26 Culture of the Apple Tree on poor Soils. 



where there is but little to be found naturally besides clay or 

 gravel, and the ground is usually very wet. When I first came 

 here, we had plenty of old apple trees, but very few apples. 

 We had also some young trees ; but, as far as I can recollect, I 

 never saw a crop on any of them. Being fond of seeing good 

 apple trees, as soon as opportunity occurred I began to turn my 

 attention to the subject. 



It may be proper to observe that all the trees previously 

 planted were on crab stocks; and I therefore determined on 

 planting none but such as were on paradise stocks, as requiring 

 less room, making less wood, less roots, and bearing more fruit. 

 I accordingly prepared two borders, 5 ft. wide, by trenching 

 them as deep as I had good soil, and making a drain of broken 

 bricks to carry off the water. I then planted one row of trees 

 down the centre of each border, about 8 ft. apart. For the first 

 few years the borders were dug and cropped ; but, since the 

 roots have occupied the principal part of the ground, they 

 have not been dug, nor cropped, nor manured in any way, as I 

 am a great enemy to digging fruit tree borders, which, perhaps, 

 you may recollect from a letter of mine which you published 

 some years ago on the evils of that practice. 



But to return. The trees were all dwarfs, and were pruned 

 so as to look something like an umbrella turned bottom up- 

 wards. In pruning, I generally leave as much young wood as 

 I can at its full length, seldom shortening the shoots till they 

 are about as high as I can reach, by which time they are fur- 

 nished with fruit and fruit spurs most of the way up ; and as 

 soon as they become too thick, I take out the old shoots, and 

 bring up young ones. By this means I have now plenty of 

 apples, of first-rate kinds; and their appearance, when in flower, 

 is beautiful, being that of a wall of flowers on each side. It is 

 true that all sorts will not bear equally well ; but, having found 

 which do best, I take up those which do not bear, and substi- 

 tute other sorts. 



Calculating that such trees- will not last so long as those on 

 crabs in a good soil, I have planted others to succeed them, 

 which are doing equally well. The first have been planted 

 about fifteen, the others about eight years ; and I feel confident 

 that, in most cases, apples may be obtained in this way : that is, 

 use those trees which are on paradise stocks ; plant nearly on 

 the surface; do not manure the ground unless very poor, and, 

 even then, fresh soil added is preferable ; do not dig the borders 

 after the trees are established ; let the borders be well drained, 

 and use the knife sparingly, except to regulate the branches, 

 and shorten them when they are about as high as a man can 

 reach, beyond which never allow them to grow. 



