76 An American Fruit-Farm 



years of labor and waiting are wasted. Tree- 

 planting is largely a problem of securing breathing 

 space in earth and air. Most growers sooner or 

 later regret that they had not planted farther apart, 

 giving ampler space for growth. The condition of 

 the plant, at any time in its later history, will be 

 determined by space as well as by cultivation. It 

 is yours to trim, to fertilize, to cultivate; the tree 

 has only to grow. Thus soil fertility and control 

 of the plant are your problem. Yotir supreme 

 purpose is to concentrate the strength of the soil 

 upon the plant. The whole life of the plant must 

 be active in production of fruit : this is the supreme 

 function of tree, vine, bush, or shrub. 



It is an easy labor to set out trees and seemingly 

 to plant an orchard. Land may be plowed, har- 

 rowed, marked, and so, on the surface, be made 

 ready for the young trees. But trees root deep, — 

 indeed, produce as much area of feeding surface 

 in roots as of feeding surface in branch, twig, and 

 leaf. No fruit-tree grown in North America will 

 flourish in water or in dry earth ; nor will it flourish 

 in soil which passes from water-soaked to ashen- 

 dry condition. Extremes kill the tree. In plant- 

 ing an orchard, the most important question is of 

 drainage. Happily, most cultivable land so slopes 

 as to be, as it is said, self -draining ; which means 

 that the subsoil, even the surface, is neither 

 water-clogged, nor as dry as parchment. Water, 

 in form of moisture, is ever circulating through a 

 well-drained soil. The earth acts much like a 



