ORCHARDS. SO 



elly soil, which I considered worthless ; but as it lay right be- 

 fore my door, I thought I would cover it with apple trees, 

 and see if I could not make it look better, and have succeeded 

 beyond my expectations. The land was prepared by plough- 

 ing, and followed by a subsoil plough to the depth of about 

 twenty inches ; the trees were then set in rows, two rods apart 

 each way, and a little compost manure placed about them. I put 

 a little hay about the trees the two first seasons to keep tba 

 ground moist till they got well rooted, the land being very dry. 

 The land has been tilled with a crop of corn, potatoes, beans, 

 or something of the kind, every year, and has received a light 

 spreading of compost manure. I usually put two shovelfuls 

 of compost about each tree late in the fall, to protect them 

 against mice during the winter. * 



Concord, September 4, 1854. 



HAMPSHIRE. 

 Report of the Committee. 



The cultivation of fruit trees in Massachusetts has not gen- 

 erally received the attention which so important a subject just- 

 ly demands. This will be found emphatically true of central 

 and western Massachusetts — the beautiful valley of the Con- 

 necticut not even affording a general exception to this remark. 

 The want of good fruit of the various species and varieties 

 has been suffered to continue quite too long. The spirit of 

 progress and improvement which so eminently marks the pres- 

 ent age is beginning to be felt in this direction. Here and 

 there may be found gardeners and farmers who have, within 

 the past few years, demonstrated that the luxury of good fruits 

 of the various kinds may be universally enjoyed. Let these 

 demonstrations, though few and far between, beget a speedy 

 determination in all the proprietors of the soil, that have not 

 already done so, to engage at once in the cultivation of fruit 

 trees, and thus secure as a home production what you are now 

 so fond of sharing with your more enterprising neighbors or 

 friends, whether in your own town or more remotely situated. 



In looking over the report of the committee on fruit trees 



12* 



