SEVEN] OUT IN THE ORCHARD 
while the old roots still remain and are decaying in 
the soil. The old trees have in all probability left 
the soil exhausted, and the old wood while decaying 
poisons the new. This is less true of plums and 
cherries than of apples and pears. I have named 
a few apples that prefer sandy soil; others dislike 
limestone soil. Most apple trees have their idio- 
syncrasies. In Central New York we fail to get 
such Jonathans and Grimes’ Goldens as are grown 
in Ohio and West Virginia. One of the apples 
that thrives over a very large area is the Northern 
Spy. It is a deliberate tree, slow to come to bear- 
ing, but afterward is very constant and prolific. 
In all cases remember that fruit trees cannot 
effectually serve you unless you serve them. They 
must be fed, or they cannot feed you in turn. Their 
office is to take the elements in a raw state, and 
work them over into delicious food for human 
beings. In this way we really are compatriots 
with the trees in our orchards. I am convinced 
that the very best plan for large growers of apples 
is to pasture the orchard with sheep or with hogs. 
These will destroy all the defective apples, while 
they keep the soil enriched. Where the methods 
suggested above are inconvenient, mulch your 
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