140 MY FARM. 



ened into a marvellous luxuriance ; and the few 

 shoots I set upon them are now supplying the best 

 fruit of the orchard. Even these, however, are not 

 free from the pestilent stings which the swarms of 

 winged visitors inflict upon every crop. 



It is very questionable if ploughing is, upon the 

 whole, the best way of reinstating a neglected and 

 barren orchard. It is a harsh method ; trees strug- 

 gling to keep up a good appearance under adverse 

 circumstances like men use every imaginable shift ; 

 their little spongiole feeders go off on wide search ; 

 they are multiplied by the diversity of labor ; and 

 the plough cuts into them cruelly, making crude 

 butcher work where the nicest surgery is demanded. 

 I am inclined to believe that a deep trench, sunk 

 around each tree, at the distance of from eight to ten 

 feet from the trunk, and filled with good lime com- 

 post, is the surest way of redeeming a neglected 

 orchard. Even then, however, the turf should be 

 carefully removed within the enclosed circle, that the 







air and its influences may have penetrative power 

 upon the soil. The method is Baconian (fodiendo et 

 aperiendo terram circa radices ipsarwri) ; it is 

 thorough, but it is expensive ; and a farmer must 

 consider well if his trees, soil, market, and the 

 populousness of the insect world will warrant it. 

 For my own part, so far as regards a market crop 



