First, select good, rich soil, such as will produce 70 bush. indian corn per acre, if not such it should be made such by manuring. You cannot expect a tree to flourish and produce good fruit when there is no strength or food to supply it with proper nourishment. It is too much like building a house without a foundation, or sitting down to dine at an empty dish, there being nothing to support the growth of the tree, no food to supply it with proper nourishment, finally, it dies for the want of nourishment, if not, the fruit which it bears, if any, is small and knotty, having scarcely any taste or flavor. If you want nice, large, fine flavored fruit, prepare your soil before planting your trees and keep it prepared by manuring occasionally. It is unreasonable to expect to raise fruit from a tree when it is half or three quarters starved out, all for the want of nourishment. You may here make inquiry how to prepare your soil. This may be done by putting a heavy dressing of manure on it, then obtain sufficient depth of soil, so as to enable the roots to extend themselves freely and hold moisture without dying out in protracted drought. This may be done with a common plow, letting it run 8 or 10 inches deep, then by means of a good subsoil plow, running it in the same furrow, you will obtain a depth of 15 or 18 inches. This process should be continued until you have all plowed that depth. When you have this accomplished, run your harrow over several times leveling and pulverizing it finely. When you have all this completed your soil will be prepared for planting your trees. If you cannot possibly prepare your soil in this way, you should by all means dig very large holes, say six or eight feet in diameter and a foot and a half deep, working the manure through the soil as you dig it up. This may seem to the farmer as requiring too much labor, but will richly pay him for it in the end. Plant your trees in this soil firmly, leaving the soil a little lower about the body of the tree, so as it may hold the water, if filled up about the level of the soil, the water will run away from the roots and your tree may die for the want of moisture. Every tree should have a stake driven in the ground to fasten or stay the tree, so as to prevent the storms from bending and switching it about. If this is not done your trees will be injured, and will not thrive. There are a great many farmers complaining that they cannot raise any fruit. Truly, how can they expect to raise fruit when they will crowd their trees into small holes, and the soil so hard that you can scarcely drive a stake into it with a sledge, and above all the land starved out, the grass and weeds suffered to grow up at such a rate that you are not able to see the body of the tree. Young trees should be nursed and cultivated, keeping the soil mellow by repeated stirring and preventing the growth of any vegetable for several feet from the tree. A hoed crop is next best to clear mellow ground. A sowed crop, grass or weeds is ruinous to young trees. After you have your trees well set, you should by all means wash them down once or twice a year with soap and water. Say about one quart of soap to two quarts of water—wash from the large branches to the bottom—this will destroy the insects that may be put into the body and limbs of the tree. Many drooping trees have been made healthy by using this wash. If you wish to preserve your peach trees, it is necessary for you to apply this to them twice a year, also frequently pouring reasonably hot soap suds to the body and root of the tree; this will kill and destroy the worm which so frequently destroys your trees. The lie which is left at the bottom of the kettle from boiling hot soap is very good and should always be used to wash your trees. If you wish to preserve your peach trees, you should by all means search the roots and body of the tree, and where you find any gum caused by the worm, remove it by means of a knife, carefully cutting away where any gum is found, and as far as there seems to be a hollow under the bark, then wash the whole stem well, suffering it to run to the roots: It is stated by a worthy gentleman, that by planting tansey around the tree, the worm will not trouble the roots. This is simple enough and worthy of a trial. It is hoped that these important truths will cause the Farmer and others to put them in practice, and it most undoubtedly will be the means of raising improved fruit and will be richly paid for all his labour.

HOW TO CATCH AN OWL.

Those who are troubled with owls, let them set a steel trap on the top of a pole near the hen roost, and you will be certain to catch him.

A SUPPLEMENT
TO THE
FARMER’S OWN BOOK:

A TREATISE ON THE
Diseases of Horned Cattle,
WITH AN
EXPLANATION OF THEIR SYMPTOMS,
AND THE
COURSE OF TREATMENT TO BE PURSUED.

PUBLISHED BY
J. D. KOOGLE,
Middletown, Maryland.
1858.