214 AMERICAN POMOLOGY. 



upon a judiciously selected orchard site, and for a few 

 years subjected to proper culture, are infinitely more satis- 

 factory in their results, and much more profitable to their 

 owner. 



The importance of drainage can not be too often reiter- 

 ated, not merely for the sake of leading away the excess 

 of water that at some seasons prevails in much of our 

 best lands, but on account of the more thorough admission 

 of the beneficial air to the soil and the roots ; this, of 

 course, can only be had by thorough under-draining of the 

 land. Spouty or springy land is not to be selected for an 

 orchard, and yet we often find spots of this character in 

 fields that we wish to appropriate to orcharding ; these 

 should certainly be drainecL 



Mere surface drainage may be cheaply effected by the 

 plow, and should always be done in level lands, especially 

 where the subsoil is compact and tenacious. * The expense 

 of thorough drainage is so great, and the success of our 

 orchards, as commonly planted, even on ill-prepared 

 ground, is so generally good, that we can not expect the 

 majority of farmers to use drain tile at present. Still, the 

 importance of draining can not be doubted : the best re- 

 sults follow its u.se, and he who would reap the best har- 

 vests, and attain the highest success, will underdrain his 

 land. For the most of us, surface drainage alone, is all 

 that we can do ; this should never be neglected, for no 

 crop can be successful in land that is subject to an occa- 

 sional drenching with a surplus of water that stands for 

 days, filling it to the surface, causing the fermentation and 

 souring of the organic matter it contains. The fruit tree, 

 certainly, will not thrive in such a situation, and is as sure 



