1 60 Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands. 



by a sawmill and watch the slabs as they are 

 torn from the side of one of the monarchs of 

 the forest. You will often see the charred spots 

 that are sawed into, showing the effects of 

 forest fires which have visited the woods when 

 this, (now an immense log,) was a mere sap- 

 ling. When our hand is cut or bruised it 

 heals from the bottom of the wound, and if a 

 scar is left it will be on the outside; but the 

 hand or finger, while carrying a scar may be 

 as strong as ever, but the tree simply covers 

 over the dead wood and is never as strong as 

 if it were all green and active. How often 

 we find trees breaking over in our orchards 

 with probably their first heavy crop, and on 

 examination we find the cause to be from in- 

 jury which occurred in the early years of its 

 life. We cannot be too careful of the bodies 

 of these trees, for it is upon them that we ex- 

 pect to build. They are the foundation of 

 our future orchard, and if the foundation be 

 weak so will the whole structure be weak. 

 Careful cultivation of the corn crop will not 

 be enough to insure the best results in the 

 growth of the tree. 



So we find it pays to keep the space (which 

 has already been spoken of) about the newly 

 planted trees freauently cultivated by the use 



