RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE. 45 



CHAPTEE VIII. 



THE CLLTIVATION OF THE SOIL. 



THE management of fruit trees, after they are planted, 

 consists in regulating the growth by means of pruning, 

 keeping the soil in good condition, and waging war 

 against insect and fimgoid pests. The general principles of 

 pruning having been described, we now come to the cultiva- 

 tion of the soil. 



THE HARM DONE BV WEEDS. 



It must, of course, be kept free from weeds by means of 

 hoeing and digging. If allowed to grow, they consume much 

 of the food which should be available for the trees, just as 

 the sparrows which abound in a poultry-yard consume much 

 of the food intended for the fowls; they harbour injurious 

 insects; they shut out light and air from the ground. They 

 should, therefore, be destroyed while they are young, before 

 they are able to do much harm — certainly before they begin 

 to seed. The hoe is an adnairable implement for the purpose. 

 But it must be properly used — in such a way as to cut through 

 the weeds, as well as to leave them lying on the surface, 

 and on a fine day, preferably in the morning, when they will 

 quickly die. Not infrequently they are left uncut in the soil, 

 and, after the next shower, they are as lively as ever. The 

 whole work has then to be done over again. 



THE L'SES OF THE HOE. 



The hoe is useful in other ways. It keeps insects on 

 the move, exposes them to birds, and so reduces their number; 

 it lets into the ground the air which is necessary for the growth 



