130 AMERICAN POMOLOGY. 



they occupy very little space, and are readily kept clean, 

 as the mulching prevents the growth of weeds. In the 

 fall, or in the following spring, they are taken up, assorted 

 for size, and re-planted in the nursery-rows where they are 

 to stand. This transplanting improves the character of 

 their roots, which are more fibrous and shorter than in 

 those trees which have stood three or four years without 

 being disturbed. Purchasers, now-a-days, begin to look 

 at the roots of their trees, as well as the tops; and it may 

 become necessary for the nurserymen to gratify this fancy 

 for low-headed, stocky trees, that have abundant fibres to 

 insure their growth, and their early fruitfulness. 



CULTURE of the nursery should be thorough ; the soil 

 should be frequently stirred, and kept mellow and loose, 

 to insure cleanliness and thriftiness, and to make handsome 

 trees. The mellow soil upon the surface, is, by some per- 

 sons, considered equal to a good mulching, and indeed it 

 answers the indications of one. Cultivation, to kill the 

 weeds as fast as they appear, will admit both air and mois- 

 ture; a share of both of these is retained by the mellow 

 earth, which, thus treated, is indeed a very good mulch. 

 The cultivation may be done with the small turning plow, 

 with the double shovel, or with any of the many approved 

 cultivators in use every where throughout the country. The 

 surface should be kept as level and even as possible. In 

 some soils the roller, made short enough to pass between 

 the rows, is highly esteemed, and is considered a most 

 valuable implement ill the nursery. As a general rule, 

 cultivation should not be continued too late in the season, 

 but should be suspended about mid-summer, so as to pre- 

 vent a late growth and to encourage the plants to finish 



