PRELIMINARIES TO PLANTING. 21 



rience of practical fruit-growers at the present day. A northern 

 exposure is now very generally preferred. This is because the ac- 

 tion of the warm sun, in a southern exposure, will too soon thaw 

 away the frost about the roots, and occasion the buds to swell- 

 leaving them exposed to alternations of frost and thaw. In the 

 West, the rolling prairies near the woodland, the hazel ruffs that 

 skirt the prairie and wogd, and the richest portions of the timbered 

 bluffs or highlands that overlook the rivers, are regarded as the 

 best locations. The best bearing orchards within the knowledge of 

 the writer are those on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi at the 

 Lower Rapids. 



SOIL. 



Fruit trees, like corn and cabbages, will grow on almost any kind 

 of soil ; yet some soils are more suited to their natures than others. 

 They require a soil strong enough to give the tree a vigorous growth, 

 and the better and more vigorous the growth of the tree, the better 

 will be the character of the fruit. As a general thing, any soil 

 that will produce a good crop of corn will be good for fruit-trees. 

 A strictly aUuvial soil, however, is not to be recommended ; as, 

 while it will produce a rank growth of wood, it will not make so 

 hardy or fruitful a tree ; nor will the quality of the fruit be equal 

 to that grown on a less fertile soil. A calcareous soil is the best 

 adapted to most kinds of fruit ; yet in other than limestone regions 

 a gravelly or sandy loam will be found to answer a good purpose. 

 Stiff, clayey soils are not promotive of a good growth ; yet they can 

 be rendered available by a proper incorporation of sand, manure, 

 and vegetable mold. Most soils — even those in the limestone region 

 — require an addition of more or less lime and potash, as these in- 

 gredien^is enter largely into the composition of most fruits. 



PEEPAEATION OF THE GROUND. 



Not one in a hundred of those who plant trees bestows the 

 necessary care and attention to the preparation of the ground. A 

 very common mode is to dig a hole about a foot wide and five or 

 six inches doep, stick in the tree, bending the roots or cutting them 

 off to bring them within the proper compass — shovel in a few 

 spadefuls of dirt or sod, tread it down with the foot, and the job 

 is done ! If the tree grows, well ; if not, the planter has only been 

 unlucky^ and all the neighbors conclude not to plant, it is so Jut/rd 



