APPLES. 95 



t 

 tree on the opposite corner. Mark the place in the fork of the board 

 in the center of the square, put a stake in the hole in the center of 

 of the board and swing the board out of the way. Dig- hole for the 

 tree. Then swing the board back into its place and set the tree. 



An orchard set this way has the appearance of being set eight 

 feet by fourteen, yet no tree is more or less than sixteen feet from 

 its neighbor and each tree, except those on the west and south out- 

 side rows, is shaded about one P. N. by a tree sixteen feet distant. 

 A piece of land sixteen bj'^ twenty rods, containing two acres, will 

 set 372 trees in this manner and leave an eight foot space all around 

 outside of the trees, except on one end, where it will be necessary to 

 set the first row on the line. 



DISCUSSION. 



DISTANCE APART FOR APPLE TREES. 



Pres. Underwood: Have you any remarks to make upon this 

 paper? 



Mr. E. H. S. Dartt: That is a good one; that is boiled down, con- 

 centrated. 



Mr. D. V. Plants: I would like to ask one question. I would like 

 to ask if he considers sixteen feet far enough apart; if it is wide 

 enough for the trees after they are grown. Sixteen feet does not 

 give any space between the trees. 



Mr. S. D. Richardson: Every person must act on his own individ- 

 ual judgment. Some trees require more room than others. I think, 

 if I was setting out ten acres of orchard, that when the trees got 

 older and wanted more room, if they did not die out fast enough, I 

 would cut them out. We can alwa5-s expect to lose a certain per- 

 centage of trees anyway. I do not expect an5"thing else. 



Mr. Plants: Sixteen feet is far enough apart for trees that grow 

 upright, but I have seen trees that were set twenty-two feet apart, ot 

 which the lower limbs were so close together that a man could not 

 walk between them without scratching his face. With Whitney No. 

 20, it might do. 



Mr. Richardson: A man can make room w^ith an axe. 



Mr. Harris: I was unfortunate in not hearing the paper read that 

 is under discussion now, but I have had a little experience and 

 some observation. I gather from what I have heard that the prop- 

 osition is to plant an orchard very close together. I am decidedly 

 opposed to setting an orchard in that way, and I paid a man several 

 dollars this wdnter to cut down some trees to make more room. If I 

 was going to set an orchard anywhere in Minnesota I would run the 

 rows somewhere near north and south, and put the rows at least 

 forty feet apart, and I would not care if they were sixty; I would put 

 my trees from twelve to fourteen feet apart in the rows, and they 

 would then have room to get out one way and it w-ould afford just 

 as much protection. I believe that is the true method of plantino- 

 an orchard in Minnesota. 



Now, I find most of the trees that have lived a long time in this 

 state stand out alone exposed in every way, with no shade, or else 

 they are on the outside rows of the orchard; and the idea of setting 



