The Canadian Horticulturist. 



107 



can Pomolog)'," which, though 

 pubHslied some twenty years ago, is 

 still an authority on most of the sub- 

 jects of which it treats, and the hook 

 is worthy of a place in the librar}' of 

 every fruit grower. 



Digging Holes for Tree-Planting. 



Thk following hints from the book 

 above mentioned may be of interest 

 to some of our readers who intend 

 planting on a large scale this Spring : 



The next step in the preparation 

 is the digging of the holes for plant- 

 ing the trees. Some persons lay 

 great stress upon the importance of 

 having these made large and deep, 

 which may be very well in a grass 

 lawn with a few trees, but it is a very 

 expensive matter for an orchard of 

 thousands or even hundreds. The 

 holes should be prepared as wide as 

 the held, and as deep as the plow 

 can stir it, as already directed ; that 

 is the kind of holes that should be 

 dug ; if the land has been prepared 

 in this manner, the opening of the 

 holes and planting the orchard, either 

 deep or shallow, becomes a very 

 simple matter. 



Having determined the distance 

 at which the trees shall stand from 

 one another, and the order or plan of 

 planting, flag poles are to set in the 

 line to be occupied by the first row 

 of trees, and a deep furrow is then 

 opened with a large plow, drawn b\ 

 a pair of steady horses. The poles 

 are moved and set for the next row 

 of trees, and so on, until the whole 

 is laid off, making the furrows as 

 straight as possible. This done, a 

 single horse with a lighter plow is 

 driven across these deep furrows at 

 the proper distance, so that the in- 

 tersections shall indicate the stations 

 for the trees. 



Planting Trees. 



W'liii.K the above plan is com- 

 mentlable in planting a large com- 



mercial orchard, yet, for the small 

 orchard in a prominent location, 

 more care should be taken in order 

 that the planting may be above 

 criticism. For this case we would 

 advise the additional precaution 

 of marking out the ground with 

 stakes j^^aced just where the trees 

 are to stand ; and when these 

 have been got to range perfectly the 

 planting may proceed. In order to 

 have the tree planted in exactly the 

 same place as the marking stake 



T^fF 



u- 



a 



Fig. 30. 



stands, the very simple device here 

 shown, which is no new idea, may 

 help some of our readers just at this 

 season. It is simply an inch board 

 about six inches wide and about four 

 feet long, with a hole in each end 

 and a notch in the centre. The 

 board is placed so that the notch 

 takes in the marking stake, and a pin 

 is then driven in each end. The 

 board and the stake are then re- 

 moved without disturbing the pins 

 while the hole is being dug, after 

 which the board is replaced on the 

 pins, and the tree set in the notch as 

 shown in the engraving. Carefully 

 keep the tree in position by means 

 of this board, until the earth is firmly 

 packed around the roots, when its 

 help may be dispensed with, and the 

 tree will be found to occupv exactly 



