THE MINNESOTA 



HORTICULTURIST. 



VOL. 33. OCTOBER, 1905. No. 10 



THE SUCCESSFUL ORCHARD. 



E. A, SMITH, LAKE CITY. 



The making- of an artist begins a hundred years before he is 

 born; the making of a successful orchard begins before it is 

 planted. To make an orchard successful, it is necessary to intelli- 

 gently care for it from the time of planting to the marketing of 

 the fruit. 



Trees should be planted that are grown on hardy roots. Espe- 

 cially is this true in exposed locations where the ground is un- 

 protected and dry. A house should be built upon a good founda- 

 tion ; a good tree cannot be successfully grown unless it has a 

 healthy, hardy root. 



Having secured a good, thrifty two or three years old tree, 

 how deep shall we plant it? Upon tree planting the opinions of 

 horticultural doctors vary. A circular of instructions issued by 

 one of the largest nurseries in the south states that a tree should 

 never be planted deeper than it stood in the nursery. This depth 

 may do for the south, but on dry soils in the north it is much 

 better to plant deeper, for the purpose of getting the roots down 

 where they will not be easily dried out; and if planted say twelve 

 inches deeper than in the nursery roots will often be thrown out 

 from the body of the tree, which will help to fortify and increase its 

 hardiness, so that in course of time the tree may be established upon 

 its own root — a condition that is most desirable. A large percent- 

 age of failures in orcharding is due to a lack of moisture, and, this 

 being one of the prime requisites for all kinds of vegetation, it is 

 necessary to conserve it as much as possible, especially in those 

 sections subject to drought. Low places, however, should be well 

 drained, and in all cases the surface of the soil should be kept loose 

 and not allowed to bake or crack. 



