24 



CIRCULAR NO. 118, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



ing well, but in case there is a high water table, water on lands in 

 and near the orchard should be cautiously used, for if the water table 

 should rise above the lower part of the root system for any length 

 of time the trees would probably be killed. Trees in some of the 

 old orchards have been killed in this manner, the water table under 

 the orchards having risen after the adjacent higher lands had been 

 put under cultivation. Figure 7 shows trees in an orchard 5 miles 





ion 



5«fc ■ ; :■■ . 



tefl»*-*N^ 





Pic. tj. — An apple tree having a good top, with respect to height and general outline. It 

 is faulty in that the main branches come out too nearly at the same point and the 

 top is somewhat too dense. 



from Fallon that have been killed in this manner. The trees in the 

 background were on higher land and were not noticeably affected. 



ORCHARD HEATING. 



Experiments were made in the spring of 1911 and again in 1912 

 to test the efficacy of orchard heaters in protecting the orchards from 

 frost. Several of the well-known makes of heaters burning crude oil 

 were used. The tests were not of practical use in saving the crop, 

 but it was demonstrated that the temperature in the orchards can be 

 held at 4 or 5 degrees above the temperature outside the orchards on 

 comparatively still nights. All the tests made were on areas less than 



half an acre in size. On such small areas the real efficiency of the 

 [Cir. 118.] 



