34 



as it should be : it is considered the best early apple grown in the 

 eastern part of the State, and I would recommend it to all who have 

 not already tried it as worthy their attention. 



It costs no more to grow a good variety than it docs a poor one. 

 There are a great many good apples but it pays to grow very few 

 of them, for a variety may be excellent in flavor but a shy bearer ; 

 this must give place to some more productive kinds (if one grows 

 apples for dollars and cents) for no .matter how fine a fruit may be, if 

 it is not a bearer it is not a profitable kiud to grow. Don't run any 

 risks by planting out new varieties that have not been tested no mat- 

 ter how much the nurseryman or ngent may recommend them for the 

 chances are one hundred to one that they will not prove to be as pro- 

 fitable as some of our older kinds. My advice to all who cannot 

 afford to raise fruit for pleasure, is to plant nothing but what they 

 know to be good, and to let others experiment with new varieties. The 

 ground on whicli an orchard is to be planted, should if possible be 

 plowed, then it will make very little difference whether the holes dug 

 to receive the trees are large or small, provided they are large enough 

 to take in all of the roots without crowding them. If the ground is 

 not plowed the holes for the trees should be much larger, not less than 

 three feet in diameter, which space should be kept well stirred and free 

 from weeds. As it pays to cultivate fruit trees, a tree that has been 

 well taken care of will grow as much in six years, as one that has 

 been neglected will in eight or ten. If the ground can be cultivated 

 the cheapest way to take care of an orchard until it begins to bear, is 

 to plant it each year with corn, potatoes, or some other hoed crop, but 

 never sow grain of any kind in an orchard. If the trees have been 

 properly pruned up to the time (hey commence bearing, they will need 

 very little pruning afterwards except the cutting away of dead and 

 broken branches. In shaping the head of an apple tree, see that it is 

 well balanced and not too open, for a tree with an open head is con- 

 tinually throwing out suckers or water sprouts, and where one is cut 

 away several are almost sure to grow. If the head has been formed 

 as it should have been the branches will be so distributed that they 

 take up all of the nourishment and there will be very little trouble 

 from water sprouts. The limbs should not be left too near the ground, 

 as the weight of the fruit will cause the branches to sink lower each 

 year, and in a short time one will be bothered to work beneath the 

 tree. It often happens that fruit trees blosssom full in the Spring, but 



