4O HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 



WIND-BREAKS OR SHELTER-BELTS. 



Plant by all means, either in advance of or simultaneously with the 

 orchard, a shelter belt of trees. Rapid, upright growers should be set for 

 this purpose, either all round the orchard or on the sides from which 

 come the prevailing winds. The Lombardy poplar, where it does not kill 

 back, makes an excellent wind-break. The western or gray willow is about 

 as good, and still hardier. The cottonwood makes a stronger growth than 

 anything that can be planted, and hence a quicker protection, but it is a 

 gross feeder and should not be set within several rods of an orchard. The 

 black and honey locust are also used. 



Some of the strong growing crabs are also desirable. For an inside row 

 of a shelter-belt (I prefer this word, because it means more than simple 

 protection from wind), a row of hardy plum trees may be planted. Ever- 

 greens are good where they can be cheaply obtained. Mr. Grimes, the 

 well-known Denver nurseryman, "thinks a wind-break is as incomplete 

 without an evergreen lining as a bird's nest is without a lining." Here, 

 in Northern Colorado, I would surround the entire orchard with a shelter- 

 belt, but protection is most needed on the North and West sides not alone 

 for the teees, but to protect the fruit buds and fruit from injury by occa- 

 sional prolonged and drying winds. 



HEELING IN. 



It is often desirable to procure fruit stock in fall and trench in until 

 spring. This practice is growing in favor, and one nurseryman of large 

 experience declares that trees treated in this way not only retain the full 

 vitality they have in autumn, but are actually worth twenty-five per cent 

 more than those taken up in spring. 



To heel in, put trees in a sloping trench, with roots at deepest end (H to 

 2 feet deep). Spread out roots, and cover thoroughly and closely with 

 fine, moist earth and fill in trench, covering tops of trees with about six 

 inches of dirt, leaving mound that will turn water. Always bury on a 

 well-drained site. We usually wet roots before trenching. 



Should trees arrive dry and shriveled by reason of delay or from other 

 cause during shipment, if water is convenient put them in root and 

 branch, and let them remain for several days in water, or bury them deep 

 in moist earth. This practice will usually restore the stock fully. If 

 frozen, do not unpack on arrival, but place in cellar or other cool place, 

 free from frost, and let them remain until entirely thawed out. 



