FRUIT. 213 



the " Butter's apple," or the " Woodpecker apple." Rev. 

 William Blackstoiic planted the first orchard in Rhode Island, 

 in 1636. In this orchard originated the " Yellow Sweeting." 

 The Newtown Pippin came from a seedling originating on Long 

 Island more than one hundred and fifty years ago. But a long 

 history of apple trees is not needed here. 



THE PROFITS OF RAISING APPLES. 



Apples are profitable for food, prepared in a great variety of 

 ways ; they are profitable as an article for the market. The 

 farmer can raise no other crop (every thing considered) with 

 so large a margin of profit. Let us see if this be true or not. 

 An orchard containing fifty trees properly set out, will cover an 

 acre of ground ; in ordinary seasons each tree ought to yield 

 three barrels of fruit ; the whole orchard will produce then, one 

 hundred and fifty barrels of apples annually ; these are worth 

 on the spot in common seasons, one hundred and fifty dollars. 

 An acre of grass land will produce about three tons of hay, 

 commonly worth not more than thirty dollars at the time of 

 cutting. The apples can be gathered with as little expense as 

 making the hay ; this will leave a large balance in favor of tlie 

 orchard ; aside from this, the orchard will produce in addition 

 to the apples, a fair crop of either grass, potatoes, or oats without 

 detriment to the trees. I might take the corn, or wheat crop, 

 or any other, not excepting tobacco, and make the same com- 

 parison, and yet the balance (other things being equal) would 

 still be in favor of the apples. An orchard of forty Baldwin 

 apple trees has yielded three hundred barrels of fruit in a 

 single season ; a farmer in Leverett, two years ago, gatliered 

 one hundred and one bushels of seedling apples from a single 

 tree, another sold two hundred and fifty dollars wortli in a 

 single season, gathered from an old orchard, covering one and 

 one-half acres of ground. But these facts are sufficient 

 to establish the great profits of raising the fruit under consid- 

 eration. 



SITUATION AND SOIL MOST SUITABLE FOR AN ORCHARD. 



A side hill or gentle slope, facing the south or south-west, 

 and sheltered in the background by a higher eminence, is a 

 good situation for an orchard. Avoid low, flat, or over-moist 



