The Canadian Horticulturist. 137 



the nursery agent, is : I am sure much injury has been done to the fruit- 

 growing industr}', through the greed of unprincipled agents, and would 

 caution you against such. But a lengthy apology is not necessary to a brief 

 effort, and we will take up what seems next in order to secure success in 

 fruit culture and that is : 



Preparation of the Soil upon which to grow fruit. One requisite is 

 necessary to the growth of all kinds of fruit, and that is, thorough drainage. 

 If you attempt without it, you will end in failure, and that will discourage 

 you. If you have a piece of sandy loam, with a gravelly subsoil, it may 

 serve to attempt on without much draining, but all soils where clay enters 

 largely in their composition, must be underdrained ultimately, or you need 

 not expect success. While your trees are young, or if you only attempt 

 small fruits, surface drains may do for a time, but it is economy ultimately 

 to underdrain, say two and a tialf or three feet deep. Many who have desired 

 to grow fruit, have neglected the necessary precautions in the choice and 

 preparation of the ground, have failed and become discouraged. To such 

 we say, try again with proper treatment and you will succeed. 



Order your Trees for the Spring delivery as a rule. Why? Because 

 you avoid the risk of damage by mice or other accidents, and you can have 

 your ground ready to plant them in on their arrival in the Spring as you 

 unpack and thus save labor. If you do order for theFall delivery, care must be 

 exercised in burying them. Choose a dry ridge, away from any mice harbor, 

 as fence, out-buildings or stumps; dig a trench, say two feet wide and two 

 deep. At one end have a slope of a foot or so, that the first trees you lay 

 will have the top at least a foot above the root, bury that layer with dirt 

 enough to cover well, then two or three more with the same incline, until 

 your stock is done ; raise a little ridge over them that you may know 

 just where to dig for them in the Spring, carefully removing the earth first 

 from the last layer you put down, taking up the root first, that you may not 

 mar the body or top. Before planting. 



Prune your Tree well. Cut back any long tap roots. This will cause 

 more fibrous or fine roots to grow on the main ones, and these fibrous roots 

 are the true feeders of the tree. Cut off any marred roots if you can do so 

 without lessening the volume of your root too nmch ; and then prune the 

 top back to balance with the root, as the main thought in pruning is to 

 have a healthy balance between the root and top. The secret ot growth in 

 your tree, lies in the ample supply of sap which the roots feed out of th^ 

 ground and send upward in the tree, and if you leave more top than the 

 roots can feed and nourish well, your tree will languish and perhaps die. 

 Do not expect your newly transplanted trees to carry the same top that they 

 have when you receive them from the nurseryman, as if you do, and fail to 

 cut back the top, your tree will not recover the transplanting and become a 

 healthy tree. 



