298 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



plain ditching. 



Little success can be expected on most soils in growing small fruits, without 

 proper drainage. A large plantation of Cuthbert raspberries, planted upon clay 

 loam, has been an utter failure. The bushes have been stunted in growth and 

 have borne very litde fruit, and this of a small size, almost unfit for shipment. 

 The soil seemed in every way to be rich and very suitable, for a plantation of 

 larger fruits grows on it with much vigor, plums and apples being planted in a 

 portion of the same field. The secret is evidently lack of drainage, for in those 

 parts of the farm where this has been systematically attended to, the Cuthbert 

 is a most decided success. 



The grading of ditches and drains is a very important matter, and one w^hich 

 is often done too carelessly, resulting in the tiles being frequently filled with sand 

 or other rubbish. Our custom of grading has been with the use of a spirit level, 

 laid upon stout boards along the bottom ; but a much better plan is given in Farm 

 and Home. It consists in setting stakes four feet apart, along the line where the 



Fig. 51. — Plan for Exact Grading. 



drain is to be laid ; laths are tacked across from stake to stake, as here illus- 

 trated. Across the top of each a cord is run, and the whole arrangement so 

 placed that the line is the exact grade which is desired at the bottom of the 

 drain. When this is done, any one can dig the ditch and grade it, using a 

 rod long enough to reach from the line to the bottom of the desired ditch. 



How TO Grow Fruit. — A novice, anxious to learn fruit raising, would do 

 well not to select less than four, nor more than ten acres, of his best corn land. 

 It ought to be heavy rather than light, well drained, on reasonably high, airy 

 land, but not exposed to sweeping winds. On this plant apple trees fifty feet 

 apart. Peach, plum, pear, and cherry trees can be planted in rows intersecting 

 the above each way, leaving the completely planted orchard in rows twenty-five 

 feet apart. Plant but few varieties and only those doing well under similar con- 

 ditions. Experiment with no new or wonderful things. Keep to the beaten 

 paths. Devote this land to fruit exclusively. Keep all domestic animals, 

 except poultry off of it. Manure it every year. Plow it at least once and culti- 

 vate it several times each year. Allow no grass or grain to be raised in the 

 orchard, except corn while it is young. Prune carefully every year and keep up 

 a vigorous fight againt insects and vermin. — P. W. King, Greene County, N. Y. 



