No. 4.] COMMERCIAL ORCHARDING. 41 



row was run along one side of the field to be planted, and 

 a stake was set every IG"!/^ feet, the distanee apart for the 

 trees; then a cross row was laid off at right angles to this, 

 near one end of the field. This was all the sighting that 

 was done. The rest of the stakes were set with two measur- 

 ing boards KH/'o feet long, with a small notch at either 

 end. (The accompanying diagram will serve to illustrate 

 the method.) 



It was surprising to see how accurately and expeditiously 

 the stakes were set, and it did not require high-priced labor 

 to do it, either. Two Polanders, at $1.50 a day, one of 

 whom could speak scarcely a word of English, did the whole 

 thing; and we should be glad to compare results with any- 

 body who has used a different method, for we feel decidedly 

 proud of the way our trees " row '' in all directions. 



For locating the trees we used a planting board, a device 

 by no means new, but which deserves a wider use than it gets. 

 There are several types of them, but the one we used was 

 about 4 feet long by 8 inches wide, with a notch at each end 

 and one in the middle (see diagram). The middle notch 



was placed against the stake set for the tree, a short piece 

 of lath was then driven down in each of the end notches, 

 the planting board was taken away, and the hole dug for 

 the tree where the center stake stood. Then, when it came 

 time to set the tree, whether it was that afternoon or the 

 next day or the next week, the planting board was put in 

 place on the two small stakes, the tree was slii)ped into the 

 middle notch and was planted, and of course stood exactly 

 where the original stake stood. Both of these methods — 

 the setting of a stake for each tree and the use of the plant- 

 ing board — have been objected to by those who profess to 

 know about such things, on the ground that they take too 

 nuich time; that they are slow and expensive methods. But 

 when I say that it cost us just G cents per tree to set our 

 standard apples, which we planted first; and 5 cents for 



