58 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



The rectangular or square system is most used. In this plan 

 the trees are set at the corners of a rectangular area. Most often 

 the rectangle is a square, but not infrequently the sides are un- 

 equal. This is the simplest system to lay out. Its chief disadvan- 

 tage is that it does not make economical use of the land, there being 

 an area in the center of each rectangle little used by the trees. The 

 Quincunx System was devised to offset the difficulty just mentioned. 

 In this system an additional tree is set in the center of each rectangle. 

 By this method the land is more fully occupied and the number of 

 trees nearly doubled. In effect this system is doubling the number 

 of rows and making the trees very much closer together. For ex- 

 ample, where trees are set 30 feet between the rows, and 30 feet in the 

 row, by the quincunx plan, the rows become fifteen feet apart, and 

 the trees 21.25 feet from those nearest it. It will be seen that unless 

 the rows are more than thirty feet apart, setting a tree in the center 

 of the rectangle would so reduce the distance between the rows that 

 difficulty would be encountered in orchard operations. This system 

 is most often employed at present where fillers are used. 



The Alternate System is designed to correct the difficulties aris- 

 ing from the former. It differs from it essentially in widening the 

 distance between the rows, maintaining the same distances between 

 the trees in the row, and is therefore better adapted to plantings 

 under 40 feet. In the alternate plan with trees 30 feet apart in the 

 rows the rows can be placed much closer together without reducing 

 the space between the trees in adjoining rows so much as to interfere 

 with orchard operations. By this method, the number of trees per 

 acre may be increased, the land better distributed among them, and 

 inconvenience in orchard operations avoided. It will be seen that 

 this method approaches the hexagonal system for when the diagonal 

 distance between the trees of adjoining rows equals that between the 

 trees in the same row, then we have the hexagonal system. 



The alternate system is frequently used in close plantings. In 

 an orchard with rows 20 feet apart, set by the alternate system, it 

 will be found much easier to get between the trees than if the rec- 

 tangular system is employed for the distance between the nearest 

 trees of the adjoining row will be approximately 28 feet, 3 inches or 

 over 8 feet more than when set by the rectangular. Set at this dis- 

 tance the space between the trees of adjoining rows would be the same 

 as when planted 40 feet apart by the quincunx. This system would 

 seem therefore, to be preferable to the quincunx where trees are to 

 be permanent and set less than 40 feet apart. 



The Hexagonal System or equilateral triangle system is rapidly 



faining favor as the most economical system for planting orchards, 

 n this system each tree is equidistant from the nearest neighbor in 

 any direction. The land is equally distributed among the trees, and 

 it is practically all used without crowding the trees. It also has the 

 advantage of increasing the number of trees about 15 per cent over 

 the rectangular system without reducing the distance between trees. 

 Distance of Planting. There is considerable controversy as to 

 what is the proper distance between trees. It is impossible to give 



