284 



The Principles of FrUit-growing 



carelessness and mistakes. If the grower once arrives at a 

 clear conception of the agencies that make for productive- 

 ness, he will readily perceive what the trouble with his 

 orchard may be. Most neglected apple orchards need a 

 general overhauling, — tillage, fertilizing, pruning, spray- 

 ing, sometimes top-grafting, and often removal of part of 

 the trees. 



The land must be tilled. This may demand a heavy 

 trimming up of the trees to allow a team to work; and in 



many of the forest-like 

 old orchards it may be 

 economy to cut out a 

 third or half the trees 

 at the start. Perhaps 

 the roots are so high 

 that the land cannot 

 be plowed.- In such 

 case, the land may be 

 broken up in the spring, 

 before the earth be- 

 comes hard, by means 

 of spading-harrows, disc-harrows, spring-tooth harrows 

 and similar vigorous tools. Or com and other grain may 

 be dropped freely in holes made with a crow-bar, and the 

 hogs then turned in to root for it. 



The earth-mulch once secured to save the moisture, 

 it may next be necessary to apply plant-food, either in 

 the form of stable manures, green crops or concentrated 

 fertilizers, or in all these forms together. 



It is probable that the trees will need heavy pruning 

 (Figs. 103, 104, from Jarvis). But this pruning is for 

 the purpose of correcting the results of years of neglect, 

 not for the purpose, directly, of making the trees to 



Fig. 103. A good type of neglected apple 

 tree for renovation. 



