PLANTING AN ORCHARD. 77 



level, so as to shed the rain. All the while, the second 

 hand is tramping the soil closely around the root of the 

 tree, and still maintaining its erect position. 



The next tree is set two or three hundred feet beyond 

 the first; and the third two or three hundred feet beyond 

 the second, and so on to the end of the row. The object of 

 this is to have sight trees or pointers, and thus enable the 

 operators to obtain straight rows, which they seldom do, 

 when they plant continuously from one end to the other. 

 During the planting, they are continually sighting the 

 rows, and also the cross rows, and drawing in, or shoving 

 out, so as to get both in line. This is done almost 

 instantly, takes far less time in the aggregate than is 

 supposed, and adds greatly to the appearance of the or- 

 chard. It is not customary, to use any fertilizer when 

 planting, but sometimes a handful of bone-dust or ashes 

 is placed in the hill ; and it is, no doubt, beneficial. 



Where the soil is clean and loose, the planting is very 

 rapid ; and two hands will dig the holes and set five 

 hundred trees a day in the light, mellow soil of the Pen- 

 insula. Where it is less kind, the work will, of course, 

 be slower. 



TIME. 



The orchard may be planted in the fall or spring with 

 equal success. Some prefer the former, and some the 

 latter. If the young trees have been grown in rich soil, 

 the wood will be somewhat soft and succulent ; and, if 

 planted in the fall, in severe latitudes, they will be very 

 much exposed, and may freeze down during the winter ; 

 while if the same trees be kept heeled-in, and thus pro- 

 tected, they will suffer little or no injury. 



The advantages of fall planting are, that first-class trees 

 are more readily obtained, as the nurseries have not then 

 been culled, or the stock exhausted, as is often the case in 



