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CHAPTER XXXIV. 



The renovating Fruit Tree borders. 



When fruit trees are weakly through the 

 defective state of the border, in its being ex- 

 hausted of the nutriment which is necessary 

 to be afforded from such a source, it will re- 

 quire a renovation in order to recover the 

 vigour of the tree. In the performance of 

 this business, let the following observations 

 be attended to. 



Let a trench be made about four feet wide 

 and to the depth of the border, it must be 

 made in the direction from the front of the 

 border to the trees ; but so as not to approach 

 nearer the wall than about five feet. In 

 digging out the soil be careful not to damage 

 the roots ; this may be avoided by beginning 

 to dig at one side of the trench to the bottom, 

 and then undermining the remaining part, 

 always keeping one open trench betwixt 

 that part of the border trenched and the 

 other part to be trenched. About one-half 

 of the worst part of the soil must be taken 

 entirely away, and a suitable portion of fresh 

 loam moderately enriched with rotted cow's 

 dung or vegetable manure, be substituted in 

 its place. 



