TOG 
PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G. 
many cases the fruits grown here being superior, both in size and 
quality, to those of the countries from which the fruits were originally 
obtained. 
The soils best suited for fruit-growing are deep friable loams or 
sandy loams, having an open subsoil, and thus possessing good natural 
drainage. These soils are easily worked, and retain moisture well 
under a thorough system of cultivation. Though not necessarily very 
rich soils, yet when of sufficient depth they contain as a rule a suffi- 
cient amount of plant food for the proper development of most fruits, 
and should they be deficient in any essential ingredient, they respond 
well to the application of manures containing that ingredient; in fact 
they are the best matrix with which we can have to work. Heavy 
clay soils, or loamy soils having an impervious clay subsoil, are unsuit- 
able for fruit culture, as they are expensive to work, bake and crack 
badly in dry weather, and retain stagnant water around the roots of 
the trees planted in them. 
The best situation for an orchard is a gentle slope to the north- 
east, with a natural shelter from the prevailing heavy winds. 
All soils that are without an open or porous subsoil require 
draining before they are suitable for growing fruit, as there is no 
more frequent cause of orchards failing than the want of drainage. 
The accumulation of stagnant water about the roots of the tree and 
the want of aeration in the soil are also the primary causes of many 
of the worst diseases of fruit trees. The question of drainage is, 
therefore, of the first importance, and no soil is suitable for fruit 
culture unless it is thoroughly drained — either naturally or by 
artificial means. 
A good shelter against heavy winds or against the hot, dry winds 
of the interior is also of great importance, and where it does not 
exist naturally in the shape of a belt of timber or a background of 
higher land, then it will always pay to provide an artificial shelter, 
say, a double or triple row of any quick-growing trees that are suited 
to the district. 
In the dry interior, first secure your water. The land, as a rule, is 
all right, but water is the first consideration, as it is impossible to 
groiv fruit successfully without it. With water, however, on suitable 
soil you can grow anything that is adapted to the climate. 
Having decided on the site for the orchard, the land is prepared 
for planting. If uncleared virgin soil, which is as a rule the best to 
choose, the land will have to be first cleared and the stumps and roots 
taken out to a depth of at least 18 inches. When this is done the land 
is ploughed to a depth of 10 to 12 inches if the soil is deep enough, 
but in no case should the subsoil be brought to the surface. The 
plough should be followed by a subsoiler that should go as deep as 
the roots left in the ground will permit, as this will tend to sweeten 
the subsoil and to break up any hard pan that may be near the 
surface. 
After ploughing, the land should be allowed to remain for some 
time in as rough a state as possible, so that it may be well exposed to 
the action of the sun and air and become sweetened. If the land is 
naturally sour, owing either to the presence of stagnant water or of 
