221 
HORTICULTURE IN WISCONSIN. 
BY ALFRED L. CASTLEMAN, M. D., DEL AFIELD. 
I propose in the following article to supply the thousand little rills 
which form the great river of Horticulture. In doing this I shall not 
pour my contributions into the river itself, presuming that it will flow 
backwards to its sources. That course has been too much followed by 
those who have preceded me. They have presumed that their readers were 
already scientific men; or else they have written a book to make them so. 
Now it should be borne in mind, that the great bulk of our market fruit 
is raised, not by scientific horticulturists, but by farmers; growing in 
connection with other agricultural products from ten to one or two hun¬ 
dred trees each—further, that many of these farmers are not familiar 
even with the elements of vegetable physiology and chemistry, and that 
they have not leisure to study a book for the purpose of learning how to 
cultivate their little orchard to advantage. 
It has occurred to me that general rules for planting and cultivating 
an orchard, with reasons for their propriety, may be set forth in an arti¬ 
cle at once intelligible to the humblest reading capacity, and yet within a 
space so limited that any one with energy to buy and plant a dozen trees 
may find time to read and study it. 
In just such an article I propose to comply with your request, to fur¬ 
nish you something for your next volume of “Transactions/’ and my 
vanity will not be in the least surprised if I succeed in the undertaking 
If, whilst writing for the million, I shall chance to drop an occasional 
hint, correcting some errors into which scientific horticulturists have fal¬ 
len, they will of course consider it accidental, and take it for only what 
such a hint may be worth. 
So soon then as the farmer has a small piece of land cleared and in 
cultivation, well manured if not already rich, he is ready to commence 
his orchard. What trees must he buy ? He will of course go to a nursery 
of established reputation; and he should go with a catalogue of his wants 
already made out. He desires to have trees which will produce fruit for 
all seasons of the year. A few Early Yellow Harvests, Red Astrachans, 
Early Red Margaretts and Risleys will form a row or two nearest his 
