HOW TO PROCURE TREES. 29 



Many cultivators of the apple hold a different 

 opinion in regard to allowing grass to grow in 

 the orchard. It is said that the roots are kept 

 cooler by the grass, and that winter fruit is more 

 crisp and does not mature as early as in culti- 

 vated fields. Professor Maynard advocates plant- 

 ing rocky and bushy hill-sides with the apple, 

 without even clearing or breaking up. He sug- 

 gests making good holes and doing good work at 

 planting and fertilizing, but clearing away the 

 brush afterwards. In this way he believes many 

 waste and rocky slopes may be converted into 

 healthy and profitable orchards without ever 

 feeling the plough. Such soils often are admira- 

 ble for the apple, and there is no doubt this tree 

 has vigor enough to make its way under this 

 rough culture. Of course it is not to be neg- 

 lected in respect to food, pruning, or treatment 

 for diseases. It is not to be doubted that many 

 unproductive hills might be turned into orchards 

 at small expense, and that a good quality of 

 fruit might thus be obtained. We do not want 

 too vigorous and succulent growth for the apple, 

 and do not therefore assign it to our richest 

 lands, or give it constant culture. There is no 

 doubt, however, that the largest and the premium 

 fruit will come from trees that have grown in 

 cultivated land. And there is encouragement to 



