DANGERS TO HEELED-IN TREES 99 



tree begins from sun heat on the bark and a tree slanting to the 

 south gets less of it than if straight up and very much less than if 

 the slant was toward the north, which would bring the sides of the 

 trees at right angles to the sun's rays. Therefore a slant to the 

 south keeps the heeled-in trees dormant longer. 



Some planters spray the trees with lime-sulphur after heeling-in, 

 both to make sure of disinfection and to whiten the bark against 

 sun-heat. 



Fungus Injury to Heeled-In Trees. Heeled-in trees are par- 

 ticularly liable to injury from soil fungus (pythiacystis), which may 

 also attack them in the nursery rows. Professor E. H. Smith of 

 the University of California says : 



Practically all deciduous fruit trees are susceptible. The cankers may 

 occur anywhere on the trunk, but are very apt to start about the bud union. 

 In the worst cases the trees are girdled and the bark killed and blackened 

 for several inches up, but usually for less than an inch below the union. 

 There may be two or three widely separated cankers on the same tree, each 

 canker two or three inches long and starting on the same side of the trunk, 

 where it has lain in contact with the ground or dirt washed up on it by rain. 

 The most important thing is to prevent soaking of the trees for any length 

 of time during heeling-in. It often occurs merely as an augmented form of 

 water injury. 



Heeled-in trees and trees during transportation are subject to 

 injuries by frost which may be indicated by unnatural colors in 

 the tissues of the stem or root, revealed by cutting into them. Such 

 injury may usually be prevented in California climates by good 

 packing in transit and by covering with straw or sacks 'after 

 heeling-in. 



Cutting Back in the Nursery. If the planter has his own ideas 

 of after-treatment of his trees, or if he is a beginner and desires to 

 adopt the suggestions which will be laid down in this book, he should 

 insist that the nurseryman shall not trim up or cut back the trees 

 before packing. Have the trees packed just as they are lifted from 

 the ground. The work towards the shaping of the tree should be 

 done when it is planted in the orchard. 



PLANTING THE ORCHARD 



The young deciduous tree should be dormant before being re- 

 moved from the nursery row, and if its leaves have fallen it is good 

 evidence of its dormancy. Such, however, is the effect of the climate 

 of California, more apparent in some years than others, and with 

 some kinds of fruit than others, that the young tree retains a small 

 part of its activity very late, and in such cases it is not practicable 

 to wait for the complete falling of the leaves. Sometimes for con- 

 venience of work, the trees have to be lifted before this takes place, 

 and in such case it is desirable to remove the leaves to lessen evap- 

 oration. It is probably better to transplant in this condition for the 

 sake of early setting in its new position than to wait for all the 



