Commercial Fruit Growing 21 



to be neither open land nor fruit plantation. Doubtless it gives the trees 

 plenty of air, and they in turn may shelter the vegetable crop. With 

 No. 2 the half -standards are frequently Apple and Plum, or Pear and 

 Plum interlined. 



In the case of the Apple and Plum it is generally the intention of the 

 planter to cut the Plums back as the Apples grow, and finally remove them 

 altogether, and leave it all to the Apples. It may be doubted whether the 

 intention is often carried out; it requires more courage than_the average 

 grower possesses. The Plums are useful revenue producers, even when 

 they crowd the Apples. It is better to admit the difficulty beforehand, 

 and plant the half-standards 18 ft. by 15 ft., and let them both remain, 

 choosing the varieties of Apple of not too spreading growth. If this is 

 done, two rows of Gooseberries, or Raspberries, or Black Currants, and 

 three rows of Red Currants, can be planted between the rows of trees. 

 Strawberries may be also planted under, one row between each two rows 

 of bushes. If a jam factory is within reach it will be better to plant 

 the preserving sorts, like " Stirling Castle " or " Scarlet ", as these can be left 

 down longer than a table sort, although of a sort like " Royal Sovereign " 

 two or three crops may be taken before they are hoed up, to give the 

 bushes and trees all the room. If the rows are 18 ft. apart, as suggested, 

 a row of Dwarf Apples or Pears may be planted instead of the bushes or 

 cordons. It would be wise in any case, if the situation were convenient 

 for its disposal, to grow green-stuff crops between the tree rows for a year 

 or two before planting the bushes. It will give a better opportunity of 

 eradicating any weed progeny remaining in the soil, and will also afford 

 a chance, if it is needed, of bringing the condition as to manure up to par. 



The bushes that are to go into the middle may meanwhile be accommo- 

 dated as extra ones in the tree rows. When it is determined to plant 

 between the rows they may be shifted in the early autumn, care being 

 taken to preserve unbroken a good ball of earth at the roots, and they 

 will not "miss the shift", as the gardeners' saying goes. In No. 3 the 

 intention is eventually to have an Apple orchard when all the Plums will 

 be removed. At the beginning the conditions as to undercropping may 

 be the same as in No. 2. 



But it cannot be said that the plan of planting standard trees is in 

 accordance with the most up-to-date ideas. 



If spraying is to become a permanent part of a fruit-grower's organiza- 

 tion it will be wiser to keep the trees as low as possible. No. 4 method will 

 therefore have much to recommend it on this ground alone. The con- 

 sideration of it will lead to the study of the different stocks on which 

 Apples are budded or grafted. These are: (a) The Crab; (6) The Free 

 Stock; (c) The Broad-leaved Paradise; (d) The Doucin or Dutch. 



(a) Tlie Crab. This is nothing more than the Wild Apple, the parent 

 from which, through careful selection and patient observation and applica- 

 tion of the beneficent laws of the Creator, all our many varieties of Apple 

 have come. The characteristics of Apples worked on this stock (fig. 324), 



