46 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 



Small fruits of various kinds may be used in orchards but 

 must be removed when the trees get large enough to need all 

 the land. It may often be a help to an apple orchard to have 

 the tree trunks shaded by small fruits, such as raspberries and 

 currants. 



Planting with fillers is the name given to the system of plant- 

 ing whereby an extra number of trees are set out with the pur- 

 pose of cutting them out as soon as they get large enough to 

 crowd the trees that are to grow to maturity. Good examples 

 of this practice are found in the planting of peaches or plums 

 in the intervals between apples, or in planting twice as many 

 peaches or plum trees on the land as can grow to maturity, 

 the intention in each case being to cut out one-half of them as 

 soon as the trees begin to crowd. This is not a bad practice 

 when well carried out but in the hands of the average fruit 

 grower the thinning process is seldom begun soon enough. 

 This may result in serious injury and is always harmful. 



Fruit Crops and Plant Food. 



The most important factor in the growing of a fruit or 

 other agricultural crop is the proper preparation of the soil. 

 This should be attended to before anything is attempted in the 

 way of fertilization of the land. Get the soil into the best physi- 

 cal condition and then manure* may be used to best advantage. 

 In the case of orchards in new forest land it is poor practice to 

 plant until the stumps and trash are well subdued, except where 

 mulching is to be practiced, since the soil can be cleaned most 

 economically before the trees are planted out. 



All agricultural soils contain plant food in two forms: 



(a) Where the soil is rich in plant food which is easily 

 available to the roots of plants and which they can absorb read- 

 ily. This is the condition of the soils in new fruit growing sec- 

 tions where the land has not yet been cropped extensively. Such 

 soils may also contain a large amount of plant food which is not 

 readily available. 



(b) Soils also contain plant food in a form which is not 

 readily available to the roots of crops. This is the condition of 



*As here used, the term "manure" Includes both animal manures 

 and commercial fertilizers. 



