804 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



trimmed with, a sharp knife wherever they are found to have been bruised or broken. The 

 lower part of the tap-root also should be cut off to prevent its doubling up on being reset. 

 Twelve or eighteen inches is sufficiently long for the tap-root. Put the tree under shade and 

 cover the roots with wet moss as soon as possible. Do not allow the fibrous roots to dry, as 

 they are very delicate and soon perish. Keep them protected up to the moment of setting, 

 taking but one tree at a time from its covering of moss. To insure still further against 

 damage to the tender roots, have on hand a half barrel of muck made into a thin paste, and 

 as fast as the trees are lifted and the roots trimmed, plunge the roots into this paste, take 

 them out and wrap in moss. 



The holes for the trees should be freshly dug. The work of setting is easily and rapidly 

 done by three hands working together one to dig the holes, one to prune and set the tree, 

 and a third to fill in. The holes should be dug in the shape of an inverted saucer or truncated 

 cone with about two inches of the top cut off. Proceed thus: Around the stake which marks 

 the place for the tap-root, with a shovel or hoe take away the soil, letting the tool strike the 

 top of the soil at the stake and continue to dig deeper into the soil until at a distance of 

 eighteen inches from the stake it has penetrated six inches below the surface. Proceed thus 

 around the stake until it is completed. This gives the greatest depth of the hole on the outer 

 edge, or perimeter of the circle. Now take up the stake, cut two inches of the top off the 

 cone. Where the stake stood, push down with the spade by working it back and forth until 

 it has penetrated the ground about eighteen inches, or the full length of the tap-root of the 

 tree to be set. Now insert the tap-root in this hole made by the spade. Be careful not to 

 set the tree deeper than it grew in the nursery. With the hand pack the soil firmly around 

 the tap-root. Next spread the lateral roots over the cone, taking care to distribute them 

 evenly over the cone. Throw on two inches of dirt and press it firmly with the feet. Finish 

 by throwing in soil and leveling the ground, leaving the last layer of soil untrod. 



Before the tree is left it should be trimmed with shears in proportion to the trimming 

 done to the roots. If planting is done in summer or in hot weather and the ground is not 

 protected by forest trees it is better to mulch. If the trees are older than three years, and 

 wild grown, it may be necessary to dig the hole deeper than directed above, but the point of 

 this caution is against deep setting. The writer is satisfied that more trees have been dis 

 eased and retarded in their growth and frequently killed by deep setting than by any other 

 one cause. 



The distance apart that the trees should be set will depend upon the character of the 

 trees. The seedling should have the greatest distance, the sweet seedling budded less, and 

 the sour stock budded least of all. &quot;Where land is laid off in squares the following table will 

 give the number of trees that, will stand on an acre: 



Distance apart. No. of trees No. of trees 



in squares. in diamond. 



15x15 164 180 



18x18 . . . . .114 125 



20x20 90 ..... 99 



21x21 81 89 



25x25 ... . .53 58 



30x30 36 39 



Cultivation. The orange will live with almost no cultivation, but it will only be a 

 sickly existence. We know no plant, shrub, or tree, that will pay better for good cultivation ; 

 none that will respond so certainly to thorough cultivation. The ground in the grove should 

 be kept level; the surface light. As far as the roots have extended the surface should not be 

 stirred deeper than three inches. The more frequently it is stirred, the better. Beyond the 

 reach of the roots it is well to cultivate deeply and frequently, but as the roots extend them- 



