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small amoant required by them, through severe limi- 

 tation of the shoots, is easily supplied, by placing the 

 trees on prepared platforms, which need not be more 

 than about five feet square, and from one to two feet 

 in depth of soil, on a bottom of broken stones or 

 bricks rammed hard. 



To prepare the soil for a regular orchard, thorough 

 drainage is of the utmost importance, providing the 

 soil is too retentive of moisture ; indeed, without this, 

 disappointment will occur even on the very best of 

 soils. The character of the subsoil, therefore, has 

 much to do with success in this case. If such be 

 retentive of moisture, which will in consequence accu- 

 mulate, and keep the surface soil in a sour state, the 

 trees will inevitably become covered with moss, and 

 liable to canker and decay at the points. In cold 

 clayey soils, if the amount of underdraining does not 

 prove sufficient, much rain-water may be carried away 

 by open gutters. A deep and sound loam, of a rather 

 tenacious character, is the best for the ordinary or- 

 chard : such, if on a gravelly or stony subsoil, will 

 produce fine healthy trees of immense size, if of con- 

 siderable depth. Where, however, the subsoil is of 

 very damp character, too great a depth is more iojuri- 

 ous than otherwise ; and we have known orchards of 

 this character a total failm-e through deep trenching 

 and manuring. The deep trenching in this case only 

 serves to decoy the roots into a most pernicious me- 



