80 Report of State Board of Horticulture. 



in the early spring. February is the next best month for planting. The 

 tree which is planted late in the spring is too often dry and damaged by 

 exposure, and it pushes forth its buds and new growth before the roots are 

 established; the result being total loss of the tree, or at best a feeble 

 growth and a weak tree. 



DISTANCE BETWEEN TREES. 



Apple trees are usually planted too close together. As a general rule they 

 should not be closer than from thirty to thirty-two feet. Whether to use 

 the square, diagonal or hexagonal system in planting is purely a matter of 

 individual preference. If one wis:hes to fertilize heavily and prune severely, 

 keeping his trees headed low and dwarfed as much as possible, the trees 

 may be planted as close as twenty feet, but as a rule this is not advisable. 

 Close planting may bring quicker returns liut it also brings quicker 

 exhaustion. 



VARIETIES TO PLANT. 



Here again it is impossible to give definite advice. Plant what experience 

 has proven best for the locality and what others are planting, that the 

 market question may be the easier solved. Give preference always to the 

 apple of quality rather than to the one solely of quantity. The time is 

 coming, if it is not already here, when the public taste will demand quality 

 as well as fine appearance. A big yield, even at a low price, may pay at 

 first, but if the fruit is of low quality it can not win in the long run. 



We have planted on this coast almost exclusively varieties that originated 

 on the Atlantic Coast or in the Mississippi Valley. While these varieties 

 have generally done well here and have produced fruit superior to that 

 grown in their native home, still I firmly believe that we can produce 

 varieties of our own that will be better than those we now have. The field 

 is open to the experinventer and originator, and the reward should be great 

 for the man who can develop an apple of such merit that it will become the 

 apple of his district. 



AGE OF TREE TO PLANT. 



By all means plant only yearling trees. You can head them down where 

 you want to start the heads and by proper training secure a low-headed 

 tree that you can cultivate close up to, and that will be practically self- 

 supporting under a load of fruit. The nurseryman, catering to the demand 

 for big trees, heads his two-year-old trees so high that they are ruined for 

 the practical orchardist. 



SETTING THE TREE. 



Having dug a good hole thirty inches wide and twenty inches deep, and 

 put some of the surface soil in the bottom, you are ready to plant the tree. 

 Prune off all bruised,, broken and dry roots and cut back all others to four 

 or five inches in length, making a sloping cut on the bottom of the root with 

 a sharp knife. Tramp the dirt very firmly with the feet, especially in the 

 bottom of the hole next the roots. Set the tree two or three inches lower 

 than it stood in the nursery row. This is very important. In dry land 

 set it still deeper. If the tree roots are dry, or the day dry and windy, 

 prepare a mud bath in a bucket or tub and set the trees in it and haul 

 along on a sled as you plant. Great care should be taken to properly line 

 ouit the rows in order that they may be straight. If necessary get a sur- 

 veyor, but it can be done if land is not too rough and uneven by setting 

 plenty of stakes for sights and having a man stand at the end of rows and 

 sight while planting is being done. On hillsides use hand-level and plumb- 

 bob to make accurate measurements. 



