32 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



Cutting Back Almonds. 



/ haz'e some nice thrifty tzvo-ycar-old almond trees which I did not 

 "top" this spring. The limbs are from about four to seven or eight feet 

 long. Would it not be best to "top" them yet? 



Cut them back to a shoot of this year's growth, removing about 

 a third of last year's growth, perhaps. This will give you lower and 

 better branching. 



Almond Planting. 



/ am contemplating the planting of about five to eight acres of almonds: 

 what variety is best to plant? 



Before planting so many almonds, you should determine how 

 satisfactory the almond is in bearing in your location. Unless you 

 can find satisfactory demonstration of this fact, it is hazardous to 

 plant such an acreage. On the other hand, if you find that almonds 

 are bearing satisfactorily, the kinds which are perhaps most satisfac- 

 tory to plant are Nonpareil, Texas Prolific, Ne Plus Ultra and Drake's 

 Seedling. The Texas Prolific and Drake's Seedling are abundant 

 bearers and profitable because of the size of the crop, although the 

 price is lower than the soft-shelled varieties. Nonpareil and Ne Plus 

 Ultra. These two varieties are such energetic pollinizers that they 

 not only bear well themselves, but force the bearing of the larger 

 varieties mentioned. Every third row in your plantation should be 

 either Texas Prolific or Drakes' Seedlings, which would give you 

 two-thirds of the larger varieties and one-third of the smaller. There 

 are, of course, other soft-shelled almonds which are worth planting 

 and are being considerably planted in localities where they do well. 

 This you can ascertain by inquiry among local growers and nursery- 

 men. The planting of a good proportion of active pollinizers is the 

 most important point. 



Almond Pollination. 



My almond trees look healthy but the fruit seems to be diseased. Is 

 it necessary to have male and female trees, and how can one distinguish 

 them? 



The almond is monoecious and has perfect blossoms, therefore, 

 there is no such thing as male and female trees in the case of the 

 almond, but most of the best soft-shelled almonds are self-sterile and 

 need cross-pollination from another variety. This is discussed else- 

 where in answer to another question. 



Roots for the Almond. 



Which is the best root to have the almond grafted on, peach or bitter 

 almond? The soil is sandy. 



The bitter almond and the hard-shelled sweet almond are both 

 used and we are not aware that any particular advantage has been 

 demonstrated for either of them. The almond does well on peach 

 roots also, but the almond is a better root where the soil conditions 

 suit it. 



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