292 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



holes if you find the water coming in and remaining there the 

 ground must be drained, for apple and plum trees will not live long 

 with roots under water. 



When I came to choose my trees, I chose two year old root- 

 grafted trees. Local nurseries will generally give better results than 

 those from greater distances. It is easier to get them in good con- 

 dition. Mine were shipped and received in good shape. I imme- 

 diately heeled them in the ground, trimming off all broken and 

 bruised roots, and trimming off about one-third of the last year's 

 growth from the tops. I took great care not to leave the roots ex- 

 posed to either sun or air much more than a minute at any one time ; 

 also kept the roots well watered. 



When all was ready for setting I had a man distribute the trees 

 in lots of about fifty each, in places convenient for setting, and 

 heeled them in. For getting water I had some holes dug in a swamp 

 near by and planks run out to the holes. I had a boy to take the 

 trees from the heeling-in trenches and drop them in the holes. I 

 had three good men with shovels to handle the earth. Coming to a 

 hole I would take a tree and hold it in the hole till it stood six to 

 eight inches lower in the hole than it stood in nursery row and note 

 how much earth would be required to fill the hole up to the roots. 

 Then I had the shovelers fill the hole up to the required point and 

 level it off. Now, I took my tree, got into the hole, spread out the 

 roots as naturally as I could and had the men sprinkle fine, rich 

 earth over the roots till they were covered about three inches deep. 

 After this I had the men shovel as fast as they could and I trampled 

 the earth in hard, taking pains to have the earth packed in close 

 around the tree and all around the edges of the hole, so as to leave 

 no air spaces to dry out the roots. I filled the hole so that when 

 finished it would be about two inches lower than the surrounding 

 ground. Now the water man came along and holding the pail breast 

 high or more, slowly poured the water so that it fell around the butt 

 of the tree and disappeared down among the roots, carrying con- 

 siderable fine earth with it and thus completely filling all the small 

 spaces that might escape the hand filling. 



In setting the trees I tried to have them all lean a little to the 

 southwest. Now after finishing a row I would go back and see if 

 the water had loosened up the roots so as to throw the tree out of 

 line and if any needed it would straighten them up and firm the 

 ground around the tree. 



After the holes were prepared I set out in one day three hundred 

 and fifty in this way, and I think I can set i,opo trees in three days 

 after the holes are ready. 



