MISTAKES IN ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 
283 
A grafter's mistake is shown in lig. 156. The tree was practically a 
worthless variety but very healthy, so a good dessert variety was put 
on to replace it. The grafts have taken w^ell but were put on too high 
up from the main stem, so that there is a quantity of waste wood, and 
when fruit is borne, it will be so far from the ground that it will require 
a long ladder to gather it. The closer grafts can be put to the main 
stem the better, providing, of course, the bark is healthy. 
A Mistake in Manuring. 
How many of our orchards are manured systematically ? Only a very, 
Fig. 155. — Young Branches lku\vl»ing Centre of Tree. 
very few of them. They get less manure than any other part of a farm, 
nine out of ten only getting such as is left by the stock grazing there, 
which from young growing animals or milking cows is of very little 
value, unless they are fed " artificially." If the animals can be folded in 
the orchard, or fed there with cake, &c., then of course the droppings are 
much more valuable. If poultry run there they help to manure, and eat 
a number of caterpillars and grubs. A good plan is to keep them in 
portable houses and shift them the length of the house each day. 
Liquid manure is excellent for fruit trees, and on most farms may 
easily be obtained, either from a cesspit, or, if this is not provided, from 
