94 TBAN8ACTION8. 



in a rapidly gro\ving condition by the free use of manure and the hoe. 

 Let trees which you remove to the orchard or the garden, be replaced 

 by other trees, in order to meet your future wants. Let the trees in 

 the nursery be so far distant from each other, as to leave full space 

 for the roots and for the sun, and for the removal of the trees without 

 injury to other trees. It may be best to purchase some trees at first, 

 which may come into bearing sooner than those from your own nur- 

 sery. But, for the most part, in the course of your fife, depend upon 

 your own nursery. First, because it is more economical; secondly, 

 because it will make you acquainted with the laws of vegetable life 

 and with the habitudes of trees, and thus better able to take care of 

 them in their advanced stages ; thirdly, it will serve to interest you 

 in trees, by keeping them before you from their infancy up to matu- 

 rity ; fourthly, it may be a source of revenue. 



II. Select the ground fok youb, orchakd ob rExriT gae- 

 DEN, CAREFULLY. It is not every soil or every exposure, that is 

 adapted to your purpose, though judicious cultivation may do much 

 in removing the disability of a poor soil and unfavorable exposure. 

 What is the best soil and the best exposure your observation of the 

 experiments of others in the vicinity, whether successful or not, can 

 teach you. As a general rule, a deep loam is better than a stiff clay, 

 or a loose sand. Which is the best exposure, — a north or south, an 

 east or west, — will, in different localities, depend on the season, on 

 the proximity of the sea or a marsh, of a mountain or a forest. As a 

 general rule, when you have your choice, you had better try both 

 sides of a hill, and one or the other will prove preferable. It has 

 been found, on trial, that peach trees bear best, sometimes on the 

 sunny side and sometimes on the shady side of a building, according 

 to the season ; it is safe, therefore, to try both sides, and then you 

 have a double chance for success. The fruit buds, swollen by the 

 sun and then checked by the frost, on the south side, may be safe on 

 the north side ; or the fruits destroyed by severe cold on the north 

 side, may be safe on the south side. For your encouragement, how- 

 ever, it should be remembered that the best exposure and the best 

 soil are not essential to success, provided you bestow the appropriate 

 culture. 



III. Prepare tour groukd, carefully. Fruit trees delight 

 in a deep soil, made mellow, in which the roots can move freely in 

 search of pasture. The soil should be prepared as carefully by the 

 plow for a crop of trees, as for a crop of wheat. If it is your purpose 

 to plant an orchard of apple trees, plow your land deep, according to 



