THE APRICOT 263 



WHY APRICOT CULTURE Is DIFFICULT 



The difficulty that the apricot grower en- 

 counters may be said to center on a single char- 

 acteristic of the tree the extreme sensitiveness 

 of its blossoms. 



The apricot tree itself under proper conditions 

 is relatively hardy and extremely productive. It 

 is long-lived, and it attains great size. More- 

 over, it sends out a very extensive root system; 

 demanding plenty of room, and justifying the 

 demand by its increased production when the 

 trees are not crowded. It continues to grow for 

 many years, constantly extending its root system ; 

 so that some orchardists recommend planting the 

 trees originally twenty feet apart and then, 

 after a number of years, as the trees increase in 

 size, removing every other one, thus securing a 

 forty-foot space for the roots of each tree. 



In the matter of pests that attack it, the apricot 

 is relatively favored. It is on the whole a very 

 healthy and vigorous, as well as very beautiful 

 tree. 



But the sensitiveness of its blossoms has hith- 

 erto put a restriction upon the spread of the 

 tree beyond the subtropical areas, except in such 

 a territory as that of California, where, because 

 of exceptional topographical conditions, a sub- 



