STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 117 



rays of the sun which so seriously injure our trees during the cold, sunny days in 

 February and March. Ninth, in Minnesota we would set trees fifteen feet apart 

 each way. Set them from two to ten inches deeper than grown in nursery. Leave 

 the hole on the bottom a little sloping to the one o'clock sun. This will help much 

 in keeping a tree growing the same way. Be sure when setting to point the 

 heaviest and thickest branches towards the sun at half past one o'clock. 



Set them firmly; and as soon as the trees are about to leave out, cut all the lead 

 ing branches on the northeast side, clipping in the ends of the twigs on the sun 

 side witli a view to close up all openings from the steady unbroken rays of the sun. 

 Small limbs are seldom injured by sunscald and we have never seen a dead spot on 

 a tree caused by the sun, unless the rays are unbroken for two hours and a half 

 and never only when the stem or branch leans from the sun. Some think these 

 dead spots caused by sunscald are always on the south or southwest side. We have 

 often found them from where the sun strikes the tree at ten o'clock and all the 

 way around three. We mean by this that a tree that leans northwest will be killed 

 on the southeast side. If it leans northeast it will be killed on the southwest. If 

 it leans southeast it will be found dead on the northwest side as far as three o'clock. 

 These lessons are not only found in our orchards but all through the openings on 

 the walnut land butternut. They are frequently found on the hard maple and pig 

 hickory trees. Follow the above plan for setting and keep them so trimmed. One 

 tree thus grown will be worth ten fine high symmetrically topped trees we read o^ 

 so much. It is a fact known well to old observers that ninety-nine trees set as 

 they commonly are with fine even symmetrical tops will at the end of five years be 

 found making more or less to the northeast. And in making northeast they are 

 making toward ruin. Grow such crops in orchards as will best prevent the ground 

 from thawing out in winter or early spring. Many orchardlsts are recommending 

 clover in orchards. We have serious objections to clover. It harbors mice and 

 rabbits; it fails to hold the frost in the ground as even as other grasses; and what 

 is worse than all we think it helps to produce blight. Potatoes we deem one of 

 the worst crops to put in orchards for reasons too plain to need comment. We 

 have tried high tops and low tops, now prefer medium. Think this is of less 

 importance than when we set trees perpendicular. Now we would sooner have 

 a tree with five feet stem leaning slightly to the southwest, or to half past one 

 o'clock sun, than one with only one foot leaning northeast. 

 Eleventh, just hew, when and why, our trees are so generally making to the 

 ♦ northeast is still a disputed question. But that it is caused by the steady and un- 

 interrupted rays of the sun during February and March, in nine cases out of ten we 

 most firmly believe. This we argued many years ago but published nothing till 

 1879, in Iowa Report Book 1879, page 317. At that date noone living, as we have 

 ever been able to ascertain, held the same views as we did. The ne.xt year Hon. 

 R. P. Speer of Cedar Falls published his views (on page 151 and 153, Book 1880 

 of Iowa Report). We give now a few of the most prominent men who sustain 

 these views: Prof. J. L. Budd, H. W. Lathrop, Jonathf.n Thacher, Sud Foster) 

 P. M. Gideon, A. J. Haviland and a host of others are fast falling into line. 

 We have observed and reflected much on the propriety of growing three trees in 

 one hole. Twelfth, we have observed a number of such conditions in various 

 orchards. Each top will diverge from the others and in doing thus, protect each 



