.The Canadian Horticulturist. 157 



PLANTING AND CARING FOR YOUNG TREES IN AN 

 APPLE ORCHARD. 



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^NE of the first requisites to successful orcharding is to begin 

 well. This bulletin briefly outlines for the guidance of intending 

 planters some of the chief points which should be considered. 

 Location and Exposure. — In selecting the site for an 

 orchard two of the main things to be sought for are exemp- 

 tion from late spring and early autumn frosts, and shelter 

 from the prevailing high winds. The locations least subject 

 to injurious frosts are those bordering large bodies of water, 

 and, in the interior, the high lands. It is important to plant 

 apple trees on the highest land available. If the elevation is not more than ten 

 feet above the general level of the adjacent land, it affords an advantage in allow- 

 ing the cold air to drain away into the lower levels, and lessens the danger from 

 frosts, which often do great injury when the trees are in bloom. One of the 

 worst locations is a sheltered valley from which there is Httle or no atmospheric 

 drainage, and into which the sun shining makes it the hottest spot during the 

 day, while the cold air settling into it from the higher elevations makes it the 

 coldest spot during the night. 



A free circulation of air is very desirable in an orchard, and a full exposure 

 is better than shutting it in too closely, yet it is advisable to have the orchard some- 

 what sheltered from the full force of the prevailing winds. These in most parts 

 of the country come from the south-west. The shelter, therefore, should be on 

 that side, and may consist of a strip of woodland, or a belt of Norway spruce 

 put out at the same time as the orchard, or best of all, if possible, plant the 

 orchard on a hillside having a northern or north-eastern exposure. Such a 

 location and exposure is least subject to sudden changes of temperature, drouth 

 and the prevailing high winds. 



The Soil and its Preparation. — Apples may be successfully grown on a 

 great variety of soils, from a moderately light sand to a heavy clay. The best 

 soil, however, is a deep, open, clayey loam, which should be well drained either 

 naturally or artificially. In addition to this it should be moderately rich and 

 retentive of plant food, for it is impossible to raise good fruit on poor soil. 



To prepare the land for planting it should be plowed deeply in the fall and 

 put in good condition in the spring, as if prepared for a hoed crop. If the 

 sub-soil is a hard clay into which the roots of the trees cannot readily enter, it 

 should be loosened up by means of a sub-soil plow. Where it is not convenient 

 to treat the whole ground in this way, do a strip at least five or six feet wide 

 where each row of trees is to stand, or when planting dig the holes much wider 

 and deeper than would be otherwise necessary for planting. 



