258 TRAINING. 



in raising healthy trees of some of the old, esteemed 

 sorts of apples. Whether this difficulty has arisen 

 from a careless choice of grafts, or from the assumed 

 cause above alluded to, we are not quite satisfied, 

 because the failures have not been universal ; and 

 because we know, that if a young golden pippin, for 

 instance, be planted in an old orchard or garden, it 

 seldom thrives ; whereas, if planted in fresh, newly 

 trenched soil, it both grows and bears well. It is 

 also well known, that though a great majority of 

 the old golden pippin, golden rennet, and nonpareil 

 trees have gone to decay in old orchards, there are 

 in many places fine healthy trees of all ages growing 

 vigorously ; so that much of this failure of orchard- 

 fruit may have proceeded from local or accidental 

 causes. 



An apple-tree, like all others, has a natural term 

 of life. It stands till the interior of the trunk is dead 

 and rotten, and then falls a prey to the wind : not- 

 withstanding that the vitality on its exterior, though 

 weakened, may be as essentially perfect as ever. It 

 appears that the amiable Evelyn did much in his 

 time towards advising the planting of orchards, as 

 well as forests ; and it is probable, that the orchards 

 planted about that era, (1700,) are those which of 

 late years have so suddenly gone to decay. 



Planting and maintaining orchards has been al- 

 ways considered as a legitimate object in rural eco- 

 nomy ; and more or less attended to, according as the 

 usage or taste of the rural population in articles of 



