14 CALIFORNIA CITRUS CULTURE. 



the nursery and preparing them for shipment. There are two methods : 

 the open-root and the balling. A ditch, eighteen inches deep on one 

 side, eight inches from the row, permits cutting all the roots on that 

 side, and also the tap root or roots. Then for open roots, the tree may 

 be crowded into this trench, breaking as few roots as possible. This 

 is allowable only for near-by planting. A long, sharp spade makes it 

 easy to cut the roots on the other three sides. If we wish to ball, which 

 is best in most all cases, we tamp the soil, shape the ball and lift the tree 

 on to burlap, which is then folded and tied about the trunk. Haste in 

 transportation is always in order. The trees upon arrival at their des- 

 tination should be heeled-in, pointing southwest, in case of open roots, 

 or planted at once. A furrow with a 45-degree slant on one side makes 

 heeling-in easy. None but the open root trees should be heeled in, and 

 it were always better to set at once. If one grows his own nursery stock, 

 this is the more easily accomplished. No one should order trees until 

 he is ready to set them. From the heeling-in furrow to the orchard, 

 trees should be handled with as little delay as possible, and unless balled 

 should be covered with a wet blanket, especially if the day is hot. 



ARRANGEMENT OF TREES IN ORCHARD. 



There are four methods of planting as to arrangement of trees: 

 rectangular, triangular, quincunx or hexagonal. The first, square or 

 rectangular, is simplest and most common. Indeed, it is the almost 

 universal method to-day. If in squares (Fig. 2), the trees are often 

 planted twenty feet apart, which gives one hundred and eight trees to 

 the acre. Most prefer to plant further apart, at least one way. If 

 twenty by twenty-five feet, then we have eighty-seven trees to the acre. 

 It is quite common to have the squares twenty-two by twenty-two feet, 

 which takes ninety trees to the acre. This is quite close enough, and 

 there is wisdom in increasing this. The squares are often twenty- four, 

 twenty-five or twenty-six feet on each side. 



In the triangular system (Fig. 3) the trees are parallel to one mar- 

 gin of the field in one direction and diagonal to this the other way. 

 The trees will be further apart on the diagonal lines. Suppose we wish 

 to plant twenty feet apart in the rows parallel to the margin. We then 

 lay off the orchard in twenty-feet squares. The first row will be at 

 the angles of the squares, next to the margin of the field. The trees of 

 the second row will be at the middle points of the opposite sides of the 

 squares, etc. Each alternate row will have trees at the angles, the next 

 at the middle of the sides of the squares. This gives ninety-eight trees 

 to the acre. The trees will be twenty feet apart one way and a little 

 more than twenty-two feet the other way. This has no advantage, 

 except it permits cultivating or working the ground in three directions. 



