EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS 217 >. 



plants are set wdth an idea of removing tliem before the trees need the space, it 

 seldom happens that this is done until after some injury has been caused. 



While we do not recommend it as a desirable practice, it will be less objection- 

 able to plant early-bearing and short-lived varieties of apples between tlie rows, 

 or at least in the rows with the trees, of slow-growing, late-bearing kinds lilie 

 Northei-n Spy. Where the permanent trees are planted forty feet apart, it will 

 generally be a dozen or fifteen years before there would be any very serious in- 

 jury, if trees of Wagoner, Jonathan and some of the other varieties were placed 

 between them, so as to have the ground occupied by trees located twenty feet 

 apart eacih way. In doing this, however, the supplying of the proper amount of 

 plant food to make -p for the increased drain upon the grovmd must not be neg- 

 lected, and before the ti'ees become so large that the branches interlace, the inter- 

 mediate trees should be removed. If this is done, there will be comparatively 

 little injurious effect upon the grovrth of the permanent trees, and the crops se- 

 cured from the "fillers" up to the time of their removal should several times repay 

 the entire cost of the orchard at that time. 



PLANTING THE TREES. 



It would be hardly possible to give too much care to the preparation of the soil 

 for the orchard, or to the selection of tire proper location for the trees. For nearly 

 all trees a somewhat elevated site should be chosen, in order to escape extreme 

 cold, as well as the danger of late frosts in the spring and early frosts in the 

 autumn. There will ordinarily be much less injury from fungous diseases if the 

 trees are placed in elevated, rolling sections, than In low lands or hollows. 



The soil should be of a natui'e adapted to the particular fruit to be .grown, 

 peaches generally doing better than most other fruits on comparatively light soils, 

 while in the order named, cherries, apples, pears, and plums would require heavier 

 soils, and, where all of the above fruits are to be planted, a similar arrangement 

 as to the elevation upon \\"hich they are placed should be made, peaches being 

 placed on the higher levels and plums upon the lower. 



For evei*y kind of fruit a considerable amount of humus is desirable in the soil, 

 and this can often be secured by turning under clover, field peas and other crops. 

 If the land is deficient in plant food the use of decomposed manure will often be 

 advisable, although care Should be taken not to use an excess in the case of peach 

 trees, as it would very likely result in a late growth and the winter-killing of the 

 trees. After having plowed and tlioroughly dragged the land, it should be marked 

 out at the proper distances and holes dug for the trees. In some cases a plow can 

 be used to good advantage to aid in digging the holes. The holes should ordinarily 

 be of a depth that will permit of planting the trees slightly lower than they were 

 in the nursery and of such a size as to tali:e in the roots without cramping or bend- 

 ing. If the soil at the bottom of the hole is either very poor or very hard, it is 

 advisable to remove an inch or two more and fill in with the best of the 

 surface soil. In planting the trees the fine soil should be carefully worked among 

 the roots and packed about them. 



PRUNING THE TREES. 



If the roots of the trees are broken, all injured or bruised portions should be cut 

 away, and if, as is sometimes the case, there is a mass of dry, fibrous roots, these 

 also should be removed. After planting the trees, the tops should be pruned by the 

 removal of the surplus branches and cutting back the others. For apple, pear, 

 plum and cherry trees, it is desirable to leave about four side branches, cutting 

 them back to the length of four to six inches, with a center shoot that will be 

 somewhat longer. If the trees are one year old, and unbranched, it is only neces- 

 sary to cut off the stem at a point six or eight inches above where the branches are 

 desired. In the case of peach trees, which 'have formed numerous side shoots, four 

 of the stronger bi-anches should be cut back to about two buds and all others re- 

 moved. Where there are only a few sdde branches and a number of strong biids 

 upon the main stem, the side shoots may be cut off and new branches formed from 

 the undeveloped buds on the trunk, but in the case of large trees, on which all of 

 the buds upon the trunk have developed into branches, the trimming to a whip, as 

 is often recommended, is not advisable. If shoots start at all, they are likely to 

 be small and misshapen and at points where they are not desired. 



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