AND ITS DISEASE. 27 



all the land constituting the twenty acre field was 

 planted in corn, manured in the hill with ashes, 

 yard scrapings, &c., gathered about the barn. The 

 other field, receiving the balance of the 4,000 trees, 

 planted that spring, was treated as above described, 

 except that the lime was reduced to fifty bushels 

 per acre. After the second year the cropping was 

 suspended in the first twenty acres, but the most 

 of the other grounds were cropped for three years, 

 in various crops, but mostly with corn, and after 

 this was discontinued, the ground received one plow- 

 ing and harrowing each year thereafter. The 

 ground was generally plowed in the fall, harrowing 

 mostly in the spring, and there was but little fall- 

 ing off in the crops of corn, in the second year, 

 but in the third there was quite a reduction, as by 

 that time the roots of the trees had quite covered 

 the ground, interfering with the crop of corn. All 

 of these trees made a rapid growth, and the firs-t 

 thousand bore a heavy crop the fourth year from 

 planting, the fruit as fine as I ever raised before or 

 since. I continued adding yearly to the orchards 

 up to somo 8,000 trees; this included an orchard 

 in Delaware county, Pa,, occupying a high piece of 

 land of loamy soil, of strong Gneiss formation and 

 and in fine condition. A strong grass sod was 

 turned down, and the trees cropped in corn, for 

 three successive years, and treated as the Chester 

 county orchards, except in the question of liming, 

 which was postponed for the want of time at plant- 



