152 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



sible man. I suppose from what I hear that it is different 

 up here in Minnesota; that a man is expected to set his trees 

 half that distance apart and then expects to cut them out when 

 the proper time arrives, but I think a man who follows that 

 idea is a victim of misplaced confidence. If he promises him- 

 self that, he is like a politician before election. I speak from 

 experience along this line. I have been through the mill. 



Mr. J. P. Andrews: Politically speaking? (Laughter). 



Mr. Dunlap: No. Now, a man says to himself that those 

 trees are very thrifty and he will leave them for one more crop; 

 and he does this year after year, and when he does cut them 

 out the trees that are left are damaged more than if he had 

 left them all. T am planting my orchards thirty three feet 

 apart and the trees thirty feet apart in the row, according to 

 the growth of the tree — some trees require more space than 

 others; and instead of cultivating under the tree I cultivate 

 around the tree, and how this gentleman cultivates crops 

 among those trees is more than I can see. 



Mr. Patten: What is the average life of any orchard planted 

 and treated in that way? 



Mr. Dunlaj): I live in the central portion of the state, and 

 the place I live on — 



Mr. Patten: I am not asking about that. I am asking what 

 is the profitable life of an orchard? 



Mr. Dunlap: The profitable life of an orchard, if the trees 

 are set far enough apart so trees can live their natural lives, 

 would depend altogether upon the variety. Such trees as the 

 Duchess can be forty years old and still be profitable, but we 

 usually consider twenty to twenty-five years the profitable life 

 of an orchard, but such an one as Mr. Patten recommends 

 planting would not exceed a limit of more than ten to fifteen 

 years. 



Mr. Patten: I want to ask Mr. Dunlap if he has ever seen 

 an orchard planted in that way in Illinois? 



Mr. Dunlap: I have, on my own place; the trees were planted 

 ten feet apart in the row and the rows sixteen feet apart, 

 that is pretty nearly the same distance you recommend plant- 

 ing. We went in there when the trees were ten years old 

 and cut out every other one, leaving them 16x20, and we have 

 gone in since then and cut out every other tree, but I have al- 

 ways done it a little too late to be of service to the other trees. 



Mr. Patten: I want to say that I think I can offset the lack 



