We can scarcely
imagine, however, that one would buy land for a home containing
much soil of this nature. A sandy loam, with a subsoil that dries
out so quickly that it can be worked after a heavy rain, is the
best for nearly all the fruit-trees, especially for cherries and
peaches. Therefore in selecting the ground, be sure it is well
drained.
If the acre has been enriched and plowed twice deeply, as I have
already suggested, little more is necessary in planting than to
excavate a hole large enough to receive the roots spread out in
their natural positions. Should no such thorough and general
preparation have been made, or if the ground is hard, poor, and
stony, the owner will find it to his advantage to dig a good-sized
hole three or four feet across and two deep, filling in and around
the tree with fine rich surface soil. If he can obtain some
thoroughly decomposed compost or manure, for instance, as the
scrapings of a barnyard, or rich black soil from an old pasture,
to mix with the earth beneath and around the roots, the good
effects will be seen speedily; but in no instance should raw
manure from the stable, or anything that must decay before
becoming plant food, be brought in contact with the roots. Again I
repeat my caution against planting too deeply--one of the
commonest and most fatal errors.
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