Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands. 137 



it be in our mind's eye of the future, or 

 whether they hang on memory's walls, we must 

 all realize that every section and each orchard 

 presented then, and presents today, its own pe- 

 culiar problems as to care and cultivation. And 

 every grower must solve these problems ac- 

 cording to the rules laid down by climate, lo- 

 cation of site, contour of land, the nature of 

 the soil, and the varieties of the fruits to be 

 grown. For in this,— the Care and Cultivation 

 of the Orchard, — as in many other things that 

 we are called upon to perform, there cannot be 

 any iron clad rules. There are, however, some 

 underlying principles which might well be 

 considered by way of suggestion. 



The question is frequently asked when should 

 the care and cultivation of the orchard begin 

 and how long should it be continued? The 

 care of an orchard should begin with the selec- 

 tion and planting of the trees and continue to- 

 gether with the cultivation, as long as the or- 

 chard is expected to be profitable. It would 

 be just as reasonable to plant corn and allow it 

 to take care of itself and expect it to return a 

 handsome profit at gathering time, as to plant 

 an orchard and expect it to be a profitable in- 

 vestment without care or cultivation. We 

 should not be surprised that whenever we stop 



