32 THE NUT CULTUHIST. 



culturist. Almond orchards have been planted in Cali- 

 fornia and Arizona, and the quality of the nuts, as well 

 as the quantity, is very satisfactory ; but a greater 

 number and more extensive orchards are needed to meet 

 the home demand. 



Planting and Pruning. In planting and pruning 

 the almond tree the same system should be adopted 

 as with its near relative, the peach. One-year-old bud- 

 ded trees are preferred for planting in an orchard, to 

 older, except in the case of seedlings, then t \vo-year-old 

 may be selected, because these are seldom larger than 

 one-year budded trees. The trees should be set fifteen 

 to eighteen feet apart, varying the distance according to 

 variety, soil, and other local conditions, and it is best to 

 place them in rows and at right angles, in order to ad- 

 mit of cultivating both ways, as it is termed, thereby 

 saving as much hand labor as possible. For the first 

 two or three years after planting, all weeds and grass 

 should be kept away from the stems and over the roots, 

 either by frequent hoeing, or covering with a mulch. 

 The best way, perhaps, to prevent the growth of weeds, 

 is to use the land among the trees for some low-growing 

 crops, such as beans, tomatoes, melons or potatoes, then 

 see that the workmen, when hoeing these crops, hoe up 

 the weeds and grass about the trees at the same time. 

 We might reasonably suppose that the most careless cul- 

 tivator of trees would think of this, but, unfortunately, 

 extended observation proves quite the contrary, and it 

 is scarcely possible to go through any very extensive 

 fruit-growing region without seeing many such instances 

 of neglect. A square yard or more of tough sward is 

 frequently left for years undisturbed about the stems 

 of all the trees in an orchard, while the little annual 

 plants growing near by, and not worth, at an extreme 

 valuation, five cents each, are cultivated with the great- 

 est care. 



