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ORCHARDING, 
Aw Essay reap By Z. E. JAMESON, MEM- 
BER OF THE VERMONT STaTE BoakD OF 
AGRICULTURE, AT ITS MEETING aT MID- 
DLEBURY, Fes. 8, 1872. 
THE OLD ORCHARDS. 
I do not propose to mourn over the past. 
Apples were once in abundance, and apples 
und cider were a part of the winter stores of 
nearly every provident farmer. Now, there 
remain in all parts of the State the ruins of 
old orchards that have been planted on all 
kinds of soil, in various exposures and incli- 
nations of land, and that have been treated 
to different methods of cultivation, as well 
as those that have suffered from total neg- 
lect. Seedling trees have died and grafted 
trees have died, and where once were or- 
chards of five, ten, or fifteen acres, there 
now reniain only 2 few scattering trees yield- 
ing but 2 meagre harvest at the annual 
shaking and beating. 
Most of the old orchards were seedling 
trees. We are inclined to think that whoev- 
er sowed apple seeds on newly cleared lands 
soon had an abundance of thrifty trees, and 
the work of transplanting was the principal 
cost of the orchards. But many farms 
changed owners, and the orchards came to 
those who regarded them as go much real 
estate—as permanent property—and gave 
them no more care than they would give for- 
est trees. No new trees were kept on hand 
or purchased to replace those that decayed, 
so the orchard grew old and passed away as 
the human race would pass wvay if no chil- 
dren grew up to fil! vacant places or occupy 
new ones. 
Apple trees have their old age, as one 
writer states, (Country Gentieman, 1872, p. 
6,) “Itis rare that apple trees live much 
over sixty years in the best fruit regions of| 
the Eastern and Middle States, and rarely 
over forty at the West, and when they have 
thus fulfilled their destiny they may he dis- 
charged und new ones brought on.” Some 
die by accident, some starve to death in bar- 
ren soil, and some dic by the inevitable 
weakness and decay of age. 
In 1849 Chauncey Goodrich, of Burlington, 
wrote: “The most important question in 
fruit culture in Northern New England is, 
What is to be done with old orchards?” and 
further states that the orchards that were 
thrifty and vigorous and heavily loaded with 
fruit forty years before, were at that time 
scrubby, worthless trees, filled with decaying 
limbs and sprouts, and gradually dying. He 
also quoted the method of dealing which 
was mide public in 1791, a method so meri- 
torious that the British government paid the 
originator $20,000 for the secret of his proc- 
ess. Now if in generations past old trees 
demanded care and would die, we must con- 
clude that among such a changing, spec- 
ulative population as is in Vermont, the 
trees did not get proper and systematic 
care, and died more rapidly, until our land 
is now almost as free from good orchards as 
the world was free of people when Noah dis- 
embarked from his first and last voyage. 
HOW TO GET NEW ORCHARDS. 
During the twenty-three years since Mr. 
Goodrich wrote, the question has changed so 
that to-day we are not to consider so much 
what we shall do with old orchards, as where 
we shall get new ones. 
In solving this question, let me tell you 
what aman has done who depended upon 
himself. 
MR. DONEGAN’S ORCHARD. 
Dec. 12, 1871, I visited the owner of the 
best orchard in Orleans County, Owen Don- 
egan, Esq., of Troy. Twenty-seven years 
ago he sowed the seed. The small trees 
were grafted or budded with hardy varieties. 
Some of them were transplanted several 
times before they were set in the orchard, 
each time giving them more room until they. 
were ten years old, when they were set in 
the orchard at the distance of 26 by 29 feet 
apart. at which distance Mr. Donegan ex- 
pects their branches to meet in twenty years. 
He prefers to transplant several times, as it 
causes more small roots near the tree, and a 
tree properly raised can be transplanted 
when it is an inch or a little more in diame- 
ter as safely as at a smaller size. 
In setting out a tree he digs a wide hole 
with a hoe (using no spade) abont eight inch- 
esdeep. He cuts off the tap-root of the tree 
every time, and places the side roots out hor- 
