w 



37 



fniit. liad not provionsly boon frrown, than to 

 find, as soon as the n'sults of his care antl 

 labor are beginning to be realized, by his treos 

 coniniencing to bear, that his orehard is in- 

 vaded, his fruit stolen, and his trees broken 

 down, jirobahly by the sons of his nearest neigh- 

 bors. But this will bo always more or less the 

 rase until planting becomes general, when each 

 family will find itself interested in discouraging 

 such conduct. 



The enterprising and intelligent fruit-grower 

 (and it requires enterprise and intelligence to 

 succeed in any business) who is willing to 

 devote his ■whole energies to that end will 

 always succeed ; and, besides being really a pub- 

 lic benefactor, will ac(juire as handsome a com- 

 petence as he could from the same amount of 

 skill and capital invested in other business, 

 and with much less risk of loss than he would 

 in commercial pursuits. 



Hut it is not the fruit culturist alone that will 

 bi; benelited : the mass of the people in our 

 oities, towns, and villages, who at present have 

 ^^ notiiing like an adequate sup|)ly, will also be 

 1 benefited by having abundance of fine fruit 

 r< liroiight within their reach and means. 



Hut it is still more important for the farmer 

 or owner of a smaller lot of land to at once go 

 into fruit-raising, which need not be on a largo 

 scal(! at first. In many parts of the country, 

 more ( ■.,,ecially in the eastern, few or no fruit 

 trees have been planted, and the inh.abitantsare 

 •jitlier entirely dependent upon wild fruits, or 

 on those imported from a distance, which ar« 

 high in price, and, probably from long carriage, 

 inferittr in cpiality ; or, as is more often the case, 

 have to do without entirely. 



Now every farmer should have abundance of 

 fruit and to .spare, on his own farm, as it is con- 

 ducive to both the health and comfort of his 

 family, and everything that tends to make home 

 pleasant and comfortable should be encouraged. 

 No wonder that the farmers of Lower Canada 

 when they visit the United States and see the 

 farm homes there imbedded in thriving orchards, 

 and eompare them with their own bleak and 

 cheerless homesteads without a tree of any kmd, 

 in many i)lace8, near them, — no wonder, I say, 

 that they wish to emigrate to what they suppose 

 U) be more fertile lands and genial climes ; 

 when the fact ia that their own country and 

 homes could bt^ made ecpially as pleasant by 

 ado]ning the same means. 



In many parts of Eastern Canada it is sup- 



^ 



posed that the apple will not grow well on the 

 old cleared farms, owing to the soil being worn 

 out, and that only rich newly-cleared lands are 

 suitable for it. If this theory were correct, it 

 would be equally ap])lieable to Western (Janada, 

 where, it is well known, such is not the cass. 

 The idea, however, is, no doubt, in a measure 

 correct, though from a different cause than su])- 

 posed. It is the surrounding woods sheltering 

 the new farms from the cold winter that makes 

 the i)rincipal difference ; and too much stress 

 cannot be placed upon proper shelter from 

 woods or belts of trees, as being more thaaanj- 

 thing else what is required for successful fruit- 

 culture in Canada, and even much further 

 south. 



If those going on new farms would bear this 

 in mind, and in the process of clearing leave 

 belts of trees on the sides exposed to the coldest 

 winds, they would find their account in it both 

 as regards fruit-growing, stock-raising, and 

 grain-growing. The present custom in clear- 

 ing farms is to begin at the front on the conces- 

 sion line, and clear off everything in the shape 

 of a tree till they come to near the rear of the 

 farm, where a portion is left uncleared, to give 

 them a future supply of firewood, &c. A much 

 better plan would be to leave a strip or belt of 

 trees down each side as well as in the rear, and '' 

 also in the front if that is the coldest exposure. 

 The large trees from these belts could be cut out 

 as required, leaving the second growth to .shoot 

 up, which makes by far the best shelter. These 

 remarks apply more especially to the more level 

 farms ; hilly ones will require to be sheltered 

 in conformity with the exposure of the land, and 

 the hills themselves afford excellent shelter, 

 which is one reason for the thriving of orchards 

 on hill sides. 



A pretty dry soil, the result either of na- 

 tural or artificial drainage, is essential also to 

 the preservatiiJU of fruit trees from the severity 

 of the climate of Canada. 



On old cleared lands, the best mode, under 

 the particular circumstances of each case, should 

 be adopted. In many instances, a good shelter 

 could be had by having the dwelling-house 

 and some of Se ont-buildings on one side, and 

 the barns and stables op the other side of the 

 orchard ; the other sides, if sheltered by hills or 

 trees, would make it complete ; or, in case of 

 need, a belt of evergreens and other trees 

 might be planted. 



It is very necessary that the orchard should ba 



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