POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 165 
be repeatedly turned ; if the soil be of a stiff marly na¬ 
ture, till it is completely reduced. They ought also to 
take in a circumference exceeding that of the roots, in 
order to give the young fibres sufficient room to ex¬ 
tend themselves through the meliorated soil: six inches 
is the depth at which trees ought to be set. In plant¬ 
ing, the hole should be nearly filled up with some of 
the inferior soil; on this the sod, which will probably 
be nearly rotten, belaid, and the roots spread with care 
immediately on it. A necessary precaution is this, 
that they do not cross each the other, and that they 
extend as much as may be, equally in every direction : 
the remaining mould should be then returned, throwing 
the best, that from the former surface, round the outer 
part of the hole, and working it carefully in among the 
extreme roots. To those who have been accustomed 
to plant in the usual manner, these directions will, per¬ 
haps, appear trifling and unnecessary; they are re¬ 
commended, however, not as a plausible theory, but as 
the result of a very considerable experience. Watering 
the holes before planting, and the trees after, has been 
practised, and it is said with advantage; but the time 
and labour this requires to do it properly, or rather so 
as not to prove injurious, must exclude it from the 
common practice ; it will be, however, right, to pay at¬ 
tention to the nature of the soil, and if dry, or of a very 
loose nature, to plant rather in the months of October 
and November, than in the spring. 
The following instance of successful management in 
this particular, deserves to be recorded, more espe¬ 
cially, as there are many situations in this county that 
now lie neglected, on which it might be adopted with 
every prospect of success. The ground planted was in 
pasture, with a gentle declivity; the soil, a shallow 
