"We believe in mulching as much as we believe in good cultivation, for it is a part of it; but there is a time for benefit to be derived in the greatest degree from both. Light, heat, air, and moisture are as essential to the growth of roots below ground as they are to that of leaf and twig above; but if the mulch is put upon the ground early in spring, the direct action of these elements is lost, growth is retarded until heat has approached from a side connection, and it is then continued often late in the season, resulting in an immature, unripe condition of the plant. We have found our best results to come from stirring the soil frequently until the summer heat, then apply our mulch, removing it again early in October, and again applying it as soon as the ground is well frozen. By this course we give our roots, in the spring, the benefit of the elements they need to make perfect growth; we keep the powerful rays of the midsummer sun away and thus give them a longer time to fully mature wood and root; we give them in autumn the action of the atmosphere to enable them to gradually harden the root and branch and fit it for the extreme cold of winter; and in winter, after having frozen them to sleep, we cover them so that they may not be wakened from week to week, but continue their nap until such time as, by the natural order, they should again pursue their appointed course.