INDIANA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 249 



The gi-ound should be deeply plowed in the fall or early in the spring. 

 Before plowing it should be thoroughly fertilized with well rotted stable 

 manure and unleached wood ashes. This will give the trees a good start 

 by tilling the soil with humus and supplying potash. 



If the land has not been thoroughly subdrained, this should be done 

 at once, as no fi-uit tree can thrive in a cold, sour soil. Harrow the 

 ground thoroughly with a spring tooth harrow, in order to have a fine soil 

 to pacli around the roots of the trees and to prepare the soil for after- 

 cultivation. 



There is a difference of opinion as to the distance of planting apple 

 trees and the number of trees that should occupy an acre of ground. 

 Some orchardists recommend planting the trees that are to remain per- 

 manently in the orchard about forty feet apart each way and plant short- 

 lived varieties that will come into bearing earlier between these trees. 

 By this method nearly double the number of trees may be grown on the 

 same area, and an income would be derived from the orchard sooner than 

 if only the long-lived varieties were planted. Notwithstanding the ad- 

 vantages that the advocates of this method claim, I prefer planting only 

 long-lived, hardy varieties thirty feet apart each way, or forty-eight trees 

 to the acre. 



Set a stake at each end and in the middle of the row, and open a deep 

 furrow with a breaking plow, going twice in the row, throwing the dirt 

 both ways. Having marked the ground out one way, crossmark it in the 

 same manner, and you will have but a small amount of hand labor to do. 



Another plan, and a very satisfactory one in planting a small 6rchard, 

 is to set a stake where each tree is to stand, sighting from one stake to the 

 other in order to get the row straight; then dig a hole two and one-half 

 feet in diameter and two feet deep where each stake stood. The latter 

 plan would require a great deal more time and hard labor, and would be 

 impractical in planting a large orchard. Having prepared the ground and 

 marked it out according to the former method, we now come to the most 

 important step— that of planting. 



Select good two or three year old stock, strong and healthy. The dif- 

 ference in price between good and inferior stock amounts to but a few 

 cents per tree at the time of planting, but amounts to many dollars when 

 the trees come into bearing. 



Open the trees in a closed shed or cellar and prune the roots and 

 branches of each tree and wrap the trees of each variety separately in 

 burlap, packing the roots in wet moss or cut straw. 



The pruning at time of planting is a matter of considerable im- 

 portance. All the large and bruised roots should be cut back severely. 



The trimming of the top depends upon the form of the tree which we 

 wish to grow. If we desire to have a low spreading tree we should leave 

 some of the side limbs on the body of the tree, simply cutting them back; 

 but if we desire to have the lower limb^ out of the way so we can culti- 



