190 The Connecticut Pomological Society 



them with the greatest care. You have made a special study of 

 every detail from beginning to end, — the location, soil, size of 

 trees you judge most profitable, pruning, when and how, 

 varieties, plants, plant-food, and the tools that will do the most 

 uniform and best work in your soil. 



Now, in view of all these facts it seems out of place for me 

 to come before this meeting presuming to interest or give you 

 anything new in the line of orchard culture. I shall simply 

 attempt to give you my experience along this line. 



When quite young I had a special liking for planting and 

 the care of trees, and succeeded in interesting my father in the 

 work. We set out quite a number of sugar maples on the road- 

 side near our home. A few years later we sold this farm and 

 bought the one I now own. Near our home on each side of 

 the street were beautiful large maples; in either direction from 

 these were very few shade trees, so the first thing that spring I 

 planted maples on each side of the street, and now, thirty-one 

 years after, we have a very beautifully shaded street. I speak of 

 it for this reason ; if a man loves to care for trees he is much 

 more likely to succeed in fruit culture. He should first have a 

 love for nature, trees, plants of all kinds, and take pleasure in 

 their care and development. 



In the spring of 1894 1 set out 1,400 peach trees. This 

 really was the beginning of my doing much with the peach. 



The land I use for my orchards is very stony, not only 

 some large rocks, but the ground is full of smaller stone. 

 Some of my neighbors thought I must be losing what little 

 sense I had to think of cultivating those fields. I took the 

 best care of the trees that I knew how, kept the cultivator and 

 harrow going until the last of August, and used crimson clover, 

 sowing the seed at the last cultivation. I have kept branching 

 out into these stony fields, and now have some very fine peach 

 trees growing. After the trees are set out and growing nicely 

 we use the plow very little. 



The disc and cutaway harrow usually do good work, but 

 for this stony land the spring-tooth harrow is by far the best 

 tool I know of for digging and stirring the soil. We also 

 use the Hallock weeder. 



One orchard of two-year-old trees is on a hill with a 



