seven] out in the orchard 



while the old roots still remain and are decaying in 

 the soil. The old trees have in all probability left 

 the soil exhausted, and the old wood while decaying 

 poisons the new. This is less true of plums and 

 cherries than of apples and pears. I have named 

 a few apples that prefer sandy soil; others dislike 

 limestone soil. Most apple trees have their idio- 

 syncrasies. In Central New York we fail to get 

 such Jonathans and Grimes' Goldens as are grown 

 in Ohio and West Virginia. One of the apples 

 that thrives over a very large area is the Northern 

 Spy. It is a deliberate tree, slow to come to bear- 

 ing, but afterward is very constant and prolific. 

 In all cases remember that fruit trees cannot 

 effectually serve you unless you serve them. They 

 must be fed, or they cannot feed you in turn. Their 

 office is to take the elements in a raw state, and 

 work them over into delicious food for human 

 beings. In this way we really are compatriots 

 with the trees in our orchards. I am convinced 

 that the very best plan for large growers of apples 

 is to pasture the orchard with sheep or with hogs. 

 These will destroy all the defective apples, while 

 they keep the soil enriched. Where the methods 

 suggested above are inconvenient, mulch your 



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