RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS. 123 



man in eight days, — and filled with muck or rich mould 

 in four days more ; the cost with team, eleven dollars. A 

 hundred small holes may be dug in four days ; cost, three 

 dollars ; difference, against large holes, eight dollars. The 

 trees planted in the large holes would probably yield with 

 good attention, a bushel a tree, in five years, making 100 

 bushels; the sixth year 120 bushels; the seventh, 150; 

 the eighth, 190 ; the ninth, 240 ; the tenth, 300 ; total 1000 

 bushels, — worth, at 20 cents, $200. The other would not 

 probably produce 100 bushels in less than ten years, which 

 would be worth $20. Difference in favor of large holes, 

 $180, to balance $8, against them. Although the calcu- 

 lation cannot be precise, it is probably a tolerable ap- 

 proximation, and must appear moderate when the increased 

 size of the trees and superiority of the crop for many years 

 afterwards is taken into account. 



The objection that such work must be done at a very busy 

 season of the year, may be obviated by digging the holes 

 and filling them at some other time. 



CULTIVATION. 



The importance of thorough cultivation, has been already 

 noticed, and cannot be too well understood. If two speci- 

 mens could be exhibited side by side, the one showing the 

 stunted, lingering, mice-eaten and moss-covered trees, 

 ;aused by neglect ; and the other, the vigorous and thrifty 

 growth, and the fair and abundant crops, resulting from 

 5ne and clean culture ; none could fail to be satisfied of the 

 superiority of the one and impolicy of the other. 



RENOVATING AND PRUNING OLD ORCHARDS. 



As soon as the first symptom of failure in old orchards 

 ppears, they should, in addition to good cultivation, be 

 freely manured in connexion with the application of lime or 

 leached ashes, as directed already under the head of Special 

 Manures. The change which may be thus wrought, can 

 hardly be understood by one who has not witnessed the result. 

 The following experiment, similar in nature, but differing 

 in the mode of performance, described by H. W. Rockwell 

 Df Utica, N.Y., cannot fail to be interesting :* 



* Horticulturist, Vol. II, p. 267. 



