Page i8 



BETTER FRUIT 



April. ig20 



The person usually blamed for the trees 

 not making a healthy growth, is the 

 one who sold them, and in 90 out of 

 100 cases it was not his fault. 



Not long ago I sat on a rail fence 

 watching a man punch holes into the 

 ground on my neighbor's place. At 

 first I thought he was making holes for 

 small posts, but on inquiring 1 found 

 he was making bore holes, to blast 

 holes for trees. I was interested and 

 wanted to see the holes after they were 

 blown. He told me that the next day 

 he would shoot them. He was early on 

 the job. I went over and examined 

 some of the holes and on measuring 

 found them to be two and one-half feet 

 deep, and the hardpan penetrated. The 

 blaster prepared the shots, then loaded 

 all the holes. He used 25 per cent dyna- 

 mite and went about it in this way: He 

 cut the fuse in lengths of three feet, 

 inserted the end of the fuse in the de- 

 tonating cap and crimped it. He then 

 made a hole in the stick of dynamite 

 and inserted the cap, tying it securely 

 to the dynamite. After he had all the 

 sticks primed he started to load the 

 holes. The dynamite was shoved down 

 to the bottom of the hole with a broom 

 handle and fine earth thrown in on it. 

 Earth was put in the hole and tamped 

 with the broom handle until the top of 

 the hole was reached. He loaded all 

 the holes and thein started to fire them. 

 I examined the holes after they were 

 shot and found them to be about three 

 feet wide and three feet deep. (By three 

 feet deep I don't mean that the earth 

 was blown out to the extent of three 



feet but that the earth was loose to that 

 depth.) He took out all the loose earth 

 from one of the blasted holes and found 

 that the subsoil was busted, (I use the 

 term busted because in it I find I can 

 exactly say just how it was.) The blaster 

 being through with his work went 

 home. My neighbor called his men and 

 they started to plant the trees. There 

 were only 45 to be planted, so it did not 

 take long. 



One man went ahead and dug out the 

 holes. He made two piles of the earth. 

 One pile was the topsoil and the other 

 the subsoil; the neighbor and the other 

 man did the planting. The topsoil was 

 thrown into the hole until the right 

 depth was reached; the tree after being 

 pruned to a whip was set in the hole 

 and the balance of the topsoil was firm- 

 ly packed around the roots; on top of 

 this was thrown the subsoil. On top of 

 this a dressing of well-rotted manure 

 was placed. 1 asked my neighbor the 

 why for all this and he remarked, "The 

 use of dynamite cracked that subsoil so 

 that it will be impossible for the tree 

 to die from lack of moisture. The 

 young tree takes this moisture by send- 

 ing its fine rootlets into this subsoil, 

 thereby insuring it of a steady growth. 

 The placing of the topsoil at the root- 

 system, gives the fine roots a chance to 

 get into the mellow earth; they could 

 not do it so easy if they were stuck in 

 the subsoil." 



Regarding the cost he said, "The cost 

 was a little more, but what is the use 

 of planting a tree and not have it grow? 

 Plant it right at the outset. By hiring 



a blaster I could keep my men at their 

 regular work until the trees were ac- 

 tually to be planted. The planting was 

 done in half the time as with pick and 

 shovel, and I am well satisfied." 



Five months after these trees were 

 planted I went over and examined them. 

 The growth was fine, in fact wonder- 

 ful for five months' growth and that, 

 in my estimation, is the best monument 

 to good preparation and care in 

 planting. F.A.K. 



Fruit Trees Good Investment. 



The ordinary individual craves a cer- 

 tain amount of fruit in his diet. On 

 the average farm fruit constitutes only 

 about 6 per cent in value of all food 

 consumed. The percentage could be in- 

 creased to good advantage, making fruit 

 a more important part of the diet, says 

 the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture. 



A small area of the farm devoted to 

 apple trees, peach trees, berry plants, 

 or other fruit suited to the region, is 

 a good investment for any farmer. 



Demand for Spray Material Heavy. 



The demand for spray material in the 

 Northwest is the heaviest this year ever 

 known and includes all classes of 

 sprays. The demand is credited to the 

 excellent propaganda that has been 

 carried on by the experiment stations 

 and agricultural colleges and also on 

 account of the prosperity that has come 

 to the fruit grower during the past 

 two years. 



«F — rmr 



KILL THE PESTS 



This man is Dusting twenty 

 acres per day at a cost of less 

 than one-half cent per tree, us- 

 ing the 



American Beauty 

 Dust Sprayer 



Codling Moth 



Red Spider 



Curculio 



Aphis 

 Caterpillar 

 Mildew, Etc. 



Write us about it. 



California Spray Co. 



6001-29 Pasadena Ave. 

 Los Angeles, Cal. 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRt'IT 



