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STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



a perfect alignment of trees in all directions, but slight differences 

 will disappear before the orchard is very old. 



There is a tendency among growers to extend the distances between 

 the trees. This is due to the change from high to low headed trees, 

 the necessity of spraying, the more general practice of thinning and 

 an increased knowledge on the part of the growers that the tree makes 

 use of the soil from a wide surrounding area. A soil washout in the 



FIG. 2. 



orchard will shoAV that the root system extends several feet beyond the 

 ends of the lower branches. It is not advisable to plant closer than 

 twenty feet in each direction and upon soils that will produce a large 

 growth, twenty-four to twenty-five feet is much better and on good 

 soil, some vigorous growing varieties are set twenty-eight feet apart. 



Most growers prefer to dig a large hole, loosen the soil in the bottom 

 and plant the tree a little deeper than it grew in the nursery, pre- 

 ferably so the point of insertion of the bud will be covered. The tree 

 should be slightly inclined toward the direction from which the pre- 

 vailing wind blows. This in the lake region, is southwest. The top soil 



