OF DWARF FRUIT TREE CULTURE. 19 



working after they reached here and would be equally unadapted for 

 private importation in small lots. 



I may say here by way of parenthesis that as I will be constantly 

 importing these trees from Europe for use in my own nursery to 

 supplant my stock, I shall be pleased to embody in my orders any 

 stock my readers may require at prices for delivery, duty paid, F. 

 0. B. at Ferndale, to be had upon application. 



Having now an intelligent idea of what these trees are and 

 where to get them, the next question is: What preparation is re- 

 quired, and this brings us to the consideration of soils, fertilization 

 and planting. 



Any good fertile garden soil, if well drained, will grow fruit 

 trees ; but wet, soggy and lumpy land will prevent success. As I said 

 before, these dwarf trees are high toned aristocrats and require spe- 

 cial attention, therefore to secure the best results "intensive culture " 

 is desirable. The land, if possible, should be trenched in the first 

 instance. Trenching is performed by first marking the size of your 

 bed, then by digging a trench 18 inches or two feet deep at one 

 end of the bed, taking the soil dug out in a wheelbarrow and dump- 

 ing it close to but beyond the other end of the bed. You have 

 now a trench from which the soil has been entirely removed to two 

 feet deep; you then continue digging the bed from the trench still 

 two feet deep, turning the first foot of top soil into the bottom of the 

 trench, and the second foot into the same trench on top of the other 

 You now have one trench filled in with top soil at the bottom and 

 another trench open next the undug remainder of the plot. You will 

 continue to dig strip by strip, throwing the soil into the open trenches 

 in front of you, and thus continue until you have dug over the whole 

 plot and have an empty trench left. You then throw the soil you 

 dug out of the first trench into this last empty one and you will 

 have your plot all trenched and level. This is the most thorough and 

 best preparation for a garden plot. If you cannot get the whole plot 

 trenched the first year you may take a narrower strip, but wide 

 enough for the trees, and trench it as described and the following 

 year trench an adjoining strip and you will soon have your lot all 

 trenched. Should your land not have good soil deep enough to allow 

 you to dig eighteen inches or two feet without striking hard pan, 

 you will require to dig as deep as you can and add a liberal allow- 

 ance of stable manure, incorporating it well with the soil. If your 

 land is reasonably fertile, it will require no fertilizer the first or 



