202 



Apples. 



two feet in depth, and about eight feet equidistant from tree to tree 

 The roots which were encountered in this operation were, of course, 

 all cut off, the trenches filled with well rotted manure, and closed. 

 I finished by giving each of the trees about a peck of charcoal mixed 

 with the same quantity of ashes, and now for the result. I have 

 this year gathered from the 'two outcasts' just mentioned, instead 

 of my annual dividend of a dozen apples, from six to eight bushels 

 apiece of as handsome fruit as you ever saw, with about the same pro-- 

 portion from the third, which has always been a moderate bearer." 



Bearing orchards commonly lose their vigor, and give small and 

 poor fruit, when allowed to grow in grass-land, without any cultiva- 

 tion. If the soil is naturally rich, a shallow ploughing and an occa- 

 sional harrowing will restore their vigor. Or if ploughing cannot 

 conveniently be given, they may be much improved by being con- 

 verted to pasture for sheep, adding occasionally a top-dressing of 

 manure in autumn. These animals will serve in part to enrich the 

 land, keep the grass grazed short, and pick up the prematurely 

 fallen fruit, infested with worms or insects. 



The amount of cultivation or top-dressing to be given to such 

 orchards must be determined by the annual growth of the shoots. 

 If less than a foot in length, more vigor must be imparted to them. 

 If more than a foot and a half, they are quite thrifty enough. 



Pruning. The mode of treating large trees has been already 

 adverted to in the chapter on pruning. There are some owners of 

 orchards who most erroneously suppose that when trees become 



V-' 



Fig. 241. 



old, heavy pruning will restore their vigor in the absence of good 



