PREPARATION OF SOIL FOR ORCHARD. 219 



one side, and this wing, as it was called, was tilted up 

 several inches, thus increasing the draft unnecessarily. 

 We now use a sharp steel share, of diamond shape, cut- 

 ting on both edges, right and left, and very slightly ele- 

 vated in the centre, only two inches, or two and a half at 

 the most. If the soil is stirred with this implement, the 

 hard earth at the bottom of the furrow, made by the turn- 

 ing plow, is thoroughly broken up, and it does not fall 

 directly back into its place, but the crumbled portions 

 support one another, and the furrow appears to be filled 

 with loose earth. The result is astonishing, when we con- 

 sider the flat, diamond-shaped plow sole that has done 

 the work. 



The depth to which this implement may be made to dis- 

 integrate the soil, depends upon its strength, the power 

 of the team, and the character of the subsoil. I have 

 seen it tear up several inches of the shales and other 

 rocks, and aid in making a good soil of them. I have 

 seen it sink to the beam in the alluvium of our river bot- 

 toms, and I have seen it almost refuse to do its office in 

 some of the hard white clay subsoils, when drawn by a 

 heavy team, while in more yielding but tenacious clays I 

 have seen it trembling under the strain of three yoke of 

 good cattle, that were scarcely able to pull it through the 

 adhesive soil. 



MANURING. The importance of the application of ma- 

 nures to the orchard, as a part of the preparation of the 

 soil, will depend entirely upon its strength and condition. 

 Trees are great feeders ; they need a reasonably fertile 

 soil, for though their roots run wide and deep, in search 

 of nourishment, if the necessary food be not in the soil, 



