhausted by cropj^ing. 

 How to prepare it for planting was a question somewhat 

 difficult to decide. I was at a loss how to deal with the 

 subject of sub-soiling. I had seen luxuriant and j^rofita- 

 ble orchards in ISTew England which had been planted 

 without any such preparation of soil. I had, however, 

 seen it practiced in a few cases with evident good results. 

 From what could be learned from books and agricultural 

 publications, and from the theory involved in the prac- 



