40 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Question. How far apart are your trees? 



Mr. Ware. My trees are set out about forty feet apart, 

 each way. I have a younger orchard where I set the trees 

 nearer, thinking to experiment a little, but I am not satisfied 

 with the experiment of setting trees nearer than about forty 

 feet apart, each way. 



Question. How do you prevent your men from letting 

 the whiffletree bark the trunks ? 



Mr. Ware. That is very difficult, but I give them a 

 severe scolding every time ; and when they bark a tree, I tell 

 them to come and take a piece of skin off of my flesh, if it 

 will give them any satisfaction. My trees are not barked 

 much, but occasionally they get scraped a little. I prefer not 

 to plough too near the trees, because a large tree has large 

 roots, and as the roots grow in diameter they come quite 

 near the surface, and if the plough is run very near a large 

 tree, it is apt to injure those large roots, and therefore I 

 object to it. Therefore, I tell my men to go far enough from 

 the trees to prevent the whiffletree from striking them, and 

 to avoid injuring the large roots. It is necessary sometimes 

 to fork around a tree to prevent the grass from growing. It 

 requires very little labor to do that. 



Mr. Fisher of Fitchburg. Is it desirable, or can we raise 

 small fruits in an orchard? 



Mr. Ware. As far as my experience goes, they cannot be 

 raised where it is shaded quite materially ; but in a young 

 orchard, when there is quite a space between the trees, small 

 fruits may be cultivated to advantage. 



Mr. Gold. Some of the most successful currant-culture 

 that I have seen has been in young orchards. The currant- 

 bushes get past their bearing, and need to be removed before 

 the trees get large enough to shade them or demand the 

 whole strength of the soil. The slight shade that they 

 receive from the young trees is favorable to the currants, and 

 the culture of the ground which the currants require during 

 the early growth of the trees, is favorable to the trees, and 

 the two seem to work well mutually. 



Mr. Ware. A gentleman has just whispered to me a 

 question in regard to the method of planting orchards. He 

 asks me whether or not my trees were in one body. That I 



