THE PENINSULA FARMERS' CLUB— DISCUSSIONS. 90 



Mr. B. Montagfe — I know some who practice dipping the roots in water 

 before setting, to make the earth adhere more closely. On the question of 

 mulch. If my land was in such shape that I could cultivate the trees, I 

 T^ould not mulch. If I could, not cultivate, then I would mulch. 



Mr. Avery — Mr. Hoyt, a nurseryman at Rochester, told me that when he 

 "was asked if mulching was good, he always looked at the man, and if he 

 thought he was a lazy man, he told him yes, but if he had the appearance of a 

 iiard working man, he would tell him cultivation was better. 



Mr. Parmelee — I am satisfied that this great rigmarole about mulching 

 trees in winter to keep them back in the spring has a pernicious effect, and 

 this theory has died a natural death. I don't want any manure near the roots, 

 nor do I want any black muck ; you might as well have manure. Pure black 

 muck is death to a tree; better have pure black sand. Pure muck is mostly 

 carbon — you cannot make a tree stand up in it any more than in a bed of 

 mortar. I do not want any rich vegetable mould put around the roots of trees 

 in setting, — better use the natural soil. In the matter of setting trees leaning, 

 I should like to know more of it. My orchard is exposed, and I do not know 

 of a tree that leans. There are some that look as if they did, but it is because 

 the limbs are blown up by the wind — sometimes one limb gets hitched behind 

 another. I have not a tree loose that was not set too deep. 



Mr. Curtis — The first trees I set were peach trees. I plowed the ground 

 and set the trees on the ridge. I was very careful to set the tree close up to the 

 board I was using for a guide, following as near as I could Mr. Parmelee'a 

 instructions. I have never yet ridged up to the trees, and they stand shallow, 

 with the roots near the surface. Those trees under the lee from the southwest 

 "wind are not affected ; but those farther out, where the northwest wind strikes 

 them, there is not a tree that stands up straight. They are all leaning badly, 

 and two of them blew down. Just so with my apples : those not protected, 

 many of them, are leaning. I have never seen a Rhode Island Greening tree 

 that was straight. What objection would there be in setting them so that the 

 crook would make them lean toward the prevailing wind ? If you will notice 

 the orchards on the Peninsula you will find the trees are all, or nearly all of 

 them, leaning. 



Me. Avery — In setting young trees I would turn the side toward the wind 

 upon which the longest roots grow, instead of setting the tree leaning. I 

 believe the inability of trees to withstand wind is owing in a measure to the 

 roots not being evenly balanced. By placing trees with the longest roots 

 toward the wind, the strongest leverage will oppose the strongest pressure. 



Me. Teacy — I have heard jnst the opposite ; that the large roots give more 

 growth, and will push the tree over the other way. 



Mr. Parmelee — I have set more than 100 acres of orchard, and have not 

 on an average staked one tree in five acres. My experience is that it is best to 

 let the trees go until spring, then set two stakes and tie to both with a loop 

 around the tree; then the tree will not rub on the stakes. 



Mr. Montague — It seems to me still to be an advantage to set trees lean- 

 ing. The branches do not strike out as well on the windward side. The 

 limbs on the lee are a third longer. If the top on one side is larger than on 

 the other, it has a tendency to draw the tree over that way ; but if evenly bal- 

 anced, the tree will stand more erect. 



Mr. Curtis — At a recent meeting of this club, I ventured to "hint" to those 

 who contemplate setting trees the coming season. I referred to the severe cold, 



