THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 365 



sometimes substituted by the use of dynamite, but this must be done 

 when the ground is absohitely dry. Thorough cultivation must be 

 practiced during the life of the tree. 



For planting the ground should be marked off to require from about 

 90 to 100 trees per acre, the lesser number being preferable. This is 

 usually done with a wire about 200 feet long having a button of solder 

 at every place where a tree stake should be located. 



Holes should be dug of ample size to allow plenty of room for the 

 « placing of the roots without crowding, and the soil well settled around 

 each tree either by tamping with the feet or by the use of water. The 

 tree should be topped at once to a height of about 16 inches. 



It seems almost superfluous to urge the use of very great care in 

 every act, but it is absolutely necessary to success. In many localities 

 it is necessary to protect the bodies of the young trees from the hot 

 rays of the sun during the first season. This is best done by the use 

 of shakes or some of the excellent manufactured tree protectors to be 

 found on the market. 



During the winter after the trees have been planted one year they 

 should again be pruned back about one half or two thirds of the season's 

 growth, leaving about three or four limbs in such a position as to form 

 a good strong head on which to build your future tree. Until the tree 

 comes into bearing the pruning must be done with the main idea of 

 forming as strong and well shaped a tree as possible, and care must 

 be exercised to keep from leaving the growth too thick or leaving too 

 much wood in the tree. 



After the tree has come into bearing and the crop is set the most 

 important step is thinning. Without proper thinning you can not hope 

 to stand the strong competition of the present day. With some of the 

 new and improved varieties it is necessary to thin two or three times. 



Unless the laborer doing the thinning is an old hand at the business, 

 it is hardly safe to let him look at the ground under the trees after 

 thinning or he will never get enough off. Like everything else, thinning 

 requires good judgment and experience. 



As the culls from shipping are usually a dead loss, the pruning and 

 thinning should be done in such a manner as to reduce the per cent 

 of culls to a minimum. 



As to the state of maturity for picking for eastern or European 

 shipment, no ironclad rules can be laid down. It is another case 

 where the exercise of good judgment and experience is necessary, as 

 what is proper in one locality would mean failure in another. Great 

 care must be exercised not to disturb the bloom on the fruit in handling. 

 Great* variety of opinion exists as to the proper ripeness at which 

 to pick the different varieties, also the same variety in different 

 localities. 



The usual practice by the inexperienced is to pick too ripe, and by 

 those after the early markets, to pick too green. The matter of picking 

 must be settled by experience with each variety in each locality. Take, 

 for instance, the Kelsey plum. It will not color on the tree in the 

 Vacaville district until too ripe for shipment, but will color well en 

 route if picked hard. On the other hand the same variety in the Lodi 

 section will show a handsome color and still be firm. The Climax, when 

 picked straw color or with slight pink at the apex, will ripen and color 

 to perfection en route. The Tragedy may be picked as soon as color 



