Fruit Growing 9 



Fruit Trees and Sunburn. 



How long is it zifise to leave protection around young fruit trees 

 set out in March in this hot valley:^ The trees arc doing well, but we 

 could not tell zi'lien to take away protection. 



It is necessary to maintain the protection from sunburn all 

 through the autumn, for the autumn sun is often very hot, and as 

 the sap flow lessens, the danger of burning is apparently greater. 

 The bark also must be protected against the spring sunshine, even 

 before the leaves appear. So long as the sun has a chance at the 

 bark, you must protect it from sunburn. 



Replanting in Orchard, 



Is it considered a good plan to set the tree at once in the place 

 where one has died, or is it better to wait a year before replacing? 



It is not necessary to wait a year in making a replanting. Get 

 out all the old roots you can by digging a large hole, fill in with 

 fresh soil, and your tree will accept the situation. 



Whole Roots or Piece Roots. 



For commercial apple orchards which is preferable, trees grafted on 

 piece roots or on zvhole roots? On behalf of the piece-root trees it 

 is claimed they sprout up less around the tree. On the other hand, 

 it is claimed they never make a vigorous tree. What is the truth? 



Value depends rather upon what sort of a growth the tree makes 

 afterward than upon what it starts upon. Theoretically perhaps a 

 whole-root tree may be demonstrated to be better; practically, we 

 cannot see that it becomes so necessarily, because we have trees 

 planted at a time when the root graft on a piece was the general rule 

 in propagation. After all, is it not more important to have soil 

 conditions and culture of such character that a great root can grow 

 in the orchard than to have a whole nursery concentrated in the root 

 of the yearling tree? As for the claim that a root graft on a piece- 

 root never makes a vigorous tree, we know that is nonsense. 



Planting Deciduous Fruit Trees. 



In order to gain time, I have thought of planting apples and pears 

 this fall, in the belief I zvould be just that much nearer a crop, than 

 though I zvaited until next spring. The land is sandy loam; no irriga- 

 tion. Would you advise fall or spring planting? If fall, zvould it be 

 best to plozv the land nozv, turning in the stubble from hay crop, or 

 wait until time to plant before plozmng? 



You will not be any nearer a crop, for next summer's growth will 

 be the first in either case. On land not liable to be too wet in 

 winter, it is, however, best to plant early, say during the month of 

 December, if the ground is in good condition and sufficiently moist. 



