420 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



My own practice, which, however, dates back twenty or more years, 

 has been always to set the tree so that when the ground settled it 

 would stand an inch or so deeper than it stood in the nursery. As 

 far as I know, the results of this method of planting have been 

 satisfactory. Charles Downing says : 'No tree should be placed 

 deeper than it formerly grew.' Hooper, in his Western Fruit Book, 

 says : 'Plant the tree at the same depth that it previously occupied in 

 the soil.' Sir John Evelyn says : 'Plant not too deep, for the over- 

 turf is always richer than the next mold.' Coming down to later 

 authorities, Prof. Bailey says : 'Trees should be set an inch or two 

 deeper than they stood in the nursery, for the loose earth will settle 

 and wash away during the course of the season, even if well packed 

 when trees are set.' Getting nearer home, Prof. Samuel B. Green 

 says : 'In the best locations trees should be set about four inches 

 deeper than they grew in the nursery.' The sixteen experienced 

 planters whose judgment I appealed to on this subject almost uni- 

 formly agree upon what is now called deep planting, and as this is 

 such an important question, I will give you their replies in detail. 

 One would plant one inch deeper than in the nursery ; one, three 

 inches deeper ; one, four inches deeper ; one, from three to six inches 

 deeper ; one, from four to five ; four, from four to six ; three, six 

 inches ; one, four to ten inches ; one, five to seven inches ; and two, 

 twelve inches deeper. Of the sixteen you will perceive that ten of 

 them range from four to seven inches deeper in planting. From com- 

 ments that appear in connection with these replies, I am led to be- 

 lieve that the purpose of this deep planting is to prevent the drying 

 out of the trees. What surprises me in these answers is that while 

 a number speak of the necessity for deep planting on account of 

 possible drought, not one refers to the advantage of deep planting 

 as resulting in a growth of roots from the scion. This thought is 

 evidently not so much in mind as the former, though I have often 

 heard it expressed elsewhere. 



"It is hardly necessary to say that in planting the orchard tree 

 a hole should be dug at least large enough to take in the roots with- 

 out bending them, and the ground should not be too moist to crum- 

 ble easily. The earth should be carefully worked in amongst the 

 roots with the hand and the ground pressed or stamped down about 

 the roots as the planting proceeds. If too dry it may be necessary 

 to pour in some water before the final filling in of the hole ; but no 

 water should be put on after the hole is finally filled up, and the top 

 soil should be left loose. For the sake of conserving the moisture 

 in the ground the surface about the tree should be well mulched 

 with suitable material or cultivated faithfully from the start. There 

 is a variance in the methods of planters in regard to the way the 

 surface of the ground should be left after planting. The writers of 

 books covering this subject disagree somewhat with northwestern 

 planters. A number of writers speak of the necessity of leaving the 

 ground a little higher about the trees than the general surface, and 

 in many cases accompany this direction with the suggestion that it is 

 especially necessary in the fall, that the water may not stand about 

 the trees. 



