American Pomology Part 12

CHAPTER VII.

PREPARATION OF THE SOIL FOR AN ORCHARD.

DRAINAGE. ITS ADVANTAGES. SURFACE DRAINS. MADE WITH THE PLOW. MAY BE FOLLOWED BY TILES, OR MOLE PLOW. THOROUGH PLOWING.

TRENCHING. TRENCH PLOWING. SUBSOIL PLOWING. MANURING NOT OFTEN NEEDED IN A NEW COUNTRY. CHARACTER OF MANURES. LIME, ALKALIES.

CLOVER. HOW CLOVER ACTS. EXHAUSTED FIELDS TO BE IMPROVED BEFORE PLANTING. DIGGING THE HOLES. DONE WITH THE PLOW. STAKES. THEIR FUNCTION AND OBJECTS. NOT TO TIE TO. HOW TO TIE A TREE WHEN NECESSARY. PLANTING. PREPARING THE TREES. Tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, BRANCHES AND ROOTS. PUDDLING. SET TO THE NORTH OF THE STAKES. DEPTH TO PLANT. LEANING TREES TO THE SOUTHWEST. SEASON FOR PLANTING.

FALL OR SPRING BANKING UP AFTER FALL PLANTING. MULCHING, ITS OBJECTS. MATERIAL TO BE USED. CLOVER MULCH.

The more thoroughly the preparation of the soil, the greater will be the success of the orchardist. Good results, fair crops amply remunerating all outlay, often follow the most careless or almost accidental orchard planting; but trees that are properly set, in well-prepared land, upon a judiciously selected orchard site, and for a few years subjected to proper culture, are infinitely more satisfactory in their results, and much more profitable to their owner.

The importance of drainage can not be too often reiterated, not merely for the sake of leading away the excess of water that at some seasons prevails in much of our best lands, but on account of the more thorough admission of the beneficial air to the soil and the roots; this, of course, can only be had by thorough under-draining of the land. Spouty or springy land is not to be selected for an orchard, and yet we often find spots of this character in fields that we wish to appropriate to orcharding; these should certainly be drained.

Mere surface drainage may be cheaply effected by the plow, and should always be done in level lands, especially where the subsoil is compact and tenacious. The expense of thorough drainage is so great, and the success of our orchards, as commonly planted, even on ill-prepared ground, is so generally good, that we can not expect the majority of farmers to use drain tile at present. Still, the importance of draining can not be doubted: the best results follow its use, and he who would reap the best harvests, and attain the highest success, will underdrain his land. For the most of us, surface drainage alone, is all that we can do; this should never be neglected, for no crop can be successful in land that is subject to an occasional drenching with a surplus of water that stands for days, filling it to the surface, causing the fermentation and souring of the organic matter it contains. The fruit tree, certainly, will not thrive in such a situation, and is as sure to fall into a decline, or consumption, if condemned to wet feet, as would a delicate girl under similar exposure.

The expense of under-draining is the only objection that can possibly be urged against it; even this is no real objection, for it has been repeatedly proved that the outlay, whatever it be, insures such increase of crops as to pay a good interest upon the investment, except where the natural under-drainage of the soil, by a porous stratum of rock or gravel, already provides a ready discharge of the superabundant water. It is thus only a question of the cash capital to be invested in the business, for most of our orchard sites are of such a character of soil as to be immensely benefited by the process. With many of us, in this country, the capital is not to be had, or can not be spared, to put underground; our means are limited, and we do not drain our farms, as we should.

Surface drainage may be more cheaply effected, and, on land at all flat and retentive of moisture, it should never be neglected. It may be done while preparing the soil for planting--done with the plow. It has already been premised that the orchard site should be elevated; such land is generally somewhat undulating; indeed, the flattest field that should ever be planted, will always present some inequalities of surface. Let these be noted before laying off the lands for the plow; calculate to have the furrows cross these inequalities of surface, and gather the furrows in narrow lands, lapping them together just where the row of trees is to be placed. This process may be repeated, and thus quite a ridge will be thrown up for the trees, and a corresponding depression will be left in the middle of the s.p.a.ce between the rows, which will serve as a gutter to carry off an excess of surface water; thus, a cheap method of superficial drainage may be effected by the mere plowing of the land judiciously; and this will be found of great advantage in level lands with a stiff subsoil. When such fields are selected for the orchard, this plan should always be pursued; nor does it preclude the subsequent use of tile, which is the best draining material, at any period afterward. These gutters being at a distance from the tree rows, can be deepened, and the tile laid, without disturbing the roots; or the mole drain plow may be drawn through these furrows, if the subsoil be of a suitably tenacious character to admit of the use of this implement.

Very satisfactory preparation of the soil is done with the plow and a good team; indeed, except for the limited surface of a small fruit garden, no other and no better implement need be desired. With it we can produce a very thorough disintegration and perfect subversion of the soil; these are the objects we have in view. But here we have a choice of instruments, in which we must be guided by the character of the soil to be dealt with. If this be shallow, or thin, and underlaid by a sterile subsoil that would be unfit for the surface, we must plow more shallow, but there are few sites, in the Western country, where we do not find a sufficient depth of soil to satisfy the most thorough plowman, and beneath it a subsoil that will be benefited by aeration, and which will become good surface soil if subjected to the influences of the atmosphere.

We have few soils that may not be trenched with the plow or spade to any depth that is attainable. And here let me explain what is meant by _trenching_: it is the transposition of two layers of the soil more thoroughly, and to a greater depth, than is done by simply digging or plowing, in which a limited amount, only a thin layer of the soil, is inverted. In trenching with the spade, a narrow strip of land is excavated across one end of the piece to be trenched, eighteen or twenty inches wide, and as deep as the spade can take it out at two diggings. The earth thus removed is thrown aside, to be used at the end of the work. The trench being now open, a similar s.p.a.ce is laid off, and the surface soil, to the depth of the spade, is dug and thrown into the bottom of the first trench, after which the subsoil is dug to the same depth, the length of the s.p.a.ce, and thrown on top of the surface soil that was put into the bottom of the first trench. A second trench is thus opened, and a third strip being then marked off, the same processes are continued, until the whole piece is trenched, when the pile of earth first excavated is brought into requisition to complete the work, by filling up the last trench. This is common trenching, which reverses the two layers of soil, and stirs the whole to the depth of eighteen or twenty inches. It is an expensive operation, but very desirable in a small fruit-garden--not at all applicable for extensive orchard planting, though often applied to the preparation of extensive vineyards.

Trench plowing is conducted upon the same principle, and is done by using two plows in the same furrow, the first taking off the surface soil and throwing it into the deep furrow of the second plow, which is so constructed as to lift the lower soil and throw it high up over the furrow slice laid by the first, and at the same time, leaving a deep furrow open behind it to receive the next cut of surface soil. The two layers are thus inverted and reversed at the same time, and with a proper plow, the whole soil is finely comminuted and reduced to a perfect seed-bed, suitable for a garden. To perform this work, the Double Michigan plow is the favorite implement. It should be properly constructed, for much depends upon having the plow well made; the mold-boards should be formed upon the best models for their respective offices of reversing the surface soil, and of upheaving and comminuting that which lies below it; and these mold-boards should be made of steel. Such plows are manufactured at several points, but all the Double Michigan patterns are not equally good, and some are quite unsatisfactory.

The Deep Tiller plows will do very good work in certain soils, and may often be used to advantage in the preparation of the orchard grounds, either alone, or to follow another plow when trench plowing is desired, and the trench plow is not at hand. These plows, as made at Moline, Illinois, are much used, and give great satisfaction in that State.

Subsoiling is a very useful addendum to deep plowing; its object is to stir the deep layers of the soil without bringing the earth to the surface. This aerates and loosens the subsoil, and thus effects the combined objects of increasing the fertility of the land, of retaining moisture for the crops, and, to a certain extent, of allowing any excess of moisture to percolate away. Subsoiling is most efficacious when combined with draining, but it is of great use without, unless where permanent water is found near the surface. There is a great improvement in the subsoil plows. Those first made were provided with a share on one side, and this wing, as it was called, was tilted up several inches, thus increasing the draft unnecessarily. We now use a sharp steel share, of diamond shape, cutting on both edges, right and left, and very slightly elevated in the centre, only two inches, or two and a half at the most. If the soil is stirred with this implement, the hard earth at the bottom of the furrow, made by the turning plow, is thoroughly broken up, and it does not fall directly back into its place, but the crumbled portions support one another, and the furrow appears to be filled with loose earth. The result is astonis.h.i.+ng, when we consider the flat, diamond-shaped plow sole that has done the work.

The depth to which this implement may be made to disintegrate the soil, depends upon its strength, the power of the team, and the character of the subsoil. I have seen it tear up several inches of the shales and other rocks, and aid in making a good soil of them. I have seen it sink to the beam in the alluvium of our river bottoms, and I have seen it almost refuse to do its office in some of the hard white clay subsoils, when drawn by a heavy team, while in more yielding but tenacious clays I have seen it trembling under the strain of three yoke of good cattle, that were scarcely able to pull it through the adhesive soil.

MANURING.--The importance of the application of manures to the orchard, as a part of the preparation of the soil, will depend entirely upon its strength and condition. Trees are great feeders; they need a reasonably fertile soil, for though their roots run wide and deep, in search of nourishment, if the necessary food be not in the soil, they will certainly fail to thrive as they should. The a.n.a.lysis of the ashes of our fruit trees, which contain the elements they have derived from the soils on which they grew, enables us to ascertain what kinds of plant-food should be present in the soil we are about to use, or what materials we may safely and judiciously add to it as manures. Lime, and the alkalies, are generally safe and useful additions, in connection with clover as a green manure; these may be applied to almost any worn soils with great advantage. Clover is an invaluable a.s.sistant. Its long roots pierce deeply into the soil, bringing up from below hidden treasures, which are left in the upper layers, modified by the digestion of the plant, and by new chemical changes and combinations, rendered fit food for succeeding crops. The mere disintegration of the soil produced by the roots of clover, is, in itself, a valuable mechanical preparation, quietly performed, without plow or team. The clover lea may be limed with great advantage; an application of twenty-five to fifty bushels of slacked lime to the acre will improve the growth of clover, and will exert its appropriate influence upon the soil, with very happy results for the succeeding crop of orchard trees. Alkalies may be applied, in the form of wood ashes, either at the preparation of the soil, or at any subsequent period, as may be found most convenient. Stable manure, and composts, will seldom be required in lands that have not been nearly exhausted, and therefore unfit for an orchard. In case it becomes necessary to use such a field, the manuring should be done all over the surface, and a crop of clover should be grown and plowed in before planting the trees; upon no account should fresh stable manure be brought into immediate contact or close proximity with the roots of the young tree. If the necessity for planting on such a piece of land impel immediate action, very thoroughly decomposed composts may be applied, mixed with the soil about the tree, but successive applications of manures will be needed over the entire surface, for the roots are destined to occupy the whole extent of soil between the trees.

The next step in the preparation is the digging of the holes for planting the trees. Some persons lay great stress upon the importance of having these made large and deep, which may be very well in a gra.s.s lawn with a few trees, but it is a very expensive matter for the orchard of thousands or even of hundreds. The holes should be prepared as wide as the field, and as deep as the plow can stir it, as already directed; that is the kind of holes that should be dug; if the land have been prepared in this manner, the opening of the holes and planting the orchard, either deep or shallow, becomes a very simple matter.

Having determined the distance at which the trees shall stand from one another, and the order or plan of planting, flag poles are to be set in the line to be occupied by the first row of trees, and a deep furrow is then opened with a large plow, drawn by a pair of steady horses. The poles are moved and set for the next row of trees, and so on, until the whole is laid off, making the furrows as straight as possible. This done, a single horse with a lighter plow is driven across these deep furrows at the proper distance, so that the intersections shall indicate the stations for the trees. Strong stakes, about four or five feet long, are then driven firmly at these intersections, and if the marking-out has been well done, they will range in six directions--N. and S.--E. and W.--N.-E. and S.-W.--N.-W.

and S.-E., or to corresponding points of the compa.s.s; for it is not a matter of much consequence in what direction the rows of trees stand.

The holes are the deep furrows, and tree stations are the s.p.a.ces beside the stakes, always maintaining the same relative position throughout the orchard; the northern side is to be preferred, on account of the partial shade of the stake. By adopting this plan, there need be no trouble, as is often experienced, in sighting the trees to have them straight, for if the stakes have been correctly placed, the trees will also be right, and will range in every direction, when planted.

Before dismissing the subject of stakes, let us understand their object and function: it is not to tie up the trees, and to force them to attain an erect posture; no, that is not to be effected by staking, as will be set forth in another place. Rather than tie a tree to a stake, it were better to cut it down to the ground, and grow it over again. The real objects of the stakes are, first, to show the planter where to set a tree; second, to show where the tree has been planted; third, to indicate to the plowman and to his horse where to exercise care in pa.s.sing the infant tree during the first years' culture, for an intelligent animal will very soon learn what objects it is intended for him to avoid injuring during his labors in the field; a fourth function of the stake is to ward off the single-tree which the careless laborer may allow to strike the tree to its manifest injury, tearing the bark, and even breaking the stem. The pa.s.sage of the wagon through the field will also be directed, by these stakes, to the inters.p.a.ces, instead of pa.s.sing over the trees. Here are reasons enough for the use of stakes, but tying the trees to them is not among the number; indeed, it might be called the abuse of the stakes rather than their use, except in rare cases. Even in the windy prairie country, no stakes should be used, as supports, in a properly regulated orchard.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 25.--MANNER OF STAKING A TREE.]

When necessary to support a tree with stakes, after an injury or accident, the plan of C. Rosenstiel, Freeport, Ill., is the best I have seen. He adopts it as a means of keeping his trees from being inclined by the wind. He drives a stake firmly into the ground, about a foot to the southwest of his tree; a band of rye straw is cast about the tree a few feet from the ground; the two ends are twisted and entwined together, forming a stiff rope from the tree to the stake, about which it is then cast, and the ends are secured with a piece of twine. By this appliance, the tree is maintained in an erect position without chafing; it can only yield to the wind by waving to the right or left; the band, by its tension, prevents it from leaving the stake, and, by its stiffness, holds it at a proper distance, and prevents its approach.

PLANTING comes next in order to the marking out, or hole-digging, for these are synonymous; it should be done as soon as possible after the plow, on account of the fresh furrow with its mellow soil. It is really a simple matter and upon this method may be executed with great rapidity. The trees now receive their necessary tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, which consists in a liberal shortening of the branches, a careful inspection of the roots, and a removal with a sharp knife of such as may have been bruised or torn, and cutting away any mat of fibres; after this, they should be puddled, and then carried out to their stations by a boy. The planter follows; with a bright spade he removes any excess of soil at the station, sc.r.a.ping away such portions of earth as he may find in the way of the roots when the tree is placed by the stake. If the furrow has not been recently made, it will be well always to remove a portion of the surface, so as to have fresh soil next the roots. The tree being placed near the stake, the roots are carefully spread out in their natural direction, and the moist mellow earth is filled in among them, using the fingers when necessary, and gently shaking the tree so as to leave no empty cavities among the fibres.

Pretty firm pressure should now be made with the foot, especially upon the fine earth placed above the ends of the roots; this excludes the air, by bringing the particles of soil in close proximity to the roots, ready to receive the new fibres that will soon be emitted from them. It also secures the tree in its place better than tying to the stake, for each root acts as a guy rope. In this manner the work may progress very rapidly, and, at the same time, may be well done. Some planters always pour a liberal supply of water upon the mellow earth, instead of pressing it with the foot. This will settle the fine soil about the roots very effectually; fresh earth should always be thrown on after the water, to prevent the surface from being caked and cracked.

The depth at which the tree should be planted is a question of interest. Most authorities and most successful planters endeavor to regulate this, so that, when settled, the original collar of the young tree may be at the surface of the ground; deep planting has few advocates. The position of the tree as to the points of the compa.s.s, is now believed to be a matter of very little moment, although there are still those who insist that the north side of the tree in the nursery row should be made to occupy the same position in the orchard.

With low-headed trees this can make no difference; no others are recommended; on the contrary, if, unfortunately, none but tall trees with naked stems can be procured, it is advised to cut them back severely at planting time, so as to form a new head where wanted.

Those who have not the heart to cut back a fine tree, may attempt and will sometimes succeed in bringing out branches below, by nicking the bark with a large sharp pruning-knife, at several points along the stem, on all sides, but especially to the southwest, where the shelter of the branches is most needed. This, however, requires us to wait at least one season, and that the most trying one to the young tree, during which the naked bark is exposed to the sun and insects; and the winds may add to the difficulty, by inclining the stem from the southwest. All this may be avoided by planting trees with low branches, which are becoming more and more common as their merits are more highly appreciated. Some of the most judicious planters, especially in windy districts, have adopted the plan of inclining all their trees to the southwest at the time of planting, expecting thus to overcome the difficulty so commonly observed everywhere with tall trees--their leaning to the northeast, and then becoming scorched and injured by the frost and sun, and damaged by the borers.

The season for planting is a question of some importance, and must be settled by the attendant circ.u.mstances. Fall planting has many advocates and many advantages, but the fewest practice it. In the far north, with a long, trying winter approaching, it can not be recommended; but, as the spring advances, there is a great press of work; everything is to be done at once, and all is hurry; hence, for the milder lat.i.tudes, with our charming autumnal weather, comparative leisure, and the soil in good condition, everything invites us to plant in the autumn, and with those south of lat.i.tude forty degrees, the planting season will often continue until mid-winter. If we commence this work before the fall of the leaves, care should be taken to strip these appendages from the trees in the nursery, before digging them. Instead of leaving the soil about the tree at or a little above the general level, it should be heaped up in a little mound, which will shed off the rains, support the stem, and, to some extent, protect the roots from frost. This last suggestion is a matter of much importance, for one of the great advantages of autumnal planting, depends upon the fact that, except in the most severe weather, the tree is not dormant--the hybernation is not complete; in mild weather there is some action in the buds and branches, and considerable activity exists in the roots; new fibres are emitted, and, with the first opening of spring, the young tree is ready for its summer's growth. Such is not the case with trees that have been badly planted in the fall, in a wet, tenacious soil, where their roots have been immersed in mud and water for months, and the swaying top has strained them in every direction. For such a soil, draining is needed; but, even then, the mound will be of material advantage in fall planting.

MULCHING is a process about which much has been said and written, but of which, it is to be feared, very little is known and understood. The very objects of mulching do not appear to be properly appreciated by many persons. Its uses are two-fold: primarily, to keep the surface of the earth moist by preventing evaporation, and to maintain that open, friable condition we always find in the forest, under the natural mulching of the leaves. Mulching keeps the earth cooler in summer and warmer in winter; the first, by shading from the burning rays of the sun, the second, by protecting from frost; the material itself, and the confined air among it, being bad conductors of heat. Now, what material shall we use for producing these results? Almost anything that will fulfill these indications will answer--either stones, chips, boards, twigs, saw-dust, tan-bark, weeds, straw, either long or cut, coa.r.s.e manure, hay, freshly-cut gra.s.s, or, perhaps the very best for all the purposes of mulching, leaves themselves, except that they are difficult to retain in their place. A combination of leaves and twigs, small branches or weeds, may be made to answer a very good purpose, for winter mulching especially. For summer mulching there is another material which has been found to answer an admirable purpose, though not mentioned in the above list; it is mellow earth--yes, mellow earth admirably fulfills most of the conditions of a good mulching material, but it must be kept mellow by constant stirring. The air is thus admitted, and deposits its moisture whenever the earth is cooler than the atmosphere; the presence of the air among the particles of the soil makes it a worse conductor of heat than when it is compacted together.

Mulching the newly-planted trees is a very valuable application, whether in summer or winter, and should be practiced wherever it is possible, always remembering that we can not well combine with it culture, which, for the summer treatment, is most essential to the successful growth of trees, and in winter we shall present a harbor to the mice if the mulch be placed too near the tree. He who may have been induced, by the recommendations of high authority, to plant an orchard in a stiff blue-gra.s.s sod, or who may allow such sod to surround his trees, in the belief that this const.i.tutes a good mulch, will be sadly disappointed; for, though the surface is shaded, the gra.s.s will absorb the moisture from the soil at the expense of the young trees. Clover, on the contrary, makes a denser shade, and seeking its supplies more deeply, is less injurious, while its abundant broad foliage attracts ample supplies of dew to irrigate the soil. In this respect it resembles the Indian corn, which is considered the best crop to put among young trees, as it produces shade, attracts the dew, and, more than all, it demands and receives the thorough culture which the trees also require.

CHAPTER VIII.

SELECTION AND PLANTING.

IMPORTANCE OF JUDICIOUS SELECTION. LARGE TREES NOT DESIRABLE.

THRIFTY YOUNG TREES PREFERRED. REASONS FOR THE PREFERENCE.

ADVANTAGES OF SMALLER TREES. LOW HEADS AND THE PROTECTION BY LATERAL BRANCHES. PERSONAL INSPECTION AND SELECTION RECOMMENDED. DIGGING THE TREES. CAREFULLY AVOID MUTILATION OF THE ROOTS. PUDDLING. TYING AND LABELING. PACKING. AVOID EXPOSURE TO SUN AND WIND, AND FROST. TREATMENT OF FROZEN TREES IN COLD WEATHER. HEELING-IN. MULCHING. MAKING RECORD. DRIED TREES, HOW RESTORED. SEASON FOR PLANTING. BANKING THE TREES.

MULCHING. DISTANCE BETWEEN TREES. DEPENDENT UPON THE HABIT OF THE VARIETY. a.s.sORTING THE VARIETIES ACCORDING TO SIZE. CLOSE PLANTING. COMBINATION PLANTING. DIFFERENT CROPS. APPLES AND PEACHES, OR CHERRIES. SMALL FRUITS BETWEEN. ORDER OF PLANTATION. QUINCUNX. a.s.sORTING VARIETIES. CONVENIENCE IN HARVESTING TO HAVE EACH KIND GROUPED TOGETHER.

We now come to the consideration of a matter of great importance to the success of the future orchard--the selection of the plants we are to set therein. No matter how favorable the site, how good the soil, nor how thorough the preparations may have been; all may be spoiled by a bad selection of trees, and subsequent disappointment will be the consequence.

Formerly, and in some sections of the country even now, very erroneous notions prevailed upon this subject. Large trees, of several years'

growth in the nursery, were preferred by those who were planting orchards: trees, ready to bear fruit, were eagerly inquired for, and preferred; even if they had been crowded together so as to be drawn up to a great hight without any lateral branches, and had formed their heads at the hight of seven or eight feet, so as to be out of the way of browsing by cattle and horses, they were the more admired by the purchasers. Now-a-days there is a great change in the sentiment of tree-planters as to the age, size, and shape of the trees that are to be set out.

Thrifty young trees are preferred to older and larger ones on many accounts. They are more vigorous and will endure the disturbance of digging, transportation, and change of locality from the nursery to the orchard, much better than larger and older trees. They are more easily dug, and will have a larger proportion of roots removed with them than those which have stood longer in the nursery-rows, so as to have pushed their fibres beyond the reach of the spade. Such trees are more stocky, and are furnished with lateral branches, or they should be so furnished, but these would be smothered and removed from older trees in crowded rows, as they are usually found in the nurseries. If these younger trees be not already furnished with laterals and elements for the formation of low heads, by the judicious treatment of the nurserymen who produced them, the orchardist can at least bend them to his will. He may make of them just what he pleases by his own manipulations at the time of planting or afterwards, without feeling that he is sacrificing to his fancy and judgment the growth of two or three years, by freely using the knife and saw, in the removal of the surplus and overgrown top, leaving him only a bare and mutilated stock to set out at the beginning of his orchard.

Another advantage of selecting small trees, especially to those at a distance from the nursery, is, that they are so much more easily transported, and freight bills are a serious item in the expense account of a large orchard plantation--these may be reduced to a minimum by the selection of small instead of large trees. As to forming the heads of our trees, if we cannot get the nurserymen to do this for us, since we are unwilling to remunerate them for the extra labor, and greater s.p.a.ce required to form such stocky specimens as we prefer, the difficulty is obviated by planting out young trees upon which we may form the heads where we please.

As already suggested, there is a great revolution going on in the minds of tree-planters as to the proper age for planting. Instead of the inquiry for huge and c.u.mbrous, overgrown trees, that had stood four or five years or more in the nursery, we now find a growing demand for small, stocky trees, of two or three years, or even less.

Of many thriftily growing kinds, good yearlings are much better for the orchard than large trees, especially such as have been crowded in the nursery and are devoid of side branches, and whose tall naked stems are exposed to the burning heats and blasting cold of their new homes in the open field, and to the depredations of hosts of insects.

Those purchasers, who seek after the tall trees, with bare stems, running up like fis.h.i.+ng poles, they who desire to buy their trees by the running yard and to get as great a length as possible for their money, can be accommodated by the nurseryman, who will produce the article to order; but such planters will soon find that their orchards are much less satisfactory than those set with short and stocky trees, and which have been encouraged to branch out so as to form low heads.

As set forth in the chapter upon _The Nursery_, such trees can be produced, and they are greatly to be preferred on many accounts, but their production by the nurserymen must depend upon the intelligence of the orchardists producing a demand for trees of such a character, and a willingness on their part to pay the grower a liberal price for the increased labor and expense, (in s.p.a.ce at least), requisite for their production. This no one should object to, for there is economy in planting good trees; the successful orchardist will purchase the best; he will not have the refuse or trash that may be offered him at a low figure, for he well knows that it is dear at any price.

Where it is practicable and within reach, it is best for the planter to visit the nursery and make his own selection of the trees, especially if the demand be for a limited number; but he may generally depend upon the judgment and honesty of the nurseryman, if he has given his order distinctly as to the shape of the trees he desires to purchase. In a common nursery, he will often observe at the ends of the rows, and where there may have been a gap or break in the continuous line of any variety, so that the trees are less crowded, some trees that are better furnished with lateral branches, and are consequently more stocky than where the rows are crowded. Here he will be likely to find the specimens that suit his fancy, and he will mark them for removal.

DIGGING.--At the proper season, and for most kinds this is at the fall of the leaf, the trees should be dug from the ground. This operation, as usually and necessarily conducted in large establishments, has to be done expeditiously and with less care than the amateur will be disposed to bestow upon this very important operation; and it sometimes happens that he will offer to pay the nurseryman a bonus for the privilege of digging his own trees with his own hands.

In performing this operation he will be very careful to avoid mutilating the roots with the spade, or by using more force than is absolutely necessary in lifting the loosened tree from its bed after the roots have been pretty thoroughly liberated from the soil. He will follow the directions given under this head in the appropriate section of the chapter on _The Nursery_. The importance of puddling the roots as soon as the trees are dug, cannot be too forcibly impressed upon the planter and nurseryman; its value to the trees is so great as a protection of the tender covering of the roots from exposure to the blighting influences of light, wind, and frost, that the trifling labor and expense involved in the operation, should not receive a moment's consideration.