90 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



to the porosity of the mulch; thus horse manure or muck will re- 

 quire a less depth than straw or leaves. It is desirable also to 

 apply a poi'ous mulch after planting, and thereby obviate the neces- 

 sity of watering, and prevent the loss of trees during the droughts 

 of summer. If the soil be comparatively poor, mulch with the 

 first named, but if rich, use the most porous substances, without 

 regard to their fertilizing properties. But for general use it is 

 most desirable to employ the various fertilizing materials as much 

 as. possible iu rotation, thus imparting to the roots a great variety 

 of elements necessary to their successful formation or growth. 

 Remove the mulch in the spring so that none of it shall remain 

 within four inches of the tree, and spread it uniformly as may be 

 over the entire surface of the orchard ground. 



Scraping and Washing. 



Scrape in the spring, rough, mossy trees, or those infested with 

 vermin. Trees with smooth, healthy bark will require no scraping, 

 except perhaps at the base. Use a blunt scraper, the blade being 

 cut out in a semicircular form. Should the trees vary much in 

 size, more than one scraper may be required. After scraping, 

 wash with soapsuds, for the general health and improvement of 

 the trees, one or two applications with a paint brush being suffi- 

 cient for this purpose. Weak soapsuds are required for very 

 young trees, strong for the older. Use no whitewash, especially 

 in the spring. * 



Cultivating, or management of the orchard ground. We pro- 

 pose to give a few suggestions on the general management of the 

 orchard ground. The soil then having been properly selected and 

 prepared and the trees having been planted, the next thing is to 

 provide a good substantial fence to keep out stock of all kinds in 

 winter as well as during the other seasons of the year." If the 

 Boil has been prepared as heretofore directed, there will be an- 

 nually about the first July a heavy growth of timothy and clover. 

 This shtmld be cut, but the second crop, which will be like the 

 first, should be allowed to remain to enrich the soil and to serve 

 as a protection from the winter's cold or frost. The seed from 

 the second crop, or aftermath, will also prevent the clover from 

 " running out," the large, deep roots of which will tend to loosen 

 the soil, thus keeping it in excellent condition for the trees. If in 

 iaddition to this the mulch about the trees be spread in the spring 

 uniformly over the ground, no other manure or fertilizer will be 

 required, though plaster may be used with good effect to decom- 

 pose the aftermath, and wood ashes may be spread over the sur- 

 face as far as the roots extend. For the first few years at least, 

 no grass should be allowed near the trees ; but stir or loosen the 

 soil two or three times each season to an extent nearly equal to 

 that of the roots, and continue this till the trees have acquired 

 considerable growth, or from four to six years from planting, after 

 which they will require less attention in this respect. If the proper 

 kind of soil was selected for the trees, and properly cultivated with 

 the hoe or spade, in such a case plowing will be unnecessary, and 



