28 THE AMERICAN APPLE ORCHARD 



This comes from the fact that the bearing area of 

 the tree has been simply moved out with the growth 

 of the branches, leaving the space next each tree 

 trunk unproductive. Apples never grow in the 

 center of the tree. There is only a comparatively 

 thin rim around the periphery where blossoms open 

 and fruit matures. Thus, while we waste space out- 

 side of the tree during the early years of the orchard, 

 we waste space inside the tree when the orchard 

 grows old. 



This waste often amounts to 50 per cent of the land, 

 sometimes more. On land worth $50 to $100 an acre 

 (and there are large areas of land worth $100 an acre 

 now growing apples) such an amount of unproductive 

 soil is a serious consideration. There are two possi- 

 ble remedies for this condition of things. The first 

 is pruning; the second interplanting. 



If we had a system of pruning which gave us prac- 

 tical control of our apple trees, we might be able to 

 prevent their continuous and undue increase in size. 

 We could thus keep them within bounds. Trees 

 might be planted 20 feet apart, say, and not allowed to 

 overpass the limits set upon them. It is perfectly 

 evident, however, that we have not yet worked out a 

 system of pruning which will compass this end. That 

 is one of the great problems resting with the future 

 of American pomology. We shall certainly have to 

 solve this problem before we can pretend to have a 

 perfect system of fruit-growing; but this solution 

 appears to be still further away from us than the one 

 next to be mentioned. 



Interplanting, or the use of "fillers," has been con- 

 siderably discussed during the past decade or two, 

 and has been occasionally tried. For the most part 



