168 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 



when not over thirty feet apart. In favorable apple districts 

 in the Eastern states apple trees are generally set 35 to 40 feet 

 apart, while in some of the Pacific Coast fruit sections, where 

 the trees seldom become large, they are set out 25 to 30 feet apart. 

 Apple trees should be set so as to "break joints" north and south 

 that is, the trees in one row should be set opposite the vacan- 

 cies in the next. If the rows run northeast and southwest tha 

 trees will shade one another on the southwest side, which is the 

 side most liable to injury from the sun. 



Cultivation. Young orchards should be cultivated in some 

 hoed crop which does not necessitate the working of the soil in 

 autumn, but will keep the land well cultivated early in the sum- 

 mer. For this purpose corn, early potatoes or squash are good 

 crops. Do not sow the ordinary small grains in orchards. Buck- 

 wheat, however, seems to be an exception to the rule, and on 

 account of its dense shade is a very good crop for this purpose. 

 After the trees begin to bear it is often a good plan to seed the 

 land to clover, which should be broken up occasionally. The 

 trees, however, should be well mulched with stable litter and, if 

 they do not make a satisfactory growth, should be manured. 

 When an orchard becomes "sod bound" nothing will do it more 

 good than a drove of hogs, sufficient to root up all the sod, but 

 they must not be allowed to gnaw the trees. Besides breaking 

 up the sod the hogs are very beneficial in destroying many kinds 

 of insects. 



Forming the tree. Whatever the shape of the tree when it 

 is received from the nursery, it will need careful attention in 

 the orchard. The question whether to grow trees with a long 

 or short trunk is a much disputed one; but it may be laid down 

 as a general rule that in favorable locations the trunks of the 

 hardier kinds should be free from branches for fully three feet 

 from the ground, but in such cases they may need some protec- 

 tion from sunscald. In very severe and exposed locations, or 

 in the case of somewhat tender varieties, it will be better to 

 have the trees branch near the ground. When formed in this way, 

 they are hardier and less exposed to the wind than if they have 

 tall trunks. There is a constant tendency for trees to incline to 

 the northeast, and this should be prevented as far as possible. 

 To do this, the growth should be encouraged on the southwest 



