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have firmly determined to "do the right thing by the or- 

 chard" henceforth. 



Having finally decided that the orchard is worth while, 

 the work of renovating will fall naturally under the follow- 

 ing heads: first, cultivation; second, pruning; third, spray- 

 ing; fourth, fertilizing; fifth, cover crops; sixth, grafting, — 

 arranged somewhat in the order of their importance, though, 

 of course, this will vary greatly with different orchards, and 

 all with the possible exception of grafting will be needed 

 to secure the best results. 



I have placed cultivation first because though trees will 

 often do well in sod, if otherwise well cared for, and though 

 it may sometimes be necessary, even in attempting to revive 

 an old orchard, to let the trees stand in sod, yet, as a rule, 

 to get them into satisfactory condition cultivation is the 

 prime requisite, and will do more than any other one thing 

 to start the orchard on the right road. It is usually diflBcult 

 in an old orchard, such as we are considering, to do anything 

 like a thorough job of plowing. If one can secure an ox team 

 they will do the work better than a team of horses, as they 

 will be able to get under the trees better, and the slow, steady 

 gait of the oxen is better than that of most horses. Do not 

 be alarmed over cutting some tree roots with the plow, even 

 some large roots. A little root pruning will not hurt the 

 trees, and the fresh, new feeding-roots, sent out from the 

 broken and cut ends of the old roots, will very soon equal in 

 absorbing ability the parts of the old roots which are cut 

 away. Another point in plowing is the question of throw- 

 ing the furrow towards or away from the trees. One fre- 

 quently finds an old orchard in which the plowing has been 

 for years always in the direction of the trees, until each row 

 stands along a ridge, with deep hollows between. Such an 

 orchard should be plowed away from the trees, until the land 

 gets back reasonably level again. After that it is well to 

 plow the orchard alternately towards and away from the 

 trees, — one year north and south and the next east and 

 west. In this way the land can be kept in the best condition 

 for the trees. 



