AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
131 
of shelled corn in it —that man can take the 
white hat which we have just laid aside, for one 
more befitting the season! He has got us!— 
Knickerbocker. 
From the Horticulturist. 
ON THE PREPARATION OF NEW GROUNDS. 
Tub season being at hand for the execution of 
ground-work in the improvement of new places, 
we have thought that a few hints might be of¬ 
fered on the subject not altogether unprofitably. 
Wherever we look, we see elegant and costly 
dwellings surrounded by incomplete, neglected 
grounds, looking precisely as though the pro¬ 
prietor had spent his last dollar on his buildings. 
One reason for this, is our universal hurry. No 
sooner do we decide uporf the erection of a 
dwelling, than up it goes like magic; the finish¬ 
ing stroke is given while the mortar in the 
foundation is yet scarcely dry. The garden and 
grounds must be completed with corresponding 
dispatch; right or wrong, it must be done quickly 
or not at all. Another reason is, that very few 
people take into account the cost of improving 
their grounds in such a manner as to correspond 
with the buildings. The builder’s estimates 
alone are looked to ; and by the time the build¬ 
ing is finished, with all its extras, the propretor’s 
funds and patience have both been severely 
taxed, and the gardens and ground stand a poor 
chance for their appropriate share of attention. 
Another reason still, is that the proper prepara¬ 
tion of ground for gardens, lawns, and plantations, 
is neither well understood nor appreciated. Most 
people seem to imagine that a team with a plow 
and a scraper can do all that is necessary ; and 
so the ground is plowed and scraped and levelled, 
and it is then ready for planting. Now this will 
never do; such a system, or rather such a course, 
is not only disgraceful but unprofitable, because 
people who plant in such ground soon find out 
their mistakes, and are compelled to correct 
them in a ve*y disagreeable and costly way. 
We therefore beg gentlemen who are about 
fitting up country or suburban residences not to 
overlook the improvement of their grounds in 
their estimates—not to regard it as a mere item 
unworthy of note, but to count the cost carefully, 
and go about tho work deliberately, witn a arm 
purpose to do w'hatever be done thoroughly. 
Determine at the outset to be patient, and in the 
end you will secure results that will be alike 
creditable and satisfactory. 
The operations on ground to fit it either for 
useful or ornamental gardening comprise grading 
or leveling, draining, trenching, and manuring. 
When we speak of leveling, or grading, we do 
not wish to be understood as supposing that 
every one will cut down all the natural undula¬ 
tions of the surface, for this would, in many 
cases, destroy some of the finest features of the 
ground; but there are on almost all new places 
certain abrupt or broken spots that must be 
brought into a proper shape by grading. This 
is more particularly the case in small places, 
where a broken surface is not allowable to any 
considerable extent. Now, when laborers are 
directed to grade a piece of ground, their com¬ 
mon method is to draw off the surface w r ith a 
scraper into the lowest parts until the leveling 
is accomplished, leaving the ground in a state 
totally unfit for the growth of either trees or 
grass; and that, too, even after a great amount 
of labor has been expended in replacing the 
surface. We can at this moment point to mul¬ 
titudes of gardens, and to many important pub¬ 
lic grounds, ruined by this ignorant process. 
The true way is, to throw all the surface soil 
that is worth saving on one side, remove the 
subsoil to the proper depth, and then to replace 
the natural surface. Draining is not absolutely 
necessary in all cases, but yet there are few in 
which it can be entirely dispensed with. There 
can be no healthy or luxuriant growth of trees 
or plants where there is stagnant moisture in the 
soils. The common opinion is, that draining is 
only necessary when water lodges on the surface; 
but this is a great error, for many soils that ap¬ 
pear perfectly dry on the surface stand in the 
greatest need of draining. A stiff clay subsoil, 
or a mixture of sand, clay and gravel, almost as 
hard as iron, holds water like a basin, and the 
ground, although apparently dry on the surface, 
becomes sour, and bakes together in a solid im¬ 
pervious mass. Besides, it is unhealthy to live 
in the neighborhood of wet or badly drained 
soils, and unpleasant to cultivate them. Perfect 
drainage is one thing indispensable, and fortu¬ 
nately the- means of doing it are within every 
one’s reach. Where stones abound these may 
be used; otherwise, tile, which is now manufac¬ 
tured extensively in many parts of the country. 
Next to draining comes the process of deepen¬ 
ing by trenching or subsoil plowing. This is an 
operation of the utmost importance in all soils 
and situations. In this country we are subject in 
summer to severe protracted droughts, during 
which trees, plants, or grass, on a shallow soil 
can barely sustain a feeble existence. In small 
places trenching is preferable, and for the fruit 
and kitchen garden w r e would recommend it in 
all cases. It is the true way to give the soil a 
thorough and permanent deepening. It is not 
merely an additional depth we gain by trenching; 
it also enables surplus moisture to pass off freely 
into the drains, and keeps the soil sweet and 
porous. Scarcely a day passes that we do not 
see or hear the most conclusive evidences in 
favor of trenching. A short time ago a gentle¬ 
man said to us, “ I have made up my mind that 
it is perfectly idle to attempt making a lawn, or 
to expect a luxuriant growth of trees in un- 
trcnched soil. I have tried to do it for seven 
years, and during all that time had the mortifi¬ 
cation to see my grass nearly die out every 
summer, and the trees grow by inches instead 
of feet,” He finally made up his mind to try 
what effect trenching would have, and has now 
the satisfaction to see his trees grow vigorously, 
and his lawn as green as emerald in the dryest 
times. “Now,” he says, “I advise every man 
to trench.” Every experienced cultivator knows 
well the advantages of a deep soil. Nowhere 
is its effects more obvious than on the lawn. In 
our own grounds one portion of a small plot was 
trenched deeply before it was seeded, and it 
rejoices in the deepest verdure in all weathers ; 
another portion was not trenched, and when a 
month or six weeks of dry weather comes, as it 
did this season, it turns as brown as sole-leather. 
TrClioliitlg i11"X tv apowdv tiv tliv vF vigil 
teen or twenty inches is somewhat costly, and, 
therefore, when a large tract is to be improved, 
the subsoil plow can be used. This answers 
every purpose, unless when the ground is so 
stony that it is impossible to keep the plow in 
the ground. The proper way to subsoil effectu¬ 
ally is, to have the common plow go first and 
turn over a deep and wide furrow; then let the 
subsoil follow with not less than four horses or 
oxen. In preparing stiff soils we would advise 
two such plowings as this, one crossing the 
other; and it should be done late in tho autumn 
or early in the spring, while the subsoil is satu¬ 
rated with moisture; at a dry season of the year 
it is impossible. 
Next comes manuring ; and in this let there 
be no stinginess. Whoever contemplates the 
improvement of ground should begin early to 
prepare manures and composts, for this can not 
be done in a few days or weeks. It should be 
prepared a year beforehand, so as to be well de¬ 
composed and thoroughly mixed in order that 
it may not fill the land with all manner of 
noxious weeds. We would spread it over the 
surface and plow it down in the autumn at the 
first plowing, so that it might be properly incor¬ 
porated with soil during subsequent working. 
The needful quantity of manure will, of course, 
vary according to the natural fertility and con¬ 
dition of the soil. In some cases, two inches 
deep, spread evenly over the surface may be suf¬ 
ficient; in others, twice that would scarcely 
suffice. At all events, he liberal. 
Our purpose at present is not so much to treat 
of these primary ground-works through the de¬ 
tail of practice, as to urge the necessity of making 
them the foundation of all improvements. We 
hope we shall never again hear it said, “ I will 
plant my trees now and improve the ground 
afterwards, as I have leisure.” Would it not be 
as wise to say, “ I will erect my house now, and 
hereafter, when I have leisure, I will dig the 
cellars and construct the foundation ?” 
There is now a great and greatly increasing 
desire for rural homes. Hundreds are leaving 
the crowded cities and selecting homes for them¬ 
selves and families in their suburbs. As our 
railroads increase, and furnish better facilities 
for communication between town and country, 
we may expect this state of things to continue. 
It is important, then, that the few simple truths 
we have stated be well understood. The 
pleasure of a suburban dwelling depends mate¬ 
rially on the comfort and beauty which tho 
gardens and grounds afford ; and when they are 
neglected, or so mismanaged as to afford neither 
beauty nor comfort, the great aim of rural life is 
lost. The growth of taste will, we trust, soon 
bring about a state of things in which men will 
not spend ten thousand dollars freely on a house, 
and one hundred dollars grudgingly on tho 
garden. 
REARING AND CULTIVATION OF CIDER 
APPLE TREES, 
Continued from page 99. 
Final Planting. — Considerations relative to 
the Soil, Situation, Aspect, Distance between the 
Trees, Choice of Varieties, &c. —The soil most 
favorable to the prosperity of cider fruits is one 
consisting of clay, sand, and carbonate of lime 
in nearly equal proportions; yet they will grow 
in any land that is not very barren. Flinty clavs 
suit the apple; its fruit in such is of very good 
quality; the pear likes a deep moist soil. 
The most convenient place for the establish¬ 
ment of a cider orchard is near the homestead. 
When we can choose the aspect, a south one is 
to be preferred in cold lands, but east and west 
are more suitable in light and dry ones, although 
in situations open to the west, the wind from 
that quarter often proves injurious to the trees. 
We should avoid planting too many fruit trees 
in arable land, because they prove an obstacle to 
sultivation, and because the trees are often 
bruised and excoriated by the implements ; yet 
this does not prevent them from prospering 
better there than in orchards that are not culti¬ 
vated ; but this is to be ascribed to the manuring 
and stirring of the soil. In dry and barren land 
the trees are often planted rattier tJnsaW 
wuu me view or snarling the crops from the 
burning rays of the sun; and also because they 
do not usually attain any considerable size. But 
in strong clay lands, planting in the cultivated 
fields should in general be confined to the sides 
of the roads and'to the boundaries. There, as 
in the rich pastures of Bray, shading the soil is 
avoided, because the alimentary products and 
fodder are more to be regarded than the produce 
from the trees. In these cases the apple trees 
are generally from fifty to sixty-five feet apart, 
very rarely so close as forty feet. 
Planting good land too closely only causes a 
loss without compensation. The first cost is 
greater; there is a marked diminution in the 
under crops; and the trees depriving each other 
of air and light at their sides, do not produce 
fruit except on their upper parts ; the result is, 
that the quantity of fruit is not proportionate to 
the number and size of the trees. 
With regard to the selections of varieties, 1st, 
Those that flourish best in the locality and which 
there produce the best cider are to be preferred. 
2d, Trees that ripen their fruit at the same time 
should be planted together. 3d, Those which 
have tender flowers or that blossom early should 
be planted in sheltered situations, because, if 
otherwise, the flowers are liable to suffer from 
late frosts. 4th, We should plant the sides of 
roads and arable land with varieties, the branches 
of which grow upright, and not with those that 
have spreading heads. 
Dreparation of the Soil. — Trenching the 
whole of the ground to be planted would be a 
very beneficial operation, at least for orchards, 
as it would allow the roots to spread readily in 
all directions ; but as fruit trees are planted so 
far apart, this would prove very expensive. The 
holes should be broader than deep, and as wide 
at bottom as they are at top. They should not 
be less than six and a half feet in diameter. Tho 
depth should vary from about two feet to two 
feet eight inches, according to the nature of the 
soil, for it would be hazardous to make a deep 
