60 



IMPORTANCE OF PLANTING TREES AND NOT 

 WAITING FOR RAIN. 



We consider the above heading of sufficient importance to 

 orchardists throughout the country to warrant a separate para- 

 graph. Under our remarks on the " Initial Difficulties of 

 Establishing Orchards in South .Africa " we give directions as to 

 the importance of planting young trees during the natural 

 dormant period, and we give full directions for so doing (see 

 page 33. We again commend these instructions to your notice which 

 we feel sure if carried out will give you a successful orchard 

 with practically the loss of no trees. As an additional safeguard 

 under the condition of drought, after planting we would say 

 shelter the stem with reeds or grass or the branch of a tree or 

 something, also some grass spread on the ground round the tree 

 will tend to additionally retain the moisture. As planters we 

 prefer every time to plant our tree in a drought to letting it lie in 

 cold storage although we have had splendid results in the latter 

 manner. 



The planting, however, in the proper dormant season is nearer 

 following nature. 



THE CALIFORNIA PRUNE. 



[PETIT D'AGEN.] 



This variety .has been by far the most important introduction 

 to this country during recent years in commercial varieties of 

 fruit, and a short description of it shabits and utility will not be 

 out of place, and should prove of interest to those who intend 

 planting orchards for profit. 



Introduced into the Santa Clara Valley of California from 

 France in 1856, it was not until about 1870 that this variety 

 began to claim public attention. It was in this year that the 

 well-known Bradley orchard (still in full bearing) was set out. 

 In a few years this commercial prune orchard yielded such 

 enormous profits, that it immediately led to extensive planting, 

 not only in the Santa Clara Valley, but over the whole of the 

 State of California, and extended even right north through the 

 States of Oregon and Washington, and cast and south-east 

 through Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Texas. 



In a few years five million trees of this single variety were 

 planted in th State of California alone, and still planting went 



