TREE FRUITS. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 



Land that has been previously cropped with fruits, grains or vege- 

 tables is admirably adapted to the" planting of the Apple and other Tree 

 Fruits; also land that is in sod caa, with proper and persistent plowing 

 and harrowing, be made ready and brought in good condition for plant- 

 ing In a short time, but no matter what the condition of your land, be 

 it loose or in sod, the thorough preparation of it is of the primary and 

 most necessary importance. On the perfect performance of this work 

 in the beginning the life and future of your trees depend more than upon 

 any other point that can possibly afterwards rel^ite to their welfare. Plow 

 the ground as deep as possible, and if you can do it to advantage, follow 

 with the sub-soil plow. No matter w^hat the depth of your virgin soil is, 

 let your aim be to loosen the sub-soil to a depth of two or three inches 

 below it. If the ground has previously or directly before been in sod, 

 it should be cross plowed after it has been thoroughly worked over 

 with the harrow. In any case, and every time the plow has been used 

 the ground must be iinely pulverized with the use of the harrow. If you 

 have to go over the ground five or six times to accomplish this purpose, 

 and have the soil in perfect order, you may consider it time well spent. 

 The writer knows this from experience, and has in the past and on sev- 

 eral occasions harrowed plots of ground as many as ten times to get 

 them in the perfect condition they should be in before planting. In ad- 

 dition to the advisability of getting started right the necessity of having 

 your land properly prepared is of paramount importance. Occasionally 

 we have observed the practice of a few fruit growers and others who 

 back furrow a narrow strip in their proposed orchard and plant their 

 trees on this elevated ridge. This is a ruinous method and should not be 

 practiced at any time or under any circumstances. To use this system 

 of preparing the land when it is in sod is a thoroughly wrong and 

 suicidal beginning. We should make It a rule, and never deviate from 

 it, that no mai;ter what the land has heretofore been cropped with, it 

 should all of it be plowed and harrowed as prescribed above. Horse or 

 cow stable manure or both, mixed together, may be used broadcast on 

 the ground before the first plowing. Unless your land is in an exception- 

 ally high state of fertility, you can safely use, and to good advantage, ten 

 tons of this manure to the acre. In a general way this would be equiva- 

 lent to ten large team loads. We will, of course, later on in this work 

 advise the quantities and how to apply manure or fertilizer directly 

 about the trees at the time of planting, and afterwards as they grow and 

 develop from year to year. All the matters heretofore referred to and 

 explained in detail under the heading "Preparation of the Soil,' are ap- 

 plicable, singly and individually, to all the tree fruits hereafter named — 

 Apples. Pears, Peaches, Apricots, Cherries, Plums, Quinces and Nut 



HOLDING STOCK OVER. 



It sometimes happens that parties are not ready to plant their trees, 

 plants and vines as soon as received. When this is the case, the stock 

 should be "heeled" in the ground; this is done by making a trench, plac- 

 ing the roots in it, leaving the tree or plant in a slanting position at an 



