FRUITS. 203 



Apples. — Class No. 2. — In commencing the cultivation of 

 apples the attention should be first turned to the old trees on 

 the farm. There are but few trees that have any young thrifty 

 shoots that are not worth grafting ; all that are useless, cut 

 down ; if allowed to remain they injure the appearance of the 

 farm. The remainder should be very thoroughly pruned and 

 grafted ; the expense is trifling, and they will sooner come into 

 bearing and yield better than young trees. On my farm there 

 was an old tree so far decayed that it was swayed back and 

 forth by every wind. I grafted it, although thinking it might 

 prove time thrown away ; but it bore two or three bushels of 

 the first quality of fruit for a number of years, and with other 

 old grafted trees, furnished a plentiful supply of apples while 

 the young trees were growing. In grafting either old or young 

 trees after the first year, but one scion should be allowed to 

 grow in each stock ; the other must be cut out as they will 

 seldom unite firmly, and when large, the weight of the fruit or 

 the high winds will be likely to split them apart. 



iii commencing a young orchard, a piece of land should be 

 selected where the soil is deep and rich — not too wet, or if wet, 

 should be thoroughly drained ; if rocky, it is no objection, 

 except the extra labor required to clear it for cultivation ; it will 

 not be injurious to the growth of the trees, but will be l)enefi- 

 cial. In selecting the trees for the orchard, purchase the best 

 that can be obtained, remembering that the few cents difference 

 in the cost of a good or poor tree will prove a loss instead of a 

 gain. Trees are almost always set too near to each other. 

 Most planters say two rods each way, but I prefer thirty feet 

 by forty ; the greater distance giving the sunlight a better 

 opportunity to act upon the trees, causing the fruit to ripen 

 sooner, and also rendering it much easier operating between 

 the trees with a team when cultivating the ground. The trees 

 should be planted in perfectly straight rows both ways, not 

 only as a matter of convenience but it gives a neat and tidy 

 appearance to the orchards. The holes should be dug deep 

 and large, and care taken not to set the tree too deep ; a great 

 many failures in transplanting trees of all kinds are attributed 

 to this cause. Care should also be taken that every root is 

 placed in its natural position. In filling the holes, any old 

 refuse about the farm, such as scrapings from the wood pile. 



