SETTING A MINNESOTA ORCHARD. 205 



in the row, emiting- moisture and securing- an excellent surrounding- 

 for the roots of the younger trees. In most instances a set of roots 

 will be grown on the stock where it comes in contact with the under- 

 ground mulch. Being thickl}^ set, the top of one will soon protect 

 the stock of its next neighbor from sunscald, especially on steep 

 land. Deep planting protects tender roots from extreme cold and 

 drought; distance between rows gives ample room for team with 

 wagon and rack, etc. Cultivate the young orchard thoroughly but 

 shallow, until dry, then mulch each tree, allowing the same to 

 remain until spring, when it should be spread and worked into the 

 soil near the trees. 

 When? — The best results are obtained from early spring plant- 



Where? — To my mind the ideal location is near a good market and 

 shipping point, on high lands sloping decidedly to the east and north, 

 with good air drainage secured from near-by ravines, the deeper 

 the better. The soil should be a clayXoara with a limestone deposit 

 within a few feet of Ihe surface on which a supply of water is found. 

 I am convinced that many of the so-called worthless steep and 

 stony hillsides so cominon in southeast Minnesota are valuable 

 orchard sites. Our native forests are at home on such land. Why 

 not follow their teachings and not oppose them, as many do, in 

 planting apple trees? 



Every farmer should plant a small orchard near the house, regard- 

 less of the location, soil or surrounding-. A few trees well cared for, 

 of the right kinds, will suppl}^ the family with apples nine months 

 in each year. My garden orchard does this for me, besides supply- 

 ing several neighbors who do not grow apples but are always ready 

 to eat them. If you do not have an ideal location, plant the orchard 

 anywhere or way that pleases you best, rather than not have one^ 

 remembering that good care and a wise selection of varieties are 

 worth more than location; also that southern and eastern grown 

 apple trees are worth more to the planter dead than alive. The 

 best home grown stock is much the cheapest, because it yields 

 fruit and the other disappointment, with few excepti6ns in either 

 case. 



Fruit Trees along Highways. — Some twenty years ago, S. P. 

 Young owned an eighty-acre farm, which is now within the city 

 limits of Harvey, 111. Most of it he laid out in tovrn lots, and instead 

 of planting forest trees along the streets he set some 2,000 or more 

 Transcendent and Hyslop crabs. The greater number lived and 

 made beautiful shade trees, helping to sell the lots, and are more 

 desirable along sidewalks than many ornamental varieties. The 

 present residents have all the fruit they want. Trees on the lots not 

 sold supply the general public with fruit. In Germanj^ France and 

 England, this practice has been followed for years, the highways 

 being lined with fruit trees. The yield belongs to the public. Why 

 cannot the American people follow this plan more generally and 

 plant hardy pears, apples, crabs, etc., instead of maples, walnuts 

 and elms? 



