[20] Western Horticultural Review; also, Statistics of Storm, Jan. 1, 1864. 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. TRIMMING, 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.