izontally, fills in among them some fine sur- 
face soil, and hges some earth over them. 
Then he puts three large stones around the 
base of the tree. These stones settle the 
earth around the roots and keep the soil 
more moist and warm, and keep the tree in 
place, so that no stake is needed to steady it 
in the wind. When the ground is hoed the 
stones are removed, but are replaced again 
when the hoeing is finished. 
There are about five hundred trees in this 
orchard that bear fruit, and many small 
ones, and the intention is to set out two hun- 
dred cach year until the whole number is 
twelve hundred. Then a few spare trees 
will be kept to fill the places of those that 
die. 
In pruning, Mr. Donegan cuts down half 
the year’s growth in the center of the top, 
and those cross branches that will be likely 
to touch each other in their growth. The 
side branches are allowed to extend them- 
selves as far as they please. When loaded 
with fruit they bend down, almost or quite 
touching the ground. ‘This facilitates the 
picking, which is done by hand. It is not 
easy to hire help that will exercise proper 
care in handling apples, therefore Mrs. Don- 
She told me 
egan is much depended upon. 
she worked six weeks in the fall of 1871, 
picking apples. Early in September they 
commenced pieking the Bon Sweet, a beauti- 
ful, luscious apple of large size and so ten- 
der that unless they were grasped by the 
whole hand in picking the prints of the fin- 
gers would soon be seen on its delicate sur- 
tace as a bruise. 
All the apples must be as carefully handled 
as eggs. They are laid in a basket, ‘then 
picked from the basket and laid into the bar- 
rel, which is carefully filled so full that when 
the head is put in the apples must be pressed 
down an inch or so. This keeps them from 
moving and bruising in transportation. Mr. 
Donegan values his reputation highly, and 
insists that none but perfect apples be put 
while 
in haste to head up his full barrels to take to 
Newport, he saw two inferior apples on the 
top of one barrel; and nothing would satisfy 
him but the removal of all the apples to as- 
sure himself that his help had not carelessly|b 
into the barrels. Early one morning, 
put in imperfect fruit, but he found every one 
perfect except those two. 
This year the Bon Sweet were sold at five 
dollars a barrel, and his other varieties at 
six. These varieties are the Brown Sweet, 
Fameuse, Bluc Pearmain, Northern Spy, 
Jewett’s Red, (or Nodhead,) and Yellow 
Bell. He has also a few of other kinds. 
His abundant crop brought him this year 
$800, and he experenced no difficulty in 
disposing of all he could spare, and, indeed, 
was so importuned that his reserved supply 
for home consumption is less than he desires. 
'Two years ago the product of his orchard 
sold for $650.00, nd for several years the 
crop has been abundant. 
Three years ago a part of his orchard was 
injured by mice. He said, “I would not 
have had it done for a thousand dollars.” I 
said, “You seem to value your orchard.” He 
answered, “I would not take four thousand 
dollars for it, if a man offered me the money 
to-day. It pays.me the interest of $7,000.” 
Mrs. Donegan said, ‘Some folks think we 
are getting moncy very easily, but they don’t 
remember that for the first twelve years it 
was all care and work with no pay. If I 
missed Mr. Donegan any time between sun- 
set and nine o'clock at night, 1 was sure to 
find him in the orchard.” 
The bark lice have been an injury to some 
trees. ‘To destroy them a wash was made of 
water in which potatoes had been boiled, and 
lime and soap, making both « whitewash 
and soap suds. ‘his was applied after scrap- 
ing the trees, spring and fall. 
The method of cultivation practiced here 
was to manure and cultivate the ground for 
two or three years, while the trees were 
small, then seed to grass nnd mow four 
years, then plow and till two years, raising 
potatoes for a first crop and wheat or oats for 
the second; then re-seed to" grass and mow 
four years again. The result is that he gets 
the most fruit the first year he plows, and the 
best growth in the tree the year after it is 
seeded to grass. 
The sap suckers or woodpeckers have been 
an injury to the Blue Pearmain trees whose 
tender bark is easily pierced and seems to 
suit them. More than twenty birds have 
ecn shot the past year. The wounds from. 
