ORCHAKD MANAGEMENT. 135 



the night keep doors and ventilators open, and during the 

 day keep all closed, patting in each day's picking early in 

 the morning. Even in winter the cave is opened at night 

 for a longer or shorter period, depending on the tempera- 

 ture, to let in cold air, which is held during the day by 

 keeping every aperture closed. Those who have had 

 experience with the cave method prefer it to all others 

 except ammonia cold storage. But it must be kept in 

 mind that when the cellar air is near freezing in winter, if 

 it is opened at midday, when the air outside is much 

 warmer and loaded with moist air, it will rush in and pre- 

 cipitate its moisture. 



138. Tile-draining of Orchards. — It often happens that 

 ridge land with good air-drainage has too stiff a soil and 

 subsoil for best success in orcharding. If the soil seems 

 too wet, or alternatelj' too wet or too dry, tile-drainage 

 will prove a great gain. The tiles shotild not be less than 

 four inches in diameter and laid in the centre between the 

 rows after the trees are set or even after they come into 

 bearing. The tiles should be laid not less than 3^ feet 

 deep. The tiling of such land soon changes the whole 

 character of the soil and even mode of growth of the roots. 

 Literally the air is let into the soil, the water-level 

 changed in a wet time, and the surface-feeding roots will 

 run deeper and be less subject to injury by the heat of 

 summer and the cold of winter. In a dry time also a 

 change will be observed. The surface soil will be mel- 

 lowed, fined, and relatively much cooler than the same 

 grade of land not tiled. As to the often-repeated query: 

 "Will the apple-roots choke the tile?" the writer's 

 experience would answer, "No." Tiling laid down 

 twenty-five years ago between apple-orchard rows is yet in 

 good condition and working as \\'ell as ever. But willows, 

 poplars, and most forest trees will clog tile. 



