io6 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



the previous year, and then fall plowed, the 

 soil will be in beautiful condition for plant- 

 ing in spring, and the task will be an easy 

 one. If the land is at all inclined to be 

 heavy this previous preparation is all the 

 more necessary, both for the ease and speed 

 in planting and for the after growth of the 

 tree. If conditions are favorable, two men 

 should lay out the ground and plant one 

 thousand apple trees in a week or ten days, 

 but if unfavorable it would take much 

 longer. 



Should the trees arrive before the ground 

 is quite ready to receive them; dig a trench 

 about a foot deep, more or less, and stand 

 the trees in it close together, and then fill all 

 about the roots with fine earth. Here they 

 will be safe until you are ready to plant. 

 With a lot of I, GOO trees it would be best to 

 heel them in this way, even if the ground is 

 ready, and take out a few at a time as re- 

 quired. , 



Evans, of Ohio, gives directions for plant- 

 ing, as follows, which is essentially the plan 

 we have always adopted : 



If the plot lies facing a road or lane, make 

 that the basis from which to lay out the 

 rows, running them at right angles away 

 from this base. A strong wire about two 

 hundred feet long is an excellent instrument 

 to use in staking out. File shallow notches 

 in it as far apart as you wish the trees to 



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i^iG. I. square; planting. 



stand — say twenty feet for peach, pear, plum 

 or cherry and thirty feet for apple — then 

 stretch it out, sticking a peg at each notch, 

 which can be designated by small rags for 

 the sake of plainness. If the orchard is 

 wider than the length of the wire, prolong 



the staked line by restretching the wire from 

 the end of the incomplete row. By taking 

 care to have a correct start and make the be- 

 ginnings of rows at regular intervals on the 

 base line, all the trees will line up, no matter 

 whether the point of view commands a 

 straight or oblique squint, as seen in Fig. i. 

 Another mode of arrangement which, under 

 certain conditions, may be desirable, is the 

 quincunx planting shown in Fig. 2. But 

 the most economical, beautiful and conveni- 

 ent arrangement is the hexagonal. Every 

 three trees form an equilateral triangle, and 

 each tree, except the outside ones, stands in 

 the centre of a circle described by six others 

 standing at equal distances around it. 



The land prepared and staked, you are 

 ready to dig holes. When ready to pull up 

 the tree peg for this purpose, mark its posi- 

 tion by using a piece of i x 4 pine four feet 

 long, in the center and ends of which 

 notches are cut. Place the center notch at 



FIG. 2. QUINCUNX PLANTING. 



the tree peg and stick other pegs at the end 

 notches. Then pull up the tree peg, dig 

 the hole, and when ready to place the tree, 

 lay the board with the end notches fitting 

 their respective pegs and locate the tree at 

 the center notch. This is a simple and good 

 way. 



As you plant, dip the roots of each tree 

 into a bucket of water, then place it in the 

 hole with the budding scar a little below the 

 surface of the ground. Work rich top soil, 

 well-fined, all around the rootlets, pressing 

 it firmly with the hands, and take care to iay 

 each root according to its natural bent. 

 Humor all idiosyncrasies of roots. Cut off 

 broken or bruised roots, making the slope 



