CULTIVATION OF ORCHARDS. S3- 



CHAPTER X 



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ON THE PLANTING AND CULTIVATION OF 

 ORCHARDS. 



The first thing to be determined upon in the plan- 

 ting of an orchard, is the proper distance of the trees: 

 if a mere fruit plantation be the object, the distance 

 may be small if the cultivation of grain and grass 

 be in view, the space between the trees must be wider : 

 at thirty feet apart, an acre will contain forty-eight 

 trees; at thirty-five feet, thirty-five trees; at forty feet, 

 twenty-seven trees ; and at fifty feet, about eighteen to 

 the acre these are the usual distances. In my own 

 plantations, I have adopted the various distances ac- 

 cording to the depth and character of the soil; about 

 two thirds of the ground, comprizing about one hundred 

 acres, are planted at 50 feet; on the remaining fifty 

 acres, I have tried 30, 35, and 40 feet; and as far as 

 could be conveniently done, I have planted the trees 

 of smallest growth on the lightest soil: taking every 



