AGRONOMY 31 



If these pages are the means of teaching culti- 

 vators how to manure fruit-trees with the greatest 

 success, and with the least cost, our object in 

 writing them will have been attained. 



In addition to the use of the proper manures, 

 it is necessary in order to obtain good fruit in 

 abundance (it is not only essential to plant good 

 trees upon fertile soil) that the soil must be in 

 a suitable condition for the growth of trees. The 

 soil should be deeply dug, pulverised and aerated. 

 For this object, the soil must be worked by plough- 

 ing, digging or bastard trenching ; and finally be 

 pulverised by means of the harrow or fork. All these 

 operations aid the chemical, biological, and physical 

 changes going on within the interstices of "the soil. 



The amateur gardener must not hesitate to take 

 off his coat and dig his garden deeply and thoroughly 

 if he hopes for success. A deeply dug soil is of 

 the utmost importance if good crops are desired. 



This deep digging or trenching ensures a two-fold 

 object. In the first place it increases the depth of 

 the soil, enabling not only flowering-shrubs, but 

 also young trees, to send their roots straight into 

 the soil and derive the fullest possible benefit as 

 regards food and moisture. In the second place 

 it helps to drain a naturally damp soil, and thus 

 admit sun and air to warm the soil, efi"ect chemical 



